Our First Case..

...of the yucky pink eye.  I noticed, earlier in the day, that Adelyn had a big eye booger in her eye.  I thought nothing of it and picked it out.  I picked one out later in the afternoon and, also, thought nothing of it.  Then Eric told me he had done the same earlier.  Things started clicking into place and I looked for a red eye.  She still didn't have one but when I checked again in a couple hours it was definitely turning pink and the goop was starting to swim.  Pink eye.  Sweet.  I ended up taking her to the Urgent Care because it came on so suddenly and I wanted it under control.  While we were waiting Adelyn alternated between thinking it was hilarious and being horrified her "eye was green!"  I had just wiped her eye before the doctor came in and so he was initially thinking it wasn't that bad.  Even though I informed him I had just wiped it out..  Then he pulled her lid back and said "Oh.  I guess it is worse than I thought."  He did prescribe her some drops...that cost me 60 bucks.  Ugh.

Poor baby.  She healed quickly and there was no spreading of germs.  Hand wash, hand wash, hand wash!!!

Booberry Pickin’

I took the kids blueberry picking.  We.had.a.blast.  I went last Saturday, by myself, and everybody was so mad they didn't get to go.  So I decided to take them.  In true form, Brecken and Joelle spent more time eating than they did picking.  Adelyn is an excellent picker.  She has been such a big help.

Mr. B showing off his berries.

Adelyn has been super into crazy faces lately..

Ha!

And Joelle didn't want to look at me or smile for anything.  She actually picked quite a few berries...if I didn't mind picking out all the clumps of green berries she also picked;

This is all I got from her.

Adelyn and Brecken were "hiding."

I wanted to get a group picture.  But B wouldn't look for anything.  It's always gotta be someone..  The one on the right I said "Look at Daddy!"  Thinking they would look for him by me.  Nope.  B starts going the other way saying "Where's Daddy?  Where's Daddy?"  Oh well.  It's still cute.

 I'm surprised we got as many berries as we did!  But it's still never enough...when we have them, we fly through them.  Until next year.  YUM.

E’s 31st Birthday

I rolled out the big ones for Eric's 31st.  He has been commenting, for some time, that my monster cookies would make great ice cream sandwiches.  So, one afternoon close to his birthday, I busted out some cookies, stuffed them with ice cream and thought Adelyn would like to roll them in toppings.

The finished product.

VBS, at Calvary, is always the week of Eric's birthday.  He kinds gets the shaft.  I made it up to him this year.  His family had a family reunion this weekend and we had a cake that I never busted out at the reunion.  So we brought it home and the kids REALLY wanted to sing Happy Birthday to him.  So we obliged and he had to oblige by giving us some senior picture poses with his cake.

Daddy and his three babies.

Happy Birthday to the best daddy ever.

My Girl

Adelyn said to me "Let's take a picture!"  So I did.  And I love it.  And her.

Millennium Park

We headed to Millennium Park with some friends-we have never been!  I've always wanted to go but finally did this year.  (I didn't believe in water activities with the kids, last year).  It was SO nice.  The water was like bath water and the beach was awesome.  For whatever reason, there was nobody at the window so we didn't have to pay!  Double bonus.  I only had my cell phone so cell phone pictures it is.

Raking water.  That's how it's done.

Floating cuties.

Adelyn and Kaylee

Brecken and Joelle are far to brave with their floaties on.  They will venture anywhere.

We had a blast.  And had to promptly go out and buy ring floaties.  I never thought they would work for that age or that my kids would care, but they thought they were the coolest things ever.

Sleeping Beauty/Storm of the Summer

We headed out to bring my cousins our trailer this afternoon.  We are letting them borrow it for the week.  We got to Wabasis lake around 5 and started to set up shop.  It was probably one of THE hottest days of summer and to say I sweat my weight is a vast understatement.  Someone was watching the radar and a storm was coming.  A bad one.  We tried to get everything all set up before the storm hit.  We thought it would pass right over.  Nope.  So then began the run to the van so we could make it home.  I got all three kids buckled in the van and my stuff loaded up in the torrential downpour.  As I was buckling everyone and wiping them all off a HUGE flash of lightning and RESOUNDING thunder hit.  Seriously.  Right on top of us.  Turns out, not right on top of us but rather the trailer park.  We had just bought an extension cord for the trailer, which was getting soaked outside.  The power went off in the trailer and we were sure it was fried.  Since I couldn't do anything in the torrential downpour, my children were terrified in the van and Steve is quite the handy man I just decided to take off.  You don't NEED electricity while camping AND the AC still worked.

We got home around 10:30 and Eric thought I was off my rocker for wanting to give them a bath.  But they had just sweated like crazy, been soaked in a rain storm and splashed in the puddles.  They were taking a bath.

Adelyn found it optional.  She passed out on the bathroom floor.

Sweet sleeping girl.

We DID wake her for a bath.

Come to find out the trailer electricity wasn't fried.  The lightning had just hit something in the trailer park.

Lake Mitchell State Park

We headed to Lake Mitchell State Park in Cadillac on Thursday.  We got a later start than we intended due to getting back from Indianapolis at 2am and some morning craziness.  Nana and Auntie came with us.  We ended up meeting Auntie on the highway due to some crazy traffic that held us up in GR.  We arrived without incident and started setting up.  

Eric always holds this heavy thing of water and lets it drip slowly in.  I came up with a better idea, if I do say so myself.

Friday morning we headed across the street to do some swimming.  The lake was beautiful.  No waves, either.  Just the kind of water my babies love.  I brought the life jackets with because my dad and Eric were planning a day trip on Saturday, with the boat.  I didn't realize the red/black infant life jacket only went up to 30lbs.  Which B is exactly but I did head out to buy new ones for them.

Pretty girl on the beach

B and J eating trail mix.  He ate the chocolates, she ate the rest.  Works perfectly;)

Joelle wanted to be buried!

We went for a walk, that evening, on the docks and along the shore.  They had to wear their new life jackets.  Whatever.  I was sitting on this bench eagerly anticipating someone falling in.  It never happened.  Just so you know the water is ankle deep there.  They wouldn't have gotten hurt or drowned...just all wet.

The little man roasting his hobo pie.

Saturday morning I couldn't find Adelyn.  I peeked in on Joelle and there she was.  Sweet sisters:)

Papa came and took us boating for the day.  He brought the tube up and I sooooo wish I had thought to bring my zoom lens.  But, alas, I didn't and I didn't bring the camera on the boat either.  

Papa took the kids around the lake for a boat ride, first.  Mind you, B has been BEGGING to go on the boat allllllll summer.  He HATED it.  HATED.  We started going fast and he started balling.  So we went slow the whole way back.

Ironically, Joelle was the one we convinced to go tubing first.  I went with her.  She thought it was ok.  But started slipping beneath the cover of the tube and the tube (nowhere really to go, except stuck) but that feeling wasn't for her.  I lifted her back on the boat and my Dad took me for a wild ride.  I'm not as young as I used to be...  I fell off and Joelle started screaming like you wouldn't believe.  So I am loved..;)  We headed back.  

I convinced Brecken to go.  He didn't like that either.  I put him back on the boat, I climbed on and Auntie got off to go tubing.  She fell off.  B was all concerned but I was already prepped (given the prior experience) and just assured him her life jacket would hold her up.  We headed back.

Now to convince Adelyn.  Ha.Ha.Ha.

Eric went with her.  We were parked at the beach for 15 minutes trying to convince her.  She was cracking the people up that were floating by us.  She would say yes, then no, then yes, then not fast, then no.  I tried to convince her with candy.  No luck.  We told her B and J did it.  No luck.  Finally my mom whispered that she would take her to get candy by herself and she decided to go.  "But only for 4 minutes!" she yelled at my dad and I.  She was literally yelling that and waving her 4 fingers at us.  So we took her for a ride, slowly, around the lake.  Then her hat started blowing off and Eric had to hold onto it with his teeth.  The things we do.

We spent the whole morning and afternoon on the beach.  The girls wanted to go on a boat ride again.  B ABSOLUTELY did not want to go.  The second the boat started moving Joelle was OUT.

She loves her Mackinac Island hat.

J woke up and I got this cute shot of the two of them:)

Water fights when we got back!  The rule in our family is, if you splash someone, you get splashed back!!  Game on!

Two gaming up on one...story of our children's lives.

A view of Papa's boat

No one said Mommy couldn't play either..

This little one fell asleep on our way back..

I made hamburgers for supper over the fire.  I think I had 8 in my grill basket.  I flipped it, at one point, and 3 fell out.  I was ticked.  Eric was elated.  We had 7 people to feed.  Auntie had left for a reunion for her boyfriends family.  Eric got a hobo pie.  My mom had purchased some yummy slice mozzarella and Eric put a piece on his sandwich.  He bit into it and said "There doesn't  to be paper between those cheese slices, does there?  Ummm.  Yes.  Hahahahahaha.  Here's Eric holding up his paper with melted cheese slice.  Whoopsies.

We had so much fun with Nana and Auntie....and I'm SO disappointed I didn't get any good pictures with either of them!  Ugh.  I need to be more intentional with that..