Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A Picnic at Uncle Jack's and Aunt Cindy's













There were lots of hugs and smiles and good eats at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jack's house this weekend to welcome home Aunt Kathi. The kids loved the candy hunt and playing games with cousins and Uncles. They even loved the claw. Who knew? I really enjoyed talking with the family and forgot to get some shots of a couple of cuties were there. Oops. It was a fun day.


Ready for some football?

Ryan was a year too young to play football at Addison, so we signed him up for the Columbia league of flag football. Ryan was a little disappointed to find out he couldn't tackle, but it's good to see him learning some fundamentals. It's really messing with Jim's Michigan football schedule as the games seem to be falling at the same time:( But you never hear daddy complain;) Jim even missed a chance to go to a Michigan game b/c he didn't want to miss seeing Ryan play. Wowza. Ryan likes the fact that he is on the blue team and the colors are the same as Michigan.

Halloween Madness at the Ladd's





We love to get out Halloween Decor and spend time going through the costume box trying to outdo each other. Fun Times.

What the boys do when the girls are at a baby shower!



They soak up attention from the Papa's : )

Chelsea's Baby Shower to welcome Baby Mason







Thursday, October 6, 2011

Sunday Funday: Flavor Fruit Farm and McCourtie Park



It was one of the best Fall Sundays. Beautiful weather.

First Day of First Grade

Ryan was really excited to start school again. He really thrives with more structure and loves to have activities to keep him busy. I'm so proud of this little guy. I hope he has a great year in Mrs. Skinner's first grade class.











Eat 'Em Up Tigers!

There's nothing quite as sad as disappointing your kids. We planned to head to a Tiger's game on backpack day b/c Ryan wanted to see the Tigers and he wanted to use the backpack for school. So we planned to go...but then it was sold out. Ouch. Luckily, a friend had tickets and with 3 girls, he said he could spare one...and so, Ryan got his backpack. Look at the delight.We're kinda scowling b/c my mom was taking the picture and I swear it was pointing to the ground. I mean, there was no way she got the shot. I guess I was wrong:) Who's your Tiger? The boys stood by the fence pre-game in hopes of getting some autographs. No such luck. We got some really sweet Maglio bats and got an extra somehow to give back to our backpack angel.





I'm so glad that my mom was with us. We were able to drop her off close enough to the stadium b/c we got there early. It was a super hot day and we all spent some time in the shade where the vending areas are. My mom is such a fan that she suffered through the heat more than I did. She really had a hard time getting back to the car. The traffic is so bad that she had to walk. We barely made it, she was in alot of pain. I hope the fun of the day was worth it....but I know she will probably enjoy the rest of the games in the comfort of her living room.














Jim's Vacation Week



Had to get this shot of Ryan when we went for a quick trip to the mall to score some Gymboree deals for school! Everyone in the Jackson area can recognize this hungry hippo:) Legendary!

We planned a trip to Toledo to see the Toledo Mudhens in action for the first time. It was a really nice stadium and Ryan was surprised when one of the opposing players tossed him a pre-game ball. He was nice enough to sail one up for Tyler too!

Before the game, we visited Imagintion Station for a few hours. The boys really like this science adventure. We were only a few blocks from the stadium so I asked an attendant if we should move the car. She advised that it would be best to walk to the stadium. Jim and I checked the car before we made the trek to the stadium and everything seemed okay:) Boy were we shocked at 10 p.m. when the gates were closed to the parking structure. The note even said they would be open during event nights. Go figure. It was a little dark, a little shady in the area where we parked and we were nervous! I called the number posted at the structure and hoped that we could get an quick answer since I only had one bar left on the phone. Yikes. We were really pleased when an attendant showed up within five minutes of the call and gave us entrance to the structure. He didn't even charge us for our regular parking fee. Good gracious:)We've been wanting to try out Duck Creek RV resort so we opted to pull our pop up trailer to Muskegon for some camping and Michigan Adventure fun. Boy was that a great campground. We even saved ourself some cash by walking across to MA and avoiding a parking fee. As usual, we had a great day at the park. The weather was perfect. I only have shots of Tyler b/c Jim and Ryan were MIA for most of the day on the big rides. At the end of the week we found ourselves at our new Home Away From Home, the campground that Aunt Susie and Uncle Ray reside. It sure is alot of fun. The boys love the pool and especially the golf. I love the hospitality with Ray and Susie...so good to spend time with them. It's always an added bonus when their grandkids are there or when Papa and Grandma come visit us too.It was a great week. We planned on coming home on Sunday and relaxing on Monday, Labor day...but we were having too much fun and decided to spend another night. Love the flexibility of our family. Everyone is always so eager to play.