Yes, we are still alive!

Well, what has been going on in our lives? Not a whole lot, as you can tell my my entire month of not posting on here! My spring break was this past week and I can't believe it is already almost over. It went by so quickly. I started off my break by attending a bridal shower for my cousin, Alison. Then, we all headed out to my Aunt Dinah and Uncle Kenny's for a Sparty Party. We ate and visited for awhile and then jetted to Mark and Ashlie's to watch the game! (This was the game to get into the Championship game, not the "other" game :( ) On Tuesday and Thursday I babysat for Lucie, my cousin's daughter. We went down to the warehouse both days to have lunch with Drew. That was so much fun. I had a little photo session with Lucie....see the pictures below! On Wednesday, Ashlie and I went shopping and unfortunately had no problem spending money. However, I did get some stuff for the house to spruce it up a bit, so that was fun to get little projects done! And yesterday was Good Friday and I had breakfast with Janis at "The 'Mill" and then got another little project done in my bathroom. I will have to take a picture of that and post it...and don't worry it will be before April is gone! I am very excited for Easter to spend it with family and I am especially looking forward to Monday. Drew is taking the day off and we are spending the entire day together before I head back to school on Tuesday! We are heading back to the mall to get him some sunglasses and to look for a new camera for me! Exciting stuff!

All of the cousins!

Grandpa and I all decked out in our Spartan gear!

Aunt Dinah and Uncle Kenny's piece of art work!

Erin and I at the shower

My "photo session" with Lucie

I was playing around with my computer and here are a couple of pictures of Audrey and Lilly I goofed around with too!

So cute!

I think they should just move here!

Our bestest friends from Indiana came up to Bad Axe this past weekend. They got to our house around 11:00pm on Friday night and we didn't hit the hay until about 4 in the morning! We miss them so much and we just had a lot of catching up to do. Well, I should say us girls did some catching up...the boys continued their ping-pong tournament from the last time they were here. We got up on Saturday morning and took them to the local breakfast joint and then laid around for the rest of the day (more ping-pong was played). We finally mustered up some energy around 5:00pm, got ready and headed to Harbor Beach to eat at Smalley's. We came back to our house after dinner, played some cards and finally went to bed again at around 4 in the morning. We were so sad to see them go on Sunday! It is so hard every time they come and then go. We can't wait to see them again soon. Next it will be our turn to head back down that way...hopefully within the next couple months! We love you guys and had a blast!





Lyndsey, Bri, and I on the night they arrived!

Us at Smalley's

Kyle and Grant playing Shuffle Board

The girls concentrating intently on their game!

Us...... :>)

Welcome to the 'Muth!

Drew and I decided to get out of Bad Axe for a night and headed to Frankenmuth. We figured this wasn't too far away, but far enough where we felt like we were "out of town". So we arrived on Sunday around noon and headed straight for the Outlets. Needless to say, we spent a little money, but it was all on stuff we "needed". :) Then, we headed back into Frankenmuth and stopped at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and had an appetizer and drink! It was so much fun sitting in the window watching the people walk by. After that, we headed to the Marv Herzog hotel where we stayed for the night. They offered complimentary wine and beer and munchies in the lobby from 5-8, so we took advantage of that and sat on fabulous leather furniture by the fireplace in the lobby and enjoyed a couple drinks. Then we headed to dinner, where, Drew and I have officially determined it to be the BEST Pizza we have ever had. And to top that off, it was a pizza called the Tornado Warning. It had blue cheese dressing instead of red sauce and then had chicken that had been marinated in FRANK'S RED HOT, which we all know Drew has a slight obsession with, and then topped with cheese. It was to die for! We got up on Monday morning and headed to the Kaffe Haus across the street and had a wonderful breakfast and coffee. We walked around in more shops and then finally headed home around 1:30pm. It was a great weekend together and we can't wait to do it again!

The view from our room at the Marv Herzog.

Love this picture. This is what we woke up to on Monday morning!

THE TORNADO WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drew trying not to cry because he was about to take his last and final bite!!!

Hey, it's Marv...Marv Herzog!!


Us and the infamous covered bridge in Frankenmuth!

Drew on the bridge. I couldn't walk out any farther! A little fear of mine! I take after my dad and how he feels about bridges!

Valentine's Day Babysitting

Drew and I had nothing going on for Valentine's Day ( we are going away tomorrow instead) and my cousin T.J. and Chrissy needed a babysitter for a couple hours so, of course, we offered to take her. T.J. and Chrissy stayed for a little bit after she got out of work andT.J. was done with his hockey game to chat for a while. Hopefully, we will get to babysit again soon! Thanks for coming, Lucie!

Lucie and Molly having a bonding moment. I think they both just realized they have tongues!!!!

Molly's the big 4!!!

Yes, yes, yes! Our dog is spoiled...we know! It was her fourth birthday on Monday and so she got a few presents! Here she is on her big day!

We bought her two new bowls, one for her water and one for her food. On the outside they say "What kind of dog is that." We just thought that was pretty cute, because no one ever knows what kind of a dog she is...she is just so unique! :) Well, see below to find out what kind of dog she is!!!!!

100% AWESOME DOG!!!! HEEHEE

Here she is in her new pretty pink and cream collar chewing on her new toy!

What a cutie! She loves her new Nylabone! Love you Mols!

A Party for the Ladies!

My mom, Bridget, Maggy, and Aunt Dinah all celebrate their birthdays within one month of each other. So, it is always made into one big celebration each year. We went to Mom and Dad's house for the festivities! We had a great time watching them open gifts and had a wonderful all Chinese inspired meal! Can't wait until it comes around again next year!


Mom is so totally "50 and Fabulous" The hand painted wine glass from Aunt Dinah and Uncle Kenny


What a couple of goofs!


Simply unexplainable! But I love them dearly!

Mr. President

As I sat in my classroom with all of my second graders yesterday, I couldn't help but think about how their futures are going to be affected by what was happening on the television screen. I hope that they keep the memory of yesterday and watching the inauguration in our classroom for a very long time. I kept telling them that they may not realize completely what was going on, but someday they would understand. One of my little boys said, "Oh, I understand Mrs. Brining. We are watching history in the making." I couldn't help but tear up. I feel so grateful to have had a classroom of my own this year and be able to share this turning point in history with 21 other little people. How fantastic!


Watching Barack Obama on the big screen!





When they asked everyone to stand as the President was about to say the oath, my students stood up too! They wanted to be just as respectful and they were really in the moment!