Happy Anniversary

8 years ago tonight Allen and I got hitched!!  It hasn't always been easy but i can honestly say it has been the best 8 years of my life.  

Michigan

Last weekend Noah and I flew to Michigan with my dad and Diane.  My 96 year old grandmother still lives in the town she was born in, and where my dad and his 2 brothers grew up.  In early April, my uncle Arlo lost his battle with cancer and this past weekend he was buried next to his dad.  Although the trip was for such a sad reason, it really was great to spend time with family.  It was the first time my grand mother had all but one of her grand children and ALL of her great grand children in the same place!   

Noah is such a great traveler..and it didn't hurt that we flew first class.  Since my dad just had hip surgery, he called to upgrade his ticket but since all our tickets were purchased together, all of them had to be upgraded!  There is something to be said about having a few glasses of FREE wine before you even leave the gate.  Okay...maybe not free since you pay for it in the upgrade but go with it...

 We got to Michigan a few hours after Uncle Bubba and Aimee got there from Florida and we met them and my cousin, Elliot at the Corner Bar for some hot dogs...

 Friday morning was the funeral service and it really was beautiful!  Arlo touched so many lives with his huge personality and it was nice to honor him is such a great way!  It was also really great that my Aunt Anne flew in from California!  Anne was married to my dad's oldest brother until he lost his battle with ALS a decade ago.

 While we were in Rockford, we walked around the town and enjoyed the awesome weather! We could not have asked for more perfect weather that weekend!!

 This picture of Asher cracks me up!  Asher is my cousin, Alyssa's, child and it looks like he is doing some amazing trick....

 Noah LOVED playing with his cousins....

 Over the weekend, Rockford held this HUGE Relay for Life event and we all got to go....

 on Saturday, we all decided to head to Lake Michigan to the kite festival...Alyssa, don't get mad when you read this but i have to laugh when i look through pictures of this day because Noah always asks me now, "Mom, was that the day we waited on Alyssa all day?"  haha, Yes, Noah!...this day has been renamed "The day we waited on Alyssa"...but we are glad she finally caught up with us!!!

 the family photo...minus Alyssa....we can just pretend Alyssa took the photo instead of some stranger who ended up sicking my camera down her shirt...don't ask!

 the kids having fun in the sand!

 Bubba and Aimee

 me and my "little" brother...

 my cousin Kelsey and her sweet family!

 love these boys...

 this little Sadie melts my heart, she is so stinkin cute...

 and this boy IS my heart!!!

 my grandmother with all of her great grand kids

 love this woman!

 the kids!

 and this picture will forever be my favorite...this could not capture these 2 any better....

 me with the super sweet Jayne Mac

 On our last day we had lunch right by the water..it was so pretty!!!

 my view...

 my other view.,...

 what a stud!!

 love these people...

 we said goodbye to Bubba and Aimee at the airport and headed back home....first class of course!!

another star in the making

the spring soccer season came to an end!  I am so proud of my soccer star!!!  I am already looking foward to the fall season!

my god daughter

My dear friends, Nick and Sunny, asked me to be the god mother to their 4th child (I know, i don't know what they were thinking either) but i was HONORED when Nick called and asked!!  They didn't know the sex of the baby before SHE entered the world, so it was a surprise when Catherine Marie entered on May 4th!  And as any god child of mine would have it, she came into this world on National Star Wars Day..hehe!!  I snuck over to the hospital to hold my sweet god daughter just hours after she was born!!  I fell in love instantly!!  I am so looking forward to her baptism this week! 

field day

 When i was growing up, field day was the BEST day of the school year!!!  It was filled with competition, fun, goofiness, and OUT OF UNIFORM!!!  Noah's school had field (half) day a few weeks ago and Allen and I helped out.  I helped with Noah's class, shuttling them from station to station and Allen helped at the parachute station.  Field day just isn't what it used to be!  First of all, it is only a half of a day.  They actually expect the students to sit still and learn the 2nd half..um, what???  Second of all, there is no longer any competition to anything anymore...um, what???  What is this nonsense of "everybody wins"? that is CRAP!!!  It is okay to have a winning and losing team!  I hardly doubt my team won every year and guess what...i don't have self confidence problems or feel worthless about myself.  Probably the opposite...I am competitive.. but a healthy amount!  And losing just makes me want to try harder!  the fact that no one was keeping score to each event didn't bother Noah...he still "raced" his opponent as if he were going to win an olympic gold medal.   

rock wall

we have been loving the rock wall at our gym!

love this dog!

I'm back

wow, has it really been that long since my last post??  i guess time really does fly when you are having fun!  Between the child and the dog, my days are filled and my nights are exhausted!  But there is lots to catch up on so stay tuned...i will give you the highlights....