Day at the Beach

On Saturday, we decided to take a ride out to South Haven for the day. It was about a 50 minute drive and we got into town around 10am. We had never been before and really enjoyed it. The downtown was very cute and we were able to park and walk around for a bit. We found the road to the pier/lighthouse and walked down. Alex loved the boats and all the rocks. Will was excited when we found the beach. The boys spent about an hour and a half playing in the water and the sand. Then we walked back into town and grabbed lunch before heading home. We will definitely go back next summer!

On Sunday, we had about 35 of our neighbors over for a cookout. It was nice to meet some of the people from the other end of the block and the boys had fun playing with all the other kids.  

Checking out the boats on the river



So happy to be at the beach!

Best Buds

The house cleared out a little on Monday - we were down to 9. In the morning, we took the kids to the pool. They had fun swimming for a while. We had the place to ourselves which was kind of nice. After lunch, the kids did more experiments with their water creatures and made more mud pies. Then the older kids got to go see "Planes." We had a very relaxed dinner and had some ice cream for dessert - except for Alex. He and Aunt Sara had special treats in the living room. The kids then played with glow sticks and chased "ghosts" around the yard. They were all pretty worn out after 3 days of excitement.

More family fun!

On Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast at home and then went over to the 12th Street playground.  The big kids had a lot of fun playing fire fighter (and were too quick to catch on camera) and the little kids had fun climbing, sliding, and swinging.  They also found a bunch of rocks which were endless fun.  In the afternoon, they put their swim suits on for a water balloon and super soaker fight.  They also made a bunch of mud pies.  We ordered in pizza for dinner and enjoyed the nice weather outside.  Then we had a visit from the ice cream truck and all the kids got treats.  We finished the night with s'mores by the fire pit. 

Full House

We had a full house this weekend. We had a total of 15 people over (13 of which stayed at our house). Everyone had a great time visiting. On Friday afternoon, Grann arrived and we played at the house and did some grilling. On Saturday morning, Aunt Maran, Uncle Josh, and Allie showed up. We went for a walk/bike ride and played while we waited for Mimi and G-Bob to get here. After lunch, the little kids took a nap while the rest of us waited for the crew from Cincinnati: Aunt Sara, Uncle Jeff, Abbey, Owen, and Lyla. We spent the evening playing bean bags, running around the yard, grilling, and celebrating Grann's birthday. We took a lot of great pictures from the weekend. Here is the first batch:

Alex, where's your...

I've been trying to get this on video for quite a while but whenever the camera is rolling he gets distracted. Either with saying "cheese" for the camera or because of something Will is doing.

Mini Golf

Lots of Rain

We have had a lot of rainy days lately. We made the best of it by going to the mall for the first time. Will was very excited because there were 6 escalators (compared to 4 at Woodland in Grand Rapids). Three in the anchor stores and three in the actual mall itself (2 story mall). Unfortunately, they don't have a Barnes & Noble attached or a play area but there was a carousel and a small fountain which kept them busy. We also went to the Air Zoo. The boys now each have their pilot's licenses - a badge they can wear around their neck while there. It entitles them to a free popcorn at each visit... I have a feeling there will be a lot of requests for the Air Zoo! We had some serious rains on Wednesday. We got to play on the front porch and watch it rain... we also did a few garage picnics which both kids enjoy. On the couple nice days we've had, we've gone to the playground, hunted worms, and found grasshoppers in the yard.

Giggling with Grandpa

 Balloon ride at the Air Zoo

Alex wants to ride the parachute drop, too!

Grasshopper

First trip to the Kalamazoo Mall

Watching a little PBS

Playing pool

Watching the rain



Will's fun trick

Collecting worms

Naturally this was going to be the outcome...