Sparks-a-rama!

This post is a little late, but I wanted to share anyhow!

At the end of March, Emma was invited to the AWANA Sparks-a-rama. There were churches from all over southern Michigan competing. Although there are a lot of things that can't get me out of the house at seven thirty in the morning on a Saturday, this one sure can!

I was so proud of Emma and the Cascades team. They worked really well together, and they came in first place!

You can tell she is really concentrating. :)

This one is blurry, but she grabbed the orange pin! Way to go, Em!

Here is Emma in the midst of her group holding the award!

A Blogging Break and a Pee Wee Hike

I know it has been a while since I wrote about our spring break. Truth is, I had surgery last week. I am still on the mend, and my mind is starting to clear from the Vicodin fog it has been in for a little over a week, so I find myself able to put a clear thought together again. :)

Our time in North Carolina could not be topped, but as all good trips, had to come to an end. We came dangerously close to overstaying our welcome, and we had to head north to attend a much anticipated wedding in the family.

We were so blessed to have so much family up for the wedding. Such a fun time of reconnecting after a long winter.

The day of the wedding we had a little time to kill so we took the munchkins on a "hike". They had a great time, and so did we!

Josh braving the trail as our guide.

Steve and Sarah made sure the smallest ones didn't get too far behind.

These cousins are forming quite a bond. Even though Sophie is closer in age with Josie, she can relate to the "baby sister" role with Addie. :) It's either that, or they are trying to stay warm! It was 29 degrees that morning. Quite a difference from out time in North Carolina!

Just a little bit of beautiful Mio.

Visiting the Farm

After a good nap, we all went to a friend of the family's farm. The owner had just had a baby, and wasn't able to ride her horses. She asked if we could come out and give them some exercise. :)

When we got there, they were just feeding the chickens. The neighbors ducks come over during the chicken's feeding time, so we got to feed the ducks.

Emma and Josie spend a lot of time playing on the tire swing in the barn, and up in the loft with the owner's son. Once Addie saw the horses, she couldn't take her eyes off them!

We all had fun feeding the animals, and riding the horses. Even I got on one. I haven't really been on a horse in I think six years, so it was a little weird, but a lot of fun.

Addie and Emma feeding the ducks.

Addie watching Daddy ride a horse.

David's Dad (also David) helping Addie find a horse.

The handsome cowboy I found down there. :)

All three girls riding.

I just thought this was a cool picture of Josie riding Peanut.

Addie was in love with Peggy.

Egg Hunt

After an amazing Sunday dinner including something called Mississippi potatoes that I'm going to have to get the recipe for, the girls went on an egg hunt! Well, it wasn't just the girls. David and Kristi and all the college age relatives and friends went on it too. :) I don't know who had more fun! After the hunt they played "egg toss". Thankfully the little girls used hard boiled eggs. Especially since they only made it one or two steps.

All that good food and fun in the sun made us sleepy, so we took a nice two hour nap! Tomorrow I will tell you about what we did after our nap, which was declared one of the best things we did on vacation by Addie.

Emma had a game plan. An egg hunt is no funny business to a seven year old!

Josh helped Addie find some eggs. She just wanted to eat them right then.

Josie showing me all the eggs she found!

Oops! They forgot one!

Easter Sunday

After a day at the beach, we all drove to David's parents house to stay for the holiday. What an amazing family he has! We felt as if we were just another part of the family. They are so gracious and hospitable. Seeing David interact with his siblings made us miss ours so much!

They have such a beautiful home, full of love and life. They also have some pretty cute pets!

We went to a church David used to attend when he lived in this area. It was so nice to be worshiping with fellow believers (even if we didn't know any of them!). We really enjoyed the service.

The girls all spiffed up. Perhaps I should have taken pictures before the two hour church service in 90+ degree heat. They might not have looked so wilted.

This cat is 18 years old. I liked him.

Addie did too. :)

This is their beast of a dog the size of a bear. I think that was even his name. HUGE!

First Trip to the Ocean!

We made it to North Carolina to visit our dear friends David and Kristi! It was REALLY great seeing them again. There is just something to be said about old friends where you can pick up where you left off, not just reminisce of days gone by. The Mizes are those kinds of friends, and we had such a fun time.

After dinner and a good night sleep, we took off for the beach. This was the girls first time ever to the ocean! They had a great time. Honestly, there wasn't much difference than Lake Michigan, because the water was still really cold this time of year, and the waves were very small that day. I don't think they even noticed that it was salt water because it was so cold!

Kristi and I riding in the back with the girls. :)

Addie giving David a big hug after our long ride.

I just had to get a picture of Josh carrying the Hello Kitty bag. he he

Emma the brave! She was the first to run to the water.

Addie did NOT like the ocean. After getting in for a second, this is the closest she would get.

Josie, on the other hand, LOVED it!

Emma spent the majority of her day collecting shells. She was a little sad at the end of the day when Daddy said she could only take as many as she could carry in one hand. She picked some nice ones though. :)

Spring Break Road Trip!

Last week was Spring break for Emma's school, and also New Tribes Bible Institute. What better time to take off for a road trip?

We had a wonderful week, full of adventure. I have decided to take all week to post about our time. I did this for three reasons:

1. I have too many pictures to share in just one post.

2. I haven't had much to post about lately so this is fodder for my blog. he he

3. Everybody loves a good "to be continued" don't they? :)

To start our trip we did the unthinkable. We pulled Emma out of school a day early. I know, I know, we are one of those parents. When I realized that our whole carpool was not going to go, and heard Emma mention something about a "movie day", I decided I would rather her waste her hours of non-learning in a van with her family, not in a classroom watching a movie. That is a whole other topic of discussion for another time. Movies at school? Really? Okay, really. We will discuss at another time.

So, you may be thinking that because we had pulled Emma out a day early, we got an early jump on our trip. Sadly, this was not the case. We left after she would have already been out. That happens a lot in our family when planning big trips. Noon becomes two, then three...

After a good ride at night, and a not so nice stop at a hotel, we were on the road again!(sung in your best Willie Nelson voice).

I was really actually surprised at how quick our trip went. We made it to North Carolina in record time! Well, record time with three little girls in a van. :)

I'll post more tomorrow. Here are some pictures on the road...

Not too packed. It was a comfortable ride.

The handsome driver I hired. Pretty cute, right?

There is something very un-nerving about driving into a mountain.

I wish I could remember where this was. I thought it was beautiful.

Our destination!