Spring Break 2010

We headed up to Alpena the Wednesday of Spring break. Of course the weather had been beautiful for over a week straight and when we decide to go up north and stay in our camper we get cold, wind, rain, and even some snow. We still had a great time. We dressed for the weather and never really got too cold. We also had some nice visits with family up there. The girls and I headed into Alpena to see my Aunt Julie and Uncle Pat one day. Olivia was excited to see they were dog sitting their grand dog Sophie for the week. We also got to spend some time at Uncle Jere's. It was a nice and relaxing few days in our home away from home.

Olivia posing on our swing

Andy borrowed Jere's tractor and Olivia and he smoothed out a new trail. They are standing proudly in the trail they made in the photo above.

Even Mia enjoyed the nature surrounding us. She went around picking up leaves and handing them to all of us. At least she wasn't eating them.

We couldn't forget to take Vada with us. It made the trip a bit more challenging, but she did very well overall. It's so much nicer to be able to take her with us, rather than board her some place. I think she really enjoyed being able to walk around the woods and trails.

Easter Festivities

Easter is a joyous holiday and we are so thankful to have family around to share this special time with.

Coloring eggs at Grandma and Grandpa McNeil's on Good Friday. Olivia is like her grandpa when it comes to having a picture taken, they both automatically tilt their heads. A good time was had by all.

Mia finding eggs Easter morning that the Easter Bunny hid at our house. Both the girls really enjoyed hunting for eggs and baskets. Well, Mia just enjoyed being able to play with them.

Both my girls were spoiled with Easter goodies from various family members all around. Here Olivia shares her excitement of getting a new Barbie DVD at Nana and Papa's house on Easter. We went over to Nana and Papa's after church for a delicious meal and egg hunt. It's supposedly the last year of the egg hunt for the adults, but we hear that every year. Maybe the "Esther Bunny" will stick to her word next year.

Mia loved this darn chick that Aunt Jen got her. We couldn't pry the thing from her hands until she finally fell asleep.

Happy 1st Birthday Mia!

Saturday, April 3rd we had family over to celebrate Mia's first year of life. She had so much fun digging into her cake! A bath immediately followed her eating of the cake. Thank you to all our family for coming to help make this day even more special!

I love this photo more for the expression on Olivia's face. Daddy was trying to get her to move out of the photo for a bit and her feelings were hurt.

Aunt Joan and Scott came up from Fort Wayne for the special occasion. Mia has been enjoying all of her gifts she received.

She even got to try punch for the first time. Mommy was unaware of course.

Spaghetti Tacos and Mia is ONE!

The last weekend in March, Andy headed to Minnesota for a swim meet. He skipped it last year since I was very pregnant. He missed us celebrating Earth Hour this year, but we had fun without him. We had spaghetti tacos for dinner, played cards and did puzzles by candlelight, as well as a bath by candlelight. A good time was had by all. Spaghetti tacos for those of you who are unaware, are the favorite food eaten on the T.V. show iCarly. Olivia wanted to try them and surprisingly they were pretty good. We even tried the soft shell version the next night with our left over spaghetti. I preferred the hard shells myself.

FYI: they are messy

On March 31st, our little Miss Mia Margaret turned one. It's so hard to believe this year has come and gone. We just had a nice family dinner at home for her birthday and let her open gifts that had come in the mail. We planned her party with just family for the following weekend. She still had no teeth by her birthday, but two bottom teeth appeared a few days later. She continues to be such a happy girl, but is in to EVERYTHING! She will literally run circles around the house all day long. She doesn't listen when you say "No." Although, she knows things that are "no nos." She goes up to them, taps at them until she gets my attention, and then smiles and grabs it. She thinks it's all a game we play. She had her 1 year check up and weighed 17 pounds 4 oz. and was 29 1/4 inches long. She didn't score very high on the weight charts, but was in the 75th percentile for height. Olivia was very similar in both aspects.

What a wonderful year we have had with our little girl. I am blessed every day to have such healthy, beautiful daughters in my life!

Weddings and Water

My longest friend in life, Sarah, on her magical day marrying Ian. Their wedding was held at the beautiful Kellogg Manor on Gull Lake. She was a gorgeous bride, but I knew she would be.

Mr. and Mrs. Ian Niecko

Melanie has been wonderful and giving Olivia some one on one swimming lessons on occassion. Olivia looks so forward to them. Melanie can get her to do some many things that Andy and I can't in the water. We're so glad Olivia loves the water.

Mia loves the water too, and was mad she wasn't going in on this particular day.

Date With Dad

After much trouble loading photos to blogger for some odd reason, I think I'm back on track (fingers crossed). Now I have too many photos to upload and lots of entries to catch up on. We'll start first with Date with Dad, an annual event put on by the Doyle Community Center. Andy took Olivia for their first time. He even showed up with a bouquet of flowers for her, which was all his own idea. They went out to eat first and then danced the night away. My only photos are from before since I didn't want to show up on their date night to take photos. They both had a great time!

All dolled up and ready to go

Kisses for daddy

And I just had to throw in a cute picture of Mia!