Gulf Shores, Alabama

We took a vacation to Gulf Shores last week.  We decided to drive the (supposedly) 14 hours and thankfully we split it into 2 days because it took closer to 18 with all the traffic!  The kids did great in the car.  At 5, they are old enough to entertain themselves with toys, coloring, I Spy, DVDs, and our newly purchased Nexus 7 tablet.  Mom and Dad rented a beach house and we spent a lot of time at the beach and pool.  We also got to go dolphin watching, ride go karts, shop at the outlets, and see some gators!  Kristina was gracious enough to take our family pictures on the beach at sunset this year, but I want to do some editing so those will come in a later post.  I love how they turned out!  We even got some smiles out of Landon! ;)  Overall we had a great time and didn't even get too sunburned.  Here are some pictures from our trip.

Day 1: Beach

Landon racing the waves.

Matt enjoyed surf fishing.  He caught several fish for dinner one night!

What a little diva :)

 Day 2: Dolphin Watching on a "Glass Bottom Boat"

The pirate ship floating next to our dolphin boat

We saw two different pods of dolphins but it was really hard to get a good picture.  They are fast!

Both kids enjoyed the ride and seeing the dolphins but were ready to be done by the end! ;)

Day 3: Outlet Shopping and Alligator Farm

Emerson, of course, wanted to hold all the creatures.

Surprisingly, Landon was excited to hold a snake!

Day 4: Back to the beach and family photos

We all enjoyed our seafood meal at King Neptunes

Drink on the beach at sunset!  AHHH!

 Day 5: Lambert's Cafe and The Track

 Lambert's was quite a experience.  We'd tried to go earlier in the week, but there was a 2 hour wait!  So we decided to get there at 10 am, right when they opened, for lunch!  They serve more food than you could ever eat with free "pass arounds" and literally throw hot rolls to you.
Then we went to The Track and played mini golf, drove go karts and bumper boats.

Landon's first ever hole in one!

 

Emerson was so serious driving her car.

Landon was trying to race past everyone to get first place.

On our way back home, we stopped to see Nate for the weekend.  We drove 10 1/2 hours from the bottom of Alabama to the bottom of Indiana.  We had a nice time visiting and hanging out.  I wasn't feeling the greatest, so I didn't get any pictures, but we always have a nice time!  The kids loved swimming and playing on the playground.  Matt and Nate got to play some disc golf too.

We had a great time on our 10 day trip, but I think everyone was glad to be home.

Swimming and Fourth of July

This last week, we were without electricity for 2 1/2 days.  A storm blew through (with some tornadoes touching down!) and knocked a tree down which fell on our power lines and brought them down to the ground.  After camping for the weekend, we were looking forward to coming home to use our own toilets and watch tv, but that didn't happen until Thursday night!
We took advantage of our neighbors pool, which the kids loved!  They are getting more brave each time they are in the water and can't wait until their swimming lessons at the end of July!

 We always love our 4th celebration at the Frye's!  We had ribs, shrimp, and lots of yummy side dishes!  Jared, Jenn, and Gabriel surprised Jess and came up for the celebration as well.  We had to leave before the fireworks were over because Steven, Kristina, Matt and I went to Lake Huron National Forest to hike/backpack/camp and we left at 5 am.

The babies playing in the shade.

 And I had to throw in the last picture just because these kids crack me up.  They were a cowgirl and sheriff hunting down the bad guys one day.  I LOVE being home with them and seeing their imaginations at work!

Camping at Chain O'Lakes

We had a great weekend camping at Chain O' Lakes the last weekend in June.  The Davis' and Frye's camped in campers and we used our tent.  I enjoy camping, but I'm kinda over the whole tent thing.  I'm not a great sleeper to begin with, but when you add the birds chirping and the hard ground, it makes it pretty tough.  Other than the sleeping conditions, it was a great time!

All the kids did great!  If Emerson wasn't riding bikes or playing with the kids, she wanted to hold a baby.  Kenna had a new interest in her brothers too! :)

Smore's Time

 

Look how cute these boys are!!

Unfortunately, the afternoon we decided to swim, a storm blew through and the kids only got to swim for a few minutes.  The kiddos didn't seem to mind though!  Steven and Kristina brought Bo to hang out on Saturday, but their visit was cut short with the rain.

Summer Fun: Boundary Waters, Bible School, Father's Day

While Matt was in Boundary Waters this summer, we went to Bloomington with Kristina and the kiddos practiced taking pictures. :)

Had a fun day at the park too!

We also had a great time at Bible School while Matt was gone.  This year, the theme was SonTreasure Island and the kids learned the greatest treasure of all is God's Love.  Every year they ask why Bible School can't be two weeks instead of one! :)

Daddy came home from his week long trip!!

Emerson is as girly as it comes, but she also loves her critters!

 Since Matt left for Boundary Waters on Father's Day, we had to celebrate a week late.  We went to Papa Vino's for supper and shopping in Mishawaka.  Everyone was SO glad to have him back.

The End of Preschool

Both kids have had such a wonderful experience at Union Center Preschool this year.  They have both grown, matured, and learned so much.
Emerson has blossomed into a little girl who gives her teachers hugs and tells them about her weekends and things she likes.  She has learned letter and counting skills that will help her greatly in Kindergarten.

Landon has made great strides in making friends with others and playing together.  His daily job was always to find a friend to play with and then tell me about it when I picked him up.  He continually amazes me with his gift for numbers and is reading on his own now.

 On Sunday, June 1st, Landon and Emerson graduated preschool.  They learned songs, got to tell about what they wanted to be when they grew up (Landon-teacher helper, Emerson-princess dress designer), and received a diploma and devotional book.

Emerson and her BFF Tessa.  They played together every day.

We are so proud of our graduates!

Miss Sam is so loved by these two.
She has the patience of a saint and always had great insight into our children.
We will all miss her!

Today, June 6th, was the last day for them to attend preschool.  I got a little teary eyed on my way to pick them up, but I am so excited for our summer together!  Here are some pictures from their last day.

Em wanted to dress like a cowgirl on her last day.  She wore a cowgirl hat, boots, and her Bible School shirt from last summer! ;)

 Here's a side by side first day and last day.  I don't notice the day by day changes, but boy, they sure look more grown up!

And I just couldn't resist this picture again from their first day.  I love that they are holding hands and look SO excited!

Summer Fun, Here We Come!!

Sunburst- Run For God

Matt has been training the last several months to run the 5K at the Sunburst Race in South Bend on May 31st.  He did a really good job running several times a week.  We are so proud of him and his hard work!  He met with the church group (Run for God) at 5:30 in the morning to be at the race by 7:15.  Amos, Jess, Grace, and Tyler led runs and Bible studies Saturday mornings for the group to train.
The kids made signs to support Daddy and his running.  Landon made a running map and Emerson drew Daddy running faster than Peter Rabbit.  Way to go Matt and all the other runners!
Kristina trained and ran the marathon...which is totally crazy! :)  She ran for 5 hours!  Me??  Well, I fully support all runners, but I am not a runner! :)

Emerson's 5th birthday

Emerson Elizabeth turned 5 this year!  It's so hard to believe, yet so amazing to watch kids grow.  Emerson is such a sweetheart.  She is kind, caring, and thoughtful.  She's always been a good problem solver and loves to help out.  At the moment, she really loves princesses, Barbies, and My Little Ponies (sounds a lot like my childhood! :)).

Emerson had quite a birthday weekend.  Her birthday was on a Friday and then her party was on Saturday.  She chose to go to Steak and Shake for her birthday dinner.  She is totally enthralled with "Frozen", which was the new Disney movie that came out late last year.  So she wanted a "Frozen" party.  She was also super excited because she got to invite her own friends this year, Tessa and Avery from church.

She's been wearing her Elsa dress quite frequently!

Pretty excited about designing Barbie dresses.  She's said she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up.

By her birth tree...looking more like a senior in high school than a 5 year old!

She could hardly wait for her birthday party Saturday afternoon!  We had a great time decorating.  I was excited to use my snowflakes in May! :)  There were tons of ideas on the internet and Pinterest.

 Em and her friends disappeared upstairs and when they came down, they were all dressed as princesses.  The girls kept the dresses on through the party.

 After presents, the girls played outside on the playset.

 Then it was time for cake.  Do not let the cute Elsa on top fool you.  She took about 1 and 1/2 hours to assemble! :)  Matt decorated the rest of the cake with the snowmen, snow mountain, and frozen lake.

Happy Birthday, Emerson!  We are looking forward to see you grow and change in the coming year.