Slip n slides and water balloons

A fond memory that I had as a kid growing up was using the slip n slide or having water gun/balloon fights.  There is a mini hill in the backyard which we thought would be great for slip n sliding down, but it turns out that there wasn't a hose hook up back there :(  So, we set the slip n slide up in the front yard and the kids seemed to have enough fun with that!  We even got the Min kids in on it and they really liked it too!





























Along with the slip n slide we have had quite a few water balloon fights already.  The hardest part was trying to find a good and efficient way of filling up balloons, but mostly, we just had to push through.  We eventually got a nozzle that fit on the hose which made things a lot easier and some balloons that actually would pop instead of just hurt when you got hit.  The water from the hose is so cold though so we definitely have been waiting for it to be good and hot!  :)






JVG

Goodbye Husteds!

After our little trip to the museum we headed up to GR to have lunch and say good bye to the Husteds.  Always so grateful to be able to see them one more time but its hard to drop them off at the airport.  Airports are so romantic I think... people saying good-bye for awhile or seeing each other again for the first time.  I love them really.  But, we went to our usual place for lunch and even got a chance to get some ice cream before driving them there.  It always makes me sad dropping them off, and let's be honest, for a few days after, but I would rather take little bits and pieces of time with them over anything.  It was nice to see Brian again too!  Until next time loves!  Can't wait :)






JVG

Sarah's Going Away Party

A little while ago we found out that Sarah, our concert mistress, was moving to Maryland to get her masters degree.  Her husband found a job there already and has been living there for a few months and now that the cycle is winding down she will be joining him.  I have to admit, even though I don't know her real well, I was pretty sad.  I was just starting to get to know her and even though she is really intense she's very kind as well.  Friends threw her a going away party and I was lucky enough be able to attend most of it.  It was fun talking with people outside of orchestra and meeting their spouses and learning who they are.  I got to meet Andrew's fiancee and see him be silly! It was kinda weird but endearing all at the same time.  It's like seeing your teachers or professors in the real world living their lives, because somehow we all think their life starts and ends in the classroom.  haha.








Best of luck Sarah! It has been an honor sharing a stage with you for these few years.

JVG

Kalamazoo Museum!

Gaetan's advisor asked him if he could drop him at an appointment the next morning and pick him up since he had to get a procedure done that the Dr's didn't want him driving himself afterwards.  We had made plans to see Amy and Brian one more time for lunch before their flight in GR so while G ran that errand for his advisor I took the kids to the museum downtown.  We had been down there before when Dude was smaller but their children's museum worker made the visit less than desirable.  We had given it a few chances but every time we went she would just follow us around and clean up everything right after we were done.  He had made this block thing to show me and when we came it was already cleaned up.  He was pretty disappointed... :(  But, now that the kids are older and we were going to be in that part of town anyway we thought we'd give it another go!














The kids LOVED it.  They actually had a lot more fun with the actual museum than the children's museum part.  They loved exploring all the different exhibits and trying everything out.  They learned what an old school phone looked like and how it worked, even with the operator!  It was a really good time and it wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be.  The museum is free and it's downtown so sometimes it's really busy, but today wasn't too bad.























Per usual the kids favorite part was the science part, where we did experiments.  I felt pretty good about this part because since moving we have been not doing a lot of school stuff... and they absolutely loved it!  Good to know for when the weather gets crappy out :) :)

JVG

Cherries!

After our visit with Jon we decided that we were gonna go cherry picking.  I am terrible at when fruits are in season because we missed strawberries already.  I think that they should be later in the summer than they are, but they are always at the end of May!  Shoot... ohh well.  But, we thought that we would give cherry picking a try and the kids loved it!






















We got the kids their own buckets and we set Dude and Lucy up on some ladders and they went to town!  We picked mostly sweet cherries but got a few tart so that I could make Dad a pie.  The place were we picked had a little farmers market stand in the front, and goodies and treats you could purchase too.  It was a hit day so we got them this lemonade and cider slushy.  It was really good!  And refreshing!  We picked a ton of cherries which I made into jam from the sweet and then a pie from the tart.  Since it was such a good experience and the kids like the goodies made from the cherries i might have to invest in a pitter :)










JVG