All About Us

IT'S A BOY!

2011-11-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

I had my ultrasound today and I can't believe it, but we are going to have a son! I'm still in shock. Shane and the girls were all there so that made it extra exciting. Right when the ultrasound tech got started she immediately got a shot between the legs so it didn't take any time at all for us to figure out that we were having a boy! Anyway, we're all super excited! Here are some photo's of our little guy :)

Those are totally my feet!

I just love the feet!

Nice and cozy

Yeh, it's pretty obvious..the Dangerfield name will live on!

Just hangin out :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2010-12-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Welcome to our official 2010 Christmas letter!

We want to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year to come. It's hard to believe that 2010 is already over! Time flies when you're having fun raising 3 cute little girls! Here's what's going on with our family...

Ava is our spunky little 2 1/2 year old and she's pretty much the boss in our home. She is such a sweetheart when she wants to be but definately has a little devil side to her as well. Ava loves going on walks, changing her clothes several times a day, reading books, going to story time at the library, watching her 'baby show', going to nursery, playing babies and barbies, playing with play dough, welcoming daddy home from work with lots of hugs and kisses, and loving/tormenting her older sisters. Ava definately keeps us on our toes but she can also melt your heart like no other. We love our baby!

Hailey (all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth! :) is now 6 1/2 and is in the first grade. She is such a sweet and tender girl that you just can't help but love her. Hailey LOVES school! She is such a smart girl and makes friends easily. She is currently involved in Daisies, Ballet, and piano lessons from mom. Hailey loves playing with her friends, playing Littlest Petshop, collecting things, reading, writing in her journal, riding her scooter & bike, jumping on the trampoline, drawing pictures, playing games with family, and playing in the snow. She is so much fun to be with and has such a cute and contagious laugh. Hailey has a way of bringing sunshine into our home and we love her so much.

Eliza is 9 1/2 years old (going on 16) and in 4th grade. She has turned into a little lady..not so much a little girl anymore! Eliza is our adventurous one. She loves to try new things and have a good time. Last Fall we went kayaking and she took off in a kayak all by herself without even thinking twice about it! She loved it! Eliza is also an excellent student and makes friends easily. Everyone loves to be with her because she is so much fun. Eliza is involved in Junior scouts, Activity Days, Hip Hop & Pom , and piano lessons from mom. Liza loves hanging out with her friends, riding her bike, doing tricks on the trampoline, going shopping, playing Wii, playing games with family, doing craft projects, drawing, and making up songs on the piano. Eliza is such an incredible big sister and such a huge help to her mom and dad. She always knows how to put a smile on your face. We love her and are so grateful she's a part of our family.

Erin is keeping busy being a mom and loving (almost) every minute of it :) She spends her time playing with Ava at home, volunteering at the school, teaching piano, planning & attending Young Women's activities at church, and trying to keep her house in order (an impossible feat she is coming to find :). Erin enjoys playing the piano, watching food network, hanging out with friends, playing games, going on walks around our awesome neighborhood, and spending time with her hot husband and 3 beautiful daughters.

Shane is a year and a half into his five year residency. Will it ever end? He has enjoyed a more relaxed schedule over the last 6 months at the Rehab Institute which will be changing in a few short days when he heads back over to Children's hospital. He is such a great Physician and has such a way with his patients. He's always recieving compliments and letters from his patients thanking him for the way in which he treated them. Outside the hospital, Shane has kept busy with projects around the house including remodeling the kitchen & bathroom, refinishing hardwood floor, painting and much more. He's done such an amazing job! Shane enjoys biking, reading car magazines, being outdoors whenver possible, hanging out with friends, and of course spending as much time as possible with his loving wife and sweet babies.

We feel truly blessed especially during this time of year for each other, for our wonderful family and friends and for our Savior Jesus Christ.

With all our love,

Shane, Erin, Eliza, Hailey and Ava

Weekend Getaway!

2010-11-23T06:12:00.000-08:00

We took a little weekend getaway as a family in October. We spent one night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. The kids loved it!

Eliza was all over the 'big and fast' waterslides and walking across the lilly pads.

Hailey was content going down the smaller slides and floating around in the lazy river.

Ava loves slides in general so going down a water slide was like a dream come true! She had so much fun going down the kiddie slide over and over again.

Hailey, Shane, and Eliza after getting soaked by the giant bucket of water.

Running down the hall in the hotel...time for more swimming!

Sleeping Bear Dunes. Eliza and Hailey were all over playing in the sand.

Ava HATED the sand. Shane would try and set her down to walk and she'd lift her feet up like this. Too bad all of our activities after Great Wolf Lodge centered around the sand dunes and the beach!

Hailey and Eliza running down the sand hill after doing the 100 ft dune climb.

Sunday afternoon picnic on the beach in Ludington. Ava keeping her feet out of the sand at all costs.

Sunset by the lighthouse in Lundington.

Is that gorgeous or what?!

Our family back at Sleeping Bear Dunes with Lake Michigan in the background.

That was quite a sight. I loved it!

Fashion

2010-08-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hailey's Primary teacher approached me last Sunday to tell me about the lesson they had in Sunday school about using their talents to serve others. She asked each child to tell what their special talent was and how they could use that talent to help others. Hailey concluded that her talent was fashion. "Ok" responded her teacher, "So how can you use this talent to help others?" "Well," Hailey responded, "I could have a garage sale so that other people could buy my clothes and then they could be fashionable too." I thought that was so hilarious and so Hailey! She had me take her outside for a 'photo shoot' the week before because she really liked the way she looked in the outfit she'd picked out for the day, especially the way it matched her sunglasses. She said, "Ok mom, so I want just a regular shot, a fashion shot, and then a silly shot."
So here's the 'regular shot'. I love how she included the metal heart as an added accessory to the pose.

And here we have the 'fashion shot'

And last but not least..the 'silly shot'. I love my Hailey so much. She is seriously the sweetest most tender girls and she is so funny! She always keeps me smiling.

Ava wanted to join in the fun too. Yes, that is a piece of gum in her mouth, or as she likes to call it "gummy". I know, I've started her young :) She's pretty 'fashionable' too though, wouldn't you say?

Good Bye School HELLO SUMMER!

2010-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

THE GIRLS BOTH HAD A GREAT YEAR IN SCHOOL THANKS TO THEIR AMAZING TEACHERS!
Here is Hailey performing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for her class and their families. She is so stinking cute. She actually has a really pretty voice too!

Eliza's class did a 'mini society' where one of their assignments was to come up with their own business. Eliza chose to do caricatures since she loves drawing. Here she is drawing her teacher "Miss A". She was very successful and made quite a lot of "golden bucks". Go Liza!

REASON #1 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: BIRTHDAYS!

Hailey chose to have a Pajama party (no sleep over involved) with her friends. We had a bbq, decorated purses (which became the goody bag), played some indoor and outdoor games, and Eliza made each of the girls a cute hair clip with their choice of flower, ribbon, and gemstone for the middle. Wow can those little girls have fun!

Eliza's party (the very next day!) was much more low key. She invited her 3 best friends (best school friend, best church friend, and best neighbor friend). Eliza chose to have a mall/slumber party. First I took the girls to the mall and they each got to buy something for $5. Then we had pizza @ home, decorated purses (which also ultimately carried their 'goodies'), made flower clips, and had a sleepover. It turned out really fun!

REASON #2 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: PLAYING OUTSIDE!

Here are the girls playing out in our yard on the slip and slide. I LOVE having a yard! After being in an apartment for so long with kids this is something I really appreciate..the girls too!

Splash park!! One of the parks near our home has a new splash park that the girls just love. We had a horribly hot week a couple of weeks back and this really came in handy. Ava goes crazy running through the water. She keeps saying "Water..Fun.." She's starting to put more words together so that's been fun. I love that girl so much.

Here's a nice action shot of Hailey. You go girl!

Eliza with her friend Lindsey (whom she has spent every waking moment with this summer..she lives right down the street. It's been great..they're like two pea's in a pod!)and her sister Sydney.

REASON #3 WHY WE LOVE SUMMER: SLEEPING IN!

Isn't this picture precious? Ava is such a snuggler. It's sweet and cute, but now she prefers to sleep snuggling up next to us in our bed rather than next to her baby in her own bed. Yes, this has become a problem that really needs to be fixed. I know how to fix it..I'm just dreading it!

Anyway, summer's been great! I love having the girls home with me (most of the time) and so far we've kept pretty busy and had a lot of fun in the process..with more to come!

My trip to Utah

2010-07-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from my recent trip to Utah in May. Shane had Memorial weekend off so I jumped on the opportunity to fly out BY MYSELF! and spend some time with my family. Here's my sister Emily and her husband Ryan with their new baby girl Annie. She's so sweet.

MMMmm Out for chinese food at the Mandarin. Mom, me, Dad, Ryan, John, and Em

Dad with Caleb, Isaac, and Mckay at Caleb's soccer game

My brave sister..mother of 5!!

I was able to spend some much needed quality one on one time with my parents. It was wonderful. I love them so much.

Thanksgiving pics

2009-12-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

My little brother Matt and his wife Chrissy traveled from Des Moines, Iowa to be with us on Thanksgiving. Zach and Tirzah and their girls also joined us. Good times were had catching up with each other, the girls making jewelry with Aunt Chrissy, playing Blokus, and attempting to moisten up the turkey by letting it bathe a while in a pool of gravy (oh well...Thanksgiving side dishes are my favorite anyway..who needs turkey really?) Thanksgiving is always the most difficult holiday away from family so I loved having them here!

Zach, Tirzah, Chrissy, Matt, Erin and Shane

Me with my girls Liza bear and Hailey bug

Tirzah, Sarah, and Zach

Matt and Chrissy

Hailey, Kayti and Sarah at 'the kids table'

Eliza and Anna

10 Random Things

2009-11-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

I've been 'tagged' for the very first time in my blogging career! My good friend Hilary (whom I love and miss dearly :)) challenged me to write ten random things about myself. So even though it's very unlike me to do something like this..I thought what the heck! Plus I feel extremely honored that Hilary would pick me. So here goes....

1. I hate being the center of attention. Whenever I know that all eyes are on me my face always goes red.

2. I love watching cooking shows and painting shows. Two things that I would love to be able to do really well.

3. I prefer hand, arm, and face massages over a back massage.

4. My fears are spiders(although I've had to overcome this fear somewhat since my husband is never home to kill them for me..I have to take matters into my own hands), water (when I don't know how deep it is, also fear of my kids drowning), and car accidents-or one of my kids getting hit by a car.

5. I used to walk in my sleep when I was a kid...frequently. Sorry mom and dad!

6. I never forward e-mails..especially when the e-mail specifically tells me to forward it to X number of people. I refuse. I know..I'm such a rebel.

7. I always sleep with a pillow between my knees. I started doing that out of necessity when I was pregnant and it's just become a habit. I can't sleep without it.

8. I really want to learn how to play the guitar. It's one of my favorite instruments. Eliza and I just picked up a 'learn to play guitar' book from the library and have since mastered 3 chords! Well, maybe not quite 'mastered'. But I am really determined to learn. I love music...it is something that I've always been passionate about.

9. I have a habit of picking at my eyebrows. I'm sure one of these days I'll regret this when I have to start drawing on my eyebrows with eye liner.

10. I'm a very indecisive person. I don't like being in charge and I don't like making decisions. Having too many options overwhelms me.

Alright..that wasn't so hard. Thanks Hil, good times were had!
Am I supposed to tag someone now? (sorry-I'm still new at this)
If so..I TAG Jen, Chrissy, Nanette, and Mom.

My little artist

2009-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Back in September Eliza had the opportunity to submit some artwork to the Oakland county "Arts, Beats, and Eats" festival. Children from schools all over Oakland county were invited to participate and were given several different themes to choose from. Eliza chose three different themes: 'What I love about Michigan'(Picture of the beach and lighthouse in Ludington, MI-Painting), 'Pop Culture' (Picture of Phineas and Ferb-Pastels on black paper), and 'Nature' (3-D Bumlebee sitting on a paper flower).

Eliza was selected as one of the winners for her "What I Love About Michigan" painting of Ludington! She won a $25 gift card to Target and her painting was displayed in the Oakland County Executive Offices. Pretty cool, huh?!

I'm so proud of my Liza Bear. She really is such a smart and creative girl. Congratulations Eliza! We love you!

10 Years

2009-11-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Shane and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 18th. 10 years! I can't believe it. We were able to go on an overnight getaway (thanks to Zach and Tirzah for watching our girls) to a cute little German town here in Michigan called Frankenmuth. It was so much fun to spend some time together, just the two of us. We haven't done that in years. I'm so grateful for Shane and for the life we have together. There's no one else I'd rather share it with.

Still catching up! Cory and Angie's Wedding, July 2009

2009-11-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had such a great trip to Utah in July. The main event and reason we went out was for Shane's brother Cory's wedding. Cory married an incredible girl named Angie and we all just love her. The wedding was beautiful and we loved being with our family and friends. I was also able to celebrate my 30th birthday while we were there which was so much fun. I had a spoil day with mom and Emily-we went out to lunch, shopping and pedicures! It was a great trip. Here are some highlights..

Family Meeting

2009-09-04T18:29:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to Enrichment Meeting while Shane stayed home and watched the girls. Because he is having to wake up at 4:00 in the morning for work he usually goes to bed pretty early...so after he got Ava to sleep he went to bed and let Eliza and Hailey stay up and watch a movie until I got home. After I arrived home I sat with the girls and as we talked about what they did with daddy while I was gone Eliza informed me that they had a family meeting in the fort that they had built downstairs. Of course Eliza was the one who called the meeting and decided that the topic of discussion would be 'how to make our family stronger'. She handed out paper and asked that everyone write down ways in which we could make our family stronger. Here were the results:

Hailey: wrote 'Family' at the top of her paper and proceded to draw a picture of our family 'trying to be like Jesus' and a picture of her going to school with her backpack.

Eliza's list: Family Meeting. Stronger Family. Try to go to church every Sunday, have family game night, family home evening, family outings, family fun night, have family meetings more often, and have family morning prayer.

So at this point I'm thinking...oh how sweet...I wonder what Shane wrote.

Shane's list: Family Meeting. Becoming a stronger family.
1. Lift weights
2. Do lots and lots of work
3. Enter weight lifting competitions
4. Work out
5. Wear speedos

Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard. I could just picture Eliza getting upset with Shane at the 'family meeting' because he wasn't taking the assignment seriously. Anyway, I got a good laugh out of it. Does anyone else think my husband is hilarious?

Catch Up #2 GRADUATION!!!!!

2009-08-16T20:18:00.001-07:00

Well, HE DID IT! Meet my husband 'Dr. Dangerfield'. I can't believe it's finally over! What an amazing feeling. What an accomplishment. I'm so proud of my man. Graduation was a very surreal, emotional, and wonderful day.

Proud parents...Dad and Mom Dangerfield.It was so great to have Mom, Dad, Steph and Cory out. We were so grateful that they made the effort to be here to support Shane. Our families are awesome!

My mom and dad were able to make it for the graduation as well. They've been so supportive of us and always make an effort to travel out for special occasions. Dr. Zach (also a recent grad) was able to join us too!It was such an emotional day for Shane and I. We have worked so hard and been through so much to get to this point in our lives. Apparently the divorce rate for medical students is extremely high, but I feel that everything Shane and I have been through over the last ten years-because we have been able to see the 'big picture'- has only made us stronger and brought us closer together. I love Shane so much and I'm so grateful for his hard work and dedication to me and our little family. Congratulations my love! You're amazing.

Playing catch up #1 AVA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

2009-07-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

So the last few months have been crazy for our family, leaving me with little time to post anything on our blog. On top of the no time issue our computer has been acting up...so I have a lot to catching up to do. The first event I wanted to document was my baby's 1st birthday. We had Zach and Tirzah and their girls over for a little BBQ party in our new backyard. It was so much fun! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by..... It was a day full of getting messy...nothing new really. I had to go in and frost the cupcakes so I asked my brother Zach just to keep an eye on Ava for me for a minute and this is what I came back to! She had gotten baby food all over herself! Thanks a lot for your help Zach.

So we got the baby food mess cleaned up and then it was time for cake! MMMM

Ava was in heaven!

Of course Ava's favorite gift was the gift bags and tissue paper.

Eliza was in charge of the entertainment for the evening. This was my favorite of the many games and activities she came up with. 'Pin the diaper on Ava'..is that classic or what?! I still laugh when I see this picture.

Daddy nibbling on the birthday girl. We love our little Ava girl. Happy Birthday baby!

Trip to Utah

2009-06-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Utah for my mom's retirement from the Tabernacle Choir. She sang in the choir for twenty years and had so many amazing experiences. It was so awesome to be able to be there to support mom and reflect on the impact that her membership in the choir has had on all of us through the years. Here's a slideshow I put together of our trip. It was great fun!

My little puppies

2009-04-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

My instructions to the girls after bath time were as follows: "dry off, lotion up, and put on jammies so I can dry your hair." Simple enough, right? Well, after about 10 minutes or so I went in to check on their progress and this is what I found....

I call them "Panty Head Puppies"

Hailey even took the liberty of drawing a circle around her eye with marker...nice effect.

The instigator of the 'Panty Head Puppies'

I can't believe I've never thought to do this. My girls are so smart.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty hilarious. So typical of my girls to come up with something like this. They always keep me laughing. I sure love 'em!

Cute pics of my baby- enough said!

2009-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Match Day! Finally!

2009-03-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official! Shane was accepted to the Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program at Children's Hospital in Detroit. Which means we will be here for another 5 years! This field of medicine fits Shane like a glove. He's going to be an incredible physician. I'm so proud of him.

Match Day 2009 was a lot of fun. First, awards were presented to some of the students based on their outstanding acheivement in different areas of medicine....and guess who received the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation departmental award??? Yep, my husband! It was really cute because Shane was holding Ava when they announced his name for the award, so he went up to the front and had his picture taken with the head of the PM&R department...and Ava. Later they passed out 'THE LETTERS' and had everyone opened them at the same time. We pretty much already knew that Shane was going to be accepted to this residency, but it was sure nice to finally see it in writing! To top off the afternoon, the school provided a nice buffet lunch for all the students and their families.

Shane and his good friend Larry-who was accepted to the Pediatric residency also at Children's Hospital.

Shane and Dr. Pelshaw-the Pediatric PM&R program director... and Eliza in the corner.

Shane and Erin. We really like each other...ALOT. Oh..and Hailey in the corner.

Eliza will be 13 when we are done with residency! How crazy is that?

And Hailey will be 10! OK, now I'm getting a little depressed...

Shane was definately the only medical student present at Match Day with his wife and THREE children! It has been a LONG road for our family, and we know it's not over yet. But we are so excited to be moving on to this next chapter in our lives.

Jeebs

2009-02-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

Ava is NINE months old now! She has made it very clear to us during the short time she has been a part of our family that she is 'Queen' of our household. Hailey has graciously stepped down from that postition and has joined the rest of us as lowly serfs in our girl infested castle.

This face has 'TROUBLE' written all over it.

Ok, it also has 'CUTEST BABY EVER!' written all over it.

Ava is really starting to come alive. She is sitting up really well and starting to vocalize a lot. Her favorite words are 'da da' (usually said when she's happy), 'ma ma' (usually said when she's angry), 'Gah', 'Ah vah' (sounds like Ava!), and 'Uh liza' (sounds like Eliza). She is quite the jabber mouth. She laughs a lot, still loves playing with paper and cups and other non-toy objects, and likes to pick up little 'specks' with her little thumb and pointer finger. Yesterday at her doctors appointment in the waiting room I stood her up next to the fish tank and she kept trying to grab the fish though the glass with her fingers. It was really cute.

Here's Ava's now THREE tooth grin. She is actually in the process of breaking the fourth right now. We've had a lot of sleepless nights and crying lately. It's ok though because she really does make up for it by being so darn cute.

Girls Night!

2009-02-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when Shane is on call at the hospital or when he's out on a scout camp out we like to have girls night together! We had a lot of fun the other night while Shane was on an overnight camp out with the scouts...in the snow!...in the winter!...HERE in Michigan! Why do they torture themselves? Anyway, the first thing we did was make personal pizza's. The girls got creative and made heart shaped pizza's. Hailey got a little crazy with the sauce.

Then we played UNO on the the sofa bed (which was later used for our sleep over in the living room). Hailey won every single game. Ava joined in on the fun as well. She prefers playing with paper and cards far above her actual baby toys.

After cards it was manicure/pedicure time. The girls soaked their feet in some bubble bath and then we painted their nails with their color-or in Hailey's case- many colors of choice. And yes,

we did get a nail polish stain on the carpet. One of these days I'll learn my lesson.

I love spending time with my girls. They're so crazy and so much fun to be with. They keep me laughing every day with the things they say and do. We love girls night!!

The Performance

2009-02-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Eliza came up with this arrangement of "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In"-she's quite the little musician. She and her friend actually performed it in one of their school assemblies. In this video she got Hailey to sing the duet part with her. It's very cute. But that's not all.....this performance also comes with an added bonus you won't want to miss. Enjoy!

Girls in Black Dresses...

2009-01-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

'...these are a few of my favorite things...' Here are the girls in their Christmas dresses. Aren't they cute!

Ava update

2009-01-06T18:46:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to post some recent pictures that I've taken of Ava over the last month or so. I love this one because it shows her gorgeous dark long eyelashes.

And this is what my baby does with a bottle...oh well.

Ava is 7 months old now and she loves to babble and 'sing', play with strings, rip up paper, play in her exersaucer, watch Baby Einstein movies, and grab everything that is within her reach.

Here is a great shot of Ava's two bottom teeth. They're cute but boy are they sharp! Love you Ava girl.

Staying Put For The Holidays

2009-01-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

We missed our families so much during this holiday season. We always do. Luckily we have great friends (our family away from home) that we were able to share it with. Good times. Great memories.

Beans anyone?

2008-12-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

My big girl is eating big girl food now! She loves it! So far she has gobbled down everything I've offered to her. It's so fun to see her expression when she tries something new.

Shane had a residency interview in Utah in November so he had a chance to spend some time with the fam. Only 4 more months until we find out where we'll be for the next 3-5 years! We are so ready to move on to the next phase in our lives.

Family Photos November 2008

2008-11-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

There is an absolutely beautiful forest right outside our back door so we thought it would be fun to take some pictures of our family while the leaves were in full color. Thank you for being our photographer Kassie!

Hey hey we're the Monkeys!!

But you have to admit the

background is amazing.

Picnik.com...fun stuff

2008-11-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

My friend Kassie recently introduced me to a website called picnik.com where you can touch up your pictures and make them look a bit more professional, so I thought I'd try it out! Thanks Kassie! Here are a few of the pictures I played around with.... I love this one of Eliza reading to Hailey and Ava.
Can you get more precious than that?
Here are the girls in the forest just outside our apartment. Michigan is so beautiful in the Fall.
Here's our sweet little Ava. As her personality has developed a few nic names have emerged...Little Bunny, Jeebs, Abees, Sinky Sue, Goose...Oh we love her so much!

Ta da! Hope you've enjoyed viewing my masterpieces.

Weekend Getaway! Destination:Ludington, MI

2008-10-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

We've been wanting to get away as a family for a while now. It's been a long few years and frankly we're burnt out! So as soon as Shane completed his residency application we decided to pack up and take a weekend to just be together and relax. We kind of randomly chose Ludington Michigan which is a cute little town about three and a half hours west of here. When we pulled up to our hotel and saw the view (above).... we knew it was going to be a great weekend!

Some of our favorite quotes while on our retreat....

Hailey (right as our journey began and I passed the snacks back): "Mmmm we LOVE junk food!"

Eliza (about 30 minutes into the trip): "Dad, are we still in Michigan?"

Shane (after we left the dollar store in Ludington-we had to get beach toys!): "I can't believe we drove 3 1/2 hours to go to the dollar store. Hey! I have an idea...let's go to the information desk and find out where all the other dollar stores are in town!" -smart alec

Hailey (while in our hotel room): "Do we have to go to school in our new home?"

Eliza (while running away from waves on the beach): "This is our best vacation ever!"

We had so much fun playing on the beach, running up and down sand dunes, walking to a lighthouse, eating out, watching episodes of Sponge Bob Square Pants and Man vs. Wild (that guy is crazy) on tv, and just being together without any other obligations in the way. It was the perfect weekend.

Here are some more pictures of our weekend....

4 Months Old!

2008-09-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better post some updated pictures of Ava. She is such a sweetheart. It doesn't take much to get her to smile. Unfortunately whenever I get the camera out to capture that cute smile she just stares at the camera. Occasionally she'll give me a little courtesy smile. The girls still find it amusing to dress up Ava. Poor baby. She doesn't find it quite as amusing.
Here's that courtesy smile I was talking about. Isn't she just the cutest! I love my baby.

First day of school!

2008-09-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is in second grade! Eliza is really into being 'twinners'. She's past the whole barbies and princesses phase, but being twinners is still on her 'cool list'. In this case, she and her friend Jordan decided they wanted to arrive in style together on the first day of school. So, Jordan's mom took them out shopping for twinner outfits.
Eliza likes second grade so far. She wants to be involved in EVERYTHING. She ran for student council representative (and won!) and she also talked me into letting her do Brownies girl scouts. Cookies anyone? And I can't believe my other baby is in Preschool! Seriously, where has time gone? Hailey got a new back back which she filled with all of the necessities for preschool: lip gloss, notebook and pen, a Hannah Montana folder, and a stuffed animal. Here we've got the twinner thing going on again. Aren't they so cute?!
Hailey and mommy at the Preschool. Hailey was so excited to start school!

Hailey had a great first day! I was a little worried that she'd freak out when it was time for me to leave, but she was totally fine. After we got home she said, "Mom, that was the best school I ever had!" She's loved school ever since (minus the day when they read the story 'The Three Billygoats Gruff'-it made her cry! She also cried in Sunbeams when her teacher told the story of the good Samaritan. She's my little sensitive girl:) Yesterday we brought home a book that has pictures of her classmates in it and she knew the names of every single kid. So anyway, schools great! The girls are loving it!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-09-25T12:19:00.001-07:00

Shane and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on August 18th! We went out to eat and then ordered dessert to go (we had Ava with us and she was done being good). We came home and ate our dessert while we watched the Olympics. It was such a fun night. I'm so grateful to be married to Shane. He is seriously the best husband and the cutest dad ever. The girls and I just can't get enough of him. Being married is the best!

The 3rd child

2008-08-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ava is coming to find out what being the 3rd child is all about. She is at the mercy of her two older sisters. Here she lies defenceless on the floor with a shirt on her head.
The girls also think it's hilarious to put objects in Ava's hands because she can't figure out how to let go of them. (Note: the Polly Pocket in her right hand-a common object found in a house full of girls). The other day Eliza put a sock in her hand and tried to convince me that Ava had pulled it off by herself. I only believed it for a second.
Yes, being the 3rd child has it's ups and downs. But, our little girl just keeps smiling through it all.....and crying. We love you baby Ava!

You gotta love SISTERS!

2008-08-13T19:43:00.001-07:00

Eliza, Hailey, and Ava

Sweet girls

Big sister number one!

Big sister number two!

Coming home from the pool!

We love our families! Visits during June 2008

2008-08-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's a girl!

2008-08-11T17:11:00.001-07:00

Our sweet little Ava was born on May 23, 2008. What an amazing experience it was. She was our smallest baby weighing 7 lbs 7 oz and 19 1/2 in. long.
It has been so much fun having a baby in our home again. The girls love having a little sister and they are such a big help. Although the last couple of months have been challenging, we absolutely adore our new baby girl- I mean how could you not love a face like that?!

Welcome to the 2000's!

2008-08-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family! Well, I'm officially welcoming myself to the "2000's". I recently aquired a cell phone and now I'm entering the world of blog. This is very exciting! I thought it might be fun to keep in touch with everyone this way and it also seems like a great way to keep a family diary. I'll keep it simple considering my four year old probably knows more about computers than I do! Should be fun. Hope you all enjoy checking in on us every once in a while. Here we go!!