First Time at the Fair

Last night Matt and I and the girls spent the evening at the Ottawa County Fair. This was the first time either of the girls had been to a fair. Both of them loved it. They mostly just rode in the stroller, wide eyed, taking it all in. Except when we were looking at the animals, Noelle was squealing and running through the barns with her cousins, who are spending lots of time there this week with their 4H animals. We also enjoyed some junk food and took Noelle on her first carnival ride. A fun time had by all!

These teeny tiny goats were just adorable!

Addison sharing an elephant ear with daddy and mommy, she couldn't get enough of it.

Most of the rides would have terrified her, so we chose some tame flying elephants that mommy was allowed to ride on too.

Cadillac Camping

Last week was our annual camping trip to Lake Mitchell State Park in Cadillac with Matt's parents, his brother Dave and his family, and lots of church friends. We spent our days sleeping in and staying up late, going for walks and bike rides, playing at the beach and the park, boating, fishing, reading, and sitting around the campfire. A great week as always!

The water was usually pretty cold, in my opinion, but the kids didn't seem to mind

This was Addison's first time at the beach, she loved sitting and splashing at the edge of the water

She also loves riding on Daddy's shoulders

There is a really fun park just a short bike ride from the campground

We had sunny afternoons most days so we could go to the beach between lunch and naptime

'Am I cute or what?'

Our group has a potluck supper every night, probably the best eating we do all year!

You would think after tasting the sand once, it would be the last time, but she just keeps going back for more!

Noelle loves her boat rides, especially when it includes a stop for ice cream!

This was Addison's first time on the boat, wasn't real thrilled about the life jacket though

Catching Up

We've been busy the past few weeks and I wanted to share with you all some of the fun things we've been up to.

Daddy & Grandpa planted a big garden in our backyard again this year. Noelle loves getting her feet in the dirt and 'helping'. It is so cute to watch her follow them around, pulling weeds (hopefully) and filling her bucket with strawberries.

The weather finally warmed up enough to get out the kiddie pool. Just another one of the fun activities that goes along with summer days.

We spent a weekend camping at TriPonds with Kristin & Dan and Kate & John. It was a rather spontaneous getaway, something we haven't all done together before, but we had a great time and hope to do it again next year. It was also our first time at this campground, and we were very pleased, they offer lots of fun activities for kids, I would highly recommend it.

This is how filthy Addison was after being there for about 2 hours. The joys of having a crawling camper.

She sat in her chair for a long time, impatiently waiting for her blueberry pancake.

Addison's first time in a 'big' pool

A camping trip usually involves a fishing trip too

We spent this past weekend hanging out with Matt's whole family as we traditionally do each Fourth of July. All of the kids have so much fun playing together and as adults we enjoy the relaxation, talks and laughs. We are so thankful for such a close family that looks forward to time spent together.

Here is Addison's latest trick, didn't realize she could do stairs until one day I was going to head down to check on the girls and she was almost to the top of the stairway! She will be 11 months old tomorrow, she is the sweetest, happiest little girl ... in some ways I just want her to stay my baby, yet it is so fun to watch her grow and learn new things too!