SAY (cottage) CHEESE! 2012

Elle getting all ready for her 3 week photo shoot... We can't believe how much stronger she is getting! She is still in newborn clothes which fit from 5-8 lbs. so we are guessing she is just under 8 lbs. now.

Our annual cottage visit for Summer 2012

Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy have a beautiful cottage right on Lake Huron that they are so generous to share with us! We were doubtful that they we would be able to make it up there this summer. However, on a whim we had a M-Th. time slot with no plans so we called the weekend before to see if it was available and we were ecstatic when Aunt Cathy told us it was! We weren't for sure how it would go with a 2 year old and a 3 week old for a 4 day trip (little own the car drive!) but we were willing to give it a shot! Good thing we did too...It was a PERFECT vaca for the 4 us before Ben headed back to work. Both kids zonked in the car for the majority of the trip (yay!) and we only had to stop once each way to feed Ellie. During the week we were able to make ourselves at home with Luke's toys everywhere, Ellie's crib and changing area, and Ben even setup Luke's bed rail so he could sleep in one of the twin beds all by himself! Thank you Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy! 

Snuggle time on the couch.

The 3 of us loved spending time in the water! Ellie was a champ hanging out at the beach...Ben setup a beach umbrella and we just sat her in her little crib in the shade and she was good to go. We were able to all stay down there together from about 10-3 everyday! Ben and Luke enjoyed kayaking on the Lake and a few times Luke fell asleep during their adventure. We had fun on all of the floaties and tubes, taking bathes each day in the Lake (even Luke!), built castles and "pine trees" in the sand, and Ben and Luke had fun jumping off the big rock! We were all by ourselves on the beach and didn't see one other person in the water the entire time we were there. :)   

Luke taking his nightly bath in the Lake!

SO much love...

One of my favorite things that Luke does is he points his finger to you when he knows he is doing something well. Ben does this too and so he picked up this old trick from his 'ol man. :)  He does it a lot when he is "mowing the grass" and I love this picture here because he's letting us know..." I've got it mom and dad. I'm cool."

Our daily setup at the beach. It looks a lot different from last year!

2 kids just loving the beach!

Ben and Luke exploring the big rock...

Sand castles and pine trees...

Our little beach beauty just enjoying it!

We made a trip into Harrisville where we enjoyed a pizza at the marina's park from the local pizzeria, and a walk around to see all of the boats.

Ben & Lukey's shadows.

And of course we each got some ice cream before heading back to the cottage!

This was the place where Ben proposed and we got engaged, this is Luke's 3rd time here, and Ellie's first time at just 3 weeks old! We are so thankful to have this special place to share memories with one another. Till next year cottage...

We all look peaceful in this picture. TRUTH: We had to set the camera on the timer from the deck to be able to get this shot. Ben would click the button, run and jump over the deck bushes, grab Luke, and we'd get in a quick, "Luke smile at the camera!" all before the picture would take. 4 tries later we were able to get this special family photo...good thing we didn't give up. :)