We have a new addition to the family and NO it's not ours! Jason's brother and his wife had their first child a week ago. Evelyn Grace is a new niece that we are blessed to have in our lives. I'm already looking forward to babysitting this coming weekend. Enjoy the precious pictures!
A great West Michigan tradition. Tulip Time. We enjoyed our late Sunday afternoon walking the downtown streets of Holland, taking in the different colors, sizes, and even shapes of Tulips. Did you know that some tulips grow outward instead of curving in? The kids loved all the colors but not all the walking. Although we promised them a park at the end of the road, it turned out to be a carnival. They weren't so happy when we didn't pay for admittance. Jason and I were wondering with the cost of food at these events, how can this be a "Dutch" thing to do?
A rare picture of all of us together.
A one man band. The girls "donated" to him but Logyn kept his distance.
Loryn made sure to eat every morsel that was on the table.
This was the only patch of tulips I could find without other people surrounding them.
Today I went on a field trip with Loryn and Logyn. We had the pleasure of visiting the local zoo with their preschool class. First, we attended a class where four animal friends were presented to the kids. It was great to see their interest in mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and the amphibians. And they even understood all those words! After the display of animals, we got to wander around the zoo and check out the bears, penqins, Kamono dragon, etc. They could hardly stand in one spot long enough!
Me with Logyn and Loryn at the Lion exhibit.
Lexi Burgess, Loryn, and Logyn.
Loryn was waitng excitedly for the next animal to be brought out.
Here they are petting a rooster. This thing was huge!
This past weekend I got the opportunity to visit a friend out of town. Lindsay lives in Phoenix, AZ and Kim, Tami, and myself all headed out to visit for a little R & R. The weather was better than we could have asked for and it was great to sit and catch up with each other. Although we didn't do much sight seeing, we did discover the fun of shopping at Nordstrom Rack.
Dining at the Kona Grill.
Tami and Kim all tucked into the back of Lindsay's jeep. Headin' to the store.
This past weekend I reached a milestone in my life. I turned 30. My birthday fell on a Saturday and it started out as a really great day. My husband let me remain in bed while he got up with the kids and fed them breakfast. I read in bed for awhile and then got a surprise when he brought me breakfast in bed. I finally managed to climb out of bed and spend the day with the kids but in the afternoon my parents came over and picked the kids up for the night. It was so nice to have some quiet time. Jason and I laid on the couches and just talked. There were no interruptions, no crying, fighting, whining, or injuries. It was so nice to just relate to eachother on an adult level for a few hours. And then it was time to get ready. He planned a party for me with friends and family and it turned out to be a great night. He picked up supper for all the people that were involved in the planning and he even arranged for people to help him get a birthday cake (thanks Nikki), decorations and flowers (thanks Mom and Michelle) and other stuff. It was truly a great night.
I got to cut my cake just like at my wedding.
Me and some of my girlfriends. We've been friends since preschool and kindergarten.
A kiss for the birthday girl.
Well, here it is. The day that I thought would never happen in my life. Six and a half years ago it never entered my mind that I wouldn't be celebrating this momentous event until now. People always told me that I'd get to this point in my life someday but it always seemed so far away. And now I am living proof that it does happen. There is an end in sight. There is a day when you will no longer have a crib in your house. Yes, that's right we are officially crib free. Our youngest has "graduated" and moved into a "big girl" bed. I must admit that I shed no tears the night Jason took apart this piece of history. I thought it would be tough, emotional, and sad to watch. But I was impatiently waiting for him to get the crib out of the room so the new bed could make it's debut. Maybe it hasn't hit me yet. Maybe I wasn't as attached to it as I thought I was. Whatever the case may be, after setting our crib up over 6 years it has never come apart. Even when we moved it stayed intact and readily available to whatever child needed it. Now it is disassembled and resting in our storage room. But Mallory is happily enjoying her new bed and that's what matters most.
This past weekend we headed out to Grand Haven with my family. We spent one night at a hotel where the kids could swim and get rid of some of their "cabin fever". Of course with our family there is no trip complete unless something happens. First we started off our morning late. Then we arrived at the lake and tried to get all 6 of us dressed in snow gear in our mini-van. Needless to say there was a lot of whining and arguing about space and who's glove was who's. Once we all mastered that, we stepped out, ready to walk out on the ice. Then came the complaints of being cold and two (Loryn and Mallory) headed back to the van to wait with Grandma. We managed to stay out for awhile and when we got back to the hotel we geared up for swimming. Swimming went well until Loryn pulled herself up on the edge of the pool spitting and sputtering because she got caught in the "deep". Then a few minutes later she proceeded to puke in the pool after a coughing spell. There I sat, scooping puke out of a public pool. Nothing like a grand way to spend my night. And as we all headed up to bed Mallory starts running a fever. It was a great weekend!
