Celebrations and Camping

 Father's Day has come and gone, and our weekend was filled with family and celebration.  Last Saturday, Opa and Oma came to visit and have supper with us.  Alora and Opa sat at the kids table together, enjoying a good conversation and some fun :)

Sunday, after church and naps, we headed to Grandpa and Grandma's, where Kevin, Katie, Drew and Luke were staying during their time here in Michigan as they transitioned to a new base after their 3 year tour in Japan.  We also got to spend time with Mike, Kerri and Aubrey and Wesley.  Having everyone together was a lot of fun and chaos with 7 little kids 5 and under!

Our girls certainly enjoyed the extra friends to play with and 

We made an attempt at family pictures while we were all together...

 After such a busy weekend, our girls were tired.  Alora fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting into her bed, still reading her book... aww!

 Ezri, however, hung on a bit longer and found it amusing that she outlasted Alora for once :)

 On Wednesday afternoon, we headed back North to Pentwater for a long weekend of camping.  We helped out with our church youth camp, and when it got done Saturday morning, we stayed another night.  Ezri and Alora got to spend a lot of time with their friend Allie as well as Lexi, Bella and Jack and many of the other children from church that they enjoy being around.  We had a little rain, but for the most part stayed dry.  Avoiding the mosquitoes was a bit harder to do, and despite bug spray, protective clothing and even a bug net for Tierney, they all got a few bites :(

The campfires and S'Mores were a big hit for sure!

It was wonderful to get away for a while and be with many of our friends.  Tierney did great, as did Ezri and Alora, even with super late bedtimes and scheduled days with early mornings.  We are glad to be home again, though, to sleep in our own beds and get back to what is "normal" for us.

Living Outside

We've been practically living outside the past week with this beautiful summer weather.  It has been so wonderful to get the garden planted and mulched and to see the plants growing already.  We've eaten a couple of strawberries from our garden and truly enjoyed the sweetness of summer.  

Even reading and writing have been moved outside at the choice of the girls. One afternoon, I found Ezri in her play set practicing writing her letters :)

We've had a few days with friends to play with as well.  Last week we got to spend time with our friends Kelly, Ayla and Dresden, and had a picnic with them!

Last Friday, we went to the Critter Barn with our MOPS friends for the morning, followed by a picnic at a park.  While at the Critter Barn, the kids got to help feed a baby goat as well as pet cats, bunnies, ducks and baby chicks and see a whole bunch of farm animals.  Of course, my girls are pretty familiar with most farm animals, so many of them weren't incredibly exciting to them, but they still enjoyed themselves!

 Later last week we got to play with cousins Aubrey and Wesley and got in some time in the pool.

 We have plenty of reason to laugh and smile here, especially as our princesses discover new ways to get dirty and create chaos.  Most recently, we found the Corvette loaded up with all sorts of dirt and other collections from nature.  Perhaps a dump truck would have been a more appropriate vehicle....

Still, they find ways to squeeze in some girl activity amid the dirt.  All week, the baby strollers have been going in and out for play in the front yard.  So, for a little fun, we put Tierney in the doll stroller for a picture :)

The front yard is the place to be lately.  Between the swings, kicking balls, swimming and playing in the new sand we got for them to fill the bottom of the play set in place of the turtle, it's near impossible to keep them inside (or clean).  The tub often looks like it is a sandbox itself!

We've found some fun around town as well this past week.  We've spent considerable time visiting with our neighbors, walked to the library and found chickens hanging around the local store in town.  The owner was kind to give the girls bread to feed them and even brought me a chair to sit in while they tossed bread and watched.  There's something to  be said for small town life :)

Memorial Day

As usual, I'm running behind with posting again...

Much of this past week was spent catching up after a long weekend camping with friends in Pentwater for Memorial Day weekend.  It was one of the best we've had in quite some time- perfect weather, great friends, room to spread out and just an all around fun weekend for all of us.  Tierney's first camping trip in a tent - our first tent outing of the year.  She did great!  Slept as well as she does at home and had no issues with the event at all.

The kids had no shortage of fun and entertainment.  Saturday, the fun thing to do was play with their new buckets and shovels that Becci got for them - all with names and different colors so there was no need to fight :)  Soon, there were kids being buried in the sand...

 Tierney slept through much of the activity, snug and shaded under her little bug net.

 She had her fair share of outside time as well, however.  We had hardly any issue with bugs or mosquitoes until the end of our trip, so she was able to lay in her little portable bed and play outside a lot, which she really enjoyed.

 Daddy, Andy, Jay and Nick found plenty to do with camp work, but found plenty of time for fun as well!

 During nap times, when Lexi, Bella and Jack were in their house resting, the girls laid down for a while, but never really did sleep.  After some quiet time, I allowed them to play quietly until their friends joined us again. They did so well, and had such fun just digging in the dirt, playing in the leaves and getting dirty.

 The times together around the campfire were very enjoyable!

 Sunday evening we spent a little time checking out the beach and playing together...

 Daddy found some opportunity to get pictures of his girls together :)

 And there were plenty of opportunities to get pictures of our friends as well - made especially interesting by the surprise appearances in the photos :)

 Ezri and Alora truly had a blast playing in the sand.

 And before long, they were wading into the water and soaked to the knee in their jeans - oh well!  Even Tierney found occasion to smile and enjoy herself.

 Of course, there can't be camping and bonfires without S'mores...

 More play on Monday in the sand and wherever opportunity presented itself... we never had to find something for the kids to do - they took care of entertaining themselves and us the whole weekend!

 Back at home, we spent much of the week trying to put away the camping gear, do laundry, catch up on work and get back into working order.  We marked the passing of another month for Ezri, Alora and Tierney, who is now 2 months old today!

 We also put up the new swimming pool, and the girls have been living in their swim suits the past several days, splashing and playing for hours together.

It has been especially sweet this past week to have Ezri and Alora both asking to say the prayer at dinner and bedtimes.  Ezri is so proud and we are so thrilled to just listen to the sweet, innocent prayers she prays.  What a special time!