Birthday girl :)

Before I start this post, I just want to take a moment to remind you all how precious life is. Sadly, the day before Megan's birthday a relative of ours passed away in a car accident. She was a beautiful young lady, 22 yrs old, and she had nothing but happy thoughts of a bright promising future. She is loved by many and will be missed. So yes, Megan's birthday was somber but I will always look back Brittany's passing as a reminder to cherish each day and focus on what is good. Hug your kiddos tight each night, you cannot say "I love you" too much and spend time making memories :)

 

So you will recall that our trip to Cedar Point was Megan and Joey's birthday gift (because they don't need anymore toys!!!) So the actual day of Megan's birthday, we stayed home and everything was low key. A perfect birthday in my opinion.

 We made "snow" for the kids to play with. (some magic crystal things that expand in water that resembles snow.)

 Nothing like a birthday bike ride! (simple pleasures...I love it!)

 And of course, a birthday cake made by me. The only thing Megan asked for was a rainbow cake. A few years back, I made a cake that was rainbow on the inside, so I didn't want to do that again. But if you search "rainbow cake" in Pinterest, that is all you will find. So again, I figured out a plan that would work and Megan loved it!

 We invited Grandma and Papa Schutte over for dinner (we had a b-day celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Berthold the night before.) Grandma found a crown and Megan and she was more than excited to wear it.

 Keeping with our simple birthday (we always do) Megan got a 1 of a kind gift from Grandma and Papa...a flower box to go on the play house built by Papa! Now, I know right now she sees it as just a cool flower box, buy as the years go on, Megan will understand how special this gift is :) She also got money to by paint for the play house (Do you see a theme here!?!)

And last, but not least, Happy 3rd Birthday to Piggie! Megan LOVES that she shares a birthday with her favorite stuff animal, so of course she asked me to make her a cake. Marshmallows and leftover frosting...quick and easy and it meant the world to Megan. Keeping things simple made this day extra special for all of us.

Cedar Point Trip!!!

Mark and I have been talking for awhile about taking the kids to Cedar Point and when we noticed that Megan could go on most rides, we decided this was going to be the year we took them for the 1st time.

 We planned on going to CP the week between Joey and Megan's birthdays, to avoid any favoritism. As our original planned day got closer, it was calling for rain and thunderstorms, but the next day looked perfect. So we delayed out trip a day, no big deal. We made the 2 hour drive the night before 1. To make the trip a little more special (This was our first trip with just the 4 of us.) 2. Because waking up early, driving 2 hours, playing all day, then driving 2 hours home...with 2 young kids...did NOT sound like fun. Our drive was uneventful and just as the "When are we going to be there?" questions started, so did the rainbows. It was kind of fun, the last 30 minutes of our drive we saw at least, 5 different rainbows. Megan loved it! This rainbow was over the main parking lot at CP, so Megan was going back and forth looking at a rainbow...roller coaster...rainbow...roller coaster.

 We got settled into our hotel room and then took a walk to "get the wiggles out." The path from our hotel to the other hotel with food, was along Lake Erie. I saw a perfect photo spot and asked the kids to climb up the rocks. They were too excited to take a nice photo, but I still think this one turned out well.

 Yep, that's a roller coaster feet away from our balcony. Obviously, the kids were too excited to go to bed right after dinner, so our compromise was that they could watch the roller coaster for a bit once they had pj's on. Soon it was bedtime and both kids settled in nicely. Shockingly, once the doors and windows were closed, we couldn't hear the CP noise at all.

 Finally...we are here! By staying at a CP hotel, we got in an hour early, so our first stop was Camp Snoopy. Side Notes: My phone was blurry thanks to the sunscreen still left on my fingers. 10 years ago, it would have taken a lot to be excited about Camp Snoopy!

 The hotel lied to us...Camp Snoopy was NOT part of the open an extra hour (I swear it was listed!!!) So we walked around the park looking at things and trying to find anything all of us could ride together. After 40 minutes of walking, Joey found a circle of chairs and was vary excited to sit down.

 Finally, Camp Snoopy...round 2. Megan and Joey's 1st roller coaster!

 We checked out the rest of Camp Snoopy, where most of the rides the kids could do on their own. Megan was a great big sister, helping Joey on and off the rides.

 Megan loved that she could control the plane going up and down. Joey didn't care, he was just happy.

 Not too many kids at CS early in the day.

 Needing a break from kiddie seatbelts (having to wait for a CP employee to unlock MY seatbelt got old real quick!) We set off to one of the "family rides" Megan wanted to go on the Antique Cars

 I didn't get to see her face, but Mark said the look of concentration on her face was priceless! She was so concerned with steering and not going too fast, that we had to tell her to go faster because the car behind us was catching up. We never told her the metal track would keep the car in place :)

 Joey picked the next family ride...the train. Both kids enjoyed

Now onto Snoopy Land (Snoop Doggie-Dog land according to Mark) Wonder what the difference is between Camp Snoopy and Snoopy Land? Yeah, me too. They are pretty much the same, except the rides are different colors/themes. Megan and Joey didn't care, they were excited to see a whole new area of rides just for them.

 Joey LOVED Peanuts Road Rally trucks We...yes WE rode this one a lot! And apparently, this video is illegal...no phones or cameras on ANY CP rides. Now keep in mind, I was sitting in the back of a fully automated kiddie ride, strapped in by my seatbelt (that only comes unlocked after a CP employee physically unlocks it) and I was 3 feet off of the ground. So after I took this video and had my phone put away...I was nicely reminded phones are not allowed on rides :) (Yes, I understand why, but it honestly never crossed my mind that, that rule was for kiddie rides with a top speed on 1.5 MPH)

 Joey was starting to "hit the wall" so we needed to move onto something new. So of course we shove him on a huge Giant Wheel Waiting in line he was getting really nervous (AKA tired) but once it started he was all smiles.

Megan was all smiles too...pretty sure she was smiling all day.

By 5:00, Joey was pretty much done. He never really got cranky, but he was ready to stop walking. Megan and Mark were off riding bigger roller coasters, so Joey and I were left in Snoopy Ville to pass the time. Snoopypolooza also included karaoke...kid karaoke! But being the awesome mom I am, I knew there was one more kid area Joey hadn't visited yet.

 He got another burst of energy when he saw more things for him to ride on!

 Trucks, lights and horns...this boy was in heaven!

 I am shocked he didn't get sick on this. The bar on his lap controlled the helicopter going up and down...Joey did NOT make smooth transitions. His quick "forward/back/forward/back" meant up/down/up/down on repeat, for the whole ride. It was funny to watch! But he loved it!

I am sure you noticed, that Megan was missing from a lot of photos, well that's because she wasn't with me (the keeper of the camera) for a good chunk of the day. Mark and Megan went off to ride the big roller coasters. Mark made sure to go in a certain order, slowly getting bigger, faster etc. By the end of the day, these were the roller coasters Megan went on. Mine Ride, Blue Streak, Gemini, Iron Dragon, Cork Screw, and she finish the night off with Magnum-XL200 The picture above, her excited/proud Dad had to buy after they got off of the Magnum. After each coaster Megan was excited, a little scared but quickly asked what she could ride next :) She is a little dare devil...our future trips to CP are going to be fun!

Perfect little play house (in the rough)

Almost 41 years ago, Mark's dad built his 4 kids a cute little playhouse (I wish I had a picture of what it looked like back then.) Just one simple mention of this playhouse and all Mark's siblings and their friends, quickly share tons of stories involving the playhouse. Once the Schutte kids were grown, the playhouse was moved to an Uncle's property for his children to play with.

 

Over the years, the little playhouse was left sitting alone, without any happy kiddos to play with it. Last Summer, Mark's mom asked if we wanted to move the playhouse to our yard, to fix up, so Megan and Joey could have their own memories of the cute little playhouse...of course I said YES! Well, Mother Nature had other plans...it was way too wet to even think about having a huge truck come into our yard to deliver the playhouse.

 

 Spring 2014 came and I was hinting really hard that we NEED to get the playhouse before I build one of my own! Finally, the first non-golf weekend came and Mark made plans to get the playhouse to our house :)

First step, building a foundation for the playhouse to sit on. Our yard is NOT flat, many factors were involved in deciding where to put the house. With A LOT of over thinking, I finally picked a spot. The kids have enough room to run around the playhouse, there is enough room to mow around it and most importantly, it is close enough to the fence that we can add super cute landscaping around the playhouse and it won't look odd.

 Joey, really wanted to help build the foundation. Megan was able to carry the cement blocks half way from the car to the back of our yard, but there was no way for Joey to even try that. So Megan, very cleverly, gave him the eagle to carry.  He was so proud that he was helping.

 It's here!!! This was the first time I had seen the playhouse in real life. It is so cute! Yes, it needs some love and the coldest, snowiest Winter ever was not kind to it, but she is going to be beautiful in a couple weeks.

 Tiny little house...not a tiny job to move! Thankful for our friends and family that came to help us move this not so light weight playhouse.

So here she is, she looks rough but nothing we can't fix. The sides and the back are very solid still and the front/roof had lots of damage from this past Winter (and it is almost 41 years old) I will do another post about how we fixed her and what she looks like after, when everything is complete. If it turns out like the picture I have in my head...this is going to be an awesome makeover and a super cute playhouse for tons of kids to enjoy.

Cousins and bunnies and kayaks, oh my!

Summertime in Michigan, pretty much means you will be spending time at a lake. For our family, it also means, that we will be soaking up family time whenever possible.

 For the most part, summer this year has been really mild, down right cold at times. It has been beautiful, but not really "swimming" weather. We have also missed out on a lot of rain. So far we have had one week of a typical summer, the temperature/humidity build during the day, then a quick thunderstorm to be finished with a perfect, pleasant evening. During one of these storms, the perfect rainbow appeared over Loch Erin :)

 Cousins all playing in the water.

 Kelsey was helping Joey get used to the kayak. He was nervous at first, but Kelsey was patient and helped calm any fears.

 Aunt T, using Joey as an excuse to play in the sand.

Shockingly, this sand castle stayed intact for hours...then Joey stomped it.

 The cousins have 3 bunnies at home and they got to come to Michigan during this quick trip. Joey kind of loved them. (Sorry for cutting off your head, Caila.)

 Megan also loved the bunnies. I lost count of how many times she asked if we could have one...umm, no. Not that I don't love bunnies, but we have an 85lb dog that would eat any and all bunnies in 1 bite!

Baby pen + 3 bunnies + 4 kids = odd picture.

We love simple days at the lake and soaking up time with family, so sad that Summer is coming to and end :(

"Me free" or if you can't speak toddler..."I am three."

When people say, "Enjoy it, they grow fast." They aren't joking! Joey is now 3...this makes me sad and happy at the same time.  He is a wonderful kiddo, we love him to pieces. He is going to do big things, I can feel it, but for now, we are just going to soak it all up and enjoy the ride.

 No matter how busy I am...I will always make my children's birthday cake. The kids always help with the mixing of the cake batter, but I take it from there. I make the frosting (Frosting recipe ) and I do the decorating. I asked Joey what he wanted on his cake, it took him about 2 seconds to say "shark cake!" I will admit that I turned to Pinterest for ideas, but everything was 3D, scary or made with fondant...not what I was looking for at all. So I thought an idea and figured out a way to make it happen.

 Yellow cake and cupcakes, then add...

 ...plastic sharks from Hobby Lobby and you get...

 ...SHARK CAKE!!! To quote Joey when he first saw his cake, "Wow, no way!" He liked it and proceeded to have everyone come in to take a look at his "shark cake" (Yes, I do enjoy decorating cakes. It is fun and I LOVE seeing Megan and Joey get excited when they see them.)

 Summer meal before cake...yum!

 Joey helped cut the first piece. He had no idea what he had to do :)

 Shark shirt, to go with a shark cake. Yes, I planned that.

 The super cool truck his cousin made for him. Again Joey said, "Wow, no way!"

 Grandma and Papa made him a happy 3 year old with Transformer Jr. toys.

Joey seized the opportunity to clean the frosting off of all the sharks! We were loading things up and I found him at the table enjoying every lick.

I don't know why, but we let the kids pick where they want to eat on their birthday, Joey picked "Bob Evans" He ate a great dinner and we just causally mentioned him turning 3...out came a sundae and he was one happy kid. Notice the is only 1 cherry...I told Megan that Joey got the cherry because it was his birthday. Our little sweetheart INSISTED that I cut the cherry in half so he could share with Megan. He is very, very sweet, without any prompting...it melts my heart.

His birthday lasted a few days and we did lots of fun things. Our next adventure is a trip to Cedar Point the week between Joey and Megan's birthdays (just eliminated any favoritism) Both kids are super excited and I am excited to see the excitement in their eyes.