Catching Up...
Today we're resting up and, for all of my faithful (and patient) blog readers, catching up! We've had a more than eventful summer, already, and it's going to take a few installments to get up to date. Here is the first of probably several blog entries for the day, and it encompasses the brief stretch of summer that we had between the end of the kids school year and heading to Tennessee for Uncle Matt and Aunt Hannah's wedding. (See next blog installment =))

We enjoyed the short time we had together before heading out. We visited the park a few times, visited Daddy at work for lunch, and the kids ran more errands than they would have liked to, getting me ready to leave for basic training.

Here's Madeline all smiles at the park....

The weekend before we left for TN we headed up to Michigan to visit some dear friends who used to live in Nappanee. Sang was my organic chemistry lab partner, and her husband, Song, was one of Naptown's favorite docs before they made the move. (You may remember them from my previous blog entry.)

Here are the kids at Chili's with Sang. Friday night visits to Chili's were frequent when Sang and Song lived closer....the kids talk about them every time we drive past a Chili's now.

Mike and Song catching up.....you may find this hard to believe, but Song actually gives Mike a run for the money in the talking department, so between the two of them, there's seldom a dull moment =)
What meal is complete without a giant mound of chocolate cake exploding with chocolate sauce and ice cream....not this one!
You'll see a trend in our Michigan weekend.....food. After Chili's we headed back to their place, got some rest, and the next morning headed to IHOP for breakfast. As soon as we finished, Song made the executive decision that the morning wouldn't be complete without Krispy Kremes.....seriously....so we headed to Krispy Kreme. The kids loved watching how the donuts were made. They were especially impressed with the glaze fountain.
Of course when we got home we had to sample some of the Krispy Kreme bounty.....can you say sugar buzz?
We actually had to veer Song away from Ritter's Frozen Custard after Krispy Kreme...he claimed it was for the kids.....they didn't seem to mind missing out on the ice cream though.
Afterwards we headed to Sam's Club to pick out a tube for the lake and get some life vests for the kids. Here they are debating on whether or not the boat would be able to tow this tube, which is actually about the size of the boat ;)
We worked up such an appetite, of course, that we ended up having to stop at Ritter's for ice cream after shopping.....I am not even kidding (well...maybe about the appetite, but not the stopping for ice cream part). Photo evidence.....

I think the kids were wound a little tight.....we wore them out later though.....
Madeline finding treasure on the lake.....
Timothy sporting his cool new life vest....safety first!
Getting ready to head out on the lake....READY CHECK!

Ready!
Ready!

Ready!
Here we go....with Mike at the wheel....
Song and Timothy taking their turn as co-captains.....
Me and my sweet little man.....
Having worked up an appetite on the lake, and (can you believe) playing straight through lunch..../gasp.....we headed out to dinner at Olive Garden.

Sang and Song, by photographer extraordinarie Madeline Rose....
Madeline jumping in on the next photo op....
Had to stop by and check out a boat on the way home.....Mike tried to help Song talk Sang into "investing" in this fine specimen, but we ended up leaving without it.
Madeline picking clover while the guys checked out the boat.....
Even grocery shopping is fun with Sang and Song =)
/train......
....and here's what I made for our princess from all of her clover.

She insisted that she needed to have my picture too.....Back out to the lake to try her hand at fishing.....she was so excited to report that she caught something when they came in for the night....it may have only been seaweed, but she was pretty pumped about it! Timothy was worn out and quite content to stay in and spend some time with the Disney Channel =)

Having a snack before bedtime.....
Back out on the lake the next day....after breakfast from Panera Bread, of course!
Fishing again.....
.....unfortunately (or fortunately...depending on who you ask) nothing was caught this time.
Our excursion was cut a bit short because of a storm that was brewing.....we made it back to the shore in the nick of time.

One final meal together...this one at Outback Steakhouse.....Timothy with Sang and Song.....
and Madeline with Mom and Dad....
Back at their place, the kids made some artwork while Mike and I packed up to head home.
One more hug for Sang before we headed out.
We had an awesome weekend with good friends, a much needed reprieve from the stress of the previous week. Thanks Sang and Song! Love you guys!

-shannon