Camping

For the second, and last, time this year we packed up the camper and headed to VanBuren State Park for a weekend of camping with family. We were joined by my parents, Kyle & Corey, and Yvonne. It was very hot and there was not much we could do to get away from it. Lake Michigan was the perfect temperature and a great relief, especially for me. The girls enjoyed the beach, the water was a different story. Lily surprised us all and was terrified of the water. We had to be out pretty deep because there are rocks from the shore to the buoys, beyond that is the sand bar, so it was too deep for Lily to stand and she was afraid of going under the water. Sadie LOVED the water. She was splashing and laughing and stayed in until her lips were turning purple. She also surprised us and wanted to go under water. It was great to spend time together but we all missed Kurt & Laura, who are in Hati, and Mary, who was working at a camp in Minnesota.

Our home for the weekend
We set up the back of the van as a playroom for Lily while Sadie took
a nap. It was a good way for Lily to get some quiet time and stay out of the sun.

Ready to go to the beach

(I didn't get many beach pictures because I was in the water most of the time)

Trying to catch the sunset

goofing around

The sunset

Playdates

We have been busy these past couple weeks getting in a lot of playdates before the summer is over. We went to the Little's one morning and Owen and Kennedy were great hosts. Lily and Sadie loved playing with other kids and other toys and I was able to spend some time catching up with Heather. The next day we met the Kidds at Lamar Park in Wyoming. If you haven't been, you should. There is a pretty cool splash pad and it is free. Lily and Brady loved the water and were running all over. Sadie and Jackson were a little more cautious but still had a great time. This week we had the Littles and the Kidds over for a little while to play. It has been so cool to see how well all the kids get along. Here are some pictures from a couple of the playdates.

all 6 kids enjoying lunch
Splash pad at Lamar park

Jenn and Jackson

Sadie running away from the water :)

Brady running through the rings

Lily running through the fountain

Beautiful Bathroom

Many of you may not be aware but Matt and I have been slowly remodeling our main bathroom since we moved in. I don't have a before picture so you are just going to have to imagine it, if you didn't already see it. First we changed the paint color from tan to a light green, then last fall we finally tore out the carpet (it was ugly and who wants carpet in their bathroom?), and replaced that with vinyl flooring. The sinks and faucets worked but were outdated, as was the countertop so that was next on the list. The white textured formica countertop was torn out along with the old sinks and we replaced that with marble (that we have had for about 6 months) and new faucets (that we just found last month). My brother, Kyle, was here on Saturday to help with the installation, thanks Kyle! So, afer 2 years, here is the finished product, until I find something else to change :)

Lily and Sadie liked watching the process and decided to use leftover PVC pipe to "fix" the sink in their kitchen.

attaching the faucet to the pipe

putting the pipe and faucet combo on the sink

trying to attach it under the sink

the assistant