Growth

We have since planted the kids seeds outside and they are actually growing!  Yay!  We have used some of Lucy's cilantro and chives already and they are delicious.  She is so excited to go outside and be able to have a little taste ;)  Dude's flowers are starting to finally bloom too!  He is really excited to show us the different buds and colors that are coming up.  It's really nice to see them observe growth and are excited about it.  I'm just excited that nothing died!  :)  Today we also sampled some of the basil that Lucy grew... very fresh and smells great!  Can't wait to see the rest of Dude's flowers come up and to eat more of Lucy's delicious herbs.

Basil on the left, chives are right next to the cilantro which is the big bunch in the middle!

Dude's first bloom

JVG

Walk, Ice cream and Pirate Pirate Pirate!

Luckily our kids were awake by the time we got home from eating after the beach so that gave us enough time to get them in the tub :)  Normally we would hope that they would be asleep, but I knew that the next morning was going to be early and a little hectic anyway, so if we could bath them before that that would be helpful.  And... wouldn't you know it the kids slept in Sunday morning.

We don't ever set alarms anymore because the kids are always up way earlier than we have any scheduled... but not today!  We were volunteering in Sunday School so we had to be there extra early so we had to leave before 8:30... guess what time the kids get up?  8:05!!  So, we got the kids dressed, fed and out the door in less than 20.  I was feeling pretty good about myself haha.  I was a room leader again this week and I was in toddler's instead of walkers.  It went well.  There was only an incident where a parent didn't get their number bracelet on before they left and I had to quickly chase them down! But, lucky for me she had stopped to get coffee and bagels and was right by the baby bay wing.

After church we went to Mom and Dad's and my sister and her kids were out with Jason... so we had Grandma and Grandpa all to ourselves!  Something that used to be the norm, but now it is a special treat.  We promised the kids that they could have ice cream after dinner (yesterday at the beach) but by the time we actually had dinner it was so late, so we said that they could have it the next day with Grandma and Don.  We walked to the ice cream place and actually got to treat my Dad to ice cream!  He usually buys everything and you can't argue with him, but this time we got to do something nice for him.  The kids had a blast riding in the stroller with Grandpa because he was a crazy driver. haha.




On the way back from ice cream we stopped at a play ground and the kids had a good time.  It was really strange though because while we were there G and I both felt really nauseous.  I don't know if it was a combination of the heat and swinging or something but we did not feel well.  We did start to feel a little better after we got back home and drank a lot of water so I'm thinking a combo of heat and dehydration had something to do with it.  We had quite the jam packed fun filled weekend!  Whew.  :)

JVG

Silver Beach

I can't believe that it's almost August and we just went to the beach as a family for the first time.  We did go when Jon and Megan were here, but the weather was so crappy I can't count that as our first beach outing.  Well, this day was picture perfect for the beach.  The sun was shining, it was just hot enough to be enjoyable but not so much that you thought you were going to melt into a puddle.  The water was just cool enough that at first dip it was on the cold side but then it immediately got refreshing.  :)  we went with the Mins and Jane's brother and wife joined us.  We have never been to the St Joe beach before but it was awesome!  Apparently, everybody knows that it is because it was pretty busy, but they had life guards on duty, it was clean and they had a great playground too!  We organized with the Mins what type of food we are going to bring so we would have a great little lunch.  :)  We definitely we going to the beach in style... they had this table in a bag, and this HUGE umbrella.  It was awesome.  The kiddos had so much fun playing it was hard to get them to leave.  Norah wasn't a huge fan of walking in the sand but she eventually figured out how and didn't mind.  It was actually quite the relaxing day.  The kids played in the same area together and well, and Norah wasn't trying to wander off, so we could just sit and soak up the sun.  It was beautiful.

Ready to go!  With my new beach bag we fit EVERYTHING

Beautiful day

Lucy was the first one in

She didn't love walking around but she didn't mind just sitting

I love the picture of the kids sitting together

The girlies warming up in their cover-ups

They had dug a massive hole and were taking turns getting in and burying 

Norah sat on the shoreline for quite some time.  She loves the water

Lucy was making these car molds and doing a really good job!

I thought they were cute

Her random cars haha she said they were going different places

She said there was a car for each of us

Norah was having a blast playing under the umbrella with all the snacks

She's such a goof

that is Miss Ava's hat

C man doing some sand molds too

This is when she met Jane's brother John.  She just stared at them, watermelon hanging out of her mouth and all

Trying to figure out where to eat dinner she passed out

Then, as the day was drawing to a close (we had been there already for over 5 hours) we were gonna grab some dinner.  There is a famous pizza place right by the beach and is apart of the amtrak station in St Joe but it was almost a 2 hour wait!  Even for carry out!  So, next time we are there we will have to try and get there early or just order and walk back to get the take out.  :)  We ended up going to a brewery in Sawyer which was really good.  The wait was a little long there but it was worth it.  The food we had was really yummy and reasonably priced.  It was a great way to end the day.  It's also really nice to hear strangers tell you how well behaved the kids are even after a long day of playing and no naps.  I would definitely go back to that beach again!

Yay for ice cream!

Waiting to get into dinner!

My kids weren't the only ones that fell asleep

Dude and Ava were picking out their dessert before we even had dinner

Little Ring Around the Rosie to pass the time

They had adorable little glasses, a lego table and fantastic BBQ!  Yum!

JVG

New Trail Walking Sandals

My very sweet and thoughtful husband ordered me a pair of sandals that will be great for trail walking!  I got some crocs that are comfy and easy to slip on but after a few miles they aren't that great on the feet... and everybody else in the family had gotten Tevas and loved them, so we figured I should try them as well.  :)  Well, they are great!  and comfy!  And they are just the same as Lucy's.  it's very cute.  hers a much cuter than mine but she was thrilled that we had the same pair.

Our matching sandals 

So, naturally, once I got them we had to take them out for a spin.  And, just as we suspected they were comfy and awesome.  Looking forward to much more trail walking this summer!

Norah insisted that she wanted to push her trike instead of ride

She was loving all the wildlife and pointing at everything

Miss Independent

Duder riding up the big hill!  He made it all the way to the top!

Lucy has learned how to pedal the go-kart and decorated by putting a flower in the steering wheel

Dude thought it was fun to push Lu and then ride on the back

He was pulling it by the bungee and then wanted to clip it to this pants... oops...

On the trail there is a spot where its the same distance to Detroit as it is to Chicago.

JVG

You are my Sunshine

I finished up some more artwork for the kiddos.  I have always sung You are my Sunshine to Lucy ever since she was a baby... I did change the words though because the original is really depressing!  And, honestly, if you think about a lot of the lullabies or nursery rhythms they are really morbid or depressing as well!  So... here is my version, which I think is much nicer.  :)  Also, you can find this design on Etsy for $40... or you can create your own for a few bucks :D



You are my Sunshine.
My only Sunshine.
You make me happy everyday.
You'll never know dear, how much I love you.
So I'll tell you everyday.

Love you sweet Lucy Goose.

JVG

Piano

I know that you are all impressed that we somehow fit a piano into our tiny living room... but we did! Our Asian neighbors are moving and didn't want to move their piano so they asked us if we wanted it... free piano?  Sure!  It is a little beat up on the outside (which is just fine because I'm sure my kids don't go to town on it) but the piano itself is in tune so that is what matters.  Dude is so excited about starting lessons with me... we got him a piano book today.  We, of course, had to do some rearranging but I like our place better this way!  It feels more open, which is a strange thing to say considering we put a piano in it.  It was kinda nice because that way we cleaned out a lot of stuff while moving things around so things are looking a lot more put away.  :)

Norah trying it out

We are also now high chair free!  :)

JVG

Big Truck Day!

The library had a lot of big trucks come so that the kids could learn about what they do, safety and then be able to climb in and see all the knobs and dials!  Dude had swim class in the morning but after that we hurried over to see them and the kids LOVED it.  So did apparently everybody else in Portage because you couldn't find parking and there were lines to get into all the different trucks... but the kids did well and had a lot of fun!














JVG