Whitecaps

The West Michigan Whitecaps is a minor league team for the Detroit Tigers.  They offer free tickets every spring and summer for reading minutes for kids.  All four kids earned two tickets each so Aunt Kathy and Aunt Mary were able to join us.  We had a great evening. a fun game to watch, and the inter inning entertainment was definitely entertaining.  The kids enjoyed the juggler before the game even started.

MLive again!

Brandon and some of his classmates made MLive again today.  This is Brandon's third time being photographed for the online news website!
If you click on the photo, you can see all  eight pictures - there is one of Brandon specifically after the drumline came in.  He so badly wants to learn to play the drums!
He's also pictured in the video a bit farther down.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/05/west_michigan_students_attend.html#incart_river_default

What's New?

Isn't that always the question we ask people?
Well, here is the answer from our house!
Sunday: with a pastor in the house, its always a bit crazy but we try to spend the afternoon/evening together - baking, watching a movie, getting ready for school, etc.  Last week we all went out and practiced baseball. Jessica has decided she wants to be a pitcher. If we stay in MI, that means she has to give up soccer, which I don't think she'll mind too much
Monday: 3 kids have soccer practice
Tuesday: 2 kids have piano lessons, 3 kids have soccer practice, 1 kid has baseball practice, and I try to get a grocery run in between there
Wednesday: 4 kids have church
Thursday: 3 kids have soccer practice
Friday: Friends from MN visit, Matt and I went to symphony last week, this week Anika had a lock in at the high school
Saturday:  Friends from Grand Rapids came over for supper and games; Matt has been reffing soccer games and last week the kids and I actually cleaned the house for once after 3 soccer games and 3 soccer goals by 3 separate Eenigenburg children; This week we went to the musical 'Anne of Green Gables' with Aunt Kathy after 4 soccer games of course.

We have been dog sitting a red lab for friends; Anika went to an overnight 6th grade class trip at a YMCA camp a bit north of here; The van has been in to have something fixed every month for the last 7 months - this month we got a new transmission - its still leaking and the speedometer is off - so back it goes this week; This week was the last night of church on Wednesdays and Jessica and Brandon went to Craigs Cruisers (mini golf, go -carts, arcade, etc) and Anika had a chocolate slip and slide.

So, that sums up the last few weeks.  The weather has been interesting to say the least.  Many of those practices have been canceled due to constant rain/snow we have been receiving.  We have not experienced any flooding but anyone around here that lives near a river will tell you otherwise.  The lakes have not come up much, if at all, so we are waiting for these swelling rivers to start filling up the lakes - who knows!  But the last few days have been GORGEOUS!

We'll see what adventures May holds!

Anika on the chocolate slip n slide at youth group

the boys

the girls

Last night of Karate

Anne of Green Gables

Maize and Maria

Spring Break Stay-cation

Day 1 - March 29 - Wall climbing and swimming at the big YMCA in Grand Rapids; stop on the way home for ice cream

Day 2 - March 30 - Anika and mom go shopping for a graduation dress; no dress was found in her size, but it was still a fun outing; she did get some new paint for her art set
Day 3 - March 31 - Easter breakfast at church, service, egg hunt at friends, amazing meal, walk on the beach, NCAA basketball, and MN scrapbooks
Day 4 - April 1 - Kangaroo Palace - its a jumpy house place - like Pump It Up in Minnesota; and more graduation dress shopping

Day 5 - April 2 - Meijer Garden with Aunt Kathy.  The butterflies are out - it is always so much fun to see them flapping all over.  Brandon badly wanted one to land on him, but it didn't happen.  We took a walk outside before heading home.

Day 6 - April 3 - Rise of the Guardians free kids movie. We all loved the movie!

Day 7 - April 4 - Childrens Museum in Grand Rapids - well - that's what it was supposed to be.  We drove there and discovered a line of people outside the building.  We joined the line - and the kids had fun playing with the sidewalk chalk that was provided.  We stood in line about 20 minutes at which point we were told the building was at capacity and we would have to wait for people to leave before anyone else could enter.  We drove home.  Matt had hidden the Easter eggs, so we had our egg hunt, ate some supper and went to bed.  Not the greatest adventure of Spring Break.

Matt's good at this hiding thing

jelly bean creation

Our annual Robin Bird Egg lipstick picture

Day 8 - April 5 - USS Silversides - Its a US Navy WW II submarine.  There was a museum with a working periscope and lots of information and then you get a self - guided tour on the submarine.  We had a good time and tried not to press any buttons.

3 kids in a torpedo

4 kids on a torpedo with the submarine in the water in the background

time for bed on the submarine - isn't Anika excited!

Day 9 - Home Depot - now there's an adventure.  It was kids workshop day so each of the kids made a planter.  They had a painting station which we ended up at for a LONG time.  But we have four very colorful little wooden planters.

Day 10 - McDonald's - We met Aunt Kathy and my cousin and her husband and kids at a McDonald's playland.  The kids had ice cream and lots of energy burned off playing tag and the adults had conversation.  It was a great time.

Day 11 - school - some were happier than others

We still have several adventures we have to take. There is a dairy nearby that we want to tour.  We haven't all gone fishing yet.  There is a farm and a petting zoo.  Maybe Tulip Time.  So many adventures to plan - so much other stuff to do - like school and work!

Easter

time to dye eggs

I said eggs girls, not your hand

The front door

Dressed for church - we had a breakfast at 9:30 and church at 10:30

The egg hunt after church at a friend

We had a wonderful Easter season.  The weather hasn't caught up yet - but the birds are back and singing and almost all the lakes are ice free.  Spring is trying to get here!

We had Maundy Thursday service - which was great and then Friday marked the beginning of Spring Break.

Easter we had breakfast at church, the service, and then we headed to our friends that live on the beach.  We walked in to a well planned egg hunt in the living room, played a game of blockhead, enjoyed a delicious meal, took a walk on the beach, watched college basketball and ate some ice cream sundaes.  It was a great day!  We topped it off at night by giving the kids their Minnesota Scrapbooks.

Lollipop

Its hard to see, but Ferdinand is sitting beneath his cork tree, just smelling the flowers and the five men from the city are watching him.  They are trying to find the biggest, meanest, fiercest bull for the upcoming bull fight.

We went to the Lollipop Concert put on by the Grand Rapids Symphony.  It was a great concert.  Every year they have a concert for small children that tells a story.  Last year was Green Eggs and Ham.  This year was Ferdinand and the Bulls - Brandon's favorite book when he was 2 years old.  Aunt Kathy met us there and we laughed at the story and enjoyed the music.  It was a quick visit as the girls were attending a birthday part back in Muskegon and Anika won a trip to a Lumberjacks hockey game with her teacher, but it was a good concert and fun to be with Aunt Kathy again.

Storybook character day

March was reading month at school.  The kids were challenged to read and had a few planned days throughout the month:  Bring your favorite book to school day, comfy cozy day, storybook character day.

So, I sent Annie and Snowball, Hermione Granger, Nancy Drew, and Frog, to school last Friday

On Comfy Cozy Day, they all wore pjs and read books on blankets and pillows.  If they had read the required number of minutes, they got to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the gym with all their blankets and pillows.  All four made their goal, so they got to watch the movie.  

I find it ironic that a movie was the reward for reading! 

We also got forms to fill out for free tickets to a local AAA baseball game, so that will be a fun outing sometime in the near future!