Think Pig

Abby is on a pig kick since her week visiting Hannah and Emily's hogs at the Barry County Fair. We have been watching pig movies, playing with her toy pigs, and changing ourselves into pigs with her magic wand. We even took pig pictures at Great Grandma Jennie's camper when we stopped by their campsite to visit them yesterday. Someday Abby will either love this picture or really, really hate it. Personally I really love it - I crack up every time I see her little nose smooshed up and her squinty eye.

Since the weather on Saturday was bad we skipped camping for the weekend (like we had planned) and instead just made a day trip over to Blind Sucker Flooding on Sunday. We had a lot of fun visiting and brought back a whole GALLON of wild blueberries. YUM! We had so much fun we are thinking of going back to camp this weekend, since the weather is supposed to be much, much sunnier. And it can't get much cloudier than today. We had rain all day - Abby spent over an hour playing in the rain on the deck. Olivia just spent time whining since there weren't any grandmas around to hold her while she napped. It's been a lot of spoiling lately!

Swim Class - Week 2

Abby has been practicing putting her own shoes on all week. She is getting pretty good with most of her pairs. But, sometimes this new found skill creates extra headaches trying to get out the door - like yesterday when she switched shoes 4 times before we could finally leave.

Week two of swim class was about the same as week one, except with extra fun created by the addition of Daddy and AJ and family to the swimming crew. Abby had a great time - she even asked multiple times to go underwater. She is going to become quite a fish. She is really enjoying her time in the pool. It's just too bad that we have such a short summer season this far north.

I learned a valuable lesson about living this far north - the sticker for your license plate will not stick in sub-freezing weather. I finally had to bring the plate in off the car, let it warm up, and use glue to get the sticker to freeze. But at least this way I will not be pulled over for having expired plates.

Still no progress on the baby naming front. I believe we are back to square one at this point. We were fairly certain that we were going to use Elizabeth Claire, but with the loss of dear sweet Ella shortly after her birth, we wanted to use a name that would be distinctly different so it wouldn't seem like a constant reminder of the loss our family will be dealing with for days, and weeks, and years to come. Our broken hearts are praying without ceasing for Laura, Marty, and their families. I can imagine nothing more heartbreaking than the loss of a child, especially after the 21 months of enjoying our sweet Abigail.

Just For Fun

We thought this was too funny not to share. Our winter up here has been better when it comes to slipping and sliding. The snow is too dry to be slippery for the most part. Instead we have the 6 foot tall snowbanks along all the roads which force you to play chicken when deciding whether it is safe to turn or cross the street. Stay warm!

Jen's 10 Reasons Why Living In the Soo is Just Like Camping

1. It's an old house - I am washing dishes by hand, just like when we camp.

2. Again, old house, cold - sleeping in our bedroom is about as warm as a tent in the fall.

3. Bathing - shower no bigger than a camp shower or an old iron tub, just about the same as camping only with a little more consistent (sometimes) hot water.

4. Smells - did we mention that we've had skunk spray twice behind our house in the middle of town?

5. Shopping - when Wal-Mart, K-Mart and JC Penney are the high end shopping in town (and the best for about 200 miles), you are basically "roughing it"

6. Security - old house, unsquare doors... probably can't withstand repeated kicks. Hardly better than our tent.

7. Food - when the only option for reliable sit down service (that isn't a bar or stuffed to the rafters with roadkill) is Applebee's, you mightas well eat at home. And with the improved camping stoves, my at home cooking is basically the same as my camping menu.

8. Dirt - We have a yard, we have a dog. Our floors are probably cleaner in the tent camping than in here...

9. Noise - Old house, paper thin walls and windows, we can hear it all and some of it is not good.

10. All of the places we wanted to visit on our family camping trips are now a stone's throw away. Mackinac Island - just about an hour, Tahquamenon Falls - a hour and a half, Lake Superior - 20 minutes...