Family Picture

When we were in town we got my whole side of the family together for a long anticipated family picture. With 10 adults and 9 grandkids it was no small feat! Here we are trying to get organized.

Still trying to figure things out...Check out Dave and Zach swinging Blake off to the right. :-)

We did it!

Another great shot.

We had to do a couple goofy shots...

Grandpa, Grandma and their precious jewels...

Uh oh, we've got three criers...can you spot them?

Olson family pic.

Cottage Vacation

We travelled to Grand Rapids to spend a week at my parent's cottage. It was a wonderful, fun-filled, relaxing vacation....the only bummer was that it ended too soon! The first morning as I was drinking my coffee, looking out over the peaceful lake, I saw a turtle come up on the lawn to lay some eggs!

My Aunt Helen was visiting from Arizona so she was able to come out and meet her great niece.

Jayne came out with her boys to meet Lydia too. Although Blake and Bryson enjoyed meeting Lydia, they were even more excited to break in her toys. :-) Bryson...

...and Blake.

My dad and me.

Grandma and Lyds. Lydia was excited to show Grandma her newest trick...sticking her fist into her mouth.

Auntie Jayne holding Lydia for the first time.

We went to visit Lydia's great-grandparents. Here we have four generations together.

Love this.

Lydia with Grandma O.

Lydia and her daddy, grandma, and great-grandparents.

We spent our days relaxing, playing games, weeding, reading, boating, journaling...all good stuff. Lydia got a bit bored watching Daddy and Mamma play Baggo.

Sweet pea...

Each morning I weeded for an hour. Here I am after I finally got out the big daddy in the garden...a full-blown tree! It was my Everest- I even pulled a muscle in my back working at those weeds!

Lydia and I are enjoying a putt-putt around the lake.

We had several friends and family members come out to visit. My friend, Heidi, and her son, Colton, came out for an afternoon.

Adri, Laura, Jodi and I all hung out with our kids. It was so wild to be together with our kids...it feels like yesterday when we were all out on the high school soccer field together, and now our kids play together- so sweet.

Aud, Siena, and Lydia.

My Aunt Cindy stopped by to meet Lydia. Unfortunately Lydia was a bit fussy. :-)

On the 4th we invited our families out for the day. It was a blissful zoo of family! Tracy made a lovely display of patriotic treats for everyone to enjoy.

Grandpa O and his little lady.

Lyds making eyes at her fam.

Thanks to Auntie Jayne, Lyds was all decked out for the day: Mamma's little sparkler!

My Uncle Casey and Aunt Marianne came out. We haven't seen them since our wedding so it was really great to see them again.

My cousins, Gary and Cindy, also made the trip out. So great to see you guys!

Sarah had fun holding her youngest cousin.

Daniel just had fun!

Grandma and Lyddi.

Lyds got some good time with Uncle Dave too.

Uncle Cal and his niece.

This boat was cruising around during the day. It is so nice to see that flag waving in the wind.

Zach pulled a little trick on Cal and Hannah. "Hey guys, let's take a nice picture together..."

"Wait...What?!"

SPLASH!

What a wonderful vacation! We wish we could have stayed longer, but we are so thankful for the time we had to rest, see and visit with family and friends, and have our own quality family time together. Thanks to everyone for coming out to visit and spend time with us. We love and miss you already!

The BIG 30- A day of favorites!

Wow...three decades old. It's so weird to be able to say, "I'm 30." I don't feel a day over 24. :-) I had a wonderful day celebrating. I go golfing with some girls every Thursday and the night before my birthday they arranged a little surprise party for me at the clubhouse. We sat around a table and chatted for a few hours- it was really nice. I came home to find Zach had cleaned the showers (my least favorite chore)! The morning of my big day Zach decorating the living room. He also got me Subway (my favorite) for lunch! Lydia was pretty excited about it.

Lyds and I went to a friend's house for a bit in the afternoon. She had fun trying out the pool.

My big gift was a home-made game of Baggo (my favorite outdoor game)!

Zach and I made pizza (another favorite) for dinner and he even got me a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake for dessert (my favorite)- Yummy!

My day was also filled with phone calls and e-mails from family and friends. Thank you to all who called to help celebrate. It isn't always fun to be away from family on your birthday, but your calls helped close the distance gap. Here's to the next 30!