Great Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend - our first (almost) whole weekend in Grand Haven! I went to Lansing one night for my friend Priscilla's bachelorette party, which was great. Other than that, we finished moving all of our stuff and did lots of stuff around the house. We also enjoyed some time at the beach with April, Trent and the girls and went to a BBQ at Line and Tyler's, where we met some of the people in neighborhood. It's nice getting to know people when you're the newbie in town.

This week is a short week for me - I have tomorrow off and then 1/2 day Thursday and all Friday. Looking forward to Priscilla's wedding on Friday and then going up to my parents' cabin for the 4th, which will be loads of fun, since the WHOLE Stevens clan is going to be the for the first time in I can't remember! Ahh, I love summer (and long weekends!) :-) Hope you get some time off to enjoy the holiday, too!

Hodge Podge

The last week or so has been somewhat of a whirlwind! We closed on our house last Tuesday and have been busy moving every night. Even though we have professional movers coming tomorrow (Friday), we decided to have them only move the big stuff this time and move everything else ourselves. Last time, when they moved us, it took FOREVER to unpack, b/c they went a little overboard on wrapping things. (A foam beer koozie was wrapped in 6 pieces of paper!) It also helps that we are only moving 1/2 mile down the road. So, every night after work, we take loads over to the house, then unpack, paint, put things together, etc. It is exhausting to work 10 hours, then come home and do 4 more. When my head hits the pillow at night, I am out! We don't really mind the add'l work at night, though. It is exciting moving into our new home!

Over the weekend, we went to a wedding of a good friend of mine in Ann Arbor. We had a blast with my aunt, uncles, parents and Hannah. We then spent the night at my parents' to go to Mass and breakfast with my dad for Father's Day. Wes and Jaime came back from their camping vacation to join us, so all the kids were there - what a nice surprise! Here's the whole gang after breakfast . . .

We celebrated Father's Day with Brook's dad later in the day at their place in Grandville. We had a relaxing dinner and it was nice to catch up with them.

Also, "Happy Birthday" to Livia, who turns 3 this weekend! We missed her party b/c of the wedding, but I can't wait to give her her presents - one of which is a pinata filled with 5 lbs of candy!!! (I told April she could thank me later - haha!) What? The girl LOVES candy! See what I mean?

Unexpected Weekend Visitors

(This post is a little delayed . . . didn't have my camera handy to upload pictures.) We didn't have much planned for last weekend (the 13th/14th), besides picking out paint colors for our new house and going to Jackson for my Gma's birthday party on Sunday. So, imagine my delight when my mom e-mailed me and said Hannah wanted to come up! When I told Brook, he said Carey also wanted to come out to swim (practicing for a triathlon) and hang out. So, Friday night, we all went down to the Kirby to watch the Wings win the Stanley Cup. Too bad they didn't, but we had fun anyway!

At the beginning of the third period, we went back to the condo, so Brook and Carey could sit a little closer. Haha! I think this means we need more living room furniture. What brotherly love!

Saturday morning, Brook and Carey decided to brave the cold Lake Michigan temps and go for a swim. Brrr - the lake was only 55 degrees! Well, Brook didn't exactly make it in the water . . . but since Carey had a wetsuit, he did a few laps back and forth. After the swim, Hannah, Brook and I went downtown to the art show that was in town for the weekend. There was such a variety - over 100 booths with everything from handmade jewelry to $2500+ paintings. So beautiful! We later did some shopping, went to Mass and then went down to the pier to get ice cream and watch the sunset. I still can't believe I live here! The beauty is just beyond words!

We ended the night by going to the "World Famous" Grand Haven Musical Fountain. Of course, we will bring all of our visitors to view the show. But I'm not sure Hannah liked it too much . . . actually, I'm SURE she didn't like it, b/c we left early! LOL. It is kind of like Cascades, but free. Come on, you have to see it if you are in Grand Haven.

Birthdays, Birthdays and MORE Birthdays!

Last week, we celebrated many birthdays . . . the first birthday was on Sunday (the 31st), which was Pentecost - the birthday of the Christian church! When we have kids, we want to bring our faith alive for them and have a birthday party to celebrate the occasion . . . cake, ice cream, balloons . . . the whole nine yards. Trying to be creative to make learning about the church fun. Later that day, Brook's family came over and we celebrated my birthday. His mom made a wonderful dinner and then we showed everyone the house we are buying.

Right after Livia blew out my birthday candle! :)

Let's face it, I didn't just have a birthday, I had a birthday week! My mom, Hannah and Sophie came up to take me to lunch and see our new house (we close next Tuesday) on my birthday. It was my first bday not celebrating with my family and I was taking it hard. It meant a lot to me that they drove all the way up here. Then, when I got home from work, this was waiting for me:

We decided not to do gifts for each other for our birthdays, b/c we are taking a trip to Mexico in the fall. So, Brook got up early and made chocolate covered strawberries for me! He also got me a dozen roses. What a wonderful guy! We later went out for sushi, which was delicious. He did a great job of making me feel special. He always sets the bar high and my mom asked how he was going to top that next year? (I can't wait to see!)

Wednesday, the 3rd was my dad's birthay and I couldn't be there, which was also hard. I hope he liked the gift we all got him - an engraved brick like this at the new Nascar Hall of Fame in Charlotte. (He is a big Nascar fan.) We even got him the replica brick so he could display it at home. I wonder where mom will have him put it? ;)

And that brings me to Saturday, when we drove down to Concord to celebrate the big 2-9 with the rest of my family. We also attended my cousin's graduation party. Thank-you everyone for making me feel so loved! I am very blessed.

I couldn't even blow the candles out in one blow -

I am getting OLD!

"What happens at the beach, stays at the beach."

Perfect for our new house!

Brook LOVED this gift

BFFs - Maria and Grace at Nick's Graduation Par-tay

Connor says. "I want some Chex Mix, Ria!"