Last Day of Summer

After reading Jessica Troeger's post about not wanting the kids to go back to school, it's nice to know I'm not the only one! I have been dreading tomorrow for a year now. I knew last year when Cody started preschool that it was the beginning of the end. No more Cody home with me all day. I have had such a great summer with the kids that I'd love to just keep them home. The last few weeks haven't been as smooth but I don't want my last baby to go to school. I know you're all thinking I'm crazy but like Jess, I'm starting to cry thinking about it! Thank goodness Scott is taking all day off tomorrow so I'll have some emotional support! More likely he'll look at me like I'm nuts but one can dream!

The last week before school starting has been filled with lots of fun things to do. Today we are laying low and going to bed early so the kids are well rested for tomorrow! On Saturday, we went boating with Scott's parents and Dave, Allison, and Betsy. It was a lot of fun. We went from Holland to Saugatuck on the boat. When we got there, we walked up over 200 steps to get to Mt. Baldy! I am still sore. I don't think it was the walk up that did it but the walk down because I went to fast on them. I can walk up the steps at home it's just going down that kills me!

On Sunday we went to a friends house for a cookout. It was a lot of fun for all of us. The kids played with their friends, I caught up with some people I don't see much and Scott played Volleyball and Football with the guys!

I hope you all have a nice relaxing Labor Day! I'll post tomorrow of the kids first day!

1 Chocolate Dessert + 4 Kids = 1 big mess!

Tonight we had Lily, Wyatt,and Kristin over for dinner. Kristin made a chocolate dessert that everyone enjoyed, especially the kids! They all had chocolate smeared all over their faces. Cody wasn't too bad but Lily and Megan were competing for the messiest face! They really enjoyed themselves and that's all that matters, that's what I told myself anyway!! After dinner we went outside to play with Lily and Wyatt. Megan and Cody always have fun playing with Lily and Wyatt. Wyatt was more daring then he's ever been here by going on the slide and swing with Lily! It was great listening to all the kids playing and giggling. No better way to end a nice evening with friends!

1 more week!

I am having lots of mixed emotions this week. The kids have 1 more week until school starts. I am excited because that means getting back into routine again but I am also sad because it means my baby won't be home with me every day anymore. Cody is starting Kindergarten this year and I am having a hard time believing that he's old enough! It seems like yesterday that I had him and now he's beginning to read, writing and going to school. I am happy for him but sad for me. I also will miss Megan but she's been going to school long enough that I'm used to it. Last year was finally easier for me so I imagine it won't be that hard to let her go again this year. I am looking forward to some quiet time without Cody but preschool was 3 days a week and that was plenty for me! I'm sure I'll get used to it and I am looking forward to volunteering at the school more without having to entertain Cody while I'm doing it.

Anyway, enough whining about that, I wanted to share some pictures from a Blitz we had at church last night. We had hot dogs, a magician, and lots of fun outside activities. They had a couple blow up slides, one with an obstacle attached, a firetruck, and some other fun games. The kids were able to go on both slides, spray water out of the firetruck, and play some games. They had tons of fun.

Today we went and met Scott for lunch in East Grand Rapids. We ended up eating at Collen park along Reed's Lake. It was a beautiful spot for a picnic. We're trying to do things this week that we won't be able to do for a while. We at a bench that was hanging over the lake and there were ducks everywhere so I told the kids for once they didn't have to eat their crusts. They had so much fun feeding the ducks, they ended up feeding them most of their popcorn as well. As Megan said, we're not wasting food, we're feeding ducks!! They had lots of fun eating with Daddy. On the way home, they said their favorite part wasn't the duck but was eating with their Dad! I love that they adore him so much!

PS- Happy Birthday Lindsey! I hope you have a great day!!

Whitecaps & Tubing

On Friday, we went to the Whitecaps with Scott's work. It was a lot of fun! They rented out the Steak and Shake Deck for the game. On the way to the deck, there were Lansing Lugnuts warming up, when we walked past, the kids said hi to them. The manager then called us down by them and gave each kid a ball that they were practicing with! They were excited! We were able to watch the game from here as well as eat some dinner. They had unlimited food from 6:30-8. There was hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, chips, cookies, ice cream and pop. Our kids are now old enough that I did not have to walk them around to keep them entertained because they watched almost the whole game. I have no idea what went on, but the kids do! I always like Windemuller's summer parties because it means fun for the kids also!

On Saturday we went tubing and boating at Gun Lake. The kids ended up liking it but neither was thrilled with it. Megan started her first ride with Scott and was crying until we got in calmer waters. Cody started out with a big smile when he was with Scott then decided he was done. Cody went 4 or 5 times and Megan 2 very long rides with Scott! Cody went with Scott, me, and Dave(Scott's brother). On Cody's last ride with Dave, he ended up wiping out as James said! I am lucky that I didn't see it otherwise I would have freaked out! Cody went one way and Dave the other when they landed. Dave was able to swim to Cody and then stand up in the middle of Gun Lake. That is when I turned my head saw it and almost jumped off the boat to go get him! Everyone was amazed at how calm I was, I think it was because I didn't see it and knew his life jacket was on! The rest of the family went tubing, including Scott and I. I am so sore this morning I can hardly lift my arms up! It was lots of fun though!

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High School Musical & a Block Party

Today was another fun & busy day. We started the weekend with our niece Betsy spending the night on Friday. My kids love having little ones over so this was a lot of fun for them. They get along with Betsy, Lily and Wyatt so well it ALMOST makes me want another one. Then I remember the joy of being pregnant and waking up with a newborn and I'm done wishing that!
This afternoon we dropped off Betsy and went two different ways. Megan and I went with my mom to see High School Musical(the original) at Civic Theater while Cody and Scott went to the block party for our neighborhood. The musical was really cute and got all those songs in my head! Megan seemed to really enjoy herself but I think what she really liked was the 1 on 1 time she got from us!
While we were at the show, Cody and Scott were in a bike parade around the neighborhood followed by food and fun with all the neighbors around here. There was a volunteer fireman who was able to get a truck and park it in front of his house. For the second time this summer, Cody was able to shoot water from a fire hose. He told me that is the reason he wants to be a firefighter, so he can use a fire hose!! The fireman has a hydrant in his yard that he opened up and let the kids play in. Megan and I were back at this point so both kids had a ball running through all that water! It was nice to see and meet some new people from the neighborhood. I even ran into someone I went to middle school with! Enjoy the pictures from the party!

A Picnic, Chicken Man and the Zoo

Yesterday was our annual church picnic. We have the Chicken Man grill every year for this picnic. We also have fun activities for the kids after we finish eating. This year they had pony rides and a moon bounce. Cody basically stayed on the moon bounce the whole time. He'd get in line, bounce, then get back in line. Megan did that on the pony rides. When they weren't doing that, they were stuffing their faces with junk food. The church had someone who donates Cotton candy and someone else had ice cream. My parents came to church with us then stayed for the picnic. It was a lot of fun. We sat with our pointe Group to eat and talk. It was fun watching Lily and Wyatt eat ice cream and make a mess!

Today Scott was done working by 11:30 so we decided to have some fun and went to the zoo to see the Lions. They have a cool new exhibit for the lions that wasn't open when we were there for Megan's field trip. It was fun going to the zoo with Daddy. Normally I just take them during the day by myself so it was fun watching them show everything to Scott. Scott had the camera for most of the time and took a ton of pictures of the bears fighting. One bear was in the water and did not want the other to come in and Scott was taking a ton of pictures. After we went to the Zoo, we stopped and got ice cream. Against my wishes, we let the kids get something out of a dish. Normally we let them only get things in a dish. Megan got a cone and Cody got Spiderman. They made a huge mess! I guess it's payback for laughing at Lily and Wyatt!

Camping and Boating

If you haven't seen much of us lately, it's because we've been in Holland where Scott's parents were camping. I hate camping but we go up for the day but come home to no bugs and a clean bathroom! In the past 14 days I was boating 5 of them and the kids 7 of the them. I love boating and tubing which we did yesterday. Megan and Cody both tried tubing and neither loved it. Megan went with my brother twice and hated the second try. Cody went with me once and was OK for a while but he didn't really care for it. I then went with my niece Nikki and she laughed the whole time. Mike's other girls Jenny and Tara also went. Tara wasn't a fan but you couldn't get Nikki and Jenny off it! I was glad to have them up there, it was a lot of fun. The pictures I'll upload soon but I either forgot the camera or left it in the car most times! Thanks Mom and Dad VE for having us!

Summer and Smores

I love summer. I wish it could stay like this all year. One of my favorite things is campfires and we do it at home now! We had a fire tonight even thought it was very hot to get rid of the rest of the sparklers. We also had smores. How is it my 8 year old gets it everywhere and the 5 year old stays clean? It's a mystery to me!

4th of July

I hope you all had a good holiday. We had a busy and fun 4th. Scott and I went to Holland to see the kids in a bike parade at the campground. After that we went on the boat with his family and spent the day on the water and at the beach. After we got back to the campgound, we cleaned up and went to my aunt's house for dinner followed by the Kentwood Fireworks. We watched them with friends and my family. The kids had a blast and slept in until 9 this morning! Today we went to the movie theater to see Kit and Wall-e. Megan and I saw Kit and Cody and Scott saw Wall-e. The girls loved their movie but the boys weren't thrilled! The pictures are of the 2 kids in the shirts we gave them before going to the movies. They loved them though Cody still can't tell you who's on his shirt! When we were done with the movie, we saw the one room school house on Canal in Grandville. The kids thought it was pretty interesting! ****I updated the pictures to include fireworks. You can click on the slide show and see all the pictures that way also!****

Bikes

We dropped off the kids last night and surprised Megan with a new bike. She rode all the way to Holland with the bike behind her under a sheet and had no clue! We unpacked everything but the bike from the car and then left it in the car. I told her we forgot the bike that Katie gave her but asked her to come look at the one we did have to see if was OK. Scott took off the sheet and she kept say oh! and not talking. Soon after that she jumped up and down for about 5 minutes! She loved it. I wish I had thought to get the camera out for the unveiling because it was priceless watching her!! We got her a 20" bike that is to be an early birthday present. Cody got a bike for his birthday also. I'll post pictures of them with their bikes later!

Summer

Where did June go? It seems like school just ended for Megan. Normally by this point the kids are bored and so am I. We have not had to even think about being bored yet! We've had playdates almost every day, VBS at Grandma and Grandpa Tietz's church and lots of other things to do so far! It's been a great summer and not to hot. Tonight the kids go camping with Grandma and Grandpa Van Eerden for 3 days and Scott and I are looking forward to some peace and quiet by ourselves. We will go to Holland on the 4th to get them and boat there before going to Kentwood for fireworks! Hope you all have a great 4th of July!