Steelcase Party for Luke

Luke recently had the opportunity to switch departments within Steelcase, where he’s worked for more than 8 years. His old group, Global Product Data Solutions, threw him a surprise picnic to congratulate him on the move and thank him for all his work in their group.

The kids and I lured him to a park. I thought I was sneaky enough, but apparently he suspected a party. :-) Oh, well.

This is the cake that the department had made for him…(Some of the code is wrong, but the idea was so clever!)

And here’s Ava thoroughly enjoying her cake…

I think this is nearly the entire group of people who attended the picnic…

Thanks, GPDS, for the great send-off!

A Nightly Routine that Makes Me Smile


Who knew Luke’s training with pratfalls would be so handy in parenthood?!

Happy Father’s Day!

I found an awesome deal on Craigslist last week, so we celebrated Father’s Day a little bit early.

Since we built a deck last October/November, we thought it would be nice to have a propane grill. All we had was a teeny charcoal one, which has served us faithfully so far. But, wouldn’t it be fun for Luke to be able to be the “grill-master” at our house?

So, I decided to search Craigslist and see what was in our area. Thankfully, the first time I searched, I found a great deal on a beautiful grill in great condition. (And you all know how I love a good deal!) It’s a Char-Broil Commercial Series 5-burner Quantum LP. That’s a mouthful! (Click here to see one that’s not quite as nice. I think this specific grill that we bought isn’t in production anymore.)

Here are the boys checking out the grills…

And Luke checking out his gift (with the kiddos)…

She’s prettier in the sunshine…

A special shout-out to my beautiful friend Jesse, who went with me to look at the grill, ruthlessly bartered, and drove the grill around GR in her truck. And thanks to her hubby, Jared, who re-attached the door after a little tipping-over fiasco when she was driving. SO SORRY about the trouble, guys!

We were able to enjoy our first grill-out of the season with Jared and Jesse (and our many children) on Friday night, and we look forward to many more such nights with our friends!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, Luke! You are the best man I know!

When Mommy’s Away…

…Daddy’s the coolest “babysitter” ever.

I love that man.

Snowman Saturday

The snow was just right this weekend for snowman-building! So, Luke took the kids outside, and they made their first snowman of the season.