April Showers

Playing a little catch up here.  Back to April.. Lets see if I can remember what we had going on..

April started with a bang... Literally... To the back of Carson's head.  We were over at a friend's house for a play date one afternoon and Carson ended up falling off of one of the kitchen table chairs and hitting the back of his head on the chair next to him as he fell.  This split his head open and required a trip to the Emergency Room for two staples.  Carson was such a brave little guy through it all!  He had to wear a head wrap bandage for a week until he had his staples removed by Dr. Akrawi. His wound healed up very well and he'll just have a minor scar, thankfully.

I've mentioned before that we started up a Small Group with some families at church.  We started by just meeting once a month for a bible study focused on parenting.  Well, we all get along and enjoy each others company so well that we decided to add a family day each month. We started this in April when we went bowling at Holly Lanes and then all went over to Matt and Heather's house for dinner, drinks, and hanging out.  It was so much fun!

Kevin and I had a couple of days/nights out together (with no kids) in April.  We went to East Lansing to see our friends Denny and Kristi tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony at the MSU Alumni Chapel followed by a reception at the Lexington Hotel.  It was fun to see some friends from college that we hadn't seen in awhile. 

We also had our monthly Small Group study at Panera one Tuesday evening and we met up with some college friends in East Lansing for dinner at Beggar's Banquet at the end of the month, which was a lot of fun!  Three nights out with no kids in one month is a record for us, I think!  :) 

We made a trip out to Grandville (near Grand Rapids) for our niece's 5th birthday party.  She had an arts and crafts party that was a lot of fun!  It was so nice to get together with the Holleboom family and see Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van, too.  Unfortunately, I didn't take one single picture while we were there! 

The kids and I had lots of fun play dates with friends in April.  We went to Sloan Museum with our neighbors, Kerri and Jace one afternoon during Spring Break and we spent lots of time playing outside with Jace on other days, too.  We all went over to the neighbor's house for dinner and hanging out one night, as well. 

We also went to the park after preschool with some of Carson's friends a couple of different times during the month.  Bristol got to try out a swing for the first time and LOVED it!

We also went to story time at the library, went biking and walking quite a few times in the evenings, and played outside as much as possible.  We finalized all of Carson's Kindergarten enrollment information, as well.  He will be attending West Shore Elementary in the Lake Fenton school district next year.  He was a little disappointed that he would not be attending St. Paul, claiming that he is "only 5 years old and has so much more to learn about Jesus!"  But once we explained that he'll still have Sunday School and we can start going to church on Wednesday evenings if he'd like to (in the fall), he adjusted to the idea much more happily.  It's still hard to believe he'll be heading off to Kindergarten in the fall already! 

These kids need to stop growing.  Seriously.  Back in April, Bristol became quite steady at walking along things (the furniture, walls, etc.).  She started taking a couple of steps on her own here and there at the very beginning of the month, but she's taking the walking thing slowly.  It's been kind of foreign to Kevin and me, since Carson did the couple steps thing for literally a few days before he was running around on his own... and yes, he was actually running.  But Bristol is content taking it slow.  We're ok with that, though!  :)  By the end of the month, she was taking about 6-8 steps on her own, but she still much preferred holding a hand or walking along the walls and furniture.  

Summer 2013 Bucket List

1.  Celebrate Bristol's 1st birthday

2.  Go strawberry picking.  

3.  Tend the veggie garden, orchard, and berry patches.  

4.  Hit the beach - whenever, where ever.  :) 

5.  Go to story time at the library. 

6.  Get our pool up and running (aka clean) and ready for summer.  Swim in it as much as possible.  Maybe build a deck around one side of it?

7.  Go blueberry picking. 

8.  Take a road trip up north at least once.  

9.  Spend at least part of a day on one of the Big Lakes (Huron or Michigan). 

10.  Go camping at least twice, if not more.  

11.  Visit a friend or family member that we have not seen in awhile. 

12.  Meet up with west-side family in the Lansing area at least once. 

13.  Visit a new (to us) zoo (Saginaw Children's?,  Toledo?, Fort Wayne?, Binder Park?, Boulder Ridge?)

14.  Visit a local park/playground that we have never been to before.

15.  Have fun watching Kevin and the Faith Lutheran softball team play every Monday night. 

16.  Attend at least one Silver Lake Ski Club ski show - maybe most/all of them if Kevin ends up joining the team.  

17.  See professional fireworks. 

18.  Do outdoor messy painting and finger painting.  

19.  Cut down a couple of trees in our backyard. 

20.  Visit a place in Michigan that we have never been (possibilities include Port Austin, East Tawas, South Haven, St. Joseph, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Charlevoix, Rifle River).  

21.  Tube the Platte River.

22.  Play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk outside. 

23.  FaceTime with friends and family that live out of state. 

24.  Hike and bike as often as possible.  

25.  Roast marshmallows over an open fire. 

26.  Visit Applewood Manor.  

27.  Attend at least one local festival (Hometown Days, Summer Happening, Back to the Bricks, Applefest, etc.)

28.  Take a trip to either Cedar Point or Michigan's Adventure. 

29.  Continue growing photography business, pursuing branding, and developing website. 

30.  Attend a car show.  

Spring 2013 - Bucket List Review

I know spring doesn't technically end for a few weeks still, but Memorial Day represents the unofficial end of spring and beginning of summer.  Since that was last weekend, I figured I'd post our run-down of how we did.  We accomplished almost everything.  Summer list is coming soon!


1. Make a decision as to which school Carson will attend for Kindergarten and take care of all necessary paperwork.  CHECK!  Carson is all set to attend West Shore Elementary in Lake Fenton at this point.  

2. Celebrate Easter with family and convey the true meaning to our kids. (We don’t do the Easter bunny at all, really.)  Check!

3. Celebrate birthdays with family and friends.  Check!  We celebrated birthdays with Anthony, Nana, Anna, Joel, Rebecca, Abram (sort of), and a couple of preschool friends.

4. Go bowling together as a family.  CHECK!  We ended up going with our small group and their families for our monthly small group families get together in April. 

5. Softball season starts at the beginning of May (through our church). Kevin will be playing, but the kids and I hope to make it to all (or most) of the games, too.  CHECK!  So far, so good! 

6. Visit a science center or museum together as a family.  CHECK!  We went to Impression 5 and to Sloan Museum. 

7. Take family bike rides as weather allows.   CHECK!  Kevin and Carson usually ride while I walk with Bristol in the stroller.  We'll try out the bike trailer soon. 

8. Plan and plant a small vegetable garden. Encourage Carson to help.  CHECK!  Almost didn't happen, but I got it planned on our road trip to Wisconsin.  

9. Take a road trip.  CHECK!  We took a road trip to Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

10. Visit LegoLand Discovery Center in Schaumburg, IL.  CHECK!

11. Finish the kitchen floor and trim work.   Not quite..  Kevin made a tiny bit of progress, but hasn't finished it yet.  

12. Visit a local park that we have never been to before.  CHECK!  We've been to two new (to us) parks. 

13. Spring cleaning – continue to clean out at least one cupboard, cabinet, or drawer per week (4 are done so far); continue to clean baseboards in one room per week (dining and living rooms are done so far); continue washing walls in one room per week (dining and living rooms done so far); clean large appliances inside and out; organize freezers; wash windows inside and out; wash curtains and blinds; and other tasks.  Mostly... I haven't finished all of it, but have accomplished most of it.  

14. Shop at the farmers’ market once they start up in May.  CHECK!  We've only been able to make it once, but it will be weekly most of the time from here on out.  

15. Fly a kite.  This still did not happen.  Soon, hopefully!  

16. Pursue photo business logo development and branding. Prepare to implement new website.  CHECK.. Still not done, but making progress. 

17. Feed the ducks at a local park.  CHECK!

18. Make a bird feeder with the kids.  CHECK!  

19. Have a family game night once a month.  We didn't do it once each month, but we did do it a couple of times.  

20. Plan Bristol’s 1st birthday party.  CHECK!  Invitations are being mailed out today and on Monday (only could mail some today b/c I ran out of stamps - oops!)

21. Play in the rain and/or mud puddles.  CHECK!  A favorite spring-time thing to do for Carson!  :) 

22. Visit the library for story time and/or other kids’ activities.  CHECK!

23. Build on Carson’s artistic abilities by encouraging even more art and craft projects. Take him shopping to the craft store for new ideas.  CHECK!  We've done lots of arts and crafts this spring.  

24. Have fun with sidewalk chalk outdoors. Play hopscotch.  CHECK!

25. Go on family hikes as often as weather and schedule permits.  CHECK.. Though we've only had time for one so far.  The weather wasn't too cooperative this spring for hiking.

26. Visit the baby chicks and ducklings at Tractor Supply Co.  CHECK, times three!  

27. Make garden stepping stones with the kids.  I have the stones to make, but haven't done them yet.  Maybe we'll get to them this weekend.  

28. Go to Tulip Time in Holland.  CHECK!  It was a fast trip, but we did go and had a great time! :)

29. Go to a butterfly exhibit (MSU Childrens Gardens or Fred Meijer Gardens or Dow).  We didn't get to do this.  

30. FaceTime with friends and family from out of state.  CHECK, although we didn't get to do it with as many of our friends and family as we had hoped.  

March Madness

Just when I thought we might have a slow(er) month... Ha!  That's the last time I will be thinking that.  I think it turned out to be our busiest month yet. There was a 16-day stretch where we had something going every single day and night of the week.  It wouldn't be so bad if Kevin and I didn't both work (and commute), but it made for some really long days (and weeks), even though they were fun, too.

My Uncle Mike (from Tennessee) came up for a visit and to help out with some decisions concerning my grandma during the first week of March.  It was really great to see him and for him to meet Bristol. His visit seemed too short, it just went by so quickly.  Hopefully he will be back up again later this year... And hopefully with my cousin Shannon and her son Maddox, who will be making his debut to the world in July!  :)

We went to see Click Clack Moo at Flint Youth Theatre, which was fun!  Thanks to Poiriers for the tickets (for Carson's birthday).

We went to Mackenzey's 4th birthday party.  It was nice to see Jorie's new house.  We also went to a birthday party for our friend Ben's son, Anthony, who turned 2!  And we celebrated our niece's and nephew's birthdays on Easter Sunday.  It's very hard to believe that they are 11 and 9 now!

I went to Lansing for the Among Friends conference at Trinity Church with my sis-in-law Mary and my mother-in-law.  That was such a great conference!  I hope to attend more like it in the future.

We had parent-teacher conferences.  Carson is doing very well and is very smart.  He's been having some defiance/obedience issues this month, which we are trying to figure out.  Thankfully, they are very very minor, but we still need to deal with them.  However now I'm afraid he has a target on him, with his teachers watching him extra closely.. During the time(s) I was observing in the classroom (unbeknownst to Carson), I saw at least two other kids doing the same things Carson is getting called out for, only they were doing them to a higher degree... And they were overlooked.  That is kind of frustrating to see.  His teacher also told me that Carson's issues usually flare up when a certain other (problem) child starts something and gets Carson and some other boys to go along with it.  Hopefully we can resolve this.

We had our monthly small group meeting.  We are really enjoying our small group and have been very grateful that we decided to form one, yes even Kevin is.  :)  We're going to implement a small group family day in April, where we do something fun together with our small group families.  This will be in addition to our small group (adult) meetings.  We're really looking forward to it!

We went to an Easter egg hunt at church and celebrated Easter with both sides of our families. Carson had an Easter party at preschool, too.  We also had beautiful services at church during Holy Week.  We feel very blessed to have found such a great church and to have been welcomed into it so warmly.

I was taking Zumba one night a week with our neighbor, Kerri.  We also went to some boxing classes together that were really cool.  Zumba has now ended and I am going to try to get to boxing at least once a week for awhile, I think.

Kevin started playing basketball up at church every Wednesday night.  He's been having a great time with that.

We had a couple of play dates with preschool friends, which are always fun.

We had two Kindergarten roundups - one for Lake Fenton and one for St. Paul.  We are still unsure as to what we should do.  We have applied for Lake Fenton School of Choice.  We are kind of thinking we will start Carson there and see how he does.  He wants to go to both.  He really enjoyed both schools a lot.  He loves the idea of going to the same school as Jace and Lake Fenton is a great school district (it has surpassed Grand Blanc by leaps and bounds from what I understand and is #1 in our area now).  But Carson is not crazy about losing Jesus time.  He says "Mom, I am ONLY 5 years old... I have a LOT to learn about Jesus still."  I think it's the only time he considers himself ONLY 5, lol!  So we'll see...

We also closed on our house refinance, finally!  It was a long process, but well worth it!

Even though winter is hanging around a little later than normal, we have had quite a few nice days.  We went on several bike rides and walks in the neighborhoods by our house.  Spring break started and Kevin had Good Friday off, so the boys went on a bike ride on one of the trails nearby. They rode about 5 miles and Carson could have still kept going.  He is loving his new bike!

One Fine February

We had another busy month (in February).  But it was a lot of fun, too!

We went to Open Gym at church, which is put on at least once a month during the winter for the preschoolers.  It’s held on a Friday  night for a couple of hours with lots of fun indoor activities to run off some steam and get some extra play time in with your preschool buddies.  Carson loves it and Kevin and I have fun talking with all the other parents.  Bristol even enjoys it quite a bit – she just gets such a kick out of watching all the kids run and play. 

Bristol got to experience her first Calvin basketball game when we attended the Calvin v. Trine game for Grandpa’s birthday.  Unfortunately, sickness kept half of the family home and it only ended up being Grandma, Grandpa, Joel, Uncle Dan, and us.  But we still had a lot of fun.  Bristol loved the game!  She just loves watching sports, though… football is her favorite, but she really enjoys basketball, as well.  Carson and Joel had a great time together, too.  We all went to Panera for dinner after the game before heading home.  Bristol did really well in the car this time.  She didn’t make it quite the whole way there or back… but she made it much further than she had previously.  (Since then she’s gotten even better… I think we may finally be over our despise of the car seat phase… I hope). 

We were Family of the Day for the first time at church.  This means we greet people and hand out programs at the center entrance to church, read the Old Testament and Epistle readings, help collect the offering, and take the offering forward to be blessed.  We’ve done this a few times since then.  It’s kind of fun.  J

The SuperBowl was the first Sunday in February.  We were invited over to some friends’ house from Faith.  We got to meet several other families that we hadn’t had the chance to meet yet, which was fun!  We all had a great time! 

Kevin had some medical procedures done to check on his kidney stones.  He had passed them, but the doctor did find some scar tissue webbing, which is good to be aware of.  He’ll now be going back to the urologist annually to have scans done to monitor the development of any future kidney stones. 

Carson had a Valentine’s Day party at Preschool, which I went in for.  The kids sang some songs for the parents, exchanged Valentine’s Day cards and enjoyed some yummy treats.  The teacher had asked all of the students to write out the names of their friends, and sign their own names to all of their cards.  Carson really enjoyed doing this and got it done pretty quickly.  They have 24 students in his class, so it was a lot of writing for him, but he did so great!  I was surprised how many of the students did not do this, though.  I think there were only 5 other students that wrote both names, and maybe only another 3 or 4 that only wrote their name.  The rest of the kids had their parents write out their cards.  I was kind of surprised by that…

We went to the Detroit Boat Show on the 16^th.  We looked at lots of nice boats and stopped in to see our friends at Aqua Sports Marine.  We talked to Jeff about the Silver Lake Ski Club – we’ll see if we end up joining this summer or not… its definitely a possibility and something we’re really interested in still.  Carson and Bristol picked out their favorite boat and Kevin picked out his.  The kids loved them!  It was a fun evening out and about. 

We had two birthday parties for Carson, which I mentioned in my last post. 

Both kids ended up sick, Bristol’s first time really.  Carson had a really bad ear infection and Bristol had a sinus infection.  They both had to go on antibiotics, but it didn’t end up being too bad.  I was kind of bummed that Bristol already has had her first round of antibiotics, though… considering Carson has only been on them 3 other times so far.  But hopefully she’ll follow suit and have pretty decent health like her big brother. 

We kicked off our Small Group with our first meeting on the 19^th.  Two other couples came, so there were six of us, which actually worked out really well.  Another couple has since joined us and attends regularly.  We also have two other couples in our group, but they have not yet been able to make it. 

I flew up to Sault Ste. Marie for work one day, which I wouldn’t normally mention except that I was admiring their snow!  They had 30 inches on the ground while I was there, 18 of which had fallen earlier that week.  It was beautiful!  It has been such a cold winter for us, but we really haven’t had THAT much snow.  If its going to be cold, I’d much prefer we have snow so that it’s nice to look outside and we can actually go outside and have some fun!  :)

We celebrated Grandma’s birthday with lunch after church one Sunday.  All of the east-side family met up for lunch at Taboon in Grand Blanc (Grandma’s choice, and an excellent one, at that!).  It was fun to get together and help Grandma feel special. 

We also had a couple of playdates with preschool friends, which are always fun!  I wish we had time for more of them! 

We played out in the snow whenever we had it and did lots of fun activities in the house, too.  We also took a trip to the library for story time. 

Lastly, I apologize for the quality of many of these pictures... they are mostly cell phone pics, as I forgot to take our camera with us most places.