Top Ten: Family Time in the Summer

Well I figured if I'm going to start posting again, I'll start with the top 10 things we like to do as a family in the summer time. I'm going to stick to places in Grand Rapids because I don't think I could keep the list to only 10 things if I included the entire state of Michigan!

1. We love going to John Ball Zoo. I recently met up with some friends from church and let the kids wander around the zoo. The kids had a blast checking out the animals and I had a great time chatting with other adults! :)
2. We have spent a lot of time in our pools this summer. We are currently on our third pool of the summer. The first one was old and had a small hole it in. The second pool was ruined by the second day we had it. I won't mention any names, but the only other person in our house that drives opened his, I mean his/her, door and popped a huge whole in the side of it. We are now on our third pool and the kids could spend all day in it. I feel a little WT, but a quick way to fill up an inflatable pool with air is by using a leaf blower. I can get the entire pool pull on air in less than one minute (sorry about the tangent). They really love it when their dad joins them. :)
3. Andy and I took the kids to Grassfields Farm for a farm tour. The farm is family owned organic dairy and chicken farm in Coopersville. The girls loved seeing the cows, chickens and turkeys. There was a little calf, Annabelle, that Molly was obsessed with. Layne and Abby also liked petting Annabelle, as long as I was standing next to them.
4. We love going to new restaurants, especially in the summer when it is too hot to cook. Well, I love going to new restaurants... the girls would be happy if we went to BW3 everyday of the week (and Andy doesn't mind that either). We went to this great new restaurant this week, Twisted Rooster. It was fabulous. The girls had a wonderful time and people weren't staring at us because we were too loud!
5. The Grand Rapids Children's museum is fabulous! We ended up purchasing a family pass because my kids like it so much. The pass also has great summer options. Every summer month you can get into a different place for the month. August is unlimited visits to John Ball Zoo (which is why we went to the zoo last week). My girls could spend our entire time there in the kitchen, store, bank and cafe section of the museum. I have to force them to visit other spots of museum.
6. We love spending time at Andy's parents house. They live on an apple and peach orchard and the girls love going on Ranger rides through the orchard. They are currently building a store to sell their produce, so the girls like watching the barn go up. Last week we all got to our hand prints on the floor of the store. The girls were all very excited about this, except Molly who would not make a hand print, but instead made a fist print. :)
7. The girls and Andy love going to the airport viewing area. It is a pretty neat place to have a picnic dinner and watch planes take off. I would much rather sit at a park and do this, but Andy (and the girls) get so excited when they see planes land and take off.
8. Grand Rapids Township Park is the best park that I have found for my kids. It is fabulous because they have toys and equipment for all ages. I can be playing with Molly on the smaller toys and still watch Layne and Abby on the "big kid" section. The playground is also my bribery tool for the girls while I am grocery shopping. It is right across the street from Meijer, so if I want a guaranteed pleasant grocery shopping experience I will pull out the, "if you want to go to the township park, you need to be quiet and not touch ANYTHING!" Works like a charm. :)
9. Frederik Meijer Gardens is an awesome place to go in the summer time. We also have a family pass here because if pays for itself in like two visits. They have the coolest children's garden that my girls love to explore. They have a huge tree house, an old fashioned log cabin, a huge sand area, a large replica of the Great Lakes that you can steer boats and sea-doos down, and a splashing area for the kids to get wet. That is only a few of the great areas for the kids to play in. I learned quickly that I need to pack an extra change of clothes for the girls because they always end up soaking wet from the Great Lakes replica and the splashing area.
10. The last place that we spend family is probably where you will find us most of the time: in our backyard. Our backyard isn't huge, but it is the perfect setup for our family. We have a large driveway that the kids can ride bikes and shoot hoops on. We also like to play soccer and baseball on the grass. I love that my kids can be playing outside all day long and I don't have to worry about where they are. They love our backyard and spend hours there everyday!

This post was linked to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda.

It's Been Awhile

Wow, I can't believe that it has been over 5 months since my last post. Oops! I guess life got pretty busy and this blog got put on the back burner. I'm hoping to start posting again, but I'm not going to try and catch up with pictures from the past five months (sorry kids). Here are a few things that we have been up to:

Layne's birthday
Layne finished school
Cottage
Cottage
Abby learns to ride a bike
Cottage
camping at Wabasis Lake Campground (how could I forget that, Cheri?)
Cottage (you get the point)
Molly learned to walk (she is very fast)
Layne learned to ride a two wheeler
Molly's birthday
playing
Zoo
Frederick Meijer Garden
Children's museum
playing
Library

As you can see, we've been busy playing outside and relaxing at cottages (thanks grandma and papa, and grandma and grandpa) this summer. Now that the crazy month of July is past us I will hopefully try and find some time to sit down and write some blog posts. We'll see how much time I can find while chasing around a 4 year old, 2 1/2 year old and a one year old. :)

A Year in Photos: February 8, 2010

It's a zoo at our house!

A Year in Photos: February 5, 2010

Layne - double ear infection

Abby - single ear infection (I thought we put tubes in her ears so she wouldn't get these anymore!)

A Year in Photos: January 15, 2010

Breakfast

A Year in Photos: January 13, 2010

Typical day at our house

A Year in Photos: January 2, 2010

Nightly wrestling match

All about "Us"

I was tagged by Nicole, at Launder, Fold, Repeat! You need to check out her sight. She has the cutest kids, greatest crafts, and recipes that are AMAZING! This post will give my readers (all two of you) a chance to get to know Andy and me better!

What are your middle names?
Mine is Jane. His is Andrew (his first name is Jerry, but he goes by Andy)

How long have you been together?
We have been together since high school! We started dating our senior year, so November 1998. So, I guess we've been together for 11 years now. Wow that seems like a long time, but it has gone by really fast!


How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We knew each other before we started dating. Andy and I don't agree on this part because he says that I didn't know who was my Freshman year, but I totally do. He tells me that he remembers me at basketball practice wearing really ugly high socks.
I actually dated his best friend before we started dating (he actually was the best man in our wedding), so I guess we knew each other for at least 2 1/2 years before we started dating.

Who asked who out?
We sort of hung out for a while in a group of friends, but for our first "date" I think that he asked me.

Who made the first move?
He did.

How old are each of you?
We are both 28. He is older than me by 1 month.

Did you go to the same school?
We went to the same high school, but different colleges. I went to Hillsdale and he went to Davenport.

Are you from the same home town?
Yup

Who is the smartest? Depends on the subject.

Who majored in what?'I majored in Elementary ed and he majored in Business

Who is the most sensitive? Definitely me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Usually whatever place can serve the food the fastest because we have three impatient little girls. If we are going out by ourselves we like to to go to local places like Leo's or Honey Creek Inn.


Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Jamaica on our honeymoon

Who has the worst temper?
He does, but I have been known to shine in this area as well. :)

How many children do you want? It depends on the day. I know that we would love to have at least one more, but some days 2 more sounds good to me. Andy tells me that we'll talk when we get to four.

Who does the cooking? Both of us. We both love to cook, which is nice because if I don't fee like it, I know that he will make something delicious.

Who is more social?
It depends on the situation. I would say he usually is more outgoing in large groups. I like small get togethers with close friends.


Who is the neat-freak? I wouldn't call him a neat-freak, but he likes things clean. I like things clean too, but he gets particular with certain parts of the house.


Who is the most stubborn?
If you know Andy then I don't even need to answer this, but for those of you who don't know him: HE IS!

Who wakes up earlier? Usually he does. He has been awesome with getting up with the kids and letting me catch a little more shut eye.

Where was your first date?
We went to Studio 28 and saw "Waterboy."

Who has the bigger family?
He does. He has three other siblings. I have 2 other siblings.

Do you get flowers often?
Not a lot anymore. I got them a lot when we first started dating. Now I get them for my birthday and maybe a few other random times during the year.

Who is more jealous?
We really aren't jealous people... I guess we just trust each other. :)

Who eats more?
Him.

What do you do for a living?
His main job is a real estate agent. He also helps farm at his parent's orchard and also raises money for a private equity firm. I am a stay at home mom and love every minute of it (except the changing diapers part)!

Who does the laundry? I do the laundry. He pretends he doesn't know how to use our new washing machine (uh, how hard can power "on" and "start" be ?). He will help me fold and put away if I ask.

Who’s better with the computer? I think it's a tie.

Who drives when you are together?
99% of the time: him. He doesn't like driving in big cities where he doesn't know his way around, so I usually will drive then.


What is your song?
I don't know if we have one?


Thanks for the tag, Nicole! So, now it's time for me to tag a few people. Tag, you're it (if you have time and energy!) to Rachel, Carrie, Ashley and Molly !

Molly is 2 months old (well almost three)!

I can't believe that Molly is already two and a half months old! It feels like she has always been a part of our family. She is loved so much by her sisters (mom and dad, too). She has been a pretty easy baby, but has been getting a little more fussy lately (hopefully this just a phase). She is very alert and loves "standing" while you hold her. She is smiling a lot and looks around to find out where the noise is coming from, and trust me, there is always NOISE in our house.
Here are her stats from her 2 month checkup:
Weight - 13 lbs 7 oz
Height - 23 1/4 inches
The nurse didn't write it down, but I think she is about 95% for each category! This wasn't very surprising see that Layne and Abby were both way off the charts for each when they were little (and still are off the charts).
Here are pictures to show how much she has changed in one month!

Molly - 1 month

Molly - 2 months (I couldn't find the dolls clothes)

Molly and Abby
Layne and Molly

She loves the exersaucer!

School

Layne started school today and she was very excited about it. She woke up smiling and telling me that it is a school day! After we finished our french toast we loaded everyone up in the stroller and walked to school. Layne wouldn't stop talking the entire way to school, but once we entered the building she was silent! She loved finding her hook and hanging up her backpack, but when I told her it was time to go into her classroom she told me she had to hug her sisters first. It was the cutest thing! Abby cried when she realized that Layne wasn't coming with us, but that quickly stopped when she saw a few dogs our on walk back home.
Abby didn't know what to do without her big sister, so she stuck like glue to me for the next 2 1/2 hours! I'm hoping this will change, but it must be hard on Abby since she has always had someone to play with.
Layne was smiling when we picked her up and proud to show me her artwork that she had made today. She was very quick to hug Abby and Molly and tell them that she was done with school for the day.
I'm going to miss my big girl this year, but I know that she will love school and socializing with the boys and girls in her class.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day Weekend with awesome weather. We spent our last weekend of the summer at my parent's cottage. The girls had an awesome time playing with their cousins, Zach and Carter. Layne and Abby loved sporting the new wetsuits Grandma bought for the cottage. They fit perfectly as you can see from the pictures. :) Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Sisters

Cheese!

Tubing fun!

Go FASTER!

Last tube ride of the summer

Hudsonville Fair

Last weekend we went to the Hudsonville Fair with Matt, Allison, Zach and Carter. The weather wasn't the best, but that turned out to be a good thing because it wasn't very busy! It was dollar day, so all of the rides were only a dollar (thank goodness because I wasn't about to pay three dollars for a carousal ride). Layne loved all of the rides that she was able to go on (next year she'll be able to ride more). Abby wished she could have gone on all of the rides, but she was just too small. Here are some pictures from the day.

The Ferris wheel

Everybody on (check out that carnie!)!

Sticky hat

Carousal ride

Bumper cars - Layne loved this ride

Dragon "teacups" - Andy got the girls so dizzy on this ride

Matt, Allison, Zach and Carter on the dragon "teacups"

ROLLER COASTER!

Swings

Molly Jane

We are now a family of five! Molly Jane was born on Friday, July 17. She weighed 8lb 11 oz and was 21 inches long. She is a very easy baby (I'm probably jinxing myself) to have around. She sleeps pretty much all day and night. This can be a problem with getting feedings in, but she seems to be eating better everyday. She has the cutest, chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen. It was funny because in the operating room the first thing the nurses and doctors said was, "Look at the cheeks on her." When she was born Andy and I thought she looked exactly like Abby did, but slowly I am seeing more and more of Layne in her. It will be fun to see her personality develop in the upcoming months.
The girls (Layne and Abby) love her already and fight (literally) over who gets to hold her. The newness of her is waring off, thank goodness and now only ask to hold her like 10 times a day. Layne and Abby had a lot of fun the past week because they got to sleep at both sets of grandparent's house and my sister's house. They also spent three nights at my parent's cottage, so they were very spoiled. It will be interesting to see how this next week will be at home with me and the girls. Hopefully I can keep the older ones entertained while trying to recover from my c-section and take care of a newborn.

Our Last Getaway as a Family of Four

We decided to head up to my parent's cottage for one last weekend as a family of four. We had a great time and great weather. The girls could play in the water all day and night if we let them. Layne and Andy went tubing behind the boat for the first time this year. She was screaming the entire time, but said she had a lot of fun when we got back. It probably would have been more fun for her to go by herself because Andy's tube kept spraying her and making her ride pretty bumpy. Abby enjoyed playing in the water and making sure that I was always by her side (I think she can sense that a big change is about to occur).
The weekend was relaxing except for Sunday morning when I decided to head up to the cottage from the beach to get the girls a snack. I had taken about four steps up the stairs and right when I was about to put my foot on the fifth step, a huge (okay maybe not huge, but definitely fatter than a garden hose) snake slithered off the step and into the trees. I have never ran down those steps faster. I caused a huge commotion because I was yelling so loud (I'm sure people thought my water broke or something). Everyone thought that it was so funny, but I haven't recovered from it yet. My dad tried to comfort me by telling me it probably wasn't poisonous, so if it had bitten me it wouldn't have been a big deal. I told him that dogs aren't poisonous, but it would still hurt if one bit me. I think my blood pressure is now back to normal, so here's hoping I don't have anymore traumatizing events this week.

Abby lounging on the turtle

tubing

Andy trying to get Layne to stop screaming

Look at that lip

Loving the water

Sisters on a pontoon boat ride

Layne warming up in the sun

Abby chilling on her chair

She loves to drive

The 4th of July

Here are some pictures from this past weekend. We spent it at my parent's cottage on Big Star and had a great time! The fire works were great and we didn't even have to leave our cottage to watch them! Andy also had his own fireworks show that he put on for us with the fireworks he bought at a "secret" warehouse in town. You definitely wouldn't have found his fireworks for sale at any store in Michigan. Abby missed out on the fireworks (maybe next year), but Layne had a great time. She loved watching them, but as she put it, "I don't love the noise." My brother bought some huge sparklers for the kids to use and they were a hit. Layne did get a spark on her foot from one of the sparklers, but other than that, it was a great night.

Fourth of July snack

Enjoying a snack with Zach and Carter

I think it's impossible to get a picture when they are both smiling.

Playing catch with Avery

Watching the boat parade

Papa and Layne watching the neighbor's fireworks (notice the ears being covered and the gigantic pregnant lady in the background)

sparklers

Grandma and Layne

Avery and Layne