Shenanigans

These are some of the shenanigans that take place 

when Ninnie is in town.

On The Go...

We've been busy the past couple of weeks with family in town (Ann, a.k.a. "Ninnie," arrived on the 18th, and my parents arrived on the 24th).  Needless to say, we've been on the go!

These pictures are from Father's Day.

I know I'm partial, but my little loves have the best Daddy imaginable!

 The kiddos have been having a blast with Ninnie.

 She's makes both of them giggle,

and she's making up for lost time.

Isaac is moving and grooving.

He hasn't mastered the traditional crawl, 

but he certainly has the army crawl down pat.

Two Peas in a Pod

Clare Bear and her Daddy have a special relationship.  

They go on "Daddy-Daughter-Dates" a couple times a week, and I never get to know what they actually do.  As soon as they get home, I always ask, "Where did you and Daddy go?"  Clare has been trained to say, "Cruisin' for chicks."  That is the answer I get EVERY SINGLE TIME!  

Just the other day, I saw them working on the boat like this...

 Daddy had his shirt off, so Clare followed along.

 Here are some fun pictures of
Daddy and his girl over the past couple of years: 

 Cruisin' at a young age!

 

I can't wait to see all of the adventures that lie in wait 

for these two peas in a pod.

Tumble Time

I know that I've posted similar video in the past, but that was before Clare was 30+ pounds.  Phil continues finding new tricks that Clare loves, and I just have a feeling that she'll follow in his acrobatic (I wish we had some video of his MSU diving days) footsteps.

"I want to do it again."

7-Month Sweetie!

My little hunk turned 7-months-old last week.

I know I'm partial, 

but could he be any cuter?!!!

 Everyone told me that there's "something special" about a Mama with her boys.  I finally get it.  For those of you with boys, I'm sure you know about that "something special."

 After me, Clare might be Isaac's second biggest admirer.  

She loves him so much...

  That it hurts...literally sometimes.  :)

 My little ham-bone!

Isaac has been working on teeth non-stop.  His bottom two are old news, but his top two broke through this week as well.  As long as he's shoving something in his mouth, he has a smile on this face.
I suppose that's true of me a fair amount of the time as well...
although I prefer ice cream and sweets to blocks and feet.

 A little peek at my 2nd favorite guy on the planet.

 A few tid-bits about Isaac right now:

~ He prefers sleeping on his belly.  We always put him down on his back, 

but that only lasts for a few seconds.

~ He is comfortably in 12-month clothes...although not for long.  The poor kid has to use the same sleeper every night because we didn't expect him to be wearing this size so soon.

~ Unlike his sister at this age, he doesn't really care for the pacifier.

~ He scares easily with loud noises...

although Clare gives him plenty of opportunities to overcome that fear.

~ He LOVES all fruit-based baby food.
We literally can't feed him quickly enough.

~ Phil thinks I'm "turning him into a Mama's boy."  

I think that he just knows a good thing when he sees it.  :)

~ He's already had a few hair cuts (he now gets them along with Daddy every month...in the back yard),
and it seems like his hair is getting lighter and lighter.

~ He is LOVED beyond description.

What It Takes For a Family Photo

This sweet picture of the cousins 

didn't happen without some charades from the parents.

Here's what it takes to get a family photo...

That should leave you wondering 

how the feat of capturing the whole gang was accomplished.

The Happy Hillary House!

Uniquely Clare

Clare has become very expressive and independent in the past few months.  We have a lot in common, but there are other parts of her that remind me of Phil...100%.  I love watching her turn into her own person...
with glimpses of us woven through her unique spirit. 

 She is curious, inquisitive, adventurous, spirited, 

and she is happiest when she's exploring outside.

 I don't know how old I was when I started forming a special bond with my mom, but we are very close to this day.  I look at my sweet girl and wonder what our connection will be like over the years.  She's at the stage where she wants me to cuddle with her, read to hear, do crafts with her, bake with her, and simply be near her.  There are moments when that becomes exhausting, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

Clare adds indescribable joy to our lives.

Funny Clare-isms:

* When she counts to 20, she consistently omits 16 and 18.

* She likes swimming totally "naked buns."

* She asks to do an egg hunt almost EVERY DAY after her nap.

* She fears thunder and fireworks and wants us to reassure her that there won't be any during the night.

* She has a hard time with her "s" words.  Therefore we have sit instead of spit, sop instead of stop, sart instead of start, sool instead of stool, sin instead of skin, soon instead of spoon, etc.

* During her nighttime prayers, the first thing
she says she's thankful for is always God and Jesus.

* She goes up to complete strangers (in the store, at the park, at playgroup, etc.) and says, "What's your name.  I'm Clare Bear."

* She thinks that our last name is AnnHillary.  She knows that her full name is Clare Ann Hillary, but she thinks that my name is
Corrie Lynn AnnHillary, and that Isaac is Isaac John AnnHillary.

* She would have a diet of Peeps, Marshmallows,
and Popsicles if it were up to her.

* When I tuck her in and say, "You're my girl,"
she always responds with, "You're my girl too." 

The Story of Our Pool

Where do I begin?

Let's start at the very beginning...

We knew, upon buying our house four years ago, that the pool liner was on its very last leg.  It was, in fact, far beyond that.  We attempted to stretch the lifespan as long as possible, but tape just wasn't working to hold up the sides any longer.  Imagine that.  In addition to the age of the liner, it was cracked and causing the pool to leak...OR SO WE THOUGHT!

 Since we knew that we needed to drain the entire pool before replacing the liner, we didn't bother maintaining it over the winter months.
It was green and full of life when we uncovered it in March.

 This turtle was in our cesspool for an unknown amount of time,
and Clare enjoyed watching it make its home in our backyard.

After draining the pool for 48 hours, we excitedly welcomed Mr. Pool into our backyard for the better part of a week.

 Clare knew that we couldn't swim until the pool was blue again,
but she couldn't understand why it took so long.
She watched with eager anticipation as the pool transformed
from green, to empty, to full, to BLUE again.

Here's a glimpse of Daddy and Clare Bear testing out the VERY NEW pool.  Water was still being added as they debuted the "new" enclosure.

  After running two hoses into the 20x40 tank (which we quickly learned is one of the bigger pools in the area) for TWO FULL days (jacking our water bill to $247 for the month), it was FINALLY DONE.  READY.  PERFECT!  Or so we thought...

 The new liner was supposed to correct the leak.  The new liner was supposed to solve our pool problems.  The new liner was supposed to be the end of our financial frustrations in regards to the pool.
Or so we thought...

 After a few days, Phil noticed that the pool was still leaking far more than the typical 1/8" of daily evaporation.  We had to hire a leak detection service to determine the origin of the leak, and we were sad to learn that it was in the pipe work...beneath the concrete.  Rather than paying them $1200 to fix it, my amazing husband did the job.  He rented equipment, tore up the concrete, drained the water back down (SIGH!), and then repaired the hole in the pipe.  AMAZING!

 After all of that work, the pool was finally ready.  For real! 
All smiles!

To top it all of, my parents bought a safety fence for us.  After hearing of a few tragic drownings, they decided to contribute to the safety of our littlest loves.  THANK YOU, Mom and Dad!!!

 There you have it...the story of our pool.
If you're ever in the area, come and enjoy it with us!  :)

Siblings?

                                                       Do they look related?
The kids, that is.

3rd Annual Diggin' Desserts

 The Hillary Family loves traditions,

AND we love eating.

Thus, DIGGIN' DESSERTS was born.

 Phil and I were inspired by Brian and Marcie's annual soup cook-off, so we put our own spin on the competition and created a dessert cook-off.  

We're still recovering from the 3rd annual gorge-fest...

which took place a few weeks ago.

From left to right in the top picture:

Creme Brulee, Pumpkin Bars, Whoopie Pies, Mud Pies, Milky Way Dream Bars, Rainbow Bars, Monkey Bread, and Maple Walnut Bars ala mode.

Clare helped Mema and Mommy make their desserts.

 The MOMENT OF TRUTH...
Phil and I read all of the votes out loud.

Which dessert do you think was the winner???

  I will tell you that Brian was the winner...for the second year in a row.

Which dessert did he bring???

 Grandma and Buddy were the winners of the Kid's Choice Award.

Which dessert do you think won the votes of the little ones?

 Isaac was a happy guy...

even though he was the only one who didn't get to try any of the desserts.

 This was a remarkable picture considering all of the sugar flowing through the bloodstream of the seven grand children.  :)

 FUN NIGHT...

even though MY dessert didn't receive a SINGLE vote.

I Love...

I Love My Husband!!!

Love Sketch 5x7 folded card

Click here to browse our modern graduation invitations.

View the entire collection of cards.

Hunting or "Gathering"

One of our outings in Michigan was morel hunting.

What are morels, you ask???

Upon entering the Hillary family, I asked the same thing.

Morels are mushrooms, and "hunting" is more like "gathering."

(Thanks Mike M. for that new description.)

Since I didn't grow up in a family of hunters, and I detested mushrooms until college, the idea of hunting for mushrooms was about as foreign as the idea of marrying a guy from my hometown...who happened to have giant lizards, snakes, and tarantulas as PETS.

 Well...here I am...

hunting for mushrooms with the man of my dreams

(who graciously traded in those pets for his adoring wife).

 Clare was more excited about the trees and flowers (and the Lifesaver that Mommy hid along the path) than the elusive mushrooms.

 Grandma and Clare looked for trolls under the bridge.

 After a while, we left the "gathering" up to Daddy and Isaac.

.

So, the question is...

Can I now say that I've been hunting?