Lake Michigan

Wow, a week on Lake Michigan is just what the doctor ordered. After Nick and Laura's wedding, we headed off for a week on Lake Michigan with 20 of our closest family and friends. A true slumber party, we spent the week doing lots of vacation activities.
We took in the sounds, smells and sights of lush Michigan.
A little hiking with the help of her Godfather.
And a little getaway for Ice Cream with Aunt Jeannine...
No beach holiday is complete without lots of time in the sand...
and, more play in the sand (can't imagine what her insides must look like after a week of ingesting sand but I am guessing that a colon cleanser is not needed in her near future)...
Swim time with dad is so much fun.
Maya had no fear of the water.
Nothing like a little game of paddle ball...

Kite flying is a good time,
even when it doesn't make it off the ground (great shirt though, I think Jimmy is on to something)...
Maya found a great playhouse on the beach and it is giving her parents great ideas for her first birthday gift.
And, nothing rounds off a great vacation then spectacular sunsets...
Wonderful family time...
great hugs and...
good laughs.

Nick and Laura's Wedding

July was the happy month when my brother, Nick and his now wife, Laura, were married. In a beautiful ceremony, these two lovely people and two fantastic dancers promised to always "dance eternal spring." Laura looked radiant and I have never seen my brother so happy.
Maya sealed her fate as the professional "model" flower girl, posing for pictures but refusing to follow through with walking down the aisle. Luckily, her two cousins, Nokomis and Althea, were impeccable flower girls.

With such a momentous day, the family was out in full force. Here are the proud parents...Both sets of grandparents were able to make the festivities. Here is Monnie, Maya's Great Grandmother...
And one must not forget about Bumpa, who wowed the reception with a beautiful prayer...
Papa enjoyed the wedding (and Maga danced the night away, pictured below with her grandson)...
Joey and Jimmy were fantastic ushers (sporting the pink ties and all). For all you Val fans out there, she is doing well and yes, danced the night away (no dancing on tables this time but she did manage to create a dance circle around her)...
The fantastic flower girl duo never shy from large crowds, true performers.
Yes, this flower girl is trying hard to play demure with her fan, but don't let that fool you...
Here is the new Laura and Nick Schultz on there way to a dancing good time.
Jeremy and Laura declare Mission Dance Floor and the party happily obliged.
Hard act to follow, two professional ballet dancers on the floor, but we all took a nice swig of wine and ventured out anyways...
Did someone say Daddy, Daughter Dance????
Better yet, how about Grandma, Grandson Dance (they really should make that a regular part of the wedding reception line-up)...
The groom is not letting the party die down...
One happy day and one pooped little girl...

Introducing a Toddler

I went into a baby store yesterday and found only a few items that fit Maya. It was then that I saw the red flashing letters on the Marquee, "Introducing Maya...the Toddler." A small tear fell down my cheek for the baby that is no more but then I remembered all the toddler fun ahead. I can look forward to more walking (she is really starting to get it), babbling (possibly words and sentences other than the current favorite animal sounds), roughhousing (I swear this girl can wrestle better than the men), the Miss Independent meet Miss Clingy dichotomy, and of course, more temper tantrums (the head through back move is a good standby when Maya gets frustrated). We celebrated the occasion with a red balloon (for all those fans of Goodnight Moon, you know why this was a hit with Maya).

Maya the Bee

John and I have always called Maya, Maya the Bee after the animated series. Little did we know that a hive of bees would try and find their queen bee, Maya. A hive started right above Maya's bedroom through an outside vent opening. After the bee specialists arrived and sprayed the bees, the bees discovered that the attic leads to our vents inside the home. For the next 74 hours (yes, it takes them that long to die) they began overtaking our home. Picture a Hitchcock film or an undocumented plague of bees in the bible and you get where we are coming from. We immediately hit the road and camped out at La Casa Aunt Mary and Uncle Marty for close to a week. Not a bad place to be, swimming everyday and wonderful meals everynight (I know, it is tough to feel bad for us at this point, but stay with me). The bee specialists had to return to cut a hole in the wall to get the honey out (I should have kept the honeycombs and sold a few bottles of Maya's Honey). As the specialist turned around to leave, he exclaimed, "oh s**t." Our walnut tree in the backyard was swarming with hundreds of bees. He said it started in the last 2 hours and they were marking their territory to start a new hive. Yes folks, a whole new queen and hundreds of bees were making their way to Maya. The specialists immediately boxed up that group and away they went with two hives of bees. Thought I would let Maya illustrate our week...

"Bees are funny and they make great white noise for my bedroom, do you really have to get rid of them?"
"What, Aunt Mary and Uncle Marty's house. This just gets better and better. I get to go swimming and play with new toys. And, of course, get undivided attention from so many adults."
"I don't want to leave, it is so nice to be here. Please, don't take me back to the house of bees.."
"Going back home, can we at least go get a potato ball at Porto's?"
Our Sleeping Bee...