Daddy's Truck

Kraig stopped at our house today and Avery was so excited to see Daddy's truck. She even got to sit in it. When she got in she told Kraig- "Drive, daddy, ride." She really wanted him to take her for a ride. I am so proud of Kraig and how hard he works to provide for our family but also how much he loves his little girl!

Camping at Lake Leelanau

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had such a fun time camping for a week at Lake Leelanau. Avery was such a good camper and made the trip so much fun. I think her favorite things were the boat, swimming and the beach and of course ICE CREAM!! I love summer. We have so many fun pictures, I made another collage. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy 4th of July

Playing in the sand.

Sittin' on the dock.

4th of July concert on the lake

Saying cheese and hamming in up on the way up to the cottage.

We had a very fun 4th of July weekend. Unfortunately, I'm a little behind on posting this. We spent the day up at the cottage and had a great time despite the cooler weather. Friday night, one of the cottages had a live band so we took the pontoon over while Grandma and Grandpa stayed with the sleeping kiddos and we had a great time. The rest of the time was spent playing in the water and sand. Does it get better than this- summer living is the best!

Frog Hollow Park

Avery and I have had a lot of fun this summer visiting different parks. One of my favorite so far has been Frog Hollow Park back by Metro Hospital. Avery liked it too. There is a lot of fun things to do and of course the frogs are fun too!

Puddles

Life is too short to skip splashing in some puddles. Avery LOVES her rubber rain boots and we had quite a few puddles around our house so one night we went outside to just splash in the puddles. Avery stomped around yellling "SPLASH". I laughed so hard. We were both soaking wet by the time we were done. These are the memories that I will cherish forever. It's the simple things in life that make us the happiest. When life gets so busy, we forget to slow down and enjoy these simple little pleasures.

Crazy Bounce

I have a little time off work this week so today I took Avery to Crazy Bounce in Holland for a morning of fun (with Grandma too). This place is filled with inflatables of all different sizes and types. Avery was a little intimidated by alot of it but she did have fun running around, she LOVED the ball pit and even went down a couple slides with me. Even Grandma got in on the fun of this slide! I love taking Avery to try new and fun things. We had a great morning together- I just love her SO much.

Girls Night Out

Once a month a get together with a group of friends for a "mom's night out". This month we went and got pedis together. We brought in pizza, snacks, and watched a movie and chatted while we got our toes done. It's always a nice break and it's been so fun getting to know new friends. Thanks girlies!

Weekend Away

Kraig and I went to Traverse City last weekend to celebrate our birthdays. Apparently, when Avery is not around I'm not very good about taking pictures. I did take these few on Sunday when we rented a SeaDoo boat to take on the bay. It's always good to get away and spend time together just the two of us. We had a great time and did lots of fun things. Thanks Kraig!

Happy Father's Day!

When I first said "I love you", I thought I understood the full meaning of those words. But when I watch you as a dad- playing and laughing, giving a big hug, just being there- I realize that when I first said "I love you" I had just begun to understand all my heart could hold for you. I love you so much and I thank God for making you mine- and then making you ours. Happy Father's Day. Love- Kate (From a card that I bought for Kraig and thought it spoke my thoughts exactly)

Happy Birthday Kraig

This was only 1 guy controlling all 5 "people". He was hilarious!

Yesterday was Kraig's birthday so we went to a Whitecaps game with my family to celebrate. We had a great time. I was glad the rain held off so that we could go. My cousin is still here from Florida so she got to join us. (My dad was with us but I didn't get any pictures of him. :()

Happy Birthday Kraig! I love you more every day. You are a wonderful husband and a GREAT daddy to Avery. Thank you for all that you do for our family. I thank God for you and pray that we get to celebrate many more birthdays together old man! :) Love you. -k

Conference Grounds

More fun in the sun. Avery and I spent the day on Monday out at the Christian Reformed Conference Grounds with Missy and Kaden and some other friends. Missy is camping out there so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and play in the sun and water. Avery and I were in the pool for 2 1/2 hours with only a short break for "fishies" and she still was not ready to leave when it was time to go.

Splash!

Our sweet little girl LOVES the water. Any kind..lake, pool, hose, sprinkler, bath, puddles...if she sees water she wants in! These pictures are also from Sandy Pines on Sunday. Avery stood on the dock and SQUEALED with delight when daddy splashed her. When we got home we let her play in the sprinkler in the front yard until she was shivering so bad her lips were purple.

Pretty Girl

"Smelling" the flowers

I took these pictures of Avery on Sunday out at Sandy Pines. We were out there to celebrate my cousin's high school graduation. She lives in Florida so it was very fun to see her. I think that these pictures are my newest favorites of Avery.

Park Fun

For the summer, we are going to try to go to a new park once a month as a family and have a picnic and some playtime. These pictures were at a park near our house. I can't remember the name. Avery went down the slide on her tummy for the first time. She saw another little girl do it and looked at me and said "Tummy!" and down she went. No fear.

Silly

These pictures are of Avery sitting on the rocks under my parents deck. She was looking up at her Papa and talking to him above her. I love these pictures because it is so typical of Avery to love to play with rocks and dirt. Silly girl.