Family Together At Last

With Todd in Alabama and Vince away at school, the family is rarely together for a picture anymore. So I treasure this shot :-)

Cool Bike

Our friend owns a bike shop and has ALL the coolest bikes ever. Loved this one...don't know what it is called but Vince sure enjoyed it !!

Curly Girly

Oh how I adore the ringlets that appear now and then in my baby's hair. Just HAD to take a picture :-)

Marnina Turns 13

The pizza's I made for Marny's 13th birthday celebration turned out SO GOOD !!!

13 candles = lotsa smoke :-)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Marny yet. Happy 13th Birthday Beautiful !!!!!!!

Beautiful Young Ladies

Gabriella just came back from a brisk walk with one of the dogs and she always looks so beautiful after the fresh air !!!

Snuggling in her new chair Dad picked up from a rummage sale....Roxy girlie likes it too !!

I'm thinking Marny is model material. LOVE the hat !!

The clock reads 4:22....That's A.M. !!! They were going to go to the Wisconsin Dells that morning with the rest of their Pathfinder Club as a reward for doing so well in the Bible Bowl Competition. Can you see the excitement in their eyes ???

Sisters enjoying a summer float on a rainbow of Noodles. I like this picture !!!

Sum-Sum-Summertime

We haven't had too many 85 degree days...but this was one of them. Love this action shot :-)

Another snap at just the right moment. A big splash followed :-)

Dominic at the ready.......

A nice shot of the pool and fence that Todd built !!

Backyard Bonfire Time

Girls round the fire.....

The pyromaniac adjusting the logs.......

The pyromaniac toasting her toesies (more like melting her flip-flops).....

Dominic the S'more king eating his treat :-)

Marny being lovely. Fires at night in the summer are always fun, no matter where they are.

Doggies

Two bathing and basking beauties...Gabriella and Roxy !!

Roxy is basking again. And her mother Cha-cha has joined her. Hey, even a houseplant's dirt is attractive when the sun is shining on it !!!

SAMSON. Good boy. Drool is cool. Slobber-fest.

Gabby went roller blading and took Rico......He was so tired after their trip that he collapsed on the kitchen floor upon returning. CUTE !! I think she said they only went twice around the block at full speed :-)

More Children's Museum

The beauty salon looks painful......

Dominic harvesting apples......

Vince couldn't resist the climbing wall (even if he is about 3 times as tall as the kids it was built for)

Gabriella, Marnina, and Francesca playing inside the ambulance.....

Marny playing in the weather booth. Its quite windy in there :-)

Children's Museum

Francesca in the airplane......

Somehow Vince is a magnet for a computer even at the children's museum.......

Playing with puppets is always fun.....

Dominic is in the control tower practicing his air traffic controller duties.....

Gabriella is practicing safe flying skills at the children's museum in Marquette, Michigan.

Watermelon Baby !!

Francesca's favorite food is definitely watermelon. She is truly happy here !!

Pathfinder Friends

Gabriella and Danielle, another good friend, after the ceremony called Investiture. The Pathfinders receive their Honors for the year and are advanced to the next level in the club.

Courtney and Marnina are good friends. They are only a year apart in age but you'd never know it from their height :-)

Gabriella enjoys Morgan's friendship alot. I guess Morgan is quite the cut-up !!

The Pathfinder Club holds true to the Pledge and Law. Here you can see the wording of the Pledge. These words are repeated enough that they become engrained in your memory. I used to be a Pathfinder and can still recite them all without hesitation 25 years later !!

Here the entire club poses for one last uniformed photo. They had an awesome year !!

Gardening Dreams Coming True

This area used to hold, at different times, a dog's kennel, a swingset, and a swimming pool. We hauled away the yard of sand by hand in buckets and wheelbarrows (you can see the pile of it in the background) and are calling this our garden this year.

Grampa Schmitt came over with his tiller and prepared the ground for us. Only two different times did he come across a Leaverite rock. You mean you don't know what a Leaverite rock is ?? It's a rock so big that you "Leaverite there" !!

My very sweet and generous neighbor donated some extra strawberry plants she had in her garden. I worked the sod out and made this little square for them. I'll put in a short fence with a covering because I do not want to share with the birds !!

"2-D" in 3-D at the Forty

Every family should have a Lab in it. This picture is why ;-)

Every family should have bonfires. These smiles are why :-) Dominic forgot about his MP3 player in his pocket till Gramma asked him if he ever uses it.....so he just had to demonstrate.

Everyone who has a Lab in their family should go for long explores in the forest with them. This pose is struck often on our walks together. She is like a statue for a few seconds, listening, smelling, looking.....we try to help her by holding still ourselves when she is striking a pose !!

Keyboard Practice

Francesca loves to sit at the keyboard and tinker around with all the different music that we play for Happy Hour. She is getting pretty good !!

SHMILY

I found this on my counter the other day....Dominic and Francesca surprised me with a SHMILY. It stands for "See How Much I Love You" :-) Dandelions never looked so pretty !!

Picnic at Van Riper

Van Riper State Park has little cabins you can rent. They are cute, we just borrowed its picnic table for our supper together.

My sister Lynne came with her boy Kyle. She brought, among other things, Basil Lemonade. It was wonderfully unique tasting and delicious !!!!!

We did our fair share of swatting at the bugs, but the view of Lake Michigamme was worth all the suffering :-)

Tootsie was a little sad because the water was not accessible here. She didn't quite know what to do with her self. She spent most of the time at my feet under the picnic table like a good doggie.

First the hike at Craig Lake and then the picnic at Van Riper. A great day for all !!!