fun, full summer days

These summer days are full and FUN! We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and just time spent together.
I love the break from school! I love lazy mornings. I do not miss packing school lunches or making sure homework is done. The kids are having a lot of fun and are inventing new games, pretending, enjoying the sprinklers, kiddie pool and the water park, enjoying time with Wyatt our next door neighbor...
Hazel is learning new things every day. This stage is BUSY and mostly fun! I do however wish she would sleep through the night consistently. :)
I will be taking a break from blogging for about ten days. We have some fun excursions planned and I will be back with lots of pictures.
Enjoy your summer!!
Love, Michele

Warm summer days, garden fun and thrift store goodies

This summer has been full of warm, sunny but not HOT days. Lots of days in the yard, fun at the parks with friends, boating... we are making lots of memories.
Last week Vance was in Alaska all week fishing. He had a great week, business and fishing and enjoyed the group he was a part of.
Kris, Sandy and I had a garage sale Friday and Saturday - it was a hit! We sold lots of stuff. Good company too! Merit and Willem helped out a lot.
My brother Phil came to visit last weekend. It was great to have him here. Youngest brothers like Phil may be the reason why I sometimes think I could have five kids, but then when I have sleepless nights, look at my laundry pile or grocery bill I think we could be done with three. :)
Hazel's added about five words to her vocabulary over the past two weeks. This expressive, "knows what she wants" girl hasn't been a big talker, but she is getting there! When she walks around she has this confidence about her that I don't think I found till I was 30. Yes, she is a handful at times, but I love her personality!
The boys adore Hazel. Merit says on a regular basis "She is sooo cute!!" Willem giggles with her often and speaks to her in a very gentle tone.
Today we will meet some friends at the park and tonight I will enjoy appetizers at Michaels on the Lake with some ladies I love as we celebrate with Maria who has new baby Emily!
Our garden!!! Oh my goodness, I am having so much fun eating from our garden!
Zucchini brownies, fried zucchini and zucchini bread have been some favorites. Our carrots have good flavor and don't seem as bitter as in years past.

zucchini bread and zucchini chocolate chunk bread!

zucchini brownies

Recent Thrift Store Goodies!

A made in England, delicate gravy boat! 30 cents!

a doll for Hazel 25 cents

wonderful children's books -- 7 cents each!

This painting was a bargain.

I have added bright orange to our front room!

The picture is a good fit for the room.

My photography has been going really well lately.

I took pictures here a couple of weeks ago of a baby girl.

Kolby is a smiling, sweet little thing.

I took the Kooima's pictures last Tuesday, my niece and nephew's pics the

beginning of the month and staff pictures for our church yesterday.

The variety and fun of photography is a great outlet for me. I hope

to post some of these recent shoots on my photography website soon.

HAPPY THURSDAY!!

From The Garden

Veggies from our garden with Johnnys, salt, pepper and olive oil BBQd... Yum!!

Mud from our garden, on two cute boys!

Lavendar

Hazel loves the peas in the pods...

Next post: From The Thrift Store...

summer lovin'

sunflower in our yard

Merit learning to drive the boat, with a great instructor :)

Wild flowers... and Miss Hazel

Hazel Jane, exploring

finger painting with yogurt!

One day a couple of years ago, my sweet friend

Marie was watching my boys. She made them waffles, strawberries and

whipcream. They were thrilled by this yummy treat!! It is now

a favorite this time of year at our house!

We made fried zucchini the other night. Yum.

Willem on the tube

Hazel eating her toast outside

This has been a BUSY, somewhat tiring week.

Although the kids have had a blast playing outside

and we are having fun working on a garage sale with Gramma Kris,

we have had a couple of crazy days too. We are looking forward to

a warm, sunny weekend and hopefully lots of garage sale business! :)

Feedback Requested

Today was a GREAT day! We had a really fun lunch date with my friend

Katie and her three kids! Katie recharges my battery and we never

run out of things to talk about. The children had a BALL!!

Later in the day, we ran around the yard, the kids roasted marshmallows with Wyatt and Hazel

and I ate a bunch of peas from our garden!

My Etsy shop is something I would like to promote over the next few months. Something I am selling now is my photography. My prices are really reasonable and I have some colorful, sharp pictures that may appeal to some. Also, I am having some of my photographs printed at a professional lab and then I place them on cardstock and am excited about having my favorite photographs on cards.

I have included 8 photos here.

Please let me know which two are your favorite!

If you are interested in checking out my Etsy shop, there is a link on the right hand side of

my blog. Just double click on the word Etsy.

Thank you!!

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July FUN!

Merit and Will high fiving on the tube!

Oh, I loved watching these two!!

Those parachute fireworks are pretty cool!

cooling off on a hot day

hanging out being cute

mischief maker

Family

Me and my niece Estelle in Crescent Bar.

Oh she is a chubby, cute little thing!!

It is odd to me to think this sweet little niece of mine has outlived her

older brother. It reminds me daily to never take life forgranted and

to love, treasure and soak up our loved ones.

Me and Case

My beautiful sis Natasha

I was so fortunate to get time with all my bros and sisters in June.

I am proud of Natasha carrying on the way she does without her little guy, Case.

She is such a good mom to Lane and Estelle and is a good wife, even though she has a big void in her life.

She has said that in many ways this second year

without him has been harder than the first.

I suppose we expect the first year to be very difficult after losing someone we love so much and also we are surrounded with

support that first year... but then everyone gets back to their lives and there is just

less checking in, fewer phone calls, cards, reaching out.

Please remember to pray for their family.

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Our fourth was so good. We hung out in the yard ALL day! The kids

had a blast on the slip and slide and in the kiddie pool. Vance and I visited, I read my book,

we did a little gardening. And in the evening we enjoyed lots and lots of fireworks!

Oh my gosh you little bathing beauty!

I love a good mystery/suspense novel!

And whenever I read Mary Higgins Clark, I think of

my Aunt Janis. :) She told us the best spooky stories!

These days of hanging out in the sunshine in our yard are sooo sweet!

Willem was CRAZY about the fireworks!

He loved making smoke bomb volcanoes!

Our family

Summer Fun

VBS was a hit!

Merit, in the center, certainly enjoyed it!!

What a great week. Many volunteers and tons of energetic kids

made for an exciting, fun week of learning about Jesus at Sonsurf Beach Camp!

Hazel LOVES running and playing in our yard.

 Sibling love!
We have had a great week... Fun in the sun, VBS, the aquatic center, gardening, playing at our little playground. Summer is being enjoyed by all.
I got the greatest package in the mail this week. Dutch Licorice (a favorite of mine!) licorice pastels, a cute new top, pampering goodies, a necklace, gum balls for the kids, it is so fun to feel loved.
Vance has a three day weekend! We are hoping to take the boat out. We enjoyed just a few fireworks already last night. The kids were so funny - they can't wait to do more.