Isaac's Birthday

Well, jacob and I just got back from a quick visit down to the cousins house for Isaac's birthday party. Aaron was pretty busy this week, (as he has been lately) so it gave jacob and I chance to get away for a little bit and freed up some time for Aaron to get a lot of work done. We had fun. As you can see-it was a Star Wars themed birthday party. The kids had fun....the parents were tired by the end of the night. Rachel invited 8 boys over and then of course there was my 1 kid, rachel's 4, and jen's 4. So, we had a house full. Actually, she had it in the garage, which was a good idea. About an hour before the party there was a pretty bad storm brewing and a tornado watch. But, by the time the party started it had ended. It kinda rained off and on, but that didn't stop the kids from running around and playing outside.

Darth Jacob & Darth Ben

My son and his cousin have been taken over by the dark side. If they weren't so adorable, I'd be worried about it. May the force be with you!

Disc Golf

Saturday morning we decided to head out and play a little disc golf. They don't have any baskets up yet, but it was still fun. They had big wooden sticks you have to hit which is actually a lot harder, I think. Jacob had fun running around with us and helping us search for our missing discs.

Here's the little man walking back to the car. He insisted on carrying all of the discs himself.

He almost made it the whole way. But, at the end he got kinda tired and dad had to carry him the last little bit. What a great way to spend time together as a family and get a little fresh air and exercise!

my sick little boy

Tonight I am exhausted and yet somehow very fulfilled as a mother. Jakers didn't wake up this morning until like 9:30 which is very late for him! I went into his room and he was crying and his roomed smelled horrible. He must've thrown up in the middle of the night because his whole bed was full of it. I picked him up and his body was on fire. So, the day started out washing sheets and cleaning his room, in between caring for him. I gave him some motrin and he seemed to be doing a little better by late morning. Then I thought I should try to give him something to eat and he started eating but then threw up again. This went on throughout the day. Needless to say I called aaron twice because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am not used to jacob being sick. He is always so happy and full of energy and today he didn't say two words and just laid on me all day long. It made me appreciate him and all of the joy he brings to my life. Most days I wish he would just relax a little and be mellow. But, today it made me think about how that is what I love about him. So, here it is the end of the day and I am exhausted from caring for my little boy all day. I smell like puke, i'm in pajamas that i've been in all day, my hair is amazing and I have no makeup on and yet somehow I feel more fulfilled as a mother than I do most days. I guess that is what being a mom is really all about. Doing whatever he neeeds, above all my needs, because he is the most important person (other than my husband) in my life. To all you moms out there caring for your children, whether sick or well-I commend you! May God give us the love, patience and wisdom we need to bring these children up in a way that would honor Him.

You can't get me!

Okay, so the other day jacob was outside running around while aaron was mowing the lawn and they were so cute. Dad was letting jacob help push the mower and so I grabbed the camera and ran outside. After that I thought it would be nice to get a couple pictures of my son. He, however, had no intention of allowing me to do that and I had to play a tough game just to get a few good ones. What a stinker. First, he starts walking away from me, then he hides behind a tree and when all else fails, he starts running away from me. Let me tell you, he gave me a run for my money. But I did get a good one. ha!ha!jacob

Mackinaw Island Vacation

Here's some pictures we took along the shore of Lake Superior on our drive. It was cold and windy which is what it's always like when I'm near Lake Superior. But, it was beautiful! The water was so clear and pretty and the sand beach was beautiful. Then I had aaron take a picture of me with my hands in the sand because it was so soft and felt so good. I know. I know. It's just sand. But, it WAS really wonderful sand.


The Mackinac Bridge.


We pulled over before we crossed the bridge and took a few pictures.


These are a couple of pictures of the resort we stayed at.I put these up for you mom and dad, thought you might like to see the place.The resort was very nice, you guys should check it out. Thanks for letting use some of your time.


We got a few pictures with both of us in it. Mostly we just took pictures of the scenery or else me with the scenery. The picture of us on the ferry was taken by a nice elderly lady who complained a good way of the boat ride back about how everything was much too expensive. She was funny at first and then just annoying so I put my head on aaron's shoulder and pretended to sleep.


Okay, so this is the general size of the houses on the island-amazing! There were so many gorgeous buildings, but these were some of my favorite.

This is where we ate lunch when we were on the island. It was a gorgeous bed and breakfast with a terrace overlooking the lake. The food was delicious and the view was amazing. Best thing about it was that it wasn't even expensive. We hit the jackpot with this place!

"The Grand Hotel" was indeed quite grand. But, so were their prices to even step foot inside. It was $10 a person just to walk past a certain point. I found the people there to be a little richy richy and snobby for my liking. And, after a guy told us we weren't allowed to walk any further without paying the twenty dollar price tag of looking at it, I decided I didn't want to pay their rediculous price. (Now that I'm home, I of course wish I would've just paid the dumb price.) But, Aaron and I did sneak down on the lower side by the pool and the lush backyard garden and got a few pictures. So, I felt like I had sufficiently "gave it to them" for being so obnoxiously snooty. Below is a picture of the dress code that I thought was a joke. I thought it was from the olden days. But, my husband happily pointed out the fact that that was the point of the island and the hotel-to make it like it was back then and that those dress code rules were in fact, still in place today. That too, I thought was little bit much!

Beach Buddies

Blaine and Jacob hanging out at the Carey Lake beach on a hot day.

Cute picture, but I couldn't see their faces because they both like to wear their hats down over their faces.

Mary ran over and took their hats off so we could see their faces. It is so nice having Mary and Blaine around. The boys are the same age (a week apart) and so we can exchange highlights/challenges that we are going through at the same time. The boys have a good time together and it gives them a chance to learn how to play together and share??????????? Well, at least we're giving them the chance!

Do you see the look he's giving me here? What can I say. I love this crazy little ball of energy that is my son. We have been having a lot of fun this summer, especially since we've had such gorgeous weather.

my little parade lover

Jacob loved the Hibbing Parade, especially all of the candy they kept throwing. I was a little disappointed in the parade this year because we only got one kind of candy the whole time. Some flavored version of a tootsie roll. Needless to say, they are not too appetizing. But, maybe that's for the better seeing as I am not allowed to have candy anyway with my gestational diabetes. It was fun just watching Jacob run out and get all excited and yell some gibberish about how wonderful the whole experience was.

The men in my life. Jacob and dad hanging out at the parade. I love this picture! There's just something about a dad and his son spending time together.

It was so hot out! I could hardly handle it. I have come to realize that in the last four years or so that we have been here that my ability to handle the heat has diminished quite considerably. I am now a cold blooded Hib-town girl. I never thought it could happen. I used to be able to sit out in the baking sun with the best of them (my mom)and now I am ready to melt away after a few minutes in the sun.

Okay, so is this the cutest picture or what? Lauren and jacob giving each other hugs.

Here they are giving me cheesy smiles while sitting on Lauren's little four wheeler.

Jacob had a blast playing with Lauren on the swing set.

Here's Lauren swinging as high as she can!