Lounging Around

Since we're going "camping" (in a little cabin) for a weekend this summer, we thought we should pick up little chairs for the kids. We already had one, and Meijer had a sale this week, so I picked up 2 more. These provided almost as much entertainment today as the $1 wipe-off boards! I especially like the fact that they are wearing high heels to sit in their camping chairs. Casey will be thrilled that I neglected to crop those out of the picture of Peter.

Cheap Fun

Last night I was at Target (always a dangerous place to be) and of course I perused the Dollar Spot. I picked up these wipe-off activity boards for Peter and Esther and they were thrilled with them. I think it's funny how often the cheap or free things kids receive end up providing more entertainment than expensive toys!

Fun at the Gardens

We LOVE the Meijer Gardens. My parents gave us a membership for Christmas and we use it a lot because there is so much to do there and it never seems to get old. We went with our friends Erin, Anna and Elizabeth on Thursday and the kids had a great time!

This sculpture is called "Mad Mom."

We told the kids to pose and they did a

really good imitation!

Summer Vacation!

We're at the end of our first week of summer vacation and it has been wonderful! It's so nice to get up in the morning and look forward to fun all day long. This week we played in the pool, had several play dates and swimming lessons, took lots of bike rides and spent much of our time outside. We're planning to do much of the same for the next 10 weeks!

And closer.......

Getting Closer.........

4-year-old rationalization

The other day we were on a bike ride and saw a dead bee on the sidewalk. Here was the conversation that ensued:

Esther: That must have been a girl bee.
Mom: Really? Why do you think so?
E: Because only the girl bees sting, and after they sting somebody then they die. So it must have been a girl bee.

Seriously, I need to repeat pre-school because she knows all kinds of facts that I never learned (or just forgot).

Final Soccer Game of the Season

Esther had her final soccer game of the spring season on Saturday. She had a fun time playing and decided she wants to play again in the fall. Her coach did a nice job of encouraging Esther and her teammates, and gave them all personalized medals on Saturday. We've been very impressed with the Kentwood AYSO program's philosophy and the organization of the program. It's been fun to watch Esther play and have a good time with no pressure and a minimal time commitment. We're also thankful to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin who came out to cheer for her and help entertain Peter and Miriam during the games!

Groundbreaking

The school Esther currently attends will be closing and consolidating with 2 other schools for the year 2010-11. Thursday night they had a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new school, so we decided to attend. Esther and Peter had a great time playing on the playground, looking at all the excavators and other machinery that is being used to tear down the school that is currently on the site, digging in the dirt, and the best part--eating ice cream! They even got to keep their shovels!

Shhhh.....It's a Secret!!!!!!

After the success of the Fire Truck Bed project, I thought I would try a new one. A dollhouse for Esther's Barbies. The only catch is, her birthday is June 22....I just started this weekend, and I'm trying to keep it a surprise from her.

I will try to post progress updates as they happen. This one isn't too exciting; it's a sheet of MDF with drawing on it.