Carnival of the Carps

Ryan definately loves him a carnival. He is a thrill seeker and goes for the biggest and fastest rides. We definately got our money's worth out of that $20 wristband. Now he keeps asking us every day when we will be going to Michigan Adventure or Cedar Point. Tyler is not so thrilled with the rides. I'm sure he'll give it a try again later this summer. He enjoyed himself running around the place and looking at the games. Both boys fell asleep in the car while eating an ice cream cone (#2 of the night for Tyler) and we carried them to bed fully clothed. Chalk another one up for parent of the year:) Good times.

Sweet Memories.

I know that everyone in the room who witnessed this sweet moment had a smile on their face. After a long night of play, Tyler snuggled up against Papa who read him a Toy Story story on the ipad. Times and changed and technology changes...but the sweetness of a bedtime story with Papa is priceless.

Happy Bday Jake! Big 5!

We sure did have a good time celebrating Jakob's 5th Birthday with a Toy Story 3 theme. We had some pool fun...ate some yummies...went to the movie...ate some yummies. Definately a good memory. You could hear Jakob laughing through the whole movie until he realized he didn't know where Ryan was and said, "Where's RyRy?" We all looked and smiled. These cousins sure do love each other.

Go Lansing Lugnuts!

We had a spur of the moment adventure to Lansing for the Lugnuts game on Saturday. We had dinner at Clara's (Yummy!). They had a great set of fire works and the evening was a perfect summer evening. We all missed our Tyler who decided to stay with Granna as he is not a fan of sitting for hours nor is he a fan of fireworks. Hoping to go again soon:)

Today is good.

So today is officially my first day home with the kids. I've been home for several weeks but we had to pay for daycare so I sent the kids there in hopes to wrap up some projects at home. I am sitting here while Tyler naps and Ryan is at vacation Bible school hoping that each day is as smooth and enjoyable as today. Blessings.

We're hearing more laughter

We enjoyed an evening down at the park last night. We played some baseball. Ryan can slug 'em down there with no worries of hitting the house. Tyler is enjoying swinging the bat too. He has a real Bam Bam style but is making a connection and loves to run the make believe bases in a disorderly style:) Ryan is braving so many new things this year. He saw Kahlen scale a pole and thought "wow, I can do that!" He showed us and has several burn marks to prove it. We were the only ones at the park so we allowed the boys to climb up the slide. Both kids succeeded and Tyler was so excited that he did it on his own (that and climbed the ladder). He has the cutest little accomplishment voice.

Next week, the kids will be home with me. Ryan and mom will be going to Vacation Bible School too. I pray that all goes well and that we accomplish some learning, playing, and enjoying our time together. It's been a hard few months added to some really uncooperative behavior in the recent weeks. The past few days have been really good and we hope for some more smiles and laughter.

Fridays are a Hit!

We've been spending our Friday nights at the ball field enjoying Ryan while he plays TBall/Coaches Pitch. He is becoming a pretty good slugger and loves to run the bases. He slides every time and it is cute and comical. He's pretty serious, but wants to bat like the majors and is always imitating the Tiger players. This weekend Jake and Hailee and Tyler watched from the fence and cheered him on... Jake says, "hey Ryan...get ready for a sleepover!"

We Made a Splash!

We had a very enjoyable day visiting my brothers new home and we played all day in the pool. It was the most relaxed I've been in months. Ryan started swimming with no life jacket and went head first down the slide. Tyler enjoyed floating around on his own with a pool ring and a life jacket. It was the first time he's been comfortable in water. Even mom did some laps. Truly enjoyable. It was a perfect summer day.

We Thanked Veterans

We enjoyed Memorial day by dressing up in some patriotic clothes and headed to the best little parade around. The boys enjoyed the show and sunshine but the storm came in a hurry and we headed home. What a nice way to pay tribute to our veterans and to thank our current soldiers. Thanks guys and gals!

The Final Chapter!

We went to the Clinton Theater and caught the Shrek movie this weekend. It was cute. Ryan was scared. And tired. Before I even had the car in drive he had a meltdown for nearly 20 minutes resulting in a pulled over car and alot of slapping. I'm not proud...but when reason fails and there is no end to screaming in a car with a kid who refuses to settle down...what is one to do? I wish I had more patience. After a short nap, everything returned to normal. That is, a crazy and loud life....sans screaming.

I started 2nd shift last night. I hated it and I am sitting here wondering if I can go back tonight. It's such a difficult decision. Sure would be nice to be at home for the summer before Ryan starts school:)

The guys are just about finished with the roof! Jim had to leave for work and Len worked on the roof until almost midnight. We'll all be glad when it's done. Then we can tackle one of the many other projects. It looks really nice...by the way:)