Fall Fun

It was a beautiful fall weekend in Kalamazoo. On Saturday morning, we went to the greenhouse just up the road. They had a petting zoo, hay rides, treasure hunt, etc. for kids. We spent about an hour and a half there before we had to go to soccer. After dinner, we went to the Air Zoo for the "High on Kalamazoo" balloon festival. It was really neat to see all the hot air balloons. There were probably about 30 balloons total. After sunset, they would light there flames and the balloons would glow. It was very pretty. 

 On Sunday, Phil and William got up early to drive to Detroit for the Tigers game. They both had a lot of fun. Alex and I just played at home and then went up to Will's school after nap. I volunteered for the "beautification" committee and we had some work to do in the front beds. Alex spent the two hours on the playground with a few other kids.

Moorsbridge Road Rally

Today was the "Moorsbridge Road Rally" which is the big PTO fundraiser for William's school. Instead of selling wrapping paper, magazines, etc. the kids ask friends and family to sponsor them as they run laps around the bus loop (about 1/10 of a mile). Each grade level ran at a different time. It was so much fun to watch! The kids ran for 20 minutes and collected wrist bands for each lap they ran. They had a DJ and confetti shooter which added to the fun. William did a great job. He ran the full 20 minutes and completed 12 laps.

Lining up for the run

Collecting his first wristband

Mrs. Grindall chasing him down to take off his sweatshirt

He looks so fast!

Mitchell and William post run

A nice looking class

Wristbands!

Mums and More!

Today, Alex and I went up to Grand Rapids after William got on the bus. We ran a few errands and went to the Botanical Gardens to see their "Mums and More" exhibit. Everything was so pretty. It definitely put you in the mood for fall. It was also the first day of Art Prize so we were able to see a few of the entries. Then we went into Gaslight Village to throw pennies in the fountain and have lunch at Derby Station. We sat outside and watched all the construction vehicles driving by - Alex loved that! Then we stopped and Grandma and Grandpa's to water their flowers before heading home.

Someone is sick of pictures

The morning scooter gang

Weekend Activities

On Saturday morning, I got up and drove to Chicago for Katie's bachelorette party. I met up with the girls for brunch at at cute place called Angelina's. After brunch, we did some shopping in a few neighborhoods before heading back to Michigan Avenue. Then we all went back to the hotel. I visited until about 8pm and then took a cab back to my car so I could head home. While I was gone, Phil took the boys to Will's soccer game and then out to lunch at a McDonalds with a 2 story play structure. They also watched the Michigan game and went to the park after dinner.  

On Sunday, we went to the Nature Center because they had "Music in the Woods." We were able to listen to some music, see some animals, and do a few activities. We had to leave mid afternoon because we had a neighborhood block party Sunday afternoon. We set up in the cul-de-sac and had a pretty good turn-out: 7 of the 11 houses on the block were represented. We grilled, played bean bags, had s'mores, etc. It was a lot of fun.

Cousins

A bench in Boys' Town

Brunch

Screech Owl and Turtles

Making bubble wands

At the block party (Will is icing his first bee sting)

Kindergarten Fun

Last Thursday, we had an Open House at Will's school. He really enjoyed showing off his classroom and some of the projects they have been working on. On Friday, I was able to go in and help out during Kindergarten lunch. I opened a lot of Go-gurts, opened milk cartons, put in straws, etc. Will was pretty excited to see me and I was excited to see him with all his friends!  Each grade has their own lunch period so the cafeteria wasn't too crowded - only about 80 kids.  

William's Table

Mitchell (also on Will's soccer team), William, and Marius

Parker was there, too!

"Tight - Right" - ready to walk back to class

Kids Gym

Today, Alex started a class at Kids Gym. He has been wanting to take classes since we went there for William's birthday party. They didn't offer classes over the summer so this was our first opportunity! He was so excited all morning. He was a little disappointed at first that he wasn't able to just run around and do whatever he wanted. But he settled in and listened to the teachers. There were three different circuits that they did. The last one was definitely his favorite since it included the big trampoline and the foam pit. He was sad to leave.

Bear Crawl

Ta Da!

Monkey Rings

Spider Walk

The First Week of Kindergarten

William had a great first week of Kindergarten. To celebrate, he was able to pick where we went for dinner on Friday night. He chose Airway Lanes so we could ride go carts, play some games, and go bowling in addition to having pizza. William loved his first go cart experience and he broke 100 in one game of bowling. Alex did pretty good as well. Late Friday night, we lost power and it was still out when we woke up. So we went out to breakfast. Fortunately, the lights were back on by the time we got home. At noon, William had his first AYSO soccer game. We got to the field a little early so he could get his uniform. His team decided on "Golden Ninjas" as their team name. We also found out that one of his classmates is on the team.  Late Saturday afternoon, we moved a TV out to the porch so we could watch football and enjoy the fall weather.