Such a Big Boy!

Best Buds

Jailbirds

We're Moving!

Scream Contest

Trip to Holland

We took advantage of the sunny morning, and took a trip to Holland with Grandma and Grandpa. We spent some time at the playground and then threw rocks in the lake (a favorite pastime of the boys). Then we enjoyed lunch on the deck at Boatwerks.

Singing by the fountain

Loves the Swings

Throwing rocks in the water



Lunch at Boatwerks

Sweet William

Will's Last Day of School

Will's last day of school was last Thursday. He was pretty excited to start summer vacation... but was even more excited to bring in all the treats and gifts for his friends and teachers. As we were leaving, he got lots of hugs and goodbyes from everyone.


Getting ready to leave for school

Outside Generations



Heading to class



Going through the little door one last time...



Saying Goodbye to Miss Nikki



Heading Home

Fallasburg Park

We took a quick trip to Fallasburg Park yesterday so the boys could see the covered bridge. We also played on the playground, threw rocks in the river, and had lunch at the Flat River Grill in Lowell. It was a beautiful day!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a very nice weekend. On Thursday night, we went to a cooking class at Food Dance in Kalamazoo. It was up on the rooftop and focused on grilling recipes and techniques. It was so much fun and we ate a ton of delicious food.

On Friday night, Phil and Will went to another Griffins game. It was game 4 of the Championship and the arena was sold out.  Unfortunately, the Griffins lost but they still had a lot of fun.

On Saturday morning, we walked up to the Clothesline Art Festival in Gaslight and then Will had a birthday party in the afternoon.  It was at MVP and the kids got to jump in the bounce house and go swimming.  He had a great time.

On Sunday morning, we went to brunch at 616 for Father's Day.  Then we went to visit Grandpa for a little bit.  After lunch, Phil and Will went to the playground and then we spent a lot of time in the yard playing before dinner.

At one point this weekend, Will decided he wanted to climb up the chimney (interior) to see how Santa did it.  He had to put on some gear to make sure he didn't get dirty and was sure to use the bathroom before he started.  As you can see, he didn't get far but we were impressed with his determination.   

Snack at Reeds Lake

Will's favorite tree in EGR



Will needed a hat and gloves so he wouldn't get dirty

Making a plan

This was as far as he got

Fun in the Sprinklers

If at first you don't succeed...

...beg your parents to put your training wheels back on!

Wholesome Family Fun

We had a lot of quality time this weekend. On Friday, we picked Will up from school a little early and went down to Festival. We walked around, listened to music, did some of the kid activities, and had dinner. On Saturday morning, we went to Van's Pastry Shop for donuts and then went to the Farmer's Market. Then we went through a few of the shops in the area and let the kids play on the playground. After naps, our friends came over for dinner and Will had fun playing with Charlie in the backyard. On Sunday morning, we walked into town for coffee and then went to the Wealthy playground. Aaron and Sam joined us and the boys had so much fun playing with their friends. In the afternoon, we walked up to Sweet Yos for some frozen yogurt.

Who knew grocery shopping could be so much fun?

William the Lion

Picnic lunch with Lucy

Star Gazer

Festival!

Donuts at Vans

Fire Pole

Neighborhood Buddies

Aaron and Alex (and Phil)

Will and Sam

17 Months

Alex turned 17 months old a few days ago. He is talking up a storm. I went back and checked the blog for when Will was 17 months. He could say the following 17 words: up, mama, dada, eat, yum, hi, bye bye, milk (mak), duck, truck (guck), Oma (Ah-ma), down, arm, water (wawa), banana (nana), uh-oh, eit (light).

Alex is up to 53: up, dada, cup, car, dog, kiss (diss), shoes (ash), grandpa (grappa), poop, fish (ish), lunch (unch), all done, hot, uh-uh, bird (bir), banana (nana), lovey (ovey), cheese (eash), uh-oh, hi, cook, hug, sock (gock), mama, teeth, hat, bubble (bubba), chalk, stick, rock, trash, seat, block, down, arm, truck, top, William (e-um), book, crash, ball, pool, bath (baf), catch (getch), milk (mak), snack (ack), bye, go, brush, crumb, muffin (muf). 

These are words that he actually says in the correct context without prompting (i.e. pointing at a bird and saying bird).  He repeats a lot of other words but doesn't use them on his own yet.  It is going to be non-stop chatter in our house for the next 17 years...

Farmer Will

William had a very exciting day last Friday at school.  They went on a field trip to a dairy farm.  They got to ride a school bus, bring a packed lunch, and of course, visit the farm!  William got to feed a calf from a bottle, feed some cows corn out of his hand, drink milk straight from the udder, and go on a hay ride.  In addition, Miranda from WOTV was their with her camera crew and they ended up following the kids around.  Keep your eyes open for Will - he is shown multiple times but has a lot of screen time when feeding a calf a bottle (see below) and on the hay ride. 

Fourth generation farm keeps growing

The Great Train Adventure

Will and Grandpa took their second annual train ride to Holland today.  We dropped them off at the train station and then drove to the Holland station to pick them up.  Then we all went into Holland for breakfast and some shopping.  Will had a great time.  He has been asking to go again... and again... and again! 

Boarding the Train

So excited!



Ready to ride again!

Two Peas in a Pod

Fun in Holland

We had a very nice (and busy) weekend. On Friday night, we took advantage of the nice weather and walked up to Ramona's Table for dinner. William broke the news to Charlie (the owner) that we were moving. On Saturday morning, Phil went golfing with some friends so the boys and I went over to a friend's house for a play date. We had people over for a cook out Saturday night, so we spent the afternoon getting ready. After everyone left and the kids were in bed, we started tidying up the house for our open house on Sunday. Phil took the boys on a nature hike and to Java Gym Sunday morning so I could get the house ready. Then we all met at Grandma and Grandpa's at 1pm so Alex could nap and William could play during the actual open house. William and Grandpa went to the small pond across the street and did some fishing. We had some good feedback from the open house but no offers yet...

Puppy Love

Mud!

Fishing with Grandpa