Happy Father's Day!

As a Father's Day surprise for Grandpa, we reserved the caboose on the Little River Railroad. We also kept the secret from the boys... otherwise, Grandpa would have found out immediately! Everyone was so excited when they learned about the trip this morning. After an early lunch, we drove to Coldwater which is about an hour away. We had some time to explore the station and see the train before we had to board. The caboose was a lot of fun. It had two benches, a lookout you could climb up to, and front and back porches. For the first leg of the trip, the caboose was directly behind the engine. The boys got to see the coupling, watch the bell ring, and hear the whistle loud and clear. We went for about a 30 minute ride down the line. Then we got to watch them uncouple the engine and switch it to a side track. It moved to the opposite side of the train so then we were in the traditional caboose position. Then we could watch the track as we made the return trip.  There were smiles all around during the adventure!

In the lookout

So excited!

Watching the engine switch tracks

Camping, Soccer Camp, and Coach Pitch

On Friday night, Phil and William camped out in a tent in the backyard. William was pretty excited (and hyper) but fell asleep before it was completely dark. They slept through the night and came back in around 7:30 Saturday morning. On Saturday, we drove up to Grand Rapids to spend some time at festival. We had lunch at the downtown market and took in some of the kid activities. Then we went to our friend's house in EGR for dinner with several other families. 

Today, William started soccer camp. It is Monday - Friday at the Portage Northern soccer fields which are right next to his preschool. The camp is an hour and a half each day. William seemed to have a good time. The structure is very similar to his soccer class he took but it is much more fun to play outside! This evening, William had his first coach pitch t-ball game. He "struck out" his first time at bat and had to hit off the tee. But, he was the last batter so he got to run all the bases. On his third time at bat, he hit a ground ball down the first base line which was exciting.

The Brave Campers

 

Ready for the Night

GRAM Fountain

Building a Boat

Are they sea worthy?

Soccer Camp

Huddled up before the t-ball game

Official t-ball team photo

Cousins!

The boys and I took a quick trip to Detroit to visit Grann and spend some time with Aunt Maran and Allie. The kids played for a while and Grann's and then we went to see the progress at Maran and Josh's new house. The boys played in the yard for a while and then we walked over to take some pictures at Uncle Andrew's house. On Friday morning, we drove to Ann Arbor and spent a little time visiting the "hot spots" on North Campus. Then we met Aunt Maran and Allie for a picnic lunch at the playground.

Then and Now

Echo Circle

Wave Field

Nature Center

The boys and I took a trip to the Kalamazoo Nature Center this morning. It was a perfect day to be outside! There were a lot of school field trips there but the boys didn't mind. We walked through the interpretive center and then walked one of the trails.  After that, we explored a new area and were directed to "Nature's Playground."  They had tunnels, a natural teeter-totter, balance beams, etc.  They also had a small stream with bridges that the boys loved playing on.  We spent another hour in that area.    

Looking Good!

Trip to South Haven

On Friday, Grann came to visit. It was a beautiful night, so we grilled and ate out on the patio. Phil decided William could stay up to watch part of the playoff hockey game... but they both fell asleep in the second period. On Saturday morning, the boys slept in. After breakfast, we decided to take a trip to South Haven so the boys could play on the beach for a bit. We found parking along the channel, and walked through town and down the pier. The boys hit the beach while Grann and I walked through town for a bit. After about an hour and a half on the beach, we went and picked up sandwiches in town and ate in a little park. The South Haven Farmer's Market was taking place so we walked through that for a while. When we got home, we played in the yard - baseball, hockey, etc. We grilled and ate outside again and then started a fire for s'mores.

After Grann left on Sunday, we took our bikes (and the Burley for Alex)to Celery Flats and rode to Milham Park for a picnic lunch. It was about 8 miles round trip. William did a great job riding. He even had the thrill of a wild turkey cutting across the trail right in front of him. William and Phil went to the pool for a while in the afternoon. While we were out playing, we heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood. It has been MIA for the past month so we were very excited. Unfortunately, after a few minutes the music stopped and it never made an appearance on our street. So we took the boys out for frozen yogurt instead.

Hey guys, wait for me!

The water was still pretty chilly

Picnic in the Park

Waiting for the ice cream truck

Keeping busy now that school is out

Now that school is out, the boys and I have been finding creative ways to stay busy at home.

Heading to the pool

Worn out from all the fun

Maguran "Automatic" Toy Car Wash

Like Father, Like Son