If Only For a Moment

Certain people touch your life if even for a moment.  Looking back over my life there have been a few people that I “knew” for only a few minutes and have made a lasting impression.  Leaving a grocery store with a toddler on my hip a wounded veteran in a wheelchair stopped me.  He was selling stuffed Shamu toys to raise money for veterans.  I told him I didn’t have any cash and I wouldn’t be able to help him out.  He insisted that my son take one of the Shamu toys anyway.  Now, 8 years later, that toy sits on my son’s bed.  Though a toddler at the time, Nathan remembers the story, I often told him, of how he came to own that stuffed Shamu.  He sometimes mentions the kindness of that wounded veteran.  Though that man was only in my life for a few moments, he has forever touched my life. 

Work on House

Oh, I can't forget this post!  Over the summer my friend Megan and I put up a tile backsplash in my kitchen.  Megan has experience with mosaic tiling and talked me into doing this ourselves.  It turned out great - but started with a long process of choosing tile, borrowing no less than three wet saws and two long days of tiling.  My only tip, make sure you have a decent wet saw and an awesome sharp blade for that bad boy!

School Year 2013-14

Pictures from the first day of school

Now that we are in our new house the kids are zoned for Vineyards Elementary School.  They have a uniform dress code - which parents really like and Nathan seems to be getting over his distaste for it (at least I haven't heard him talk about it lately).  

Audrey is in Kindergarten with Mrs. Sharp - she has 21 kids in her class

Nathan is in 3rd grade with Mrs. Addis - 17 kids in his class

Summer 2013

As it turns out I am probably close to the worlds worst blogger.  But I guess it doesn't matter because it doesn't seem that anyone missed the posts while I was "out."

There are a few things to post about from over the summer - (funny that I have to look back over the pictures I have taken to see what sorts of things I need to post)

The big deal this summer was our three week vacation to Michigan.  All of our family is from Michigan.  We use to go up to MI during the summer and at Christmas (and before Nathan started school we would go up 3-5 times per year) - now with Ryan's big job we can't make it up for Christmas anymore.  It is going to be an adjustment for all of us.  But if I have to choose between a long trip in the summer when we can be outside and do lots of fun things with the family and a crammed, cold, short trip around Christmas - SUMMER IT IS!

I'll let the pictures tell the story.  I will caption above the photos:

Fun with cousins - Alaina and Zachary

(Didn't notice until now just how much Alaina and Elysse look alike - hair parted on different sides but these girls look a lot alike!)  Audrey - hmmm not sure what that face is all about.

Boat and fishing with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Jim

Park in Lake Odessa

Fishing at Great Grandma Brace's house

Hike on an old Indian Trail

Trip to the Detroit Zoo

Green Field Village

Audrey's try at modeling... No future...

Road Apples

More modeling??

Watering a garden with Uncle Chad

More fun at cousins

Grandkid Picture

Elysse on Lake Michigan

 Building Sand Castles and Flying a Kite

The Badger - takes people from WI to MI everyday

Riding with Grandpa Beadle on the tractor

We had an action packed three weeks and I didn't get pictures of everything but we had a good time.  While visiting family we made sure to get in some fun activities - Nathan and Audrey went camping, we stayed at a condo in Ludington on Lake Michigan, went to Michigan's Adventure amusement park, went fishing and to parks, Detroit Zoo, Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

Having so much fun in Michigan makes the kids miss it all year long...