More summer fun pics and school happenings...

Here are some more pictures I posted this week on Facebook...
Just copy/paste or click link to view...

Facebook Photos: South Haven 2009

I wanted to include them in the blog as well. These are from our week in South Haven. That was by far the highlight of our summer trip. On the morning of August 8th we had Evan's Baptism at Notre Dame. Following the Baptismal celebration we had a reception brunch, and then headed off for our week vacation at Lake Michigan. The first night in South Haven (after the Baptism) we had Angie (step sister) and her family: 1 year old daughter, husband and step-son aged 9; my other step sister Natalie, Jan, Dad, Tommy, Mike and Lia and our family of 6...for a grand total of 16 people under one roof!!! The house sleeps about 14 comfortably so this was a bit of a stretch but with the willing couch sleepers we were golden! My Mom also came up for 3 nights which was so fun. I really live for these family weeks. It is always so wonderful to relax with family, laugh and talk. I have many more photos which I will be doing little by little as time permits. A lot are from our time in South Haven.



Tomorrow the kids start school! I'm really excited to get back into the school year routine again. It always feels so good to be back on our schedules. I love summer but it has to come to an end...and with it the anticipation of a fresh new school year! Erik and Kaitlyn start tomorrow and then Kaitlyn starts French public school on Monday. I was thinking it was Friday but I realized they were staggering the 1st year children. Next week she only will go on Monday and Tuesday. The following week will be a full week. The "Ecole Maternelle" is really an obligation here in France. It is almost the eqivalent of Kindergarten in the US...in that everyone goes. I am a bit anxious about the start because it will really be a HUGE transition for Kaitlyn to go from being at home all day to being at school all day! She starts at 8 and goes to 11:30...comes home with the big kids, eats lunch and returns at 1:35 until 4:00. We are a bilingual family at home, and this year we will introduce Kaitlyn to her 3rd language. It always comes as a bit of a shock to the kids when they start French school. Everyone assumes they speak French since they were born here, but they don't really learn anything substantial until school begins at age 3 and they are forced to function in the language. I know by this time next year she will be fluent, but it is always so much to ask of a child when you throw them into a new culture....that coupled with the separation anxiety from their Mother. I really pray it will be okay....any other prayers are welcome!!!!

Beach photos!

So I was COMPLETELY loving the beach setting this summer and took so many fun photos. When we were in South Haven we headed to the beach one evening with Tommy for a few photos. Tommy was so kind to take some nice family pictures, and some of Toomas and myself together. I also (of course) took a million of the kids and the gorgeous sunset. I will put up just a few of my favorites up for now. There are also some great action/swimming shots from the rest of our week for a later post (with the rest of the family...Mike, Lia, Grandpa, Tommy etc).

I still don't have much news on my Uncle other than that everything went well!! Praise God!

Pictures from the flight..

Here are a few shots of the kids on our outbound leg. I love going over Greenland when it is clear! SO gorgeous! I got a nice shot of the wing/engine too. The kids sat together and did wonderfully for the 8+hours. Krista/Erik played on thier DSs, Kaitlyn with her DVD player. Evan slept for a good portion in the bassinet (with another 6 month old baby right beside). Evan nursed a lot during the flight so it was relatively painless for us...It is just so darn long! On the way over we went Strasbourg-Amsterdam and then Amsterdam-Chicago. Coming back we went through Paris. I love KLM...definately my carrier of choice. Air France isn't bad, but the wait in Paris for 4 hours b4 the Strasbourg flight is long. They renovated the Paris airport recently so it is really equipt with computers and electric pods all over for recharging devices....a very comfy (YET LARGE) airport. Glad to be home...more trip pics to come.

Back from our SUMMER vacation to the USA!

What a BALL we had in America. It was coined by both Krista and Erik to be "our best vacation ever!" They always seem to say this after our family vacations (and Chirstmas and Birthdays as well). It definately ranked up there for me too. We had a TON of fun and really loved every moment of our precious family time. Traveling with 4 kids for the first time was definately a challenge, but honestly wasn't that much harder than with 3.

Evan's Baptism was on August 8th and it was a very special ceremony for me. He was baptised at the University of Notre Dame in the Log Chapel. My parents were married in the same log chapel, my youngest brother Tommy was baptised there and now 3 of our 4 kids have also been Christened in that same log chapel! We had many family members in attendance...and I will definately dedicate a blog post with those pictures. It was very special. He was baptised at 6 months just like Krista. Erik was baptised at 5 months and Kaitlyn at 8 months.

Some other trip highlights for us included our 1 week vacation on lake Michigan with Mike and Lia---as well as our time with my step sisters Natalie and Angie&family. We had such a WONDERUL time during our beach week. I love my family so much and it is always so wonderful to spend such quality time together there. Year after year South Haven has been such a wonderful resort for us.... catching sunsets on the beach, sunny warm beach days, dinners on the deck, ice cream nights at Nemos...What a joy that week was for us!

My little brother Tommy who recently turned 16 was DRIVING this trip and was such a blast to hang out with too! He taught Erik to swim this summer (they swam almost daily in my Mom's pool) and the kids had so much fun with him at Cappa's (Grandapa and Jan's house). We also got to meet my Mom's friend Steve this trip, and had some nice times with him...including an 8 hour outing to the Fair! Good times all around!

I will have PLENTY more pictures to share. I took so many that I love this trip that it will be hard to pick! We had a lot of outdoor fun as the weather was GORGEOUS all summer long--not too hot and not too much rain either. I did a bunch of portait shoots on the beach and very much enjoyed my photography time this summer. I always love shooting our family fun, so I was having a hayday this vacation! :) I got a zillion fun beach shots. HOW I LOVE shooting pictures on the beach. It is just such a GLORIOUS backdrop for me...complete with all sorts of fun lighting nuances.

Evan turned 7 months a few days ago and I have also been busy photographing him. During this trip Evan sprouted FOUR (yes you read that right)...4 teeth! In the period of one week at the beginning of August he got all 4 top teeth at ONCE. I have never seen that before and trust me I don't EVER want to see it again. It was not fun! He made it through though and is a happy little boy once again (THANKFULLY!). He also started solids this trip (is not a big fan of the spoon yet).

The internet connection is slow tonight so I'm only going to post a few pics for now. More to come for sure! PS Click to enlarge photo to full resolution. ENJOY!