We all have kids now...who would have thought!?!?

Last Sunday I got together with my best friends from high school. It has been awhile since we have done this because Beth lives in Texas now and has two kids, Angie is now back in Lowell and has a little girl, Annie just finished Optometry school and is pregnant for a little one (yeah!!), and I live in Kalamazoo now after living in Marquette and have Ethan. Since Beth was in town, we all got together with our husbands and children and had so much fun! I miss them so much and it was good to all together, in a much different way then we did in high school:) Here we all are: Me, Ethan, Annie (her little on is cooking), Oliver (Beth's son), Beth, Claire, Angie, and Amaya

Angie, Amaya, and Claire

Cute Claire

Sweet Oliver

Ethan and Claire loved the dogs

They also wanted to drive the jeep:)

All of us hanging out

Annie and Amaya

Beth and Oliver

Oliver and Amaya (only a couple weeks apart)

My turn with Amaya

I must say that I don not get to hold my friends children for very long because Ethan becomes extremely jealous! He will start crying and screaming until I give the baby back to its mom. It is actually really funny!

PICTURES FROM THE PAST!

Here we are at graduation- class of 2000

Us back in the dayOur famous pose for high school dances

A trip to the zoo one summerPost college get together

Aunt Kelly Visits

Following the reunion, my sister Kelly came to stay with us in Kalamazoo! I was so excited to have her here and so was Ethan. My mom also stayed a couple days and since my brother lives right down the street from me, he hung out with us as well. We pretty much just played with Ethan, went for walks, went out to dinner one night. I was so lucky to have my brother Mark and Kelly cook a dinner - they each took a night! We played this new came that we are addicted to after Ethan went to bed and just had some good quality family time. We also heading to Grand Rapids to see my dad's side of the family. I was sad to see Kelly leave, but we will be seeing her at Christmas, so we have that to look forward to. Thanks for coming Aunt Kelly...we miss you!!!

Sisterly Love

Yes, my brother is wearing a bucket on his head!

Mom and Kel

Ethan wanted in the picture too!

Kel and Mark

We saw Leigh-Leigh too at my dad's for a pancake dinner.

Mark and Ethan....aren't they cute!

My dad's side of the family:)

Jim and Kel

Ethan reading the paper....one of his favorite things to do!

Mom and her kids (minus Jim, he was working).

Ethan with his favorite Uncle and one of his favorite Aunts!:)

Playing Settlers of Catan....a VERY addicting game that we played after Ethan went to bed.

Ethan got lots of swing time with everyone around...he loved it!

Family Photo

Family Reunion

Every third weekend in July my mom's side of the family has a big reunion in Warsaw, Indiana. It is so much fun seeing everyone and catching up on what has transpired over the last year. Ethan had so much fun swimming in the lake, playing in the sprinkler, and of course seeing his family. There was another addition to the family, my cousin had a little girl Maggy Eliza born on Mothers Day this year!

All 80 of us!

Ethan playing in the water!

Karen with new little girl Maggy

Grandma and Pappa Dick

Mom and Aunt Sue (Sisters!)

The sprinkler was lots of fun too!

Newlyweds to be! Going to get married August 16th 2008!

Kelly came to town!

Fun with the cousins!

Until next year....

Picking Bluberries!

Ethan and I picked blueberries at a farm the other day and we had so much fun!! We went with a big play group and Ethan played with the other kids and ate all the blueberries he wanted! At first Ethan was not interested in eating the blueberries but once he got a little taste, there was no stopping him! We picked a ton and after a full morning in the sun, he was exhausted! We found out that Ethan would eat blueberries until he turned blue:)Asleep before we even left the parking lot!

Only four years ago...

Today marks our four year anniversary and we could not be happier where we are in our life together. We were just talking yesterday about how different our life is now then it was when we married. We have lived in three different cities, we have a wonderful son who is not a baby anymore, Jim is a doctor and beginning his residency, I taught for three years in two different schools, we met so many new friends and still keep in touch with our friends from the past, and we bought our first home! WOW, time flies by! One thing has stayed the same, we are just as happy or happier now then the day we married- life could not be better!!

On our honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Some Special Visitors...

This past weekend grandma Helms stayed with us and it was so much fun!! Ethan was spoiled and loved every minute that he spent with his grandma and so did she! They went on walks, played outside, read books, played with is all of his toys, she gave him baths, fed him bottles, and much more! She was such a big help to me when I came down with a stomach bug, I don't know what I would have done without her!! Thanks for coming mom, we had so much fun!! On Saturday grandpa Jastifer came for dinner and to hang out with Ethan. They had lots of fun together playing and reading books. Ethan missed his grandma Jastifer and hopefully we will see her soon! Thanks for coming!! (I didn't get any pictures darn it!)

Last weekend Jim's Aunt Mari and Uncle Fred stopped by for a visit to check out our new place and to see Ethan. It was great to see them and to catch up. Ethan enjoyed showing them all of his toys:) Thanks for coming out guys!

Ethan loved playing with their dogs!!

Uncle Mark

Since my brother lives right down the street from us, Ethan has the opportunity of getting to know his Uncle Mark and seeing him on a regular basis. They have so much fun together and it is fun watching them play together. Since Mark is Ethan's only uncle, he has a very important job and is doing great at it! Uncle Mark is so thoughtful and brings treats over for Ethan all the time such as strawberries, cookies, toys, a sandbox, and he even brought over a pool for Ethan to splash in! Thanks Uncle Mark!!

Ethan in the pool that Uncle Mark bought him!

Ethan's Fish Tank

Ethan LOVES visiting the fish at Meijer so much that we decided that we would put a fish tank in his room! He loves it! If you say, "Ethan do you want to go say hi to your fish?" , he will run in his room and start kissing the tank and waving to the fish, it is so cute. He even waves to the fish while getting his diaper changed!

July 4th Weekend

This weekend we headed up to my grandparents cabin in Baldwin for a pancake breakfast that they have put on every year since I can remember. Last year we didn't make it and were happy that we could this year. Ethan had fun exploring the cabin and playing with his great grandma and grandpa , grandpa Biener and of course Uncle Mark:) There is a height wall in the cabin that was started many many years ago and Ethan's height is now marked on it! We stuffed ourselves with pancakes and had a wonderful time!!My tired boys taking a nap on the way to the cabin.

Ethan and great-grandma Biener:) "Mmmm these pancakes are good!" I even got some fishing in--didn't catch anything! My cousin Leigh did though!