And the holiday hasn't even started yet!

The kids had Friday off for Memorial Day weekend so I begged Craig to take a day and we went to Warren Dunes State Park (near Michigan City in MI) to meet up with Robert and Laura and play at the beach. Taylor took a heart bite out of his apple in the car on the way to the beach (only an hour and a half). We had wanted to go camping, but of course by the time we coordinated which weekend to go, it was all booked up. We'll try for another weekend. It was an awesome place to go!

Katie was so plastered with sand the WHOLE time we were there! I don't know how she could stand it!

Sophie just chilled on the beach towel and even wore her sun hat. I was happy there was very little sunburning envolved.

Taylor had a great time playing in the sand and in the water. Laura got a great picture of the Taylor and Peter that you'll have to go to their blog to see, but this one is cute of our Little Man.

We had lots of fun playing in the sand. I was tempted to load a bunch in the car and haul it back for our sandbox!

Sophie didn't like the feeling of the sand on her. She stayed on the towel or fussed until somebody held her the whole time. It was nice to know that she wouldn't wander off though!

We buried Katie in the sand, she loved it!

Annie and Katie were brave enough to play in the FRIGID waters! It was literally like ice water! I convinced all the kids that the lake was frozen over solid just before we got to the beach (it felt that way).

We climbed to the top of this huge dune overlooking Lake Michigan. Taylor was the first one to the top and Katie was the first one to reach the bottom (running at full speed). I could have stayed up there for an hour. The view was spectacular and the temperature was perfect!

I couldn't leave without a pic of this cool tree. I loved all the exposed roots. Laura was nice enough to snap this for us. It was great because all the kids were strapped into their seats in the car so we didn't have to chase anybody around (this tree is next to the parking lot).

The Pink Princess Party

Thanks to Auntie Hailey and Uncle Steve for the gift card to Build-a-Bear to get her cat "Coota" a husband!! Thanks to Yaya and Papa for the birthday money so that Coota's husband (known as "Gabe" or "Mr. Owl") got a tux to wear for the big day!

I told Katie I'd play the piano for the wedding! I think it's set to happen this Saturday! They make a cute couple, don't you think?

Look at T-money! Doesn't he look cool twirling his baton! This was not during the party, this was earlier in the day. You can see my awesome brand new Cuisineart ice cream maker I got at the neighborhood yard sale for $10!!!

Sophie found a little doll twinner of herself at one of the yard sales! Pretty cute!

Do you think that Barbie is scared of her flaming dress?? She probably should have been! The cake is half cake, half ice cream with a fudge oreo crumb layer between! It turned out a little goofy looking, but fun!

Pink Princess Katie holding court (opening presents). One of the only issues I have with birthday parties is relinquishing control of how many toys (and which ones) enter the house. I may be a control freak afterall. We ended up coming through pretty well though! She got some Polly Pockets, a little pet shop digipet thingy, a nonstop barking nintendog that is banned to her room or the basement, a cute little webkin and some colored pencils. Not too bad!

This is just about as girlie as it can get! We decorated tiaras, put on makeup, played a Princess and the Pea game, and a kiss the frog game. We made necklaces or bracelets, had pizza and cake. It was 2 hours of a little bit crazy, but just the stuff that an 8 yr old birthday party should be made of!

She really did it!

yeah, not Sophie's birthday but this pic was too cute to exclude! She sure loves dressing up and hamming it up!

Thanks Auntie Rachael and Uncle Derek! Fits like a GLOVE!

Sophie wanted to wear her bday dress for Katie's birthday and her cuppycake shoes. She really did pick out the dress on her own! Funny girl! Katie still mostly lets me dress her!

She wanted to make sure she wore ALL PINK for her birthday!

We made sure the Robin wasn't there and it wasn't "too loud". She wanted to be certain not to miss them singing to her and getting her ice cream.

Okay so I keep trying to upload the video I took WHILE Katie got her ears pierced but it won't load. I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll have Craig try. I think the computer hates me! She did really go through with it and she didn't cry and her new favorite hobby is cleaning off her earrings (I'm a big fan of that!). She picked the cutest little pink sparkly flower earrings and I made sure we did 14k gold so she wouldn't have the pain and suffering that I experinced first time around.

She had fun getting a new bike (although it certainly didn't feel like she was surprised about that AT ALL), going to Red Robin and getting her ears pierced. Today is the big "Pink Princess Party". She has 6 of her little friends coming over to play games, and have pizza and barbie cake and put on make-up and nail polish. Should be a great time!

There was a little girl...

There was a little girl,

And she had a little curl,

Right in the middle

Of her forhead;

When she was good

She was very very good,

But when she was bad

She was horrid.

Sophie is mostly very very good. But she now likes to climb things and get into everything and steal things from her brother and sister and then run away laughing like a little banshee. I know I don't want her to be a baby forever, but it's always sad to me to see their sweet nature be taken over by the kid side. She is leaving my side and going to her brother and sisters' side. boo.

Tulip Time in Holland MI

After we left Tulip Time we went over to Saugatuck Beach on Lake Michigan.

Check out all the great Tulips behind Craig and Sophie. It was such a nice day too, cool and windy but not cold. I think the rain first thing in the morning was nice to help keep the crowds away!

This is about as much sun as we saw, but it was nice enough to have our picnic and watch the dancers and enjoy the flowers and the Art show.

Katie wasn't quite tall enough. Craig is holding Taylor up. Cute little Dutch kids!

Downtown Holland was a lot of fun. I'm excited to go back sometime and check out some of the fabulous little shops they have along there. It's only half and hour from our house and then the beach is only 15 minutes past Holland.

Yesterday we had a lot of fun visiting the Tulip Time event in Downtown Holland Michigan. I have been excited about this since we moved in. It's not as impressive as the tulip fields in the Pacific NW, but it was fun and alot closer to our current home!

We headed over around 9:30am and it was raining, but it cleared up as we got to a parking spot (free on the street). We had packed a lunch and had a picnic and bought some cinnemon roasted almonds and walked around the art show (the kids got Bug catchers) and watched the Dutch dancers in their costumes and wooden shoes.

After we had had our fill of the Tulips we hopped in the car and drove 15 minutes to the shore of Lake Michigan and played for a couple hours one the beach. We found a bunch of great skipping rocks and Craig all impressed us with his rock skipping skills and taught the kids how to skip rocks. I think all dad's must be able to do that! I still cannot and just throw a handful of rocks in at the same time to simulate rocks skipping.

It was a fun adventure. I love exploring new places. I think that next year my mom and Yaya need to come to Tulip Time too. Make your reservations now!