Celebrating Liesl's birthday all month.

This week we have been at the cottage celebrating Liesl's birthday. A bunch of her friends came to play (with thier moms and grandmas) and she has been having campfires and boat rides and hikes. Yesterday mom and I took the girls to hartwick pines for a hike, which was really nice to see again, and Liesl enjoyed herself seeing all the old trees and her reward was the 50's diner and the hamburger and ice cream she was promised. It was super cute and had all kinds of Coca-Cola paraphernalia. Jeannie made some friends there who she charmed with her cute little smiles she awards people. We also found a park to play in for a short time before it was time to go home. There was a pretty little bridge over the river in Grayling right next to the park. Liesl did a little climbing on thier tiny rock walls before it was really obvious it was time to go. We have always wanted a paddle boat so mom and I decided we would go to the WiFi at McDonald's to explore Craigslist. We came up with a winner in no time and within a few hours we had it propped up on one end with mom's liftgate and bike rack and Clara and I were carrying the other end behind the car. The kids are loving it. We had Dee and I paddling and Kayla, Colton and Liesl in the back and Grady between us. That along with all the floating toys, kayaks, and the pool with slide the kids have been way occupied. Oh and I can't forget the face paints. All the kids wanted this butterfly that was on the front cover of the box, which made it easy on me but the blue in the paints stained thier faces and took a lot of scrubbing to get off. They all looked so cute. Liesl as usual is quite the fish this weekend. She has been in that lake or pool as much as she can. There is a really cool huge turtle that Oma bought her that I towed her around the lake in the kayak with. It was her version of tubing. She has been telling every person that she meets that she is celebrating her birthday all month starting now... And we have. Today we baked cupcakes and all the kids tried to blow out thier trick candles and we sang happy birthday. I made the girls each a quilt from Oma and Ota's clothes. Both are very pretty. I can't wait to embroidery them and quilt them and get some backing on so they can be used by my girls to cuddle with. Jeannie's has a bunch of shirt pockets that I am going to put ribbons in and so I have a binkie on hand and such. It is very sweet. I also made a big blanket out of one of Oma's nightgowns for Jeannie which also has a "binkie pocket" and I am finally making myself a teddybear from the rest of that nightgown for myself. The kids have been having a great time together and getting along fabulously. Here is hoping tomorrow goes as well. Jeannie had a rouh day today with sleeping. Thinking she either had a tummy ache or teething issues or both. She has been doing great playing in her jumper, bouncing all over and loves her walker. She still hasn't rolled over but it is coming soon. She really wants to be mobile. Mom has been an awesome help with getting the little one to sleep and so have the other mommies and grandmas. Thank you all.

Police officers

I guess Liesl has learned from her momma early about schmoozing police officers. I got pulled over with the girls a few weeks back and the guy was very nice to me but I couldn't find my insurance card and he wanted to let me off. liesl asked me to open her window and so I did and she told him..." I've never met a policeman before" and he let us go because we had auch cute and well behaved girls.

Jeannie has been growing like a weed and is very easy for momma as ling as her needs are met and she is getting enough sleep which she also does very well. Sleeps at least 12 hours at night and then her male during the day. She is holding up her head very well and is starting to like the walker a little. Loves her crib and pack and play and hoping she will get into her playyard soon. She especially loves to giggle.....I mean full all blown out facile laugh at Oma and daddy. They especially make her laugh.

Yesterday we visited with aunt Gloria and Shannon. Shannon drove us down to warren for a little and went to get a massage then back to Romeo for burgers and brews at youngster yummm then a DQ run. Liesl loves her friend Mike. She is on him the moment he hits the door asking him to read to her or color with her. Very fun guy and great with the kids. Speaking of great with the kids, shannon was all over changing diapers and putting Jeannie to sleep yesterday. It was super cool. Great job girl.

Tuesday mom and I went to Barb Gater's pool to swim in the sweltering heat. Liesl and I got a little sun but had a lot of fun with Clara, Oma and the Barr kids in the pool. Jeannie even snuck in a few naps. Liesl is getting a lot better at swimming. She was swimming to me under water that was over her head. She went about 6 ft back and forth to the steps and then to me too many times to count. She is making quite the progress. I am proud of her.

Behave yourself!

Visited Frankenmueth on the way home....liesl wanted a happy meal so we said we could make a happy meal wherever we went. So when she was done eating she for to visit the toy store and she picked out a momma and baby cow from the Sh Schleigh toys. She was playing with them as we waited for Oma to come pick us up and the momma said to the baby "behave yourself and you will get lots and lots of milk!"

Cottage was fun

We had a good time at the cottage. Spent some time with Barb, Kaethe and Autumn finally this trip. Got to play a new game called martian dice which is one of Liesl's and is pretty fun. Jim will like it I think. Anything to do with aliens :) Jeannie had a little bit of a cold as far as she had some phlegm. Poor thing. We fixed the docks as best we could and swam all three days. Jeannie spent some time laying out naked under the umbrella airing herself out. She loved it. liesl enjoyed swimming around the island and mucking the lake. She gathered all of the snail shells she could and didn't mind walking in the muck. It still needs a little more work but is considerably better. Last night we walked up to DQ for ice cream and a little exercise.
Liesl and I got a swim in this morning before we started cleaning and packing. Hoping for some fun food on the way home!

On the way to the cottage.

<p>Well we have gotten through most of the drive down to the cottage from Grand Marais. Liesl slept in a little thank god with the cold she has she was a little grumpy. Jeannie too. We took an alternate route and bypassed some construction on the lake shore to the bridge. It was a nice drive nevertheless. We stopped in Mackinaw City again to visit Mill Creek State Park where the girls let me zip- line, cross the suspension bridge and climb a  super long climbing tower. The zip line was also super long taking me through the forest along the creek. Wayyyyyyyy cool. Loved it and would love to do it again. I miss that kind of adventure. I am glad the girls cooperated. Liesl loved watching me zip line and climb the wall and suspension bridge. On the way out of Mackinaw city I grabbed a dozen pasties....I don't know if I am overdoing it but we will see. Looking forward to the cottage. Less than an hour to go. Lop bad the bathroom isn't finished. I know Jeannie and Liesl cant wait to get there!

Wonderful trip to the UP

Wenesday we woke up and were off to a great start of bagels and a road trip with Oma underway. We did of course forget things and poor Jim had to come and meet us halfway back to deliver them. I couldn't forget my fruit! The driving wasn't too bad and we passed the time when the girls were not fussing with " the lion the witch and the wardrobe" on audiobook. the girls weren't too bad and the smallest mostly slept. I had to visit her a little in the backseat though. We made evry good time and were at Mackinaw city in no time. The girls were anxious to get out of the car. When we were all settled in and Jeannie's pack and play constructed she was out like a light and Liesl had her swimsuit on. The waterpark in the hotel was awesome. It had several tube slides and all the bucket dumping we coups handle. Perfect for a little kid her age. I had to go down that slide with her so I know that she went down about 50 times or more that hour. No hesitation. The HUGE bucket on top of the structure even dumped on her full on once while we were getting ready to go down the slide and it didn't phase her. She loved it. We went back to Jeannie still asleep. She was very happy to get some restful sleep in the room. Finally aunt Barb, Kaethe and Autumn showed up and we all went to dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant. Liesl pigged out pb pizza eating every bit then ice cream and visited the outdoor mall. She did a little too much touching and mommy ended up buying something she didn't want to and I hope learned a hard lesson. Then it was back to the hotel and swimming for the rest of the night on the water slides and sleeping again for the little one in the hotel room. The next morning....more water slides for an hour and we were back on the road to the UP. We were headed up to Grand Marais to hike a bit and swim and take in some scenery. Liesl enjoyed her trip over the bridge and got to see a model of it in the welcome center which was cool. We got some hummy pasties for lunch.....best in a long time. We visited Seney National Wildlife Refuge on the way up. I have been dying to for so long. I have never been with all the times I have passed it. First we took the scenic drive. Saw a sandhill crane, deer, a beaver dam, swans with babies, loins with chicks and geese, osprey and eagles which were all a treat. The park was beautiful. The nature center was awesome but small. There was a sand table to make animal prints ob with a truckload of large rubber foot imprinted of all sorts of animals. Liesl had a ton of fun. Then there was a large loom exhibit showing loons above and below the water in thier habitat as well as wolf and coyote exhibit comparisons. We were then back on the road to Grand Marais. Aunt Barb's car had already been there for some time exploring the beach. After settling in we went to get some beers and snacks "downtown" and then took Liesl to the cute little park down at the beach and some swimming in lake Superior. Yet again the cold water doesn't phase her. Poor little Jeannie got a terrible rash ob her inner thigh and was bleeding. Don't worry it heqled by morning and is not even visible. The girls were easy to put to bed but Liesl now has a cold. The next day we woke up to Aunt Barb and Kaethe making waffles. Yum. They couldn't wait for us to get dressed so yet again we were on our own which was ok. We got a little lost going the wrong way and found a logging trail.... For the moat part..... With street signs.....lots of mud....didn't want to go offroading so turned around.....then found our way and visited pictured rocks. Started packing Sable dunes and Sable falls Liesl leading and Jeannie in the pack. Liesl took us up the dunes to see the water and then we turned around.....had to talk her into the falls by letting her have a ride in the pack while Jeannie went to the sling on Oma. liesl enjoyed herself and the pack is well made so she wasn't too much burden and it was comfortable. It was a nice hike with a long stairway going down the falls and back. We then headed to Munising for lunch at the Dogpatch after Liesl snuck in a 40 min nap. Been a long time. Jim would have liked it. On the way back visited Miner's Castle. I needed to insist. It is a must see and I let Liesl know that I would take her swimming. She got a walking stick in the gift shop and a new sticker book which she devoured in the car ride back. snuck in a little beach time, Liesl secretly likes being thrown in the water. There is a gorgeous sandy beach right outside our hotel and accross the street. Cold water but is nice in the hot weather. We met back up with the pack for dinner. Poor Jeannie doesn't get a moment to herself in that bed of hers it seems. Pizza was good and I bypassed the beer this time. I bought everyone icecreams in the gas station before we went back to the park so Oma could get tiny-might to bed. We didn't get long before it was time for us too. I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish the book but she fell asleep ok. Today we need to check out and haven't figured out what we are up to yet. I hope for another hike before heading to the cottage.

glasses arrived

today was Liesl's first day with glasses. it was a bear getting her into the fitting for them but once I got them on her at home she kept them on. she wore them most of the time not even noticing them. boy those things are super thick. I cant even see out of them. the three of us girls visited lakeside mall to spend a gift card for the Disney store where she wanted a Pocahontas babydoll. She was very good in the mall shopping for some time and exploring the store.We went to the boat this weekend to watch the fireworks. they were amazingly spectacular. I have not seen anything that nice since Disney. Liesl has been talking about going for the 4th for a month. she wanted it the same as last year; making sure aunt Melisa and uncle Scott came and the piazza was important to her. she ate all her piazza and she gave quite a few ohhhs and ahhhs and a whoo hooooo! On the actual 4th we visited a friend's house to bbq. we couldn't believe the weather! 2 hail storms within a couple hours! unbelievable. Liesl had a great time playing wit he kids and doing very little swimming. we huddled under the tent avoiding the hail stones. Liesl was so cute. she didn't want to leave. the very next day our air conditioning went out.....it would have to in the most hot stretch of the summer. luckily Jim was able to find a friend to fix it for him that had a heating and cooling business (Friday night for free). needless to say we three girls hung out in the pool when we could and cooled down in the bath frequently. going on vacation with mom in grand Morais soon. should be tons of fun. Liesl is looking forward to it. hope I can get these girls PACKED!