Growing Baby

Monday, October 12, 2016

We are officially more than halfway through our pregnancy!  Josh and I are enjoying creating a list of possible names (no, we haven't picked one yet) and starting to plan for things we need to buy for the nursery.  Living in a tiny two bedroom home (with no basement!) has definitely provided some storage issues, but we are determined to make a cozy and comforting nursery for our baby girl.  Check out the picture below to see the baby bump slowing growing.  I did have one of my third grade students comment on the bump a week ago by saying, "Mrs. Leask, your baby must be growing because you used to be skinny!"  Gotta love the brutal honesty of an eight-year-old :).

-Laura

It's a Girl!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Today Josh and I went to our anatomy ultrasound and found out we are having a baby girl!  It was a total surprise since most people seemed to think that we were having a boy due to my lack of pregnancy symptoms.  We are thrilled and cannot wait for HER to arrive!  However, Josh did make the announcement that the first person to buy her something pink is the last person that gets to hold her.  But since we have already decided on a blue nursery, I think a little pink is okay;)

-Laura

Big News!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Josh and I are expecting our first child!  We are thrilled beyond belief and can't wait to watch our little family start to grow!  The due date is February 21st and we should be able to find out the gender at the end of this month (yes, we want to find out).  Below is a picture from our first ultrasound way back when the little one was only 9 weeks (currently we are at 17 weeks).  Prepare for lots of baby updates on the way!

-Laura

Howell Family Reunion

Saturday, August 22, 2015

We were lucky enough to have Brian, Patty, Yan, and Kai stay in Michigan for a whole month this summer.  I didn't get pictures of everything we did together (and that would have been a long blog post!) but below are a few of the activities.  It was great to spend a lot of time with the four of them!

We picked blueberries and enjoyed doughnut blueberry sundaes.  Grandpa was the champion blueberry picker!

Kai is quite a cutie.  He mastered walking during his Michigan trip.

We went to the Frederick Meijer Gardens and saw their new Japanese garden exhibit.  Here we are in the zen rock garden.

The kids had lots of quality cousin time.

We spent some time at Tunnel Park in Holland.  I am not sure who had more fun building in the sand, Annie Lou or Patty!

We celebrated Grandpa's 62nd birthday!

Yan really enjoyed the Children's Museum in Ann Arbor.

Sam enjoyed spending time with Tio Brian


Kai learned "So Big" :)

Frank and Terri's Wedding

Monday, July 27th, 2015

A little over two weeks ago we traveled across three states to celebrate Frank and Terri's wedding.  Frank (or David/Dave as many know him) is Josh's childhood friend.  Josh remembers moving to Cadillac and having Frank knock on the door and ask, "Can the new kid come out and play?".  Frank was as close as a brother to Josh growing up and Josh was honored to stand up as Frank's best man in his wedding.  

We made the trip along with Josh's parents and his little sister, Maggie.  The five of us squeezed into a Jeep Cherokee and made the 9 1/2 hour drive there with Josh's dad driving the entire way!  The wedding was fantastic.  They had beautiful weather and a perfect venue.  I have never before tasted so much delicious food at a wedding. Between endless hors d'oeuvres and a stocked dessert bar, we barely had room for the main course!  Josh gave a very nice best man speech and the rest of the wedding was perfect too! Below are a few pictures from the day before the wedding and the wedding festivities.

-Laura

P.S. Special thanks to Josh's dad for driving the 9 1/2 hours back home too!!!

Frank and Josh at the rehearsal dinner

The small town of Mt. Arlington was beautiful!

Josh and I enjoying the hammock swing

Yes, Maggie is taller than me now :)

It was fun spending a lot of time with Josh's parents!

Beautiful decorations

Frank got a little choked up during the ceremony.  It was very sweet.

The happy couple

Josh giving his best man speech

The building was a perfect place for a wedding.

We enjoyed all of the scenery on the drive.

Fourth of July

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Last weekend Josh, Bruce and I spent the holiday weekend at the Gallinger's cabin in Lupton, MI.  We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather and good company.  We spent a lot of time relaxing and boating.

On Saturday we participated in a Fourth of July golf cart parade.  Lauren stocked up on decorations at the dollar store and we decked out the golf cart with a Hawaiian theme.  Even Bruce got in the spirit with his hula skirt and leis!  We were sure we were going to get first place until we saw the golf cart that was completely made over into a covered wagon.  This also made us relive our days of playing the classic game "The Oregon Trail".  We didn't win any prizes but we will always remember Justin in the coconut bra running with a purse ;).

We are very thankful to Mr. and Mrs. Gallinger for letting us spend the holiday "On Golden Pond".

-Laura

                          

Michigan Antique Festival

 Wednesday, June 10, 2015

A few weeks ago I attended my first Michigan Antique Festival in Midland.  It has been a tradition for Josh's mom and two of his sisters to attend the festival every spring/summer.  Although I have been invited to go before, this is the first year that I could actually make it.  We got there bright and early, just a few minutes after the festival opened (this involved waking up at 5:45 on a weekend, a big deal for me!).  I had no plans on buying anything and was just along for the ride.  

Sarah got a really great table for her basement along with metal address numbers to make her own wall clock. Can't wait to see the finished product! 

Emily got a few old books including Jane Eyre.  One of the books had an old school newspaper in it.  It was hilarious to read the school gossip! She also got crystals for her Christmas tree.  

Karen got a shelf for her office...I mean Sarah's bedroom;).  

I did end up purchasing one thing for Josh, an old thimble shelf for displaying lego characters. 

After getting rained out at the festival, we went to eat at Bennigans (another yearly tradition of theirs).  Josh, Matt, Dan and Maggie were waiting at the restaurant to surprise Josh's mom for her birthday.  We know she wasn't expecting them because she was calling Maggie to tell her to take out some frozen pulled pork for dinner.  

It was a great day and I am looking forward to being part of the tradition for years to come! Below are a few pictures from the day.

-Laura

Sisterly love:)

I thought it was cute that their rain coats made an ombre effect.

Karen made friends with a couple of puppies.

The dark brown shelf is going to be the lego character shelf.  

Karen talked the seller down from $5 to $3 :)

It was a very classy festival.

Josh and I at Bennigans

Above the desk is the finished product of the shelf Karen picked up.  It looks beautiful in the office!

Emily's cat and dog were just as interested in the old newspaper as we were!