Cupcakes

My Mom

She doesn't have a blog so I needed to pass this along to everyone. Perhaps you'll be as impressed as I am:

Here's her exact message:

"Only spent $3.77!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the total from Target, CVS AND Kmart!!!"

And here's the attached picture:



OH MY GOODNESS. I've been entertaining freshman students in my home this afternoon. Looks like I have my work cut out for me tonight!

First Day of Preschool

It was a big decision for us. With Lydia's summer birthday I initially assumed we would wait another year for Lydia to start preschool. But we thought, and we prayed, and we analyzed, and we listened to the advice of this wise woman who taught preschool for more years than I could count, and decided that Lydia would love it.

It was a good decision.

She came home the first day singing songs she had learned, she's excited to go every morning, and other than carpooling with Mr. Ochs today, the transitional week has been a breeze :)

a little explanation

Jonah's OT just passed along this little cartoon:

the apple doesn't fall far

school

Jonah started school this week. Life changed.

Here's some stories from the week.

- While walking Jonah into school the first day I explained that he would be eating his lunch at school. I don't remember exactly how the conversation continued, but he said something along the lines of "just lunch? I thought I was going to be at school ALL DAY."

- The night before school began I explained that I would let him buy his lunch if he liked everything on the list. I read the list to him. "Chicken nuggets, buttered bread, peaches, and a cookie."
"I can like peaches tomorrow, Mom," he said.

- After school one day this week he said, "Mom, did you know that you can't keep your lunch tray?"
"Oh yes, Jonah, those belong to the school cafeteria."
"I thought I could keep it. I had to give it back to them."




to be continued...

It's Cheaper than Therapy

Today I officially started training for another 13 mile race. It's on September 26. It's good to be out again with my friend, Carrie. Perhaps you remember what happened the last time we trained together.

I'm ready now. I have a goal time. We've got a good three mile base.

It feels good to be back at it.

Violet & Lydia

My mom took this picture of Lydia with her second cousin, Violet. I think it's adorable.

this week

loving life with Uncle T

brother

Been spending time with Troy this week....

Usborne Books

We're fans of Usborne puzzle books at our house. That's what Jonah asks for on a regular basis. We check out at least one puzzle book every time we're at the library, and we've read them all over and over and over and over again.

A friend is starting an Usborne business, and I told her I'd have an eShow for her because we love the books so much.

Go here if you'd like to check it all out.

Here's a direct link to some of the puzzle books.

Cinderella Lydia

Look who's THREE!

We had a small party with cousins yesterday. Here's a few pictures:

Vacation!

Are you ready for this? You must assume that a photographer would certainly have plenty of family vacation pictures to share with her family & friends!
We had a great vacation. We purposely chose a "low-key" vacation this year. Mike is in grad school from May-August so it's hard for him to be away from his studies for very long during this time. Ironically, we ventured to that lovely northern state. I laugh at the irony b/c we wouldn't think about vacationing in Michigan when we lived there!

We started in Petoskey and were welcomed with a frigid chill that didn't keep us away from the water!



The following morning we headed to Mackinac. We layered ourselves with every piece of clothing in our suitcase (and still stopped at Wal-Mart for some socks, rain parkas, & pants:) to shelter us from the cold Mackinac weather. As the ferry was leaving, literally, I realized my camera battery was blinking and my spare battery was in the hotel room. AAAAGGGHHH! So throughout the day I turned my camera on, took a quick picture to document a moment, and turned it back off again. I barely took time to look through the viewfinder! Let me say it again, AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!

As soon as we got there, we rented bikes and spent the first few hours bicycling around the island. Jonah loved every minute of it. He wanted to stop at every trail that we passed. It was the perfect adventure for him. Lydia, on the other hand, was scared of the bike and horses all day. Yes, she was scared of horses......
and we were on Mackinac.......
That was interesting...




I love this picture because it's so typical-- Jonah leaning to get out of the picture with his infamous tongue that tells us he's overstimulated. I think it's one of my favorite pictures from vacation.

All day, we said, "Vacation!" and held up our fingers in a "V." Here's a side of Lydia that most people don't get to see, enjoying fudge on the ferry, of course!

After spending the night in Mackinac we took the scenic drive-- and boy did we take the scenic drive-- to Charlevoix and met our friends, the Ross family. It was still cold so Carrie creatively thought we should visit Avalanche Bay, an indoor waterpark. WE LOVED IT! Jonah could ride every water slide and even little miss Lydia was a daredevil riding down some big slides on her own. As Carrie mentioned in her blog, "Vacation Carrie" and "Fun Traci" were alive and well. We were even spotted riding a double tube down the "flushie." Sure wish I had a picture of that! I think that the adults had as much fun as the kids.





The following day, we experienced some warm northern Michigan weather and enjoyed lake activities at the Ross cottage.



Pop and Grammy spontaneously met us in Holland for our final grand adventure. The kids were so excited they were there; I don't think they ever settled down!


Mike and I had been worried about vacation. A road trip seemed like a good idea when we planned it, but how would the kids handle the constant change in hotel rooms, the driving, the sleeping arrangements, etc.? It was great! We made so many memories, and we can't wait to do it again next year!

College Friends

I think there were 10 of us that lived in a lovely house during our senior year of college. Four of us now live in [state] and try to get together every few months. Beth had perfect timing and was able to join us while visiting her family in [state].

College seems like a lifetime ago. Thinking about these girls & that house makes me think of chapel... and watching E.R.... and Twizzlers....and Steve Madden shoes... and Shania Twain songs... and that green Geo Storm I drove... and student teaching... and crocheting... and dance parties... and boys....

Wow.

Memory Lane

I love my friends. I feel so blessed to live in this community where I can shop, pray, talk, run, and just "do life" with my friends. We had an 80s party with our small group last night. Oh dear-- I think we created some memories. What do you think?

Jon & Kelly:

Todd & Dara:


Mark & Christa (real high school sweethearts):

Carrie & Kristin (minus their husbands):

Rapping with Vanilla Ice:


And some details...
Fun Dip!


Oh my! A boyfriend's class ring!


A Wham! button :)

Thank you, Christa & Mark, for planning a memorable party!

Celebrating Mike

It was fun watching the kids enjoy Mike today. After church and a special lunch, Jonah asked for rest time with Dad, and then we spent the rest of the day at the lake. I debated on how I could make Father's Day special for Mike this year, but the practical side of me took over (doesn't it always?), and I decided to give Mike the day on Saturday to travel where he wanted to catch up on his reading for grad school. He went to his office for the day :)

Mike has a love language that's not mentioned in the popular book; we refer to it as "playing." I wanted us to play together on Sunday.

The kids turned into fish over the weekend. It's very apparent to me that they have their Daddy's genes! Lydia is Mommy's girl, but she is also her Daddy's little daredevil! She wanted to be thrown higher over and over again! I had to warn the kids that tomorrow's lake visit wouldn't be as fun since Daddy wouldn't be there to play with them, and Mommy doesn't really enjoy lake water :)

We're thankful for Daddy.