Meijer Garden

We have taken a trip to Meijer Garden in Grand Rapids once a summer since Anika was little.  We almost ran out of time this summer but we squeaked it in.  We missed last summer as well, but that was an exception.  We first did the bog walk.  You walk through a swamp on a board walk.  We saw turtles, swans, a crane, geese, ducks and heard the bull frogs.  You end up at an old fashioned farm and the kids pump the water and we identify old farm tools. Then we head to the children's area and run through the maze to ring the bell, play in the great lakes with boats, and jump in the fountain.  Next we walk through the sculpture garden to visit the pretty waterfall, feed the koi fish goldfish crackers, see the big shovel and the man/woman sculpture, roll down the hill, and look at the big horse (you can see Brandon lieing on his hind leg).  It was a fun day - but it ended too quickly.  They closed at 5 pm and we got there a little before 4.  Better planning next time!

The Obstacle Course

This is what happens when you go away to work and leave four young minds home alone to set their imagination.  This is the obstacle course, made with yarn.  They tried to get through it without touching the strings but found that it was too hard, so they just crawled through and would help unstick each other when necessary.  Too funny!

The Scavenger Hunt

Brandon had birthday week.
He celebrated with grandpa and grandma in MN.
He celebrated on Monday with the pool party.
He celebrated on Tuesday with birthday breakfast with some friends and birthday supper with another friend.
He celebrated on Thursday with birthday supper.
He celebrated on Friday with birthday presents.
He celebrated on Saturday with birthday breakfast.

This was the first birthday scavenger hunt in this house.  It was fun sending them on clues up and down stair and in and outside and all over, just to find a few birthday presents.
Happy Birthday buddy - but its done now. Till next year.

Jessica's grin

A year ago, Jessica lost her first tooth ever at the cabin.

This year, she lost #3 - at the cabin.  She doesn't grow, nor do her teeth fall out.  Crazy kid.

Now I have to cut the corn off the cob for her.  I told her I vividly remember Grandma doing the same for me - I had lost both of them right around the time corn on the cob was ready, and she at least still has one!

The tooth fairy has been busy.  Brandon lost two teeth awhile back and has been sleeping with them in an envelope for weeks waiting for me to remember.  And Anika just pulled out another molar.  SOOOO, all three got a dose of change.  Maria is waiting and wiggling those very stuck baby teeth.  All in due time dear one!

Brandon turns 10

He's double digits.  He can't take a picture without pulling a crazy face.  He loves video games, sports, nerf wars, fishing, legos and all things boy.  He will willingly tell you a joke.  His brain is incredible quick and he has his father's humor - not sure how I feel about that yet.  He remembers EVERYTHING - also, not something I'm so sure about yet.

We love you Brandon.  Can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring.

After the adventures of Monday morning, we continued on into the afternoon.  Another family from church that we have come to know and love, had a pool party for Brandon's birthday.  We have spent HOURS - maybe weeks if you add it all up - in this pool over the last years and they have been such a blessing in our lives.  We miss them, the time they took to get to know us, the chats by the pool, and the fun we've had with them.  It was good to share a few hours again.  There were soon many children and adults in the back yard.  Several families with friends to match up with our kids showed up and it was one big party.  Complete with Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Our kids all went home with someone else and we had an evening to relax and chat. 

I took off on the 6 AM flight the next day.  I had mom guilt over leaving Brandon on his actual birthday, but he had an amazing day.  Birthday breakfast with buddies, beach day, and an afternoon/evening of playtime with a friend he misses dearly.  A birthday he would not have had flying on an airplane with me for sure!

The girls experienced much of the same.  Beach day and playtime with friends.  Thank you all for filling up their hearts with the gift of love and friendship.  It was wonderful. It is hard to be back, hard to say goodbye without knowing when Hello will be said again.  But the memories are so wonderful.

Matt rounded up all the kiddos and brought them back to our hosts home on Tuesday night.  This family has been there for us since Matt started working at Faith.  Two of their kids went through youth group with us, we ate many suppers with them, we've laughed and cried and worked and played.  Thank you for being you and for taking care of us.

The trip home had its bumps.  The 6 AM flight was wide open but it takes a bit of time to make it through security in Minneapolis.  Turns out, the five of them arrived at the gate five minutes late.  So, Matt has 4 kids with him at 6 AM in the morning, in an airport, with about 5 hours of sleep.  Good times.  There weren't any seats open until the 11 AM flight, so they sat some more in Chicago, but made it to Muskegon by 6 PM and I was working the flight and marshalled them in.

I struggle with the questions these trips bring.  The same ones always come back.

When do we get to go back to MN?

When can we move back to MN?

Why did we have to move to MI?

I miss my friends.  

to which I reply..... so do i

There and back again

Anika is going to be reading The Hobbit this year in school so I thought 'There and Back Again' was a fitting title.

Tuesday rolled around and Matt and the kids took off on the plane for Chicago.  They easily made it on the flight to Sioux Falls, but the plane had a problem, so they had to get back off the flight.  They finally arrived a few hours late in Sioux Falls and Grandma Nancy was there to greet them.  They headed to Sioux Center and had a BLAST playing with 'cousins'.  Swimming, playgrounds, laughing, dressing up, good food and good memories.  It hurts to know they had this fun without me, but I'm oh so glad they had the fun.

Matt jumped right back on the plane and flew back to Chicago.  Because of the delay, he missed the flight to Muskegon, so I listed him on a LATE flight to Grand Rapids.  I picked him up around 12:20 AM and we were home by 1:30.  He and I took off again on Thursday and made it into Minneapolis late Thursday evening where we were met by some friends from church who graciously opened their home to us. 

My parents picked up the kiddos and kept them for a night.  Then they brought them to the Cities for a three hour supper gathering with friends.  From there, we said goodbye again and headed for our friends cabin near Brainerd, one of our favorite places on earth.

Fishing, swimming, knee boarding, tubing, splashing, laughing, skiing, and eating.  We were sad that their church had baptism Sunday, as we love worshiping with them.  But it was also an interesting experience to see baptism in the lake, and they had grilled chicken and corn on the cob for lunch afterwards.  I also scored a great new toffee brownie recipe.  Anika and Brandon both got up on skis, Brandon wakeboarded, Anika and Jessica went knee boarding, Anika, Brandon, and Jessica went tubing, and Maria and I hung out in the boat.  Matt and I said we are definitely getting old, as we were quite content to enjoy watching our kids have fun.  This is the first summer in several that I didn't ski, or even get in the lake!

Brandon's big large mouth bass catch

Sunday evening brought us back to the Cities and to our friends.  

Monday morning we were back to our old adventures.  Flying our the Cities with far too many children in one vehicle, way too much loud noises, and plenty of smiles and laughter.  We found the Wild Rumpus book store.  Its a quaint little store with live animals roaming freely inside, as well as many that are caged.  We got there during preschool storytime and they were singing a song about a boa constrictor eating you.  It was pretty cute.  The kids wandered and pulled books and sat down and read. Here they are reading all the elephant and piggy books that were on the shelf. If you don't know Gerald and Piggie, check out Mo Willems,  too funny!

There is even a little kids door cut into the larger adult door.  Both are functional.  The bathroom mirror is a fish tank.  When the lights are out, you can see the fish, when the lights are on, its a functional mirror.  Okee Dokee brothers CD was playing in the background.  We were there for 1 1/2 hours!

Driving out, we started talking about the rose garden and how we always wanted to go, but never stopped. Well, we stopped.  It was gorgeous, smelled great, and had fountains which provided plenty of fun and moisture for the smallest four.  The big kids were fine climbing trees.

getting really wet

I spy 4 little blondies

It was so much fun to feel normal again, and just watch them all play.  And, its always fun to find something you've always wanted to do, and DO it!

The first flight

So both of my jobs have benefits.  At the Y, we get a very cheap family membership and half price on classes.  I'm signing up for swimming lessons soon and maybe we'll take on a few other activities.  We'll see how crazy we want life to get.

The airport gets me free flights flying standby on any United flight.  Anywhere United flies, I can fly standby for free.

We tried it out.  

We had planned a 12 day trip to IA and MN way back in May - maybe earlier.  When I went to the interview, I mentioned our plans for the trip.  My new boss was not eager or hopeful, but offered a bit of promise.  As time went on, I started devising plans in my head as to how the kids could still have the vacation, but I would have to stay back and work.  And I started putting the plan into action.  It took lots of sacrifice and miles and time from many people, but it happened.  THANK YOU!

It started a bit rocky.  Monday, August 6, I flew with the kids from Muskegon to Chicago.  The first flight.  It was funny to watch the reactions when the cargo bin closes or when the wheels are released for landing.  Overall they did great and really enjoyed it.

We tried to catch a flight to Sioux Falls, SD that afternoon.  I knew it was going to be close.  We went knowing that there really weren't enough seats, but my boss told me to go because, in his words, all we needed was one flight to be late and have a few people miss their connection and we would get on.  So, we went for it.

We were waiting to get on.  I had checked in with the gate agent so she knew who we were and that we needed 5 seats.  She was rooting for us, but not so hopeful.  I asked the kids if they would fly without me if 4 seats were available, and they said no.  The gate agent said the same thing!  The time for our plane to board came and went.  About 10 more minutes flew by and in that time, a few people who's flights had been late, showed up - one lady was REALLY late getting to the gate.  Our plane finally boarded.  There were 4 seats left. So, we didn't fit.  But, we would have fit if they had left on time.  Such is life flying standby!

So, I listed us on the flight to fly back to Muskegon.  I told the kids they had a story to tell when they got back to school anyway.  Who else got to fly to Chicago, have a McDonald's shake in the airport and fly back home this summer?

Brandon to the Big Hill Climb

This hill is about a mile from our house.  I assume by its location that the top of the hill is the top of the dune that leads directly down to Lake Michigan.  I wouldn't know, I haven't been to the top, but if it doesn't, its close.

We drive by it regularly and the gate to it is locked, but there's a sign above it that mentions a motorcycle club.  There are a few acres of empty land.  

We've wondered about this area for months.  Some friends of ours finally explained the situation.  It seems there are hill climb competitions all over the USA.  There are two hills - this one- and one in Ohio, that are used for the championship hill climb.  They alternate every other year, so riders only get to ride up this hill in one competition every two years IF they make it to the championships. Its a race from the gate at the bottom on your dirt bike to the people standing at the top.  Not everyone makes it.

Brandon's buddy and family were attending.  We had thought about going with them for the experience, but we had company and were enjoying them.  We decided to drop Brandon off, and oh did he have fun.  They sat close enough to the starting gate that when the dirt bikes took off, they got sprayed.  Our friends were talking about how it was nice that it was dry, there have been years where you sit there and get caked in mud. Nice.  

Brandon had a great time.  Thanks for giving him the experience.  Maybe in two years we'll all join you!

MN comes to MI

We have a crazy family.  Our neighbors shake their heads at us.  First, we live day to day here.  Never before has 'give us this day our daily bread' had so much meaning.  We rarely plan ahead, and if we do, its always preceded by IF or MAYBE.
I have run out of baking supplies more in the last 6 months than ever before.  Its good to be a planner, but I'm learning to live life this way, too.  And, its good to know the neighbors who provide the flour, sugar, eggs and chocolate chips when I have forgotten to plan for 'this days daily bread' or brownies.
They also shake their heads at us when its a red flag day.
Colored flags were a new thing for us.  Green means no current, safe swimming.  Yellow means slight current, swim at your own risk.  Red means, large waves, bad current NO swimming.  We LOVE red flag days.  In fact, the kids get quite excited when we get to the beach and see a red flag.  Now, we don't love all red flag days.  There was a red flag day when the Shields were here and we lasted at the beach a whole 5 minutes.  We've had that at least two other times since.  The wind is so bad you can't stand up, let alone enjoy the water.
BUT, there are some red flag days that the wind is whipping the waves but the sand and the beach are calm and comfortable.  This picture doesn't really do it justice.  But the other pictures I have only have one or two people in them because the waves were rolling in and some would be in front of the wave and others would be behind it so you can't see them.  See that grin on Jon's face.  That was me the first time we had a red wave day.  It is SOOOO much fun to jump and dive and swim and do everything in the waves that can get to 8 feet tall.

Jessica hung out with Jon and thoroughly enjoyed the time.  He would push her tube into a wave and she LAUGHED the whole way to the beach, riding it, and grinning. It was too funny.  They all managed to catch a few rides on those tubes. I have since purchased boogie boards, but I'm not sure they'll get used this summer!  Its getting chilly here already.  I love that, too.

Laura made special circle designs with chalk on our driveway.  They had a name, but I of course don't remember them.  My girls thought that was very cool.  They even decorated the neighbor's driveway.  Again, crazy neighbors that we are.

Kroeze's left and Amanda and Grace showed up. We took them to the beach, too.  Linda and Myrna showed up for lunch on Sunday.  It was a great weekend.

Ice cream with friends

I got to have ice cream with friends two different nights in two different weeks.  It had been three years since I had seen one of the friends and almost twenty years since I had seen the other one.  Facebook is a funny thing, but without it, ice cream would not have happened for sure with one, and maybe not with either friend. And, they couldn't have happened if we still lived in MN.
I had an amazing time.  The kind of time when you feel all filled up when you are driving home.  Not from the ice cream, but from the joy of knowing that some friendships are just plain wonderful.  They stand miles and time and just keep filling you up.
I'm not sure there was a moment of silence in the hours, yes HOURS, we spent together.  Both evenings ended because of time constraints, not because we were finished being together.
Sara, Kelly, thanks for taking the time to meet me half way.  I hope it can happen again next summer!

Family Camping

Camping.  Not sure who invented it, or why it has been handed down from generation to generation.  Very sure I am glad I never lived in the wild west and would use a rock for a pillow and no tent, air mattress or blanket.  But also sure the damp, stuffy insides of a tent where five people spend 10 hours all breathing the same air is not high quality sleeping.  Nor is the car alarm that goes off or the baby screaming 7 campsites down the road.

If you can't tell, I'm not much fond of camping.  I tolerate if for 36 hours or so because my kids think its quite the event.  I went to Calvinette camp growing up so I probably spent 5 or 6 nights of my life in a tent before marriage.  I loved Calvinette camp but I was young and don't even remember not sleeping well, waking up with a wet sleeping bag, or barely breathing oxygen.  Ok, I'm catastrophizing.

My kids LOVE camping.  I have promised them one night a summer and this was the third summer I have carried through on my promise.  They think its sheer torture that I won't go on long trips or last for more than one night, but I stand by my promise. I tell them they can whine about having one night, and I'll take it away, or they can be grateful they get one night at all!

I do get better at it every time.  We remembered a welcome mat and flashlights this year, so that was a definite improvement. I even made a list of 'must haves' so hopefully next year it won't take much thought at all.

The first camping trip was with 5 families from MN and we just picked a campground and a weekend and went for it.  The kids had a great time.  It was a huge playdate sleepover.  Last year, we went with friends and a few people from church.  Again, a great time and a huge playdate sleepover.  This year was Celebration church's first annual church campout.  I was a bit worried that that allure of camping would be lost in the fact that there weren't any friends.  I figured the kids liked camping because of the excitement and when the excitement was removed, camping wouldn't be so much fun.  Maybe I was hoping that.  Anyway, I was dead wrong.  They still love camping.  And there were people there to play with.  I had to work so I came late and the first thing Jessica said to me - Mom, there are like 1,000 kids here'.  So much for not having people to play with.  A couple from church were in the site next to us and they have a girl Jessica's age and a 3 year old boy. Brandon loves to play big brother to him and Matt and I enjoy their company as well.  Another couple from church have spent years camping with their kids who are now grown but still have the huge tent.  Matt and I stood around and watched them put up the huge tent that we slept in.  We were very encouraging and even held up things and pushed and pulled when told.  They brought the tarp and took it down for us, too. 

So, all in all, it was a good 24 hours.  And, it was the first time Matt had ever come with us.  They had a service at the campground on Saturday evening that Matt led and had pulpit supply at church on Sunday morning.  From what we understand, both services were about equally attended.  Matt, Brandon and Jessica went fishing and Anika and Maria went swimming.  We ate pudgy pies and smores and barely slept.  It took 3 days to catch up with the laundry.  The kids loved it, we tolerated it, and maybe next year I'll last 30 hours.  We'll see.

Muskegon County Fair

Muskegon County Fair

Sounds exotic doesn't it.  This may be one adventure that is not repeated next year.  BUT, it was an adventure none the less.  Its free to get in and all the activities are free - except the Grand Stand which is more like the bleachers on the visiting side of a high school football stadium.

There was a swine and goat barn, an arts and crafts barn, a bird and rabbit barn, and a beef and dairy barn.  In the middle of the cow barn there was a petting zoo with several animals to investigate. There was a free face painting booth but the line was more than I had patience for so I told the kids we would come back to it.  When we got back to it, it was closed for the evening.  Not the best mommy moment.  And there were pony rides, but you had to pay for those, so we didn't do that.  We looked in the arts and crafts barn to see if we should enter their school art work next year. It would be very doable, so we'll have to see what next year brings. We spent most of the evening at the horse arena - the open air fenced in sand area with picnic tables and a few bleachers on one side.  We watched reining (the riders had to tell their horse to turn, back up, etc) and we watched barrel racing.  Jessica and Maria LOVE horses so they thought it was a good time.

Fun with Cousins

Kurt and Sheila and family came to play.  It was a crazy weekend with all my hours working, but they endured my being gone, took our kids with them on adventures, and we got to do several all together!  Brandon loved having a boy around and the girls had fun.  Brooke went to volleyball camp with Anika two of the days.  We played kickball, wii, went to the Grand Haven musical fountain (the highlight was the HUGE barge that went through in the middle of the show) and went to the beach - several times. We LOVE the beach.  We went for a walk to Pierre Marquette which is Muskegon's prime beach. Its actually rated one of the top 10 beaches in the USA.  There are LOTS of sand volleyball courts, a light house, and the day we were there - a few kite surfers which are plenty of fun to watch.

Thanks for coming guys! It was great to have you.  Come on back anytime!

Let the fun begin

I started working at the airport.

Matt turned 46.

The youth group from MN came to visit.

All on the same day.

It was a good day.

It was a busy day.

It was a fun day.

Matt's birthday was really pretty much ignored.  The kids all said Happy Birthday to him and I gave him a box of fudge covered Oreos a few weeks later.  The youth group showed up with scotcheroos for him and we had ice cream sundaes with the youth group.  We took them to our friends house that live right on the lake. They are an amazing host and hostess.  Food galore and wonderful ice cream sundaes. I even got in on the fun after my first shift at the airport.  The kids were impressed with our little ocean and the house on it!

The youth group was on its way to SERVE in Toronto, Ontario. Seems they had a good trip, which we are thankful for, and we were glad to have seen them!  They slept on the floor in our church and were off the next morning.

The airport job is kinda fun and it definitely keeps me busy.  I actually started two jobs.  They are both very different but I enjoy them both.  We'll have to see what happens to our schedules once school starts and with it all the practices and things.  I still have 3 weeks of training to do in Denver which could prove to be interesting as well.  The airport is small and there are only two flights a day.  Around noon a flight comes in from Chicago and then flies back.  The same thing happens around 6:30 PM.  We do the ticket counter, the gate, and all the loading and unloading of the plane outside.  Four people work a flight.  I am only trained to do the outside work, so I unload and load luggage and I marshall (use the cool orange wands to tell the plane where to go).

Blueberry picking

Adventure.
Anika is tired of that word.  Maybe I use it too much.  When the kids were little, we ran errands together.  Matt always called it an adventure when he ran errands with the kids and they always wanted to go.  I have taken up using the word whenever we are embarking into the unknown.  Something we have never done before.  Someplace we have never been before.  Life is full of adventures, especially when you move.  Going to the grocery store or library is an adventure, although now, the grocery store is an errand.  But sometimes its still an adventure when you are looking for where the store stocks a product you don't buy often, like quinoa.  I was in several aisles before I found its location in Meijer.  Thus, an adventure.  This is the part where Anika rolls her eyes and smiles at me - more of a smirk actually.
WELL.  We had an adventure with Aunt Kathy.  We met half way between our homes at a blueberry field near Coopersville, MI.  I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but all the little blue/purple dots on the bushes are blueberries.  I had NO IDEA blueberries grew like this nor that the bushes got so full.  We picked for around a half hour and barely moved. There were so many blueberries! And they were OH so delicious.  We mainly picked from the taller bushes as we liked the taste of that variety better and they were more ripe and ready to be picked.
You wear the bucket around your shoulder, put your hand under the big bunch of blueberries and barely put your fingers together and you have a huge handful.  They just fall off into your hand then you put them in the bucket.  And they grow at all heights, perfect for a family to pick.
We had a friend of Anika's with for that morning so she got in on the adventure, too.  And, it ended with ice cream.
All in all, a great adventure, one that needs to be repeated next summer.
Thanks Aunt Kathy!

Right Back Into It

They were busy while I was in Denver.

Overall, it seems to have gone well at home.  Matt's mom came to provide some help, guidance and moral support which was appreciated by everyone.

It was SERVE week here while I was gone.  Anika worked every afternoon as part of the Barnabas team.  She and a few others, drove around to each work site and gave the SERVE kids drinks and treats.  She thoroughly enjoyed doing that, especially because she got to be with two girls from her GEMS league and the mom of one took them to Coldstone one afternoon.  Another plus was the whole family ate supper there every night! YEAH!  I guess one night Mimi and the kids got locked out but they hung out at the neighbor until Matt got home.  The kids loved it because they got to make homemade pop and play games.  Its good to know the neighbors.

We had originally planned to go back to Chicago the first three days of the next week.  Talking it over, we both decided we were trying to accomplish too much. The kids were a bit bummed but we made plans for other adventures.  We went blueberry picking, attended Bible School, went to beach day, Anika and Brandon had a sleepover and went to a movie, and generally just enjoyed ourselves.  Another perk of the week was Bible School offered supper every night!  No cooking all week.  Good times.  

So no Chicago, but a friend reminded me that Chicago will always be there.  Maybe it will be an adventure for next summer.