Fun in the Sun

Summer

Why is the summer going by so fast? My mom always says that after the Fourth of July, the summer just flies by- and it sure is!
We've had a wonderful summer this year. It's been unseasonably mild here, but I really haven't minded. Since we don't have central air, the cooler weather has been lovely for my pregnant self.
We've gone to the beach a few times and we went to Kansas City about 4 weeks ago. Of course, I forgot my camera. I've done a horrible job about taking pictures this summer. I'll blame that on pregnancy brain- and four kids. :)
We celebrated Ezekiel's 2nd birthday on July 21st. He's grown into such a sweet little boy. Every time I feel sad that he isn't a baby anymore, I just remind myself that in a few months I will have another baby.
And speaking of the baby, this pregnancy has gone remarkably well this time. Since I've had preeclampsia in past pregnancies, I was worried that the same thing would happen this time. Being on bed rest and having to go to the doctor 3 times a week for non stress tests, is pretty much impossible with four other kids at home. So it really, really is a huge blessing that this pregnancy has been so good. I've been working out 5 times a week for 45 minutes. It's really helped me not to gain too much weight and hopefully will help with a quick labor and delivery. I don't know where my motivation has come from, but I've been very consistent with the exercise.
Tomorrow is our 6th anniversary. It's amazing to think about all of the changes we've had in the past few years. God has blessed us in so many ways- I'm constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have the husband I have!
Here's some random pictures of the summer. Not too many since I haven't been good about taking pictures. Or updating the blog. Anyone who's been pregnant can relate- I'm definitely not myself when I have a little person growing inside of me. The second the baby is born, I'm a whole new person. Only 14 more weeks left! :)

Goodbye, Kindergarten

It's amazing how quickly this past school year went. I was so sad to have my little guy head off to school, but we quickly got into a routine and I was amazed at how much progress he made.
Malachi has been out of school for almost 2 weeks. We've had lots of fun enjoying the summer so far, but it won't be long before I have two kids in school.
Here he is on his last day of school. He's grown so much!

The Unofficial Start of Summer

I'm a horrible blogger. I think about posting something and then I never do. Of course, being pregnant doesn't help much with my motivation. :)
I've always thought of Memorial Day as the unofficial start of summer. Even if it's not technically summer yet, I just can't help but think summer has begun.
We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We worked on our garden, had a cookout and visited with family and friends and Nathan worked on the new motorcycle he just got. This is especially exciting for me, because for the past 6 years, we've shared a vehicle. The thought of being able to take the kids to the park during the day is very exciting! Plus, Nathan has me convinced that riding on a motorcycle is going to be tons of fun.

Finally Spring

I absolutely love Spring. And this past winter has seemed like the longest winter ever. But finally warmer days are here. As soon as it's even remotely warm, we head to the lake. For Mother's Day, we decided to head to Port Clinton, one of our favorite places to go. We didn't have any set plans, we just headed out there. We stopped at a park and ate lunch right by the water. It's so nice, because the lake is so big, it seems just like you're at the ocean. After lunch, we got back in the van (after realizing that the keys were locked in the van and having an old man break into our van with an old fishing pole), and we started driving. We came across a ferry that was going to Put-in-Bay (an island) and we were surprised to see that it was very inexpensive for all of us to get there. So we quickly parked the van and hopped on the ferry for the 15 minute ride to the island. This was the first time the kids had been on a ferry, so it was a fun, somewhat scary experience for them. The island was very family friendly, we went to a park and then we walked around and looked at all of the shops. We rented a golf cart and drove around the small island. The battery in our camera was just about dead, so I didn't get many pictures. But it was definitely a day we'll always remember.

We've also done a lot of yard work. We both take pride in our little house, and it's always fun to work on the yard together. Nathan did a lot of work in the backyard, and I planted a bunch of flowers in the front. I've been looking for a wreath for the front door for months. Everything I found was ugly and incredibly expensive- I couldn't bring myself to pay $50 for an ugly wreath! So this past weekend we went to Hobby Lobby and I found everything I needed to make a wreath for only $11! I was very happy and I love the way it looks.

Catching Up

Has it really been a month since I last updated this? I always want to write something clever and witty and have lots of awesome pictures. It doesn't always work out that way though. Especially since my brain goes on vacation when I'm pregnant!
So to recap what we've been doing the last few weeks- we went to see Nathan's sister Jessica's new baby. She and her husband, Morgan, live a couple of hours away in Michigan. Their little girl, Delayney, is a perfect combination of the both of them. This is the kid's first cousin and they were very excited to meet her.
Malachi just learned how to ride his bike. It's been a long time coming. He's been practicing for a while, but he doesn't have much patience, so he would give up after a few tries. But this past weekend, it finally clicked and he's been riding his bike since then. He went for a bike ride with Nathan. A very sweet memory!
I'm almost 14 weeks pregnant. I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow. For some reason, I have this feeling that it might be twins. I think it's twins every time, but my belly is huge and I usually don't show very much until around 5 or 6 months. I'm kind of nervous to find out- either I'm having twins, or I'll feel bad about being so super fat. :)
I tried to organize the pictures, but it's too difficult to get them to work right on blogger. So here they are. I'll definitely write something better in the future. The kids dancing to Kids Bop kind of makes it a little hard to think straight.

Happy Birthday, Gabs!

On Friday, we celebrated Gabs' third birthday. I always get very nostalgic when it's one of their birthdays. This birthday was particularly special, because it's been a year since Gabs' had her seizure. She's been very healthy, and we're so thankful for our sassy little girl!


Opening her presents


She loves babies and dogs!

Opening her card from the kids.


We never go out to eat, so this was a very special treat.
This was our second time going out to eat as a family, and
the kids were perfect!
She was so proud of those balloons!
Daddy and Zeke
Check out that silly face!


Malachi and Aylah


Our three year old :)