Friday, September 26, 2014

A Hodge Podge Post

An after school nap

Youth Group opening event.

I hope to never forget how every day Joe shares his
sandwich with Henry.  In parenting, it's about the little things.

Heads up, Buttercup

Our annual NICU Reunion was Super Hero themed.




Tuckered out following our afternoon of fun.

But there was more fun to follow.
We then went to Grand Haven to visit with my family.

Sylvia, Gracie, Claire and Ruby
Looking Pretty

The matching super hero outfits were not planned, 
but they put them to good use flying from the steps.


Ruby loving on George.

[The Many Faces of George Elliot ]

"I'm Tough"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Put 'em up"

"Enough said"


Saturday, September 6, 2014

This Week

This week, Claire started Kindergarten.

The night before the big day.

Finding her friends from church on the playground prior to school.
Jumping up and down in excitement.


Already in love with her teacher.


No turning back.

This week, Henry celebrated his new found freedom.


This week, George turned 3 months old.

Enjoying the battle of breaking out of his swaddle.

His new blanket made by Aunt Bette.

This week, we watched a wedding from our windows.

Our neighbor married in her back yard.  

This week, we went to the zoo.

We saw lions.

And tigers.

And then over by the bear exhibit, 
we saw a unique species - a rare breed of John Youngs.
How exciting!

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Crystal Mountain #3

It's our last day at Crystal Mountain, and the kids 
are ready to enjoy every last minute.

George wants to play Hide-n-Seek.  Can't hardly see
 him as he tries to blend in with the bed sheets.

Sad to say good-bye to our room.

After packing up and checking out, we had a few more activities 
we wanted to do before we headed for home.

Feeding the fish 


The last thing on our agenda was to ride the Alpine Slide, 
a toboggan-like cart that goes down the mountainside.

Claire practices on the cart before heading up for the real thing.

Claire was a bit nervous at first, but she ended up loving it.

Joe and Henry getting on the chair lift.


Henry had no fear.  When I went up with him, he wouldn't even let me hold onto him.  I asked him, "Aren't you scared at all?".  He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No Mommy.  There's a seat here". 

The boys had a need for speed.


Heading home, all three kids slept.  
They were tuckered out from our mini-vacation.

Back home in his own bed.  
Raise your hand, George, if you want to go again soon.

Claire's Favorite Activity: The Alpine Slide
Henry's Favorite Activity: The Alpine Slide
George's Favorite Activity: Eating and Sleeping

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Crystal Mountain Day #2

The beginning of day #2 was a bit rainy, so we headed over to the indoor pool to do a bit of swimming.  Unfortunately, that too was closed.  I had a good back up plan though.  We headed back to our room where we filled up the whirlpool tub.  

We had a lot of fun pretending to be sharks in our "mini pool".

By late morning, the rain cleared, and so we decided to go for a hike on the Art Park Trail.  The trail is about 1.5 miles long and has nearly 50 art pieces along the way. The kids loved running from one to the next.

Henry's favorite was this airplane replica.

Claire's been learning about roots and was excited to find some 
along the trail.  She even wanted her picture taken with one.

A fun fort towards the end of the trail.  
The inside was a maze that eventually took us all the way to the top.
Can't hardly see us up there!

After our hike we headed back to our room for a much needed quiet time.

Then back to the pool for the remainder of the afternoon.  




Eating at the on-site restaurants was getting a bit pricey, so we decided to save some money and put our room's mini-kitchen to good use.  

Our own "fancy" dinner where we continued to practice our restaurant manners.

After dinner, we ventured back outside.  There were a lot of activities going on.  We listened briefly to the concert on the front lawn, but the kids were eager to head out on their bikes.

Henry loves his new big boy bike.  
Because Claire's bike tire was a bit low, her training wheels kept spinning out.  So she decided she'd rather push George's stroller....

and Joe could ride her bike.

I'd say he did quite well!

A fun day for everyone!  But it's time to get tucked in.

Claire's favorite part of the day: swimming in the "mini-pool"
Henry's favorite part of the day: the airplane on the nature hike
George's favorite part of the day: eating and sleeping

May 2020

First bike ride of the year! And George's first time without training wheels! Such a champ! Enjoyed lots of bike rides during quarantine...