Monday, June 25, 2012

Cooking, Father's Day, Lisa's Wrapping Party

Addi helps me in the kitchen and the other day we made blueberry lemon yogurt cake. It was so tasty and we can't wait to make it again!

She helped do everything except put it in the oven! She zested, whisked, dusted, etc :)

Our finished product made from blueberries Addi and Scott picked at PaPa's house

Dylan is finally home with us! She still gets out so she isn't allowed to stay outside by herself. We just purchased a wireless system and need to train her on it. These next pictures were taken on Father's Day. That morning we got up and made Scott breakfast (donuts, oranges, thick sliced bacon, and sweet cream with coffee). Later all of the parents came over for a pool party and cook out. The pool is finally ready! We are so happy especially considering that it looked like a stagnant dirty pond only weeks ago. We swam, played games, and just enjoyed our time together as a family.

Sunning in the sunroom

Painting Daddy a picture before he gets up (yes...it is 7:30 in the morning!)



Swimming in the pool! 



Since we couldn't be in Michigan to throw Lisa a baby shower we (Mom, Michelle, all of my aunts, and some of my cousins) had a party in SC! We had a wrapping party in which we all brought food and got together to wrap presents and celebrate Lisa and Chris' pregnancy! We Skyped with her briefly (while she was on a break from her birthing class) and all told her hello. We had dinner ready for them to pick up on the way home from their class. Then we made her a video of us and the presents telling her why we bought them. We each wrapped the presents we bought and then shipped everything later that day. She should get her presents later this week!  Afterward we swam and spent the day together. It was wonderful! We had a great time with all of the aunts and family.




"Flat Lisa" with her pregnant belly :)








Girls Weekend in Savannah

Addi and I rode down to Savannah with Erin and Eli to visit our dear friend Laura and her daughter Ashlyn. We had an amazing time and it was the first time we've gotten all the kids together. I can't wait to do it again! Eli is the youngest at 10 months and Ashlyn is 6 months younger than Addi. Oh what fun we had! I miss my girls!


Playing with their Mommies' iPads



Reading together

Playing with Eli

Getting ready for a golf cart ride with Erin and Eli (Laura and Ashlyn had a birthday party that came up at the last minute)

Just hanging out



Derrick & Sally's Wedding

On Sunday June 3rd we headed down to Derrick and Sally's house in Charleston for their wedding. It was an intimate ceremony on the water outside of the home of one of their neighbors. We were so grateful to have been invited to be a part of it. Everything was so beautiful and the food and drink were delicious! The weather cooperated and it was such a lovely day.

Waiting for Aunt Sally and the girls to arrive at the ceremony


Handsome men!

Daddy and daughter - one of my favorite pictures

beautiful flower girls




Our lovely bride and groom

The greatest inlaws!

A sweet moment caught


Friday, June 1, 2012

May Updates

Sorry for such a long blog post, but I haven't had time to get on and post. Busy with work and fun. We've traveled to Charleston a couple of times and to NC for the weekend. I came home from NC with the start of a nasty cough and turns out I have bronchitis. Taking lots of meds including steroids, antibiotic, cough syrup, and mucinex d. On day three and hoping things start to clear up soon although I don't feel so hot right now.

We celebrated Michelle's birthday a couple of weeks after her actual birthday and headed down to Charleston the weekend of May 12th. Mom and Dad kept the girls, and we all stayed at Michelle's house. It has been a long time since we've been able to celebrate Michelle's birthday with her. We met up with some of Michelle's friends and had a really fun time. We went to Tabbuli's for dinner (and great live music!) and then to the bar with all the slushy drinks (I don't recall the name, but I've been to the one in Savannah) and then to Wasabi's. Although it was cool out it was really humid! That is one thing we can't seem to get away from :)










The next day was Mother's Day so we grilled out at Michelle's house. It was a lovely day of being pampered and just spending time with the family. I love being a mother. Scott and Addison got me a bird feeder and two small citrus trees that can stay in pots on the sun porch (when the time comes I will bring them in - key lime and meyer lemon). The lemon has two lemons on it but they aren't ready yet. Addi and I planted some herbs in small pots and daisies in a pot she made me for mother's day.
Just hanging out.



lemon

lime

My new bird feeder
The next Saturday (May 19th) was the March Madness dinner with the family. We had 18 people over and cooked a huge meal. It was the first time that Scott and I participated and the first time we have had people over. As the losers of the March Madness bracket (Missouri!!!???!!) we were in charge of hosting and cooking the entree, which included fried flounder and fried shrimp (Uncle Donald's choice as the winner). YUM! We also got to keep Jocelyn overnight, which was a wonderful treat. Michelle worked a double and it was Mom and Dad's Saturday to watch her so they brought her to our house. Michelle had to take Charles to the airport really early on Sunday so it was easier for us to watch her overnight since we were going to be in Charleston the next morning.

The next day (May 20th) we headed to Charleston to meet Michelle and for Elise's christening. After the christening we all headed to Derrick and Sally's for lunch. We had a great time and love that we get to spend more time with them now that we are closer.

My attempt to get them to take a picture after church...

The bubbles were a hit!

Another attempt at getting them to take a picture together






Just playin'

Sisterly love!


Cooking up some food and just having some fun cousin time
This past weekend we went to NC to visit Carrie and her family and to meet her new little one, Dalton (May 25th). Addison had a great time with Mary Elizabeth and is excited for them to come visit. Of course she wanted to kiss on Dalton. M.E. has grown so much since we last saw her in December! How time flies. We went to the Townhouse for lunch and everyone was excited to see Scott. He hasn't been able to go to NC with us in a while.


Dalton - around 1 month 






Then we headed to Belmont to have dinner with my Aunt Sr. Michel and Sr. Mary Andrew (or Sr. Boo as she is known to all of us). Mom and dad met us in NC that evening and we had adjoining hotel rooms so we were able to put Addison to bed and hang out with mom and dad in the next room. The next morning we got up and went to Sr. Mary Andrew's 60th Jubilee (May 26th). This was to celebrate her 60th year of being a Sister. of Mercy. It was a beautiful mass and Addison behaved so well. I was worried since it was almost a 2 hour mass and celebration. I am still thinking of some of the things said during mass and was greatly impacted by it. The music was breathtaking, and Addison really enjoyed sitting right next to all of the musicians. After the mass there was a reception. The food was fantastic! The trip was short but nice. I didn't get a lot of pictures of the family and only saw Sr. Soledad and Aunt Libby briefly on Saturday, but it was still nice to see them all. Dad, Scott, and Addison headed back to SC and Mom and I headed to Ikea. Oh what fun we had!
St. Gabriel Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC




She is so excited she can't handle it!







A toast!



It was so great getting to spend the last several weekends with friends and family. I love being close to home for this very reason. Here are a few pictures of the house. We are still in the process of getting things organized so I will take pictures as we go.

Sun room - once we get everything in for it I will take more pictures.

Addison's playroom - in the office space downstairs


The playroom is attached to the living room - I love the french door.s

living room