Our First Visitors...

Our first Michigan visitors have come and gone!  We had such a great time with my Mom, sister Emily, and her five-year-old daughter Payce.  They flew from SLC to Detroit so their trip started out with an intense day of driving and flying.  Although we were anxious to get out of the car after picking them up from the airport, I had researched and found a blueberry farm right off the freeway where we could pick fresh blueberries!  It was perfect.  The kids had tons of room to run around, we snacked on blueberries, and then ended up with a TON of blueberries for dirt cheap.  Throughout the week we used them in smoothies, pancakes, my birthday cake, and with cool whip.  Not one went to waste. 

The next morning we headed straight to the beach.  It was a beautiful morning and there wasn't ANYONE else there.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  The kids were in heaven and us three adults just sat in the shade and chatted for nearly three hours. 

The rest of the week was filled with trips to Plymouth Park, free lunches, bike rides (we bought a bike off craigslist for her to have), puppet shows at the library, swimming for 15 minutes at a ward member's pool, visiting the nature center where we did puzzles, games, poison ivy crafts, etc..., playing in the shallow river outside the nature center and finding tons of clams.  Again, us three adults sat on the dock and just chatted in the beautiful sun.   Perfect.

During Payce's stay, we really wanted to make a special night for both the boys and the girls.  The boys headed out on their first camping trip and the girls stayed in.  We painted their nails, braided their hair, prepped their barbies, fixed them a special dinner, and let them watch TWO girlie movies:  Frozen and Cinderella.  Before the movie marathon, all of us went out to eat at a delicious pie restaurant.  Definitely a place ALL our guests will be taken too.  While the girls watched their movies, my Mom, sister, and I watched The Longest Ride.  Not as dramatic as most Nicholas Spark's movies but I will admit to shedding a few tears.

As far as the boys, they golfed, explored Lake Huron, ate junk food, and watched The Lego Movie.

In the morning, Clark packed up his camp site and drove to meet us in Frankenmuth.  Frankenmuth is a cute little German town with delicious food, lots of sweets, and fun little shops.  We ate at a crepe shop and died at how good they were. 

After the shops, we headed to Bronners.  Bronners is the BIGGEST Christmas store in the world and we knew we had to get there ASAP.  It was AWESOME.  Christmas music, ornaments for every tree imaginable, and so much more.  It was a little pricier than we would've liked but we managed to come away with some ornaments and also some garland for our banister.  We sang and listened to Christmas music the rest of the day so it was pretty fun. 

Clark loaded up at the kids and headed home while my sister, Mom, and I headed to Lake Huron.  Can't be that close to a great lake and not go see it right?  Canada is just right on the other side!

 On Sunday after church we worked out a plan to get all the kids on the bike trail so we could bike 2.5 miles to downtown.  The rail trail is awesome and we came away from the ride with only one accident.  Of course it was Leah.  Once we arrived downtown and met my mom there, we sat under the trees next to the tridge (a triple bridge if you were wondering) while the kids ran around.  Again, another beautiful Michigan summer day to enjoy.

What was awesome about our visitors is that they were here over my 30th birthday!  I decided on a strawberry cake, strawberry frosting, fresh strawberries and blueberries, and ice cream.  Boy was it good!  Earlier in the day I got to have some alone time to go shop while the kids went to the park.  Then my sister and I finished painting our dining room, we ate yummy pizza for dinner, and then ended the night with watching "13 Going On 30."  I even came away with a new tie-dye shirt, a warm sweatshirt for winter time, a universal remote to condense five remotes (annoying!), and a HUGE beach towel that I was deprived of in my youth.  30 feels pretty good so far.  I'm grateful we had family here to help us celebrate.

Only a few more weeks until preschool starts and the triplets turn five!!  I literally cannot believe they are five.  I wrote about this birthday in my blog posts right after they were born.  I wrote that we'd be lucky to survive to age five and we can't imagine it ever coming. 

Well....it's here and honestly, I'm happy it is.  :)  Again, this next chapter is going to be a good one!

Since We've Been Gone...

Wow...where do I even start.  I feel overwhelmed by this post because of all the fun details that I need to include.  I've been without a computer for two months now so I think I'll have to stick to the pictures and let them do all the talking.

*Before the movers came, Clark took a couple business trips to Costa Rica and Newport beach.  He even got to zip line through the Costa Rican forest.



*Last night with Texas friends and a homemade meal as a bonus since our house was empty and fridge was gone.



*Lots of chaos, movement, and stress meant lots of misbehaving and acting out.  The kids have to write 'sorry letters' when they yell at each other.  This was Zachary's letter to Caleb.

*Last night with all her animal friends before the movers packed them away.  

*I couldn't believe how big the moving truck was!

*The morning of our departure.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to a house that will forever be remembered.

 

*We traveled across Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and finally landed in Michigan.  However, we made a three week pit-stop in North Carolina to visit the Calhouns.  Hot North Carolina days made for many art projects, pool parties, early morning bike practices in the church parking lot, the incredible shrinking shoe experience, popsicles in the backyard, and lots of crazy antics from all the 3-5 year olds running around!

*We loved hanging with Truman who was so laid back and happy.

*We even got to visit UNC campus and hang out with Leila, Mav, and Aunt Karlee!

*After a week of late nights, fresh salsa, homemade peanut butter, swapping rodent stories, and watching Lifetime episodes, more family arrived in North Carolina and we had to share the Calhouns.  Mom, Aunt Anie, Cal, and Elle arrived so they joined us for Sonic ice cream, pool days, and the history museum.

*All the ladies snuck away one night to attend a temple session only a few minutes away from Tisha's house.

*Soon the whole family arrived for the Rudd family reunion and Ani's baptism.  I got to play the piano for the ceremony and felt very lucky to participate.  Ani even let me braid her hair.  

*Finally it was time to head to the beach!  Clark bought be a long-sleeve rash guard because he knew I'd be miserable if I burned on the first day.  So thoughtful.

*The water was so warm and the kids had a blast finding shells, digging in the sand, and water surfing.  

*Clark and I organized a genuine Survivor game for the week of the reunion.  Each day was a different challenge ranging from eating races, box puzzles, cup stacking, water throwing, and sand digging.  There were a few hiccups in the challenges which we were bummed about but everyone was good sports.

*Family talent show.  The kids sang the "Fifty Nifty" song and our family of five did a puppet show called "The Soup Opera."

*The beach gave us new surprises everyday.  One morning we arrived to find a sand cliff.  The kids were so excited.  

*The final three survivors participated in a memory game.  Aunt Amy and Uncle Curteis moved on to the final challenge and Aunt Amy was the lone Survivor after defeating Curteis in cup stacking.

*Unfortunately the Carolina beaches had one too many shark attacks for our liking so we stayed out of the water most of the week and enjoyed the sun.  Leah didn't mind!

*After all the adult Survivor challenges were complete, we let the younger kids in on the action of gummy worm and donut eating races.  Leah and I raced and she beat me fair and square.  It was impressive!

*The waves were a constant source of entertainment and the kids just say for hours and laughed.

*More challenge pictures.

*The Blue Jay soccer team were in full action during the week.  They participated in some strength training exercises and also attended team meetings.  

*In the downtime before dinner, I volunteered to host story time.  We read "Sir Charlie Stinky Socks" books and also had a "Once Upon a Time..." bag.

*The kids all got to decorate some bags to put their shells in from the beach.

*Red Team.

*Blue Team.

*After the reunion we headed straight to Michigan.  Unfortunately our house wasn't quite ready so we spent a week in a hotel which was actually a blessing because Clark had to drive to Indiana to retrieve money for our closing because there are no Wells Fargos in Michigan!!  Once we closed and moved in Clark didn't waste any time and got right to work on his projects.  His first one was a bike rack. 

 *We explored the City Forest and can't get enough of all the trees.

*We immediately went to the library and found out there was a free movie playing.  The auditorium was EMPTY five minutes before showtime.  In Texas there would've been a line out the door.  The perks of living in a small town are appearing already!

*We can't live in Michigan without camping during the summer.  The triplets got early birthday presents and can't wait to test them out.

*Three bedrooms upstairs makes for an awesome "Kids Club."  The green carpet has already been replaced luckily!

*More exploring and pretending to be trees.

*Clark's current project:  a desk for his office.

*We attended our first Loons baseball game and it was Christmas in July that night.  Santa was there so we visited him and Leah is still deathly afraid of the jolly guy.  She ended up getting a foul ball so it all worked out.  To top it off, we saw three deer on the way home.  They must've dropped Santa at the game!

*We are just so dang excited to finally be in Michigan and getting settled into our new house.  This next chapter is going to be an exciting one....and probably a cold one too!