Really creative title, huh?!?! Well this summer has been nuts so I decided to write about it while it is semi-fresh. This is definitely more for my journal sake...no recipes or tips. I just wanted to add that disclaimer. :)
Summer began with a bang when my sister came out for the month of June...yes the MONTH...it was pure bliss having her here. We got together for ice cream dates to Charley's, shopping adventures, cousin sleepovers, pool days, and my favorite...a double date with our hubbies.
I love not only our family bond, but our bond in Christ...we are SO on the same page! :)
Same shirt purchased in different states and worn on the SAME day (no phone calls involved)...what can I tell ya, we ARE sisters!
Are they here yet?!?!
Together at last!
The whole gang!
Cheering on Zach at his soccer game!
The "actresses" The girls put on a play entitled "Lost in the Woods" :)
One of many sleepovers in the matching PJ's!
Does this even need a caption??? SO much love!
Doing what they do best ;)
The beginning of our LOOOOONG bike ride (note the sarcasm, the men got hungry).
We sadly had to say our goodbyes and that pretty much ended our June...well not quite we had an extremely important thing to celebrate on June 29th. Our little M&M turned 2 years old...how did that happen?!?!
We renamed her "peanut" M&M because she was our smallest baby at 6lbs 14oz...she was such a beautiful newborn!
2 years old!! Still a peanut...
Opening presents...
She absolutely LOVES babies
The day before our party we were able to pick up some VIP guests from California.
Grandma & Gpa Condron. Uncle Ryan, Aunt Natalie and cousin Kaden!
And speaking of birthdays...Uncle Ryan turned 28 while he was here. He even made his famous Lemon/Blueberry Scones for breakfast (wasn't that nice of him to cook for US on his birthday??) lol It was a day of food, swimming, and we even tried to kill him with "Death By Chocolate." ;)
Cutest pool boy EVER! :)
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4th of July festivities
Miss O even braved the diving board!
Mr. T getting the squirt gun to take his revenge on Uncle Eric...muwaahahah! Isn't he just edible?!?!
A great evening for a walk on the Grand Haven Pier (Lake Michigan)
Cousins created a "building store" in the woods...what memories they will have! lol
Snug as a bug!
The girls did great this year at Neighborhood Bible Time! They each won a Bible and they worked so hard on memorizing verses.
Our friends came to visit and our girls are the same ages and have the same personalities to a "T"! It was fun~
What a day!! It started off with our ultrasound bright and early at 9am. For those who may not have known we decided NOT to find out (right away). We asked our ultrasound technician to call our baker with the color the inside of the cake should be (blue for boy, pink for girl). Man-oh-man was it a LONG day! The suspense was intense!
We also brought an invitation with us to the ultrasound so she could see what we had planned. She tucked a "revealing" shot in the back of this frame for us and wrote "Its a____"...we opened it up right after cutting the cake to confirm the bakery had gotten right! lol
Our hearts and our hands are full!!
Me being goofy...the suspense was literally making be bonkers!!
So thankful for this little life...19 weeks
Cakes Plus did an awesome job! They did my wedding cake and my mom has used them a lot over the years!
Team "Boy"
Team "Girl"
The invitation had requested guests to wear either blue or pink depending on their "vote". :)
All set to go...I was freaking out about someone bumping the table and the cake spilling over!! I think Megan sensed my stress level and decided to help lighten me up...
She is TOO much!
Daddy and his girls...he is a GREAT dad.
Trying to get Skype to work...
We were able to connect with Grandma Bonnie, but the conference calling didn't work. We had to have my sister and brother on phones instead.
M&M and her M&M's!!
Ok, here we go...
Yup...its PINK!!!
I do have to say I was disappointed on the "light shade" of pink the bakery used...I was expecting a bright, noticeable coloring. Upon the bakers recommendations she advised that only the frosting be colored,
lest cake crumbs be visible and ruin the "reveal". It's ok, though...just a tip for anyone thinking of doing this - go for the cake part being dyed!
I love this picture...a piece of my dad was here too. I have several memories of doing "gas station runs" for this candy (Riesens) while in high school. I have inherited his love of chocolate and he would have been floored to see us have 4 girls! Oddly, with this pregnancy I have craved this chocolate several times! I love you Dad!
My "girl"...my bestie from childhood days took ALL these amazing pictures. Love this girl so much, we have been by each other through all of life's major "event's" and she is truly a gift.
Does she look guilty or WHAT?!! She definitely had a weeks worth of sugar intake I am sure...who knows what we didn't see!!
The video is below...
The end of this video cracks me up...my mom AND sister both had boy dreams and she was a bit in denial I think! lol SO funny, in her defense it was super light, in fact, my first reaction was "what does white mean?!?!" We did pull out the revealing picture to confirm things. :)
I just wanted to end with this picture...I LOVE the picture to the far right of our little girl all curled up. You can see her little arms and legs in this profile shot. So tiny and so perfect. We have decided on the name Abby...Abby Lue. Lue is Eric's mom's middle name and Abby is from the name "Abigail" which is Hebrew and means "My Father's Joy". Her due date is on her Daddy's birthday - February 13. We will see if she makes a birthday gift, but if not I am sure they will share their birthday month!
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s
womb. ~ Psalm 139:13
Our dining room is currently empty and we are having a "gender reveal" party this week! I didn't want to use a boring folding table, besides not wanting to spend money on something so "boring"- enter Craigslist...love that website. I found a cute, but ugly table (makes perfect sense, huh?) for $15. Score! A can (two cans to be exact) of black spray paint was the only thing standing between me and my girl.
Here is the before:
I loved the edge detail and the "legs"...very girly. :)
Isn't she pretty??
If you are wondering what the random yellow items are for, they are for our "Bee" themed gender reveal party. I am SO excited about this party and will post all about it later this week. Here are the invites we sent to our family:
Yesterday the girls and I discovered the lake access we have for the lake across our street. We were pretty sure we had spotted the driveway earlier in the summer, but due to the chaos of the summer we didn't investigate much further. We had a quiet day and the weather was "Pure Michigan" so we hopped on our bikes and went for an adventure! I love this neighborhood in the summer! There are three lakes all around our subdivision. This is the first one as you enter/exit:
This is the entrance point...very cozy!
At first they were unsure of the dock...notice the "wobbly" stance :)
It took approximately a minute to get over that fear and they were running!
It was SO peaceful and you felt like you were floating because the dock was so close to the water.
I love the simple country life!!
Collecting lots of rocks and smelly shells :)
It was such a great morning. We took dad back that evening to show him our "discovery"...we also brought life jackets for the girls because they have several paddle boats and fishing boats for the association to use! The girls were paranoid about a baby "alligator" that was spotted by a fisherman...we got a newsletter about it and I made the mistake of reading it out loud!
We have big plans of getting fishing poles and taking a blanket out to the dock at night to watch stars come out.
Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest
heavens, and their starry
host, the earth and all that
is on it, the seas and all
that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Mr. T getting the squirt gun to take his revenge on Uncle Eric...muwaahahah! Isn't he just edible?!?!
Cousins created a "building store" in the woods...what memories they will have! lol 
