Rapunzel can plie'!

yes, it was Halloween at dance class today!  And yes, she did try to plie'!  Yay!  And she did a lot of good tippee toe walking!!

The kids loved it, they got to go trick or treating at the other classes and then the older kids made a tunnel for them to walk through, very cute!

Peytey was very busy eating his cereal, once that was gone, he enjoyed waving to his sister thru the window.  Good thing they only open the curtains every 3 weeks...  :)

They are just as cute as can be...love those little dancers!!!

So proud, my little Willa!

Happy Birthday Aaron (Ian)...

Happy Birthday Aaron!!!  Or Ian, as Willa calls you  :)

Glad we could all be together to celebrate, it was a fun night!

The kids enjoyed a tea party with Great Grandma Carmichael while the guys watched football and the gals put on dinner...

Willa loves birthday cake!  Or birthday cheesecake for Aaron...

And so does Mr. Peyts!

A little fun with Papa after our bath!

Who's more tired?

And a story to top off the night!

Hope you had a great day Aaron, we love you!!!

for Julie...

Julie and family were here in MI for a long weekend...which will produce several blog posts I'm sure in the next few days, but while she was here she asked to see the skimboarding videos that I promised long ago...but forgot all about - and I couldn't find them.  Lo and behold, now that Julie and family are on a plane back home, I find them. Helps when you take them off the video camera :)

So, back in April, Aaron came to Florida and decided to try skimboarding...we had a good time watching him, but no one had as much fun as Willa!

There was lots of this-

But Willa had the best idea of all, at least that's how I would attempt it, otherwise I would break my neck for sure!

kittens and ballerinas...

Sarah called and asked if I was coming to dance class today - well of course!  10 min until she starts, so I ran to close up the house and leave...as I was closing the front door this is what I saw-

4 little tiny kittys!  They are so cute!!!

Anyway, off I went to dance class...

if it wasn't for the cutest littlest ballerinas, those kitty's would have been top on my list of cuteness today...but nothing can top these ballerinas!  They are just too cute for words.  Here are some quick clips I took...I took a bunch and they were all so cute, it was hard to choose!

Willa, my little free spirit, I love you!

Hang on tight!

Oops, that's a little too tight Peytey!  :)

Good shopping buddies!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday Papa - what could be better than celebrating with your two beautiful grandchildren!!!  So sweet!  He couldn't be more proud!

Willa, our little singer - Papa thinks she has a future career!

Papa LOVES chocolate!  Obviously, so does Peytey!  Oh, and Willa too who was into the cake before we could even get the candles on it!

Ya think?

Hope you had a great birthday Papa!!!

We love you!

Just sayin...

looks like there is a birthday party in the works!

Stay tuned!

Perfect...

car for Dan...for all who know him, Dan + wedding {party} = a rendition of yellow submarine...any surprise that this is the car we rented?  We both laughed when we saw it!  It was meant to be!

Enjoying our time in Austin, TX for Justin Dyer's wedding {Aaron's best friend}, looking forward to the wedding tonight...and that rendition of yellow submarine!

Stealing flowers from the hotel has been my job!

Somehow...

I came home with 2 of these!

Don't you worry Miss Logan, I have given yours to your Grandpa with strict instructions that he give it to you when he sees you next.

I've taken very good care of it and I'm sure it will be delicious!!!

Thanks for the great time all, Kelley's shower and all the activity was a blast!

Shopping...

in Naples...with 2 kids...we quickly found out we weren't going to get much shopping done. In fact, the thought ran through our minds that maybe the guys {Dan, James} paid them off!

Willa is soooooooooo taken with water, I spent most of the time following her around the many fountains and pools talking her out of taking off her sandals so that she could get in the water.

Last straw, we were in JCrew Beach and Sarah was holding Willa, over Sarah's back she was pulling tops off of shelves and throwing them on the floor, Sarah set her down and 5 minutes later she was missing. I was pushing Peyton in the stroller outside when I see in the store window, Willa! pounding on the glass and waving to the people going by...I could barely stand up I was laughing so hard, I sent Sarah in after her and when Willa saw her coming she grabbed the window decorations and started shaking them, I thought it was all coming down...luckily Sarah grabbed her just in time and everything settled back in its place.

Needless to say, we didn't spend a dime on ourselves, a few things for the kids...but then outta there!


Can't you just see the dickens in her in these pictures? She was wound up that day! Always keeps me smiling! :) And this particular day she had lots of people smiling!!!

Willa is learning to swim!

Willa just loves the pool, even when she is cold and shivering, she refuses to get out...I think she will be a little fish and love water like the rest of this family!

she has learned to float, do the doggie paddle (a little) and go under water...we are so proud of you Willamina Grace!

...mommy says you are going to have swimming lessons when you get home!

while the boys are away...

James and his buddies flew in yesterday...but not for long...off they went on a motorcycle trip-

back 'em out boys...

our quiet little street was not so quiet as they warmed the bikes up and took off!

while they're away, of course we will play!

Peytey...

is learning to walk...

and talk...

he really does say cracker...guess he has to have one to say it, we'll try that next time :)

Willa & Peytey at the beach!

After dinner we go to the beach...the kids love it! Yep, all of us kids! :)

THE REVEAL!

Finally! After adding some final touches last night to our kitchen, I feel I can reveal some pictures! We are almost done...we need to add the rest of the knobs to cabinets/drawers and install the trim kit for the microwave, get a Roman Shade and install the backsplash, and that's it, finito! Ok, the backsplash is a pretty big thing, but that's going to take me a bit to figure out yet.

I forgot to take before pics...so here are some as I was running out the door to catch an airplane in December, leaving Dan to get this project going!!! You are missing most of the island/peninsula here and the blue carpeting on the floor...but you get the picture, pretty ugly, outdated...

take two...

No problem guys, just follow these diagrams!!!

Floor in progress...Dan just loves me signing him up for these projects...thanks to brother Tim for coming over and jumping in!!!

Near completion on the floor!

Wa la! Miracle workers!!! Is my husband talented or what??

And a nice bottle of wine - note the name!! - found in Tucson on our last visit!

I am amazed at Dan's talent...if he doesn't know how to do something, he learns...there is no stopping him!! Thanks Dan, for making all my dreams come true!!! :)

Fun in Florida!

Enjoying our time in Florida this winter...even though I'm currently in snowy, icy, COLD Michigan. I must admit I'm glad to be home! That said, we head back down to Florida next week. Dan has a show in Boca Raton the first weekend in Feb!

Enjoy some videos at the sprinkle park...Willa and Peyton are loving it!

Out to lunch...

This was a GREAT lunch! A must do for all visitors :)