Summer fun 2010

I'm way behind on updating this blog so I'm not even sure what order these pictures are in:) Here is a picture of Brayden after he caught a minnow - look closely in the net;) Boston acted like a puppy in the water! He loves to swim! He won't play fetch on land but he will in the water!

Emily and Jason came to the lake a couple times to hang out with us! Here were are making s'mores!

Brayden and Brianna cuddling with Emily!

We celebrated Yia Yia's birthday at the lake! Brianna picked out the cake - it was tasty!

Here is a picture of most of the kids in our VBS group this year - that was wild!

Play date with Grace! I can't believe the summer went by so fast we only so her a few times! Here they are enjoying the slip-n-slide!

I promised Brayden an ice cream date if he had a good attitude for the whole baseball season!

Brianna's 4th Birthday!

This year for Brianna's birthday she wanted a Silvermist theme (from Tinker Bell). We invited several of her friends over for cake and ice cream, games, and a special suprise visit from 2 miniature horses! It went so well (aside from accidentally locking a little girl and her mom down in the basement for a little while - felt so bad about that!!!)
We also suprised Bri with a new (and very fast) Surfer Girl jeep! She's a maniac in that thing! She LOVES anything that goes fast! Not sure where she got that from;) My grandma Rousseau made her a princess outfit that Brianna insisted on wearing for a good portion of the day! I can't believe my baby is 4!

Here is the Silvermist cake!

A view of the girls table (Brianna, Ellie, Erin, Laura, Emma, Sophi - not sure what she's doing, Emma, Chloe, Marissa):

The boys table (Brayden G., Evan, Seth, Brayden P.)

The kids all got to put their painted handprint on the horse! So fun!

A not so great family pic;)

Brayden:

And the Birthday girl!

Father's Day/Brianna's Birthday/Brayden's Baptism

On Father's Day this year we had an extra big celebration! Not only was it Father's Day, we celebrated Bri's 4th birthday, and best of all - Brayden got baptized! Here is a picture of some of the people who came to our party (we had a lot of single pics of people but not a great group pic). We're still missing several people in this pic - but you get the idea! I am so proud and blessed to have a sweet little boy like Brayden! He truly loves God and wants to be obedient to Him! This was an unbelievably special day for us! Gary got to baptize him - Brayden had the best smile on his face the entire time! This memory will forever be engraved in my mind!

Here are a couple of pics of Brianna celebrating her 4th bday:

Boat!!!!

The big event from last weekend - we bought a boat!!! If you're gonna have a lake cottage you just have to have a boat! After several stressful days we found a boat that worked for our price range. Sunday, we drove up to Fishers to get the boat on our way to the lake and of course the ball for the hitch wasn't the right size. Gary was prepared with a smaller ball but the other ball was so tight he couldn't switch it! (Of course there's always a glitch!) So all that to say - it took longer than anticipated! When my dad initially tried out the boat the steering was so tight and they couldn't figure out how to get the motor out of the water... Took about 2 hours to get set up to dock the boat;) By tuesday we'd figured out some of the issues and honestly it seems like a pretty good boat! Here are some pics from the weekend:
Brayden trying out his new raft from grandma! The living room (after being painted and carpet put down - the french doors lead to the sunroom. Currently it's being used as a bedroom while the upstairs waits for the carpet to arrive;)

The kitchen/dining room - also being used as a bedroom! We painted over some beautiful wallpaper (with geese, etc.) and almost finished the laminate floors. Changed out the flickering orange lit chandelier.

Upstairs we completely painted both rooms and closets. Here are Matthew and Bona pretending to paint. Bona actually did help us paint while Matthew helped Gary downstairs with the flooring. (The top part is white and the bottom part is a sage tint.) Just waiting for carpet - then we can move the beds upstairs!

Kids enjoying a boat ride!

Gary - the master driver! Perfectly parked the boat the first try!

Brayden driving the boat - he did great once I told him it was like a video game;) Brianna on the other hand only lasted about 30 seconds before she started pushing buttons and pressing down on the throttle.

Here we are arriving with our new boat at the public beach. About 20 minutes later our car started smoking... We still have to figure out exactly what happened - but the wiring from our new hitch had melted... Despite all the crazy events, God watched over us and we had a great time!

Busy May!!!

Our first weekend at the lake cottage we got a lot done! We finished the sunroom (as seen in the picture), painted the kitchen and got it ready for a new floor and put up a new light, painted and put carpet and a ceiling fan in the living room (no more spooky orange flickering lights), and cut linoleum for the upstairs bathroom! Next weekend we should have the kitchen done and the upstairs started!

First day of summer break we went to the zoo! We had an awesome time together! Brayden and Sophi (and Chloe):

Brayden on his last day of Kindergarten!

Boston on his 10th birthday!

Brayden playing catcher;)

Brianna and I had a date by ourselves to the Incredible Pizza Company - it was a great day!

This month Brayden was awarded Gator of the Month for Trustworthiness:) His picture is the top left! So proud of him!

Brayden at the volunteer ceremony:

Brianna doing a back bridge:

Ellie and Brianna:

Brianna with Mrs. Bland:

Brianna with Mrs. Seacat (assistant teacher):

During the last week of school, I helped out with field day at Brianna's school. They had a parachute, an obstacle course, and a bean bag toss. The kids had fun running around like crazy!

On Mother's Day, Gary bought me a new (small) camera and planned a picture scavenger hunt downtown. We rented this fun bike and rode around the canal finding things on our list! It was a beautiful day!

Here's just a cute pic of Bri:)

Brianna video

End of year fun!

Yesterday I was invited to a Teddy Bear Picnic at Brianna's school. They sang us a few songs and we brought a lunch to eat together. Brianna chose to bring her little horse "Butterscotch" and requested yummy rolls and the colorful blanket! She gave me a cute little craft that she had made with her picture on it. I love my little girl:) Here they are getting ready to sing!

Here are a couple of pictures from Brayden's baseball game this week - Gary is pitching:

Uncle D and Aunt Kim came to Indy for a wedding last weekend and we were lucky to spend some time with them! Brayden loves when Uncle D comes over because that means he gets to play a lot of Super Mario Bros.

Every year the 3 year olds have a Teddy Bear Parade for their parents and the rest of the school. The kids decorate their own float and push/pull them around the room. They're so cute! Brianna was so excited to wave to the crowd that she kept bumping into Ellie in front of her! We decorated Bri's pink car with lots of flowers and butterflies. Her Tinker Bell bubble blower fit perfectly in the front! The bubbles were a big crowd pleaser;)