Happy Memorial Day! 

The day came & went and I took very minimal photos. Makes me so mad when I look back & wish I would have snapped more. Ugh. Thankfully Natalie snapped a few of the kids & guys by the pool today at Veraghens. Beautiful day by the pool. It is finally starting to feel like summer & we are ready.

Maeve & Bhodi in their festive suits & Acre loving on uncle Gary's bud light bottle. Made us all laugh, he was really serious about the tip back.

We are counting down the days until the school year is officially over. A lot of fun things happening at school in the next few weeks. The girls are looking forward to all the fun & ready to ring in Summer 2021. xoxo

 Happy 14th Birthday Marin! Amazing that it has been 14 years since you came along & made us parents for the first time. No looking back from there! We have so many amazing memories with you & are excited to be celebrating the big 1-4 with you today. She is looking so grown up. Makes this mama sad, where did my baby go? We just love her to pieces, even with the teenage attitude! haha 

It's not a birthday for Marin without a little celebrating with her birthday buddy Jolie! No shortage of celebration with these two. They like to take as much as they can get.

Her birthday requests included Costco cake, Starbucks, Jimmy Johns for lunch & enchiladas for dinner. She opened many gift cards, new Nike Air Max shoes that she's waited forever for & a pile of clothes that she was thrilled about. Safe to say, she had a great day.

After the big family dinner/cake we decided to take GG & Grandpa for golf cart rides down to Mike & Katies. So funny seeing them on the carts. Fun for all!

Hope you had the best day Marin. We love you so much & can't wait to continue the celebration this week. Two more years & you'll be driving, now that is a scary thought!!! xoxo

 We're back in Door County for the 1st time in what feels like forever. A much needed weekend away for the adults & it has been fantastic. The guys took a 1/2 day yesterday so we could spend a little extra time at our favorite establishments before Jon & Kasie were done with work. The last time we were here Jon & Kasie were still our neighbors. Since then, they've sold & build a home in DC. No more renting when we visit. They've built an amazing bunk house for visitors & we're so excited to spend the weekend in it.

This morning we got an early start & went for a long hike along the lake. A little chilly but it was beautiful. The guys usually golf all weekend, but Gary's broken arm made that usual a little difficult. It was nice to switch it up & get a nice hike in. Gary couldn't help but throw rocks... not as good of a throw with his left hand.

Missing a few from our usual Memorial Day Memory Loss crew but we sure had fun. 

So many laughs.

After the hike we hopped around to a few of our favorite spots in DC. 

It has been a great day. Tomorrow we head home to celebrate Marin. Until then, we'll enjoy our time with the Sattlers. xo

Just hanging out in my new home-away-from-home today. 

I interviewed for a full time teaching position last week & got the job! I was so nervous & really did a lot of work to prepare for the interview, so I was thrilled when they offered me the position. I'm officially back to work starting the end of August as a 5th grade ELA teacher! Lots to be done, the room is a mess & has been used as a storage space all year. Excited to cozy it up & make it my own. Maeve is just so excited she won't have to ride the bus for 2 years! It's the little things....

78 & sunny yesterday for Marin's second night of tennis matches. She did great!

She had a few extra spectators there to help cheer her on. Acre was impressed with her serve...

So cute at the fence watching her play. Hard for them to see her when she wasn't playing right on the court in front of them, but they still seemed to enjoy watching. xoxo

 Margaux's run club/cross country season just wrapped up a week ago. No photos because the parents were not involved, no official meets either! Covid prevented them from having any meets & she was okay with that. Just running with friends & having fun. Right up her alley. Now Marin's tennis season has just begun. Both big girls have been playing a lot of tennis on nights/weekends. So nice to live near tennis courts so they can hop on their bikes & go play whenever. Marin & Estelle got caught in the rain last week...

And Marin had her first meet yesterday. She and her partner, Mondese, played great! Made us laugh because he is literally a head & a half taller than her. A great doubles partner for her to have. They have a lot of fun too, always laughing at each other. She is going to have a hard time choosing between her two favorite sports next fall. Both tennis & cross country are the same season, so she'll have to pick just one.

Tonight she biked over to the high school to watch Anderson's game. Love that his dad actually got them to take a photo together (along with his little sister Mirielle). Still so crazy for me to think she's almost a freshman in high school. So grown up.

Starting to feel more like summer as the school year winds down. A few more weeks, the girls are definitely counting down the days... as am I! xoxo

 Ugh! We've got a broken arm in the Brown household. Gary is the culprit.... broken ulnar (up near his wrist) with some soft tissue damage.

He was messing around on a skim board when we were on the beach for spring break mid-week & fell on his first try. Chalked it up as being a little too difficult & wanted to quit before he really got hurt... well, I guess the damage was already done. He complained the day we left that he couldn't throw a frisbee & then also had pain on the drive home. Talked about getting it checked out, but I think he thought that in time, it would start to feel better. A little more complaining & eventually we were painting Marin's room and he decided it still shouldn't be hurting. Probably best to get it checked out. Almost 2.5 weeks after returning home from spring break. Which brings us to this...

Definitely not the outcome he was hoping for. Nice to not have a big clunky cast & this option is much better for showering & still being able to run. He did have a smaller splint for a week before getting this big clunker. He's slowly learning how to do simple tasks left handed & using dictation for emails/text at work. 

He'll go back for another x-ray at the end of May to see if it has healed well enough to go to a smaller splint for a bit or they'll schedule surgery. Fingers crossed this big cast & keeping him immobile does the trick! xoxo

Maeve's teacher needed some time off this week for some meetings so I snatched up her days & the opportunity to hang with Maeve and her friends. 

So funny to see her in the school environment. She does so wonderfully, but even her classmates said they saw a different side of Maeve when I was in the room. She was complaining about having to take too many notes at one point. They all agreed that they had never heard Maeve complain. What the heck??? I guess she only whines & complains for mom! Regardless, we had fun together. It was nice to spend the two days with her & her class. Such a great group of kiddos.

Happy Easter! 

We woke up & had Easter breakfast/coffee, watched church on the tv again & just had a chill morning. It was so nice. I didn't even take pics of the girls with their baskets! I am getting bad at taking photos. In the afternoon we went to Katie & Mike's for dinner and had a huge egg hunt for the kids. They had so much fun helping the littles find all the eggs. Even more fun sorting through all the candy! 

Maeve was delighted to be reunited with Eva after a week on separate spring break trips. Their little friendship is just so cute. The big girls had their friends on the beach all week, Maeve had friends but was missing her bestie. Eva even brought home a necklace for her... matching of course.

Margaux also got some time in with Marin & Karis when she got home. Helped Gary empty the hot tub & returned the stroller to Katies. They are so goofy.

 Not a normal Easter just yet, but nice to get some things done & the girls had off school today. An extra day off has been nice for us all. xoxo

As amazing as vacation is, it always feels equally amazing to be home. Spring Break 2021 has ended & we had a great week. Thankful we were able to make the trip & enjoy a week on the beach. 

After years of visiting Orang Beach, our girls are beach regulars now. They all had so much fun with their friends & had some really great beach volleyball games going each day. Nice for them to have a big group of kids & a great mix of boys/girls.

I didn't take as many photos as I typically do. We really just tried to unplug & enjoy the time together. 

Most of the beach town was open & functioning pretty normal. Typically we take a day to explore the town & go out to dinner a few nights. None of that this year & it was okay. We did take a morning to get the girls their souvenir beach wear. Other than that, we spent all of our days on the beach & enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was perfect mid-to-high 70's all week. 

The last day was the coolest day. High 60's & it still felt amazing. The big girls were a little dramatic & needed sweatshirts on. Still so nice & we were able to be on the beach and still feel comfortable. I think this is the only photo we took of the 5 of us! Too busy having fun!

Love how happy they are on the beach... maybe we need to move closer! I'd also love to compare our photos of the three of them from our 1st year on Orange Beach to now. They sure have grown into these pretty ladies.

Broaghen kiddos all posed & looking for a picture. They've all become pro travelers. We've got this down! Can't wait for our adventures to come.

Another drive through the night to get home... Gary rocked it again! Both ways I had to tell him to take a break & let me drive. The girls slept most of the night, waking up a bit when we stopped for gas but that was about it. 

As tired as we are, it is so nice to be home. Thankful the drive was successful. We are all looking forward to our own beds tonight & some Easter celebrations tomorrow. xoxo

 We made it to the beach! 

Feels so darn amazing! The sunshine is so great for the soul, we are all smiling from ear to ear. I am especially happy to have the drive down behind us. We drove straight through the night this year, first time ever. It went better than expected, but it was still so long. We are tired today. I have already napped on the beach while we waited to get access to our condo. Gary is a rockstar & can function on far less sleep than me. Thankful for his long stretch of driving, we all know I HATE the drive. For now we'll soak up all the sunshine & beach we can before it's time to head home. xoxoxo

 Weather is warming up a bit, giving us a little taste of spring. It feels so good!

Yesterday we all ventured out for the second time to help Travis campaign for his potential election onto the school board. Last weekend we did the same... canvased neighborhoods passing out flyers to encourage people to get out & vote. The kids had so much fun. Last weekend they were all on rollerblades & this weekend they decided to just go on foot. All was well until we got a call saying Margaux had been bit by a dog. Such a bummer, she had a sizable bit on her upper thigh & it was really painful. Luckily both Margaux & the dog are up to date on their vaccinations so we need to just keep it clean & monitor for the next 10 days. The owner was very cooperative, thankfully. Learned that they do not stitch dog bites because of all the bacteria in their mouths, so lots of antibacterial soap it is! Per the doctors request we'll also keep it completely covered for a few days as well in an effort to keep it clean. Not the best of timing with us leaving for vacation in a few days, but we are just thankful she is okay. It could have been so much worse. 

A little antibiotic ointment & pain reliever, then she was in better spirits... requesting to go play tennis. So Gary & I headed to the courts with her for a bit to hit some balls and help lift her spirits a bit. Also kept her mind off it.

Loving the warmer weather & looking forward to many more tennis court trips. Marin is playing middle school tennis this spring, so we'll be on the courts much more often in the next few weeks! 

 March Madness bracket time! This year we extended the invite for our bracket challenge beyond the Broaghens & included the Johnsons. The girls were so excited to help Sloane & Fitz fill out their bracket. They are all excited to see how they'll do once the games start knowing that they have no knowledge of what is even going on. Makes us all laugh.

Acre did not get to do a bracket. Maybe next year... Margaux kept him entertained. 

Yesterday was St. Patricks Day. Maeve's class looked so cute in this picture her teacher posted. All wearing green & looking festive.

We're counting down our days until spring break, looking forward to the sunshine on our faces & the sound of beach waves. Cannot wait!! xoxo

 Sap is all collected, Grandpa is home & now it is time to boil it into syrup. 

The girls were eager to get to the garage to see it boiling & of course give it a taste. Ironically, they still prefer the store bought syrup on their pancakes. We can't believe it. 

Like it on the pancakes or not, I am thankful they got to be a part of the process with grandpa. The rest of us will just enjoy the syrup for ourselves. xoxo

 Another awesome winter weekend. We decided to take the day & drive up north to do some sap collection with my dad... hoping that with the warm temps & sunshine it will be running so we can make maple syrup. Last spring with covid just hitting we missed our opportunity. Today, the weather was perfect... or so we thought. When we got there the trees were barely dripping so we decided to head to the lake for some ice fishing, hoping that when we got back it would be flowing a little faster. 

Love this crew.... just missing my mom. 

The girls had fun riding around on the 4-wheeler & running to the tip-ups when the flag popped up. Only caught 2 little fish, but the kids didn't care. They had enough fun just playing on the ice together.

Margaux with the littles...

Maeve got to bring a friend. She was excited to show Eva the syrup making process...

Marin also enjoyed the fresh air. It was much needed for everyone & my dad was so happy to have us all up there for the day. Next time we need to plan better & spend the night.

Even the parents enjoyed the togetherness. Gary & Mike enjoyed themselves a little more than Katie/myself. The two of us drove home! haha

Love this picture of my dad in his happy place. 

We all had such a fun day. When we got back to the red cabin the syrup was still not really moving as much as we had hoped. The kids did not care at all, they busted out the game of Clue & played two rounds while eating everything in sight. Apparently always starving. I'm sure tomorrow will be the better day for sap, just our luck. But we can't complain, it was an enjoyable day. xoxo

 Gary was so excited to head to Upper Michigan this weekend for his first race in a long while. This weekend was the last of the Marquette events for him, he's now completed the whole series. (Same as the 100 mile run he did 1.5 years ago & the 50 mile he did this past summer.) This one is called the Polar Roll, a 36 mile snowshoe race through the trails of Marquette.  They really lucked out with weather, the temps were perfect. Gary even contemplated wearing shorts with temps in the high 30's. 

Overall a great run. They trained in snowshoes a lot the past month or two. He said the only hard part about having mild winter temps was some of the trail heads didn't have snow cover so they had to transition in & out of snowshoes. Not hard, just time consuming switching back & forth.

It is so beautiful all times of the year up in that area. The girls & I opted to stay home (their rental was not that big or nice enough for me to justify packing us all up!!!) but after seeing all the photos he sent, I regretted it a bit. They definitely had a beautiful weekend. 

Gary signed up to do the 100 mile run again in September. Something tells me we'll have our share of opportunities to visit again in the future. Glad they had such a great weekend & were able to finish the race without issues! xoxo

 We have had weeks of freezing cold temps. Windchills into the negative 30's, not idea temps to be enjoying the winter. Through it all, my friend Jenny & her family worked to create this amazing igloo in their yard. It took an entire week of freezing ice in plastic shoe boxes overnight, building during the day & then repeating the process until it was complete. Basically a full time job for them! The big girls went north with Veraghens for the night so Gary & I had Maeve to ourselves today & decided to pay the igloo a visit. So much fun! It was so cool to feel how warm it actually was inside... almost 30 degrees warmer than outside. We even stopped for igloo treats that Maeve shared with the Longlais kiddos.

After our fun visit there we made a trip to Barnes & Noble for Maeve to pick out a few new books. She was so darn excited & was reading as soon as we got home. She decided on Chipolte for dinner & of course requested to sleep in our room.... again. She's lucky she's so cute!!!

She's had a fun few days. Yesterday I dropped off a special lunch for her & Mrs. W to celebrate Mrs. W's birthday (Which is Monday but I have to work). They had Noodles & Co. for lunch & some chocolate for dessert. Maeve was pretty excited for her lunch date. Something different & probably much tastier than the peanut butter & chocolate chip sandwich she eats every day!

Tomorrow the big girls come home & Maeve's weekend as an only child will be done. She actually told me tonight that she misses the girls & the house is too quiet! haha She'll be happy when they are home. Unlike her, I actually don't mind a little peace & quiet!! xoxo