I love my MI fam!

After surviving the move and the most hectic month at work, I was so ready for a long weekend getaway so I headed to MI to make it for Jessica's baby shower :))

Nate had a lot going on with work, so he stayed behind (don't feel too bad for him -he went to Vegas & Utah the next week without me, eh-hem).

First stop - little Miss Alaina! Brenden picked me up from the airport with her in the back and I immediately had a lump in my throat after seeing how big she got since the last time I saw her. I truly fought back tears every time I was with her all weekend because I knew she would be bigger and even more different the next time I see her. Sappy, I know, but hey it's me and I just love her to pieces. She's such a beautiful baby and her personality is hilarious and keeps growing! Check out her latest trick with her Daddy....

Watching Brenden and my sister-in-law Amber with her was a lot of fun too. She loves her parents so much :) I especially liked seeing how much MSU gear she has :) GO GREEN!

She's so close to crawling!

YUM!

Cracking up at her uncles, Cam & Casey

Amazed at the thought that her toy could fly...

Playing with Uncle Casey

Camren was so funny with deciding how he was going to hold her because she doesn't like to lay down anymore to drink her bottle. She wasn't so sure about it, but it worked!

Nothing but Love!

So Amber and I decided to put together the diaper cake for Jessica's baby shower. Um, yeah, I am NOT a creative person so I was a little intimidated by the process. But Amber and I created a vision and went to Aunt Nancy's to put it all together. Thank goodness Beth, Kenny, and Marie took over and started to make our vision come alive ... Amber and I sat back with Aunt Nancy and the three of us just drank our wine and gave opinions, it was great! Even Uncle Steve and Brenden helped out with their expertise of "how are we going to create a sail?"

So we wanted a sail (baby shower was sailor themed) but we wanted to make it completely out of the supplies we bought which were all small items off Jessica's registry. So we decided it could be done out of the many baby hangers we bought her. Sounds a lot easier than it turned out to be! I am so sad I don't have a picture of what it looked like before we put the receiving blanket over it, but it was about 12 small hangers all intertwined to create the best shape of a sail we could come up with. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! That night was so much fun! Here's a picture of the finished project...

...and yes that is a onesie that says "Poop on Michigan" because Jessica's husband, Jason, is a UofM fan. He's lucky he makes her as happy as he does otherwise our family wouldn't tolerate a UofM fan very well :) So I saw the onesie and thought, well it's a sailboat diaper cake, it needs a name. No better one than Poop on Michigan! GO GREEN!

I loved seeing Jessica and her baby belly. She is so beautiful and so stinking cute with her baby bump! I wish she would have allowed more pictures, eh-hem! I am so happy for her and Jason and can't wait to meet their little man, expected to arrive Thanksgiving Day!

I also got to meet Nicole and Jesse's baby girl Taylor. She is the cutest thing! She makes these little squeaks like "hello, I'm here, don't forget about me". They're the funniest thing and kept me giggling the entire baby shower.

No early fall trip to MI would be complete without a bonfire, a big thanks to Kenny & Uncle Steve! It made me feel so at home and more relaxed than I have been since I left MI!

The trip was too short and sweet as it always is and I still didn't get to see certain friends. I miss everyone so much and wish we could all be together more often. I miss my family, my friends and the calmer lifestyle. I think when you leave though you gain a greater appreciation for the things and people that you miss. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? I would never take that back and I never want that to go away, so for that I am very thankful.

Luckily Nate and I are headed back to MI in just a few weeks to go to the MSU vs. Wisconsin game. We need some tailgating and all things MSU time :)