Dates with Aunties

We have the best aunties.  Seriously.  This particular Saturday morning of our trip shows just one of the many, many ways our aunties love on our girls.

Auntie Kris invited her namesake out for a morning of smoothies and pottery painting.  I think they had a great time together.  I know that the two dogs they painted are now prominently displayed on Delia's dresser so that she can "look at them while I fall asleep every single night."

  

Auntie Karen took her namesake on a date that couldn't have been more perfect for her.  They went to this cool studio/art gallery place where artists help students create a masterpiece with step by step instructions.  Ella came home proudly displaying her framed canvas and describing how fun it was to be a real artist for the morning with Auntie Karen.

  

For desiring quality time with the girls, for knowing what kind of dates would absolutely be hits, for making plans long before we arrived, for your generosity in treating the girls to these special experiences and for just being awesome...we thank you, Aunties!! 

Happy 8th Birthday, Ella!

After 5 days in Michigan, we drove back to Chicago for the rest of our vacation.  We arrived just in time to celebrate Ella's 8th birthday.  This day was full of big plans for a big girl!

I had to wait until I was 10 to get my ears pierced, but when Ella started asking about it this year, Dave and I decided she was mature enough to handle it and agreed to let her get it done on her 8th birthday.  This was her big gift from us and the thing she was most looking forward to in our travels.

We kicked off this birthday morning with the highly-anticipated ear piercing as soon as the mall opened.  Ella had both her parents and sister, both her aunties, her grandma and two cousins along for moral support.  As she sat in the chair waiting, with all eight of us surrounding her, another customer interested in ear piercing walked up and said, "How many of you are waiting for this?!"

Ella was nervous, but more excited.  After the first ear, there were some tears, but they quickly faded when she got her first glimpse of her new earlobes.  Grandma let her pick out a bunch of new pairs to take home too, which she can try out in 6 weeks.

We intentionally planned to be back in Chicago on this day because we thought it would be cool if Ella could have her ears pierced at the same place I got mine done.

With fancy new ears, we next went out for a fun lunch together.  The servers stuck a candle in the dessert nachos Grandma ordered, then sang, and Ella felt even more celebrated.

  

The last part of Ella's Big Day was a trip to the spa for the girls' first mani/pedis, a gift from their aunties.  I was cracking up watching Delia try to enjoy both the foot bath and the massage chair at the same time.  These girls were all smiles the whole time they were being pampered!  I loved that this was an experience Mom, Kris, Karen, Ella, Delia and I could all enjoy together.

Each day we spent in MI/IL was so great.  When we talked about our favorite things on the way home, it was really difficult to pick.  This day full of girly fun and new grown-up experiences for Ella definitely ranked high on the list, though! 

More Michigan Adventures!

After our overnight with Nick and Amy, we next drove down to my sister Heather's house to spend some time with her and my cousin Anna.  Our whole trip to the Midwest was centered around the few days we'd be able to spend with both Anna and Heather together, since time spent in this group is always a blast!

While we waited for Anna to arrive, we got to revisit the blue footbridge in Grand Rapids where Dave proposed to me during our junior year of college.  Since this day was also our 14 year wedding anniversary, we thought it was perfect!  The kids have heard the story, but never seen the bridge, so it was fun to walk them across and listen to their funny comments.  Delia said, "Daddy, you need to get down on your knees and thank Mommy for marrying you!"  Ella said, "The bridge is nice, but if I were going to propose to someone, I'd do it in Yosemite!"  

Our best outing was to the Frederick Meijer Sculpture Garden.  Here the kids enjoyed a fantastic play area, which included things like a giant tree house, a 5 senses garden, mazes and a water table shaped like the Great Lakes.

After the kids played, we spent a long time just roaming around and admiring the interesting sculptures.  Some were strange, some were really fun!  This place is known for its giant replica of the DaVinci Horse.

Delia found a pile of fallen blossoms to play in.

Though it looks like "FU", Auntie Heather and Ella actually point out the word "FUN" on the guy made of alphabet letters sculpture.

The girls thought this sculpture was hilarious, it was called "Mad Mom."  Don't you love their impersonation?

The sculpture garden also has extensive green houses to walk around.  The flowers were gorgeous.  We all especially enjoyed the carnivorous plants room, full of Venus Flytraps and Pitcher Plants.

Though my hockey-loving husband would have rather had the Blackhawks NOT go to Game 7, the timing did work out perfectly to watch this super exciting game with the most enthusiastic Chicago fan we know-- Anna.  Ella made us the above signs to help cheer on our favorite team.  Another favorite memory of the whole trip is watching Anna and Dave watch the game.  There was yelling and jumping and hugging and a little swearing and neither one of them sat for the whole time!  Thank goodness the Hawks won and advanced in the series.  Heather and I may have found another place to sleep for the night if they didn't! :)

  

Heather has some new members in her family, so we also took pleasure in meeting Cooper, her new puppy, and Jeff, her boyfriend.

On our last day, Auntie Heather took us for a long drive in her Mustang.  The girls are in the habit of pointing out every convertible we pass and reminding me that Auntie Heather drives one too.  They were really looking forward to a ride!

Our time in Michigan seemed to go fast, but we're so thankful for the days we got to spend reconnecting with Heather and Anna.  Counting down to our next reunion already, Ladies!

Nick and Amy

After our relaxing time at Kris and Eric's, we hopped in the car they graciously let us borrow and made the trek up to Michigan.  Our first stop here was an overnight with good friends Nick and Amy and their 3 kiddos.  Nick and Amy have been dear friends for years and we loved the time we got to spend catching up with them.  

Our friends were generous hosts!  I think these sleeping arrangements were the best the girls had for the whole trip!  Amy set up the infamous 2 person tent that Nick and Dave shared with two other guys when they hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in college.  One of my favorite memories of the trip was cramming our two families inside and laughing again over Nick and Dave's stories of this crazy camping trip.

We stayed up way too late talking and laughing.  We played Trains and Just Dance.  The kids had fun playing outside together.

The next day Nick and Amy showed us their hometown a little bit with a drive around the lake and a hike to the top of a lighthouse.

The lighthouse was also a museum.  Above, Delia rings an old ship's bell.  Below, Ella points out the, now three, Michigan lighthouses she's seen in person. 

And then we ran around on the beach a little bit.  Most of our days in Michigan and Chicago were pretty chilly, but as we read about the triple digits our friends were enjoying back at home we didn't mind getting to wear sweatshirts or hear thunder at night.  And no matter what crazy weather this area has to endure, they do have one of my favorite things in the whole world-- lilacs!

Our time with Nick and Amy and their three kids was really great.  God put these wonderful people into our lives during Dave's college and seminary years-- a very formative time.  We have been long blessed by their influence and friendship!

The First Day

We did something a little crazy this year and decided to take our BIG summer vacation just a few days after school let out.  We are just returning from a wonderful 2 weeks spent with loved ones in Michigan and Chicago and are excited that we still have an entire summer vacation still in front of us!

Our long family vacation was kicked off with a Sunday picnic at Kristen and Eric's house two weeks ago.  Some have been able to visit us in CA, but for many of these family members it was the first time we have seen them in years!

Many, many, many new cousin memories were made on this trip and this day was the start of the fun!  We went to church, ate brats, blew bubbles, had races, played a little wiffleball, climbed on Uncle Chris' bright yellow truck, laughed and saw lots of smiles.

Even Dave's grandma and great aunt were able to join us, which is always a special treat!  Though we were gone for a full 14 days, each of those days was packed with plans and activities (as you'll read about in the coming days).  This day was the perfect time to just reconnect and play with those we love and miss most.