Visitors and Birthdays

It's so hard to blog when it's nice outside! That's why my updates are for events that have happened a week ago. Oh well. Last weekend my parents came up to check out our house and spend the night. It was so nice to have them here and we had a great time together . . . lots of eating, laughing and cocktails! ;) We even tried the Musical Fountain again . . . I say tried, b/c we left at the third song! That is when we left the last time, too. I am determined to sit through the entire thing before the summer is over! BTW, my dad says it is nothing like Cascades. LOL.

They only stayed Friday night and we spent Saturday at the beach and went out Saturday night. The Coast Guard Festival began last weekend, so there was a lot going on. We went to see an 80's band perform at the waterfront stadium. You know me and the 80's - it was awesome! Plus, we were given free tickets, so it made it that much better. After the concert (wish I had my camera!), we met April, Trent, Nicole (April's sister) and Kam (Nicole's husband) at the Kirby. Kam and Trent drinking = 2 funny guys!

Sunday, we were invited to my cousin's 16th birthday party in Concord. It worked out well, b/c a dear friend of mine was in town from Poland and I wanted him and Brook to meet. We got to know Fr. Pawel (means "Paul" in Polish, pronounced "Pavel") about 15 years ago when he started coming to the US to visit a preist-friend here. After many years of his visits, 2 of my cousins and I decided to visit HIM in Poland. He was our tour guide for 3 weeks as we visited Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and (my favorite) Poland. Poor guy, I think it really drained him! :) Needless to say, I have some great memories with him from my time there. Since he was appointed a pastor at 2 churches in Poland, he hasn't been to the US in a couple years, so it was GREAT to finally see him again!

After the visiting Fr. Pawel, we celebrated Matthew's 16th birthday at Uncle Jeff's. Matthew is a great kid and I'm glad we were able to be there!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Grace wanted to pull Sophie in this wagon. So . . . I put her in it.
Looks safe, huh?

Sisters

We have have had many visitors the last 2 weekends. Veronica and Sophie came up to stay the first weekend and ALL my sisters and their kids last weekend. Both weekends were so much fun! Sophie is such a little squirt and seems to get cuter every time I see her. She has such a vibrant personality for a 6 month old and is full of smiles and her characteristic screech. It was nice to spend some QT with her and my sister. The weather cooperated part of the weekend and we were able to go to the beach for a few hours. We also made a trip to the Grand Haven farmer's market, b/c Veronica wanted to get items to make homemade baby food. She started with green beans and I was really wondering how Sophie would react to them, since she didn't like the cereal. She LOVED them and ate every bite she could without fussing.

At Lake Michigan . . .

Typical Brady - he feels the need to lick babies to death.
Gross, I know.

Sophie in Maria's "Cousin Eddie" hat. Poor baby.
I was pushing the stroller down the boardwalk and she was wearing this! People kept pointing and laughing.
At least she was warm!

Last weekend was the "1st Annual Sisters Weekend" in GH. The husbands (all but mine) went to the races in Ohio, so the girls came up for a visit. They arrived after a 50 mile detour when they missed their exit (sorry, Veronica!) and wouldn't you know, it started to rain! It didn't matter, though; the kids had cabin fever from being in the car so long, so we took a nice long walk downtown to tire them out. That night, we sat around drinking strawberry daiquiris and catching up.

All ready for a walk. What a character!

The babies . . . no they are not twins! It seems that putting 2 babies in a double stroller really confuses people!











Daiquiris anyone? Yum

What a great pic!

Ria reading to Uncle Brook (haha) and Jaime & Hannah relaxing with the babies.

Saturday, we were seriously thinking about braving the cold temps and going to the beach - Maria wanted to go so bad! But it was just too breezy to be able to enjoy ourselves. So, we went to the "Outlet Mall" in Holland instead. This outlet mall has a whopping 3 stores - GAP, Carter's and Reebok - the rest have sadly gone out of business. In front of the mall is a little Dutch farm / park / I don't know what you would call it. There is a big yellow wooden shoe that Maria saw on the ride up and wanted to play on. Actually, she wanted to play on "the big banana." So, Jaime and I sucked it up and paid $12 each to pet a few goats, let the kids play on the "banana" and ride the carousel. Definitely not worth $12, but the kids had fun.

That night was Anna's 6th birthday party and April was kind enough to extend the invitation to my family, as well. So, we all went to Jenison for a wonderful dinner and watched Anna open her gifts. We also managed to get in a quick walk down the boardwalk to the lighthouse that night . . . well, it was kind of quick, considering Connor wanted to stop and watch every boat that went by! Unfortunately, we never made it to the musical fountain (I know Hannah was sad about that) - maybe next time.

Happy Birthday Anna!

The air popcorn maker - quite the novelty for Maria! Do they make Tinkerbell and Dora ones? That is what she wants for Christmas.


Quote of the weekend by Maria: "I don't share good." LOL.

She loves her popcorn and doesn't like to share it!

We all went to church together Sunday morning and then they headed home and . . . I cried! Can't wait for next year!

All the girls, plus Connor (Julia is hiding in her car seat.)
What great sisters I have!

Weekend Travels

We were all over the state this weekend, thanks to Priscilla's wedding and the 4th of July. Priscilla and I met when we were in a mutual friend's wedding just a few years ago. We became fast friends and even lived together for awhile. She recently moved to D.C. and while I am sad that we can't see each other much anymore, I know she is happy with her love. Thank goodness for the phone - we talked for hours about wedding planning over the last year! Anyway, back to the wedding . . . Thursday afternoon, we went to Ann Arbor for the rehearsal and dinner at Connor O'Neils. Friday was the wedding at the chapel on Concordia College's campus - what a pretty place! The bride and groom looked so happy and Priscilla was absolutely stunning! Congratulations you 2, I was so honored that you asked me to be a part of your special day. Hope you're having fun in Hawaii!

We drove up to my parents' cabin on Sand Lake, which is near Tawas, after the reception and arrived a little after midnight. Almost everyone was in bed, so we had to wait til morning to say our "Hello's." We went to the parade in Tawas on the 4th, where I always become 5 years-old again. I don't know who was more excited, Maria or me? They throw MASSIVE amounts of candy, I'm pretty sure that is why I like it so much! :) It was wonderful to have my whole family up there. Like I mentioned before, we haven't been there together in years. I got to spend some QT with my neices and nephew, whom I adore, and relax in the sun. Brook was brave enough to let my dad take him tubing with Carey and Brandon. Brave or crazy, I'm not sure! The next-door neighbors had their annual neighborhood 4th of July party, with a private fireworks show for the lake. How cool to sit on the deck and watch the fireworks! Here are some shots from the weekend . . .

Connor's favorite place to be!

Just getting started . . .

they weren't quite this smiley by the end of the ride!

The girls in their matching 4th of July outfits

The whole group, on the way to the neighbor's 4th of July bash

I am stoked for this weekend - Veronica and Sophie are coming up Friday! Can't wait!

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!"