Michigan Trip

Last week, Keelin and I spent the week in Michigan visiting friends and family.
We left early Friday morning and drove to Holland to visit with my good friend from high school, Nicole, and her family. Keelin has been begging to go to a beach for the last few months...so first stop...Lake Michigan!

My little fish!!

Keelin dove right in the cold water and loved it! She was shaking but did not want to get out of the water!

Keelin and Brady playing in the sand.

Back at Nicole's...Keelin and Brady had a great time playing together.

Keelin, Taya, and Brady

Nicole and I join in the photo fun!



Keelin and I left Holland Saturday afternoon to drive to Mason to stay with my parents the rest of the week.

Sunday was my mom's 60th birthday party. We had around 25 people over the course of the day. I should have taken more pictures.

I gave Keelin a bath before the party...and this is where I found her less than an hour later... in the SAND!

Getting ready for the party.

Keelin (in another dress) enjoying the swing set.

My cousin, Tracey, and I

(the new baby's c-section is scheduled on her birthday!)

Keelin took a nap on this swing for over an hour during the party!

My mom's birthday cake

Keelin and her grandma

Keelin was ready to eat cake!

What a great party!!!

My dad and Keelin putting peanuts out for the squirrels.

Waiting and watching as a squirrel arrives to snack on the nuts.

My dad and I took Keelin down the block to Laylin Park.

My mom and I went biking with Keelin.

We parked at Hawk Island County Park and biked to Michigan State. We had to turn around here because water was covering the path.
We biked past Potter Park Zoo and headed downtown Lansing.

We biked 10-12 miles and Keelin took a nice nap in her trailer!

"Get Going!"

The last evening Keelin and I were there we walked to Dairy Hill for ice cream!

Keelin and her grandpa ran ahead!

Keelin eating her first ice cream cone!

Keelin and I had a great time!

Fun in the Sprinkler!

I went over to my friend Jamie's house today to scrapbook. It was a great break to get away from the house work I have been doing!!! I took Keelin with me so she could play with Hannah and Kyle. Even though the forecast today was for storms (which never hit) the sun was shinning and it was humid, so the kids ran through the sprinkler.

Keelin, Hannah, and Kyle

Keelin loves water!!

Keelin's First Movie 6-9-09

We took Keelin last night to see her first movie at the theater. We went to see "Up". She loved it!!!! She had her own seat, but during the movie she took turns sitting on Drew and I's laps. She watched the whole movie!

Keelin and Drew in front of the "Up" ad.

Keelin sitting in her seat with her popcorn.
We were the only 3 people in the theater until halfway through the previews when two girls came in.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

We were all just playing in the playroom with Keelin and she started singing, Happy Birthday to her Grandma (my mom)!! My mom turned 60 today!

I had to capture Keelin singing on video because she always gets too shy to sing around anyone else.

(To hear the video, you will need to scroll down and pause the music player before you start the video.)

A Finished Project and 24 Weeks

Back a few posts... I put pictures of our deck behind our house. Well, the project is done!

BEFORE

AFTER

Drew stained the wood and put the stone blocks in to add the final touch!


Pictures of the processes!

My dad build the new steps and flower boxes while Drew and I were on vacation.

THANK YOU, DAD!! I love them!!!

Keelin was ready to help me plant the flowers.

(Yes...she picked out her outfit!! She demanded all PINK!)

Flower boxes with flowers!

Today I am 24 weeks!!

Today is also my mom's 60th birthday!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

Keelin and I will be able to celebrate with her when we go to Michigan in 5 days!

Reagan's 1st Birthday

Tonight Keelin and I went to my friend Brandi's new home to celebrate her daughter Reagan's first birthday!

Reagan awaiting her cake.

Reagan digging in

Keelin and Hannah having their second round of ice cream!

Kyle was helping Keelin blow bubbles!

He was so sweet to her.

Kyle and Bailey showing the girls how blowing bubbles is done!

Hannah and Keelin giving it a shot!

What a fun time!

When we were leaving, Keelin turned to me and said, "Mommy, me happy me have fun!"

See my friend Jamie's blog for more cute pictures of the kids.

Thursday: Feeding Ducks and Baseball!

Yesterday's cool weather was a real treat!!!
I took Keelin to the State Hospital in the morning to feed the ducks! We had some old bread plus some frozen bread we haven't touch in a long while. She had so much fun tearing up the bread and tossing it to the ducks! I was able to get a nice walk in too when she finished! When I was pushing her in the jogging stroller after she feed the ducks, she turned around and said, "Mommy, me have fun!" I think we will have to return again this summer.

Thursday evening we took Keelin to an Otters baseball game! Drew got tickets from his parents, so we decided to go. The cool evening was wonderful for baseball and they snapped an eight game lossing streak!! They played the Kalamazoo Kings (a Michigan team)! Did I mention there was record attendance last night too...7,253 people!!!!!!!!!!!! (The two previous nights the attendance was 1,700 and 1,800.)

I did not have my camera, but I captured Keelin enjoying her hotdog on my phone!

New York City 5/26-5/28

NEW YORK CITY

Drew and I left for New York City in the morning. We took the Amtrak which was both of ours first train trip.

When we arrived at Penn Station we walked to our hotel which was many blocks away. It was lunch time so the people traffic was heavy!!! BUT... it was all worth it when we approached our hotel! Check it out... HERSHEY'S was on the corner!

We couldn't resist stopping for a treat!!!!

The view from our hotel room was of Time Square.

Drew and I decided to purchase a city tour bus ticket that was valid for 48 hours. We took that bus to all our site seeing destinations. Any time you are on the bus they narrate history about the city which allowed Drew and I to learn and see more than we originally planned.

Click on the collage to make it bigger.

This collage is of places we saw while on the bus.
(site where John Lennon was shot, NBC studios at Rockefeller Plaza, different museums, Apollo theater, Radio City, where Malcolm X preached, and General Grants National Memorial.)

A few blocks uptown was David Letterman's Late Show theater.

Our fellow Ball State grad!

Right before Drew and I arrived in New York City they decided to close a few blocks of Broadway (in Times Square) from car traffic. They filled the blocks with chairs!! It was very relaxing to sit and watch the busy city from the middle of the street sitting in a beach chair!

It was drizzling...

and there was a sea of umbrellas! It was very comical to watch all the moving umbrellas from the top of a tour bus!

The Empire State Building

Ground Zero

There is a fence all the way around because they are building a memorial there now so it was hard to see.

Drew and I took the Staten Island ferry (because it was free!) to go by the Statue of Liberty!

It was a very foggy day but I was able to get a few good pictures.

The view of downtown Manhattan

In times square there was a big ad for MICHIGAN!!!!

Drew and I went to see Momma Mia on Broadway! It was an amazing performance!



The best part about our trip was something we did not plan. Wednesday morning I was in the shower and Drew came in the bathroom saying, "You will never believe who is performing in the plaza tomorrow." I started jumping up and down in the shower (probably not the safest thing for a pregnant women to do) shouting, "Kris, Kris, Kris!!!"

So...Thursday morning we headed down to Rockefeller Plaza to see Kris and Adam perform.

Natalie Morales interview them in the studio before they performed. Drew and I were standing outside in the front row!

We went across the street when they performed because we could see them better.

We were behind the stage so their backs were to us.

Kris performing, "Heartless"

Adam performing

Matt Lauer with Kris and Adam.

During the summer, the famous ice rink is an outdoor bar.

Before we left on Thursday, we rented bikes and biked through Central Park.

This fountain is where part of Enchanted was filmed. It was very recognizable because Enchanted it Keelin's favorite movie right now...which means we watch it OFTEN!

view in Central Park

Drew biking in Central Park

(Yes... I was biking and taking pictures at the same time!)


Our Trip to New York City and Boston were amazing. We did so much in those 6 days!!