Frankenmuth

November is a wonderful month if you work for the state of Michigan. Only one week in the entire month do you have to work a five day week! Thanks to Election Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving, Jonathan gets to be home a lot more! This past week he went ahead and took off Friday so he had an extra long weekend. We decided to head to Frankenmuth and stay in a hotel overnight with the kiddos. We had such a great time! We hit the Birch Run Outlet Stores, which if you have never been, are crazy cool. Tons of awesome outlet stores!! Though next time I will be going without my children, thank you very much. lol We stayed at the Bavarian Inn which, as you can see, is so beautiful!
We're finding that when you take two small children to a hotel, you have to be very resourceful and creative. For example, Addison does best sleeping when she can't see that we are still awake and having fun without her. That can be hard to do when you are in one basic room. My husband, however, is never without ideas and came up with this solution:
Transform the "hallway" into Addie's own personal bedroom! Yes, that is the comforter from Luke's bed that we managed to hang up. :)
Eating was a little tricky too but we just brought along the booster seat and fixed them up a nice little eating area.
Good morning Miss Addie!!
We let Luke watch a movie in bed...
He didn't last long, though! :)
This was our view from our room. We had a nice secluded patio on the ground floor.
And of course the kids loved swimming! This place had like four pools and a few hot tubs too!

Everything had a German feel to it (go figure!) and I loved the gazebo this hot tub was in!

There were also tons of games where you could win tickets and get prizes (just like at Chuck E. Cheese's!) so Luke was in heaven.
We made a stop at Bronner's which was overwhelming but fun. Now is not the time of year to go, however, because there were soooo many people!!!
All in all it was a great trip. Veteran's Day also happened to be a very special day for Jonathan and I. We were able to celebrate 10 years of being together. I will never forget that day, November 11, 2000, when Jonathan asked me to be his girlfriend and we started a journey that has brought us so much happiness!! :)

Our Halloween

Jonathan and I had a costume party with a group from church. Unfortunately my husband refused to dress up with me and went as a hockey player. Lame, I know. I had fun with my costume at least! :)
Luke was so excited about his costumes! My sister-in-law made these costumes for her boys a few years ago when they went as Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Luke got to dress up as Woody on Saturday....
and Buzz on Sunday!
And yes, I did say that she made these costumes! Some people's talents amaze me...
Addison was our little butterfly--what a cutie!!
They had tons of fun and got lots of candy! Of course, that means mom and dad are eating too much of it! lol

I Did It!!!!!

For those of you who don't know, back in July I turned 29. And I got to thinking. I'm going to be 30 in a year (gasp!) and there are a lot of things I want to do still. I know, I know, it's not like 30 is a death sentence, but I felt like there were just some things that have always been on the "some day I'll do that" list. Well I decided to make a list of "Things to Do Before I Turn 30". This list is on facebook, if you haven't seen it already but one of the things on there was to run a 5k. I hate to run. And I probably hadn't run a mile since college. But I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So I decided to start training for a 5k race and to make it a goal to run one before the big 3-0 claimed my youth aged me another year. Well, today I can officially cross that one off my list! I ran in the 2nd annual Barry County pumpkin trot! What a feeling of accomplishment! I was so proud of myself because I did it! I'd like to do more when the weather warms up (I refuse to run outside in the cold) but we'll see how I feel next spring. :) And I have to say, I don't hate running anymore! I don't love it. But I don't hate it. Part of it is that we bought an mp3 player, which has made running so much more enjoyable tolerable. So anyway, there you go! Proof that if you set your mind to something you can accomplish it! Now I just have to keep plugging away at the other things on my list. I wanted to learn to play guitar and I'm taking (free!) lessons on Monday nights now. And Jonathan's going to take me out to learn to drive a stick shift, so that's another one I'll hopefully be able to do! And there are so many more that are coming together--it's really cool to see. Well, enjoy the rest of your Saturday everyone. I know I will, because I just ran 3.1 miles this morning and lived to tell about it!! :)

My Creative Little Man

Only a kid with lots of imagination could take these train tracks, his socks, and the kitchen floor....
and use them to play hockey! Luke amazes me with his creativity. He made this hockey stick out of his train tracks and loves to "skate" around the kitchen.

Another Trip to Indiana and Other Pics

I'm getting really bad at keeping up with my blogging. Part of it is because I put so many of my pictures on facebook I feel like I'm being redundant putting them on here, too. Also, I don't even know who still keeps up with this besides my mom?? lol Anyway, we had a great month of September with lots of stuff going on, as usual. We went to Celebration on the Grand downtown, took a trip to Indiana, and I spent two horrible pleasant days canning applesauce with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Glad that's done! Enjoy the pictures...
The fireworks at Celebration on the Grand were amazing, as usual. Our kids, however, don't seem to appreciate them as much as everyone else! :)

They both fell asleep on the way home. We couldn't even get Luke to wake up when we brought him inside!
Addison is transitioning from two naps to one gradually but if she gets up too early, she just can't seem to make it past lunch to her afternoon nap!
We got to see my family, which is always a treat. I love this picture of my brother and Addie!
I bought Luke a set of Thomas Go Fish at a garage sale for 50 cents and he has played it nonstop! This was a serious game here...
Addie loves to read and I thought this was so cute of her in a rocking chair I used to sit in! :)
She just started doing this where she tickles her nose with her dolls and stuffed animals. Does anyone else's kid do this??
It's always so hard to say good-bye! :(
Addie's been taking a few steps here and there...she likes to show off for Papaw!
It was a fun--but tiring--weekend!
Also this month Addie's been learning to use a spoon. She thinks she is big stuff now!!

Mighty Mac

Over Labor Day weekend, we headed up to Indian River to Jonathan's parents' place. As always, we had a great time! Monday, Jonathan and I were able to go walk the Mackinaw Bridge for the annual bridge walk. Grandma watched the kids so we could make a date of it and just enjoy the day in Mackinaw! :) As you can see below, we had a gorgeous view!
Looking up!
And looking down!
Yikes!
We did it! The bridge itself is five miles long but by the time you add in all the walking you do to get to and from your car, we probably walked closer to eight miles! lol
The rest of the weekend was spent in the hot tub...
eating ice cream...
enjoying Mickey Mouse pancakes made by Grandma...
and just having a good time!!

Auntie Em's Visit and other Summer Fun!

We've been keeping busy around here! I can't believe summer is coming to an end. :( But then again, I absolutely love fall and the changing weather. I'm so thankful God gave us seasons!!

Luke got to go for his first go-cart ride with daddy! He loved it!!

What's summer without corn-on-the-cob and watermelon??

Aunt Emily came to visit for a week and spoiled the kids rotten! :) Mommy does not let them ride in the dollar cart when we go to the grocery...only when Auntie Em pays!
I will, however, pay for the penny pony! :)

Addie was teething, so we heard a lot of screaming...


Chocolate cake, I mean muffins, for breakfast!
Emily got Addie this adorable "Little Sister" shirt so she could match her brother in his shirt. These two are so stinkin' cute!!!!!