I Heart Summer!!!

So, I wanted to take a second and kind of do a photo recap of summer so far. Keep in mind, it's only June, so there will be more to come! 

Let's start with Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start of summer here in Michigan:

My mom, the boys and I took a trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee!

This is how I know where to turn when we go see my sister and her family - yes, they live about halfway up Lookout Mountain. The first time I drove there, it was kind of freaky. This time, it was no big deal:

We went for the weekend t0 see Anna:

 And Solomon:

 And of course their parents  :) My sister showed my mom how happy she was that we were there!!

The boy cousins had a ridiculous amount of fun! 

Josh was loving on Anna the whole time (that boy LOVES babies!!) and Logan and Solomon were like two peas in a pod. They were even good sports for taking pictures before we had to go back to Michigan.

My mom finally got a photo of all her grandkids together at once - that was the whole reason she came with us I think, since I totally dropped the ball last time I was down there and didn't get the coveted photo! Ok, so maybe she wanted to see my sister, too, but I think it was mostly so she could get this:

And ESPECIALLY this:

 The drive home on Memorial Day was long, but the scenery was nice!

Most of the rest of summer so far has been devoted to soccer - the sport of choice for my boys. Joshua had an amazing coaching staff and improved his game by leaps and bounds. Logan was just in love with soccer in general and gave 150% each and every game - well, except the last game when he wasn't feeling well. He must have been super sensitive that day because he heard me on the sidelines and started crying. Yeah, I was "that mom" - the one who makes her kid cry by trying to help. I promise it wasn't on purpose, though! He just gets like that sometimes. I promised him I wouldn't talk ANYMORE (lol) and he went back out there and scored a goal. So, it could have been worse! 


Here are some of my FAVORITE soccer shots for your viewing pleasure:

Last, but certainly not least - since summer is still just beginning - we spent a Saturday in Pentwater. It just so happened to be the same Saturday as the annual "Start of Summer Party"!! Rick and the boys helped set the tents and tables up and then we enjoyed some super yummy picnic food!

Logan looks so angelic at the State Park!

Had to make a stop at Cosmic Candy!

 Taking a break after setting up for the "SOS Party":

And finally, Josh the photographer took a REALLY nice picture of Rick and me. We don't have a lot of those, since I'm usually behind the lens, so that was a bonus!

Tonight, the boys and went to the beach after I got home from work. I love that I live close enough to Lake Michigan that I can do stuff like that! I'm really excited that summer is still young... we have a lot of fun plans, which means a lot more pictures to come of our summer adventures  :)

Haha! Twice in one day!

How do you like the new blog look? I was bored with the old one and decided to change it up. This is just a basic template (thank you, Blogger!), but I didn't want to have to mess with it much, so I'm ok with it. 

I'm a fan - what do you think?

Look mom! It's only been a week since the last post!

Aren't you excited... only a week between posts this time around!! I know, your life is not complete without a blog post from me, so I'm happy to indulge. I saw on mlive that Blandford Nature Center in GR is rehabbing a Barn Owl! Joshua is OBSESSED with Barn Owls, so I think a trip out there this weekend might be in order! Barn Owls have been thought to be extinct in the state of Michigan, but this one happened to have been found on the floor of a barn in my hometown (and where we lived before we moved up here), so it feels a little serendipitous. The nature center has an animal rehab blog and I signed Josh up to get updates - he's on cloud nine! There's also a Raptor Rescue not too far from our house, I think, and I've been thinking about taking Josh there too. He is absolutely smitten with birds! He thinks he's getting a canary for his birthday, but I think Rick and I are going to surprise him with it early - like in the next month early!! He's had a rough couple of months but he's been amazing and we think he deserves it! If we make it to the Barn Owl, I'll make sure to post some pictures :)