Silver Lake, Michigan

Every 4th of July we make a trip up to Michigan to see Dennis' family. This time we actually got to spend a few days at Silver Lake.

 The sunset was beautiful!

 Caitlin played in the water and went tubing on Uncle Dan's boat.

Hailey played in the sand and rode on the boat. She isn't quite strong enough to go tubing yet, but next year she will.

This was  our little oasis in the sand.

 Oh look! Is that David Hasselhoff? No, that's Uncle Erik!

Here is David Hasselhoff! (Connor was a such a big help. He helped port the boat out because the water was so shallow near the shore.)

 Hailey also decided to get her ears pierced. Aunt Stefanie hooked her up with a special numbing cream, so she wouldn't feel a thing, but she was very nervous. She even said "I changed my mind" and got a little teary eyed :-( She went through with it and got cute little pink starfish.

 Here is a picture of the infamous Aunt Stefanie in cognito with the girls...uh...I mean guys.

Aunt Stefanie, A.K.A the Ambassador of Goodwill, continued to spoil the girls by allowing them to accompany her on her float during the 4h of July parade in Portland, MI.

 Hailey helped prepare the fruit plate...it had a green grape smiley face.

 We saw this car as we headed home....Not sure what to say about that...

Uncle Dan is that your car?!

We were all sad to go, but we will be up there again really soon.

We have a special occasion to celebrate in November. Dennis' mom, Carolyn, is having a very special Birthday!!

Say Cheese!

Today we went to Standing Stones Farm in Gallatin and learned how to make cheese. I took a bunch of pictures and had a really hard time deciding which ones to use! 

 Dennis was not interested in the goats, but this little cat came right up to him, talking to him just like our little Johnny Ringo does at home. We need to start calling Dennis the "Cat Whisperer"! Lol!

 This is Paula Butler, she did an amazing job keeping the kids entertained and teaching them about cheese all at the same time. Did you know that cheese was thought to have been discovered when a nomad carried milk across the desert in a container made from an animal's stomach? He discovered the milk had been separated into curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach.

 These are the curds.

 This is the whey.

 The girls also made butter, it was creamy and delicious!

 Hailey said, "This is the best day ever!" She couldn't wait to taste the cheese.

 The kids each got to pull the mozerella while it was hot.

 Hailey wasn't to sure if she liked milking...Caitlin thought it was just plain weird.

 Everybody tried milking the goats except for Dennis. Dennis prefered talking to Kitty Bitty.

 The goats loved chewing on Caitlin's shirt ties...

 But they also LOVED animal crackers!

 I had to post this picture...just look at that cute little face!

 Before going to the farm, Hailey read that goats love to snack on poison ivy. This one was trying to get the last little bit off that tree.

 Look at these 2 cute goats!

At the end, I caught Hailey walking with one of the baby goats, she was worried that he was wandering off to far from the others. She is so sweet and compassionate. I am so blessed that both of my girls are.

We had such a great time! Thank you Paula, for an amazing day at the farm!

Saving for Disney

The girls helped me count the piggy bank cash for Disney.

$116.50!!

We have a few more months to save, so Caitlin helped me decorate our little piggy!