The Lake

The kids and I arrived in Michigan for our annual trip over the Fourth of July. Derek could not get away from work for the whole time, so he will be joining us on Monday. The kids did not waste anytime getting into the lake yesterday afternoon when we got here.
Aunt Pam brought out a big bag of Lego's that Ethan has really enjoyed. When he was talking to Derek on the phone he said, "There are a ton of Legos, like 459." We laughed at the strange number he gave. I have been tempted to count them, but probably will not do it.

Aubrey and Great Grandma playing with Barbies. Some of the clothes are vintage and fun to play with. We have decided however, that Barbie clothes could be a little easier to put on.

Grandpa took the kids out on the jet ski.

They did not waste any time getting the favored white board out to play on.

Grandpa took Aubrey out in the little boat while Ethan and I were kayaking.

This was Ethan's first time doing the kayak. He did a great job! The water was so smooth and there were not many boats out since it is a weekday, so it was a great time to try it out.

Aubrey really wanted to jump off the boat, so when they got closer to shore she got to do her jump.

They did not waste any time jumping off the dock. Ethan doing a nice backwards jump.

We are here until next Thursday, so there will be many more pictures to come.

Trip to Nana and Papa's

We rented a car for our trip up to see Nana and Papa and the trunk was huge. The kids had fun climbing inside of it.

Giving Derek his Father's Day present before he went to church. He is a wonderful father and we are very blessed to have him in our lives.

We saw this at a friend's house and the kids wanted to get him one for his office. It swings and makes patterns in the sand.

We took a cake with us to NC.

Playing Connect Four, Ethan's new favorite game.

Derek and Ethan on the roof cutting down limbs for Papa.

I was sad this was dark, but it is still a cute picture. They worked so hard cutting down all the limbs and dragging them to the curb. They ran to door to see the guys picking them up.

First day of princess camp- Sleeping Beauty Day

First day of Robot camp for Ethan. I did not torture him and take his picture each day!

Day Two- Snow White

Day Three- Ariel This is her swimming pose.

Ethan showing us one of the things he made at camp. It is a little bug that lights up.

Day Four- Pocahontas
Now, she is not a very popular princess because even the Disney store in the mall did not have anything except a pair of long sleeve pajamas with her on it. I thought it would be okay for Aubrey to just wear a princess tshirt on this day. Uh, no...she really wanted to look more like Pocahontas. So, we created this outfit for her. Thanks to the Target for shirt and the dollar store after a few hours and much creativity from all involved, she had a costume. Of course this was her favorite one. She woke up so excited saying "Pocahontas Day" to everyone.

Ethan made a game where you have to try to get little thing through the wire without touching it or the light will go off. It was very cool.

She made this headband and got paint all over her arm. She would also not stop making and Indian sound when she came home.

Day Five- Cinderella

We were invited to attend a little ceremony at the close of camp. She had a crown waiting for me to wear.

She was one excited little girl!

Performing her dance.

Papa and Nana watching her dance

This is where they announced her name and she walked down waving. Not one bit shy!

She got to choose someone to dance with and Papa was the lucky one!

Daddy takes a turn with the crown.

Enjoying a cupcake

Aunt Joy took the day off and came too.

Aubrey and one of her teachers from camp.

Papa and Ethan trying to get his robot to work. He was not finished with it when we picked him up and his teachers told them it was really easy to finish. Well, not so much. We decided we better go back over and get the teacher to help while she was still there. She was able to get it to work, but it took her a little while too. Glad we went back.

Ethan with his working robot.

The Kangaroo gas stations have a promotion for the summer with a refillable cup for both icees and soda. We did not pick the cups up right away and a week later, they were all gone. We kept checking all of the stations to see if they had any cups. Our friend Marie came to the rescue and secured two cups for us while we were in NC. The kids were beyond thrilled and we have filled them up each day!

The kids and I are heading to MI on Wednesday and Derek will not be joining us until Monday, so I thought I would be a nice wife and leave some meals for him to eat while we are away.
Baked Ziti, Chicken pot pie and Meatloaf.

They put the harnesses on the guinea pigs and were taking them for a little walk in the bathroom.

Is this not the perfect summer cupcake? Derek had seen it in a magazine and asked me to make them sometime.