A couple random cute ones

I actually heard birds chirping this morning. I am so excited for spring. Here are some cute pictures. Poor guy wearing a headband. But he is super happy about it. Definitely a perk of having two older sisters and a dad who works a lot. (Sorry hun, it's true) The girls playing at their desk in the basement. North dressing up in the soccer clothes.

American Girl Doll Store

Chicago is a 5 hour drive from us. Not too far for a day trip. The weather was great, and Tyler had just returned from a trip so we opted to just make it a one-day thing. After looking carefully at all the choices, Ava chose Saige, the "doll of the year." Preying upon special occasions and parents wanting to spoil their children was a horse drawn carriage outside the store. Tyler and I have never done it, so we did. It was fun! (Until I started breaking out into hives at dinner because I'm allergic to horses) Then we went to get some Chinese food at P.F. Chang's per Ava's request. Here's Ava and Saige! One super happy girl!

Ava is 7!

The week after I got home from Idaho it was Ava's birthday. She is so grown up now. I am really enjoying having an older girl in the house. In a few years I can even leave her home alone! Anyway, we had a special surprise in store for her. A trip to Chicago to the American Girl doll store! This was the PERFECT age to do it. She "got" it, knew it was super expensive and she really wanted the doll. And Chicago was great. We gave her a letter wrapped up that told her what her surprise was going to be. This picture captured the moment pretty well: Then we played a lively game of life-size Jenga. A by-product of Tyler's Teacher's quorum that we have had a lot of fun with! My favorite of North. A 2 year old having a hard time when it's super tall! Me and my 7 year old! Yup, we've got a case of the girl crazies around here.

A trip to Idaho

My birthday and Christmas present was a reunion trip with my best friends, Irina and Jenny. I seriously don't think I've ever talked that much in my entire life. Jenny's family has a cabin in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is interesting to compare her cabin with the cabins of Michigan. While this cabin was on a dammed up lake, and the water level was predictable, Michigan lakes are unpredictable and have floating rafts. The town was larger than expected. And there are tons of specialty food eating places (organic, local, paleo, etc) We were all in heaven! Next time our kids have to come :) Irina and Atticus. The dock. Lunch! Mountains by the canal in town. The local crystal store. The 3 of us! One of the funniest things was a neighbor's house was being built and we walked through it. It was fan-cy. The 3 of us again. And a trip down the zipline. The whole trip was a blast. Thank you Jenny!!

Mclean's Christmas

After Disney world we drove about 3 hours south to my mom's house. It was nice and warm, whereas Orlando was cold and rainy most days we were there. Naples was wonderful. Santa made arrangements to come, and it was fun. And then it was my birthday! At this precise moment I am forgetting how old I am. 30? 31? No idea.. :)Here is how I spent my birthday: Being on the beach makes me the happiest person alive. It was a great birthday!

Disney World

We were super blessed this year when Tyler's grandma Carol Henrichsen took everyone to Disney World. There were 48 people in all. Really impressive! We had a great time exploring and catching up with family that we had not seen in years. Here is Grandma and all of her kids. Our family. And everyone together. After we took the family pictures we all sang Grandma a few songs and presented her with letters and pictures about special memories. It was very sweet. Here are some of my favorite Disney pictures. There were too many to choose from! And North discovered his first love.