First Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Peter's first day of kindergarten!  He was very, very excited about it.  We took pictures on the porch of course...

He was glad to see some of his friends when we got there...

Peter, Josh and Caden

Peter and Simon

Peter and Anna are not in the same class this year,

but hopefully they'll still get to play at recess!

He had a great first day!  He got to have art and music and do lots of fun things in the classroom.  He did say the day seemed a little long, so I think it will take a bit for him to adjust to being at school all day again.  I'm sure he'll be very excited to go back next Wednesday after the holiday weekend!

First Day of School!

Today was Esther's first day of school and Peter's kindergarten visiting day.  Since it was also my first day of professional development, Daddy got to take the kids to school.

They forgot to take the all-important annual porch picture, so they actually turned around after driving partway to school and came back to take this... pretty funny!

Looking at this picture, you'd think it was clash day!  Really Esther's outfit looked cute and matching, but once she put on the jacket and backpack it became quite the mix of patterns and colors.   :)

Esther told Casey that her day was "awesome" so we're off to a good start.  She loves her teacher and has some of her friends in her class.  She also played with some of her other friends at recess.  She's sure to have a great 2nd grade year!

Peter also enjoyed his visiting day.  They got to decorate cookies, draw a picture, and explore the room.  He's very excited to go for his first real day tomorrow!

Karen and Juan's Wedding Day!

Today was the big day--Karen and Juan got married!  It was such a beautiful day, with perfect weather and everything going wonderfully well.  The ceremony was in my parents' backyard, and they made it look so beautiful!  The reception was at the AlpenRose restaurant in Holland, and that was a fantastic place to have it.  It was so fun to celebrate with Karen and Juan, to spend time with family and friends, and to meet important people in Juan's life. 

The kids did a great job with their duties.  Esther and Miriam were adorable flower girls, Peter was a handsome little ring bearer, and Peter and Miriam even sang "Amazing Grace" at both the ceremony and the reception.  It was neat to watch them having fun being a part of Aunt Karen and Uncle Juan's big day.

Here are a few pictures that I took.  We are also looking forward to seeing the pictures that Casey's sister Renee took since she was one of the photographers for the day!

Fun with Aunt Karen

My sister is in town this week since she is getting married on Saturday!  We're all excited to celebrate with her and Juan, and we've been having fun hanging out with her while she's here.

On Monday Karen and I took my Dad out for a belated father's day/birthday lunch.  We enjoyed eating outside at Derby Station and had a delicious meal. 

Tuesday Esther cashed in her birthday coupon and went out for lunch with Karen.  They went to Olga's followed by ice cream at Jersey Junction and a walk by Reed's Lake. 

In the afternoon we took Karen and my mom to the pool to show off the kids' swimming skills.  They have come so far this summer!  We've really enjoyed having our passes and have done more swimming this summer than ever before.  It was fun to have Karen take some pictures of them in action!

Kuperus Cousins Camp

Last month our kids went to Camp McCaul and this weekend it was our turn to have Ty and Cassie sleep over!  The kids have been so excited about this, and we had a great time.  They came at dinner time on Friday night and joined us for pizza, with ice cream for dessert.

After getting everyone bathed and ready for bed, we had some snuggle time and watched Veggie Tales. 



Cassie got a little bored with the video and decided to do some reading.

Peter was excited to have Ty sleeping in his room with him, and Esther and Miriam got to bunk together in Miriam's room.  We let Cassie have Esther's room all to herself.   :)

This morning all the kids except Cassie were up bright and early and they watched some PBS while I made pancakes.  Once Cassie got up and we were all ready, we headed to the zoo. 

It was a great morning, and the rain held off until we got home and were eating the McDonald's lunch that we picked up on the way home.  All too soon it was time for them to head home. We can't wait until the next cousin sleepover!