A Visit With Old Friends

Yesterday, we had some old friends over for the afternoon and evening.  Paul, Justine, Seth (4), Carter (3), and Annie (6m) came over to hang out, catch up, and play.  We haven't seen Paul and Justine since Seth's first birthday party... and he's turning 5 very soon.  So it's been about four years.  It was so great to see them and to finally meet Carter and Annie!  Paul and Justine have lived all over the country in the last 5 years... Texas, California, Virginia, Indiana, and now they've decided to come back to Michigan.  We were very excited to hear they were moving back recently!  They're living down in St. Clair Shores, so we're about an hour away from each other, so not far at all. 

The boys had a lot of fun playing together.  Carson and Carter are very close in age... Carson is about 3 months older than Carter.  And Seth is just about to turn 5.  They played together really well.  Carson took about a half hour or so to warm up to them and feel comfortable, but once he did he had so much fun!  They played inside with all of Carson's toys for awhile and then went outside to play.  They played in the playhouse, on the swingset, and in the sand box. 

And they tromped all over the back yard with their shirts off and sticks in hand.  They said they were trying to find Shrek and Fiona's wedding and were running into Spiderman and Batman along the way.  They had a blast. 

We ended the night with a quick swim to get the boys cleaned off... they were so filthy! 

It was a super fun day and it was so good to catch up with Paul and Justine again.  We look forward to seeing them often now that they're back in Michigan!

Abram's Baptism

We had an eventful weekend in Grand Rapids last weekend.  Saturday was the wedding and Sunday morning we got up and headed to Seymour Christian Reformed Church to see our nephew, Abram Judah, get baptized.  What an awesome thing to witness!  We are so grateful to be able to share in such a special blessing with our family. 

After church, we all went over to Uncle Justin and Aunt Mary's house for a celebration.  We had a delicious lunch and got to hang out and have some fun.  The kids had a blast, as always.  And we got to catch up with family.  We also got to meet Justin and Mary's 2-week old niece, Esther.  We had a great time and look forward to seeing everyone again next time! 

Congratulations, Katie and Tony!

On Saturday, July 16th, we traveled west to Grand Rapids to attend the wedding of Sara's college friend, Katie.  Sara and Katie met at MSU through Kevin's friend, Ben, and Sara's friend, Michelle.  Katie and Sara had some classes together over the years and hung out socially, as well.  Sara, Katie (and Michelle) were all in Phi Chi Theta together, too.  We've all kept in touch over the years thanks to social networking and we usually make a point to get together at least once (sometimes more) a year at Christmas when everyone is in town. 

Let me back up a couple of weeks before I get to the wedding... Back on July 2nd, I went out to Grand Rapids for Katie's bachelorette party.  We all wore purple (or black if you didn't have purple) shirts in honor of Katie's wedding colors.  We met up in the mid-afternoon, hopped onto a party bus, and took off to Muskegon to hit up a couple wineries.  We stopped at another winery in Grand Rapids on our way back for dinner at San Chez... which, by the way is a fantastic restaurant that I hope to go back to again!  We had a wonderful tapas dinner and some delicious sangria for dinner, after which we all headed out to a couple different downtown bars.  It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone!

The Phike sisters... Michelle, Katie, Sara, and Amanda

Ok, so back to the wedding day... but not quite to the wedding yet.  Kevin, Carson, and I went out to Grand Rapids in the early afternoon to check into our hotel.  We wanted to take Carson swimming for a bit before having to get ready for the wedding.  It was an adults-only wedding, so Carson was going to meet up with Grandpa and Grandma for the evening.  He ended up getting to play with his cousin Rebecca for a few hours, which he LOVED!  He also loved swimming beforehand.  He probably could have stayed in the pool area for hours more.  But he was a good sport about heading back up to the hotel room... he also loves staying in hotels... and was excited to take a bath in the hotel bathtub.  :)  He wanted his towel wrapped around his waist to walk back to the room... he's getting way too big. 

And now to the wedding.  :)  We were very excited to attend Katie and Tony's wedding.  We knew it'd be gorgeous - and it was!  Both the ceremony and reception were held at Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.  Such a great place for a wedding!  Everyone looked beautiful and it was clear that Katie paid close attention to every little detail.  Everything looked so perfect!  Her wedding colors were purple and silver and everything was so elegant. 

We were also looking forward to a night out as adults and to having some fun - and we did!  We caught up with old friends and met some new friends, too.  We really had a great time!  Kevin's back was still bothering him quite a bit, so he didn't dance too much, but Sara was out there dancing most of the night with friends.  Dancing is such great exercise!  :) 

And I realize I didn't get a good picture of just Katie and Tony...  sigh.  Thanks for including us in your special day!  We wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness!

A Ride on the Genesee Belle

On the afternoon of Sunday, July 9th, Sara and Carson met up with Aunt Julie, Anna, Joel, and Jonah for a ride on the Genesee Belle.  The Genesee Belle is a replica of the paddlewheel riverboats that used to travel down the Mississippi River during the times of Mark Twain.  It is located in Crossroads Village and cruises around Mott Lake, which is formed by a dammed area of the Flint River.  Unlimited rides on the boat are included in our Crossroads membership.  So we decided to take advantage.  The upper deck is covered, but is open to the air and breezes. The lower deck is all enclosed and is air conditioned... which was very nice on a 95 degree day!  We spent time on both decks, though.  The ride only lasts about 40-45 minutes, but it was really nice.  We've talked about going back again for another ride, maybe one of the evening sunset cruises. 

The 4-Zinger Rides Again!

Papa spent a week last month fixing up Sara's old Yamaha 4-Zinger 50cc quad so that Carson could try it out.  He rebuilt the entire thing, replacing and cleaning everything so that it'd run well again.  After sitting idle for the last probably 5 or 6 years, it really needed a re-build.  Now it runs like it did when it was brand new!  And Carson is so happy about it!  Papa and Nana brought it over to our house over the 4th of July holiday weekend for Carson's first ride.  We have the speed governed way down so that one of us can either do a speed walk or slow jog to keep up with him while he's learning.  But Carson does pretty well!  And he loves it! 

4th of July

I was doing well with keeping the blog up to date there for a couple of weeks... and now I'm behind again... so let's do some catching up. Starting with Independence Day. What a hot day it was! We were fortunate to spend the day at the lake... and we spent a lot of time out on the boats. Kevin's back was hurt, so he was unable to do anything but swim, so he was pretty bummed about that. He did get to drive the boat while others kneeboarded and water skied, though... so that helped. :) The lake temperature was pretty near perfect. Warm, yet cool enough to be refreshing. Almost everyone (with the exception of Aunt Sharon, Reno, and Sara's mom) went swimming in the cove, the water was so perfect. 

Anyway, I didn't have the camera out on the boat the first time we went out, so I didn't get any pics of the kneeboarding, but here are some pics of our day on the lake...

Flint Symphony Orchestra at Crossroads Village

On Thursday evening, we met up with Uncle Jason, Aunt Julie, Anna, Joel, and Jonah out at Crossroads Village for a free Music in the Parks concert.  Flint Symphony Orchestra was performing, so it was a great concert to see for free.  We all camped out on the lawn in the back, which allowed the kids to run around and have a lot of fun during the concert.  We all had a great time.  Our two families haven't really spent a lot of time together lately, so it was great to catch up!  Carson had a blast with his cousins, as always.  He told us on the way home that he had so much fun with them all day long and wishes every day could be like that.  :)  Carson and Grandma had gone strawberry picking with Aunt Julie, Anna, Joel, and Jonah earlier in the day, so he loved getting to see them twice in the same day. 

After the concert, the kids went for a ride on the carousel.  They all started out on the small horses, all in a row, but then some switched to the bigger horses.  They all wanted to ride again, but we'll save the next ride for our next trip to Crossroads in a week.  We all have season passes, so we're all planning to go take a ride on the Genesee Belle river boat next Sunday afternoon.  Should be lots of fun!