Myrtle Beach - June 2014

In the summer of 2013, Chris qualified to play in the 2014 PNC. The 2014 tournament was in Myrtle Beach. He qualified for this tournament once before and that year it was held in Hershey, PA. I was much more excited about the beach location =). I was also very proud of him for qualifying again. They only take eight golfers from the state of Michigan, so it is a very competitive spot.

Once we found out he had qualified, the search began for a rental property in Myrtle Beach. We found the perfect house that was a block from the beach, had a pool in the back yard, and would hold everyone. This was quite the feat as not only were RiRi, Pappy, Grandma, and Grandpa joining us on the trip, but Chris' caddy BJ, and my cousins Jason and Bonnie and their daughter, Georgia were also coming with us.

These two pictures were the day we were leaving. Andrew did great on the plane rides, and we were all excited to get to Myrtle Beach!

We spent the first few days on the golf course. It was very hot, and those of us who are accustomed to Michigan weather were sweating our tails off; however, the courses were beautiful and it was great to be out there watching Chris play.

We spent a lot of time on the beach and Andrew really enjoyed playing in the sand!

He also enjoyed spending time with his cousin, Georgia =)

I'm not sure what was happening in this picture, but with these two...it couldn't have been anything good! But it must have been something funny!

We had a wonderful time relaxing by the pool and at the beach. I think Chris even enjoyed sitting on the beach drinking beer. We might have all had one too many drinks one afternoon while the kids were with the grandparents =). Overall it was a great time, and I hope we get the opportunity to take a vacation like that again very soon!

Wahoo - The Grass is Growing and Plants are Blooming - Say it Ain't So!

Again, after long winters, we get a bit of cabin fever, so once the warm weather comes, we want to be outside... A LOT!

In May, we had some landscaping done, so Andrew was helping Chris to water all of the plants. We don't have a great history with plants so hopefully we can keep these alive and did not just waste a whole bunch of money =)

Andrew also enjoyed playing with his water table. Somehow I always end up getting soaked and he stays miraculously dry...I'm not sure how that works. He is a lot smarter than I give him credit for.

May also brings the start of the Rockford Farmer's Market, which is held every Saturday in downtown Rockford. Andrew and I usually try to walk down there and walk on the White Pines trail every Saturday morning. It is great exercise for me, and as you can see... he just kicks back and enjoys the ride!

The neighborhood pool opens each year over Labor Day weekend. Andrew and I decided to venture to the pool to see if it was warm enough for a swim. It was and he was worn out afterwards!

Traverse City - May 2014

In early May, we went to Traverse to visit the Mack's. Andrew and I had lunch with Lindsey and Myla while the boys played golf. After lunch we went to the Children's Museum. Andrew loved all of the activities. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of him with Myla =( . We had a great time visiting with them and wished we all lived closer together!

Visit with Logan - April 2014

Logan came to visit us in April. It was a beautiful day and fortunately we could play outside. Just for the record, the boys were not drinking bud light =).

"Oh No" - April 2014

Andrew is learning to talk and put words together. His favorite phrase right now is "Oh No." I think it is adorable when he says it because he even puts his hands up to his cheeks to emphasize the "oh no."

Andrew also discovered that he can sit on a ball and bounce up and down, which he finds hilarious until he misses the ball and bounces on his bum =)

Lastly, I had to throw in a picture of Andrew ready books with Chris. Love this!

Winter 2014

January, February, and March passed by in a blur. This is probably mostly due to the fact that I am incredibly busy at work during this time. I spent quite a bit of time in South Bend, IN and Chicago during January and early February so I was glad when my travels wrapped up, and I was able to spend more time at home with my boys =).

Andrew continued to change each and every day, and he was amazing us with the new things he was doing during this time. Being that it is freezing cold and resembles the tundra outside during this time of year, we spend a lot of time inside. Andrew took this opportunity to try to make friends with his "kitty." Those of you that know our cat know that she hates people in general. She merely tolerates me and Chris, but otherwise she prefers that you just leave her alone and she will loudly voice that opinion if someone tries to invade her personal space without her permission. However, much to our surprise, she has been very friendly with Andrew. She has never once hissed or swatted at him, and I can't say that same for anyone else who has ever crossed the threshold into our home. She is not very welcoming!

He used the remaining free time while he was cooped up inside to get into everything in the house that he could get his little hands onto.

In early February, Andrew got a bit brave at daycare and went after some graham crackers. He unfortunately slipped out of his chair and whacked his head on the table. This resulted in stitches above his left eye. I have been assured by all of my friends with little boys that this will likely not be our last trip to urgent care for stitches or a cast as boys are much more active than little girls. He was a trooper, and the stitches didn't seem to slow him down at all.

We also took a trip to Brighton in February to see his buddy Logan. Andrew proceeded to play with all of Logan's toys and haul him around in the back of his blue truck. We are going to have so much fun as these boys grow up together.

March brought some warmer weather and a trip to the boat show with Granddaddy. Granddaddy enjoyed telling him all about the boats and Andrew enjoyed trying to drive them.

Overall at the end of March, we were ready for some warmer weather and to come out of hibernation!! Bring on summer. 

Christmas 2013 (Part 2)

The second part of our Christmas season includes spending time with Chris' side of the family as well as wrapping up the holidays with RiRi & Pappy and then Grandma and Grandpa. Andrew is one spoiled little boy.

Overall he was a trooper throughout so much activity, missing naps, late bedtimes, pack n plays, hotels, etc. He just rolled with it and opened lots of presents! We had a great 2013 holiday season!

Christmas in Muskegon. Can you tell he likes Mickey Mouse?

Sitting with cousin Charlie

Christmas at RiRi & Pappy's - let's see how sturdy this box is...hopefully not fragile!

Tuckered out - too many presents

Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa! Golf clubs =)

Christmas 2013 (Part 1)


Christmas has always been one of my favorites times of year (aside from the stress of trying to buy the perfect gifts and staying within a reasonable budget). The holidays to me represent time spent with the family, lots of laughing, and probably a bit too much eating and drinking! If I thought the holidays were fun before, it is so much more fun with children around (we do back off on the drinking a bit with the little ones around!). Andrew was only 3.5 months old last Christmas, so this Christmas was truly so much fun watching him take in all of the action.

Our holidays started off with a road trip to see the family in Memphis. Andrew was a trooper during the trip. We traveled down through Louisville and stayed overnight in a hotel to break up the drive, then we stopped at Opryland the next day to see all of the decorations. I think Andrew was more excited about getting to run around in the empty convention center than he was to see all of the decorations.

The Christmas celebrations always start on Christmas Eve at "Pappy's." This is my mom's side of the family, and we always have a great time. Andrew was really enamored by his cousins and of course the Mickey Mouse gifts.

Christmas Day is at my Aunt & Uncle's and used to be a very relaxing lunch followed by naps then presents. Now with the kids around, there isn't much napping (except if we can manage to get them down for a nap).

The festivities continue the day after Christmas with more gifts and family time.

By this point, we are all starting to get a little tired of the holidays, Edie's look pretty much sums it up :)