Summer here and gone

Uncle Dave got older this year. 65 and going strong. We were lucky enough to share a dinner with him. It was a 90 degree day and the AC wasn't working, and the meal took 3 hours, but it was all worth it.

The kids had their annual backpack squirt gun fight with an addition of Keaton who had the ice water.

We were invited over the the Douglass family's house to go tubing. Always an awesome time!

We were lucky enough to have a wonderful Kindergarten family that started this summer. We met up all summer to do fun things.  Including seeing Eliza's teacher that left halfway through the year. Alex loved being able to see his teacher again, whom all of us love.

My perfect Evan with Pretzel glasses.

Eliza and Alex's camps got canceled so we used that money to go to the Aquarium for the first time. It was really neat and we had a great time. However, the evening ended with us running out after dinner because we thought there was an active shooter at the mall, thankfully it was just a fight between some kids.

The kids got to see what a Hurricane Category 1 would be like in a simulator

The kids were busy in the kitchen this summer

Alex made breakfast sandwiches and they were AWESOME!

Alex also made ice cream cookie shakes that were yummy

Feel the power

Shadow fun on the way to clean kitty litter at a friends house

Grandpa had us over to let the kids swim. Always a good time.

We went to almost all of the Library events this summer. They were free and fun to watch.

Evan hard at work making Nachos 

Evan helping in the garden. Getting ready to make some Pesto.

Eliza made her own batch of Pesto. Now I have two kids that have come to the dark side. :)

More fun in the kitchen making cookies. Evan is getting really good at cracking eggs.

Eliza made dinner for us all. Hot dog roll ups and cheese curds.

We visited with the Wade family and the kids got to swim with their cousins. We got to share a meal and enjoy an evening together.

James took Evan to one of his model train events, then they came home and worked on trains and tracks in the playroom.

Eliza is growing up so fast.

We went to Greenfield Village with some of our family. The boys spent the whole time with James.

We got to spend the day with Oma, my cousin Jessica and her kids, and my cousin Heidi and her kid and Shawn and James. It was a full house and so much fun. 

Eliza and Ed are only a few weeks apart in age

They looked like a cute old couple from behind.

Alex made some amazing pasta dish for us for dinner

Then everyone worked together to make two types of fudge. I've never made fudge so this was a first for me.

Sharing is caring

Mix mix mix

Everyone help with the microwave

Taste test

Fudge is done. Peanut butter and Rocky road

Our awesome kindergarten crew came over for dinner and a movie one night

More fun with our kindergarten crew at a library magician event

Alex got selected to help out in one of the magic tricks. He had ropes all around him, but poof he was free.

Game night with the Degen family! We played sooooo much Wingspan. By the end of the night all I could think about was birds.

I just love this guy, even when he hogs the bed.

Playdough fun!

Evan said he wanted to make waffles so here he is whipping the egg whites until stiff.

Waiting for the waffles takes so long!

Turn green light!!

Smoothies go great with waffles! However, they are a bit loud to make.

We made it to the splash pad a few times this year for some fun in the sun. Turns out the 6:30 to 8:30pm is a great time to go.

Garden art

More swimming at Grandpa's pool

Learning to whistle with an acorn shell

It took a while but they got it. Now they can whistle as loud as mommy.

Ice cream social at our house with the neighbors. We had about 40 people show up and it was so hot, but the ice cream helped. The kids couldn't wait to have everyone over.

The kids couldn't get enough toppings.

Yum!

One of the neighborhood friends crochets, so she asked Evan if they could do it together. 

He's got the bug, he had to crochet in church as well.

We noticed we were getting water in the basement and it was coming through the wall

When Mike was mowing the grass he noticed the sump pump bubbling and there was standing water by the house

Turns out the end of the tube that the sump pump runs to was blocked, so I found the end and dug it out and all this water came pumping out. We haven't had any issues since.

More garden art, this time presented by the kids

Evan's face

Eliza's face with cucamelon eyes

We took a family vacation this summer. First stop the Air Zoo Museum in Portage, MI. This place was very cool, might have been cooler if I knew more about planes, but if I did know anything about them this would have been more amazing. So many planes and rides and things to play with.

We are here

The kids loved all the free rides.

They could climb into airplane cockpits and play with things. If we lived closer we would have a membership for sure.

The house we stayed at. While it looked great on paper... there were a few hiccups. The house we rented didn't have AC, or rather it was broken, so the 90 degree days there were pretty annoying and everyone had a hard time sleeping. The day we got there it was late and we couldn't get it to turn on. They did have someone install some window AC units, but only one worked and with the house being 3000 sqft, one AC unit couldn't keep up. There was also an animal in the wall that was bothering Mike while he was sleeping, and we had two gates we needed to get out and open and close to get into the property. While the house did have these issues, the beds were comfortable and there was plenty of space.

This is where the kids wanted to sleep in the loft of the house, while it would have been great for the kids... without AC it got really hot up there and there wasn't one fan in the house. Oh and there were stairs of death to go down if you needed to use the bathroom in the night.

Living room and kitchen

Loft area

Trampoline for the kids, but we didn't really have time to use it.

We visited Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids and visited with my college friend Julie and her family

So many cool things to see there. This is a sculpture of a neuron

The girls enjoying the Koi pond

Eliza enjoying looking at a sculpture. So many things to see there. I wish we lived closer.

Then after the gardens we went to dinner with another college friend and his family

We took a trip to a antique shop for me. We spent most of the morning there and all of us got some things to take home. Eliza did buy the parrot she is pictured with. Evan got a coin, Alex got pokemon cards, mike D&D books and I got an Amber necklace. 

Lunch in a dark place across from the antique shop. We got complemented all the time on our trip about how our kids are so well behaved and how we interact with them during meals. It was nice to hear that.

Then we drove to Saugatuck to enjoy some beach time.

The kids swam and played while Mike and I sat under an umbrella and watched.

One the way back to our house we stopped for dinner. Mike asked for hot sauce and this is all they gave him... a tiny amount in the bottle. They came back and gave him more after this photo.

Eliza likes to peel her corndogs

Ice cream treat

Alex really liked his

Evan had to try it as well.

Yum!

The property we rented had 20 acres so I took the kids out and walked the trails. 

We found a deer blind

So the kids had to check it out

I wish I could look out at this everyday. So pretty.

Heading back. Almost out of movies. 

Mike and I went on our first date in over a year. Always nice to get away for a dinner together. 

Yum. Food I didn't have to make and a date that I love!

Evan make a chicken salad for dinner. I asked him when he picked the recipe would he really eat it, and he said he would.... and he did. All of us enjoyed it.

Tomatoes from the garden.

Peppers are all over the plants.

Love going out in the morning and seeing all the bumble bees

Eliza playing horsy with her fingers out the window. She doesn't get to do it often because Alex yells at her to roll up the window because he's reading.

Marshbank park had a band play and we went to meet up with the Kindergarten crew. Eliza and Mike just laid back and enjoyed the music.

Evan did some fancy catches playing Frisbee with me.

Happy Healthy family

Evan helping me harvest our first pepper 

My garden at the end of summer is pretty over grown, but I've cleaned it up since then. It's funny I have 2'-3' paths, but they just get covered in plants.

Bouncing to the music with the neighbor kid

Dress up was also part of the fun

Alex said it was time for a haircut

Getting the length right

He's looking so grown up

Evan said he didn't want to cut the top of his hair until it gets to his mustache

We got the sides cleaned up but the top is staying shaggy for a while

Evan and I tried to make this wood car, but it was so hard. The box said it was for 6+ year old kids, there is NO way anyone could have made it. You needed like 10 hands! So we just got so frustrated....

I told Evan to take what we had and go outside and destroy it.

He had a great time breaking it into little bits

We took an awesome nature walk by us. We all want to go again in the fall when the leaves change and show Daddy it.

There was this peaceful lookout over one of the lakes

There was a pavilion in the middle with a huge fireplace and a mural.

So many huge trees

My biggest tomato ever!

More fun with the kindergarten crew at Jungle Java. The kids ran around so much and got so sweaty, it was amazing!

Another trip to Greenfield Village and we brought friends that had never been. They had this amazing stroller with seats that 4 kids could fit on.

We had a great time with them and have all summer.

Fun at the library with neighbor kids building models of the human body.

After leaving the village the week before the kids complained that we didn't go to the museum or ride the horse drawn carriage, so we made another trip just by ourselves to do things. They were running a new train that day too, but we didn't have time to ride it.

One thing I told the kids we needed to do if we are going to keep our membership is start going into building and reading about things. So we went into the Milliners building and learned about ladies hats. They had a few hats for boys to try on too.

Then we went to the museum and checked Alex's box and went to the Julia Child exhibit.

One last dinner at the park with the Kindergarten crew before first grade. One of the moms brought throwable paint balls. The boys couldn't get enough. Eliza didn't even start. :)

Evan in the aftermath. We didn't know how to get them home in the car.

Coloring fun

So much rain one night. We got another 1.5" the next day. Thankfully we never lost power or any trees in the storms.

We took the kids to meet their teachers one day. I only got a picture of Eliza at her new classroom door. It was so hot and gross that day we just wanted to get home and get dinner. The boys time was 4:30-5:30pm, and Eliza's time was 5-6pm and Eliza's school is 20 min away from the boys school. So it was a busy evening.

Evan working on his crocheting at dinner at Red Robin.

Bubbles at our neighbors birthday party we were invited to

My handsome husband, just wanted to share this nice picture of him

Funny thing, I didn't even try and coordinate the kids coats to their backpacks, just happened that way

Eliza's first day sign.  "Wants to be a Artist that has a horse that wears a party hat for a horn"

Evan's first day sign. He wants to be an Astronaut with a pancake shop on the moon for golfers.

Alex's first day sign. He wants to be a Coder

Ready for school

Backpacks are bigger than them. The boys couldn't bring their supplies in early so they needed to take them on the first day, which makes for a full and heavy backpack.

Eliza drove to school with me the first two days so I could help at the school with getting the new kids to their classrooms. There were only a few tears that I saw and I'm so glad I could help the kids. 

Garden is just about done for the year. But I need to start planning next year! :)

New faucet for me!! Mike even let me help and learn how to replace it. 

This one turns off no problem!! I love it!

My cute little unicorn rainbow girl

Eliza got to ride her first horse at a Labor Day picnic at one of the Jewish churches near by. Our friends invited us to go and it was amazing! We all had a great time at the bounce houses, ice cream, pizza, magicians, horse rides, train rides, etc.

Kids got to enjoy a mini train ride... they were so sweaty that it felt good to have the breeze. 

The school year has started off pretty good. Evan does not like getting up early, their bus comes at 7:20, and Eliza loves her teacher. Alex is not looking forward to all the homework that comes with 5th grade.