Cup O' Joe

Okay...so it wasn't coffee but still so stinking cute to see all of the kids nestled on the couch, watching a show with their grown-up coffee mugs (hot cocoa I'm certain).  We had to leave shortly thereafter but hopefully will be back again in the coming year or two.  THANKS AGAIN Ernst/Owens Family!

Kiddos!

Isaac, Alexandra, Avery & Sawyer

SWEET summer faces!

Cabin in the Woods

Oh my!  SO FUN!  My best friend, Jen, invited the girls and I (and my mom too) to come and visit her at her parents house in the north woods of Wisconsin.  We had a blast visiting, catching up, playing and just being together.  THANK YOU so much for having us and for the always FANTASTIC hospitality!

Girls checking out the river.

Avery was super nervous to hop off the boat onto a sandbar but with a little help from Cliff - she did it and had fun!

Alexandra with Jen's son, Sawyer.  They are about a month apart in age.

Avery with Jen's son, Isaac.  They are about 3 months apart in age.

Love this pic of Av.

Goofy faces.

Everyone below was using a stick to be a ninja warrior...or something like that.

AHHHH-MAZING sunset.

My mom with Jen's mom Susie.  Still laughing!

Jen's dad, Cliff, tending the fire for our little s'more party. 

Okay - you just have to laugh at this wildy ORANGE picture of us.  My mom had my camera and snapped away at the very moment Cliff was stoking the fire and creating huge flames.  We had a good laugh about being "on fire" (though I think the drinks and game of hammerschlegan had something to do with this)!

Ladies Night Out

We were SO LUCKY that 'almost' every lady in our family was able to join in our ladies night out.  EVEN my 94 year old grandma made it!  It was a fun night with lots of laughter and crazy cheap drinks!  Gotta love Wisconsin!

Travel Day

Off me and my traveling ladies go - another day of travel and another day of amazing little travelers!  My favorite part of the day was busting out the Wooly Willy toy.  I totally remember this from my childhood and this was about the only thing we had to play with on a 6 hour car ride....I showed my girls, all excited, they "wooly willied" for about 10 minutes and were done, bored, etc.  So interesting how this is all I had and now the entertainment factor is multiplied by millions.  Still, they did great and I love flying the friendly skies with them.  

I love this picture - seems like I always love blurry pictures - but this is when they spied grandma and grandpa Groothousen and took off running!

That evening we had a little water play and cousin Cait, per usual, LOVED getting wet!

NO MORE pictures....Caitlin wasn't sick of my camera just yet.

Just love this face!  

Biker Chick

Look at this little rider.  She wanted me to take these pictures before we went to Wisconsin so she could show everyone how she looked in her dirt bike gear.  I love that this is something that she can do solely with her daddy....and she is so much like her daddy.

Baking Soda + Vinegar

So simple yet amazingly entertaining.

Faces.....

That's right....goggles in the bathtub...why not?  And, a little later, paper alien faces...again, why not?  

...a Tuesday...

I took off Tuesdays and Fridays this summer to spend time with the ladies.  On this particular day we did a hike up to Donut Falls with some friends.  Not sure why but there were TONS of fly, biting flies, that part sucked.  The ladies did well on the hike...Avery even caught a butterfly and was so proud of herself.  Later that day we had a little water slide playdate with friends - more summer fun!