Stawberry Pickin'

I took the girls strawberry picking a few weeks back. Unfortunately Phil wasn't able to come, so we invited Susan, Eli and Lukas. It was a nice, cool day for picking, and we were able to find plenty of yummy strawberries!

Not sure Emma is enjoying this as much as Maddie! :)

Bus Mania @ The Kalamazoo Speedway!!!

Bus Mania...Baby!!! :)

We officially turned "red neck"...and loved every minute of it!

It was a night of pure demolition! Everything from buses, boats, port-a-potty's and trailers...NOTHING was off limits!

Uncle Wes and Maddie enjoying the races

Does it get better than this??

The kids really got into it...which was hilarious to watch!

A boat???

Wreckage!

Cheering on their favorite bus...and Maddie enjoying M&M's (again) :)Monster Trucks

I Made the "twins" put these on for a quick pic! I'm pretty sure they can't hear a thing!

Waiting for the fireworks!
Thanks Wes and Em for the invite!! We are SO glad we didn't miss out on this kind of fun!!! :) Looking forward to next year!!

Hilda and Harold Humm

Not to "toot my horn"..but I'm pretty sure I have the best sugar water in at least a two mile radius! :) We have two hummingbirds that are constantly at our feeder!! All Day...chainsaws? hammering? Maddie's voice?...they don't seem to care! We affectionately call them Hilda and Harold b/c Maddie is convinced that one is a boy and one a girl (and she's probably right...I just don't know how to tell!)

So, last night I put on the ol' 200mm lens and set out into the wilds of my backyard like a National Geographic photographer! :)

At first I didn't want to scare them away, so I kept my distance But as I inched closer ( I prefer that you read this in a whisper..and perhaps with a Australian accent...just for the effect :) ) I realized that Hilda (or Harold???) wasn't the least bit concerned with my presence.

"Yum....No..really guys...the best in town..you gotta try it!"

That was Harold speaking! :)After one was finished he/she would wait on our fence for the other to arrive!
And then it was back to the sweet nectar! :) I couldn't get a picture of them both there at the same time...so maybe I'm not exactly the wildlife photographer I claim to be! :)
After 5 minutes of intense "shooting", a slightly sore pointer finger, and one or two mosquito bites... I decided it was time to make the LONG trek

back to civilization! :)

Playdate with friends from North Carolina!!!

My dear friend Melissa (We've been friends since birth...basically!) and her two boys were in town this week. They came from NC to visit family, and spend some time in South Haven. Sarah (my other wonderful friend) and I were suppose to head out there yesterday for a day of fun in the sun, but the weather had different plans! :) So...we met at bounceland instead!

We received free tickets to ride the parachute!

Caedmon almost to the top!

All strapped in, and ready to go!! Caedmon (Melissa's oldest son)
Tyler (Sarah's oldest son) Maddiecakes...opted out of the parachute ride...surprise, surprise!! :)
But she still had a blast on all the slides!
Little Noah (Melissa's little guy) was so fun to watch!

Sarah and Josiah

Noah was just to cute here..I had to snap a quick pic!

Ahh.. the lunch of champion bouncers! Happy Meals all around!!

Enjoying lunch, and our time together!

It's always great to catch up with friends!! Thanks Melissa for sharing some of your time her in MI with us!!! We'll see you in August! :)

All in a night's work

Phil and my dad set tonight aside to start working on the swing set for our backyard. I was amazed at what was accomplished in just 5 short hours! :) But then again...it's Phil and my dad...I guess I shouldn't be that surprised!!!

The plans.

The materials
The help (and her over sized tool belt!)
The measurements and cuts

Emma hammering in the first nail! :)

The foreman..

Just double checkin'

The pencil makes it official! :)

The progress...

Safety first here at the Kilian's..even when using the pencil! :)

Starting to look like a swing set....

Not bad for the first night..

Just to make sure they work...Yes..that's my dad and Phil... together...on the swings...at 10:00 at night! :)

Thanks so much for all your help dad!!! Tonight was especially fun for me. So many things reminded me of being a little girl. I can remember you always having sketches and plans drawn out on graph paper (you apparently have an endless supply!) laying around the counters, that only you could make sense of! And those crazy pencils that you always carry around on projects...those make me laugh! :) And when I smell fresh cut wood, and hear the sounds of the saw I ALWAYS think of you!! And the faces you make while you work are priceless, especially while you're working the saw! :) You are an amazing craftsman, and more importantly an amazing dad and "Bampa"!!! I Love You!!