ItsThe Best Week Ever!

OK, so these pics are from last week, but whatever. This week is the best week ever! Jason took vacation for the whole week. Summer and Jason are really into making lists. Lists of all the super-fun stuff they MUST do. They made one for the entire summer even deciding how many campfires we have to have. They made one for last spring break and Christmas break too. Well, this week is jammed packed. They picked something fun and special to do each day since last Friday. Friday we went to the beach again. Saturday we went to Papa Rocky's for swimming and a campfire(after the storm passed) Ian and Leif came out to say hi. We celebrated my Dads 59th(holy cow) birthday by getting him an ipod that he played with all night. Cindy made Texas Sheet Cake that was soooo good.
Sunday the list called for mini-golf. Daddy took Teagen and Summer while I stayed back for Grady's nap time. Summer scored 2 hole-in-ones!

Today, the girls are going with Grandma Joan and Grandpa Bob to John Ball Zoo. They are meeting up with more of the fam because Grandpa Mark is playing at "Jazz at the Zoo" today. How special! I am going to the concert in town tonight with Kel for our annual girls country music night at Summer Cel. I should have a very good time;)

Leighton is with us today.(by the way,this pic was way cuter in thumbnail version. Leighton has the weirdest look on his face!) So Grady will still have someone to play with once the girls leave. And Jason surprised us all with a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge for tomorrow and Wednesday!!! Only the albino Schultz family needs to visit an indoor water park in July! Ha! Donna is even taking Grady(I am starting to feel a little guilty about Grady missing so much of our fun week but this kid is Hell on wheels sometimes!)So it goes without saying that I am really looking forward to a short little getaway.

And if this post seems a little detail heavy, its because I am doing a mini album for "the best week ever" and my memory is not real good. OK, its terrible and I need to record some of the details. Just another reason to scrapbook,I guess!

I'll be back by Thursday!

Life's a Beach

For some reason, I have had it in my head that I cannot take all three of my kids out of the house by myself. I think it was trip to CiCi's Pizza and Target last year that put that thought in my head:)
Well, I am sick of feeling like a prisoner in my own home and both Grady and Teagen have grown up a bit and are less likely to throw a fit in public. I decided it was time for the beach. It only a minute away and worst case scenario, we can turn around and leave. We pick a fab spot between the piers where there were no waves and no people. We had an entire stretch of beach to ourselves.
And the kids were fantastic. So good so fun. We stayed for nearly 3 hours. We had to leave because I had to pee. It was gorgeous. Thought it would rain but it missed us.
Grady made it his mission to chase seagulls the entire time.
I think we have found our "thing" My goal is to go every week. I get so wrapped up in house stuff that i don't want to leave, but summer is so short. It MUST be a priority.
After all...this is where the memories come from.

I Inspire Me

I found this new scrapbook challenge blog and I think its so much fun! Its called I inspire me . Basically its finding inspiration in the stuff I love or is around me. So here is my 1st challenge blog layout ever...
I love my Cat's Meow Village. When we bought our house, the dining room has a plate rail all the way around. I don't do plates. But I did have this village that was my Mom's. I never really thought that it was my style, but I so love it. Being a family heirloom, it will always remind me of "home". Plus I adore that each one has a little black cat on it. And we have had a few black cats over the years.
Sorry for the terrible pic. I took it at night and goodness knows I can't take a decent photo without natural light!
And here's my take! It was really fun to make the little houses. They are all from scraps. I even added a little black cat. Not my usual style at all but I love that it made me move out of my comfort zone. I may actually find my style!
This is really fun. If you are a scrapper, you should give this a try. At least see their Design Team's stuff. Amazing!

the littles

I take a lot of pictures. I feel a little lost without my camera. For instance, we went downtown this weekend for "the taste of Muskegon" I was so ticked that I forgot my camera and so did Rachael! Teagen and Kennedy were such little buddies(Summer had a sleepover) And were SO cute. Plus all the action downtown was really cool and I could have had some great shots.
I love this one for so many reasons. The first being that Teagen will not kiss anyone on the lips and hasn't for at least a year. Summer has said that Teagen will kiss her but I didn't believe it.I guess I caught the truth!
I have been taking a million shots similar to this one of Sum. She still has all her tiny baby teeth and I want to capture this smile before its gone.
And no photo post would be complete without a dorky pic of Grady. These are a pair of safety glasses that Jay has had as a gag since his Brunswick days. Every now and then they resurface and the kids always love them! Grady wore these around all night(and already today).He laughs like crazy at his reflection in the mirror. Gotta love someone not afraid to make a fool of themselves just for a laugh!

So here is kinda how a typical day begins for me. I get up, make coffee, make breakfast for the kiddos and while they eat, I get on the computer. Check email and blogs. Sometimes I have a little extra time to "go exploring". At some point I stumbled upon this one. http://www.mattlogelin.com/ Scroll to the bottom to link to the begining. Yes another sad story. But a totally different take on it. He is real. I think he is angry. I know I would be. But what draws us to these stories of tragedy? Is it like passing a horrible accident on the highway, thanking God it wasn't us? I think its the reminder of the fragility of the every day moments that are "normal" . I'd like to think I'm not just nosey. That I want to learn from someone elses pain and experiences. I think I want to run it through my head, how would I be? Could I handle that kind of horror? Would I just curl up and die if something happened to Jason or one of our children? Even forgetting that I have already been through the unimaginable. But that doesn't make me immune to tragedy. So I read others peoples experiences. If you have time, check out the link above and read his amazing story. Language a bit harsh, but real. I certainly don't blame him. Plus, he loves robots. And robots are very cool;)

Mama's gotta brand new bag

And I love it! I have to admit that over the last few weeks I have been a bit worried that I made a rush decision and thought I wouldn't like it. But I am so happy. I think I will be hosting a 1154 Lill party every spring.
Father's Day at my Dad's. Great day. The kids lived in the water. Its getting warm. Lovin' the sunshine.Grady is a maniac on the beach. He is always trying to sneak out a little deeper. Got him a life jacket,but he has such a short torso, he couldn't sit while wearing it. We laughed so hard because he would just lay flat on his back on the beach like an overturned turtle!My Grandpa and my Dad. Jeez, are they dressed alike? I just noticed they are totally like the Khaki Crew. The kids kept them well entertained. My Grandpa stayed the weekend. They went to the casino. Golfing. good time.
Teagen,Kennedy and Summer. 3 little fishes.
Cindy made a fab dinner and I made ice cream pie for dessert.Jason and I even snuck out to test drive my Dads new 4-door Jeep. I LOVE IT. I took Jason 2-trackin' ;) A wonderful day to celebrate all the amazing fathers in our life. Jason is way more than I ever expected as a father for my favorite little people. I am so thankful for him.He got some new stuff for his Harley. And I think my Dad deserves some credit for raising us with out our Mom(with Cindy's help). Rachael got him some accesories for his new laptop and I got him a Netflix subscription. Rachael and I turned out pretty good(mostly) Even if we DID inherit some of his shopping addictions!

Freaky Friday

If this doesn't make you smile, then there is no hope for you.

Happy Friday the 13th!