Holiday Week/Weekend

We had a great long holiday week/weekend.

The fun started on Wednesday night.  We took the boys to their first baseball game - the Whitecaps.   They really enjoyed it.  There was so much going on so it kept them entertained.  We also did some walking around - Alex pitched some balls to see how fast he could throw, they played on the playground and we got ice cream.




The fun continued on Thursday with a trip to Boulder Creek Animal Reserve with cousins.
Alex is the bird whisperer and loves to have all the birds land on him....no picture of Brodie b/c he was clinging to me...

Cousins!

Safari ride bus seat buddies....


We spent the 4th of July out in Grand Haven at my parents.  The weather could not have been any more perfect - blue skies, sun and a slight breeze.  The kids played outside and then we spent the afternoon at the beach.  The boys LOVE the beach.  It is the one place on this earth that Alex will entertain himself for hours.  We grilled out for dinner.




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We started Saturday morning with our first family golf outing.  We went to a local course that has 3 practice holes.  We putted on the practice green, practiced chipping and then played the three holes for awhile.

Ready for some golf:


Putting Green:






Chipping:  Alex loves to chip it out of the dirt.


Teeing off on hole #1:  (Had to keep Brodie from hitting the big fake balls that mark the tee box)

Where Brodie could be found the rest of the time:

I mostly supervised but got in on the action for some putting contests with Alex.  He loves to pick different spots on the green and see who can make it in the hole with the fewest putts. 

After short naps we headed out to some friends for a pool party.  Alex loved their 10 year old son.  Alex idolized him and followed him around all night - they played soccer, rode scooters, he showed Alex how to shoot his airsoft gun, and they let off some fireworks.  Alex loved "the snake" firework. Brodie swam and swam and swam and just loved paddling around in the pool - sometimes all by himself.   A great afternoon of swimming and playing.  

Cooking his first smore...

Eating his first smore.....

End of the night coma - combination exhaustion and smores....

More Summer Fun Part 2

A photo dump from Eric's phone of some of our fun adventures so far this summer:

One of my favorite places:  Grand Haven/Grand Haven Pier -

 Lots of golfing with Daddy this summer:

 Fishing with cousins at the Grand River

Visiting Daddy at work:

 Truck Pull in Caledonia:

Here's a little "education" for those who are unfamiliar with what a truck pull is:

 Fishing with Uncle Jason on Duncan Lake:

 The big catch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsW_DQ-GgDI&feature=youtu.be

More Summer Fun!!!

We have been having so much fun this summer!!  We are always busy doing something - beaches, cookouts, parades, strawberry picking, pools, festivals, truck pulls :),  etc.

Here are a few events I actually remembered to take pictures at:

Beach Day with Cousins!  Unfortunately it was a hazy, cooler day so the adults were wrapped in beach towels but the kid's didn't care and had a great time at the beach.

Balancing on a log:

 Goal:  get log to stand up....

Some Parade Fun:

 Caledonia Days Western Days:
Brodie must do whatever the big boys do - so he insisted on target practice with the bb gun.  Alex also got to shoot a bow and arrow.

We are loving summer in Michigan!

Weekend Fun

Last weekend was a fun and busy weekend. 

On Friday, the boys and I met Grandma, Aunt Jen, and Baby Will at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens.  Somehow I forgot to take pictures until the very end.  But they loved the Gardens.  They liked sailing boats in the water, digging for fossils in the sandbox and playing in the tree house play area. 

We went and saw the big horse statue and Alex wanted a picture of the horse stepping on him:

We had lunch afterwards and Alex and Brodie fought about who got to hold Baby Will.   Will is such a sweet and happy baby and he was so content all morning just taking it all in!

 This is of course Will smiling at his favorite Auntie ; )

 On Saturday morning Eric ran in the Reed's Lake 5K.  I would have a picture but the boys and I didn't make it to the finish line until about 3 minutes after he finished.  I am still remembering my way around all these suburbs again and every road was closed for the race and after running our own 2K trying to make it in time we just missed him :(.

Next on the agenda was a train ride on the Coopersville Marne Train.  We didn't tell the boys where we were going and they were so excited when we pulled up and they saw the train.  That excitement lasted for about 7 minutes into the train ride.  Brodie started crying when they blew the whistle really loud and Alex was bored :).  It was a little anticlimatic - basically you go about 10 mph up and down a track with less than exciting scenery.  We taught Alex how to play thumb war and slap hand games, etc.  Thankfully for the second half there was a little duet playing/singing in our cars and the boys were entertained by them.

After the train ride we headed out to Grand Haven and to the beach.  Brodie decided to sleep all afternoon at Papa and Grandma's house, so Alex spent the afternoon at the beach with Mommy and Daddy.  Alex LOVES the beach and entertains himself so well there.

Lots of Summer Fun!

We have been having a busy and fun summer so far!

We had our first "official' day at the beach.  It was a perfect day - blue skies, little breeze, warm sun...the only thing missing was warm water!  It felt like freshly melted ice burgs!  The boys had fun playing in the sand and Alex was splashing and playing in the freezing water:

Alex had his last soccer game of the season this week.  He enjoyed playing and it was interesting to watch.  He started off the season with a bang, going after the ball, being aggressive, stealing the ball from his own teammates :), etc. and would often score goals, including 5 in one game.  Alex does NOT like to lose and he would glare at the other team and their clapping fans when the opposing team would score.  The last couple of games he has been less aggressive on offense and would hang back and run to guard the goal anytime the other team had the ball.  There is no goalie for his age, but that didn't stop him from appointing himself as one :).  He is #8.

 Highlight of the season for him - the coach gave them all a trophy at the last game:

This morning we went with Grammy and Kensingtyn to Boulder Creek Refuge.  Such a neat place!
Feeding the birds -Kensie and Brodie were a little nervous and unsure - the birds were pretty hungry and aggressive:

 

Alex was the bird whisperer:



 They all loved feeding the animals:

Safari ride:

 Token touristy picture:  3 little cuties: