Summer: Elk Rapids/Petobego!

Love the sandy rippled bottom:




Austin having fun:

Cori, Austin, Brody & Jacob waiting for the pizza!





Playing School Bus:


Elk Rapids Sunset:



Best way to enjoy a hot day!



Austin discovered his perfect little seat to get close to the food! Makes mommy nervous though...

Summertime!!

I had the opportunity to have TWO girl's beach overnights this summer! Here is a pic from the most recent one. This is me with Sarah, Amy, Katy and Kerry. I met them all through a message board I joined 6 years ago. We've all been through a lot and have been so blessed to have been an amazing support group to each other during that time! We stayed at Katy's summer place on Silver Lake. It was my first time there and I LOVED it! This is the view from her cabin, the sand dunes are in the distance!

These pics are from Monday. It was a hot, beautiful day so after Aaron got out of work we took the fishing boat (sans fish gear) out on Crystal Lake. PURE MICHIGAN :)

Aaron and my water baby in Crystal Lake:

Austin in his boat:

Crystal Lake:

Elk Lake over 4th of July weekend:

Austin, ready to jump ship and join Daddy and Brody!

Austin loves playing at the playground!

Daddy and (two of) his boys:

This is how Brody sleeps after a busy summer day:

My first Girl's Beach Overnight was with my cousin Jeanine and her friend Kim. They had an amazing house on East Bay. So fun and beautiful!!

View from the deck of the house:

In addition to spending a ton of time with the girls and in the water, I've been putting a lot of time in with the preschool. I joined the school board and unfortunately our AMAZING teacher resigned at the end of May, which has meant a very extensive search for the next Legacy of our school! Good news is that I think we've found her!

Family Updates: Jacob

Last day of school with the Best.Teacher.Ever. Can you spot the twins? Check out the sibling love on the left ;)

Jacob is bottom right:

T-Ball!

Jacob is the little guy on the end of the bench, #15:

Jacob had a busy spring! He finished up preschool and enjoyed Tae Kwon Do with his cousin Noah and T-ball with some kids from his new elementary school!

At the end of the school year Jacob was super excited to start Kindergarten but as it gets closer he is getting a little more nervous. He is still our little gamer and loves playing wii, on the computer and with the ipod. He's terrified of thunderstorms now, but who can blame him when there are trees falling down all over the place?! Poor kid! He's a great big brother and really has a kind heart.

My concerns with Jacob are with questioning his Kindergarten readiness and wishing he would eat more. The local schools around here are all full day, every day kindergarten and I worry that it will just be too much. In addition, kindergarten is the new first grade and it frustrates me beyond belief that they expect children to learn and do things before they are really developmentally ready. But, we are going to take a chance and see how it goes.

Jacob celebrates his Birthday at school

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jacob's Birthday Party Pics!

I've been a bad blogger lately, but I'm trying to catch up! Here are pics from Jacob's 5th birthday party!

Here are the boys after the party watching a movie: (Jacob -5, Noah-4, Brogan-4, Brody-3, Mason-2.5):
A little rain didn't scare anyone away... it gave Brody a chance to play with his rain gear!

Sampling the cake while waiting for the candles!

Jacob and Brody!

Presents!

Brody and his goody bag:

Austin having fun:

Mommy and Jacob:

Austin's 18month well child visit

Austin turned 18 months old on June 30th! This has resulted in me rocking him for very extended periods before bed/nap time knowing that my baby is slipping away and a toddler will soon take over :( It is definitely bittersweet! He is becoming a fun little boy though and we love our little snuggler to pieces!

Likes:

To swim

Eating

Bringing me things (my phone is a particular favorite)

Lightning McQueen

Talking

Pretending to sneeze

Being outside

Going down slides (on his belly, feet first)

Climbing. Especially on top of the kitchen table and then dancing around very proud.

Snuggling

Books

Dislikes:

When his brothers take things away from him

When his parents won't let go of him in the water

Here are his stats:

Weight: 22lbs 9oz (10th %)

Height: 31 1/4" (25th %)

Head: 49 1/4cm (90th %)

Brody was:

Weight: 25th %

Height: 75th %

Head: 97th %

(I'll need to pull Jacob's from his baby book... doesn't look like I blogged about it.)

Jacob has his 5 year well child visit next week!