Baby its hot outside

We had the discussion today if 10 degrees and wind chill is better than 95 degrees and dew points in the 70s.  There's a reason I live in Michigan and not the amazon. I love all the seasons, but you can take humidity any day - I don't want it. So, we sit in our AC house and watch World Cup soccer. Not a bad trade off. We may hit the beach for a sunset later. Its a favorite past time of ours.

School ended, and with it all spring sports. There was actually a week or two where no one had any games or practices. We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves. But have no fear, it didn't last long.

Maria said goodbye to her 5th grade teacher with a slushie from Wesco; summer here means slushies. We get them often. This started when the kids were little. I would buy one 44 oz and split it into four sippy cups in the car. They are now a bit more expensive in that they each get their own.

Anika's track team won the regionals again this year - two years in a row - and this year the boys team won as well. Anika loves to do the hurdles and desperately wants to three step, but between her speed and the length of her legs she hasn't been able to make it happen yet.

 















Exciting news from Brandon - his mouth is worth several thousand dollars more than it used to be, but you can't see it anymore. His lateral teeth, the two upper teeth next to the two front teeth, were called peg laterals. It means they looked like a peg leg instead of a full tooth. After having his braces removed, he needed those shaved down to a point so a cap could be put on. Two weeks later, he got the caps. He is finished and his mouth is worth more than my van.

with braces

without braces

lateral teeth shaved for caps

caps on and he's finally finished!

Maria ran a 5K with me through an organization called Girls on the Run. Its her last year being the correct age so she thought she would do it one last time. Everyone joined me in a 5K run organized by someone on the YMCA board. Anika had to take her ACT so she wasn't able to run. The best thing about this run is the pancake breakfast and chocolate milk!!! Brandon, Jessica, Maria and I all got medals for our age group but Matt was the first one to cross the finish line from the five of us.

Maria is also playing on a summer basketball team and she and Jessica both attended a summer split basketball/volleyball camp. They are both on the left side as you look at the picture. Maria is #15 in orange. She is tough little defender. I tell her not to worry about winning the game but to get better as a player. How many steals can she get? How many times can she make the other team turn the ball over? She loves to run up and press when the other team isn't expecting it and either steal it or make them throw it away, call a timeout or get a five second call. She is the only 5th grader on the team, the others are all younger, so she does get frustrated, but she is still playing hard.

Jessica and Maria helped me pick some strawberries again this year. The crop wasn't amazing, but it is always fun to have fresh pie and angel food cake and jam and all the yumminess of strawberries.

Brandon and Anika spent 10 days in St Thomas on a SERVE project helping with hurricane relief. Maria spent a week at Camp Geneva in Holland, and Jessica spent the week in the van with me.... I drove her to or picked her up from a different place each evening. She was with a friend at another volleyball camp, to Michigan Adventures amusement park, and a swim meet. Yes, all three girls are trying a new sport this summer.  Competitive swimming here we come.

Through our years here we have met many people, one of which is the owner of the local Harley Davidson franchise. Needless to say, Matt has taken advantage of this relationship. Jessica has received her first ever motorcycle ride.

And just to keep it real, when I go through the months of pictures  to remind me of everything we have done, I find 20-30 selfies... Jessica has entirely too much fun seeing herself in pictures.

We also were the family VonTrap at church. Whenever the praise leader needs a break, here we come. This time we had one of Anika's friends help with singing, Brandon was on keyboard, a friend of his was on drums, and one of Jessica's friends played bass. Maria was in the nursery! It took some doing but we accomplished it.


I had a few goals while the kiddos were
gone, one of which was to clean the house - this was greatly interrupted by the taxing of Jessica. Still working on this one. BUT I did manage to get caught up on laundry - I even got the room so empty I could mop the floor. But do not fear... they all came home with dirty laundry. This is the present state of the laundry room. The gift that keeps on giving.

Have a great week!