Will's Birthday Party

Will decided he wanted to have just a few friends over for a sleepover for his birthday this year. The boys came over around 5pm on Saturday, We ordered pizza and had cake and ice cream in baseball had helmets. The boys ran around and played and then settled in to watch The Sandlot before bed. In the morning, we did pancakes for breakfast and they played until about 11am. Alex was invited to spend the night at a friend's house (younger brother of someone at Will's party) so he had a fun night, too!

Money Balloons

West Portage Opening Day

Saturday was opening day for West Portage Little League. Both boys had games at 9:30am and then we stayed for the team parade and for lunch. It was fun to see all the kids and families at the ball field.

Happy 9th Birthday, William!

This kid turned 9 years old today!

William's Pitching Debut

William had his first Little League game on Monday night and it was his first time pitching in a game. He did great - he struck out all six batters he faced in the first two innings. Then he played in the field. Kid Pitch is a whole new game - lots of walks and "hit by pitch."

Girls' Weekend in Sutton's Bay

Last weekend, I went up to Sutton's Bay with my high school friends. I went to Grand Rapids on Friday morning, and four of us drove to pick up Lauren at the Traverse City Airport. We were staying at her parent's house in Sutton's Bay which is just north of our property. We had a fun weekend of shopping, wine tasting, and good meals. We also made a quick stop at our property and saw a bald eagle perched on one of our tall trees. A neighbor drove by and told us we were on the eagles' migration path and there were often bald eagles on that particular tree. While I was up north, Alex was in Grand Rapids with Grandma and Grandpa. Phil and William were at Will's first travel baseball tournament.

Igloos at Hop Lot

West Michigan Wild

Lunch at Mama Lou's

Bald Eagle Sighting

View from our Property

Tonsils and Adenoids

William had his tonsil and adenoid surgery on Tuesday morning. The whole procedure was surprisingly quick. We arrived at 9:30 to fill out paperwork and they took us back to meet with the doctor, anesthesiologist, and nurses by 10:00. We chatted briefly with everyone and then they took William back for the procedure. He was so calm and relaxed - they didn't have to give him anything for nerves. The surgery lasted about 45 minutes and we were able to see him very soon after it was done. He woke up quickly and without any issues. He had some juice and a popsicle and we were on our way home by noon. He is such a trooper! He is on pain medicine every 3 hours. He says his throat hurts but has been eating soft foods: mac and cheese, pudding, and ice cream. He only woke up once during the night. He's been reading, watching some movies and catching up on school work.

Pre-Surgery

Taggie is Ready

Off he goes!

Post Surgery

Heading Home

Cookie Monsters

Happy Belated Easter

The boys decided they wanted the Easter Bunny to come to our house as usual even though we would be at the beach for Easter. That way, they would have something to look forward to when we got home from our trip. We got home around 9pm on Saturday. The boys saw that the Easter Bunny had paid us a visit, however, they decided to wait until Sunday morning to actually hunt for them. We also dyed Easter eggs and did our traditional outdoor hunt in the afternoon.

Final day in Clearwater

On Friday morning, everyone else left for the airport. We decided to rent a double kayak for the morning and took turns paddling the boys around. Then we had lunch at Frenchy's Saltwater Cafe before spending one last afternoon at the beach. The boys said goodbye to the pool and we took in one more sunset. Then we went to bed early because we got on the road at 2am. We had a wonderful time!

These boys love calamari!

Pier 60

Love Will's puffy hair!

A final sand castle

Last dip in the pool