It's only been 10 months...

And, 10 months later, here I am again! :) Let's just say it's been a whirlwind of year and my poor blog was quite neglected.  So, many apologies to my dear readers (or, after the 10 month hiatus I just took, should I restate that and apologize to my mom and sister, as they're probably the only readers I have left?! :))  I do have to say that I have missed blogging tremendously! Unfortunately, when life becomes that busy, some things just have to be cut out... And, considering it was either the blog or the gym, I had to go with the blog... Because lord knows how cranky (ahem, I mean, crazy! :)) I would have become without having the gym for an outlet this past year. But, things seem to have calmed down a bit considering I'm out of school for the summer and I only have two weeks left of my last Master's class... Woohoo! :) So, we all know what that means... I finally have more time to blog... Yippee!! :) And, there's quite a bit to get caught up on by the looks of things...  So, let's start with a quick recap of the past 10 months...

I continued to play on my kickball team into the fall... Fun times! :)

Our kitchen went from looking like this (mind you, this picture was taken after we started the renovation, hence the reason for the lack of cupboard doors. :))...

... to this! :)
We still have some work to do on it (i.e. new countertops to replace that god awful yellow formica that's currently in there, but at least it looks better than it did!)

Kaden came to visit us for a few days and we went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village for a day.

I also took him to one of my favorite places... The campus of Michigan State! :)  He's a little Spartan fan and was super excited to explore the campus with me... We took a little trip to the MSU Children's Gardens and did a little exploring through there... Such fun!

We took my brother to a Tigers/Yankees game for his birthday. :)  
And his birthday wish came true when the Yankees pulled off a win against the Tigers.

I was in my friend, Rachel's, wedding in Holland...  Along with my BFF, Kory, and my sis...
Good times! :)

Our friends from Germany, Denise and Joerg and their two girls, came to visit us in August.
A trip to the U.S. wouldn't be complete without a trip to my favorite U.S. city... Chicago, of course! :)

We also had more German friends come in to visit for our mutual friends' wedding, so we had them all over for a BBQ one night.  It was so great to be able to spend time together again! :)

Brian and I at our friends' wedding in Canada. :)

We took Denise, Joerg, and the girls to their very first Tigers game! :)
They loved it and they're now some hard core Tigers fans!!

After showing them around Chicago and Detroit, we headed up to northern Michigan...
I showed them around the area that I grew up and then we headed to the U.P. where we spent a couple of days camping near Tahquamenon Falls...

Our campsite overlooked the river... Gorgeous!  We spent many afternoons relaxing in the sun while watching Vander, Savanna, and Finja play in the water... Perfection!

After a few days in the U.P., we showed them around Mackinaw City and then headed back down to Traverse City.
No trip to Traverse City is complete without a trip to North Peak Brewery. :)

We then headed off to Silver Lake Sand Dunes and had them climb the dunes with us...
Overall, northern Michigan didn't disappoint and they had a great trip! :)

The same day that they left to head back to Germany, I got a call from a local school telling me that I was hired for a third grade position!!  Woohoo!! :)  I was then informed that I had one and a half days to get a room ready before the Parent Open House...  Yikes!!  Nothing like getting a classroom set up in a day! :)
I do have to say, starting the year off in such a crazed state, combined with my ridiculously large workload for my Master's class this year, I felt as if I never really caught up and got my bearings.  I honestly felt as though I was constantly paddling, but just barely kept my head above water this entire year.   Most of the time I felt as if my brain was detached from my head and I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. :)  But, you know the old saying "Everything happens for a reason?"  I truly believe it.  I was blessed this year with the most amazing class I have ever had in all of my years teaching! :)  They were the sweetest, most unique, eager to learn, hard working group of students I have ever taught! :)  I can honestly say that it was because of them that I made it through this past year!  No matter what kind of day I had, they would never fail to make me smile.  I am truly grateful for this class and they will always hold a special place in my heart.  And, yes, I did in fact, shed a tear (or two) when I had to say goodbye to them on Thursday. :(  

The candy bar I received when I officially signed my contract. :)

In September, we took a ride down the Detroit River on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in our friends' boat. :)

Our Tom's Tavern kickball team after our last game in October. :)

I celebrated my birthday in Lansing with my girls (and Brian, too!) while cheering on MSU for the Michigan State/Michigan football game! Such a fun way to celebrate my birthday! :)

We celebrated my Dad's birthday at Beltline Bar in Grand Rapids... Love that place!! :)

Brian and I (along with Vander) watched the Election Night coverage and were so very happy when President Obama was re-elected for his second term! :)

I celebrated Silver Bells in the City in Lansing with Stacy and Kaden... 

... and my girls as well! :)  

Mom, Stacy, Kaden, and I headed to Chicago in December to check out the Christkindlemarkt...
I loved it!  It reminded me of all the German Christmas Markets I wandered through while living in Germany!  Needless to say, it brought back many wonderful memories, and I was so happy to share them with my mom, sister, and nephew. :)

We also celebrated Stacy's birthday while we were there! :)

Vander loved to guard our Christmas tree. :)

We spent Christmas Day up north with the fam. :)

I decked Vander out for the holidays... Much to his and Brian's dismay! :)

While we were up north, we spent a day skiing at Caberfae!  It felt so great to be back on skis again!

We rang in the new year with a small group of friends at Tom's Tavern.  :)

In January, we headed to a Plymouth Whalers game with our friend, John! :)

Stacy and Kaden came down to visit and we headed to the Detroit Auto Show where Kaden designed this picture of us on a Subaru Adventure! Hilarious! :)

During February, Brian, Kory, and I headed up north to the Traverse City Winter Wine and Beer Festival... So. much. fun! :)

This was how I spent the majority of my weekends between September and May...
 Hanging out at the local coffee shop doing homework and school work... Fun.

We took our annual trip to Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!  Always a very fun and memorable time! :)

Kaden came down to visit in March and we headed to Sky Zone to do a little jumping around! :)

We also made a tasty batch of Bunny Bait as well! :)

Again, I had to get Vander into the Easter spirit!  He was "thrilled"! :)

Celebrating Easter with the fam... :)

I headed to Opening Day for the Tigers with my friend, Linda!  Fun times! :)

We celebrated our friends, Katrina and Benjamin, getting married!  They came over from Germany to celebrate with their American counterparts! :)

We completed an Adventure Race in May!  We definitely didn't come in first, but we didn't come in last either!  Woohoo! :)

Oh, yea... And this happened! :)

We headed to the Pinery over Memorial Day for a long weekend of camping and relaxing!!  Loved it! :)

Summer Vacation has officially begun!!
My school year came to a close this past week and I had to say goodbye to my kiddos...  Being that our theme was owls this year, I made them this little goodie bag as a goodbye treat! :)

And now that I have more time, I'm looking foward to blogging a bit more!!  Be back soon with some more updates! :)

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That...

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by!!  It feels like it just started, and it's already August... Yikes!!  Suffice it to say, our summer has been CRAZY busy!  We've been doing alot of traveling, home improvements, and visiting with friends and family. It's been alot of fun to say the least! :)  This also explains my lack of blogging too. :)  So, without further ado... Here's a little sneak peak into what we've been doing over the past couple of months.

I came home from school one evening to find my husband and our neighbor running around in the yard next door with rakes.  When I asked what was going on, I couldn't quite hear the response, so I chalked it up to men being men, and went back inside the house.  Shortly thereafter, Brian comes running in to get the keys to the truck and tells me that he needs my help... When I ask why, he proceeds to point to the dog crate on the front porch.  When I looked inside, I saw this sweet little guy... How cute is he?! :)  He was in our neighbor's yard, and our neighbor was going to "dispose" of him, but Brian interrupted and thought of a much more humane way to remove the raccoon from their yard.  I mean, c'mon, he's only a baby! :) 

So we took him up to the park a couple of miles up the road from us and released him back into the wild...
Being that he was just so cute, I did ask if we could keep him...
But, I soon realized that Vander and Riley probably wouldn't like that all too well! :)

Goodbye little furry friend!  Safe travels! :)

We picked our friends from Germany, Katrina and Benjamin, up at the airport and they spent the night with us!  We invited our other friends, Kinga and Maciek (who also lived in Germany with all of us), over for an authentic American meal (burgers, corn on the cob, potato salad... The usual! :)).  We had such a fun evening, and it was so great to be able to all be together again! :)  It was like a little piece of Germany over here in the U.S.! :)

After dinner, we sat around the bonfire and enjoyed a few drinks and s'mores, while catching up with everyone. :)  

Katrina and I...
I think my cheesy grin shows how excited I was to have us all together again! :)

My very dear friend, Nicole, had a baby shower...
She's due in August... Yay!! :)
Isn't she just the cutest pregnant lady ever?! :)

Nicole, Stacy, and I...
We've literally grown up together.  :)
And, being the younger sister, Stacy has actually known Nicole for her entire life. :) 

Our kitchen went from looking like this...
(eeew!)

to this...
(The cupboards were all sanded down.)

to this. :)
Yep, we sanded and re-stained our cupboards.. And they look awesome! :)
We've actually done much more work in the kitchen, but I'll touch on that in a separate post...
Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise! :)

Vander had a play date!!
My friend, Cessa, who I haven't seen in about 5 years, came over to visit and she brought her pup, Koda.
The pups had such a fun time playing, and Cessa and I enjoyed being able to catch up! :)  

They look like they're up to something! :)

How cute! :)

Oh, and I managed to break my middle toe... Ow!
This isn't the greatest picture of it and it was taken about 4 - 5 days after it happened.
I was in our garage (and yes, I was barefoot!)  trying to find something on the workbench, and I managed to dislodge an air compressor and it came crashing down directly on my middle toe...
Words cannot express the pain that caused! :)
But, it's gradually getting back to normal... It's no longer purple, the swelling has gone down for the most part, and I'm no longer walking all funky.  I still can't run all that well, and wearing heels isn't the most pleasant sensation, but at least it's better than it was! :)  

Happy Birthday, America!

Being that last year we spent the 4th of July in Krakow, Poland, and the year before was spent in Berlin, and the year before that was spent in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Brian and I were excited to spend this Fourth of July in true American form... By hanging out with family.  We spent a long weekend up north at my family's house and simply enjoyed spending time with each other, laughing, shopping, visiting the National Cherry Festival, swimming, barbecuing, watching parades, relaxing, off roading, and hanging out with the fam...  All in all, it was a fun way to celebrate America's birthday, and it was so great to be back "home" to celebrate after spending the past three years away! :)  

Brian was eagerly anticipating the start of the 4th of July parade in Ludington... :)

Stacy, Kaden, and Randy getting ready for the parade... 

Lovin' all the flags! :)

You can't get much more American than this! :)

A very hot Kaden... :)
It was so sweltering hot, that you would just sweat by simply standing there... Ugh!

No Northern Michigan parade is complete without a performance by the Scotville Clown Band!!
These "clowns" are awesome! :)

After the parade, we headed back home to enjoy a yummy 4th of July feast! 

The spread...
Mom and Dad never fail to outdo themselves! :)

YUM!! :)

And American flag cake for dessert...
Perfect! :)

Is he not the cutest kid ever?! :)

Randy and Jason being typical goofballs! :)

The guys... 

Dad and Kaden...
Such buddies! :)

The remainder of the day was spent in here, where we attempted to beat the heat...
However, since the water temperature was only slightly cooler than the air temperature, it felt kinda like we were swimming in bath water...  But, at least it was still cooler than standing outside. :)

Stacy, Kaden, and I invented our own game...
The goal was to jump out of the water and through the hoops! :)
I'm pretty sure it was probably quite comical to watch! :)

Vander enjoyed watching from the deck! :)

Happy 4th of July from Brian and I! :) 

Me and my favorite little man! :)

Later in the evening, we brought out the sparklers and fireworks...

So much fun!  :)

After the sparklers were gone, and it was finally dark enough to light off fireworks, Kaden sat down front and center and directed the fireworks show for the evening! :)  The "show" proved to be quite entertaining, what with Brian's crazy firecrackers and dad's fabulous dancing skills... Needless to say, the laughter continued well into the night! :)  

Fireworks! from Kristin on Vimeo.

Here's a look at one of the crazy fireworks that Brian set off on the 4th...

They were pretty intense to say the least! :)  

And I'm pretty sure that it sounded like a war was taking place within our yard as those fireworks were set off...  Thankfully we live in the country! :)

Dance for me, Dad! from Kristin on Vimeo.

I think it's pretty safe to say that one of our favorite memories, by far, of that evening was watching our dad bust a move in the driveway!  Hysterical!!  It still makes me laugh just thinking about it! :)  (And, I promised him that I wouldn't do this, but this video of him dancing is just too good not to post... So, enjoy! :))  

**  Sorry, Dad... You know I love you! :)  **

The rest of the weekend consisted of some off roading...

And, this pup did not like his off road adventure one bit!
Poor guy was so miserable and kept standing up to put his head in my lap... :(

We also headed up to Traverse City to check out the National Cherry Festival for the day...
Love this view of Grand Traverse Bay! :)

Brian enjoyed the air show taking place over the bay... 

Needless to say, Brian was less than thrilled when I asked him to take this picture with me in front of the National Cherry Festival sign.
His response to my request... "Wow. It's almost the same as standing by the Brandenberg Gate!"
What a smartass!  :)  

Hanging with my mom! :)