Static Land

The Beach in October, in Michigan

We really have a lot of blessings.  Looking back a few months to when this photo was taken, I am reminded of a few of the best.

We have friends who live on Silver Lake here in Fenton who have an absolutely amazing beach.  We went there a lot during the summer of 2011 to swim, canoe, jump off their dock and bask in the sun.  It is a blessing that we have a place to take our kids that is free, clean and free of cussing teenagers and smoking parents that  we often found at the public beaches.  These people are some of the sweetest, most generous people we know.  Adam and I strive to be like them.  Not only do they let us swim whenever we want, they open their home to us to get snacks or drinks and to use the bathroom.  They have even came over multiple times to help us frame, hang drywall and doors in our basement, since he was previously a general contractor and knew we could use some advice.  They are truly some of the best examples to us of generosity and righteousness.

This was our last beach trip of 2011.  Normally, a trip like this would be in mid-September or so, but 2011 gave us an absolutely amazing autumn.  This was October 8th, 2011!  The lack of cold and snow in October and November was such a blessing.  It actually kind of made us want to go south after residency, since it was so enjoyable and amazing, like southern autumns are every year.

Picking Apples at Spicer's

My friend, Sara, and her son, Carson met us at Spicer's to pick apples and have a play date.  Man, do I LOVE that place.  It was a great time.

And, notice the short sleeve shirts in October!  We had a wonderful fall full of sunshine and beautiful temps.

10.7.11

so sweet

Man, were we tired!  Isn't this such a sweet picture?  Adalin took it.

Unfortunately, we were supposed to be watching General Conference... thank goodness for the dvr so we could watch later what we slept through.  :)

Adalin's first day of 1st grade

Pajama Party!

End of summer.  Lots of friends.  Why not?

That a long green bean! And the grape tomato freaks...

This is my first year growing green beans and it has been so awesome haveing them fresh out of the garden! They can be a little difficult to find off the bush, giving this baby plenty of time to grow ginormous:
Adalin and Kira LOVE the grape tomatoes that I planted for them. They literally picked an entire cereal bowl full a few days ago and ate all of them in 5 minutes. Talk about 600% vitamin C for a day.

Uncle Nate's Hockey Game

We went to see my brother, Nathan, play roller hockey a few weeks ago. The girls were pretty excited and eager to learn how the game is played, since they had no idea. Ava kept pointing to Nate, saying "D!" and clapping. It was very cute.

I do have to say that my brother is pretty impressive. Not as a goalie, necessarily (sorry Nate, you said it yourself, though he did have some pretty good saves), but how he has turned his life around. This is a kid who used to eat {only} easy mac and ravioli out-of-the-can and play computer games for 8+ hours a day, but now works out like a maniac and buys broccoli in bulk and asks me how to season it. He has lost a lot of weight, is majorly fit now, and is planning on maybe going into the army. Love ya little bro.

CRIM and carnival

What a busy day this was!  8K for Adam, 5K for me, and teddy bear trot trot for the girls, followed by a carnival at our church! Whew!  It was pretty dang fun though!

The blondes

Isn't this just a stunning picture of all of these beauties?  Ah, love the summer blonde hair!
The cute boy is our friend Braden, who's dear family we know from church and med school.