a.k.a. the coolest place on earth! :)
Of course the trains were Luke's favorite part!
Rocking out with Aunt Emmy.
Going for a cruise with mommy.
Yes, we got a little carried away in the Barbie exhibit. I mean, who wouldn't??
Addie got to talk on the phone to Barbie!
My little race car driver!
It was a great day!!
I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who is also an amazing father. I love the way Jonathan is around our kids--they couldn't ask for a better daddy! We celebrated by taking him out for a huge yummy cheeseburger!!
Even though yesterday was the first official day of summer, we've been enjoying summer weather and activities for a while now. The kids love playing out back in the hammock and on the swing set!
And we've been doing lots of biking! I got a new bik e a couple months ago and it's amazing!! I'm already up to 25 miles+ after not doing anything last summer! Most recently we enjoyed a bike ride along the lakeshore over in Holland. This is why I love Michigan:
Luke, daddy, and grandpa climbed a sand dune!
What a little stinker face!
We stopped at a playground that Addie (sort of) enjoyed.
Luke got soooo dirty! But that's what being a little boy in summer is all about, isn't it?
We celebrated Peyton's 5th birthday! The kids absolutely love this dog!! And we think she's pretty special too! :)
A couple weeks ago we had our Athearn family campout at my in-laws'. The weather was a bit sketchy at first and we thought it might get rained out, but the sun came out at dinner and we had a great time! As you can see, we were the only ones brave enough to tent it! lol
Addison had a blast on her first camping excursion.
Luke was beyond excited to sleep in the tent!!
This little cutie is 10 months old!! She is into everything and moving everywhere. I still cannot get her to feed herself, though, and it's really frustrating. Any suggestions?? She sleeps and eats great and is a bit of a drama queen sometimes! ;) Her favorite word is still "dada" and when he walks into the room she just lights up--she is definitely daddy's little girl.
We spent Memorial weekend in Indiana with my family at Big Long Lake. We had gorgeous weather and enjoyed lots of swimming, boating, ladder ball, and food!! :)
Getting ready to head out for a paddle boat ride!
Our two crazy kids--don't you love the bed head??
Luke and Aunt Emmy.
We were able to take the kids to the kite festival in Grand Haven. It was a gorgeous day and we parked the car a few miles from the beach and rode our bikes in (which was a great idea--traffic was pure chaos!!). We had such a fun time together. :)
The water wasn't too bad! Usually it's freezing in May!!
We brought our own kite to fly. Luke loved helping daddy fly it!
This was also Addie's first time in sand. She wasn't too sure at first, but it didn't take long for her to dive right in (literally)...
She was covered in sand!! 
And this is just another gorgeous view I was blessed with one morning. God is so awesome!!
I mean, really, how blessed am I?? Luke and Addison are the sweetest kids and I am forever grateful that God chose me to be their mom.
I thought I'd better get these on here considering Addie turns 10 months in 3 days! She went for her check-up and weighed 16 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 27 1/2 inches long! May has been a very big month for her! She has learned to clap her hands, hold her own bottle/sippie, has her first tooth FINALLY emerging and is ON THE MOVE!!!! She is crawling everywhere and getting into everything!! :) No new words yet, just dada but I keep trying! I've started weaning her off me and she takes formula now once a day and I nurse her four times. I'm getting ready to switch one more nursing over to formula. She's losing interest and I'm getting tired of all the biting and scratching! She doesn't eat much baby food anymore, which is helping the budget a lot! She takes two good naps a day and sleeps from 8pm to 6 or 7am then goes back to sleep for another couple hours. She loves her big brother and is a complete joy to us!!
And as part of his birthday present, we decided to take a trip to Chicago. We haven't been back since we moved four years ago. While we were there, we saw our old place (anyone remember that tiny tiny thing??):
We got a great deal on a four and a half star hotel! (Thanks Priceline!!)
We spent a day downtown enjoying the Lincoln Park Zoo...
and the Museum of Science and Industry. Luke LOVED the model trains!!!!!
And best of all, we got to see great friends again that we have missed tremendously!!
Addison met a new friend there!
And Luke did some serious shopping!
and Memory!!
Addie didn't get to hunt for any eggs. This is what she thought of that:
It was a successful day!
And last but not least, we went to our last Griffins hockey game of the season and got great seats--for FREE!!! Some guy just gave them to us. What a blessing!
