we're back!

Wow...where has summer gone! It's been months since we posted any updates, and after reading our friends and families blogs it's motivated me again. 

We've had a really great summer spending weekends at the lake, 2 camping trips with Jake's family, grilling with mine, weddings, seeing Jack Johnson, plus Emmy will be 2 this weekend! Jake and I's anniversary is a few weeks away...5 years already, and tailgating starts in two weeks! Surprise, surprise, Jake's taught Emmy to yell "GO HAWKS!"

I've finally downloaded photos for the first time since 4th of July, so I've picked some of my favorites to share! Enjoy!

P.S. Those of you that have kept Jamie in your prayers - it's really paid off. She was able to go home from the hospital today and looks, and feels, fantastic! It's amazing how well she's doing. A big thanks all!

summer fun!

It's been awhile since we've posted any new pictures or shared some of the special events that have been going on with our friends and family. To sum it all up, we walked for a great cause - Congenital Heart Defect and Lily's team raised $1425!! We celebrated Natalie's engagement and wedding with her wedding shower, met Dora, I started my new job, Jake discovered golf and we've remembered why we love summer....Water! Water! Water! We've been swimming at the beach or playing with the hose and water table every chance we get. Emmy's a little fish. Since being so busy we haven't had the camera out much (this on top of each time Emmy sees the camera we have to sit and go through the pictures 100x while naming everyone in the photos, finishing this activity with bribery in order to avoid a meltdown!) Here are some pictures we've captured over the last couple months. Enjoy!

happy easter!

We were lucky this year to spend the weekend with both of our families! Sunday we hosted Easter at our house with both the Koppes family and the Mihalakis family!!! We enjoyed yummy food, great company and by now, all the kids had the idea of the egg hunt down! It was really fun watching the kids be silly together (especially when they discovered the laundry chute)!!! Grandma Tina bought the girls matching dresses which made for the perfect photo-op, too!

family fun!

Saturday we went to Grandma Shirley & Papa Craig's for an Easter cookout and egg hunt. We all enjoyed seeing the kids find their eggs and play together!!!

bubb-bye birdie!

It was a great day at our house...the eagle that had watched over our house since we moved in is finally gone!!!

say cheese!

 
It's been a year since I've attempted a photoshoot with Emmy and I have to say, going into this morning I had some anxiety over how Emmy would act. Would she have the patience to get that "perfect" picture? Will she run and want to play downstairs (where there is NO natural light)? On top of all the unknowns of a toddlers mood, I didn't have Jenni here to help me pull it off. The last time I did a photoshoot was when Emmy was 6 months old and Jenni was by my side snapping all the pictures while I made Emmy laugh. Well, a 6-month old sitting in a tutu (with really no other option of getting around) is much different than an active little 18-month old. Luckily, Grandma Tina let us use her camera, Jesi provided some style and Grandma Shirlz came over to assist in the smile-factor. Thanks to some good sunlight, and an especially good subject (way to go Em!), we pulled off our 2nd photoshoot. For the full version, you can copy/paste this link into a browser:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=357025625309%3A1169849639&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_button