Weekend at Portage Point Inn

wonderful family, expansive beaches, beautiful sunsets, fun tennis matches, passionate political discussions, much needed relaxation, and lovely walks... yep, that pretty much sums up our wonderful weekend we had up at Portage Point Inn with Alisa's family. Enjoy the pics.

Sadie's 8th month has been very busy...

WOW, Sadie's 8 month on Earth has been super fun and filled with a bunch of new experiences and achievements.  This time has really flown right by and we can't believe how big she is getting. Here are some fun things she is doing: clapping; saying 'da da da da da' and sometimes 'ma ma'; singing (or some would call it screeching); dancing; standing and taking a few steps when holding onto mom or dad's hands; army crawling; eating all sorts of yummy things like cheerios, cheese, chicken, avocado, crackers, bread; going to her first baseball game; visiting with chi-town friends; strolling around Meijer Gardens; and going to concerts in the park

This is Sadie's first time trying finger foods and she had a cheerio goatee. She wasn't too sure of it at first, but now she can't get enough of those little o's!

Cheering on the Whitecaps at her first baseball game. She would freak out if the crowd started yelling really loud - oh, our little sensitive Sadie. It was so fun to go with the Chi-town peeps! 

Hanging out with Grandma, having a tea party, and splashing around at Meijer Gardens. This place ROCKS and I am so glad my friend Mandy took us here. This place is huge and has so many places and things to explore!

... and below are just some cute pictures from the past month - from top to bottom: eating a flower in our backyard; with mom at the lake; playing with her musical cube; chilling with dad at our block party; and playing superman with mary!

Having a BLAST in Ludington & Michigan Adventure

Wow, I have been pretty slow at posting some new things about our summer adventures and let me tell you this family has been busy busy busy. But, it has been good busy like going to the beach, hanging out at the lake house, and eating a TON of ice cream. Here are some pictures from our trip a few weekends ago up to Ludington and our family's annual trek to Michigan's Adventure. 

Our weekend started on Friday when we headed to the beach in Ludington and Sadie took a 2 hour nap, yeah for me - I even got the chance to shut my eyes for a while and go swimming - it was awesome. After she woke up, we played in the water and she loved her bucket and splashing Owen.

The next morning, Grandpa made some fun Mickey Mouse pancakes and we had a HUGE breakfast. Here are the boys and Sadie helping out... well, maybe not exactly - but, hey they are soooooooo cute

...and later on that evening, Sadie had just a little bit of ice cream. Yep, people were walking by her laughing hysterically and I didn't think it was too bad (I couldn't see her, she was in the baby bjorn) until I saw this picture - YIKES! This girl loves her ice cream and can't get enough of House of Flavors. Like mother, like daughter!

...and daddy went to the new skate park at the beach and we got to see a gorgeous sunset. Ludington's beach is just so amazing and beautiful and I had to take some pics of her here.  Sadie and Owen were having some very serious conversations and then would laugh at each other.

On Monday we headed to Michigan's adventure for some fantastic water fun and adventure rides. We spent the majority of our time at the water park and even got to ride a few adult rides. Sadie just loves the water and here she is sliding with daddy (and Angie, Connor, and Garren) and hanging out in the Pirate's Cove with Daddio. It was such a perfect day. Thanks Mom & Dad for the great time and fantastic memories!

Our little beach bum

We have had such a fun summer so far and I just wanted to share with you some fun photos of our little beach bum. We've been going to Grandma & Grandpa D's lake house a bunch  and enjoying the water and numerous pontoon rides... plus, we've headed to Lake Michigan a few times and put our toes in the freezing cold water. Sadie absolutely LOVES the water!

Here we are hanging out in Muskegon with Grandma Johnson. This was Sadie's first time to Lake Michigan and it was such a gorgeous day. We had a great time and she loved her sand bucket and shovel, but was not too fond of the cold water.

Sadie and Grandma welcoming the lake express to Muskegon

Sadie's little toes going into Lake Michigan for the first time... oh, yikes it was cold. After this, we spent our time on the beach where Sadie decided to eat some of the sand - oh yumm!

Loving the sand bucket and shovel that Grandma J brought to the beach

Below are some pictures from hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa D's lake house. It is super fun to go here and relax, go swimming, and take boat rides.

Making some big splashes. She was very interested in eating the sand and rocks.

Big smiles on the deck and hanging out with the family

swimmin' in the nude 

Our Family Adventures in North Dakota

Our trip to exotic North Dakota was awesome and Sadie got to meet so many new family members (my mom comes from a family of 8), including her great Grandma Johnson (otherwise known as the 'real grandma johnson) and great Grandma & Grandpa Schmutzler. We had a great time playing golf (without baby), catching up with family, and relaxing at the lake.  

Our adventure actually started at home in Grand Rapids with a crazy storm that caused the sewer system to back up right into our basement. Yep, that's right we had about 6" of raw sewage in our basement the night before we were leaving. We had to evacuate our home that night because the fumes were so terrible. After talking to our trusted insurance man (our brother-in-law) and both of our families, we decided to go on the trip as there was nothing we could really do until the hot mess was professionally cleaned. Kurt's parents were a God send and helped a TON with our clean-up. We owe them BIG TIME!

After a VERY long night and early morning, we headed out on our flight to North Dakota with Alisa's parents.  Flying with Sadie was such a breeze and actually pretty fun. She was easy going and slept most of our flights. She didn't even cry when taking off or landing - what a STAR. 

It was super fun to see all of our extended family and to catch up on everyone's lives. Here are some fun pics from the golf outing on Friday:

Sadie meeting great Grandma & Grandpa Schmutzler

Holy cow, look at all those grandkids and great grandkids! I think the total count of great grandchildren is 16 and my cousin Marie is due with #17 soon. How amazing to have such a big and loving family.

The ladies getting ready to golf (Donna, mom, Penny, Sheila, and Brenda)

Our standard picture every time we get together (me, Laila, Angie, and Marie)

Having a blast golfing. Kurt did great for his first time and only whiffed the ball a few times!

...and Sadie just wanted to eat all the golf balls

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were spent at the lake cottage with all the family. Here are some pics from the weekend. We had a great time swimming, boating, eating great food (thanks Sandy), catching up with family, and relaxing.  

The Schmutzler cottage - I have been coming here since I was a little girl and always love coming back. So many wonderful memories and I can't believe that I am now bringing my daughter here. Oh my!

The great eight... what a good looking group

Sadie hanging out with Great Grandpa Schmutzler and Grandma J - She loved hanging out with great gramps - it was the best to see them together. 

Our entire family!

Hanging out with Garren, Ethan, and Mason. They loved giving her zerberts and making her laught!

All the wonderful memories - what a great family...