WARNING:
PICTURE OVERLOAD.
SCROLL AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Yes, I know it is Fall.
Yes, I realize my last blog was in May.
What follows is Our Summer, in photo form, with very little commentary. Originally I intended to do several blogs over the summer capturing all this fun, but in the end I was just too exhausted staying busy to do a bit of blogging.
Enjoy it all the same :-).
OUR SUMMER INCLUDED:
JENNA PLAYING SOCCER
Jenna played soccer with her team from Spring until the early part of summer. It was so much fun watching her team grow over the year and cheering her on at games!
HANGING AT HOME WITH FAMILY
We were out a lot doing all kinds of exciting things, but also had lots of fun at home!
 |
| Tanner "made me" with his dinner |
 |
| My goofy goofballs |
Enjoying a nice visit from Mimi & Grandpa Ted
ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS AT HOME
 |
| Hi, I'm Hannah. I just picked up a dead mouse, and am smiling about it. |
 |
| The first ice cream of the season! |
PLAYING WITH FRIENDS
 |
| At the end-of-school year carnival with Lanie & Molly |
 |
| When we go places, we always sing: "Here we GO GO GO GO, on an adventure, the Thingeymajigger is up, and away, GO GO GO GO! On an adventure, we're driving with mommy and kids today!..." It is silly but fun. (this makes way more sense if you have ever watched the Cat in the Hat) |
 |
| At my friend Shawna's house. Yes, this is her backyard play structure! The 9 kids we have play so well together! |
 |
| At a playground |
 |
| A quadruplet play date squared with my friend Jen & her gang |
 |
| A quadruplet play date x3! Three sets of quads, big sis Jenna, and another big sis & little bro who were not in the photo. |
 |
| A quadtriplet play date! I met Gwen in the NICU when our 7 newborn, preemie babies were teeny and fighting for their lives. These miracle babies have amazing big sisters and we are so blessed to have 9 healthy children. (side note: I love how easy it is in this day & age to connect with other families of multiples. It truly normalizes life!) |
 |
| Play date at the zoo with my friend Stefanie and her daughters! |
ELK RAPIDS TRIP #1 WITH GRANDMA & GRANDPA
ENJOYING A VISIT FROM
COUSIN/NIECE AUTUMN
ENJOYING A VISIT FROM
COUSIN/NIECE ALLANA
MORE FAMILY VISITORS!
Family from my dad's side of the family came up to Michigan from Illinois to spend a few days with us. They included my Aunt Carol, her husband Pat, cousins Eden & Elise, and lots of cute kiddos. It had been a while since we saw them, and a VERY long time (probably almost 30 years!) since they had been here last. It was wonderful to spend time with them and catch up!
 |
| Even my sister Kathy from Texas was able to come visit for a bit! From L-R is: Kathy, Eden, Elise, me, & Cindy. You can definitely see the family resemblance! |
 |
| My mom & Aunt Carol |
 |
| Pat & Carol treated us to pizza one night! |
 |
| Elise trying out the zip line |
 |
| Second cousins... or triplets? |
 |
| The group of second-cousins (actually just the younger ones, missing quite a few older kiddos!) |
VISITING THE ZOO
Grandma & Grandpa got the kids and I a membership to Boulder Ridge Zoo for their birthday- it's local, hands-on, just the right size, and an awesome zoo!
This is my work out! Up you go...and you...and you...and you...
THE 4TH OF JULY
 |
| Tanner, Tyler, Hannah, Lauren & Jenna with Mimi & Grandpa Ted |
SWIMMING & SWIM LESSONS
 |
| Cindy's pool was a favorite place to be this summer! |
The younger kids took swim lessons this summer. Miss Patty does an amazing job and taught Jenna years ago. Because (and ONLY because) we have four kids the same age, at least one of my darling four would be crying before, during, or after each lesson. It always was quite unnecessary drama, and definitely girl-heavy. Despite that, everyone actually had fun and learned a lot!
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!!!!!
JENNA'S BIRTHDAY: JULY 18 (2008)
LAUREN, TYLER, TANNER & HANNAH'S BIRTHDAY: JULY 17 (2012)
 |
| The kids opening cards from Grandpa & Grandpa Thorson. For their birthdays, Jenna had a friends only party with water balloons, brownies, pizza, a movie, and lots of giggles. The following day we had family over for cake and dinner.   I may have shared this before, but I will share it again. The quadruplets were born a day before Jenna turned four. In the weeks and months to come, life was a crazy mix of faith, fear, hope, prayers, sleepless nights, crazy schedules, juggling life changes and trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Many days, I felt like we were hanging on by a thread. When the babies were born, I honestly did not know if we would be taking four healthy children home from the hospital. I remember praying continually. We had this darling daughter who just turned four, and whose life had been radically altered- but oh, did we love her dearly. And, we had FOUR of the most perfect, teeny, thin-skinned, squeaking preemies who were surrounded by tubes and fighting for their lives. I wondered if they would ever graduate from the NICU. I had this thought, over and over, during those first few hours, days, weeks, and months. It was this: If Andy & I could get through the next four years to this place where we had a healthy and thriving 8 year old, 4 healthy & thriving four year olds, a healthy marriage and still a strong, unshakeable faith in God- well then, I knew we would have "made it." Not that life can't radically be altered from here... Not that we don't have a whole lot of living still... Not that God's plans are anything near predictable... But the sheer knowledge knowing we managed to get to this point-- ahhh. Well. I think we can get through just about anything with Christ at our side. Here we are. We have made it (thus far). Blessed be His name. |
 |
| Happy birthday Tyler, Lauren, Jenna, Tanner & Lauren. My hearts. |
THE BIRTHDAY GIFT:
MICHIGAN'S ADVENTURE!!!
 |
| Our niece Julia came to be an extra set of hands. The boys simply adore her (we all do!) |
 | ||
|
 |
| The weather was hot so it was a perfect day to enjoy rides and then move onto the water park. |
MOMMY'S LITTLE GETAWAYS
Even though it was a busy summer, I was able to sneak away and have some rendezvous refreshers!
 |
| With sister Kathy in Texas- I went to pick up her daughter so she could stay with grandpa & grandpa for a couple weeks |
 |
| On the airplane from Texas to Michigan with Allana :-) |
 |
| Of course, there was no way I could be this close to two of my QMBFFs without visiting them! We typically talk daily, so I feel like I "know" their kiddos. However, I had not actually met the kids or been in their houses yet! I had to fix that. |
 |
| The Ambers and I enjoyed a nice visit. However, it also was a very stressful time for the Amber in purple. Amber B's daughter, Kailey (center), was going to the hospital the very next day for a scheduled open-heart surgery. Amber details it here in her blog. God was so very merciful. Not only did Kailey have a successful surgery, but she has fully recovered now and is thriving once again. Praises to God!!! |
 |
| An armful of Bells! L-R: Harrison, Trystan, Logan & Kailey <3 |
 |
| An armful of Shawver kiddos! L-R: Rylin, Sydney, Mason & Harper <3 |
A Mommy Road Trip! With a lifelong friend! And NO kids!!!
My friend Shawna & I drove for a quick stay in Chicago to meet other Moms of Multiples! There was a large group connecting for the weekend, and we managed to sneak out of our busy homes for 24 hours to meet some great ladies and have fun! We know them from a Facebook group and have met some ladies already, but it's always fun to meet other people "in real life"!
THE BEACH
 |
| Big Lake Michigan beaches are fun but a longer drive and very crowded. We opted instead to go to this local inland lake (Ionia State Park) several times this summer. It was close, cheap, clean, and never crowded. Win win win win! |
THE COTTAGE AT HOLLAND
Every year Andy's parents graciously invite us all to vacation with them in a lovely beach rental. Sadly, Andy's dad got sick right before it so he couldn't come, but the rest of us had a great time!
 |
| A cottage tradition: playing scrabble! Julia is going to College this year, so I treasure times like these. Kids grow up so fast. |
 |
| In the middle of the week, we took a break from the beach for a day and went to a nearby petting farm. There were horses to ride, tons of animals to pet and pester, hay rides, games, fishing, and more! |
There were 5 horses to ride at a time, so I became *that* mom who coordinated the line so all my kids could ride at the same time.
On the hay ride, the kids were allowed to hold the softest bunnies ever!
Trying to strangle grasp soft bunnies
ELK RAPIDS TRIP #2 WITH GRANDMA AND GRANDPA
Right before I started back to work, we went one more time up North to camp with grandpa & grandma. We did a lot of the same: went to the beach, fished, and relaxed. We also kayaked and enjoyed these last few days before school, routines, work, soccer, and the next season chugged on.
If you have made it this far, you're a trooper! Hope you enjoyed viewing our summer almost as much as we enjoyed living it. It truly was fun, the kids are at a wonderful age where I can finally take them places by myself and we ALL ENJOY IT!!! (Note: this is the first summer I can honestly say that without hesitation). Countless bonding, learning, and giggling moments were tucked into these precious photos of summer. Too many, apparently, to have a spare moment to blog them!
Hugs!
Becky
