Our day trip to Cadillac with the Oele's

We had such a great day playing on Lake Mitchell in Cadillac with Joel's family.  The whole clan of 26 (soon to be 27) spends the whole week up there, however, with Makayla just arriving, we only got one day.  I think we made the most of it though!  Lydia had a blast playing in the "sandbox", swimming and splashing in the lake, and driving the boat with Uncle John!  Joel spent most of the day tubing with nieces and his brother in law, and goofing off.  Makayla got snuggled all day long.  And I hung out and took pictures!  We even stayed long enough for a bon fire and smores!

Sunday Funday!

I think we could swing for hours...and hours!

Showing "baby sister" how big girls swing!

Not really sure what she was doing here, but it looked funny!

Popsicles are #1 in her book!!

Yesterday was one of the best days we've had in a long time!  We took the day off from working on our new house and just enjoyed some great family time.  We took Lydia to see Cars 2 in the morning (she did better than I anticipated), played all afternoon outside, and finished the day with a popsicle and bubble bath!  The weather helped us out by being PERFECT as well!  Life doesn't get much better than this!

Almost done with the first half!

This past weekend Joel and I installed our new wood floors. 

We chose a hickory wood and love it! 

 This is the front living room, hallway and part of the dining room.

Joel installed a new mailbox as well.  I planted the lillies,

 and put the rock border there while Joel continued work

on our front yard.

Before

After

Getting all the underbrush cleared out is not fun...that's why he does it!  haha Actually, a month ago when I was less pregnant (aka: less huge and less heartburn) I did a lot of it too! :)

memorial weekend

We spent the whole weekend up at the new house getting things accomplished.  From flowers and closet organizers, to gutting the kitchen and drywall repairs, it was a busy weekend!!  We even managed to sqeeze in a parade and a trip to the Plainwell Library for their book sale!

sjsjjskskskssskslxzdldxlkcxjnjnxcxkmxxkc,kcx,mxmmx xxxxxxxxxxxsmddmkmdmkdfmmlf,mff,f,,f,fm,mf f f,f,f,,fgc,mmccxxxxokkszjnn  (Lydia's contribution to the blog!!)

Baby O.'s new closet organizer.  She got the smallest room,

but the biggest closet....figure that one out?!

Lydia's new bed and the new wall decals are her border!

Our small attempt at curb appeal for this summer! lol

Joel gutted the kitchen while I installed the closet organizers. 

Opening at right enters into dining room.

Kind of dark, sorry!  But this is the dining room looking into the kitchen. 

The 1st mud and sanding has been done here and in the living room,

 and the 2nd coat of mud has been applied.

We are hoping Joel can be done with the drywall repairs within the next 2 weeks so we can begin priming and painting! Yay! Although I have no idea what colors I want yet!  Then we can put down our floors, install the doors, trim it all out, and we are half way done!!!!!  Still hoping to move in before baby shows her pretty little face....but we'll see! :)  Prayers needed! Thanks!





Yikes...look at those white legs! haha Anyway,we had a wonderfully hot time at the parade and Lydia did amazingly well. Better than we expected to be honest!  She sat patiently and waited forall the different floats and tractors and people.  She enjoyed going after candy, but wasnt crazy about it like the other kids (although in a year or 2 I'm sure that will change!).  She waved her little American Flag to the people, and was a trooper!  What a great Memorial Day, and we hope all of you enjoyed yours too!





Lydia turns 2

We got rained out of the park, so we decided to get nice and cozy in our tiny house for Lydia's second birthday party with our family.  It went very well and Lydia has some wonderful grandparents and aunts who spoil her rotten! 

(good thing she's not too serious...huh?)

She loves her new bike!

My niece Ellie helping Lydia with her presents!

Now she's getting the hang of this unwrapping thing! :)

Lydia had a great day and enjoyed all her cousins and family.  A huge thank you to all who could make it to her party and help us celebrate her birthday.  We love you all!!

Our Mini Vaca to Chicago

Day 1: Museum of Science and Industry

We had a hard time getting her off this tractor!

Taking a break at the U-Boat exhibit! 

Checking out the new chicks in the genetics department. 
These were a hit with her, how could they not be...
look how cute and fluffy they are!

We had a great day at MSI and wish we had more time.  We didnt get a chance to see the Body Worlds Exhibit, but it looked pretty cool.  Lydia did well for the most part too.  We were all tired though by the end of the day; that place is huge!

Day 2:  Shedd's Aquarium, Adler's Planetarium, and Navy Pier

 I dont think there are any pics from Adler's, we didnt stay long!  However, this was the location when we were in the movie theater watching a 3d show about space and Lydia passed a little gas.  Then she proceeded to announce to the entire theater that she farted.  Yes, her words were, "Fart (giggle), I farted."  What a proud moment for both Joel and I!  After that, I left with Lydia and we entertained people (in a non-flatulence way) out in the hall while Joel finished learning about the Big Bang Theory!!! 

Playing with an eel! :)

The new Jellies exhibit was really cool.  I never knew there was
so many different kinds of sea jellies!  FYI: if you didnt know yet,
they are not called jellyfish anymore like I was taught as a child, now
they are called sea jellies because they are not fish! 
(Maybe I'm the last toknow this!)  Anyway, this sign just cracked me up!!

We loved the penguins here.  There was a huge play area for the kids
(see video at bottom of post),
and we were down here for probably an hour! 
Longer than Joel and I cared about penguins, but Lydia
was having so much fun we couldn't pull her away! 
I love watching her waddle like a penguin!

We were all enjoying some popcorn and a break (our feet were hurtin),
until Lydia decided she wanted to sit alone...apparently!! 
She is just so funny sometimes! 
And isn't this huge aquarium the coolest aquarium ever? :)

Carousel at Navy Pier. 
Pretty sure Joel gets Dad of the Year for this one! <3

Dora...need I say more?

Wow, day 2 kicked our bottoms!  It was our busiest day, but it was our best!  We had great weather all 3 days, but this was the sunniest.  We LOVED Shedd's, that was by far Lydia's favorite as well.  I won't ramble on too much, but we really enjoyed all the fish, the dolphin show, the penguin play area, and all the exhibits!  We were not at Adler's very long, maybe an hour or two.  Space isn't our thing really, but it was cool to see all the advances we have made...it's kind of crazy comparing old and new technology!  From Adler's, we walked the lakeshore pathway to Navy Pier.  That was long and hot, but beautiful, and it gave Lydia time to sleep in her stroller while Joel and I enjoyed a peaceful walk!  We finished this day with Jimmy Johns in our hotel room! LOL  That's how tired we were! (oh, and if you saw Joel's fb post, this is also the evening I got lost in our hotel and didnt even know I was lost...figure that one out!!)

Day 3: Field Museum and a little Shopping

Sue.  Good thing she's extinct!  She looks hungry!

A mummy. 

Day 3 was wonderful, but my feet hurt so bad from day 2 it was hard to enjoy the Field Museum!  The Field was so cool and so packed with artifacts and ancient wonders that I wish we would have done this one first.  I could have spent an entire day in here, but we were running out of time.  Lydia was almost at her end too, however, we managed to get through it.  This is definately a place we will return to when she is older.  From here we walked back to our hotel and did a little State St. shopping along the way!  Chicago was very good to us.  It was so woderful to get away from Kalamazoo for a few days and just enjoy a break. 

You can't really hear well because of the guy on the microphone,
but when asked what the penguin does, she says "waddle, waddle"
and waddles back and forth!  Sorry you cant hear it, but she's still cute! lol



Bathtime is one of our favorite times together :)

We love playing in the water (and with our toys)!  Say cheese! :)

This is supposed to be a blog about our new house and the process of flipping it!  However, somehow it became a Lydia blog, which doesnt surprise me and it shouldn't surprise any of you either if you know me at all!!!  Anyway, let me stick a house update in here.  Pictures of new windows are not always that exciting...so I will just tell you that 6 of the 9 windows are in now.  That excites us!  Most of the drywall in the livingroom and dining room is up and needs finishing.  Our hardwood flooring for the livingroom, diningroom, and hallway is in our possession and we are almost ready to install (I will post pics of that when it's in!)  It is very pretty flooring! :)  Other than windows, drywall and flooring, not much is left to report!  We are getting closer though!