Video of swinging

Enjoy the videos!

Summer nights

The weather here has been WONDERFUL lately.  The hot streak that is hitting the south is also hitting us here too but with temps getting into the mid-upper 80s!!  People around here don't like it at all.  We go to the playground and no one is there most times!!  It is craziness.  We have turned on the AC because I get too hot at night these days not too (don't want a cranky pregnant lady!).  We still eat lunch and diner outside and it is great.  I know I complained about the cold yucky weather so I had to say something about how wonderful it has been lately.  Last summer it got this warm maybe 2 separate weeks the whole summer!!

We have been taking full advantage of the warmer weather and playing outside lots.  Last week after dinner one night the kids wanted Justin to push them on the swing.  

Caroline learned to jump out of a swing and of course Will wants to keep up with his big sister so he was trying to jump out of his swing too. 

 He figured it out after a couple of mis-tries and loved the feeling!  He said he was flying.  He is also convinced he CAN really fly!!  

Perfect landing!!

I have some great video of the learning process and the many successes that I am going to figure out how to get posted soon!

Love the long summer nights.

Baby #3 is a.......

Just a quick picture and  a promise of more to come.  We had an ultrasound Monday morning and found out the the new baby is healthy and is a BOY!  Will was quick to say, "It's a blue one!"  If you look above the picture of our family you can see the counter and how far along I am.  Almost half way there!!  Here is a belly shot I took today.

And just by chance Justin came across a random picture of me pregnant with Caroline a month ahead of what I am now.

And at the same point I am now but with Will.

Quite a difference between the 3 pictures!

Our weekend camping trip

Last Friday the kids helped me pack for a camping trip.

This is just some of the stuff we took for a 2 night camping trip!  I had the car packed and ready to go when Justin got home from work.  

We drove south into Ohio to catch a ferry in Marblehead for a short 20 minute ferry ride over to Kelley's Island, OH.  This was the first ferry ride for the kids and even though we were on the 830p ferry it wasn't close to dark yet so we were able to see lots of things.  Caroline looked up at the clouds and proclaimed that a group of thin wispy clouds looked like "short range missiles." Really?!?! I had know idea she knew that term but wow is she a military brat!  After we got off the ferry we had a short drive to the Kelley's Island state park and our campsite.  Our friends, the Brickers, were already there and waiting for us.  We were able to quickly set up camp since right around the bikes I had packed all the bedding and tent stuff.  We went to bed late that night and were up early the next morning.  We had a great day of playing at the water and having a picnic lunch.

Miles, Justin, and Bailey were dog tired after playing in the water.  Sunday after breakfast and packing up our family stayed and went fishing.

The kids love fishing, even holding the worms.  Justin is in charge of the worms and removing any caught fish.  Notice in the picture above how big Will's bobber is!  A guy at church gave him that big bobber and he just had to use it!

They each caught a fish and Caroline likes to kiss hers! The badge on her shirt is a Junior Ohio state parks police badge, she wore it all weekend!

So happy to be fishing.

We headed into the small town for lunch and then headed home.  After unpacking the van and eating a quick dinner we headed back out for ice cream and to see Toy Story 3. What a great way to end a fantastic weekend.

By the way, I am still recovering from being halfway through my pregnancy and sleeping on a therma rest for 2 nights!!  Caroline's comment Monday morning was her bed felt like she had slept in a hotel! 

Riding bikes

Biking riding is something we do (or the kids) almost everyday.  Even in the winter I would bundle the kids up and we would go out as long as there wasn't too much snow on the sidewalks.  The kids know to stop and wait for me before crossing any roads and at least once every ride Will flips his bike.  Still baffles me how he does this with training wheels!  Most of the time we ride around the neighborhood or go to the local elementary school (half mile away) to play on the play ground.  Today we went to the park where Caroline played soccer this spring.  I needed to pick up her soccer picture and it was an absolutely gorgeous day so I decided we would walk/ride the .8 mile.  Justin met us there and the kids enjoyed playing on the playground too.  The kids were thrilled to see that Justin had ridden his bike and Will just wanted to be as close to dad as possible, even while riding.  If you know Justin's history on a bike you also know this probably wasn't the smartest thing Will could have done!  After our outing we came home and ate dinner on the back porch and then it was off to bed for the kids.

Lining up to go just like dad.

Off they go!

We had such a great afternoon being outside together.  Miles could hardly stand himself not being able to run after the 3 of them up ahead of us!  But the other day he did try and walk himself!

Last day of school

Caroline is now a rising first grader!!  I can't believe it!  She has done so well in Kindergarten this year.  Her teachers are always full of praise for her and are so glad she will be with them again next year.  At her school they keep the kids together for several years.  She was in a K-2 classroom this year and it worked really well for her.  Next year she will have the same 2 teachers and it will be a 1-3 grade classroom.  I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer almost every week for a few hours and work with mostly the older kids.  I am hoping to continue to volunteer next year at least until the new baby comes.  It was really great to learn the names of the kids in her classroom and learn how and what the older kids were doing.  I got to learn how the Montessori materials are used for different math work and reading skills.  It helps to know what the activities are so I can ask Caroline questions about what she did in school that day.  Otherwise she won't tell me I have to hear it from Justin (she tells him!).

The last week of school they didn't have to wear uniforms ( it was spirit week).  Here are some pictures of Caroline's outfits from this week.

Crazy hair day, 5 pigtails and bows.

Mismatch day.  Her favorite!  Flower shirt, striped skirt, dot/swirl leggins and a crazy bow. 

Field day was wear your favorite athletic team.  She wore her tie-dyed ASU shirt.  Will and I volunteered that day and were outside from 1030-3.  It was a gorgeous day but I was whooped after that!  Her first experience with all day school was a great success and she is looking forward to being a first grader!

Great job Caroline!  Mom and dad are very proud of you!

Fun with our visitors

We have been pretty busy lately.  I have been really tired at night so I haven't posted then and I could post during Will's nap/quiet time but I have been napping then too! Sunday ended 2 weeks of visitors.  first we had Justin's parents for a week and the day they left Mom and Pete came for 5 days.  Then I had one day inbetween them leaving and our friends from Myrtle Beach coming for the weekend.  We went and did lots of things, I have lots of great pictures, and we stayed up late at night talking and playing games.  The kids really enjoyed all the visitors and I enjoyed all the help with the dishes!  I didn't do the dishes for almost 2 weeks!  Caroline still had school and soccer while we had company and both kids had gymnastics.  It was fun for the grandparents to see the kids doing their stuff.

In other news, we are staying in Michigan for another year as Justin didn't get selected for the job in NC.  I am glad Caroline gets to continue at her school for another year.  It also helps with planning our summer knowing we aren't moving.

Caroline is super excited to have a loose tooth!  Actually 2 of them!  These are her first ones and she has been wanting to have loose teeth for months now.  They have been wiggly for about 2 weeks now so anytime I expect the tooth fairy to show up for the first time at our house!  Caroline also had a ceremony with her Daisy scouts and officially became a Girl Scout.  She was very pleased and excited.  She is loving daisies so far.

And in other Caroline news she climbed a 25 foot rope (at gymnastics) all by herself for the first time on Monday!  She loves to climb and has only gotten about half-way up the rope in all her previous attempts.  The thing about this rope that makes her accomplishment ever more impressive is that it has no knots in it!

Will is adjusting to not having all the attention from our visitors and is really looking forward to having his sister home for the summer.  I can't wait either!  They play so well together that is is easier for me to have her home.  I haven't heard other parents say they are glad to have their school-age kids home, but I am looking forward to it!

Here are some pictures of some of the things we did over the past 2 weeks.

Justin and his dad rented a chater boat at lake Erie and went Walleye fishing.

Waiting for the train at the Henry Ford.

Will at gymnastics.

Caroline after gymnastics class practicing in the back yard.

Fun at the driving range with Nana and Papa.

Making apple pie with Nana.

At the zoo.  We got the hear the lion roar!

Backyard fun with the Schroeders!

I plan on getting all of our recent pictures on my website so I will let you know when that happens so you can see all of the fun things we did with our visitors.