Did you enjoy your gymnastics class?

Leah and Elizabeth started gymnastics tonight and they were able to wear their new leotards. It was so nice to only spend one hour at the gym as they each attended different classes but at the same time. Elizabeth's class is full with 6 other girls and 1 boy while Leah's class has 8 girls total. When Tim came home from work this evening he asked both of the girls about their experience. Elizabeth told him that it was "good" and Leah said, "It was AWESOME! Better than last year."

Is your washer smelly?

Awhile back I won a blog giveaway for a product that could clean your washing machine. I had never thought of cleaning my washer before, but it makes sense. How can you clean your clothes if your machine is dirty? I was eager to try Smelly Washer when it came in the mail. Now I'm hoping it will make a difference. Today Tim did load after load trying to catch up on the piles that have been forming due to all of this past week's activities. I am so thankful to have a husband who helps out with the laundry!

How was Elizabeth's birthday party?

We had a big birthday party for Elizabeth yesterday evening. My side of the family traveled hours before arriving for dinner. Then Tim's side of the family joined everyone for presents along with cake and ice cream. Our house was packed full of people, but Elizabeth enjoyed all of the excitement.

Do you know how old Elizabeth is?

Make a Smilebox greeting

How do you persevere?

Our key to happiness this month is perseverance. Tonight I had planned for us to complete an obstacle course on the playground of my school, but the rain brought us inside. Instead we set up a course around the interior of the building that consisted of a big loop with 4 different stations. We timed each person for the first trip around. The goal was to persevere and beat our first time during the second attempt. All of us ended up shaving seconds off of our time and even more importantly we hung in there when the course got tough!

Have you ever been to the American Girl store?

Today was a special day for Elizabeth. The two of us drove to Michigan City, Indiana to hop on a train into the city of Chicago. There we met my mom and the three of us walked to the American Girl store located in Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. While inside the store Elizabeth picked out a Bitty Baby and some accessories which I purchased for her birthday. My mom also bought Elizabeth an adorable, soft, white bunny robe that she is sleeping in tonight. Although the trip didn't go quite as I had planned: it rained, Elizabeth wanted to take a nap on the purple couch at the store, and she was unusually worried about missing our train out of the city. Still, we had a fun mother-daughter experience that I hope she remembers in the years to come!

How many miles are on your car?

We bought our Acadia at the end of March and today we rolled past 10,000 miles. That means we've averaged about 2,000 miles a month since our purchase. How do we put so many miles on? Well, living in the middle of 2 cities means we either drive north 15 minutes or south 15 minutes to reach places like grocery stores, school, and church. Just this morning we piled up the miles to:

*The doctor for Elizabeth's 4 year old check up (She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight.)

*Gymnastics to make our first payment for both girls (They tried on leotards for almost an hour!)

*Meijer to order Elizabeth's birthday cake (Elizabeth told her gymnastics coach we were going to buy vegetables instead.)

*Target to return a basket (That was our shortest stop.)

*Culver's for lunch (YUM!)

*School to drop some things off at my classroom and bring some things home (The girls helped me hang some curtains too!)

*The gas station because our fuel level was low (I wonder why?)

So to save on gas money and reduce the miles on our vehicle we spent the afteroon outside enjoying the sun before the rain comes tomorrow.

Are you ready to retire?

This evening Tim and I had dinner with his parents, his brother and wife, and Tim's sister and husband. We were celebrating Tim's parents' retirement. It was a gorgeous night to sit on the deck of Snug Harbor. The food was delicious and the time spent celebrating was wonderful. Here's to a happy and fulfilling retirement Mom and Dad!

How is the tree house coming?

Earlier this month Tim started building a tree house in the woods next to our house. It is quite the structure measuring 10' X 10' and 7 feet off the ground. Leah has been anxiously awaiting the final product. There is still quite a bit of work to do so this afternoon Tim started adding the necessary railings to go around the top. I imagine that when it is finished the tree house will be quite the place for the neighboring children.

Where were you all day?

Tim and I went on our own little excursion while the girls are off camping with their grandparents. I guess I could refer to our day as a "Back to Work" shopping trip. Leaving just after 8:00 this morning we spent more than 12 hours driving, shopping, and eating (too much of the last one I'm afraid). I hit the jackpot at Ann Taylor and Tim raked in at Dickies. Of course we couldn't forget about the girls so we picked up some fall coats for them from Columbia. I think our favorite stop was at Harry and David where we picked up some malt balls and chocolate covered pretzels! When I have more money I'm going back to buy things for the girls at Hartstrings.

Do you own a MasterCraft?

Tim and I spent some time together in Grand Haven tonight. Before eating at one of our favorite restaurants we took a trip over to the Chinook Pier to see MasterCraft's biggest boat. New for 2010 this boat is the only one of it's kind. At 30 feet long it can sleep 2 comfortably and has all the "bells and whistles". Tomorrow it will be going to Chicago and from there into Minnesota and into the Ozarks. Since most of the boats at the store Tim works at are just for skiing use during the day it was neat to see a boat that could do more.

Are you crafty?

A crafty friend of mine and I spent time this evening making cards using Creative Memories products. We had fun chatting and being creative. I look forward to being able to use the cards in the near future!

What does ISO mean?

This morning I went to a photography class while Leah and Elizabeth played with some friends. During my individualized class I was able to learn a little bit more about my camera and get a stronger understanding of terms like ISO and aperture. Hopefully now I'll be able to take even better photos!

Would you like to go school shopping?

This afternoon the girls and I went school shopping with Tim's mom. It was a VERY successful trip. Leah came home and showed Tim all of her clothes and then put them away. I had each girl pick out her favorite outfit and of course they are both pink. Elizabeth's sweatshirt says "Daddy's Girl" and she plans to wear it to bed tonight. Thanks Mom!

Can I play in the rain?

It seems like the same old summer story just a different day. Looking for something to do this drab morning Elizabeth asked if she could play in the rain. I gave her permission and then helped get her ready. All she wanted to wear was her swimming suit...no shoes, raincoat or umbrella. She lasted all of about 3 minutes. Apparently her idea of fun was too cold and wet. Go figure!

Will you smile nicely?

It has become a tradition for Tim and I to take Leah and Elizabeth to the beach for a mini photo shoot at Kirk Park along Lake Michigan. Wearing all white outfits, I attempt to take individual pictures as well as some of the two of them. Both girls did an excellent job for this year. I think it is fun to look back at the last 3 years and see how they have grown.

2007 2008 2009

Who are your cousins?

My sister Julie and her kids, Collin (4) and Ellie (2) came to visit this morning. We had fun playing outside in our yard and then in Lake Michigan at the beach. They all played so nicely with one another!

Did you enjoy your vacation?

For the last 3 days our family vacationed at a cottage on a lake. The majority of our time was spent on or at least near the water. Some of the things we did include: swimming, skiing, tubing, wake surfing, barefooting, dragging behind the boom, fishing, golfing (Tim played 9 holes during nap time), lounging on a raft, reading, and roasting smores. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was great to be together as a family!

Did you hear me snap?

Ever since Leah learned how to snap, Elizabeth has wanted to learn. Just the other day she came walking down the stairs showing me her attempt. There is actually a noise associated with her motion and I think she's on the verge of snapping.

Do you like watermelon?

Up until a few weeks ago Leah and Elizabeth did not like watermelon. All of a sudden they can't get enough of it. Tim and I love watermelon, but can't eat a whole one all by ourselves. I'm so glad that we can all enjoy this tasty summer treat together!

Do you know how to write your name?

Elizabeth recently learned how to spell her name, HOORAY! For a long time she has been able to recognize the letter "E" by pointing it out on signs and in books. Then she was able to identify the letter "l" and Tim helped her remember the letter "i" by pointing to his eye. Learning the letter "z" was almost to the halfway mark and I wondered when she would no longer be "Eliz". After realizing that "cdefgh..." didn't come after "ab" in her name we knew Elizabeth would soon learn the rest of her name. While being able to spell her name in entirity doesn't happen 100% of the time, I'm confident she'll go to preschool knowing how to spell it. Now she needs to learn how to write it. So she practiced writing her name in shaving cream which was messy, but fun!

Who has power?

Sometimes God has a funny sense of humor. Of all the days this summer to lose power it had to be last night and today. As I previously wrote air conditioning is a wonderful thing. I lived without it for years and feel for those without that luxury. While the first storm approached the lakeshore yesterday evening we lost power for about an hour and a half. It came back on only to go off less than 2 hours later. At that time Tim and I hurried around the house unplugging appliances during a "brown out" where only 1/2 the power was available. The second storm rolled in early this morning and we woke up without any electricity or phone connection. Even our cell phones didn't have service. Because Tim took today off (a good thing for our family, not so much for him) we all drove to Hudsonville to borrow a generator. There was some fuel in it, but Tim wanted to get more. That didn't happen though because the gas station was without power too. Ironically within 30 minutes of hooking the generator up everything came back on 100%. I just have to laugh and remember that God is the only one with all the power!

How do you cool off on a hot day?

There have been very few hot days this summer, but today was definitely one of them. We are fortunate enough to live near Lake Michigan and we also have quite a few friends with underground pools in their backyards. This afternoon we took a dip in one of their pools to cool ourselves off from the oppressive heat and humidity. Thank goodness for air conditioning too!

Can we ride a camel?

Yes, we braved the crowds to attend Meijer's Family Day at John Ball Zoo so that Leah and Elizabeth could ride a camel. Thankfully my children are early risers so we were actually waiting in line before the park opened. Because we love animals we bypassed all of the people out for the free giveaways and made it to the back of the zoo ahead of the masses. When Leah and I attended her end of the year field trip I promised to take her back so she could ride the camel. We had to wait again until the camels were ready to go. As we were waiting some old friends from our church (who have 4 girls) joined the line. The zookeepers crammed 5 of the girls, minus the 2 year old, onto the camel. It was a bumpy ride, but it was the highlight of the morning. We were able to make it around to see the rest of the animals before it really got busy. Phew!

Where is Sandy Pines?

The girls and I spent most of yesterday at Sandy Pines visiting Kim, our daycare provider. We enjoyed...

riding on the golf cart,
playing on the playground at the beach,
buying candy at the general store,
touring new trailers,
having lunch on the deck,
swimming at the water park,
playing miniature golf,
eating ice cream, and
singing songs with friends!

What is your favorite sport?

The last 2 evenings Leah has attended soccer camp (which was offered in place of Vacation Bible School) at Tim's parents' church. This was the perfect opportunity to expose her to the sport and to see if she would be interested in playing on a team. Long story short: soccer is not Leah's favorite sport. She is a great runner and quite aggressive, but lacking in skill and motivation. Of course, being with a bunch of unfamiliar kids and getting stung by a bee didn't help her experience either. I plan to wait and see if Leah brings up playing soccer again before signing her up this fall.

Did you see the turkeys in our backyard?

Elizabeth was all excited when she spotted 4 adult and 12 baby turkeys in our yard. It seems that they were very interested in the gardens the girls planted with Tim. I tried to get a picture of them through the backdoor. In hindsight I should have taken a picture from the window upstairs that doesn't have a screen. Oh well, at least I got one of the silly birds!

How was the drive?

The last 2 days have almost been a blur. Leah, Elizabeth and I left town on Monday morning to attend my niece's 8th birthday party. We spent the evening in Wheaton last night and then visited some of my high school friends and their children during the day today. While all the activity (and over 8 hours of driving) was fun I'm looking forward to some down time tomorrow.

Which color should we use to accent the house?

After almost 8 years of living in our home we've decided to repaint the front door and some small accent areas. Deciding on what color to use was quite a process. Thankfully we only needed to buy 3 samples to help with that decision. Our first choice was a color called Red Wine. It was a bit too red so we tried Rustic Red next. Then that one looked too orange. Our last attempt was a color called Burnished Mahogany which has a tint of brown mixed in with the red. It was a little scary having Tim on our roof and painting the door was a bit of a challenge. However, in the end we are happy with the change.

Did you win the barefoot contest?

We woke up early yesterday morning to attend the Payne Lake Figure 8 barefoot contest. It was a great morning and Tim enjoyed himself even though he didn't win. After the competition we spent the afternoon in Howard City on Winfield Lake with Tim's side of the family. It was rainy and windy (imagine that), but after spending the night we did manage to do some fishing and skiing today. We liked our little getaway.

What is a "Wainbow"?

With the crazy cool weather we've been having this summer the girls haven't had much of a desire to run through the sprinkler. However when our underground sprinklers kicked on Elizabeth and a neighbor girl decided to brave the freezing cold water. During that time they realized they could see rainbows in the water. I heard them shout over and over with glee "A wainbow! A wainbow!" Ah, the beauty and significance of a rainbow.