Langfald's Visit

Cousins at Toledo Zoo

These boys are BUDDIES!!

Girls

Bruxen and Aunt Sam

BATMAN

Getting ready for some pool time

NIGHT SWIM- Girls under water

They were so brave going down the slide, jumping off the side, and swimming in the deep end.

Night swim

We had a great time with the Langfald's while they were here this weekend. The weather was hot and humid, so we had lots of fun in the pool.  We even let the kids stay up late one night to do a night swim. We have a fun light in the pool that change colors every few seconds. The kids thought that was pretty cool. We also had fun trying to catch lightning bugs. We had some good laughs. 

We also spent a day at the Toledo Zoo where the kids enjoyed getting their faces painted like Spiderman, playing in the creek, and of course seeing the animals. Bruxen was a trooper. When they arrived he was not feeling too well. Thankfully, by the end of their time in Michigan he was back to his happy self. He is such a fun little guy! I got the joy of watching him while the rest of the clan went to a movie. It was a fun time had by all!

South Haven 2013

Cook Family

Walking down the pier to the lighthouse

It was SUPER windy. Check out the waves. My shoes got soaked during this picture.

Makenna

Girls hunting frogs

Kianna with her frog

Makenna, Trace, Krista, Kianna, Brooke, and Kaylee

Happy Father's Day

Sweet Kids

Ice Cream...

Sally and Keri

Cook Family

Wenzel Family

Trevor and Keri

We feel so blessed to live just 2.5 hours from Lake Michigan. It is so beautiful with its lighthouses and white sandy beaches. We especially like South Haven. We met our good friends, The Wenzel's, there and spent the last four days together. Our trip started out a little shaky as the whole town was shut down due to a power outage from a big storm the previous night. In addition, the water temperature was only 48 degrees and the weather was pretty cold and windy. Thankfully, our power came back on before bedtime and each day the weather got a tad warmer than the day before. The cold water didn't stop our kids from swimming, but it did stop this Mommy and Daddy. The kids had a blast playing in the sand. The girls even managed to catch a frog, which made them especially happy. When we weren't at the beach we were having fun relaxing. We watched movies, read books, played games, visited with our friends, ate good food, and lots of ice cream. What more can you ask for from a vacation???

Impact Celebration

These sweet girls let Trace tag along with them the whole time. What great girls!!!

The Centre hosted a celebration for the end of the soccer season. It was a fun evening full of food, popsicles, face painting, bouncy houses and games. The kids had a great time. Trace especially loves playing all the games. As if things could get any better, Kianna had her friend, Ada, with her. They had a sleepover with lots of giggling. It has been a busy week...

Kaylee's Last Day of School

Mrs. Hartwig and Kaylee

Kaylee's last day of school ended up being more of a nightmare than the happy day it was supposed to be. I will tell you up front that she is fine, but I had the scare of my life. I was curling Kaylee's hair in the morning before school. We were just five minutes into it and in the middle of a conversation when all of a sudden she dropped to her knees. I asked her what she was doing and she didn't respond. She continued to fall face first onto the shower floor. I still had her hair in the curling iron so she didn't land hard. I turned her over and she had a glazed over look in her eyes. I thought she had died. She was unresponsive for what seemed like forever, but in reality it was probably only 3-5 seconds. It was horrible. She woke up and said "Mom I thought I was dreaming". She was white as a ghost. I had her lie there for a few minutes and gave her some water to drink. I eased her into sitting and she was still white as a ghost. Eventually, she stood back up and I had her face the mirror so I could finish curling her hair. She looked like she was going to pass out again so I had her sit back down while I finished. She hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I got her some food and then her color came back and she started feeling better. 

It was her last day of school so I had to take her to school, but I tearfully told her teacher I couldn't leave her. Her teacher understood and let me sit in the classroom. She only had class for about 15 minutes and then had an awards ceremony. Kaylee was doing fine at this point and her teacher told me she would sit next to her during the awards ceremony. School ended at 10:30 AM, so after lunch I took her to the doctor. The doctor said that she has orthostatic hypotension, which means that her blood pressure drops 10 mm between lying down and standing. The doctor said it is common in girls Kaylee's age and the most dangerous part is the fall. The doctor said usually a child will have this happen once or twice and then they are fine. The doctor felt that Kaylee's episode was probably a combination of not having eaten breakfast yet (low blood sugar), dehydration (we went to the zoo yesterday), and her blood pressure dropping. I had the doctor check her urine to make sure she doesn't have juvenile diabetes and thankfully that checked out normal. We are supposed to really try to keep her hydrated and add some salt into her diet. It was a living nightmare. I praise God that she is okay and that we still have Kaylee with us!!!

As for the awards ceremony, Kaylee received a trophy for memorizing her scripture each month. She had a great school year. She is a smart cookie. She loved her teacher and developed some really great friendships. She received the character quality of honesty, which fits her very well. Kaylee currently wants to be a bible archeologist when she grows up. She loves history and reading mysteries, so it seems like a great fit. 

We are very proud of you Kaylee. You are a sweet little girl and have a heart for Jesus. We love you so much and are so thankful you are okay! 

Toledo Zoo

Baby Wallaby

Trace and Braedon checking out the elephants

Kaylee's 2nd grade class had a field trip to the Toledo Zoo today. Trace, Kianna and I joined her along with our good friends, Rebekah and Braedon Hildebrandt. We really enjoyed seeing the baby wallaby. Apparently, its mother has not been taking good care of it, so it has to be raised by humans. They carry it around all snuggled up in a pouch. It is so cute! Other highlights for the kids were getting their faces painted, playing in the stream, and identifying our new pet frog as a gray tree frog. Kaylee caught him on the trampoline last night and they named him Slimy. They have been feeding him crickets and have his cage all decked out. Fun times!!!

Kianna's Kindergarten Graduation

Cameron, Kianna and Jenae as lions

Circus animals

Kianna and Jenae

Kianna with her trophy

Nice bunny ears Kaylee

Kianna and her teacher, Mrs. Spohn

Kianna had a great year of school and we are discovering she is quite the smarty pants. She received two awards for having the highest math and reading score in the entire kindergarten class. Way to go Kianna!!! Each year the teacher chooses one character quality they have seen in the students. Kianna received the creativity award for doing things in a new way. She also received her very first trophy. Every month the kids have a bible verse to memorize. If they memorize their verses every month of the school year then at the end of the year they receive a trophy. It is a big deal and Kianna is happy to have her very own trophy, that is until Kaylee told her the Kindergarten ones are made out of plastic, whereas hers is not. Seriously!? The joys of siblings...

The kindergarten graduation was spectacular. The teachers put on a circus themed celebration. The kids all dressed up as different circus animals and performed tricks, which were things they had learned over the past year. Kianna was a lion and her trick was showing the value of money. Her teacher held up various coins and she had to decide how much the money was worth.  Other kids showed how to tell time, rhyme words, put things in alphabetical order, patterns, etc., I am so impressed with the creative way the teachers came up with to showcase all the kids had learned over the past year. The teachers even made special graduation hats for the kids. Kianna had a blast and is thrilled to now be a first grader. She even found out who her teacher is next year, Mrs. Banks. She is really excited because a lot of her friends will be in her class. Way to go Kianna, Mommy and Daddy are proud of you!!!

Trace's Last Day of Preschool

Trace and his teacher, Ms. Myer

Trace with his loot

Trace just completed his first year of two day preschool. They celebrated their last day by having a picnic and bouncy houses. Trace had a great time. He loved school, but is also thrilled to be on summer break.

Kaylee Scored a Goal

Kaylee is playing on a full-size soccer field and has yet to score a goal, that is until today! It was such an exciting moment, she took perfect aim and scored. Kaylee was so excited. She is a hard worker and all that practice is paying off!!!! I happened to be talking to Grandma Jacque on the phone and she got to share in the joy of the moment. She was doing her own whooping and hollering. It was fun!