Say Cheeze.

Here is Carly all smiles. As soon as she sees a camera she get her gorgeous face ready for the picture. We don't even have to tell her to smile anymore, she automatically does this. Now we have to tell her, "open you eyes Carly." This is priceless stuff.

Birthday Celebration.

Ryan, Owen, Carly, Rhys, Ashton
The Birthday Boy.

Owen in the tunnel slide.

Ashton showing off.

Even Carly loved it.

Here we are at Leed's Farm For Rhys' 1st birthday party. It was a great place for a birthday and our second time visiting the farm. They have so much for the kids to do. There is a huge room filled with hay and slides, a small zip line, a large sand box, a corn maze, several tunnel slides, an in ground trampoline, a hay ride, a kiddie train ride....It's great. We enjoyed some quality time with the birthday boy and all got a free pumpkin on the way out.

Lake Michigan.

Thick, lush sand.
It was about a 1/2 mile walk to the water. In the sand.(=Tired legs)

Beautiful Shoreline.

Amazing view, crystal clear(cold) water.

The pier.

We spent a weekend in Grand Haven, MI in September. It was beautiful. The weather was great but the water was freezing. Literally like stepping in a bucket of ice.

The boardwalk.

Us.

Ryan's mom and Ron tagged along with us so we got some alone time. We took off down the boardwalk in the rain. How romantic. By the end of the walk the sun was out and we just laid on the beach. In the sun. In the sand. With our eyes closed. And talked. So simple. So relaxing.

Wow.

I'm breaking his back!

Handsome #1

Handsome #2

Mom, Dad and the boys.

We went to the beach to watch the sun set. Carly was asleep so she stayed with Ryan's mom in the hotel room. It was breath taking beautiful.

Ashton and his new friend.

Cutie.

Watching the waves.

Serious sandcastle making.


We packed up and headed to the beach for a few hours before the drive home. The kids played great in the sand and tired themselves out.

As you can see the ride home was peaceful as well. Seriously, minute's after we started driving all three kids were passed out and they slept until minute's before we got home. (We deserved this after the ride there).

Halloween Bike Ride at Oak Openings.

The boys are ready for the ride!

Beautiful trails.

My boys (and sister Mae in the bike trailer).

Owen got a little tired, so Daddy gave him a little help.

My precious kitten.

Bet 'cha you didn't know he was so cool (notice the cutie in the background as well).

It was a gorgeous fall afternoon at one of our favorite parks. We explored many trails with our guide and even stopped at the sand dunes. The kids loved wearing their costumes too. 

Chatter Box.

Owen loves to talk on the phone. Whom ever I am talking to he also wants to talk to. Here he is talking to Aunt Crystal. Most of the time he will walk around the house just talking away. Also, he has not realized yet that the person on the other line can not see him or his things. He will say, "look at mt new baseball," and hold it up to the phone or "watch how high I can jump."

The conversation on this particular day was quite funny. Crystal told Owen she had left him a donught before she went back home. He said with sheer excitement, "Oh a chocolate one?" She told him it was a pumpkin donught and he replied in a stunned voice, "That's CRAZY."

And he meant it. If it is not chocolate it is not worth it.

School Days.

Ashton has been a first grader for a couple months now. Here he is leaving on his first day of school. He was excited the first day or two then he got super nervous and did NOT want to go to school anymore. I must say it is very hard sending your child somewhere that they are scared to go. He would cry a bit in the car on the way but as soon as he got out of the car he would stop because he did not want people to see him cry. It broke my heart. Luckily, after a few weeks he got used to going and now my brave son is in the school routine. Thank goodness.

Just Goofy.

Ashton has the great idea of sticking a cheerio to his chin and Owen and Carly loved it. They laughed so hard. Owen, of course, wanted to stick one on his face too and Ashton helped Carly join the fun.

Kids in a box.

Here are the kids in the box they played in for roughly an hour. We had our groceries in it the night before from when we went to Costco. It always makes me laugh that they choose to play with random things like a box or a paper towel cardboard tube or say a pen cap. It is like they know they will be gone and they have to get there use out of them, or they know it is something they are not allowed to have. Me? I am just glad to have them entertaining themselves! And...watching them use their imagination is always fun.

Can you hula?

Surprisingly hula-hooping is quite difficult. These were the best videos out of many we took of eachother. As for Ashton he walked over picked up the hoop for the first time ever and was amazing.

And the winner is....

He He, Ha Ha.

We went for a visit at Aunt Crystal house in Columbus and Ashton(well all of us) were laughing so very hard. Crystal has a camera on her Mac and it can take pictures and make you look all distorted . It is quite funny. See for your yourself...

He calls himself Handsome!

Whenever Owen puts on a collared shirts he says, "Why am I looking handsome today?"

So just for kicks we gelled his hair and did a mini photo shoot too.