A Peek at Christmas

These are very late in getting posted, but here's a peek at our Christmas...

At my parents' house, the annual "family" shots. (Not sure why family is in ""...I guess b/c Katie and Joe aren't QUITE a family yet. But they will be that much closer 10/16/10 when they tie the knot!)









I'm not sure if my kids have ever appeared to love each other so much! This was the obvious choice for our Christmas card...

And that'll have to do it. I didn't take near enough pictures this year!

Halloween

Halloween was a while ago, but I wanted to finally get some pics of my adorable Buzz Lightyear and Jessie the Cowgirl from Toy Story. The kids had tons of fun, managed to stay warm, and got enough candy to satisfy us all for a few weeks. :) Thanks to our faithful candy-hander-outers again for manning the door while we all got to go out Trick-or-Treating!

Cabin Dirtbiking

Here are some pics from our recent trip to my parents' cabin WAY up north in the U.P. It was COLD up there this year!

It's snowing! We're all still in our pj's, but Mom convinced us to get a quick photo in the first snowfall of the year. Brrr!

Yay for Big Bay (t-shirts)!

Uh, Dad? Aren't you forgetting something?

That's better!

Jake LOVED to dress up in Daddy's dirt bike gear!

...and rarely took it ALL off...

Crazy Jake

Jake and I went outside to try to capture some of his "dirt bike" tricks that he's been working on all summer. He LOVES to ride his bike, and he is so proud that he can do it without training wheels. Usually, if someone asks him how old he is, he responds, "3, and I can ride my bike with no training wheels." Ed is loving Jake's favorite hobby - I am still wondering why we are encouraging it... :)

Riding with one hand...

Riding with "no hands"...(you have to look closely for this one)


Riding with "no feet"...

Standing on his back pegs...

I would have taken a video, but I dropped our camera in Lake Michigan this summer and didn't realize it for about 10 minutes... :)

Labor Day Weekend

We did it! We had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend while squeezing 8 adults and 2 kids and 1 baby on my parents' boat. Many would call that crazy, but it was really just crazy fun!

enjoying a snack on the bow...

Despite the cold water temps, Claudia swam every day!

Can you see Baby Trey? He is adorable!

Claudia helped Papa clean the boat.

Jake and Nana snuggle in the sun.

Katie and Joe warm up on the swim deck (thanks to sun and a little wine)!

Claudia's First Day of Kindergarten

Claudia started school today! She has been counting down and was soooo excited! Although it was hard to see her go, her happiness did make it easier to say goodbye. After much thought, prayer, debate, etc, we decided to send her to Muskegon Christian. Her schedule is great - all day Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and home Tuesday and Thursday. We are so proud of our Kindergartener!

Jake Pees in the Potty!

No more explanation needed! It's day 7, and he's still doing great!

Tulip Time 2009!

We have a little tradition going with Aunt Meghan and Uncle Steve of seeing a Tulip Time Parade, running around Centennial Park (tiptoeing through the tulips), and riding a few rides at the carnival each year during Tulip Time. This year, we couldn't help but think of next year when their little baby will be joining us! Next year, we've also committed to finding Dutch costumes (or making them???) for the kids...we'll see how that goal turns out!

See what Jake was doing during the parade? Driving his dirtbike through the tulips, of course! (No tulips were harmed during the filming of these pictures.)

Claudia kept her Dutch hat on almost all day! Preschool this morning included!

The yellow tulips were our favorite this year.

Jake's version of Heaven.

Ooh! A video! I've never tried this before...fun! And Claudia was sure having fun on this roller coaster!

At the end of the day, the ferris wheel was the favorite part for Claudia. Jake first answered cotton candy, then switched it to the ferris wheel.

Spring Showers

I found these raincoats for about $2 at Target, and they've been inspiring us to get out and play...even in all this rain!

Okay, so you can't tell that Claudia was having fun in her raincoat, but she really was.

Finally! Some new pics!

Where does time go? I was doing so well with this blog for a while, and now it's been about 6 months since I've added anything!

Well here's a quick entry: I took an amateur photography class this spring and here are some of my favorite shots...

I love that boy's smile!

And of COURSE I was trying to focus the flag and have Claudia blurred!

Oh, the fun of a trampoline!