John - Age 23, Michigan

I thought it would be fun to participate in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" Friday by introducing my single younger brother, John.  Because he lives right around the corner from us, we are lucky to spend lots of time with him!  My two daughters, Ava and Emma, absolutely adore their "Uncle John" and love that he visits so often to read a book, give a treat, or wrestle on the floor.  He's a wonderful uncle to his nieces and nephew!

John also enjoys spending time outdoors.  If he's not with family, he's probably on a boat fishing, hunting during deer season, goose season, and whatever other "hunting seasons" there can possibly be!  In the summers, he spends all of his time working on my cousins' farm, along with my husband.  During the fall and winter, he's been taking classes and still determining what career he hopes to pursue.  

Though he's my younger brother, I admire and respect him so much for how much he's grown, emotionally and spiritually, over the years!  He's an amazing person, who we continually pray will find an equally amazing woman to spend his life with some day!  If interested, please leave your info in a comment.

Welcome Baby DeWeerdt!

We were finally able to meet Landon John DeWeerdt on Easter Day!  He was born around 11:30 in the morning and was 7 lbs. 12 oz.  I must have been caught up in the excitement, because I didn't even remember to take my camera out for pictures.  He has so much dark hair and the cutest little face!  Andrea and Steve are both doing very well, but looked like they needed to get some rest when we visited them last night.  Congratulations guys -- we are so happy for you and can't wait to spend more time with the little guy!

Family Addition

Because I've been so behind on our blog, I've completely left out the newest addition to our family!  We've been wanting another pet since Josie died about a year and a half ago, but just weren't ready to take on the challenge right after Ava was born.  Just over a month ago, we picked out another Jack Russel terrier, which we named Abby.  I'm still adjusting to the puppy stage and "potty training", as she is an indoor dog (it's like having another kid!).  Ava loves having Abby around for a playmate, even though she doesn't always know how to handle her very nicely.  I've only taken a few pics of the puppy with Ava -- as you can see, they get into mischief together!

New Year's Eve

This was the first year that we didn't make any plans for New Year's Eve -- I didn't feel like trying to find a sitter, and Mike had to get up early the next morning for work.  Marcy, Eric, and Reese brought over pizza -- the girls played with Ava's new play-dough kit, while Marcy put their hair in sponge rollers (I never attempt to do this with all Ava's hair!).  They looked like little old ladies waiting for their hair to be done!  Reese stayed to play with Ava, while Marcy and Eric went to a party to ring in the New Year.  I couldn't control her hair the next morning!

Slotman Christmas

We celebrated with the Slotman family the weekend following Christmas day.  We're beginning to notice that the celebrating revolves around the kids, as they had stockings to dig through and piles of presents -- again, spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma!  Reese and Ava both got kitchen sets that took about two hours of assembly by ALL of us during their nap time -- we decided the work wasn't worth the good deal we bought them for!! After snacking all day on sweets, we also played some cards, which Ava decided she wanted to participate in -- another fun day with family!

Schutter Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's.  After enjoying pizza, we exchanged gifts -- Mom did a great job surprising us all!  Ava's new tent was such a hit, that we couldn't even get her to open her last presents, because she was so entertained crawling in and out!  Andrea and I were excited to get lots of comfy clothes to wear through the rest of our pregnancies, as we're becoming frustrated with our wardrobes that are no longer fitting.  We ended the night playing a round of Mom's Christmas memory matching game -- thanks for the fun Mom and Dad, and all the wonderful gifts!

More pink!

After much debate between Mike and I, we found out last week that we will be expecting another girl! It was so fun and exciting not finding out with Ava, but I couldn't withhold this time from knowing boy or girl, so I ruined the surprise for Mike (and Marcy, sorry!) We are very excited that Ava will have a little sister to make memories with in the coming years, though my brother has reminded me that his memories me and Andrea aren't always fond ones. I'm even more thankful that my pregnancy continues to be a safe and healthy one!

Happy Birthday Reese!

We celebrated Reese's 2nd birthday with her and the Slotman family on Friday night after a LONG day of Christmas shopping. Ava and Jack wanted to help Reese open all of her presents, of course! Reese and Ava also decided to dress up as princesses to add to the celebration (Ava loves wearing heels!) I can't believe how much Jack is growing every time we see him -- I caught him in his adorable pose, tongue out! Thanks for all the fun Reese, and we hope you have a great birthday!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family at their house -- and a very full house it was with 30 people around the table! It was a nice surprise to see my Aunt Jeanne, who was home visiting from Florida. We enjoyed lots of delicious food, some intense rounds of Uno, and shooting clay pigeons. Thanks Mom for hosting a great day!

Chicago Trip

As you can tell, I'm not very good at keeping our blog updated! Sorry!  I spent last weekend in Chicago with my mom, sister, Aunt Marilyn, and cousins Corah and Jill -- Corah, Jill, Andrea, and I have been close since our childhood (we're all exactly one year apart), and unfortunately don't see each other as much after going separate ways since being married.  

After picking up Jill from Midway on Friday night, we spent all of Saturday shopping at Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, where we had great success with purchases!  We finished off our long day of shopping with a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory.  On Sunday, we drove into Chicago, and spent the day enjoying the beautiful weather and sights of the city.  We couldn't help but admire all of the bright colored mum plants everywhere!!

I had so much fun on our shopping trip prior to my busy week of parent-teacher conferences at school -- I'm so excited that Corah and Travis will be moving to Grand Rapids, and miss Jill so much back in Louisiana!  Can't wait until we get together again at Thanksgiving!

Expecting #2!!

We are expecting baby #2 in May!!  I'm only about six weeks along, but I didn't feel like holding in the secret for 3 months this time!  We are very excited for another addition to our family and the changes he/she will bring!

Fair Weekend

We had so much fun spending a lot of our weekend at the fair -- Saturday night, Mike, Ava, and I went through all the animal barns, visited with several people, and ate lots of junk food!  Yesterday, we went to the fair again with Mike's family and experienced it all over again (which Ava, of course, didn't mind!).  Though Ava and Reese were too young for most of the rides, they found entertainment in petting the animals and sitting on big tractors (you can barely see her sitting on the blue tractor in the picture!). Mike grew up being in 4-H and we hope to have our own kids participate some day!

Labor Day Weekend

We decided to stay around home over Labor Day weekend, rather than traveling up North to Silver Lake -- we had plans with friends and family, and I didn't really feel like packing and unpacking before going back to school! We hung out with friends at my sister and brother-in-law's cottage on Hutchen's Lake on Saturday night boating, playing cards, and playing an intense game of Badmitton (Andrea and I are the reigning champs!) On Sunday night, we had a picnic with my family at Tunnel Park.  Ava's favorite thing to do with Grandpa and Grandma is ride in their wagon, so we all took turns going for walks.  We had fun taking a dip in Lake Michigan, enjoying good food, and playing some Frisbee!

Girls Day at the Beach

I'm trying to catch up on my blog, because we had to get a new camera!  Here are a few highlights from the end of summer...In August, Ava and I were able to spend a fun day at the beach with some of my friends that I teach with -- Megan and her daughter Calla, Haley and her daughter Addison, and Sarah and her daughter Alaina. Haley spoiled us all by inviting us to her in-laws beautiful home on Lake Michigan, where we enjoyed watching the girls on the beach and then had lunch together. It was so nice to catch up before we begin the school year -- Haley, we miss you so much!  

Slotman Family Pictures

On Friday night we took pictures with the Slotman family at the Holland Fish and Game Club. It's nice to have some new pics with all of the additions to the family! We expected it to be very difficult getting the kids to all sit still, but they actually did surprisingly well -- especially little Jack, who can't run away from us yet!  After pictures, we headed out to the beach to enjoy a nice dinner-- a little windy -- by the channel.

Blueberry Picking

Ava and I went blueberry picking on Friday with Grandma Slotman, Marcy, and Reese.  The girls had fun running up and down the rows, and Ava especially couldn't keep her hands out of the buckets!  She loved the blueberries!

Silver Lake ~ 4th of July!

Our 4th of July weekend was spent up North at Silver Lake.  This was our first time in the dunes for the year, and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. We stayed with Cory and Ellen and had a great time visiting baby Jack! After Mike and my brother's hard work, we also were able to take the race Jeep back in the dunes -- it's been out of commission for 3 years due to other priorities and lack of time to fix.  

Though Ava and I preferred to tour around in the Rubicon, I did let Mike take me for a spin through the hills -- too fast for me! Even though Lake Michigan was a little chilly, Ava loved playing in the sand and digging holes with Dad by the beach! Eric, Marcy, and Reese also came up on Friday night in time to watch the fireworks in the dunes with everyone -- it was a late night for the kids, but they fell asleep quickly on the ride back. It was a great weekend, and we're looking forward to going back soon!