July 4th

Annual July 4th festivities at Lake Shannon, MI
We made the 9 hour drive to Michigan. Evey did well. We all had a wonderful time as usual with the Michigan family. Evey had some firsts as well. First time for fireworks which she loved and is still talking about them. She also played in the beach sand and really like it.
Evey and Spencer...her BFF for the weekend.



Evey helping with Croquet

Lauren and Joe

Miss Ryleigh, so precious in her stars and stripes
Maggie and Clark
Andrea and David


The Brothers
Christine and Chris
We did a lot of lounging and hanging



Ryleigh, Kelly and Ashley
Joan and Terry

Ryan and Alex fishing
Luke partaking in the slip and slide next door
Daddy and Evey time


Tongs up...Get your grill on
Joe dressing Evey in her new Fancy Nancy gear from the Janisses
So pretty in my Fancy Nancy stuff

Fancy Nancy dancing with Joe
Chrissy and Kelly

Wolverine Wiffle ball
Joan and Moses
Evey, ready to play wiffle defense
The Players
Jeff, Ryan and Ashley
Evey watching the fireworks they were setting off next door

Evey and Ryleigh after their beauty shop time
Evey and Grandpa
Everyone grab a blowup even in the laundry room

Playing on the little beach



Floating in the lake with the big girls
Nice Bass


Projects

Here are a couple of little things we have been working on around the house.

Herb Garden: I finally did something with those huge planters. The herbs are doing wonderful...already growing faster than I am using them but I don't have to pay for fresh herbs now...awesome. Oregano and Cilantro here

Basil, Mint and Parsley here.
We created a space near the living room for Evey's activity area. Books, puzzles, crayons, legos etc.

James and I (James did all the hard work) made a lawn game. One side is for washers.
The other side is for bean bag toss. I sewed the bean bags as my first little project with my new sewing machine. They actually turned out nice.
James has been working really hard in the garage. He built these shelves around the fridge. He painted the floor with that epoxy stuff...it looks AWESOME. He has even wired and installed new lighting. I tell you what I am SO impressed with his new electrical skills.
More projects to come...evey's big girl room, laundry room move, basement family room

Baby News

Evey is going to be a big sister! I am due December 14th so I am 13 weeks. My energy has come back...yay. I am feeling great. We are really excited. We found out Easter Sunday morning...my birthday. It was a little bit of a surprise but very welcomed. We will keep you posted via the blog. I went to the doctor yesterday and the baby's heartbeat sounds great. I think we are going to skip all those extra tests that they offer. They aren't 100% and that would just make me worry so we are just praying for healthy healthy baby. There is still a 25% chance that this baby will have MCAD just like Evey, but we will cross that bridge when we get there. Evey points to my tummy when I ask her where the baby is, but I still don't think she understands yet. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Love you.

Memorial Weekend

Memorial Weekend was really fun. The weather turned out really nice. Grammy (Char's Mom) was here visiting. Evey spent some time in her little pool. Then the cul-de-sac had a cookout on Sunday. James made a washers and bean bag game. I sewed the bean bags (my first sewing project). We brought out badminton and there was even a bounce house for the kids. It was load of fun and food.



Evey could not get enough of the bounce house
Evey and Laney in the bounce house
Yes, they have the same dress on...so so cute.




Evey 22 Months and First Haircut

We are having so much fun with her these days. She is putting so many words together and learning new songs each day. Her favorite thing these days is swinging at the park. And getting picked up from school in the stroller.


This is Evey's first official haircut. She did really well except that I had to sit in the chair with her. The lady did a really nice job. It looks really cute.

Afterwards, she got a lollipop for being so good

Ohio

Last weekend we took our first family road trip to Ohio. James's really good friend from highschool was getting married just outside Cleveland. It was a tough trip. We drove up late Friday night and came home early Sunday morning. Evey did really well and we had a wonderful time. Saturday morning we took Evey to the Cleveland Zoo. It was a pretty nice zoo. We only did about 1/2 of it.
Shark Tank...Evey was fasinated
Kangaroos
We took a train ride around the Australian area
Family on the train...Choo Choo
This monkey was showing off for the crowd...swinging around
This RHINO was HUGE!
Hanging with the monkey
Kiss the monkey
Congrats Tim and Taryn! We are so happy for you. Thanks for including us in your special day we had a great time.
Tim awaiting his bride
Taryn and her Dad
The Happy Couple
We caught a big smacking in the back
The Woodlands boys
James and Chris Carter...Hook'em
Sweet Evey, looked so cute in her dress.

Great-Geema

Evey's Great-Geema was in DC for some meetings she comes to every year. We got to visit her at her nice hotel, the Mayflower. Evey had fun running the halls (it was the afternoon and we weren't being that loud). She took a bubble bath. It was a wonderful little visit.