Dude's long bike ride

Dude has been so excited all summer to get riding because he really wants to learn how to ride without his training wheels... so we put his training wheels up pretty high (they pretty much don't touch the ground anymore, but more for a sense of security) and he's been a riding machine!  We did however find a bigger sized bike for him (with no wheels) and painted it yellow per his request.  But, I got gifted a bike from my father in law so we decided that we could all go on a long bike ride.  I'm telling you its a lot of work getting all those bikes and the chariot into Greta!  We have been looking into getting a bike rack, but they're kinda pricey... so we will probably have to wait a little bit.  But... Dude did great.  I was so proud of him!  He rode the entire 7 miles and did it fast too!  I had the girls in the chariot and we all had a good time.  :)  I think his favorite part of the whole ride was when we were parallel to the tracks and a train came by.  He tried to race it and was doing fairly well for a little bit ;)  You should've seen his little legs pumping!  We are getting him started on his new fancy yellow big boy bike and he is loving it!  He gifted Lucy his bike which she couldn't be more excited about, which means that Ava will probably keep Lucy's.  Everybody has a bike!  Whoo!

We have also hooked the go-kart to his bike too haha

JVG

Dude's music class final

Along with the girls having their final music class Dude did as well... but his was a visitation class so that we could see what they've been working on!  I am so very impressed with what the kids learn from Mrs. Boal!  Their little minds are very impressive.  :)  They learned quarter notes, eighth notes, what treble and bass clefs look like, the different lines and spaces in music and what pitches are higher or lower, and they can mimic rhythms.  It's always so bittersweet to go watch his class because I know that he does well during the regular sessions but during their showcase he acts all shy and doesn't really behave which is hard to watch because I know that he can do better... but afterwards Mrs. Boal always reassures me that he is very focused and does very well during class.  He is really excited about doing it next year and hopes that he can be in Ava's class, of course.  :)

Doing some rhythms 

She would say a rhythm and they would have to go to the card with the right one 

They had to walk, run, skip or do a combo of whatever she was playing rhythmically  

JVG

Trail walking with the Mins

One of our new favorite part of the trails start at the Mins house and end at Haverhill Park.  It's about a 2.5 mile walk there and the kids do a good job!  Admittedly the girls ride most of the way but Dude either walks or rides the entire time... it's quite impressive.  This time we lent Lucy's bike to Ava and she did a great job!  Jane wasn't sure how she was going to do, but she did really well!  :)  We had some snacks while we were playing there of course and then we needed to walk back because the kids were very tired.  Jane and I actually ended up driving back with her kids because C was melting down but then walked the trails backwards to meet up with my family.  When we got back to Jane's house we noticed that Norah and the funniest tan lines ever.... good thing we put sunscreen on her before we left!  She got them while riding in her new trike and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. The Mins just got a chariot to go behind their bikes so we are excited to have more family bike rides together.  :)

Our crazy crew.  Dude on his bike, I was pushing Norah in her trike, G had the Mins double stroller bungeed to the go-kart that Lucy was on.  We are a crazy bunch!

Miss Ava doing really well!

I love her little purple shoes

Norah's tan lines... 

She was thirsty...

After our walk the kids where really quiet and we found them with an iPad hiding in the couch...

JVG

Norah's New Ride

Something that is another sign of summer are all the garage sales.  A lot of neighborhoods collaborate and do their sales on the same weekend so you can just go through their developments and hopefully find some goodies!  We found this sweet ride for Norah since she isn't really a fan of the stroller and we want to do a lot of trail walking this summer.  She LOVES it.  And Lucy loves pushing her in it too when she's not riding in the go-kart.  It's awesome.  :)  The nice thing about it is that when she gets a little bigger then we can take the handle off and she's got her very own bike.  :)  Definitely a good garage sale find!

Out for a morning stroll

Norah is riding in style

JVG

Girls last music class

The beginning of summer is already here!  So that means that the kids music classes are winding up.  The girls really enjoyed their Music Together class and I think that we will sign them up for it next year again.  :)





JVG

Landscaping

As part of Father's Day we spent the morning landscaping the front of our place.  The bushes that were out front where half dead last year, so you can imagine how good they look this year... not very. I emailed a picture to the leasing lady and asked if we could remove them OURSELVES and plant some hostas.  She said she had to ask the property manager, Tony, and would get back to us.  A few weeks later I did a follow up and asked if she had gotten a reply back and she said that he would like to come out and look at them, so not yet.  At typical Rosewood speed we didn't hear back from them until a month later when we had to go and resign our lease and we asked her what Tony said.  She said because there looks like there are a few not dead branches that he wanted to leave them, but if something mysteriously happened to them nobody would know.  So.... we got the unofficial go ahead to make the front of our place look a little nicer!

A lot of those bushes were so dead you could just grab them and tear the entire root out.  It was sad... but we got some hostas from my parents house and we planted them.  I think that it looks a lot better and with all the rain that we've been getting it's helping them dig in.  :)  It's amazing what a little landscaping and being able to do what you want with the front of your place can do.  Made me feel so much better!  :)




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Random outings

I take a lot of random pictures so here are just a few things that we've been doing together.  :)

While dude was at music class we went for a little picnic

Yeah, I totally forgot to bring a blanket...

Doing a little trail walking after the library

I love her little baby footprints

The kids loved playing chase around this thing on campus while we waited for G

They are extra strength crazy

Dude climbed this tree because he was wearing his japanese outfit and it was a Japanese tree

Mmm... Korean food at the Mins

OMG. Weirdo kids at the grocery store

She was being so crazy this shopping trip I couldn't help but laugh at her

JVG

Lunch playdate

A few weeks ago we went over to a friend's house for lunch.  The way our paths have continued to cross has been very interesting!  Her name is April and we first met when she and Gaetan worked together at GRCC.  I was pregnant with Tristan and she was always so friendly and wanted to see how I was doing and after he was born she loved it when I brought him in.  She is a little bit older than we are but has 3 older boys from a previous marriage (she had them pretty young) and then she had Dylan who is Lucy's age.  While I attended GRCC I randomly met this guy named Dave and his friend at a study place and we would casually say hi.  Then, when I transferred to Grand Valley I would occasionally see him around there too.  Well, April and Dave got married and had Dylan!  Then, when we started going to Mars Hill we saw them there a few times and have continued to bump into them.

A few months back I received a message from her that she and Dave were splitting up just so that I would know in case I saw them at church and then a little while later she asked if we wanted to come over for lunch.  So, here we are going over to their place!  She then said that a guy that she was sorta seeing was going to be there and we might recognize him because he also worked with G and April at GRCC.  Now, when we knew him he was dating somebody completely different... so it was a very strange dynamic.

The kids had fun with each other and it was nice chatting with April about kids, being a homeowner and all that.  It was a little weird because I don't know her THAT well, so I didn't want to ask what happened with Dave or how things got started with Chris... so we just didn't really go there.  She seemed like she was doing really well all things considered, so that was good.  Its hard being around couples that are fresh off of something like divorce, or starting to date again when I don't remember what its like to start a new relationship.  I don't want it to sound like I'm bragging but I think we have a wonderful marriage and I don't want to seem like I'm that obnoxious person who's so happy all the time and lovey dovey.

The kids got a real treat and had an indoor picnic and got to watch a show while they ate!

We went outside on a wagon ride and they did chalk

Dude loved taking the sides on and off of the wagon

April was tasked with tugging the boys back up the hill...

She seemed like she had a good time and invited us over to do it again sometime soon.  :)

JVG

Words hurt

Today ends Dude's very very busy week.  For his swim class he is enrolled in this intensive two week class that goes from Mon-Thur 10:30-11.  Then, he also had VBS with his friend Ava from 1-4, which meant that he was coming back from swim class with enough time to change, shower and get a snack before heading back out.  Which, also meant, no nap or downtime.  Through the week he was doing just fine but you could tell that he was exhausted.  And, today, it call came crashing down.

I had to print some music off for the wedding I'm playing this weekend so we did a quick stop at the Mins after VBS.  I was hoping that it wasn't going to be a big deal to do so, but knowing that the kiddos were tired was iffy.  They did all right... once we got home Dude asked if we could watch a movie because we had watched a show the day before while Greta was getting looked at, but I told him no today.  He was pretty unhappy with that response.  Then, as he was sulking he told me that he wanted to go eat dinner at a restaurant, but I already had dinner cooking in the crockpot.  So, I told him that it wasn't gonna happen today but maybe another time.  At this point, he gets the most angry, hurt, life isn't fair look I've seen to date and says, "I hate home."  Heart sinks.  As a Momma I try very hard to make this house a home and to make sure that my kiddos are happy... so, to hear him utter those words that he hated where he was hurt.

Now, I totally understand that he said it because he's exhausted and that's the only way he could think to show his displeasure, but.... doesn't hurt any less.  I'm sure if this week had been different and last week hadn't been so stressful it wouldn't have hit so hard, but this week was the way it was and last week was stressful, so it did.  Gaetan talked to him about it and told him what he said was hurtful and that he hurt Momma's feelings, to which he broke down and sobbed.  My poor boy wasn't out to hurt my feelings and knowing that he did hurt his... :(  It was a tough afternoon.

He was very sweet afterwards and told me how much he liked dinner (which he usually does).  The kids are in bed, and I'm hoping that they get enough sleep to start fresh again.

JVG

Spaghetti dinner!

The end of KPhil means that my Monday nights open up... which means... $3.50 spaghetti and meatballs at Mangia Mangia!  If you are ever in town for it I highly recommend it.  It's a really tasty Italian restaurant and who can be that price?  Even if you eat 2 or 3 bowls that's still a good price for the quality of food you're receiving.  This time we went with the Mins, and Tricia and Cory.  It was good to see everybody and enjoy a yummy dinner!  :)  Can't wait to go back again!

Norah LOVED it

She was a bit of a hot mess though...

But with that face who could be mad?

The kids found this fountain after dinner and where really interested with it

Lucy's first selfie

JVG

Last KPhil Concert of 2014

My second year of being in KPhil has come to an end.  This was my first time playing this cycle though!  My first year I was out after having Norah... so this was nice to get one more in.  We did a lot of Spanish musics which was really nice and I could actually play it!  We got to do the traditional have Quebra and Dizzy come down before the concert to hang out (which was nice to see them of course!) and I'm so glad that we can just chill and hang out without having to DO something.  although, they were tasked with taking my kids for a walk while I got dinner prepared :)  I invited a lot of people to this concert and they all came!  I already mentioned Quebra and Dizzy (the faithful), Gracie and JackJack, my sister and her crew, my Dad, Gaetan (of course), and then Ms. Nancy and her husband.  I get so excited about the music that I just invite everybody and then I realize I need to actually practice because I don't want to look a fool if I can't play it!  haha.  it was a glorious time and I still had a bright pink arm pit from the run earlier in the day haha.  I guess it didn't show because it was pretty shadowy on stage but still made me chuckle to myself.  I also go to play John (my friend Jane's husbands) violin, which is a thousand times better than mine!  It's beautiful!  It was a great day filled with lots of fun.  My friend Tricia came and babysat... and she cleaned the place again!  I should really start paying her ;)  Thanks to everybody who made that day special.  Much love and I really can't express how much it means to have your support.

Dude wearing my race glasses... I thought it was a cute picture of them playing Mario Kart together

Norah trying to get Tricia to give her some of her dinner

Me n Katie :)

JANE!!

In the action

Before the concert started... V for victory!

A nice little summary of the day.  Thanks Nanc! :)

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Run or Dye

I have no experienced a color run!  I had a lot of fun hanging with Ms Nancy and helping her through her first 5K. These runs are the best if you're just starting out at running and need a no pressure, not timed event.  I saw a lot of people there with their small children and a lot of people just walked through the course.  The dye felt kinda cold and smooth like corn starch, but didn't stain anything real seriously.  :)  The TuTu's were a big success... although it kept wanting to go between my legs when running so we were constantly trying to keep them where they were supposed to be!  haha.

In the parking lot all clean!

The pre-race dance party

We got a little dirty even before the race started!

Getting ready to run!

Yay!  We did it!  

The group of ladies we ran with

My fun tutu

Our armpits were dirty...

Happy to have done it

Confused how it made it through all the layers and still dyed my belly!

After that we quick went to watch Ms. Nancy's son play his first game of Districts which was a lot of fun.  It had been awhile since I had watched high school sports, but he did really well!  It was a weird sensation being out in the middle of the day without the kids... I felt kinda guilty and spoiled.  But, after they won their game I went back home and tried to shower off as much of the powder as I could because I had a concert that night!  Busy busy day!  But oh so much fun.

JVG