FHE at the MSU Rose Garden

Last Monday, June 4th, we packed a picnic dinner and took a bike ride to the MSU flower gardens to see the roses in bloom.  The bike ride marked Ellary's second trip on bike downtown.  The grand total round trip...about 6 miles!

 A little bright but it was the best we could do to prop it up and get a family shot!

 Ellary wanted her photo taken with nearly all the rose bushes.

 And Keegan was acting a little goofy.  We're lucky to have taken this picture with his tongue actually in his mouth and his eyes looking at the camera.  What a funny boy!

The girls collected rose pedals from off the ground.  They smelled so wonderful!

 Then we read the scriptures together and rode our bikes to the MSU Dairy Store.  The kiddos were excited to get ice cream especially Ellary if you can't tell!

 On our bike ride to the gardens, we discovered this incredable tree with outstretched limbs.  We decided to take pictures by it too when we were riding our bikes back home.  Some of the pictures turned out really nicely, while others were a little too dark.  It was already nearly 8 o'clock when we stopped at the tree.

 Two of our four little monkey's!

Kris did a good job of getting the girlies into the tree.  And then he joined them!

Keegan was too scared to sit in the tree without crying.  You can't blame him, so this picture was taken at the base of the tree.

  .

I was a little rickety getting into the tree, a little frount heavy as you can see, so I opted to take most of the pictures! 

We had a great time...hopefully we will remember to visit the MSU Rose Garden again next year!

The Kohl's Michigan Mile

 This year marked the fourth time that our family has participated in the Kohl's Michigan Mile since we moved to the Lansing area.  This year's race was also the first Michigan Mile for Ellary and Keegan to participate in too.  We had a fun Saturday morning together as a family, and I think I can truly say now that we are indeed a running family.

 Alyson's age bracket went first.  She average a 7:45 minute mile...I have to say averaged because the race technically, according to the running watch was only 0.82 miles.  She ran her little heart out!

 Kourtney did well also.  She was glad to have Kris run along beside her.  Good job, Koco!

 We had about half an hour of down time between Kourtney's race and Ellary's kids fun run around the Cooley Law Stadium Field.  Here Kris is chilling with Ellary.

 And here they are at the beginning of Ellary's race and at the end.  She's watched her sisters receive medals for the past three years and was most happy about receiving one of her own when she finished.

 And little Keegan was escorted around the outfield by his two biggest sisters.  He was very happy to be old enough to participate.

 But most of all, Keegan was excited to show us the water and granola bar he got after the race.  He couldn't stop talking about his medal too.  Yeah, for Keegan!

And here the kids are after the race was all said and done.  What a fun Saturday morning!

Kris' Bayshore Marathon Race

Kris trained for and completed the Bayshore Marathon on May 26th.  How awesome is that?  Since December he began waking up every morning at 6:15am and devoted up to three and a half hours towards physical fitness and preparing for the big race (except for Sundays).  He is such a great inspiration to our family.

So, this is how Kris felt after he completed the race.  I guess he was a little tired!

But hey, he could still almost do a chin up, so that's pretty good!

 We had a great time in Traverse City the day before Kris' race.  We played on a city beach that abuts Traverse Bay and let the kids swim at the hotel.  The day was beautiful!

 Then after Kris' race on Saturday afternoon, we drove to Grand Haven and let the kiddos swim and play on the beach.  The water was a little cold, but it didn't stop them from playing in Lake Michigan.  Another gorgeous day!

Rib Fest was going on in downtown Grand Haven.  We tasted their wares.  Pretty good stuff.  Then we ate pizza and nachos in a little restaurant before going home.

And this picture of Ellary pretty much sums up how we all felt at the end of the day- worn out!  But we had so much fun!  Thanks for giving us a good excuse to make more wonderful family memories, Kris.  And thanks for being such a dedicated, self motivating father and husband.  You make us all very proud!