Fun Day in GR

The boys and I (including Winger) went to Grand Rapids today to visit Grandma.  We took a trip to the Thornapple River to walk along the dam.  The river was so high and the water was pouring out the dam so fast.  It was cool to see.  Then we went into EGR and had lunch outside at Crazy Charlie's followed by dessert at Jersey Junction.  Winger did great at both places.  Finally, we went to the Hofmeyer's.  The boys and Winger had so much fun playing in the backyard.  Winger explored, played fetch, and just ran around with Frankie.  He was so tired, he actually slept in the car on the way home.

Cherry Picking

Today, the boys and I picked sweet cherries at Husted Market.  They always enjoy cherry picking because they get to climb the trees and use ladders.  

Summer Fun

We've been making the most of the first week and a half of summer break! 

Hot and Sweaty after the last day of school.  But, we made it!

Building hydraulic arms and desk lamps

A birthday party for a friend in the neighborhood

Swimming at the home of a hockey teammate

Whiffle Ball games have already started!

It's summer!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Phil!  On Saturday night, he camped out with the boys in the backyard.  On Sunday, he went for a bike ride in Al Sabo and then we picked up Jimmy John's and went to Asylum Lake for a hike.  Then we went to the fish hatchery and picked up lemonade slushies on our way home.  We finished the night by grilling a late dinner just before the storms came through.

Great Season Portage Central

Portage Central High School's baseball team made it to the state semi finals on Thursday.  The boys and I drove to East Lansing for the 9am game.  We had great first row seats and saw lots of our Portage friends there.  Portage won 5-1 against Midland Dow.  On Saturday morning, we went back to East Lansing for the championship game.  It was a cool, drizzly morning and unfortunately, Portage lost to Grand Blanc 8-3.  Since it was raining, the boys and I went to stand under an overhang for a while.  Will took our umbrella and went to stand by the fence in the outfield.  He was there when a Portage player (Barasosky - playing for Tennessee next year) hit a home run over the right field fence.  Will went back into the woods and found the ball.  We sent a note to the dad of one of the other players on the team to see if Barasosky would want it back but it looks like Will just has a nice souvenir from the game.  

We were on the Wood TV Twitter feed

Home Run Ball

Annual Trip to Mandigo Farm

Today was our annual visit to Mandigo Farm for strawberry picking.  Next on the agenda: strawberry jam and ice cream!

Muskies - First Win!

 The Muskies had a baseball tournament in Byron Center this weekend.  Alex pitched in their first game against Elite Care Baseball Club (ECBC).  They ended up losing 9-2 but Alex struck out 5 kids and made several defensive plays for outs.  Their second game was against the West Michigan Broncos and they won 10-9!  It was a very exciting game and we were all so happy for the boys.  They finally decided to swing their bats and got a lot of hits.  On Sunday, they played their third game at 1pm.  The played a team from Ada, MI that beat the Broncos pretty badly on Saturday.  They worked hard and ended up winning 15-7 (mercy after the 4th inning).  The win sent them to the championship game which was against ECBC again.  Unfortunately, they didn't get the win but we are thrilled they were tournament runners-up!