It's that time again....

I keep telling myself that I am going to be better about updating...and then a month goes by...phew!

March:

March was a pretty busy month for us. The girls and I enjoyed Movin' & Groovin' and our MOPS/MOPPETS. Movin' & Groovin' is every Thursday morning and MOPS is every other Friday morning. I am a Girl Scout Co-leader and I have been busy with that as well.

Lucas is busy at work, and a new office is in the works which keeps him even busier. He is also very active with the F'muth Jaycees, especially the Volkslaufe. Three Monday evenings a month he is gone for Jaycee and/or Volkslaufe meetings. Busy, busy.

Lucas' cousin Cameray is a senior this year and she has been very active in Puppen fur Cristus, which is a puppet ministry through our church. I had only seen a performance at one of our Contemporary services. Well, they offered a Dinner Theater show, so we went at watched. It was quite good. They did songs and such from Godspell. Cassidy enjoyed it. She kept asking "where is Camay?" throughout the entire performance! Cailin fell asleep. :-)

The big event was our vacation to Isla Mujeres, MX. Well, suffice it to say that we went to Mexico for 2 days, had a rather disturbing experience, Lucas became very uncomfortable, and we came home 3 days early. Long story short...it was a disaster. The island is absolutely stunning. I would definitely return to the island. The largest contributor to our disaster of a vacation was the hotel we stayed at, Avalon Reef Club. They are pretty ridiculous and I would not recommend anyone to stay there or at any of their other resorts. Let's hope we are able to enjoy another vacation...in the future.

Now, it is nearly April and I hope that Spring is right around the corner...wait...wasn't the first day of Spring a week ago...it was...March 20th was the First day of Spring. Well, Spring in Michigan is always an adventure...it snowed yesterday/last night. Ridiculous. I hope there isn't any more of that...I will keep praying for warmer weather! We have lots to do this spring, largely fixing the backyard. We have rather destructive dogs when it comes to being outside, and the yard was dug up from the remodeling because of the plumbing and hooking into our septic. It looks like a disaster zone.

Here's to Spring and warmer weather!

The dust has settled...

Literally...I think all the drywall dust is gone (well...almost gone.) Thankfully! I think the construction phase is done. Now onto the painting phase of our house overhaul. At least the end is in sight, and things are looking great around Casa de Hart.

Now, for our exciting news...Lucas and Alicia are going on vacation sans kiddos! What?! Yes, you read it right...no kids for 5 days. We are going to Isla Mujeres, which is a tiny (5 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, tiny!) island off the coast of Cancun.

Check it out.

Here:

http://www.isla-mujeres.net/

Here:

http://www.islamujeres.info/

and Here:

http://bnwisla.blogspot.com/

In other news...we found this fabulous place to take the kids, well, Cassidy. In the Birch Run Mall, they opened this place called Spring Break, which is full of inflatables. It is fabulous and the best thing about it is the $5 it costs for Cassidy to run herself around like crazy. Cailin likes to watch Cassidy and play on the ride-on toys.

The girls are also participating in a class called Movin' & Groovin', which allows them to work on their large movements, following directions, and interacting with other children. It is taught by a kindergarten teacher at St. Lorenz School, and sponsored by their Early Childhood Department. Cassidy and Cailin really enjoy this class and their teacher, Mrs. Hessler.

That is brief recap of what is happening in our neck of the woods, er, farm fields. Ta, ta for now!

Birthday Cake Pictures

Cailin is 1

Cailin turned 1 year old last Wednesday. Incredible. I can't really believe it has been a year since we brought that little bundle home. She is a blessing.

We waited to celebrate her first birthday on Saturday (Jan. 24) so everyone could celebrate with us. My parents came up from KY and stayed a long weekend to celebrate our little one's birthday. We had a few family members over and enjoyed a lovely celebration. Cailin was quite overwhelmed with everyone focusing their attention on her. She was in awe when we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She kept looking around with this look like "wow, everyone is singing to me!" Cassidy was quite the big sister, making sure Cailin got her cake, helped her open presents, and helped her rip up wrapping paper.

I took Cailin to her 1 year well child. Doctor says she is perfect. She weighs 19lbs. 4 oz. and is 30 inches long. Dr. says she will be tall and thin (definitely doesn't take after me!).

It was a great weekend of celebrating our little one! Happy Birthday Baby!

P.S. Pictures to follow!

Remodeling Part I

As some of you may know, we took about 3/4 of our garage and had it converted into a bedroom with bathroom (master suite?). It is basically done. We have a few aesthetic type things to do, but it's coming along nicely.

Looking in from the soon to be hallway (currently the utility room).
The bedroom
The bathroom


Now, we are converting our old bedroom into the girl's room. There is much to be done to complete this project: removing carpet, tearing out the built-in closet/dresser thing, painting, and replacing the floor. This should keep us busy through this cold, cold winter.

The Holiday's

It seems that I should finally update! It has been awhile. Let's start here: Kentucky.

The week before Christmas Lucas, Cassidy, Cailin and I headed down to Chavies, KY to visit my parents and to see Josh. Josh was on leave from the Air Force, so we went to visit with him. This was especially important because he is leaving January 20, 2009 for a deployment to Iraq. As an added bonus, my Grandma (Shunk) was visiting my parents too! It was a nice visit and it was good to see Josh before he headed out. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he prepares to leave. We pray for a swift tour and safe return.

Next, we arrived back in Frankenmuth to begin our prepartions for Christmas and the New Year. Lucas returned to work for a few days and then started a two week vacation on Christmas Eve. My parents arrived in Frankenmuth on Christmas Eve while Lucas, the girls, and I were at the Magnus Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with the Magnus' and Santa even made a stop! Cassidy and Cailin were not impressed with Santa at all! Jean, Lucas' cousin, brought a small bounce house for the kids to play in...I don't think Cassidy took a break until we deemed it off limits while we ate...she loved that thing! Cailin enjoyed toddling around and watching all the "big" kids. After the party we came home, visited with my parents, and headed off to bed for visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Christmas day morning we spent at home. We enjoyed unwrapping presents while our breakfast casserole cooked. The girls received plenty of gifts and Lucas and I got a few too. The girls had lots of time to play with their new toys before we headed over to Mom and Dad Hart's for Christmas with them. We headed over to Block Rd. to celebrate Christmas with Mom, Dad, and Caleb Hart. It was quiet, calm, and enjoyable with a fire crackling in the fireplace (my favorite part!). The girls received some lovely gifts there too. (we got some too!) What a wonderful morning and afternoon. In the evening Mom and Dad hosted Christmas Dinner, which was delicious! It was a wonderful evening filled with good food, great people, laughs, and conversation. Merry Christmas!

The next few days we enjoyed some time at home. We did some work on the new room, including a ceramic tile floor (Thanks, Dad!). Everything is coming together nicely in that department...more later...

Fast forward to New Year's: Lucas and I packed up the kids and headed northwest to Canadian Lakes where we met up with some wonderful friends. The Soupal's, Stewart's and Fox's joined us from a New Year's Eve celebration. It was relaxing and fun. The kids (Cassidy, Cailin, Drew, and Marcus) enjoyed playing together. We had lots of good food and great fun. What a great way to celebrate the New Year!

We headed home to enjoy the last few days of Lucas' vacation. It was a great holiday season, and a wonderful time to remember our many blessings. We hope you enjoyed a time of gratitude and peace during holiday season 2008. Here's to good times, good friends, family, and many more blessings in 2009!

Pictures

Wishing you all a beautiful and blessed Christmas and New Year!