June Pictures

June was another full month as the kids finished up their school year, and we kicked off our Summer break.  Plenty of pictures to share this month!

Claire had one last field trip with her class.  

We had great weather for our scavenger hunt at the John Ball Zoo.

Our group: Izzy, John and Claire

Henry's last day of school!

He had a great year in pre-school and is looking forward

to kindergarten with Ms. Sybil in the fall.

We ventured out to the Ford Museum where Joe was like a kid in a candy shop.

Claire with her teacher Miss. B. at her school Field Day.

Joe was able to take a long lunch to join us for some Field Day fun.

Claire and Henry playing tug of war.  This could get ugly.

Never saw a kid take the Spoon & Egg race so seriously.

He was so focused on the finish line.

Playing Frisbee in the front yard.

Our three big kids.

On the last day of school, Claire's class walked down the road to the 

Ice Cream shop.  The boys and I joined them for a cool treat on a hot day.

Henry was excited to see his school buddy, Gryffin 

(in the blue shirt), also at the ice cream shop.

Once Summer vacation began, we naturally put the kids to work!

Getting the garden ready and some seeds planted.

And, of course, a little fun while we work.

These kids worked hard!  We're so proud of them.

To thank them for their hard work, a little treat from Little Lucy's.  

We just couldn't wait to check out this new little neighborhood bakery.

When we first moved into our house, our priority was remodeling the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, as well as a few essential fixes: replacing the windows and furnace.  This summer, our focus has shifted a bit to the exterior.  We need to scrape and paint the wood shake exterior, waterproof the foundation, and do some landscaping.

One of our outdoor projects was also to remove a couple large, but sickly, trees on our property.  George enjoyed watching the tree company make a mountain of branches on our driveway.

We had two "smaller" trees that also needed to be taken down alongside the house, but Joe felt up for that challenge.  The one tree that was a bit bigger, Joe enlisted my dad's help in taking down.

I think they both enjoyed that a little too much!

Claire and Henry love going to VBS in the summer.  

Claire is in the middle.  Henry is all smiles on the bottom left corner.

This may be the summer of games.  The kids have been loving both card games and board games.  Their favorites are Uno and Monopoly Junior.

FATHER'S DAY

I could not ask for a better father for our kids!  I'm so

 grateful to be raising our kids with such a godly, fun, loving man.  

And handsome, too, I might add.

Father's Day was a perfect summer day to lounge by the pool.

Daddy's Helper.

Speaking of helping...I'm pretty sure George has a sixth sense for open paint cans.  How does he always seem to find them?  At least this time it was outside and not on our new carpet.

Well, I do have a few more pictures from June, but they really  warrant their own blog posts.  So stay tuned for more adventures from MUD RUN 2016, as well as our Mini Family Getaway up North.

May Pictures

Oh dear.  Where has the time gone?  It's almost July, but I am just now posting our May pictures.

The kids are reading nicely for the moment, so I'm gonna try and do some catch up.  I have to move quickly before they notice me being productive and thwart my plans!

 

Now, looking back at May...

 

We visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies blooming.

 

Brothers in their striped polo shirts.

 

Claire liked how the flowers matched her dress

 

Claire wanted her picture taken in the butterfly chair...

 

But oh the scowl on her face when Henry jumped in as well.   I love how he has his hand on her leg so innocently while she gives her death glare.

 

Also in May, Claire had her school concert. 

She was happy to be in the front row, smack dab in the middle. 

 

I love being able to chaperon class trips, and in May, the 1st graders went to Blandford Nature Center to learn about birds.

Claire loved the chance to be with her best friend Amelia.  They aren't in class together anymore, so it's really special for them to have this time together.

best buddies

Seeing Claire have so much fun with her friend makes my heart happy.

 

A big month for Claire who also had her Mystery Guest presentation at school.

She researched Helen Keller, and then had to do a speech in front of her class.  Her classmates would then guess who she was.

In the picture above she was sitting with classmate Gabe who was also waiting to do his Mystery Guest presentation that day. 

 

She did a Wonderful Job!

She gave great information so her classmates could figure out who she was.

 

I don't know if all schools do this, but our kids have school pictures taken at the beginning of the year and then again halfway through the year.  I don't pay much attention to the mid-year pictures, but it is pretty fun to see what comes back, especially since it's not too often the kids are able to forgo their uniforms to wear whatever their little hearts desire.

 

Classic Henry in his shark sweater and camouflage pants.

Claire in her favorite fleece and her cozy slippers.

 

Still settling into our house, I set up a makeshift grill one evening to make our Patty Melts.  Joe seemed to find this amusing.

 

Claire wanted a picture of her block village before George knocked it over.  

Smart move Claire!  She is an experienced Big Sister by now.

 

Speaking of George...I just had to snap a picture of

him helping himself to the water pitcher.

Now is that a guilty face or what!

 

Well that was our May, full of great memories. 

I will try to tackle June in the near future.

George's Birthday

Happy Birthday George!  You are two years old.

 

 

We had fun as a family, celebrating your big day.

 

We spent the morning at Frederik Meijer Gardens

playing in the Great Lakes Water Park.

And on our way out of the park we came across their

children's Japanese garden that we spent some time at.

 

After we got home, you went down for a nap and the rest of us worked outside.

You were happy to join us outside once you woke up.

 

Tools in hand, ready to help Dad with a little project.

Any day you get to use tools is a good day.

 

A rice krispy treat "cake" decorated by Claire and Henry

Blowing out your candles

A messy spaghetti meal for dinner.

 

George, you are such a special two year old.  You are smart and clever in ways that surprise us every day.  Your favorite pastime is likely working on house projects.  You would choose a tool over a toy any day.  But you also wouldn't pass up the chance to play outside or play ball.  You are incredibly mobile for a 2-year-old, climbing jungle gyms that, quite frankly, frighten us.  You may not say much, but we know you understand everything, and you communicate with your own system of grunts.  Your vocabulary includes Daddy, Momma, Up, Go, More, Dog, Woof, Ball and lately a good effort with the words Basketball and Grandpa.  You are a great eater, and are adjusting well to life without eggs.    You are a happy, playful boy...unless you aren't able to do something yourself or if we have to tell you "no".   Then you will certainly express your disapproval.  Oh George, how I wish you could stay two forever.  You are awesome!