Father's Day

Grandpa and Nicole doing a little fishing

Mitch and Christy

Nick and their new puppy Cleo

Bryce caught a big fish

Nicole caught a big fish too!

Finally Summertime!

Morgan getting some air on the diving board.

Plug your nose Marnie!

Mitch getting some riding time in.

Nicole is relaxing in the pool.

Last summer Bryce kept saying he would jump off the diving board next summer. Well, it is next summer and he kept his word!

Nick and Shelly's new boat. They are planning on lots of fun this summer with family and friends.

School's Out!

Marnie had a pool party to celebrate the end of the school year and spend time with her friends before she left to spend some time with her Dad. They had a blast in the pool and all the girls were really nice and fun to have over.

Morgan's New Glasses!

Look how cute Morgan looks with her new reading glasses! They are a pretty blue color to match her pretty eyes. Morgan is such a good reader and now she will probably read even faster with her new glasses. She likes to come to Grandma's library and check out books. If she is late bringing them back she has to pay Grandma 5 cents for each late book!

Dandelions

There is nothing more precious than the look on a child's face as when they hold out a fistful of fresh picked dandelions just for you! Most people complain about them in their yard because technically they are a weed, but I have always loved dandelions ever since I was a child. Do you remember holding one under someones chin to see if they liked butter? Or popping the flower off the stem with your thumb? And when they turn white, making a wish and blowing the little pieces into the air? Rob wanted to treat the lawn to get rid of them one year, but I asked him not to. They don't really hurt anything, they are pretty, and they only last for a couple of weeks in the spring. I didn't think he would listen to me, but he has left them alone so far. I have a poem that I think I wrote about dandelions when I was in elementary school. I say "I think" because I am too old to remember if I made it up or copied it, but I searched the internet and couldn't find it, so I am going to say I wrote it! Here it is:
Dandelions, dandelions,
golden and sweet,
make a golden carpet
under your feet.

Here is Bryce with Gus and Gomer, two new gnomes who traveled home with me from Florida! Bryce and I found them a spot on the gnome trail and they now live in our woods.

Congratulations, Shelly!

Our daughter-in-law, Shelly, graduated from Mott College today with a degree in nursing. Here she is with her friend Stephanie who also graduated. They decorated their caps for the occasion!

Nick, Shelly, Bryce, and Nicole.

I remember the first time I saw Shelly, she was a young student at Seaton Elementary School. I was walking out of a meeting in the library, and she was standing there in front of some lockers. I remember thinking what a beautiful girl she was. She had long hair and the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. It must have been fate that many years later, she married Nick and became a part of our family. And she gave us two beautiful grandchildren! The cutest little boy, and a little girl with long hair and big blue eyes just like her Mom!

Florida Fun

I'm back in Michigan from my Florida vacation, and finally caught up with things. I had a wonderful week in Clearwater visiting my sister Jan and her family and spending time with Mom. We celebrated her birthday on April 3 with some shopping, photos on the beach at sunset, and then a late dinner at E&E Stakeout restaurant.

Dusty, Chris, Jan, Mom, and Darren

We celebrated Mom's birthday again on Sunday with Jan's boys at the Lucky Dill restaurant. It is a New York style deli restaurant, with free cheescake for dessert!

Chris, Dusty, Me and Darren

Our beach photo at sunset.

Had to have a photo by a palm tree!

It was a great week, only one day of rain. We spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool, a couple of trips to the beach, shopped and went to restaurants. But most importantly, it was so nice to spend some real quality time with my Mom and my sister, and to also get to know my nephews as the young adult men they have become. I had not seen them in quite a few years. Jan's other son, Nathan, lives in North Dakota, and he and his fiancee are expecting a baby boy soon!