New Wheels

   

We are the proud owners of a 2015 Honda Odyssey. We traded in our 2006 Honda Odyssey on Tuesday following a battery issue the day before. We were hoping our van could have lasted us a few more years, but it was becoming increasingly less reliable. We are excited about all the new features our new van has to offer. It is amazing how much technology has changed in 9 years. My favorite feature is that my phone now syncs with my car. We are blessed!

ADDENDUM: I shoulder report that two short days following the purchase of our brand new van, it received a large white scratch down one side. Trace accidentally drug the handlebars of his bike along one side of the van, while trying to get his bike out of the garage. It was one of those deep breath moments...

Issa's Visit

Kianna at the top of the climbing wall

Thomas

Kianna sprinting across the bridge

Trace made it to the top for the first time.

Jonathan

Cautious Kaylee

Kaylee made it to the top for the first time today

Outdoor pool fun

Double Date Night

Issa Family

Our friends, Anthony and Julie, and their boys, Jonathan, Thomas and Gabriel, came to visit us this weekend. We showed them around Corner Park and introduced them to Gaga ball. We had some pool time, both indoors and outdoors. The kids love the new bridge at The Centre. We witnessed some really good wipeouts and had some good laughs.

The adults enjoyed a night out. We went up to Ann Arbor and ate at the Palm Palace, a middle eastern restaurant. We had fun sampling different items on their menu. We ended the evening by watching the new Mission Impossible movie. We are blessed with good friends.

Keri's 38th Birthday

Golfing with my sweetie

Decorated Golf Cart Minus a few things that flew off it along the way

Whoops Cake

Kaylee's Masterpiece

My day began with a sweet card from Kaylee and a morning run together. It was followed up by playing in a best shot golf tournament with Trevor and some friends. Upon arriving at the golf tournament, I was greeted by birthday greetings and a decked out golf cart complete with birthday balloons and cupcakes, thanks to Katie Frye. Trevor and I played with Ryan Johnson and Josh Erd. My goal for the golf tournament was that they would use at least one of my shots; that goal was met on the first hole when they used two of my shots. It was a fun morning.

The other highlight of my day, was the effort Kaylee went to, to make me feel special. Her gift to me was the chocolate chip banana bread cake with peanut butter frosting, made from scratch. In fact, she made it twice, the same night. The first batch was burnt by an adult male who lives in our home whose only job was to take the cake out of the oven when it was done. That unnamed male had to leave the house before the cake was finished cooking. He attempted to turn the oven off and left the cake in the oven to finish cooking while he was gone. However, that male apparently did not know how to turn off the oven and instead left the cake in the oven an extra hour and a half. Whoops! 

I was out with my friend, Rebekah. We had been celebrating both our birthdays with dinner and an 11 mile rollerblading escapade. I was greeted with a text from that unnamed male with a picture of my burnt birthday cake and the word "Whoops!". However, when I came home, I was quickly told that the love of my life had gone to the grocery store to get the necessary items for Kaylee to remake the cake and the new cake was already in the oven. Now that is love!!! Oh and did I mention, the cake was AWESOME. She is turning into quite the Cook. Pun intended. It's my birthday, I can be corny...

Kianna's 9th Birthday

Its all about the chocolate malt

Bike Shopping Fun

Family Bike Ride with Kianna's new bike

Pretty flowers along the way

Mommy/Daughter pedicures

Puffy Paint shirt that Kaylee made for Kianna

Kianna's loot minus the bike and a couple other things

Buster Bar

Water Park Divas

Where does time go? Our little girl is officially 9 and we had a great time celebrating with her. We made our annual trip to the Pizza House up in Ann Arbor, so Kianna could get her free chocolate malt and eat some yummy pizza. Kianna and I also celebrated with a birthday manicure and pedicure. Unfortunately, "Scary Movie 3" was playing within our view, so the atmosphere wasn't the best. Seriously, have some awareness people!

Then on her actual birthday, we spent the day at the Rolling Meadows Water Park up in Ypsilanti. We let her choose a friend to take with us and she chose Lexie Johnson. Unfortunately, Trace wasn't feeling the best, so Daddy stayed back with him. We missed our boys, but the girls, Lexie and I all had a great time floating in the lazy river, going down slides, and playing in the wave pool. It was a great day! We closed off the evening with Kianna's birthday meal of spaghetti with my homemade meatballs, Grandma Carie's cucumber salad and Grandma Becki's buster bar. Kianna  was well celebrated!

Now for a little information about our little lady:

• Kianna is a spunky little girl with many interests. This summer she has become somewhat obsessed with gymnastics. She can often be seen doing cartwheels and backbends around our house. She has been working hard this summer on these newfound skills and is currently trying to perfect the walkover. 
• In addition, to gymnastics, she enjoys playing soccer. She tried out and made the FCA Club Soccer U9 Orange team. Practice started on her birthday. She is excited to play at this higher level.
• Kianna still enjoys climbing and can often be seen on top of the monkey bars. She enjoys climbing trees and going to the climbing gym. 
• Kianna is a good swimmer and passed her class this summer being told that she now qualifies for swim club. She has been working on her flip turns. 
• Kianna is a very active little girl, as she also enjoys running and biking. She ran her first 5k race a couple weeks ago and got a new bike for her birthday.
• Kianna is very creative and loves crafts. We are amazed at some of the things she comes ups with, the duck tape dress is still one of her best creations. She definitely has her own fashion sense too. She loves to play with make up and do her dolls hair. She and Kaylee have had fun this summer doing each other's hair and makeup.
• Kianna and Trace are buddies. Kianna enjoys reading books to him and getting her brother to go along with her plans. She has lots of big ideas!
• Kianna also loves music and can often be heard singing around the house. She has a very pretty voice. It will be exciting to see how she uses her gifts. She is hoping to try out for the school play this Fall.
• Kianna is her own person. She is an individual and is comfortable being alone. She has friends, but is somewhat indifferent to them. Her friends are Lexie, Chloe, Jenae, Ada, and Mahkaylah. Depending of the day, any one of them, ranks higher than the others. We think she is a bit of an introvert, needing her own space.
• Kianna is very smart. She does really well in school, still excelling in math and reading. She is really good at memorizing things and qualified for the spelling bee this past year.
• Kianna did bible quizzing this past year and studied the book of Exodus. As a 2nd grader, she quizzed on the blue team, which is supposed to be 4-6th graders. She and Kaylee were our top two quizzers. Kianna got gold all season long. She is looking forward to quizzing again this year. Kianna's favorite bible verse is "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". She can often be heard saying this when she gets tired while running and wants to keep going. It is precious!

Kianna has matured a lot this summer. She is gradually becoming more responsible and less messy. We are proud of the young lady she is becoming. She is a beautiful girl, both inside and out! We love you Nana Bear!!!!

Family Campout Minus Daddy

Real Campers

Photo Bomber

Hot tub time

Silly Faces

Buddies

Night Swim

According to some people, no summer is complete without a camping trip, so we did our own version... in our backyard. We grilled out with friends, had a night swim, toasted marshmallows for S'mores and slept in a tent. I should say that everyone but Daddy slept in the tent. Daddy slept upstairs in our comfy king size bed with the window open so he could hear us if we needed him. Party pooper!

The kids slept really well, but I didn't sleep the best. Regardless, the weather was perfect. It was a peaceful night, although I did wake up at 2:15 am needing to use the restroom. I laid there debating whether I should go or not, as I didn't want to leave the kids alone. After about 30 minutes of lying there debating the issue, I decided that if I didn't go, I would be awake the rest of the night, so I went. I am happy to report that I was there and back within approx 3 minutes and the kids never knew I was gone, that is until I told them in the morning. Unfortunately, I was still awake off and on the majority of the night, but the moon was shining bright so I enjoyed the view. More memories made...

Brave Girl

Kianna had to have two teeth pulled today due to crowding. She absolutely hates shots, so we setup for her to have nitrous oxide, to calm her prior to the extraction. The nitrous oxide was grape scented and did its job. She even had her own TV to watch during the procedure. The dentist was excellent and Kianna didn't even notice when he gave her the shots of novacaine. I even had to tell her when they pulled out her teeth. She looks adorable with the extra space in her mouth. We are so happy this much anticipated procedure is over. She did AMAZING and was so brave!!!

Community Celebration Day

Kianna's sprint finish

Finish Line of 5k

Kianna's 1 mile race

Trace's 1/2 race

Lots of Medals

1st Place Mother/Daugther 5k Team

Gaga Ball at The Corner Park

Snake Arm Painting

Concert with friends

Our day started off with a Mother/Daughter 5K race for Kianna and I. In the past three weeks, she has gotten interested in running and was determined to run her first 5k. Prior to our race, the farthest distance she had run was 2 miles. However, together we completed the 5k without stopping in 30 minutes and 16 seconds. She finished in 3rd place for her age group and together we placed 1st for our Mother/Daughter Team (we may have been the only Mother/Daughter Team registered). It was quite the accomplishment for her and I was privileged to run with her. She then proceeded to compete in the 1/2 mile race and again in the 1 mile race, so altogether she ran at least 4.5 miles yesterday. She finished the mile race in 8 minutes and 10 seconds, which is pretty fast for a beginner, especially after just completing the 5k. She was a running machine and thoroughly enjoyed all the positive reinforcement. We let her open one of birthday presents early, which was her white running hat from Grandma Becki. She was really excited that we could match while we were running!

Trace competed in the 1/2 mile race. He finished strong, but needs to learn how to pace himself. He started off in a sprint and kept looking behind him to make sure no one was going to beat him, that is until he lost some steam. He finished in ~3 minutes and 58 seconds. Kaylee was very uninterested in running this year, but ended up competing due to some positive peer pressure from her friends. She finished strong in ~3 minutes and 40 seconds.

We also were introduced to a new game that just came to The Corner Park called Gaga Ball. It is an Israeli game similar to dodge ball. You can't pick up the balls, so you have to bat them at each other. If the ball touches your body anywhere front the waist down you are out. We had a fun time learning the game!

Our day ended with a concert, face painting (or arm painting), ice cream and fireworks with friends. It was a fun day!