Our Michigan Beach Vacation

Just before school started, our family headed out for a quick getaway to South Haven, Michigan.

We had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect...sand and sun for me, but not too hot for Aaron. I'm afraid after this trip, I might never get to go to Florida ever again.

The kids had a great time playing in the sand.  It was Haydens' first trip to the beach.  At first, she wasn't sure about the sand between her toes, but she adjusted quickly.  She had fun picking up fistfuls of sand and dropping it on her head! She ate her share of sand too!

Harrison loved the water and being buried in the sand.   It was a little frustrating for him when Hayden would mess up his sand creations, but he managed.

We had lots of fun in the evenings. There were quaint shops that I enjoyed and of course Aaron and Harrison were bored to death with those! So many quaint beach cottages and a few large beautiful homes on the streets surrounding the shoreline.

I could live there...

It was beautiful!

We made great family memories and I have a feeling the Michigan coast will be a yearly getaway.

Snippets of our Life!

I find it so hard to sit down and actually update my own blog. I follow lots of different blogs, checking some of them everyday, but yet not finding the time to write on my own. Hmmm???

It could have something to do with my Etsy addiction. Speaking of my addiction to this site, which is similar to ebay, but more like multiple stores full of neat and interesting handmade products...well, just wait til' you see some pictures of my most recent purchases. But, you'll have to wait for those until after Haydens' birthday!

I can't believe this cutie patootie will be ONE soon!

If you were a part of our family, you'd be worn out too!

Harrison with his medal for basketball

Hayden making her Daddy proud (blowing a duck call)

We've been counting down the days til' Hayden turns ONE! I about fell off my chair at work today when it read "Hayden is 11 months and 3 weeks old today!". It can't be real! I've been busy preparing for her birthday bash! I have a bit of an obsession with things being "just right", but I'm trying to let that go, but not with much luck. Just a warning for those of you close to me :)

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We took off on Monday back to Cincinnatti to the Sheraton CocoKey Water Resort. It's the same one we visited on Fall Break. We had a nice time, despite the fact that the indoor pool was closed...yes, there was the water park, which we enjoyed immensely, but with a little one, a warm pool would've been quite nice. Normally, I wouldn't complain (I know you might find that hard to believe...but I'm usually all bark, no bite!)...ok, so anyway, I normally wouldn't complain, but this time I couldn't help myself. I won't go into the details, but I remained kind as I walked away with 4 free day passes back to the water park at another date, "for my inconvenience". It really was an inconvenience because we weren't even informed when we checked in...and it was broken then! The biggest inconvenience being Monday night when the kids and I got dressed to go swim, make the trip down to the pool (not super close), and only to find it closed. It really wouldn't have been as big a deal, but the water park was not exactly warm and cozy. Anyways....

The kids weren't terribly bothered by the cool water. Hayden went under the "waterfalls" and didn't mind it a bit. We raise "fish" in our family- they love water!

Tuesday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was lots of fun. I did nearly faint when it cost $6.50 to park, but what the hey...it's spring break! The kids and I rode the carousel, which Hayden wasn't too thrilled with! We rode the train, which she liked. It was a really nice zoo with a large assortment of animals. I bonded with one animal in particular....the Mama gorilla. It appeared as though she spent her days holding her baby with "the goods" just there for the baby anytime she wanted....yes, that seems to sound familiar to me. I'm pretty sure I didn't just relate myself to a Mama gorilla on my blog for all the world to see....But, on a serious note, I did get a little teary-eyed thinking about it. It was very sweet to see, and from one mama to another....you go mama gorilla! (See how sweet..the baby is on Mama's lap)

You should've seen Aaron getting up on this Rhinocerous...and NO! I didn't even attempt it!We took "Stellan" to Bass Pro Shops and plan to add our picture to his "name gallery" (that boy gets around)

Wednesday morning Hayden delighted us all when she said "Bub-ba" when trying to get her brothers attention!

Yesterday, we left Cincy, and stopped at the Air Force museum at Dayton. It was HUGE! The planes were HUGE! Harrison enjoyed seeing all the planes. It was a lot of walking, and Hayden, well, she was less than interested. We spent time on a bench, her snacking on ground chicken sticks, while I marveled at the planes above and in front of me. I was a bit nervous that I would get sent to Guantanamo for allowing her to eat in an area designated "no food or drink", but no one said anything. They probably didn't want to listen to my screaming daughter so they let me off the hook!

Harrison has his first baseball practice tomorrow night. He's got his new fancy schmancy sports glasses, and new batting gloves. I personally am totally excited that baseball is just around the corner...it perhaps is my favorite! He looks so cute in those baseball pants! Hopefully he's not lost any speed from last year and he keeps up his good hitting!

Hayden is not walking yet, thank goodness. She has found the stairs, and stands for a few seconds at a time, but I really feel like she is still a ways from walking. Seriously, I'm in NO hurry for her to take off because that is just one more reminder that she is growing up. She also is cutting her first molar!

Our little angel has begun to throw little fits when she gets put down and she's not ready. She lays herself on the floor and cries. It usually passes after a few seconds, but if not, I'm totally a pushover and I pick her up. I have a sneaking suspicion she may be a "fit-thrower", unlike her brother. Little Miss has her own addiction called breastfeeding! She still wakes up at night, usually around 2:00 a.m. and ends up in our bed. This is the same routine we ended up in with Harrison. Of course, we said we'd do it differently with our next child....yea right! Some mornings we wake up with Harrison at the foot of our bed and Hayden in the middle! It's a bit crowded!

Well, that's a glimpse into what's been happening around here lately! This weekend and next week will be busy getting ready to PARTY!!!

And be sure to come back and see the pictures....featuring my ETSY purchases on the Birthday Girl!!!

Just a few Pictures for your Viewing Pleasure!!!

Here are a few pictures - really, just a few :) - The first are of our trip to Cincinnati over Fall Break. They had halloween festivities Saturday night including

a costume contest and trick-or-treating.Hayden LOVED the water. She liked going down the small slides with

her big brother holding on tightly!

Can you guess who the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Butterfly are???

Hayden just looked too cute in this picture! Notice how well she is sitting up these days!

I sure do LOVE these two! "Me want more babies!!!"
Hayden just loved helping out with the pumpkin carving. We decided the pumpkin insides would make a nice headdress...so she tried it out and wasn't too thrilled.


Once again, we had to videotape Haydens first pumpkin carving- can't let her down.
The finished pumpkin product....You can't see it in the picture but our pumpkin is probably the only one around that has a fork sticking out the side...don't ask- just one word- Harrison.

I was glad Halloween fell on a Friday this year.

It wasn't so rushed and we were able to take it slow.

This is Miss Hayden after our very first stop...

it's gonna be a long night for her. Sleepy Little Butterfly.

Since 6 month olds can't have candy, Hayden was given a doll baby from Papaw and Nana Kemp that used to be mine. She seemed to like it. I can't wait to watch her "mother".

Papaw and Nana Kemp with the kids. This was our last stop of the night. We stayed and played Wii Fit and had dessert. Lots of fun.

These next 3 are my attempt at Haydens 6 month pictures- I am going to attempt to do some editing (specifically the spit-up on her sleeve) and see how they turn out. I love her bibs soooooo much. The day I took these pictures, she and I had been to Holiday Mart in Indy- everyone, and I mean everyone commented about how cute she was and how stylin her little bibs were. I'm glad, because I spent lots of time obsessing about them :)

I love her profile.

I know I'm prejudice, but isn't she the cutest little doll baby!

So- now I believe I am up to date on my photos. Just in time to take MORE!!!