Papa Visits the Big House

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There are a few things you MUST do if you go to school at the University of Michigan. One thing is attend a football game at THE BIG HOUSE. The football stadium is the biggest college stadium in the coutry...setting a new record at 114,800. Every game is sold out and the stands are swimming with blue and maize. It's quite the experience. We've all had it...Mike, me and the boys and we all loved it. Go Blue!

When Papa heard about the first ever night game at the stadium against rival Notre Dame he braved ridiculous ticket prices and a Southern California power outage to make it to Ann  Arbor.Even if he was only here for 36 hours we took advantage of every minute of his fun, supportive and vibrant personality. 

He got to watch all 3 boys play soccer, he got to ordain Mike to the high priesthood in our church since he now serves in our ward bishopric, he took us out to a great lunch, he hunted for snakes and frogs in the forest with the boys (the highlight of their life)...and...

He went to his first Michigan football game...and it was a crazy great one with an unbelieveable ending. It will go down in the history books and Mike and Rick were there!

We love you Papa. Can't wait to see you again!

The End of Summer...South Haven, MI and Wild Animal Park, OH

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In an effort to take in every last drop of summer and our Michigan experience, we decided to make it to the Lake Michigan beach one more time...this time in a tiny little town called South Haven. It was a nice, relaxing day. The water wasn't quite as clear, but the sand was soft and plentiful and there was a playground on the beach and a fun pier to walk along. Plus a quaint little mainstreet where we got delicious orange, lime and lemone ade and a burger before the drive home.















Our coolest sighting? The pirate ship!

Isn't this harbor fantastic? It was quite the picturesque town.

My least favorite excursion? The Wild Animal Park way outside Toledo, OH. The kids and Mike thought it was just fantastic to have dirty, stinky animals stick their heads into your car and eat out of your hand, lick your face, slobber on your window. So gross. I sat in the back. I was thinking it might be more like the San Diego park, but no such luck...and no tigers or lions either. On the upside the kids thought it was super cool.

Other than our fun excursions, the kids have been in heaven being home! They loved being back on their bikes, riding trails, and seeing friends, but what has really completed their life? Searching for animals!!! We've now had about a million frogs, toads, snakes and crayfish as pets (I let them stay in our yard for 24 hours, then we have to let them free) and we spend a ridiculous amount of time at the creek. It truly is boy heaven here. I'm thinking for our next move, we definitely need to be close to a forest again.

With the boys so happily busy, Mike and I have accomplished basically everything we needed to do to get the house ready for this new baby boy...bunkbed buying, room arranging, crib building, clothes washing, and I think we are almost totally ready anytime. So grateful to have a little free time with Mike and SO glad he can't stand to sit still. He was such a worker the entire 3 weeks and I was amazed at all we (or he) got done, especially while I was doing tons of stuff for my new job. It was great. Now, school has started and we only have a few weeks before this baby will be here. We can't wait!!

Summertime in Northern Michigan

We got some fantastic photos on our trip...to see the full post, click here!  

 

Kid Rock knew what he was talking about when he sang lyrics about summertime in Northern Michigan. It's beautiful and we tried our best to take advantage of all the fun before the craziness of school and real life starts again. We headed first to a place voted as one of the most beautiful places in the country...

Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach

We were competely shocked by the beauty of Lake Michigan. The water was cold but clear as the Carribbean. We had a wonderful afternoon soaking in the hot sunshine, cool water and soft sand.





Pretty amazing huh?

 Hiking the dunes
The boys were awesome hikers and made it to the top of the second huge sand dune...it's a real natural wonder to see the mountains of sand, then look back over the gorgeous lake. Running down was especially fun.



Traverse City
After the day at Sleeping Bear Dunes we headed to Traverse City to check it out. It was awesome! We got to stay in the coolest hotel that the boys adored...swimming, fitness room, restaurant, great pool and hot tub, king size beds, super cool shower, 3 flat screen TVs....it might have been the highlight for them.

Lighthouse
There are lots of lighthouses on the penninsula, but this was the only one close enought to see. It was kind of small, but still pretty cool.

 Old Mission Store
There was a really fun, old store we got to stop by and check out. They had all kinds of sundry items, candy, old guns, bows and arrows. It was a cool stop.

 Blueberry Picking
We found a blueberry farm that had full bushes and the boys loved helped picking blueberries and we all loved eating them. Yum!!!

 Jet Skiis
When the clouds cleared, we got back onto the lake....this time with jet skiis. It was the boys first time and they loved it!

It was one of our favorite Michigan spots as a family. The perfect mix of everything and the boys were so fun and so good. This stage has been amazing for taking advantage of lots of fun things. I just adore them all!!

Wrapping Up Utah

We had such fun this summer, with so many activities I can hardly mention them all, but here is my attenpt to remember our incredible time in Utah.

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Camp Cousins!!

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After a fantastic 7 weeks in Utah, we headed to San Diego for 8 days for our "Romney Reunion," that quickly became CAMP COUSINS... a week full of fun, themes and activities. It was so great to all be together.

Beach Day

Who can be in San Diego without lots of trips to the beach? The kids all loved the times we spent in the sand and waves. Finding millions of sand crabs was definitely a highlight and Jace even started boogie boarding and loved it. Nothing quite compares to the ocean.

 Besides the beach, my kids cannot be in San Diego without eating S'mores. Instead of taking the sticky mess to the crowded summer beaches, we decided to make them over the BBQ. Perfect solution for everyone!

Music Day

We are all so proud of Mimi....she finished her Master's Degree training in music! She is really amazing and passionate about teaching music and the kids loved it as she put them all to work with her fun, new teaching techniques and tools. All of the kids were obsessed with playing with all her cool instruments, drums and guitars and they gave us a very impressive concert at the end of the week. Must have good genes and a great teacher!

 

Books

Leave it to Marci to think of everything...at the end of each themed day, the kids had books to read and a movie to watch that went with the theme of the day. It was so sweet to watch them all calm down for a few minutes and read and hang out together.

 Garden Day

We would have never expected all the kids to love "Garden Day" so much, but it was a huge hit. We visited Olivewood Gardens in National City where they gave us a first class tour of the gardens and let us into their organic kitchen where they taught the kids to cook healthy items right from the garden and they all pledged to always try everything! It was a hot but fantastic day.

 Here they are searching in a pile of compost for living things. My boys were in heaven finding worms!

 In the garden we found 2 old friends, Dot and Gibby, the chickens who used to live at Mimi and Papa's house. The kids were thrilled!

 The kids all went on a scavenger hunt through the garden where they learned about all kinds of plants, flowers and weeds. They especially enjoyed trying all the edible herbs. James is a big fan of fennel. Who knew?

 Again, bugs were the highlight. These caterpillars on milkweeds were some of the most exciting moments. James and Shaina even hid a caterpillar or two in their pocket to take home.

 The other highlight? RASPBERRIES!

 Here they are in the kitchen, making veggie hashbrowns and fresh orange soda. They all took the pledge to try at least "one bite " of every new food. My kids are still honoring the pledge!

Marine Day

For marine day, we visited the aquarium in La Jolla. The kids and adults had a fantastic time exploring the sea life and tide pools.

 To extend the theme, each of the kids got a snorkel set and got to dive for hours in pool. Everyone understood and has loved using the equipment. For all of the kids, one of the most favorite moments of the week were the million they spent in the pool and hot tub, sometimes as early as 7:30 am.

Cowboy Day

All the kids love horses, so Mimi and Papa figured out a way for everyone to enjoy a little time in the wild west. Everyone was so good with the horses and enjoyed their time on them so much. Don't they all look so cute?

Movie Day

One of the most exciting things about the week was the notebooks each of the kids kept with notes about what we did and the good deeds they had done. For each activity, they earned "money" to spend at the concession stand during movie night. The kids love watching an outdoor movie and getting to choose their candy, and the adults like it too :). Guess who was the biggest fan of buying his own candy? Yep, James!!

Sports Day

So glad to have Mike and Rick around. With 3 pregnant ladies and 2 missing husbands for most of the week, they were total troopers in helping execute Mimi's plans. They were both totally available and fun the entire week, full of energy for all the kids who somehow never need a break. On sports day, they (and Mimi)  took the kids to play baseball, kick ball, tennis and other games while the preggos stayed home. They all came home hot and sweaty and ready for the pool.  After a good swim, they helped Mimi make very cool baseball brownies to deliver to the veterans. Great day!

 Adults Only!

After so many days dedicated to the kids, the adults needed some time out. The girls started with an impromptu baby shower where Marci took us to an awesome baby store and bought us some very generous gifts for these new additions. Then, that night, everyone came together for a gorgeous, quiet and delicious dinner. We loved being together and having some kid-free time to talk, joke and laugh. So grateful for fun in-laws!

 Look at these bellies! Me, due in 7 weeks, Cassy, due in 11 weeks, and Jenni due in 3 weeks. Can't wait to see all these cousins together!

Spiritual Day

On Sunday we went to church, then exhausted after a week of non-stop fun, headed out to the Mormon Battalion museum in Old Town, San Diego. It was so worth it! If you have not been, you should go. The church has done an incredbile job with the rennovation and it was so interesting and exciting for kids and adults. Definitely a must see!

It was such a fun week, it was tough to leave. The kids all had the best time playing together non-stop and we loved watching the love they have for each other. I'm so grateful for incredible and supportive parents-in-law and fantastically fun brothers and sisters-in-law. Missed you Bryce and Lora! We are so blessed. Thank you all (espeically Mimi) for making Camp Cousins so great! Can't wait to do it again. Love you all lots and lots.

I've been dying to see these!

I've been admiring the work of Sara B Photography for a very long time (and Sara B as a person since high school :), she is positively incredible in every way, but we've never lived close enough to her to get her to take our pictures. So, when we found out she moved to Utah and our entire extended family would be in Utah at the same time this summer, we decided to have a little photo shoot with her for a surprise birthday present for my mom.

The photos turned out just as great as I dreamed they would be...even with 5 crazy boys, 3 pregnant ladies (note to self, no more family pictures at 7 months pregs), and one grumpy Ellie. Sara really is magic. Here are a few (or a lot) of my favorites. Wish I could post them all. Enjoy!

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Friends, Family, Fun and the Fourth!

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