Sunday, May 15, 2011

Mother-Daughter Campout

This weekend Esther and I went on a mother-daughter camp out with our GEMS group from church.  We went to Long Lake Outdoor Center in the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area. Thankfully we were staying in cabins since it was cool and rainy.  It was nice to have bunks and a roof over our heads, although we did have to walk a little ways to the outhouses!

Saturday was dreary, but it didn't rain much, so we were still able to be outside most of the afternoon.  We were put into groups to do a scavenger hunt, and had a list of various things in nature that we had to find.  We had fun exploring the trails and enjoying the beauty of spring.

The girls in our group: 
Laura, Nikki, Esther and Alexis



Before dinner, each group was assigned a picnic table to decorate, using only natural items that they could find in the area.  It was a competition, and they awarded each table a special prize.  The girls got to hold the "Golden Pinecone" when their table prize was awarded.  We also each made a "sit-upon" to sit upon while eating.  We used plastic grocery bags stuffed with newspaper to make the cushions and they worked pretty well!




Saturday evening and Sunday morning were quite rainy, so we mostly stayed inside.  Saturday evening we played games and made our s'mores in the indoor fireplace.  Sunday morning we played more games, ate breakfast, had a time of worship and singing, and packed up to head home.  We were originally going to stay until after lunch, but decided that there wasn't much more to do being stuck inside the cabins, and cooking one more meal outside on the covered porch didn't sound all that fun.



So, Esther and I made it home in time to join Casey, Peter, Miriam, Casey's dad and Nick for a yummy steak dinner!  All in all, it was a fun weekend and a nice time to spend with Esther and the other girls and moms.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day picture update

Here are the pictures that Karen took at my parents' house yesterday...


Karen and Esther had a little mini photo shoot... she is so photogenic if she's in the right mood!






A couple of Miriam, who refused to take her helmet off for the pictures...



Checking out the big pile of dirt in the yard.  Peter helped Grandpa move a lot of it to various parts of the yard while I was at work this morning!



Grandpa teaching Peter how to check the air in Aunt Karen's tires to make sure she's all set for her trip back to Chicago...


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day

I am so blessed!  Today was a gorgeous day with perfect weather, and I got to spend the day with my 3 beautiful children, Casey, and both sides of the family.  After church we went to my parents' house for dinner and then enjoyed the lovely weather by playing outside.  Unfortunately my memory stick was in the computer instead of the camera, so all the pictures are on Karen's camera.  I will post those after she sends them to me!

Later this afternoon we went out to Casey's parents' house and spent some time with them and Nick.  We had supper with them and just relaxed and hung out.  Esther was quite tired and didn't want to pose for pictures, but she did have fun making the necklace she's wearing in the picture.





It was a wonderful day, and I'm incredibly thankful that God has given me the gift of being a mom to Esther, Peter and Miriam.  I'm also so grateful for the gift of my mom and mother-in-law, who are both amazing moms and grandmas!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Preschool Mother's Tea

This afternoon I was able to attend the mother's tea for Peter's preschool class.  We had a nice time playing, hearing the kids sing some praise songs, and listening to his teacher read a couple books about moms.  At the end the kids presented the moms with beautiful cards and gifts.  Peter made a beautiful stepping stone which has a place in the front yard already.  It was so fun to spend that special time with my sweet little buddy!





Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Donuts and Butterflies

I had to switch my work schedule this week, and it ended up working out well.  I was able to have a morning with just Miriam, and then accompany Peter and his class on a field trip to the Meijer Gardens.

After Miriam and I dropped the kids off at school, we went to Dunkin Donuts before grocery shopping.  She was very excited about her pink frosted donut!




It was a very rainy day, but we still enjoyed seeing the butterflies and had the chance to play outside for a little while too.

Peter and his friend Anna

Listening to instructions

Peter and his buddies


Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter with our families.  We went to Casey's parents' church and enjoyed beautiful singing and celebrating the joy of Easter.  Then we had dinner at their house, along with my parents and Karen and Juan. 


We gave the kids books in their
Easter Baskets this year.








Easter Egg Decorating

Yesterday we also dyed and decorated Easter eggs.  It's always fun to see the kids' individual artistic abilities shine!







Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday our neighbor Dore put on her annual Easter egg hunt for our kids.  It has expanded over the last couple years to include our other neighbors' grandkids, so that makes it even more fun!  The kids had a great time finding the eggs and the special baskets she had prepared for each of them.



Peter was especially excited about the personalized
license plate for his bike that was in his basket!


Peter also had his 2nd soccer game of the season.
Last week it was raining.  This week it wasn't
raining, it was just really wet and muddy!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Seriously???

This is ridiculous...  I'm pretty sure we were playing in the sprinklers a week ago!  My parents watched the kids this morning while I was working, and my Dad e-mailed me this picture...

Only in Michigan!