Cherry Picking - literally

Last year, because of the late frost, much of the fruit crop of MI was destroyed.  This year, we have fruit on the trees.  Our family had never been cherry picking, so we did some research and found where the cherry orchards were - and oh my - acres and acres of orchards.

My brother and his family were over for a visit and so we trekked to meet Aunt Kathy in the cherry fields. We were not disappointed.  As you can see, there were PLENTY of cherries in the trees. You could stand on the ground and pick plenty, but of course the challenge of climbing the tree to get the 'much better' ones at the top was not left on our children! I'm not sure if we bought more than we ate, but it was a fun experience. Stained fingers, lips and shirts, but well fed and a good time.  I tried my hand at canning some when we got home and I wasn't as successful at that - I only got 4 of the 9 jars to seal, but we still ate up the produce!

Rockets

We have become rocketeers.  The three oldest kids are members of the rocket association here - card carrying members, and the fourth would be ...  except you have to be 7.  The friend that got us into it is a HUGE Michigan fan and has dubbed us Team Wolverine.  The kids wanted to try tie - dyeing so I suggested we tie dye Team Wolverine shirts - and they were all about it.  The shirts turned out great and the rockets will fly better now I am quite sure.  They even have two way radios to communicate to each other where to find the rockets that have landed.  So funny!

Yes, the rocket is that big, Maria is holding the bottom third, Jessica the middle third, and Brandon the top - or nose cone.  Matt has the parachute.  They are the retrieval team.  The rockets are set off in a water treatment facility.... LOTS of flat space, but lots of creeks, and some not so pleasant.  This particular time all the rockets stayed out of water, but not out of the neighboring corn field.

One of the guys at the rocket club loves to shoot off crazy things, this flamingo is an example.  He didn't fly so well.

Team Wolverine

Sand Sculpture Competition

Isn't this cool!?  I think this was the Dr. Seuss castle. There were some pretty neat designs out on the beach. Grand Haven hosts a sand sculpture competition each summer and this year we decided to check it out.  The  MN youth group was on their way to SERVE in Grand Rapids and had spent a few hours with us. We took them to the beach for some fun, but the beach was yucky from turning over and the weather was cloudy.  We still enjoyed looking at the fun sculptures and they enjoyed the ice cream at our favorite little shop back in Muskegon.

Fourth of July

We spent most of the 4th hanging around at home.  This being the first summer I have worked, its been an adjustment for all of us.  It was fun to be home, even with all the complaining and arguing, and made me miss what I am missing by working.  But, I also love my job and life must keep moving forward!

Later in the afternoon, we packed up some supper and headed to the parents of some friends.  They own lots of land, so the kids enjoyed driving the golf cart, watching birds, and hitting golf balls.  We grilled burgers and then headed to Twin Lake for fireworks.  The kids went swimming, played on the playground, and we ate our fourth of July traditions: caramel puff corn, puppy chow, and slushies.  God gave us a gorgeous sunset before the fireworks began. It was a great evening and a fun holiday to be together.

50th Anniversary Celebration

After returning from DC, we hopped right back on the road and went to IL for the celebration of Matt's parent's 50th Anniversary. We were missing Mark's wife - Tammy, and Jen's husband - Ben.  Other than that, the whole clan showed up for some fun times together.  There was an open house at their church for a few hours and we got to see many aunts, uncles and cousins and even play some kickball in the parking lot. Then we headed to his parents house for family pictures and pizza.  Lots of fun, laughter and memories.

all the grandkids with papa and mimi

Strawberry Picking

This year we went out to a place just behind our mall - much closer and great picking.  Of course we picked LOTS.  Its amazing how many strawberries you pick in 20 minutes when there are five people picking. We made jam, pie, and froze a bunch for smoothies, besides all the ones we just out right ate.  Someone said we should weigh the children before going in and coming out and pay for the difference!  All the kids helped with  picking, Anika tipped them all, and everyone helped with the smashing, mixing and stirring of the jam and pie.  We had it all done in about 2 hours. It was GREAT!

Family Vacation

We started out after church on June 23. Our first stop was St Catherines, ON at friends.  The kids and I stopped there four years ago on our way to visit Matt.  While living in MN, there were five - six couples we became friends with through my teaching with them.  None of us had family in Minneapolis, so we became each other's family. We worked together, played together, shared holidays, and literally went through life and death together.  It was wonderful to sit down, talk, and relax with people we love and be reminded of the time we shared.  Our lives are different now - 8 kids later between the two of us, but they jumped right back into Lake Ontario together. Only this year, we got them out before they got soaked! We rode the carousel, played in the lake, found a letterbox, watched some big ships work their way through the locks, drove through Niagara on the Lake, and marveled at Niagara Falls. Thanks you guys for rest, fun, and good memories.

From Niagara, we took the back roads drive to Washington DC.  Driving through the Appalachian mountains on two lane roads is quite the trip. It was beautiful and adventurous! We arrived in Silver Spring, MD at our wonderful hosts home quite late.  My uncle and aunt were even up and waiting for us!

The next morning we got up and at it, ate a yummy waffle and pancake breakfast, packed lunches, and headed to the Capital.  My aunt served as an incredible tour guide for two days, not to mention cook, hostess, and so much more. Its pretty good when you can endure four hot and whining children! 

We toured the Capital building, and Matt made friends with Joe, our tour guide who was an incredibly knowledgeable man. He spoke 57 languages!

Next we headed to Ford Theatre and the house across the street where Lincoln actually died. The National Park Service has taken over these buildings and there is a museum and a ranger talk and scheduled times to tour the building.  It was air conditioned which was a welcome change!  From there we walked to the old post office building and went to the top of the tower.  First on a glass elevator, then up some stairs.  The view was quite impressive!  Then it was time to find some souvenirs and head back to home base.

The next day, we decided to conquer Arlington National Cemetery and the changing of the guard.  Next we saw Iwo Jima, ate lunch along the Potomac River, and did a self guided walking tour of the monuments, finished off by popsicles that melted more quickly than we could eat them.  Later that evening we took a swim at the neighbors house and had supper with my cousin's family. 

Our final day of touring brought us to the zoo to see the panda bears and many other cool animals.  My cousin and his family were our tour guides this day.  We also got a picture in front of the White House and then checked out the Air and Space Museum for a bit.  We rode the metro home - our kids' first time on a subway.  We finished off the evening with my other cousin's family and some swimming and playtime for the kids.

We had a wonderful time. Thanks guys for making it such a memorable trip!