Mackinac Island Wedding

Andrew (9 m.) and Ben playing before their long trip
Ben walking with the girls to get on the ferry
Ben and Grandpa checking out the horses
Even carriage rides can put a baby to sleep
The Bride and Groom at the Rehearsal Dinner
Kelly and James Wedding
Mommy and Ben after the ceremony
Emma, Kylah, and Michael did a great job in the wedding
Ben and Daddy
All of us with Great-Grandpa Fred

The first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Loeffler
Michael after eating some wedding cake
Andrew, Jess, Ben and Mommy
What a beautiful view
The 3 of us with Kelly and James

The whole fam. before we left Sunday
Ben and Mommy on the ferry-time to go home

What a crazy, busy, fun weekend. It all started Thursday when Jeff, Jess, and Andrew came up to stay the night (Michael stayed with G'ma and G'pa) Danny and Nichole also stayed. We all had a great time talking and telling stories, it was really nice to see Jeff and Jess a little before the busy weekend. Friday morning started early for Greg and I since we still had to pack. All eight of us were ready and out of the house by 9:15 am (pretty good) We arrived in Mackinaw City around 2pm for the 2:30 ferry and hurried to the Inn...the rehearsal started at 4. After rehearsal about 30 of us took the carriage to The Village Inn for The Rehearsal Dinner. It was a wonderful time and great food! Most of us were exhausted so we went back to the condo to crash. The wedding ended up being beautiful...early in the day the weather was a little questionable (30 mph winds) but by 4 you could not have asked for a nicer day. Kelly looked amazing and the ceremony was in a very peaceful, wooded area. We are so happy for Kelly and James, they are a great couple! Sunday came too soon and we were all sad to have to go but at least we bought some fudge on our way off the island. Ben was a trooper the whole weekend...he is really a good little boy! Only a few more days until his birthday...I still can not believe it.

Baby Saxton is here!

Kailer Layne was born on Friday, September 21, 2007 to Lindsey and Marc. She is beautiful (of course) and we can't wait to see more pictures. They are still in the hospital but will be going home Tuesday...hopefully we will have more pictures to look at on their blog soon!

Toledo Zoo and Emma's Birthday!

Ben checking out the butterfly house at the zoo
The Butterfly house was very cool
Great Grandma Ila, Mommy and Ben by the hippos
Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma!
So excited about her train cake!

Two weeks have gone by so fast! We went to Adam and Nellie's wedding on the 8th of September and our niece, Emma, turned 3 on the 9th. For Emma's birthday we went to the zoo while the guys (Greg, Doug, Danny, and Grandpa) golfed in a tournament. It was Ben's first time at the zoo and he loved it. We did pretty much everything you can do at the zoo, rode the train, rode the carousel, went to the Butterfly house, and saw just about every animal. The kids did great and slept the whole way home...woke up just in time for cake. This past Friday Ben and I went shopping with Jaclynn, Maddy, Marnie, and Kendal. It was Jaclynn's idea and Marnie and I were the only ones who spent any money-bad Jaclynn :) Later that night we all went to get ice cream and hung out at the Schmidt's for a while, Ben was attempting his new skill...walking. Check out Miss Maddy's blog for the video. He has been walking more and more since that night and he is starting to get a lot more confident. Now he will let go on his own and walk to one of his toys. Greg and I finally got some video tonight (he seems even more stable then he was on Friday).

Labor Day Weekend

Ben and Emma playing in their "fort" on the pontoon
Where's Emma?
Ben with Grandpa D. (sad about the Michigan game)
You just need to be a little bigger buddy
View of Grandma and Grandpa Abbott's house from the lake

Another beautiful weekend to enjoy at the lake! We drove down to Greg's parents house on Saturday afternoon and we didn't come home until Monday evening. We could not have asked for nicer weather. We had a huge gathering of family and friends on Sunday, we grilled out, played cornhole, went for wave runner rides, swam, and just relaxed. By Sunday night we were all so tired from just being in the sun all day...but everyone keeps reminding me, we won't be able to do that to much longer. Ben had a great time playing with Emma and all of the rest of the family, but on Sunday night he started with a fever and was just not being himself...it lasted a few days and now he seems to be fine. Who knows...teething, a virus, etc. If only they could tell you. Only about three more weeks until we are parents to a one year old! I can not believe it!!! The next few weeks we have a lot going on between weddings, birthdays, bachelorette/bachelor parties, and waiting for Baby Saxton to arrive (2 weeks) so time will go by too fast any way. Where has the summer gone? I guess we have had a lot of fun though.

Tigers Game

Daddy and Ben at his first baseball game!
Look at those cheeks :)
Kendal-cute as always
Kendal and Mike
The dads and their kids

Ben attended his first Tigers baseball game on Wednesday-they played Cleveland. Our neighbor, Mike, got four tickets through work and asked us if we wanted to go (thanks again Mike!). Marnie had a hair appointment and couldn't get out of it, so we had to go without her :( The kids did really great. The game started at 7 and when we first got to the stadium, Ben just sat on Greg's lap for a good half hour just staring at everything. He finally got use to all of the lights and loud noise and seemed to enjoy himself. There were 5 home runs during the game and tons of action, unfortunately only about 2 of the homers were for the Tigers...its Mikes fault (he's from Ohio). We left around 9:45 and the kids both fell asleep before we got home...it was a great time and I can't wait to take Ben to another game.

What a weekend!

Going in for the kiss
The 3 little trouble makers
Kylah, Emma, Maddy, and Ben
The girls in the "fort" Kylah made
Ben and Maddy swinging at the park
What a cute smile
The girls being pulled back from the park

Ben and Maddy eating breakfast
Bananas make her happy!
YEAH!

This weekend we had a lot of fun...even though it was also very busy and filled with lots of company. On Friday night we went down to the Melon Festival with the Schmidts and Kreiders, the kids had a lot of fun listening to the live music. When we came home we enjoyed a relaxing night around a campfire at the Schmidt's. On Saturday we were asked to watch Maddy because Jason and Jaclynn had a wedding to go to, we were so excited to have Maddy all day...she is such a fun little girl. Saturday afternoon Greg's parents came for lunch so they could spend some time with Ben, once they took off Doug, Jocelyn, Kylah, and Emma came up to hang out and they had a great time at the park, making forts, and playing outside. Greg's cousin Kelly and her soon-to-be husband, James, came over for dinner. They brought their Nintendo Wii. Once the kids were in bed the four of us played Wii for hours. Greg and I probably stayed up too late being that we had two children to wake us up in the morning, but Maddy did great and even slept in, Ben was the early riser...but that's what happens when they go to bed too early! Kreiders picked Maddy up in the morning, she was very excited to see mom and dad. Sunday ended up being rainy and cloudy so Greg and I took advantage of Ben's almost 3 hour nap, by taking our own:) Ben has been taking more and more steps walking between Greg and I...we will have to get it on video and figure out how to post it on the blog!

Water, Water, Everywhere!

This is what happens on 3 days with a feverLook what I figured out how to do!
Kendal and Ben playing in the frog pool
The dads and the kids swimming in Schmidt's pool
Ben checking out the water park
Maddy waiting for the water to shoot up in her face
Ben's new favorite thing- BRUSHING HIS TEETH

With the weather being so hot the last few weeks, we have been doing everything in our power to stay cool! Ben enjoys swimming in his frog pool and he had a great time going to the water park with both of his "girlfriends". I think next year he will have more fun at the water park when he can run around without mom and dad's help! Mike and Marnie next door put up their big pool and the kids have all enjoyed playing in there (the adults like getting cooled off too!) Ben ended up with four more teeth (they all came in at once) , he now has a total of six, we have started brushing his teeth and he LOVES it. If he sees his toothbrush his mouth will open and he wants them brushed...what a good boy! He loves fans, airplanes, boats, Riley (our dog), Riley's dog collar (he has his own now), lights, and the pictures on the refrigerator. He points whenever he hears or sees one of these things! It has been so much fun watching him turn into a little boy over the last 10 1/2 months.