Tonight...

...I had s'mores on the deck with my favorite little boy!

Just one more thing I love about summer!

This is the life

Today we ventured out to a great little beach about thirty minutes from our house. It's wonderful because it's nice and small, hardly ever busy, and best of all -- it's free! This is especially nice because we can only spend a few hours at the beach at a time with two little ones!

We are loving doing things this summer that just would have been too much work to do last year when Rowan was so small. She and Trey both LOVED the sand and water at the beach today, and of course we all came home completely sand-covered from head to toe!

It was quite cloudy when we got there, and we thought that our day might be a flop, but the sun came out after a few minutes and we enjoyed some wonderful sunshine for the rest of our time there. It was so much fun!

It didn't take long for Rowan to discover just how much she loved the sand!

This beach has some great little inlets of water that were a bit warmer than the lake, and safer for the kids too. Trey had fun collecting stones and seashells, and kicking sand, of course. :)

Trey and John played some "velcro catch" on the beach!

The kids played pretty well together, but we do have to invest in another shovel before our next trip! :)

Can't wait until our next beach day!

Perfect pool day

Today was glorious.

Absolutely perfect.

It was cool enough this morning to have the windows open for a few hours, and this afternoon warmed up to be fabulous for being outdoors. We filled up the little pool this morning and headed out after lunch to play in it!

It was Rowan's first time in the pool this year and she wasn't so sure about it! She actually preferred just playing in the backyard while Trey splashed away, running and jumping into the pool over and over again.

Rowan took her time just checking everything out.

I couldn't resist a photo from the back - those ruffles on her bottom are just too cute!

Trey was LOVING the water!

"Trey! Stop splashing me!!" :)

John bought Trey this water gun a few days ago. We've already gotten our money's worth out of it.

Such a fun day! Could we please have weather like this every day??? :)

Lovely little faces

I love this calm, content, look-what-a-big-girl-I-am face.

I love this precious, always-gives-me-a-reason-to-smile face.
I love this bedhead, blueberry wafflle-covered face.I love this I-can-brush-my-teeth-all-by-myself face.
I even love this so sad, please-come-rescue-me face.

And I'm loving my summer at home with my kiddos.

School's out for summer!

Today was the last day of school for me. John has been done since last Friday and has enjoyed some good "daddy time" with the kids this week.

I was in the mood to CELEBRATE, so we...

...ate popsicles, played on the swingset,

went for a walk in the wagon,

and chased this ball down the driveway over and over again. Trey showed me how daddy taught him to ride his bike down to the end of the cul-de-sac and back safely all by himself! He made sure to show me how he looks both ways before he crosses! We LOVE having this cul-de-sac for him to ride on!
Rowan climbed in and out of the wagon about 100 times,

Trey and daddy mowed the lawn,

and we read books before getting ready for bed.

Oh, and I did the happy dance once or twice! :)

These are the things that summer is made of, and I can't wait to enjoy every minute of it!!!

Happy summer break!

Team Matt

Tonight was a great night for a run!

It seemed a little iffy at first, but the thunder and lightening subsided just in time for us to run the Rural Rush 5K in Overisel. It was crazy to see SO MANY people running on and lining the street that I grew up on! I'm pretty sure that this was the biggest crowd that's EVER gathered in this tiny town at one time!

This year was the 10th anniversary of the race, which raises money for the American Cancer Society, and a team was put together to run (or cheer!) in memory of Matt. Our shirts were green and white (of course....Matt was a huge Michigan State fan) and had his name and football number on the back. It was an honor to run in memory of him tonight. And to see all the #14 shirts out there was amazing. His story has touched more lives than I think we'll ever know! I am humbled to get to be a part of passing the story on!

I hadn't run a 5K since high school, but two of my dear friends from work offered to run with me. Jodi and Brooke -- thank you! Truly, it meant the world to me that you would wear the "Team Matt" shirts with me and run by my side! This may be the start of a fun tradition!!!

Here we are after the race!!!

Just a portion of "Team Matt" -- so cool.

The fam, all dressed in green!

My sisters and I. Lynnae and I ran this year, and Val can join us next year...maybe pushing baby girl in a jogging stroller! :)

It's always a treat to be able to remember Matt.

It was a great night, and a great run to support a great cause. So fun to be a part of it!

Settling in

We are working on getting settled into our new home, but it seems like every time we turn a corner or open a door there is another set of boxes or a mess of things that haven't found a place yet.

See?

The office. Trey's bedroom. (He does have a bed that is actually usable in there too!)
Downstairs play room.

Rowan's room.

Storage room.

Mud room/bathroom.

The garage is a success story thanks to John putting in hours of work here on Memorial Day.

Before.......and after. So much safer for playing outside!

Okay, I'm off to tackle the basement!