Hoffmaster State Park Fun

Yesterday we headed up to P.J. Hoffmaster State Park to visit Beth, Kim and their kids. We had such a great time!! We were supposed to go up in the morning, but the rain kept us away until after Grace's nap. The sun never fully came out, but it stopped raining so we were able to enjoy it. Abby was so excited to play with Levi again and Grace loves both Nyah and Elaina. There were several other adoptive families there too. It was fun to walk around and see other families just like ours.

I had packed Abby's bike so she spent most of her time riding with Levi. Grace just hung out with Nyah and Elaina.

We headed over to Kim's trailer (or should I say house on wheels!) for dinner. Here's Kim hooking up the grill. Yep, no campfire roasting here. Good job Kim!

After dinner we headed over to a playground the let the kids run out their energy. Abby loved hanging on the railing and swinging from side to side while Grace went up and down the slide over and over again.

After the playground we decided to venture out to the beach. Abby and Levi led the way. Abby was thrilled to run into one of her classmates from kindergarten. It was fun to watch her with her friends. She even walked and held hands with them.

We stopped on the way to the beach to have someone take our picture. I love this picture!

The great thing about Hoffmaster is the lake. There's a small creek that runs right next to Lake Michigan and it's awesome for the kids. I wish it was warmer for the kids so that they could have gone swimming, but that didn't stop Abby and Levi from rolling up their pants grabbing some long twigs and digging for nymphs, bugs or other long sticks. They loved it!

I'm not quite sure what happened in this picture. Don't you love her stance? She looks like an old man walking with a cane. Silly girl!

There was a big piece of driftwood so we decided to try and line up the kids for a picture. We try this every time we're together and every time it doesn't work. Someone is always crying. This time it was my Gracie. Let's just say that she was not thrilled with sitting and having her picture taken.

We did a little better with our family photo. Grace wasn't looking but it still turned out super cute!

Best buds. Abby and Levi.

Gotta Love those Sales!

Yep. We went garage sale shopping this morning. Yep We got a great deal! It's a radio/CD/MP3 player...for $5! Yep. $5. Ahhh...I love those sales.

A Note for her Sister

Playdates with Friends

We had a playdate today with all my co-workers from school. I have a great group of friends that I get the privilege to work with everyday at school. We decided to get all our kids together and have lunch. We were supposed to go to a park but it rained and rained and rained. It was a truly awful day. So we headed off to Dana's house and played inside. There were 10 adults and 10 kids. Super fun! Here's a picture of the chaos. There were kids everywhere and toys all around which also meant there were smiles the faces of everyone.

Abby, Marcy and Olivia couldn't wait to hold Aubry. She's only 2 months old and such a doll!

Grace and Marcy are two peas in a pod! These two make life more interesting and fun!

We decided to celebrate Misha's birthday while we were all together. She was surprised and happy. We love you Misha!

Marcy and Abby couldn't wait to eat the popcorn cupcakes. They were delicious!

Random Thoughts and Pictures

Today didn't start out great. I went to bed too late last night and the rain kept me awake past midnight. Then for some reason Grace decided to wake up twice during the night. I'm not quite sure where that came from, but she needed snuggle time. Then at 5:15 am she decided to be done sleeping. NOOO! I was still tired. Needless to say everyone in the family (especially me) was crabby today. Both girls were in bed at 6:45 pm and asleep within 5 minutes. I'm hopeful that we'll be in better moods tomorrow.
We were invited to go swimming with a friend this afternoon and boy was Abby excited. But the weather took a turn and it started pouring rain and got quite windy. So with some quick thinking we went with Plan B. Let's take the kids to McDonald's play place and grab some ice cream. While it's not nearly as exciting as swimming, it did create a few smiles. An M & M flurry will bring a smile to anyone face. Abby loved it.

Grace woke up from her afternoon nap in a much better mood. She was back to her giggly self. Seriously, this girl will giggle and laugh more than anyone I know. She's so fun to watch and half the time I find myself laughing right along with her and I often don't even know what she's laughing at. Too funny!

I have a friend's birthday coming up so I made some cupcakes. I had made these last year when I went to a cupcake decorating class and remembered them as being so cute that I thought I would try them again today. It really was quite easy to put together but man it does take a while to cut up all the marshmallows. My hands were tired when I was done, but they all turned out so cute!

I know this looks like a random picture but I wanted to share our new dining room rug. My sister had this extra rug so I brought it home and tried it under my dining room table. It looks so great! Not only does it protect the carpet under the table, but it helps to create a separate room and it looks great. A win-win situation. :)

Happy Father's Day

For loving Abby....
For loving Grace....
For loving me.

Thanks Dad.

Thanks for being a man after God's heart.

Thanks for raising me to know and love Jesus.

Thanks for loving my mom and taking time for the family.

Thanks for tickling us and laughing with us about elephants under our chairs.

Thanks for grilling delicious dinners and helping to clear the table.

Thanks for loving my girls and being a male role model for them.

Thanks Dad.

Thanks for being the best Dad in the world.

Thanks for being you.
I love you!

A Beautiful Night with Beautiful Friends!

Last night we had our monthly SCAM get together. This time Amy hosted us and it was a great night. The girls love getting together with their friends and I love talking with my friends. It was a beautiful night so we headed out to the pool. The girls both swam (in freezing cold water, but there was no way they were going to get out!) and the moms were able to sit and relax. I love these nights. Nights when I can lay the burden of being a single mom down and be understood by other single moms. Nights when my girls have giant smiles all night. Nights that I can have personal conversation while my girls are preoccupied with fun. Nights when we're with other families that are just like ours. Beautiful nights. Elaina, Grace and Elli giggling together while they wait patiently for permission to head outside to the pool. I love these girls!

Grace loved the pool! She giggled and splashed and drank lots of water. She was in that pool for almost 2 hours and didn't want to get out. Her teeth were chattering and her skin was blue she was so cold, but still she didn't want to get out. Pools are such fun!!

Abby loved the pool because she was tall enough to touch the bottom. I think she turns into a fish in the water. I'm excited to take her on vacation and get her to the lake. I'm sure we'll be down at the lake a lot!

Isn't this a great picture? Abby and Levi jumping in the water together. These two are best buds.

Here's our attempt to get a picture of all the kids. This just makes me laugh. Don't you love that Jocelyn is crying, Grace is trying to get away and Elli is poking at the button on the cushion? Yep, these are our kids and we love them all!