Weekend with The Flenders

Our friends from back home have the tradition every Memorial Day weekend of traveling to a new state in honor of celebrating their wedding anniversary. It just so happens that last year they went to Michigan, but since we live so close to Ohio they decided to make this year their Ohio vacation and spent the weekend with us. Their daughter, Chloe, is one of Kaylee's closest friends from back home and their son Zach is just 3 months older than Trace, so we all had a great time together. They arrived Friday night and after a quick tour of The Center and LCS, we headed home to grill out and have a pool party. The temperature was in the 80's so the pool felt great. It was our first time in the pool, so it was pretty exciting to share the experience with our friends. We all had a great time cooling off in there. I'm so excited to have a pool. I'm definitely a pool person and have always wanted an in-ground pool. It is just ironic that in our downsizing effort we somehow ended up with one. It is definitely a bonus!!!

Of course, due to this being their Ohio vacation we had to spend some time actually in Ohio. So, on Saturday we headed to the Toledo Zoo for a fun day. None of us had ever been there before. It is a beautiful zoo, with a nice layout. I was super impressed with the hands on activities for young kids. They have one area that reminds me of a children's museum. They have face painting, a spiderweb the kids can climb up, leaf cutter ants in a clear tube so you can watch them while they work, multiple playgrounds, a stream the kids can play in and try to built a dam, and some bee costumes the kids can dress-up in and then climb into a honeycomb. It was a really fun area. We bought a family pass, so I plan on coming back and just hanging out there with the kids this summer. I know that zoos are more about animals than playgrounds, so I'll mention a few of the kids' favorites. Kaylee's favorite animal was the elephant (I think). Kianna really enjoyed petting a chinese alligator. She was really proud of herself. She also enjoyed seeing the snakes and elephants. Trace was pretty indifferent to the animals and snoozed during part of it. However, I did see him get a little excited about some fish and he even did the fish sign I just taught him, which was pretty cool. The kids all snoozed on the way back home as they were exhausted after a long day in the heat. We rewarded ourselves that night with another fun time in the pool. After the kids went to bed we had fun playing one of our favorite games, Settlers of Catan. Fun times!!!!

On Sunday, after church The Flenders headed back to Toledo for some more Ohio time, while we headed back to the house for nap time. That evening we hired two sitters for all five kids and the adults headed back to Toledo to eat at The Melting Pot. It was a great evening with friends and delicious food. I love that restaurant!!!! We had a fun weekend with friends and after three separate trips to Ohio I think this qualifies as their Ohio vacation. We are honored they chose to spend their time with our family! Thanks guys!

Our Pool

Swamp

Pool Party with The Flenders

It is amazing the difference a day can make. We had our pool opened on Thursday morning and it was a green swamp. However, by the next evening we were swimming in it and having a blast. Summer here we come...

Kaylee's Last Day of Pre-K

Kaylee and Mrs. PotterKaylee and Mommy
Kianna with Prince Carter (she said Carter was her prince)

Kaylee really enjoys going to school and will definitely miss not going this summer. Hopefully, her love for school continues the older she gets! In honor of their last day of school, the kids put on a program for the parents. It was fun seeing a few of the things Kaylee has learned over the past few months. The kids sang several songs and then quoted Psalms 23. I was pretty impressed that all of the kids had memorized the entire chapter! Way to go kids. The program ended with each child being given a character quality from the bible. Kaylee's character quality was self-confidence. Mrs. Potter said she has never seen a child come in the middle of the year and adjust so well. She felt as if Kaylee had been in her class all year! Good job Kaylee!

The school year wrapped up on Thursday following a fun day outside complete with playground, bouncy house, water balloon fight, and food. The kids had a blast! It was a hot day so the water was a blessing. Trace looked so hot that I gave him a cup of water and just watched him dump it down the front of himself. It must have felt pretty great because he just kept doing it over and over. The party outside was a fun end to a great school year! I can't believe she will be in Kindergarten this fall. Craziness!!!

Branson 2010

We decided to take a break from all the painting and projects and spent May 14th-May 22nd on vacation in Branson, MO. Branson is 13 hours from Michigan, so in order to break up our trip and as an excuse to visit Trevor's Uncle and his family we spent the weekend in Bloomington, IN. We had a fun time with them, as they are great with the kids and spoil us with good food. They have 11 acres of land including a stocked pond complete with paddle boats and a beach. The girls had a chance to go fishing and both caught fish. Kianna's fish was so large it almost pulled her into the water with it, but as she likes to say "I was too strong". I think their cousin Broderick may have saved the day on that one! The girls also had fun riding on the paddle boats and feeding the fish with Aunt Tracy. Trace's highlight was most likely playing with the curtain rod he found and drug all over the house. I guess he is easily amused!

We drove the remaining 8 hours to Branson on Sunday. The kids are pretty good travelers overall. Kaylee keeps herself busy in the back row watching lots of movies, reading books, and coloring. We barely know she is in the car. Kianna has a little problem with asking "Are we there yet?". In order to deal with this we have begun giving the girls $1 each at the beginning of the trip and every time she asks the dreaded question she owes us $0.10. It is amazing how motivating a little money is. She went from asking every 5-10 minutes on the way to Iowa to only asking 3-5 times on the way to and from Branson. I guess our little trick is working. Thanks Jamie for giving us this idea! It is funny though because the girls are pretty smart and have begun trying to ask the question in different ways to avoid losing money. It is cute. Trace is not the greatest traveler. He doesn't take his usual naps and instead fusses. He just really doesn't like being restrained in his car seat, but we manage. It isn't anything a little "Praise Baby" and snacks can't cure. Well at least for part of the time...

We met Trevor's parents and sister, Sam and her family in Branson. His parents rented a 4-bedroom house for all of us to share as a way of celebrating their upcoming anniversary. We had a great time with our family. Here are a few of our highlights:

• Getting duck whistles while riding the ducks.
• Dixieland Stampede- We had a great time watching the show and the food was super yummy. Thanks Bob and Becki for treating.
• Silver Dollar City- We got a two day pass to SDC. I was surprised at how much fun we all had there! The girls had a blast riding the rides with Kaylee's highlight being riding a medium sized rollercoaster. She was a bit hesitant at first but afterwards had a huge smile on her face and ended up riding it 3 more times. Kianna's favorite ride was the little rollercoaster. She road it multiple times. It was the first rollercoaster she had ever ridden. She was pretty proud of herself. Trace was only big enough to ride a couple rides and the ones he did ride he was none too thrilled with. In fact, he cried through both of them. Trace's favorite activity of the day was playing in the ball area. It was a really neat 3-story complex in which older kids were on the upper two levels shooting balls out of air guns. The balls fell to the first level where Trace had a blast playing with them and having the vacuum suck them up. Fun times! Trevor's favorite ride was one he went on with Mike that went in circles while going up and down a pendulum. My favorite ride was Tom and Huck's Water Adventure. We all were on a raft floating down a creek. We had waterguns in front of us to shoot at people along the walking path. They also had waterguns to shoot at us. It was basically one huge watergun fight. We all left drenched and were laughing hysterically. It was so much fun!
• Small Umbrellas- We told the girls they could pick out one thing from Silver Dollar City as a souvenir. They both had there hearts set on some adorable umbrellas which came in two sizes. The large size would be perfect for them to use on a rainy day and the small size in my opinion were cute but useless. So which umbrella do the girls choose to buy, the little ones of course. Despite multiple attempts on my part to convince them that the large umbrellas would be much more useful I was unsuccessful. Not even the downpour of rain could convince them otherwise. They had their little hearts set on small umbrellas so they could use them for their dolls. For the record, I have not seen them played with yet since returning from Branson. However, they are cute and are each personalized with their names. Silly girls!!!
• Titanic Museum- Upon entering the recreated ship each passenger was given the name of someone who had been on the actual boat. It was neat seeing the actual rooms for the various classes of passengers. I really enjoyed walking up the stairway just like in the Titanic movie. The girls thought the museum was really boring other than being able to slide down the different inclines showing what the angles felt like at different times while the ship was sinking. They also enjoyed sticking their fingers in the cold water representing how cold the water was the night the ship sank. We each found out our passenger's fate prior to exiting the ship. All of us survived other than Trevor, who sadly died just like many men that fateful night. Kaylee's passenger was "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" so we all knew she would survive.
• Dinosaur Museum- Now this was the kids' idea of a museum. No stopping to read signs, they just glanced at all the large dinosaurs that had been recreated and walked/ran quickly all the way to the end. At the end of the path was a fossil dig, which they all enjoyed finding what was hidden underneath the sand.
• Swimming- The kids had fun swimming in the indoor pool.
• Spending time with family- The kids all had a great time playing with their cousin, Bryker. He is such a cute little guy with a fun personality! Trevor had fun going to two "guy" movies with Mike and his dad. I had fun shopping on several occasions with Sam and Becki. I found some cute workout clothes, so was pretty excited about that. Trevor and I taught Becki, Sam and Mike how to play Peanuts, a fast card game my family enjoys playing. They were good sports, but apparently not into speed games...
• Branson Landing- A really neat area filled with shops and restaurants right on the river. It is a beautiful area and we had a great time eating there several nights.

We got a little adventurous on Saturday and decided to drive all 13 hours back to MI in the same day. It was a little sporty, but we made it. I think we both agree that 13 hours with 3 little kids is definitely our MAX. It was a great vacation, but as always it feels good to be back home. Boxes here we come...

Trace is 16 Months Old

Everyday it seems that Trace is learning to do something new. This past month he learned how to say "uh" (up) while reaching his little hands up in the air indicating he wants to be picked up. He also learned how to say "cuh" (cup) and I swear I heard him say "grandpa" pretty clear several times while on vacation. Trace is becoming a little smarty pants. He also learned how to throw things away in the garbage when asked. However, his greatest accomplishment of the month has to be learning how to go downstairs on his belly. He is quite proud of himself when he gets to the bottom and likes giving high fives. Trace is beginning to broaden his fruit horizons, as he is beginning to enjoy strawberries and pears. Yea! I was hoping I would win the fruit war...

People are constantly saying what a happy little guy he is, as he seems to always have a smile on his face. He loves to laugh and be tickled. On vacation in Branson, MO Trace went swimming several times and enjoyed having Daddy dip his hair backwards in the water. He came up with a huge smile on his face. Trace went to his first theme park, Silver Dollar City, and road his first rides. He did great at the park and was super good. However, he was scared of the rides and cried during both of them. I guess the leaping frogs were a bit much for him...

As mobile as Trace is, he continues to dislike being restrained, especially in his car seat. This intense dislike for being confined made the 13 hour drive to Branson somewhat noisy. We continue to be amazed at the power of his Praise Baby DVD. He can be crying and stop immediately upon seeing his video come on. It is amazing! Unfortunately, this power only lasts so long because really with three kids you can only watch the same movie so many times before someone complains.

Trace still loves balls and cars. He learned how to throw a ball this past month. He really enjoys dragging things around the house. It doesn't really matter what it is. At home he likes to walk around with his plastic golf clubs in his hands. On vacation, he found a small curtain rod which he carried all over the house. He recently discovered the ball popper and likes popping that as he walks around. He also really enjoys climbing, whether it be upstairs, up the ottoman, or up the couch. Once he reaches the top of the couch he is quite proud of himself and enjoys sitting up there like a big boy. We love our little guy. It will be fun to see what new things he learns this next month.

Trip to Iowa

We decided that nine weeks without our furniture was long enough, so we headed back to Iowa to pack up the rest of our stuff and visit with our friends and family. We had such a great time back home. While back home, we were able to celebrate our niece Aliyah's 7th birthday with both a family party at my sister's house and a friend party at The Playstation. We also were able to watch our nephew, Matthew, play soccer for his high school team which was undefeated. I must admit, it is having to miss the soccer games and birthday parties, that make living away from family tough. Those events were somewhat taken for granted before we moved and are now coveted times together.

We also enjoyed a night out with our friends from our small group and their kids. The girls had fun playing with their friends again. Unfortunately, I lost my voice while back home and came down with a nasty cold. So in between all of the people to see and places to go I was napping instead of packing. I started and finished strong though! Poor Trace ended up with a fever and bad cold that went straight to his chest. We had to take him to the doctor as soon as we got back to Michigan. He ended up having bronchialitis and had to have a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. The x-ray was negative and the albuterol he was given helped almost immediately thankfully. It seems our lives are complicated these days and that nothing goes quite like we plan...

Anyway, we had fun visiting with Trevor's family and my dad and Sue as well while back home. Grandma Becki took the girls to watch the movie "How to Train a Dragon", which they enjoyed. Aunt Sam took each of the kids individually for some special time and activities. The girls had fun making May Day baskets with her and Trace had fun playing next to Bryker.

Despite all the fun we had in Iowa, we were also there to work. Packing was a huge job, as most of the stuff that remained was breakable and needed to be wrapped carefully. My grandma, Mom, Sue, Dad, and Bob all came over at various times to help us with this daunting task. We also had to neutralize the girls' bedroom which had hot pink and lime green walls. It took 3 coats of paint to cover up those walls with a nice beige color. Sue came over and helped me paint their room, which was a tremendous help. Trevor tackled outdoor work including the removal of weeds and Christmas lights. It was February when we left and still very cold outside, so the Christmas lights had to wait.

The movers came and loaded us up and we met them in Michigan the following day. We had a great time in Iowa. It was hard to leave again. On our way back to Michigan we stopped to spend some time with our good friends, Sally and Ryan and their two girls. We had a fun night playing games and visiting with them.

Now that we are back in Michigan, we are excited to have all of our furniture, yet overwhelmed by all the boxes. We are in a mad dash to get through our boxes as we leave for vacation May 14th through May 23rd to spend a week in Branson, Missouri with Trevor's family. Then the weekend after we get back we have some friends coming to stay with us for. I guess we just need to take one box at a time and as we do our house will slowly transform into more of a home. Oh and as a fun side note on how things don't always go as we plan. Upon returning to Michigan and going through the mail. We received a letter with two pictures of the back of my minivan driving down the interstate in Cedar Rapids, as well as, a close up of my license plate. Apparently, while driving across town to pick up my grandma I was going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone and was rewarded with a $70 speeding ticket. I didn't even know they gave tickets that way. I guess it was my lucky day...

Four Corners

Before:If you have heard us talk about our new house, you have probably heard us mention "the four corners". When standing in the kitchen you can literally see four different types of flooring merge to form "the four corners". The kitchen has wood laminate, which meets up with the carpeted dining room, which is next to the black flagstone tile, which meets up with the hardwood floor in the den. Of the four floors the only one we like is the hardwood floor. We decided it would be best to get the flooring redone prior to getting all of our furniture delivered, so we have been busy preparing to have tile and carpet installed. Trevor ripped out the black flagstone tile with a friend of ours, which was a big job. He also had to rip out the carpet in the dining room and the wood laminate in the kitchen. In addition, he had to disassemble all of the appliances. The hard work was worth it though when we saw the finished product. Take a peak...

After: