Today, Drew got a big surprise. My Baby turns 30 on July 6th, but we'll be on vacation with my family at that time, so Drew's family came up from K'Zoo to celebrate with us today. But Drew didn't know about it. You see, Drew's Dad had decided a while ago that he wanted to give Drew his 1969 Stingray Corvette for his 30th Birthday. So, Drew's Mom called me, and we set up a little surprise. What makes the gift even more special is that Drew's Dad first became the owner of the car on his own 30th Birthday. How neat is that?



So today, he passed on the only "toy" he's had for more than 30 years to his (soon-to-be) 30-year-old son. *tear* Drew was really moved by the gesture and absolutely thrilled. The car is in drivable shape right now, but it will need quite a bit of work in the not-so-distant future. Good thing Drew likes projects!

We had a great time today celebrating with Drew's parents, sisters, and their families. The nieces and nephew kept us entertained as always (they even performed their own rendition of the Cupid Shuffle for us...I have a video that I'll need to post, so check back). Drew also gave the four young'uns a ride in the Jeep, and they all loved it...squealing the whole way. We had a yummy lunch, ate cake and ice cream, and Drew also opened his "other" presents: a Corvette hat and shirt, a couple manuals (which will be helpful once the restoration begins), new floor mats, and a personalized keychain that says "Drew's Dream."

I hope you had the best Birthday ever, Baby (even if it was celebrated a little early)! Love you!

Here's a bunch more pictures from today.

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***And here's that video of the little ones dancing, as promised. Soon, we'll have a 5th niece or nephew on Drew's side to add to the clan...congrats Luanne and Tim on your baby-to-be and Lucas on your brother- or sister-to-be!

-Em

...that's what we were up to this weekend (what else, right?). The weather was so beautiful that we were able to drive the Jeep (sans soft-top) around everywhere we went! I honestly didn't even care about messing up my hair...it was THAT fun...

On Saturday, we took the scenic route to East GR to help Becky and Abby load a truck full of their belongings that will be stored in Ohio once they move to D.C. It is all starting to become very real...they really are moving away!  It was only 2.5 years ago that we helped them move into that beautiful house. I know they will find much happiness in D.C., but it has been hard for me to accept that they really are leaving.

After saying our good-byes in East GR, we drove to Wyoming to stop in at my friend and co-worker Theresa's house. She and her husband, Chris, were having a yard sale, and I mentioned we might stop in if we got done with the loading early enough. It was great meeting Chris for the first time, talking Jeeps, and seeing their current, and plans for upcoming, house projects.

That evening, we had family snuggle time on the big blue couch in the basement and watched Once (beware: this links to a site with its soundtrack playing), a contemporary musical set in Dublin, Ireland. I LOVED the music, and the storyline...it was a love story almost like a European version of Lost in Translation...all situational and circumstantial.

Sunday we spent relaxing until that afternoon, when we Jeeped down to the north side of Holland to Beth and Tom's house for a cook-out. I hadn't seen Harper since she was a baby, and it was so neat to see her as a beautiful one-and-a-half-year-old (she's the exact same age as our nephew, Lucas). It was also nice to chat with Jen a bit (it's been months since I've seen her, and now twice in one week, with our book club meeting on Thursday night!). The drive there and back was awesome...we took Lakeshore Drive, enjoying imagining ourselves living in a Lake Michigan lakefront house. It's good to daydream.

Monday we took the Jeep out to run errands and got ourselves organized for this week. My college writing classes are going well so far, and I am starting to become a bit more confident with myself as an instructor (I'm used to teaching working adults in person in more of a lecture-type format, so teaching college students online really is quite the change!). In other news, Drew leaves for a work trip to Germany and France this Sunday, the 7th. He'll be gone for about a week.

-Em

In case the title didn't give it away, we are now owners of a 1993 Jeep Wrangler S.  It should be a fun summer toy :)