Texas Visitors

My dear friend, Audrey, who also happens to be Lee's cousin, made a special stop with her family on their way back to Texas from a trip to Michigan (to see some of Lee's other family). They went out of their way to visit us for two days and we LOVED every minute of it. Isabel was about to climb in their van and head back to Texas with them, she did not want to see her cousins go at the end of their stay...which she told us many times, "I want to go to Texas with them, by myself (emphasis on by myself)."

Anyway, here are a few highlights of their stay with us.

Playing dress-up, The princess, the bride, and Diego:)

A warm (ok hot) night out for ice cream. Side note: When we pulled up to the ice cream place, which is next to a gas station, the gas station had an ad for a Candy Bar Combo, which included a Candy Bar and Pop for like $1.99. We were cracking up when we saw this.

Bedtime stories with Uncle Ale

Sweet baby cousins...not babies much longer...sniff...sniff

Nordine Splash Park fun. Even Lee got in on the slip n slide, which he regreted the next day. I reminded him that he is 30:)

What a wild idea. Put the slide on the slip n slide:)

I LOVE MY COUSINS! Don't leave me!

So Proud!!!

We've had Isabel and Ana in swim lessons this week. Isabel LOVES to swim and has LOVED every minute of it, but I think tonight she especially loved it! See Video Below!



Lee and I were kind of shocked when all these other parents started clapping for her after she jumped! She was so proud and searching for us in the crowd to share her excitement! We were so proud too! This was actually her second jump so that's why she had seen us and was waving to us before she jumped. You can hear Lee saying in the video, "Hey, you watch what you are doing.":) You gotta love it!

Ana's ONE!

Our Ana girl is the big ONE today! What a joy she has been to our family this last year, even her sister would say so...I think:) We had a fun day. She woke up in the best mood, not that she ever wakes up cranky, just seemed more happy for some reason. She was jabbering about this and that and went to get breakfast birthday donuts with daddy. We had a small party with some friends and enjoyed all the company. She was hilarious with her cake...let's just say it was EVERYWHERE (see pictures below).:)

Let's see, here are a few "facts" about our Ana girl and her life now as a 1-year-old:

• She loves life. There really aren't many days that she is not happy and smiling
  
• She's more cautious of things than her sister, but still likes a bit of adventure
• She LOVES to eat! Anything and lots of it! She is in no way shape or form picky (yet)!:)
• Even with her love of food she is still petite.
  
• She's not walking and doesn't really have any desire to try yet, but she still gets around fast on all fours, and will stand and cruise around furniture when needed.
• She says LOTS of words. I feel like she says a new one everyday. Taking after her sister I presume. Some of her favorite: Doggie, Ball, Baby, Duck, Bath, Rice, Daddy, Mommy, More, Tucker, Juice, antidisestablishmentarianism (haha, j/k...Joshua, that's for you):)
  
• Loves Balls and can spot them anywhere (gum ball machines, watermelon piles, hiding under a shelf on a display. So you bend down and yes there is a ball there.
• She gets into EVERYTHING.
• She likes to cuddle.
• She loves her blankie and her paci
• She loves when her sister plays with her...nicely:)
  

Here are a few pictures from her B-day:

We had a puppy dog themed party since Ana loves puppies. Here is the cake we made.

Sweet B-day Girl

What is this thing?

What would happen if I rub cake all in my hair?

Oh...THIS!Look, daddy and I have matching hairWe interrupt this party to bathe the birthday girlCHEESEReally, it's going to be fun Ana! She wasn't so sure.

Summer things

I love summer. I love all the things that it brings. Warm weather, grilling, swimming, playing outside. We've been trying to soak up everything it has to offer and enjoy it.

Camel ride and ice cream at the Creation Museum

Fun times with cousin Joshua. We miss him.Swimming with friendsP-A-T-H-E-T-I-C but too cute to resist picking up
Even rainy days have been ok with a special morning, including popcorn and movie

4th of July Celebration

We celebrated the 4th of July this year with our dear friends the Pie's in my hometown of Ludington, MI. It's a quaint little tourist town on the WEST side (yes, MUCH different than the Detroit side) of Michigan. It's right on Lake Michigan. It has beautiful beaches, a carferry, lighthouses, sand dunes, etc. And with free housing (my parents house) it was a perfect place for long weekend getaway. We were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather which helped make for a great weekend. Here are a few highlights.

First day at the Ludington State Park on Hamlin Lake. The daddy's helped build a sweet sandcastle.

Lake Michigan. It was SO windy. Perfect kite flying weather (which we did). The waves were big and fun.

Trying to stay warm after getting out of the brisk waterPlayground on the Marina.4th of July Parade! Small town parades are so much fun!4th of July picnic/bonfireBeach couch for watching the fireworks, plus "blowsticks" (as Isabel calls them).One of the most fun things we did...sand dune jumping!A Nordine tradition, go-kart racing! Isabel's smile says it all:)

28 isn't so bad

Yesterday I celebrated my 28th birthday. The best birthday present was having my hubby home! He did wake up not feeling well though, so I spent the morning kind of bummed just hanging out with the girls. Some friends from work always celebrate each others birthdays together with some type of lunch. So we had a lunch together. As we were eating they were like, "well, you need to eat fast cause you need to leave in 15 min. for appointment to get a pedicure." What??? I was so surprised. They sent me off, kid free, and I got to enjoy a pedicure. When I came out of the spa I went to my car, only to find a B-day card from my hubby on the dash. I called him cause I knew he must be close and we found each other and he handed me a Strawberries & Creme from Starbucks. It was another nice surprise.

Then last night we went out with friends to Olive Garden. It was yummy too. We came back to our house and got to enjoy a delicious blueberry pie, my friend Cydney, made for my birthday. I got to hear the most pathetic version of Happy Birthday ever (even they will tell you that), but it was funny.

A special day all around...I guess 28 isn't so bad.

My surprise pedicure. Patriotic Red

My "28" birthday pie

Birthday hug from Isabel

Seeing how I had just gotten my toes painted, of course Isabel wanted hers...so we did them red, white, and blue.