Christmas Time

Hailey and Drew had fun decorating a gingerbread house.



The preschool Christmas celebration at church. Hailey and Ellie were quite excited to be angels together.

Hailey and Drew swimming at an indoor pool after one of the extended family Christmas parties. An annual tradition.


I couldn't believe how fast Drew tore through his presents.

We had a lot of fun this Christmas season and are truly blessed.

Lenderinks Tree Farm

Our annual trip to Lenderinks Tree Farm to cut down our family Christmas tree. We started this tradition when we were first married and look forward to it every year. The kids love it. It's so fun to find our tree, cut it down, ride the tractor and of course drink hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.

Sitting by the fire after cutting down the tree.

Who needs hot chocolate? I'm quite happy with the marshmallows.

Santa Parade

This is our 2nd annual Santa Parade. This year was Drew's first year. We were much more prepared this year with blankets and bags for candy. Although it was much, much colder this year. We booked it out of there the second it was over.

Fall Preschool Activities

Hailey absolutely loves preschool and she has a fabulous teacher, Mrs. Decker. They do so many fun things. One thing I forgot to take a picture of is her Mayflower boat that she made. After making them, Mrs. Decker took the kids to the creek behind her house so they could float them in the water.

Picking apples at Klackle's Orchard in the Fall. They also enjoyed picking out pumpkins, the petting zoo, and of course cider and donuts!

Indian Day...obviously.

Pilgrim and Indian Day where they got to dress as either one. I was quite happy that I was able to piece together a cute outfit without purchasing or borrowing.


Silly Hat Day!

God's creatures.

Drew's 2nd birthday

Drew had a blast tearing into all his gifts this year. He enjoyed helping daddy put together his new workbench.


Enjoying his new water bottle...in a stylish way.

So excited about his Spiderman cake. He really loved picking it out all by himself at the store.

Halloween 2010

My cute little ladybug...

and construction worker!

Drew loved being like the big kids. He got a lot more candy than the other kids because after he would get a piece of candy, sometimes he would just stand there smiling. So many ladies gave him more because he was so cute! He started to just expect them to give him a second piece. Nice job buddy!

Hailey with cousin, Aislinn.

This is what happens when Drew lets Hailey play dress up with him. He wants to play everything Hailey does right now.

Silly Drew

Shortly after Dan's triathalon, Drew loved to wear his cap in the bathtub, along with his goggles.

And now I'll try on Hailey's goggles...

Drew pulled out his bin from under his bed, emptied the clothes, and found it hilarious to try and hide in it!

Where Have I Been?

Life has just been flying by and I haven't stopped to blog about it. We have thoroughly enjoyed our Fall so far. We are frequently outside playing and riding bikes with all of the neighbors...although that is dwindling quickly with it getting darker earlier and the kids needing to get to bed earlier.

Hailey is loving preschool...and Drew already talks about going to preschool and wants an orange backpack! So cute! He is communicating so well and is putting so many words together...he's such a chatterbox! He continues to be my little dare-devil. He loves riding scooters and rides down the driveway with one foot on the scooter and the other held in the air the whole way down. As if that wasn't enough, he then thought is was quite fun to balance on one foot and turn back and forth as he rode down the driveway...I'm a little nervous about what stunts he will try as he gets older, based on the things he is doing before age 2. He also loves doing puzzles and is the best snuggler! I don't want to forget about all these fun things that he is doing right now...so fun to blog about it!

As for me, I am thoroughly enjoying a Beth Moore study on Revelation. This is my 3rd study with Beth and I enjoy each one immensely. She is a gifted Bible teacher and allows God to use her to reach many women. I highly recommend her studies.

I think I have some pictures to post of some fun fall activities...but that will have to come later!

Reeds Lake Triathlon

Dan really enjoyed participating in the Reeds Lake Triathlon. It was his first triathlon and he did great! I am very proud of him.

Dan and Josh...not ready to take the shirts off yet for the swim. Nice and early and a little chilly out here.

Finishing the swim portion.

So glad the swim is over- brutal is a good word to describe it, according to Dan.

Transitioning to the bike.


Hailey and Drew anxiously awaiting daddy to cross the finish line!

Almost to the finish line!

Dan, with his cousin Marie, and brother-in-law, Josh. I truly enjoyed watching and cheering for them (and Sharon too, not in the pic) throughout the race. It was so much fun to watch them compete! Good job, guys!

First Day of School

Today was Hailey's first day of preschool. So exciting! She was so excited to go....and I was too! She jumped out of the car and headed in like she had done it all before...I was able to get a quick "Have fun Hailey" in. Drew was excited about driving Hailey to school, even though he didn't know exactly what was going on. They were both quite thrilled about seeing 3 deer pass right in front of us on the way to school. Drew now wants a backpack to be just like Hailey. Well, at least he got to have his picture in front of the armoire like Hailey.

Cold can't stop the fun

Although Labor Day at Higgins Lake was very chilly, the kids still had a great time! Instead of playing in the water, they enjoyed trips to the pole barn, jumping on the trampoline (as usual), boat rides, picking up acorns (somehow Hailey and Drew found this amusing for quite a long time), helping put everything away for the summer, and running around the house screaming...that was not my favorite part.

Michigan's Adventure

Dan and I took Hailey to Michigan's Adventure last week. It was nice to spend the day focusing just on her and all the fun things she wanted to do. She absolutely loved it. The majority of the time was spent in the amusement park, although she did enjoy a couple hours at the water park.





We were so excited when Hailey decided to try the go karts on her own. Once she figured out to keep the gas pedal pushed down, she was zipping around the track and it was so much fun to watch. We were cheering her on, along with another dad that was waiting to watch his kids next!