Sept 20-Oct 11

Lazy day around these parts.  The only thing we did all day was drive to the library to return some books.  Yep.  That is my life.

running errands today.  my view from the drivers seat :)

feeling super fat and ambitious.  decided to give p90x a try.  after two days, I decided this would not continue.

caught Bryce drinking his milk right out of the bowl.  isn't it funny how kids do things without ever seeing anyone else do it, but this is exactly what Dan does.

hung out while Dan cut the grass.  Bryce found this piece of wood on our deck and said "mama, I build somfin".  me..."what are you building?"  Bryce- "a house".

yucky, rainy day, but it was still super warm.  felt bad keeping the kids in the house all day so we hung out in the sandbox for a while.  LOVE that we decided to put it under the sunporch where it stays completely dry in the rain!!

Went to Amy's house for a big cooking day.  Made lots of soups, pot pies, and things to freeze for the winter!  Yum.  click here for more pics

these two looked so cute reading a book together.  Terrible picture, but I didn't want to interrupt the little engine that could.  Bryce is loving this book lately!

Mom came into town and we took the kids downtown to Art Prize.  click here for more pics

road trip to Pittsburgh to visit Jeff, Emily and Ben

spent the day at the pittsburgh zoo.

lunch with the {other} petersons before we left town

man...i don't know about this girl.  She loves to dance, and she loves to climb on things.  bad combination

went to Klackle Orchard with the kiddos, Cassie, and Ben.  click here for more pics

surprise 30th birthday party for my friend Amanda

my two cute chubby babies :)

yay!  Happy Birthday Sydney!  Click here for the birthday recap!

Sydney's one year well visit.  waiting {as best as we can} for the dr. to come in. {as you can see, syd has markers in her hands, and bryce was twirling on the dr.'s stool.

Week of Sept 13-19

As you can see from the shopping cart, we were out of many essentials, so family trip to our favorite place...Target!

These kids love jumping all over the couch.  It is a fantastic way for me to sit and finish my coffee in the morning and maybe even have a little computer time.  I give Syd lots of credit for all the crap she takes from her brother.

I bought these shoes 6 days ago, and there is already a giant hole in the toe.  Sydney has been walking so well lately (with and without her walker).  I saw them sitting by the back door and had to get a picture because of how cute and tiny they are.

I have NO idea why this is my POTD... Poor Bryce gets slim pickins for lunch everyday, so I actually used the oven for once and whipped up some fancy pigs-in-a-blanket.  Only the best around here.

I gave Syd the spoon and let her feed herself breakfast this morning.  To my surprise, she did great!

Dan was a groomsman in Brent's Wedding today.  Took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night.  It was so nice, and weird, to come home to a child-less house.  Even better...waking up in a child-less house! 

Sydney is actually starting to walk more than crawl these days.  It's amazing how much more confidence she has gained over the last week.  {I do dress my children occasionally, despite all the naked pictures}

I participate in Project Life Tuesday over at the Mom Creative.  click here if you would like to see more POTD's :)

Sept 7-12

Click here to check out more Project Life pics :)

Spent most of the day cleaning.  It was necessary.  The floor was looking very neglected.  {and it kind of felt like you were walking along a dirt road while in bare feet}

The slightly cooler weather has gotten me in the mood for fall.  Decorated the house with my fall stuff, and made a few new things to put out.

Hung out with Amy and the kids for the afternoon.  Bryce was in heaven playing with the boys cool toys.  Thankfully the four-wheeler was not charged.  We even went home with some "new-to-us" tractors for the sandbox.

Went to Meijer for a few things we needed before heading to Mackinac for the weekend.  Picked up a new backpack for Bryce and he wore it around the store.  I snapped this picture of him in awe of all the "Cars" stuff and monster trucks conveniently at eye level.  {this was moments before he took off running and made me look like WT Mom of the Year}

Vince, Jeff, Dan and I right before our 8 mile race around Mackinac Island.  {...and no need to tell me I look like a boy.  My husband was nice enough to have told me already that morning.}

Once again, an absolutely gorgeous day as we are packing up to leave.  Great weekend in Mackinac with the Peterson Family. {minus J, S, and the girls :(  }

August 30- Sept 6

This boy amazes me and scares the crap out of me at the same time.  He was playing at the park, and as quick as he is, I looked up and saw him at the top of the really tall slide.  He didn't go down, just climbed up and down the stairs? 

Missing Wed and Thurs

Bryce and Syd are really into stripping the couch and jumping all over the place.  Syd thinks she's pretty cool because with no cushions, she can get right up on the couch.  I love this because I can get things done (by that I mean facebook/email/blog) and they are in heaven. 

I mean Sept 3rd...need to fix that pic.  Went shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall.  Dan found tons of great sales on such much needed casual stuff, and I did a little damage at the Coach store.  Yay! :)

Saturday 4th- Kids pictures at Mom's house. 

The weather was beautiful so after naps, we took the kids out for another bike ride.  We have a great trail near our house that we can ride to.  I LOVE that the bike trailer is on Dan's bike, not mine.

Spent much of Labor Day Monday in the house because of the rain.  I bought Mums on Sunday that we didn't get around to planting, so we got them in when the rain let up on Monday.

August 23-29

Our 7th anniversary. Hard to believe seven years have gone by?  Dan got me flowers...which he NEVER does.  That deserves a POTD (picture of the day)  Here is how we celebrated.

Feeling kind of crafty today.  Trying to finish up my "P" cluster that hangs in the upstairs hallway.  Dragged my supplies outside while Syd napped and worked on my project.  Here is the finished photo:

Ended a beautiful day with a beautiful fire, and even more beautiful s'mores.  {although slightly blurry}YUM

Why do these kids want to go outside at like, 8am?  I barely have 2 sips of coffee by then.  I'm not going to lie...I occasionally send them to the garage to play :)  {under close supervision, of course}  Notice the baby's pajamas and filthy feet...whatever.

In honor of Vince making it to 34 and not dying (his words, not mine) we went to San Chez to celebrate his birthday.  I love having an excuse to wear normal clothes and hang out with other adults!

Took the kids for a nice 6 or 7 mile bike ride.  This was the first time I've used my bike since before Bryce!  The kids did great {as soon as they got their suckers}.  It was a nice afternoon.

Playing Catch-up

 Attended a benefit in Muskegon for Dan's Cousin Steve who is battling a brain tumor.  HUGE turnout!  We were so happy to see all the support he received.

 Celebrated our anniversary in Holland with a very nice dinner and just hung out for the night.

 Super hot day!  We went for a boat ride which the kiddos didn't seem to enjoy too much.  After naps, the pool was the perfect way to cool off.

 Went camping as a family for the first time.  Stayed near Big Rapids at River Ridge RV Park.  This is totally my kind of camping!  Air conditioning, cable tv, no dirt, swimming pool, and pizza delivery.

 Finally able to get Syd's hair in Piggies! 

 Went to John Ball Zoo with Cortney and Aiden. 

 Spent the morning cleaning out Sydney's closet.  Went through all her outgrown clothes and moved baby stuff to the basement.  Hung up all her 18mo+ clothes.  Thank goodness for cousins and hand-me-downs :)

Sunday, August 15- no picture?  Ran around Reed's Lake with the family.  Kids did terrible!  Ended up carrying each of them the last 2 miles.  UGH!  Dan's new shoes gave him blisters, and my knee is killing me.

 Dan and I splurged on new running shoes.  Only 30 more days till the big run.

 Hung with Aiden for a bit.  Mom came to stay the night and watch the kiddos so Dan and I could go to a client's house for dinner/party.

 Bryce and I hung out while Sydney napped and he kept telling me "Sun, eyes!"  So I got him a pair of sunglasses to use. 

 Had the Louiselle family over for dinner.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of the meal I made.  I NEVER cook, so I was quite impressed with myself.  {Stuffed chicken with cream cheese, feta cheese, pesto, roasted red peppers and breaded with parm cheese and bread crumbs.  Pasta with Pesto and watermelon.}

 Bryce is taking tons of pictures lately.  He caught me making his gourmet lunch.

 Planned a little get-together for the old Applebee's crew.  Sadly, many people weren't able to make it at the last minute.  It was still fun to catch up.

Arrived in New York after our very long car ride.  What a beautiful sight.  Click here for more vacation pictures.

 Drove to St. Clair shores to break up the trip a bit.  Spent the night with the kids, then left Monday for New York with Sarah.

 Todd and Jenny's wedding in Muskegon.  So happy for them.

 Not quite sure what was going on here?  Didn't take any pictures today, just this one that Dan caught before leaving for work.

 Met Cassie at Egypt Valley Pool where she has a membership.  We love the kids pool.  It's only 1 ft. deep and the entire area is fenced in.  Bryce took this one.

 Went to Blue Water Grill for dinner with a few neighbors.  Janine and I discovered "Wine Down Wednesday" where all wine is 1/2 off.  I think this was our 3rd week in a row? :)

 Syd had her 9 month well visit.  She is growing so fast!  Thankfully no shots today.

 Aria and Kai came over to play for a little bit.  They wanted to jump on the bed, so I tossed them all in and  let them go to town.