The Hay Family

Monday, September 14, 2009

It's a.....

???

Stay tuned January 12, 2010 to find out. :)

Great-Grandma Schmitt's 90th birthday

We took the good old Amtrak down to Quincy again Labor Day weekend to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday.

It was a huge gathering of "immediate" family- my dad's siblings, my cousins, and Madeline's second cousins. Counting New Baby Hay, there were 32 1/2 of us there. Madeline loved playing with the girls, especially cousin Bethany.

Great-Grandma arrived and was thrilled to see all of the kids. "That's what makes the world go round" she kept saying.

Yummy pork sandwiches, fresh fruits and veggies, and pies for dinner.

Cousins!

Here we stand and sing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" before dinner, our traditional family grace.

We then spent the evening sharing updates on our lives and our memories with Grandma. Laura and Hunter were the only ones absent- way out in Colorado. It was nice to spend the weekend with everyone!

Michigan Vacation

After a year of careful planning, we pulled together our family vacation with the Wyckoffs and Wenks. It was a wonderful week filled with friendship and laughter, and good times with the kids.

Our family vacation photo 2009.

Clint, Lindsay, Mallory, and Hadley

Jason, Kristi, Ella, and Miles

Time was spent both hanging out at the house and hitting the road to see local attractions of Southeast Michigan. One day we all went to Elkhart, IN to tour the RV Hall of Fame.

It was interesting to see how camping has changed through the years, and how you can travel in luxury today!

This is a picture of the backyard of the house we rented. There was plenty of room with a big kitchen and gathering area, and nice places to play outside.

Madeline enjoyed playing in the sandbox with Miles.

And on the warm days we took a dip in the lake.

With three families and seven kids, there was lots of cleaning to do. Madeline and Hadley stayed on top of it.

Madeline learned how to play "Ring Around the Rosie" with all the bigger kids. It's a lot more fun to play with a big group rather than just mom.

"We all fall down!"

Late at night we got out the Wii Rock Band. Here Dan relives his old YMC drummer days.

Mallory, Madeline, and Hadley enjoy some snacks at the apple and peach orchard. We got to hand-pick peaches and apples off the trees. They were delicious!