Sprinkler Fun!

We had a really hot weather streak for a couple of weeks.  We spent time playing outside in the sprinklers quite a bit.  Carson is still so fascinated by sprinklers.  We end up switching out the sprinkler a few times and he'll explain how each one works and how it is different than the last one.  He loves to run through the sprinklers and squeals and giggles the entire time!  :)

Memorial Day 2011

I've got a couple more posts to catch up on here. First up is Memorial Day. We went out to my Aunt Jeri's for a family party on Memorial Day. It was a really hot day, so we spent quite a bit of time playing in the water and out on the boats.

Carson and Mackenzey had a blast playing together. It is so fun to see them play now. Mackenzey is talking very well now, so they carry on conversations together. Its so cute!

We took a few boat rides. Kevin skied. But no one else was quite brave enough yet. The water was still very cold out in the lake, with all the cold, rainy weather we'd been having. The water was pretty rough, too... there were soooo many boats out. Kevin still enjoyed skiing, though. He was grinning from ear to ear the rest of the day. :)

We spent the time we weren't on the lake playing and visiting on the deck. Carson and Mackenzey played down at the beach for quite a long time, too. The water in the channel was much warmer than the water on the main lake, so it was quite refreshing.

Whooo's having a baby?? Jaime's having a baby!!

Ok, so I'm skipping ahead quite a bit now. I realize that although we did lots of other fun things in May (Mother's Day at the lake, a cousin's graduation open house, a trip to Longway Planetarium, a couple trips to different local playgrounds) I didn't take any pictures.

So, fast forward to Memorial weekend. My BFF, Jaime, was home for the weekend from Arizona.  Jaime's mom, step-mom, aunt, college roommate/friend, and I put together a baby shower for Jaime on Sunday, May 29th, in the afternoon. The shower went off without a hitch and everything looked so great!  The theme corresponded to the baby's nursery theme of owls (hence the whooo in the title of this post) with the color combo of chocolate brown, tan/khaki, cream/white, mustard yellow, and blue. 

It was so wonderful to see Jaime!! I'm so glad we could throw this shower for her. She is one awesome lady... I'm so lucky to call her my friend! And she's going to be an amazing mother!

Jaime is due August 3rd (?? - I think it's the 3rd, but I could be off a little...) and she doesn't know if she's having a girl or boy. We are all anxiously awaiting the surprise!! I cannot wait to meet her little bean! Carson is very excited to meet him/her, as well. He often makes comments about it, completely out of the blue... about how much he already loves the baby in Auntie Jaime's belly, about how much fun the baby in Auntie Jaime's belly will be to play with, whether or not Jack (their dog) will like to play with the baby or if he'll be scared at first and should come stay with Carson for three days :), etc.

We had a little excitement at the end of the shower. As we're all packing up the cars to head home, the tornado sirens started going off. We all hurried home and took cover. Thankfully, only some strong wind and rain rolled through our immediate area, but there were some tornadoes that touched down not far from us.

Later that evening, we headed over to our friends' Ben and Kori's house for a get together. We loved getting to spend a little more time with Jaime, Jeff, and Jack. The day and weekend went by so fast! We were very sad to say goodbye, but as always, we look forward to the next visit. It's very exciting to think that their next trip home will be with their new baby!! How fun!!

Nice to Meet You, Abram Judah!

Back on May 13th, we made a trip west to meet the newest addition to the Holleboom family, our nephew Abram Judah!  We only got to spend about 15 minutes with him, but we enjoyed every second of it!  He is such a beautiful baby boy!  We all love him so much already and are so excited to see him grow.  We look forward to seeing him again soon and spending a little more time with him next time.  :) 

Happy Birthday, Great Grandma Jackie!

Ok, so I'm a month behind again.  I'll try to catch up here this week.  We'll start with our birthday party for Great Grandma Jackie (as Carson calls her) back on May 7th.  We invited my Grandma, my parents, my sister and her boyfriend Dave, my cousin Michelle and her son Tyson, and my cousins Josh and Mandy and their daughter Macie, over for a family party to celebrate Grandma's birthday.  It was a beautiful day out, so we spent most of our time outside.  We explored in the yard, played catch, rode the dirt bikes and four-wheelers, played with bubbles, played on the swingset, in the sand box, and in the playhouse, and just visited.  Everyone but Grandma took a turn (or two or ten) on the dirt bikes and four-wheelers.  We all had a blast! 

We had a simple, casual dinner of grilled burgers and lots of delicious side dishes, topped off with Grandma's favorite dessert - angel food cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries.  Yum! 

It had been a few months since we'd gotten the Moores together, so it was great to catch up and spend some good, quality time together.  And we are all so thankful to be able to celebrate our Grandma's birthday with her.  We're looking forward to many more get togethers this summer!

Happy Easter!

Last Sunday was Easter.  We went to church in the morning with Kevin's parents and brother.  Then we went over to Sara's parents' house for an egg hunt and family dinner.  We were thankful we were able to see both sides of the family on such a special, blessed holiday.  We hope you were so fortunate to spend time with those you love as you celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  Happy Easter!

Welcome, Anthony Michael!

Last weekend, we took a drive down to Rochester Hills to visit our good friends, Ben and Kati, and to meet their newest addition, Anthony Michael. What a precious little boy, he is! We all just fell in love with him! Carson adored him, but he did not want to hold him. He wanted to be near him at all times, though. And he told us after we'd left that he "just loves baby Anthony already, but I think he will be lots of fun when he grows bigger and can play with me!". :)

Congratulations to Ben and Kati!! And thank you for sharing your beautiful baby boy with us! We look forward to many fun times and memories ahead with our little families! :)

Rebecca Turns 3!!

A few weeks ago, on April 16th, we made another trip west to Grandville (near Grand Rapids) for our niece's birthday party. This was Rebecca's 3rd birthday, but her first party, so we were very excited to finally celebrate her birthday with the family! She had a Disney princess themed party, complete with her own Disney princess dress with matching bib and bag that her mom (Kevin's sister) made for her.

Mary made another awesome birthday cake to go along with the theme, too.  A tiered cake - the top tier was chocolate and the bottom tier was white.  It looked great and fit the theme perfectly!

These kids are growing up way too fast! I still remember when we met Rebecca for the first time at just a couple days old. It's hard to believe she is already 3!

We had a great time celebrating Rebecca's special day and look forward to more birthday parties in the years to come!  The kids all had a blast playing together, as always.  They even put on a little dress-up fashion show at the end of the party for us all!

Sorry the pictures are all quite dark.  I haven't had a chance to try brightening them up and Kevin didn't change the settings on the camera before shooting them.  :o)

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!!