Sand Central Station

I {heart} Lake Michigan.
We try to go as often as possible.
In going, however, I have started to notice things about my children. Quirky things. Ryen is always headed for Egypt at lightning speeds, in pursuit of a butterfly or seagull. Ally rolls around in the sand while pretending to fill buckets with it...but not actually moving any sand. The only time she moves the sand is when she eats it. Mmmm. And then there's Madelyn. She prefers to enjoy the beach-going expernience by dumping huge bucketfuls of water over her head over and over and over. Are my kids weird?


Actually, nevermind.
I don't want to know.

"A day that ends with sand in your bed is a day well spent."
-Me

Blessed.

Ally Takes The Cake

I had to post these photos of Ally with her chocolate birthday cake. Really, what else is very fun about a birthday for a one-year-old?

Pocket Locks

Here's a conversation I had with Ryen about 10 minutes ago...

Me: Ryen, please keep this tissue in your pocket so you can use it the next time you need it.
Ryen: I don't need it.
Me: I know you don't need it now, but you will need it later. Just put it in your pocket please.
Ry walks away and comes back frustrated
Ryen: Mom, I can't do it! My pocket is locked. You gotta unlock my pocket!

Gotta hate those pocket locks. AKA buttons!

My baby is ONE!

It seems impossible. The older I get, the faster the years fly by- and the faster my children's years seem to fly by as well. Ally turned 1 yesterday. I can't quite seem to wrap my mind around that. It's hard to let her grow up, but it's not like I really have a choice. :) Since she has to grow up, I can console myself by the fact that she is growing into a spectacular person. She is funny and easy-going and patient and loving. She is my little buddy. Allyson brings more joy into my life than I can even describe. I cherish every moment with her. Happy birthday, darling girl! You will always be my baby.

Princess Madelyn's Birthday Party

Maddie had SO much fun celebrating her birthday! I'm really glad we waited for her cousins to come. I made arrangements for all of the girls to go to a local children's salon that has a "party room" and all sorts of fun princess activities. The girls had their hair styled, got their nails painted, got to wear sparkle make-up, and made their own lotion potions. The grand finale was a princess fashion show. It was seriously Madelyn Heaven. She was so happy. It was really neat to watch. After the salon, we came back to the house for cupcakes and games with the "princes." We missed everyone who wasn't here, but feel so blessed to be living where we can celebrate these special milestones with some of our family.

Maddie's Princess Party

*Things have been soooo busy lately, so I'm afraid I haven't had the time to edit these photos at all. You can click on the image above to see some pictures of Madelyn's party though.

If you want to sell your house...

Just let us take a look at it! The second we like it, it will sell to someone else. This is the 3rd house that we loved and that sold right before we could do anything about it. It's a gift. :)

Hay there!

On our way up to my mom's, we had to stop for an emergency bathroom break. What a lovely twist of fate! The land and the kids looked so beautiful in the sun's last rays. I love Michigan.

My Sweet Madelyn...

Happy birthday, darling girl. Nobody makes me laugh like you do. You are my little buddy. My actress. My princess. Here are some things about you that I don't ever want to forget:

Your favorite color is pink pink pink
Your favorite movie is Strawberry Shortcake...the Cinderella one
You are a master at crossing your eyes
You hate going to bed
Your favorite outfits are dresses and skirts
You always pretend to be princess Aurora
You love playing dress-up and acting out fairy tales
You are happy playing with other kids or doing your own thing
You love babies
You have the most adorable run I have ever seen
You love make-up and getting your nails done
You want to be a princess when you grow up
You are a loyal sister and friend
You understand your feelings and the feelings of others
You have a kind and loving heart
You are a drama queen
You would do just about anything for a piece of cheese
You stand up for yourself
You don't always love being the middle child
You have an incredible sense of humor
You are graceful
You always sing in the bathroom
You could play games on my pink laptop forever
Your best friend is your sister Ryen
You are not a thrill-seeker
You love "The Wizard of Oz" and being "Dorfy"
You throw a mean tea party
You always bring me flowers
You still like to hold my hand

I am so blessed to be your mother, Madelyn Soleil. (And I can't wait for your party!)

4th of July Festivities

Want to know how we spent our 4th of July? Here you go...

Fun...if nothing else.

Sonny and I have been driving all over Michigan, trying to decide where we want to live. One of our excursions led us to this house...which is really crazy...but we kind of love it. It is on 10 acres in the country with a really great school district. This victorian beauty needs a lot of TLC, but it's pretty dang cool, huh? Tempting.

Army of Angels

We are officially moved. We arrived in Michigan yesterday, unloaded the trucks today, and are looking at houses tomorrow. Sonny and I have been totally and utterly overwhelmed by the love and service given to us by the members of our Rocky Mount ward. We worked so hard to pack, but just couldn't get everything done on our own. There was so much to be done! Like angels sent from God himself, members of our church babysat our girls, brought us meals, loaded the trucks, cleaned our home from top to bottom, helped with all of the repairs we needed done to sell our house, and even drove one of the trucks to Michigan for us. Not only did they step in and do for us what we could not for ourselves, but they did it happily and with so much love. Words cannot even express the love we have felt through the service of these incredible people. This has been an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

My mom is so dang awesome.

Once again, my mom has flown in to save the day. She has been a packing machine! She cooks, she cleans, she carries, she does it all. How did I ever get so lucky? Not only is she so amazingly good to us, but she is also good lookin'. Have you seen her lately? Everyone at Ryen's school thought she was 40 and refused to believe she was my mom. She gets checked out everywhere we go- and it's not her groceries that are getting scanned. ;) She has lost so much weight and is so gorgeous it is just rediculous! (What other woman in her 50's do you know that runs 4 miles every day???) I'm not sure how I feel about having a "hottie" for a mom. And she is dating! Dating! I am so excited for her. She deserves all of the good things coming her way more than anyone in the world. Thanks for all you do and all you are, Mom! We love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know. You are AWESOME!!!

"My Daddy is the prettiest!"

While taking a break from packing, Sonny enjoyed a little Wii. Ryen enjoyed a little hairstyling. :) My hubby is such a good man. (I rescued him before the nail polish came out!)

Guess what I hate?

It starts with a "P" and ends with an "acking."

Moving On Up

The rumors are true. We're moving to Michigan. Ahhhh. It feels good to finally be able to announce that. When Sonny and I moved to North Carolina, we had a five year plan. Our five years are up and we feel like it is time to move on to the next phase of our lives. We've been considering jobs in Michigan for the last couple of years. It's funny how God paves the way for you when the time is right. We have so many mixed feelings about leaving this place. It is the only home our children have ever known. All around me I see the ghosts of our family's past. It's hard to leave them behind. It's hard to leave the people here who have been family to us in the absense of our own. Still, we know that it is time and we are truly excited to see what lies ahead for our little family of five.

Little Laugher

Is there anything in this world better than a laughing baby? Then again, if you could have seen my chubby self jumping up and down, you would have probably had the same reaction.

Madelyn's Program

Madelyn was so cute at her end of the year program. Her preschool does such a good job with that. We are so proud of our Maddie Moo!

It's all fun and games...

Our driveway is really steep and Ry loooves taking advantage of that. She has since she was little. No blood yet, but it's only a matter of time. What a thrill-seeking little daredevil! Sheesh!

What Ryen Knows

We went to church while we were on vacation in May and Ryen shared her testimony for the first time. It was so special. It's neat to see her develop beliefs of her own. It was cool that it just so happened to be her birthday that day as well. We filmed her right after church and asked her to just say what she said before, but she couldn't remember. This is pretty close though. :)