Lily Turns Five!

Lily had a wonderful birthday with both family and friends. After celebrating on our trip to Michigan, we had a pizza party with family and her good friend Lucy.

The next day was her actual birthday. She opened her gifts from us first thing! Princess Sofia was the name of the game this year, so many of her gifts shared that theme.

Then it was on to the park to party with her friends. She had a blast playing with her cousins, preschool friends, dance class friends, and family friends.

It was truly a beautiful day to commemorate the day that Lily was born. She was so honored to share her special day with so many of the people she loves to spend time with.

Vacation Up North

After three years, we finally made it back to one of our favorite spots- Elk Rapids/Traverse City, Michigan. We had a long-awaited reunion with the Schleys, and the Maassels joined us on our trip! With 9 kids, it was quite the whirlwind!

Once we got there, we headed straight to the beach with the cousins. Then we celebrated Sophie's 8th birthday with presents and s'mores.

 Day Two was more fun at the beach and a trip to the pool. Then it was off to Pirate Putt-Putt for more birthday fun!

Day Three was the most PERFECT beach day! We spent the whole day there. Then we went out to dinner and celebrated Lily's birthday.

Day Four (our last full day there) started off with donuts! Cecelia and Lily had a sleepover. It was a cold, windy day so we decided to head to downtown Traverse City. We checked out the Lego museum and did some shopping.

And we spent our last evening enjoying movie night and a spaghetti dinner.

Nothing substitutes for spending time with family in a such a beautiful place. We had such a wonderful time reconnecting with everyone! We are already making plans for next year.