Ohio trip - part 2

* Please view Part 1 before this one... I did it a little backwards! *

We went on 3 seperate outings during the duration of our stay, the zoo, a baseball game, and a week long family trip to Mackinac Island area.

The Zoo
- Alia's first time at the zoo!!

- Cousin Sydney and Alia having fun

- Ali and I's favorite animal!!!

- Alia absolutely LOVED the monkeys/gorillas... she couldn't get enough of them!

- The zoo crew


The baseball game
- Swimming at Uncle Josh and Auntie Erin's pool before the game



- Auntie Erin and Ali in their shades

- The game









(This is one of those famous "who in the world took this?" shots. We know who it was, but he shall remain anonymous... just wanted to clarify!)
- At the end of the game they let kids run around the bases and there was a HUGE line up, so we weren't going to take Alia. We finally decided to after all, and Alia ended up being the very last kiddo to cross home plate! Oh was she ever cute, gracious! The whole stadium even cheered for her as she went across!


- Fireworks at the end of the game



Mackinac Island/Michigan
- Our lovely cabins





- Playing at the playground




- The guys went to Drummond Island mudding one day... Jon said the truck did good, except the long box, crew cab part!




- Sault St. Marie boat locks

(before)

(after)


- The "famous" Antler's restaurant that Mom went to all the time as a kid!



- What a life eh?!

- The not so impressed Alia on the boat




- Mackinac Island
- Loaded up to head to the ferry

- Last minute tune ups on our bikes... note to self, ride them a little before hand next time!!



- On the ferry to the island


- The Mackinac Island Grand Hotel








- This is as close as we got to the hotel... at $300/night for a "bare bones" room, we just aren't quite in the same league!

Ohio trip - part 1

As a lot of you know we were able to spend a little over 3 weeks in Ohio with family and friends! It was a WONDERFUL time of relaxation, connecting, freedom, eating :), and making memories!

We were delayed 1 day due to my husband's new fascination - lawn tractor racing. Yes, you heard me right! I know... it can't get more redneck than that! But being the loving, supportive wife I am I said "Of course honey.... you just race until your heart's content!" I tell ya, those racers take their racing seriously... I couldn't believe it! Jon almost didn't get to race due to the 101 things they check your tractor for...and at this race ya get a pat on the back if ya win, not even a candy bar for crying out loud!! All in all Jon had a lot of fun (and I will admit, Alia and I enjoyed watching too!) and didn't do too bad for his first race. I'm told there will be more in the future so we shall see!!

We were delayed another half day due to our truck acting up... so that threw a wrench in our plans. It was 11 pm when Jon got the truck all fixed... just about the time I was ready to turn in for the night! I had no idea we were still heading out but Jon was full of energy so away we went! Alia was asleep before we left the driveway and I wasn't too far behind!

We had to make a stop in Chicago to pick up a diesel engine for Jonathan's new project and were delayed a few hours due to miscommuniction (do you notice the theme of the trip?!). We made the best of it though... let Alia practice her truck driving skills, took a nap, prayed that the repeat gun shots we heard were far off! It was worth the wait just to see Jon's face light up while loading his new engine though!! He gets so giddy about stuff like that, I love it!! Here's our "rig" as we were wasting time! We finally arrived in Ohio at 1:30 am and bless their hearts, my mom and dad were up waiting for us! It felt SO good to be home!

I'll just give ya a snap shot of our trip through pics k?! I can't even begin to "document" everything!
- "swimming" in the hot tub with Gramma and Grampa

- enjoying the sunshine and her own personal pool

- sunbathing with Auntie Angie

- taking the game pieces from one ladder and re-hanging them on the other ladder, over and over again


- Mom and Dad had some family friends over for a vist and they surprised us with a "Congrats" cake... it was so sweet! And of course, what would a gathering be without a shooting competition? Welcome to my family entertainment!



- My Grampa with us kids

- Gramma and Grampa gots lots of play time in, of course!


- Ali's 1st ear of corn (it's a big deal k?!?! Corn is just a part of summer!)
- Blowing bubbles at the park with Lisa

- Hanging out with my Daddy on the hammock (trying not to get pelted by flying objects, courtesy of my lil bro... gotta love 'em!! Really...I do, A LOT, I'm just trying to make him feel bad!)

I'm sorry...

I'll be back soon, I promise! For those of you who don't know (because I'm pretty sure I completely forgot to brief everyone) we have been in Ohio for the month of July and will get back to MB next week. At that time I have about a zillion pictures to post, so hopefully that will make up for my L-O-N-G absence!!! Toodles...

Dun dun da dah......

... we're expecting and we're quite excited!! And yes, it was planned... we've been getting that question a lot!

Oh, I forgot to tell you...

we finally got a good 1 year pic of Alia. So for all you family members, this is the one you're getting!

I can HARDLY wait!!

Jon's coming home tonight... and I can hardly think of anything else! Today is just doing whatever we can to pass the time until he arrives! He went to SK this weekend and it's been pretty lonely without him! Even Alia keeps going around the house saying "Dada? Dada?" I know it's only been three days, but that's long enough! It's these times of separation that make me realize just how dog gone much I love this man!!!

Hospital Visit

Notice that big mosquito bite an Alia's arm? That one warranted us a trip to the hospital. Somehow it got infected and after 3 1/2 hours of waiting in waiting rooms we had some anti-biotic to combat it. She hasn't seemed to mind the bite in the least, and whatever flavoring they put in the medicine must be pretty good.... she gets super pumped and starts bouncing up and down whenever she sees the bottle! After a week of the meds it is healing pretty good, but I'm tempted to get 1 more look before our trip. We'll see...

Hitting the Open Road

Jon showed Alia how to "drive" his Jeep the other morning and she absolutely LOVED it! She's quite the little driver! No more horsing around... she's gotta keep her eyes on the road. So we just have to get a different angle... Look at that grin!! She hardly knows what to do with this much excitement! She's already telling the other drivers what to do.... now where would she have gotten that from?! Your guess is as good as mine!

Swinging...

... could pretty much sum up Alia's week. Goodness, we've spent lots of time flying through the air.

On the swing at Gramma's house
On the swings at the park with Grampa
On the same swings with Auntie Bev
And countless times at home on the verandah. But at least she's happy as can be, and we're all getting a tad bit of an arm workout!

The Cat lady

Oh Miss. Alia! I'm afraid she's gonna ask for a kitten as soon as she can say the word!! She interacted with kittens for the first time this weekend and absolutely LOVED em!!
At first she wasn't too sure...
But then she got her first feel of fur... and she was a goner. She was squeeling and laughing and barely able to express herself due to the overload of excitement.
But... I haven't told Jon this.... I'm not sure he'll be the most thrilled!!!!!

My little girl

This girl is growing up...fast. I know, everyone says that, but I'm just realizing how true it is! In this pic she was trying to open the door using the handle. For some reason that just makes her seem older than her big ole' 13 months! I dunno... at any rate, Jon and I have re-realized we need to savor every single day with her... pretty soon she'll be walkin' down the aisle. Goodness.

My Daddy

As I was thinking of Jon's love for Alia... it got me thinking about my dad's love for me. I have been SO blessed by him. And I appreciate him more and more as I grow up!
Thanks Dad. Thanks for the many sacrifices you made for our family. Thanks for making anything funny (even a simple dinner would/does end with me laughing uncontrollably!). Thanks for your firm yet loving discipline over the years ("put your hands on the counter!!"). Thanks for your honesty and integrity... you've set a very good example for us to follow. Thanks for your love for me... I'll always be your little girl. And most of all... thanks for your love for Christ. It is evident in every aspect of your life and you have taught us a love for the Word through the hours you spend in it. Thank you Dad.... I love you and I can't wait to give you a huge bear hug in a week!!!!

Jon...

... is such an amazing father. It's on days like today that I really stop and think about his love for Alia. He's patient, caring, protective, gentle yet firm, fun loving - everything a little girl could want in a daddy (to like the 10th degree!). I've NEVER EVER EVER heard him complain about Alia. Or anything having to do with her for that matter! Never. I can't say the same about myself... I've done my share of whining, and Jon's always there to remind me what a huge blessing she is! As I type the two of them are playing together and it just makes my heart swell. Alia adores her Daddy... and for very good reason. Our "Daddy's Day" celebrations were pretty low key. Alia colored Jon a picture in the morning (okay, truth be known she wanted to eat the crayons more than draw... but we finally got some to paper, so it all worked out!), then we made him breakfast in bed. We stopped by Tim Horton's for an ice cap on the way home from church and made him his favorite meal for lunch! We played like crazy in the afternoon and went on a bike ride as a family. Ate some pizza for supper followed by more playing. Today has consisted of lots and lots of playing... and swinging (Daddy hung up Alia's new swing yesterday!!)... it's been delightful!!

Lunch Date

Today we had the privilege of meeting Jon at the park for lunch! It was absolutely lovely! We spread out a blanket and enjoyed the sunshine! It was maybe a little too nice... neither of us wanted to get up and push Ali on the swings! So we didn't! Ahhh... the glory of a 1 yr. old... Ali has no clue that swings are even an option at this point! She was content to simply munch on her pretzels and watch the other park-goers! It was all about the pretzels... I even brought Ali her own sub... nope. Notta chance. She wasn't going for it. But ya know, I was thinking - I'll take a pretzel fascination over a grass or bug fascination any day of the week!