Camp Dearborn

We spent last weekend camping at Camp Dearborn (http://www.campdearborn.com/) to celebrate my birthday. At Camp Dearborn, they have tents (wooden made - large enough to stand in), cabins, trailers and places to put real tents, campers or mobile homes. We rented a tent which has 6 cots in it, electricity plus a little fridge and stovetop outside. We camped on Friday and Saturday nights.

Friday we made it there around 3, checked in and got Ryan into the stroller to walk with him and have him take a nap. He slept for about 15 minutes but we got a good walk around. My grandparents used to take my mom and uncles there when they were little first in the tents and then they bought a trailer. Kris and I used to take care of it until we got ready to move to NJ when we sold it. We walked by where it was and there was no trailer there anymore!! I knew the last time I went, that the guy we sold it to got into a fight with one of the neighbors and headbutted him and bit his lip. So I'm not sure if he got kicked out because of that or they didn't pay their bills. We went to the beach for 10 minutes before it started to pour on us. Our tent flooded - luckily we didn't have anything on the floor. Ryan was kept busy by playing flashlights with me. We went out to dinner and came back and put Ryan to bed. He had a little trouble sleeping in the pack-an-play but made it. I scoured for branches that weren't wet while Kris made a fire (it took a while).

Saturday, we got ready for visitors. My parents, the Stones, the McCarthys, Robin, Erin and Erica and Jason (sorry I don't know your new last name!) came up to help celebrate my 30th birthday. We bbqd for lunch and cooked hotdogs over the fire for dinner. We played with the kids and went to the beach. My parents brought a cake that was delicious. They also brought my gift - tickets to the Michigan-Penn State game!! What a great gift. Kris is just as excited as I am - although I told him he has to wear Michigan colors or I'll take someone else!!! We made s'mores and marshmallows over the fire. Ryan slept in his clothes - he was so tired out!

Sunday, I attended Kristin D'Angelo (Shanley)'s baby shower. It was nice to see some friends again. Then we (mostly I) drove home. Now we all have colds which are pretty miserable. Ryan has been getting up each night. Last night we finally had to let him cry it out because he just wouldn't go back to sleep. Eventually he did, but I expect a crabby boy today. Luckily we are just running errands and don't have to see anyone. Hopefully, we'll feel better tomorrow since Library class starts up again.

Other than that, Kris was in CA last week and this week. So we've been to the dentist, the park and shopping. We played dress up/hats last week - so here are some pictures of my doctor to be. I expected this to fit him for Halloween this year, but I think I'll have to do something else.





Happy 30th Birthday to Kelli!!! We're sorry we missed it.

2 weeks of nothin

We really don't have much to report over the last two weeks. We've had playdates at friends houses, the mall, play areas, Chuck E Cheese, the museum and the zoo. But that is just our normal day to day stuff. That plus some shopping. I finally bought curtains for our room, so hopefully that will be up soon. Ryan followed Daddy around mowing on Saturday morning and was impressed with the bubbles. He has also been helping me with laundry.

Last weekend, we worked on cleaning out the basement. If anyone out there saw our storage room after we moved in you will be as impressed as we were when we finished on Saturday. The picture is at the bottom! We also put up pictures in our room, so once we have mirrors and the wall picture I want to get plus the curtains up - our room will be done. Pictures below

Ryan's 2 year old Pictures

Just wanted to post a bunch of Ryan's two year old pictures here.

We're not doing much. Staying cool inside. I just realized how much I love my library system here and am taking full advantage of requesting things.

Shade Gap Picnic/Dedication

Corn Hole-------------------------------------------My mom and Clara

Ferris Wheel -------------Doug, Kevin, Katelyn, Pastor Ken, Amy, Angela

This weekend we travelled to PA to attend the Shade Gap Picnic and our neice Katelyn's dedication into the church. Kris took off Friday and Monday so we were able to have a relaxing weekend without having to smoosh everything into two days. So Friday we left around 11 and got to Kris's mom's house around 7. We visited her before taking Ryan back to the farm to prep for the next day.

Saturday, Kris and I ran - and Kelli and Rick walked - the Ben K 5K. I have no idea who he is (someone from Dublin Mills - Rick's town) - but we loved an excuse to run in the morning. Kris was disappointed in his time, but I did better by 15 seconds!! Then we got ready and left for the picnic. There we enjoyed the company of Kris's extended family on the Harper side in addition to my parents and Amy's parents. We ate good and had fun playing cornhole - which Kris has now turned his whole family on to. We listened to some great music, rode some rides, enjoyed the carnival food and the bingo (my mom won!) and of course the wonderful fireworks. We also got to meet Clara, the newest member of our family. She is a doll (I actually thought she was at one point).

Sunday, we all were in church for Katelyn's dedication. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's new to us too. But here is the jist. You are only able to be baptized into most Christian churches once, so Kevin and Amy decided to let Katelyn decide that for herself at a later date. Instead they dedicate the child to the church and to raising her in the Christian way. Anyway, it was a nice service and they had a great meal for us afterward.

Afterward, Kris and Ryan both took a 3 hour nap, after which we went to Aunt Lucy's for dinner including some freshly picked corn and red potato fries. Ryan ate his first ear of corn on the cob, which we were all impressed with (he had tried before and failed). Monday, Kris picked us some beans and corn to take home (which we will be enjoying for a while), we visited his mom, and then drove home.

Overall, a great weekend. I'm so glad that we are able to spend time with our family having a good time. I'm also thankful for portable DVD players.........I'm not sure how we would manage car trips without it.

2 Year Old News

Ryan had his 2 year old doctors appointment today. It was wonderful to finally go to an appointment and Ryan not need a shot. In fact, he doesn't need anymore until he's 4. He did great, especially considering we waited for 45 minutes to see the doctor. Ryan never got ansy or cranky. So he was rewarded with a new Elmo video for the drive to PA this weekend. The doctor said he is in the 75 percentile in both weight and height - which was good. She asked why we were giving him 1% milk instead of 2% (recommended) but wasn't bothered when I said it was what Kris drinks. She just wanted to make sure I wasn't putting him on a diet! She, as I am, was a little concerned that he really isn't talking yet, but said she wanted to wait another 6 months to see if he improved. His sight and hearing both checked out fine too.

In other news, we spent Sunday cleaning and working on the cars. Kris spent about 8 hours changing the spark plugs in my Explorer with problems on the last one that required trips to several stores. Ryan and I washed his picnic table and the cars as well as played in the pool. We had a great day out in the nice weather!