The Michigan trip...

As soon as I got off of work last Sunday morning, Brad Maddie and I headed up to Holland Michigan to enjoy the beach there and just have some family fun together. The first thing we did was a canoe trip that lasted 3 hours. We thought it would be 3 hours of sometimes drifting- sometimes paddling...nope...it was pretty much paddling the whole time. Whenever Brad would complain about something, I just kept reminding him that I had been up since 5PM the previous day. He just loved that. ;) We saw a duck family, an eagle, lots of turtles and I mistook a log for an alligator...seriously. We don't have any pics cause Brad left the camera in the car.
We went the next day to the beach in Holland. It was beautiful and puts Indiana beaches to shame. There's a red lighthouse there and a pavilion that has 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream...it was awesome!

This is Maddie's "LT. Dan" picture- from the moviie Forest Gump.


Maddie decided to strike a pose at the beach in South Haven.

South Haven has a specialty dog store so we picked Willow up some treats.

I really liked Michigan and it's beaches and can't wait to go back.

I'm Baaackkkkk!

Wow....that was a REALLY long sleep! LOL! I have always said I'm a procrastinator but this is ridiculous! Time has really flown since my last post in April. We have been busy but I won't go into specifics.

Maddie had a cool birthday party with a hawaiaan theme. It turned out great and alot of fun was had with her friends from school. I loved seeing her excitement everytime someone showed up...we had only gotten 1 RSVP so we weren't sure how many we would have come, but it ended up being a nice turn out. Of course, all those pictures are on the last post....before the long sleep.

Then, she graduated from Kindergarten in what had to be the longest ceremony ever. She received a few awards and I loved the look on her face when she realized that the name called was hers! We didn't get any good pictures of her during it cause we were kind of far away, but here's one with her teacher, Mrs. Schriner.

Willow is not as fond of having her picture taken...when the camera comes out and points her way, she looks so sad. If maddie didn't have her arms around her, she'd be laying on her side looking extremely depressed.
I got this good picture by tricking her. I took a picture of Leo and while she was gloating about him getting his pic taken and not her, I snapped one of her real quick. Isn't she sweet?

My two favorite girls playing ball out in the yard. It's hard to see it here, but Maddie's eyes are the same color as her shirt in this picture....and she needs a haircut REALLY bad.

We're going to Michigan in a couple of weeks for a few days. I can't wait cause it's so nice just to get away sometimes. I'll be sure to take lots of pics to post on here...if I can stay awake. ;)

Maddie's Birthday....She's Six!!!

I'll post some more pics tonite...I just really realized that I'm very tired and ready for bed. Goodnite or good morning!

Our house is done....for now!

Hallelujah! I can't believe we...okay, mostly Brad...accomplished everything we have in these past couple months. We set a goal to have it all done by Maddie's birthday and we did it! Yes, we may be on the verge of a divorce but it is well worth it! Just joking about the divorce thing. ;)


Here is the tile we laid in the foyer area. It runs into the kitchen as well. Brad did such an awesome job! He did all this after practicing on the upstairs bathroom. I bought new slipcovers for my furniture in the living room. I didn't want to buy new stuff for a room we rarely use but my old furniture didn't match with the new decor so this was a good compromise.

My mom made my valance for my kitchen and she did so awesome! I love her! :) Plus, we painted the kitchen the week of Maddie's party. Brad didn't want to...he was tired of doing stuff..but he loves me and wants to make me happy so we did it. Either that, or he was tired of hearing me complain. It was probably a little bit of both.
I decided to do an accent wall and I'm so glad I did- it really pops! I have this color in a lot of my pitchers so it really ties it all together. Eventually, I want a new light fixture but I'm running out of money. :(



Brad also managed to redo Maddie's room while he was busy working on the house. we moved her to a bigger room, painted it and put in a new laminate floor that looks like wood. She picked the color after I said no to her first choice, which was about 10 times brighter than this. Brad built this shelfing unit when she was born. He repainted it white and put on glass knobs to match her bed. I love the fact that I can draw a picture or tell him what I want and he builds it. It's hard for me to find something that matches what I see in my brain....does that make sense?

This is the bed Brad made for Maddie about 2 years ago, I think. Again, I picked out elements I liked from other beds we saw and put them together. It has three drawers that fully extend so we don't have to put a dresser in her room. Her other room was alot smaller so I had to find ways to save space when possible. The curved part took awhile to do cause Brad had to take multiple pieces of wood, glue them together and curve it with a jig- I don't know what that is but that's what he said he did. LOL This is my favorite thing that he has ever built.

I'll have to take pictures of my hope chest and our entertainment center. The former he gave to me when we were dating and the latter he built a few years ago. It turned out really nice but it took FOREVER.

Brad and I have a running joke between us. Whenever I say I want to buy something, he tells me he can build it. It doesn't matter if it's a lamp, a rug, anything... he can build it. Sometimes, it's easier just to buy it.

Family Fun Night!

We went to Family Fun Night at Maddie's school last night. we had dinner first and then we went with a group to three different stations to learn how to have fun with our child using things around the house.

First was the music class where we had to limbo and do the chicken dance. All adults had to participate so I was mortified. Maddie had alot of fun laughing at us...as long as she's happy.

Then we went to the library to play games. She received the Cooties game free. Then we went to Art class where she made a duct tape ball and got a string ball with instructions on how to do it at home. They had the room set up with all kinds of activities using objects anyone would have in their house.

Brad and she are playing with her duct tape ball and 2 milk jugs made into catchers. I think they did this for about 15 minutes... I think she enjoyed it the most.

Daddy and his girl after a fun night of playing.

Maddie and the school mascot...Go Lincoln Eagles!

The Tile is Going Down!

Willow, or as we like to call her...Willy Bill...don't ask...is stuck in the family room for awhile as Brad is laying the tile. I've got a chair and the dishwasher blocking the stairs. I hope that holds her. LOL Maddie is also stuck in the family room. She and Willow have already had a couple arguments. Maddie wanted to build a fort with blankets...Willow wanted to lay on it. Can't we all just get along? Thankfully, I'll get to sleep through some of the drama. I still have to go to work tonight, but it's my last one so Yay for me!