the Gator, the Jeep, the Quad- Oh My!

Very much enjoying our time spent outside.

The pics pretty much explain what we like to do!

Beach Day

These pics were taken on March 17th, yes March, yet looking at my children's attire you'd think it was July. On this particular day Kooper had 'Beach Day' at school so the kiddos were asked to dress in summer clothes and come to school with their beach towel. While getting him dressed in the AM, in his swimsuit and rash guard tee, Kennedy and Kolter thought they also needed to sport their suits and have a 'beach day.' Kennedy, thankfully, wore a cover up for our errand running that morning. As soon as we got home, however, they decided we needed to have a picnic lunch on the deck. It was a gorgeous day so I figured why not. After lunch they wanted fudgesicles. That's where these pics come into play. Next thing I know Kennedy is dancing and prancing around in her bikini minus the cover up. Clearly she thought it was summer. In her defense it was quite warm in our backyard as it was blocked by the wind.. Oh to be a child and to run free in your swimsuit during the middle of March in MI. Little did we know, a few days later on the first day of spring, we'd wake to find snow, once again, on the ground. Only in Michigan where you never quite know what the weather will be. Thankfully it didn't stick around for long.

More on his face than in his mouth.

And this one, too..

They wanted the pool out, but it wasn't quite THAT warm. We opted for the water table instead.

Praising God for spring and being able to get outside and PLAY.

Girl's Weekend and the BIG 3-0!

On March 15th I celebrated my 30th, yikes, birthday!! What better way to celebrate than by heading to the east side of the state with some good friends for a little shopping weekend?! Sounds like fun to me and that's exactly what it was. Mexico was also part of my 30th- just a month+ early, so I'm also thankful I was able to celebrate with my hubby. Anyway, the girls and I headed out on a Friday afternoon and made our way to Auburn Hills, but first made a stop at Ikea.
We all found lots of goodies there. 4 carts full to be exact. :)

After Ikea we headed to our hotel and then ventured to On the Border for a late dinner.

I apologize that this pic is a tad blurry. My camera misbehaved a lot over the weekend. (joy)

Tracy, Mechelle, Brenda and I enjoyed our yummy meal.

On Saturday we literally spent our entire day at Great Lakes Crossings Mall.

Lots and lots of fun.

We did eat and see a movie, but still 10-9 at one place is crazy. The mall was huge though and we had a blast shopping til we couldn't anymore.

Here we are at Toby Keith's, I love this Bar & Grill.

Lots of fun!!

The restaurant was pretty cool.

The bar was huge and in the shape of a large guitar.

Brenda and I.

Bren is 8mo. prego so what a trooper she was. It was a long day on our feet.

All of us.

Overall it was a great weekend spent with great friends. Looking forward to a girl's weekend again. So much fun!

When I got home that day there was a Happy Birthday banner on the door welcoming me home and balloons and decorations galore. Bryan let the kiddos pick stuff out so I had an assortment of Kennedy's faves and also Koop's. There was one Over the Hill balloon that Bryan picked out but the rest was left up to the kids. It was super cute and super sweet. Unfortunately I didn't snap any pics of it. (not sure why)

Later that evening we met with our life group and they surprised me with a 30th cake in the shape of a margarita glass. It was super cute and very tastey. Thanks again, Rob.. you're awesome at cake baking/decorating.

I love margarita's so this was totally fitting.

My friend Tim also gave me a surprise by taking me back to all the fun we had in Mexico by sporting a tee from one of the entertainment crew. Lots of laughs. Guess you had to be with us in Mexico to really get this, but it was good entertainment for me. Thanks, Timmy aka Carlos.

What a surprise that Carlos came all the way from Mexico to wish me a happy 30th!

And if all that celebrating wasn't enough the folks I work with all decked out my office and brought in lots of yummy goodies to celebrate. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life.

A few of my favorite quotes in regards to turning 30...

Like a fine bottle of wine- you only get better with time.

30 is the new 20!

Age.. well.. it's just a silly number anyway!

Happy Birthday, Reed!!!

We celebrated our nephew's 8th b-day in beginning of March. It's hard to believe that eight years have passed so quickly. He's the first grandchild on the Rotman side so I can still recall all the excitement about having a new baby in the family like it was just yesterday. Time sure does fly.

We had lots of fun wishing Reed a Happy Birthday. Our kids love their big cousin SO much and always look forward to anytime we have to gather at his house. (he has lots of cool toys)

The kids also had some fun playing with my camera at Reed's party so what you're seeing are pics taken by Reed, Kennedy, Carley and Kooper. I'm not quite sure who took which, but since they took them I couldn't help but post them. I think they did a great job.
Brothers..
Bryan and Ross

My sweet niece Carley..

Grandma and grandpa with the b-day boy!!

There were several other pics taken of random things like cups, toys, blankets, clocks, but I figured the ones with people would be a little more fun to look at. :) You've got to love the creativity of a child.

Couch Potatoes

A few weeks back Logan and Brooklyn came over for a play date. Their mommy and I work different schedules so that doesn't happen all that often. We always have a great time when we do find a date that works. I happened to have off on this particular day so we very enjoyed catching up. The kids had fun too and were only couch potatoes for a little bit after lunch. After all the playing and food they thought they needed a little rest. It was the only time they were all still enough for me to snap a couple pics.

Again, Again.. More, More- Pease, Daddy..

As soon as the snow melted and the weather started to warm the kids couldn't wait to get outside and play. All their bikes and toys were quickly put to use after sitting in the barn most of the winter. Kolter couldn't get enough of blazing through the mud in his car a few weeks back. Daddy was the pusher and they had a blast mudd'n it up. Again, again.. more, more- pease, daddy.. were what he kept saying. It was too cute.
I know this pic is super blurry, but I love the big smile on his face.
Getting some mud on the tires..

Faster, faster..

They took a break for a sec so cousin Ella could check out the car. As you can see there was no way that Kolt was going to let her get behind the wheel. Maybe next time, E.

Life Group Getaway

We headed to Lake City the last weekend in Feb. , that's how far behind I am on posting, with our life group for a awesome weekend retreat. I think this marked our 5th year of heading North and being pampered to the max. Matt's parents host us and do a phenomenal job at that. Each year we look forward to retreat weekend. We had a great time!! Ate a lot and laughed a lot- life doesn't get much better. It's a real blessing have such a fun group to retreat with.

He headed to Matt's brother's house for awhile on Sat. to enjoy the outdoors.

Guns came along so that played a little part in the outdoor.
Girl's with Guns...

Gotta love it!!

We also had fun fun on the pond. Mike had this sweet curling setup so enjoyed a few games.

It was a blast. Sort of like bowling on ice. (we aren't olympians- so I'm sure we played nothing like how you see it done on tv)