4th of July in Wisconsin

We left last Thursday to spend the holiday weekend with Aunt Joni and Uncle David at their cottage on Green Bay. We had a really smooth drive Thursday night. We got in about 11pm central time and went to bed late. We got up and the kids helped Uncle David build a trail in some woods by the cottage. They had been so excited to help him work on the trail. I bought them some new boots to wear and they really liked making it. The kids also went tubing and loved it. Riley went last year but Carter didn't want to try so this year he decided it looked like fun and he loved it. They also did some kayaking and fishing while we were there. Grandma and Papa Hughes got there later in the afternoon on Friday. We tried to go salmon fishing Friday night but it was too rough on Lake Michigan so we tried walleye fishing in the bay and had no luck. Saturday morning I got up with Dad H. and Uncle David and went out for salmon. We caught two and lost two. It was so much fun and it was so beautiful out on the lake. I truly could get addicted to that kind of fishing! We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and enjoying the company. We are so lucky to have such great family! We took our time coming home today. We stopped in Chicago and showed the kids around downtown. Riley was excited to see the American Girl store and Carter thought the big buildings were exciting. We slowly headed home and had a safe trip. We stopped at moms to swim before coming home. We are now unpacked, the kids are in bed and Matt is at his softball game. What a great relaxing weekend. Can't wait until next year!!!!

Continuing to play catch up

I realize that I said in the last post that I would be working on catching up and only posted about Missouri. So once we got home from Missouri Riley had her final birthday party with her friends. Yes, we celebrated Riley's birthday for almost a month between the three parties. She had some friends over to spend the night and there was a major storm the night of the party. I had four screaming 8 year olds because of the thunder/lightning. They did finally go to sleep at around 2:30 but were up again at 7:30. They decorated a cake, painted a ceramic dog, played some games and watched movies. I think RIley truly enjoyed herself.







Grandma Jennifer and Papa Dan bought a new toy and the kids really love playing on it. Here are some pics of them driving the new go kart and Carter with his new friend.






The boys were taking on the girls in a little bumper boat war.




Last weekend Carter came in and asked us if he could play with some wood we had brought home from the boat. I had no idea what he had planned. I looked out the window to see a ramp that he had built for his tractor. He finally got up the ramp and drove right off the patio causing him to crash.


Once he managed to get the tractor upright again he learned a new trick: Tractor Tipping!
He would drive up about halfway on the ramp and let himself roll back. When the wheels hit the grass he would tip back and sometimes tip all the way back and land on his back. He did this several times.



Monday I was able to visit with a great friend and her husband. Stacy is a friend from high school and I was so excited to see her and Vinny. Vinny spent time with the kids on the go kart and feeding the fish. They loved hanging out with Vinny.



This is how I found the kids the other night while I was making dinner. It is summer right????? I hope it warms up again soon.

Where do I begin???

So since I have not been posting very regular I am really behind in sharing pictures. We were in Missouri at the beginning of the month for a week. Matt was out of town for some training and I drove down with the kids and met him there. I was able to meet up with some friends that I knew when we lived down there in college and it was great visiting. We spent some time at Grandma and Papa's new house boat. It is in such a beautiful area (even though we had to go into Arkansas to get there:)). The kids loved it there too. They did some fishing and shot rocks with a sling shot they bought at a place called Wild Bill's. They fed a turtle a hot dog and he seemed to really like it. Carter set his fishing pole down on the back of the boat with the hook/bait still in the water and a fish bit and took the pole with it. So he lost his first fishing pole. :(


Carter loved helping Papa in the yard or in the garden. They worked hard together.

Papa and Grandma both took a day off of work and we went to a fun place in Branson that Cousin Beth works at. They rode on Go Karts, Bumper Boats and Carter even rode a little ferris wheel all by himself.










Carter went and got Papa's M&M's out of the fridge for a little snack and spilled them all over!

Mowing with Uncle Nate


Riley and Carter on Riley's actual birthday with the cake that I made her.


The last day we were there we celebrated Riley's birthday with our family in Missouri. This was the second birthday party of her month long birthday celebration (as we like to call it).





Carter and Riley in the car on the way home at the end of the week. The kids are AWESOME in the car. They are easy to travel with. Unfortunately they do not sleep very often even when they should be so tired, but they stay entertained.

My Birthday Girl

Riley turned 8 today. It is so bittersweet as I know she has to grow up but don't want her to. She was born just yesterday in my mind so how can she already be 8???
This is here only 4 years ago. She has grown so much in the last 4 years!


We are in Missouri visiting Grandparents and unfortunately Matt was back in Michigan working. We were able to go have lunch with Grandma Hughes at work and then came home to decorate her birthday cake. She knew we were doing something for her birthday tonight but she didn't know what. She has been asking tons of questions. So when Grandma and Papa got home from work tonight they told her they were taking her to a park...needless to say that was not the case. They took all of us to a show in Branson called Dixie Stampede. For those who are not familiar it is a dinner show with horses and it is very entertaining. The food is amazing. There is no silverware to use, you only have your hands and you get a biscuit, soup, potato, cornish hen (yes the whole thing which really blew Riley away), pork loin, corn on the cob and apple pie for dessert. It was delicious!! Anyway, tomorrow we will celebrate with cake and presents because Matt will be back with us. I have not posted a picture of her riding her new scooter because after getting it almost two weeks ago (it came with a bad charger) a replacement charger has arrived and she can now ride all over. So I thought I would post a picture of her riding because it reminds me that she is not a baby anymore even though I wish she was.

Last Day of Preschool

Last week we finished up our year of preschool. I really enjoyed being allowed to "play" school with my buddies! I had a blast and I think the kids learned a thing or two along the way. Here are some photos from the last day. Riley joined us since she was already done with her school year.