Wordless Wednesdays - Empire State Building!

Keegan (cousin), Brayden and James spent a morning over Spring Break building the Empire State Building! It turned out great!

Spring Break Getaway Day 1 Continued....

Here are some more photos from our Spring Break Getaway up north to Houghton Lake! After we had a picnic lunch at Higgins Lake we went back to Houghton Lake and visited a gift shop that had Indian Tee Pees and Totem Poles out front. We then stopped for ice cream, before the rain moved in. We finished our evening off with more water fun at the pool area and a very yummy dinner of pizza at the hotel restaurant! I did not get many photos in the pool area, partly because I was chasing Emily around and it was hot and steamy so my camera kept fogging up.

My 4 little Indians!

Hanging out in a Tee Pee!

Emily looking small

Hannah and her new "friend"

Emily enjoying an ice cream cone.

Brayden coming down the water slide

James' turn on the water slide!

Emily had a blast and went down the water slide at least 25 times!

Emily and Hannah sleeping after a fun day at play!

Wordless Wednesdays - Fishing fun!

This is an Almost Wordless Wednesday!

We have been doing some fishing the last few evenings. This was Emily's first time and she has a new princess fishing pole (there is not a real hook on it!). The fish that we caught were pretty small but we had fun and enjoyed the beautiful spring evening. By the way, I caught the first fish this night and it ended up being the biggest! :)

Such a big girl.

She knows what she is doing!

Helping Daddy reel in a bass.

Kyle and Emily with their fish!

Brayden and one of the fish he caught!

Spring Break Getaway Day 1 at Higgins Lake

We went up north to Houghton Lake for the weekend with the kids and Kyle's Sister Katy and her family. We stayed at a hotel that had a pool, water slide and lazy river. We were right on Houghton Lake. Friday night the weather was really cool, but by Saturday it started to warm up! We decided to head out and do stuff outdoors with kids for awhile on Saturday afternoon (we all needed a break from the pool).

We ended up going to the Higgins Lake State Campground for a picnic. The sun was shining and the park was empty! The kids had fun running around, checking out the lake and climbing on a fallen tree. There was also a playground. Here are some of the photos.

Look how clear the water is! We are hoping to go camping this summer at Higgins Lake!

When we drove up to the lake it almost looked like the water you would see in the Caribbean! This picture does not do it justice! It was so beautiful.

Having our picnic lunch

Emily loved the beach.

Hannah, Emily and their cousin Marhea had to put their toes in the water! brrrr

Brayden, Hannah and James doing the obligatory photo for their mom! :)

Hannah and Marhea

Look for more photos and details of our trip coming soon.......

Spring Flowers

I got my 2 flower beds weeded earlier this week and have been enjoying the beautiful flowers that are blooming!

This flower bed was new last year and is still a work in progress. I will be adding more annuals and perennials soon! There are still more flowers popping up every day and I have 5 Hostas at the one end that are just starting to stick up through the dirt! It still needs some work. I will take more photos later this summer when it is full of beautiful flowers!

Wordless Wednesdays - Fun with Pringles!

Part girl, part duck! ;)

Day Out With Thomas: The Celebration Tour 2010 is coming to Greenfield Village (Dearborn, MI) and a Giveaway!!

I wanted to let everyone who is located in Michigan or within close proximity to Dearborn, MI, know about an awesome giveaway over on my other blog Money Saving Mama in Michigan! If you have a Thomas the Train fan in your house you won't want to miss out on entering this contest!

CLICK HERE to read all about Thomas the Train 2010 Tour and find out how to enter!


This giveaway ends on Friday (the 16th) morning at 8am EST, so don't delay!

Happy Easter to all

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you enjoy your day with your family and enjoy all the yummy food. Remember why we are celebrating today.

He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!

Keep it fresh! Tips to keeping food fresh...

I found some tips in my handy mom's planner that I thought I would share with you.

Tips to keep food fresh:

*To keep bananas fresh longer cut off the tip of it instead of hanging them by it. The peel will still turn brown but the inside will stay fresh for twice as long!

*Do not refrigerate tomatoes as they ripen faster in the cold. (I need to quit doing that!)

*After you have washed and capped fresh strawberries, put them in a colander and pour boiling water over them. By doing so, you kill the bacteria that makes them get moldy and mushy. Afterwards, refrigerate as you normally would, and the berries should last a lot longer.

*Do not wash grapes until just before serving to prevent premature brown spots and spoilage.

*When you are only using half an onion make sure to save the half with the root. It will stay fresh longer!

*If homemade cookies have dried out and gotten hard, soften them by placing a slice of bread in the cookie jar or container overnight. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread and will be soft and chewy again! (This works, I do it all the time)

*To prevent browning of prepared avocados, brush lightly with lemon juice.