Fun at the Zoo

Today was my last free Tuesday with Miriam before summer break (and her transition to full time school in the fall).  In order to get over my sadness about that fact, I told her she could choose whatever she wanted to do today.  I gave her a few ideas and she chose the zoo.  It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun exploring the zoo and seeing all the animals.  We even went all out and rode the Funicular up to the top and took a camel ride.

After a couple hours of exploring the zoo we had a picnic by the pond with some geese and their adorable little goslings.  We played on the playground at John Ball Park for a while until a huge field trip group of kids invaded it.  Then we attempted to go to Sweet Mellisa's for ice cream, but they weren't open yet (we were an hour too early), so we headed to Jersey Junction instead.  We finished our fun day with a little bike ride through the neighborhood.  Boy am I going to miss my days with this girl in the fall!

Happy Birthday Casey, Renee and Nick!

Today was Memorial Day and we also celebrated Casey, Renee and Nick's birthdays.  Casey and Renee's birthdays were yesterday and Nick's was today.  We had a nice afternoon/evening with Casey's family and also his Uncle Bob and Aunt Anita and his parents' neighbors.

4th Grade Extravaganza

Esther and the rest of the 4th graders had a special afternoon of showcasing their talents.  They started with an open house display of their lighthouse projects.  It was fun to see the creativity that the students put into making their various lighthouses.

The second part was a Michigan VIP/Wax museum event.  The students had to research and prepare a speech about a famous person who had ties to Michigan.  They dressed up and had props, and when parents pushed a button (made of paper and set on the floor in front of them), then they would come to life and give their speeches.  Esther had Annie Etheridge, a Civil War nurse.

The final portion was a recorder concert by the entire 4th grade class.  They did a great job, and it was fun to listen to them!

Letter People Parade!

One of the highlights of kindergarten at our kids' school is the Letter People Parade.  Esther didn't do the letter people when she was in kindergarten, but Peter and Miriam did.  This week was the big parade, so each kindergarten student could choose a letter person and dress up like that person.  Miriam chose Miss "A" for her letter.  Since Miss A has a big "Achoo," Miriam hung tissues on her letter A signs and carried a box of tissues.  She said she was going to pretend to sneeze during the parade, but I think when she saw all the parents lining the halls, she got a little shy.  It was very cute to see the creativity of the various costumes and props that the students had for different letters.

Kindergarten Field Trip

I was able to go with Miriam on a fun field trip on Friday.  We went to Ludema's Floral and Garden and checked out their children's garden area.  Then we went to Mrs. Sytsma's house to see her garden and eat lunch on her deck.  She showed the kids a bit of her house and then had them draw a picture of their favorite kindergarten memory on her driveway with chalk.  As a kid, seeing your teacher's house is so cool, so the kids thought this was just great!  It was a fun field trip with a very nice bunch of kids.

Miriam drew the life cycle of a butterfly.

Esther's Lighthouse

This week Esther completed a big 4th grade project, which is building a model of a Michigan lighthouse.  The students are each assigned a lighthouse to research and then they have to build a model of their lighthouse at home.  Casey and Esther had fun coming up with their ideas and putting this together.  Here is her finished project!

Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day today.  The weather was beautiful and warm, and we were able to spend the day with family.  We had Casey's parents, my parents, Nick, Karen and Juan over for lunch after church.  The kids gave me beautiful and fun homemade cards and bought me flowers as well.  I am so blessed to be the mom of these amazing children, and to have such a wonderful mom and a great mom-in-law!  I am so thankful for all of them.

Riverbank Run 10K

Last year I ran my first 10K at the Fifth Third Riverbank Run.  I wanted to do it again this year, and my good friend Mary (a friend from Calvin days who now lives in Minneapolis) was going to be in town this weekend.  Since she is also a runner, I asked her if she wanted to run it together.  She agreed, and it was very fun to complete it with her!  Our time was 4 seconds faster than my time last year, so it was nice to improve slightly.

At the start

Finished!!

 Karen and Juan also ran it, so it was fun to be able to see them after the race too!

After the run, Mary and I were able to have brunch with our other good friend Kristen (who drove in from Detroit) at Real Food Café.  It was wonderful to catch up and spend time with my dear friends, and I am so thankful that we have been able to stay close even though we don't see each other often.  I'm very sad that we forgot to take a picture of the 3 of us!

Esther's Art Show

Tonight we went downtown to the UICA (Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts) to see a piece of Esther's artwork in an art show.  Schools from all over the Grand Rapids area participated and the teachers were able to select some pieces from their schools.  We were very excited that Esther's was chosen!  It was hanging up a little high on the wall to get a great picture, but this is her work.  We are very proud of her!

Mommy-Miriam Day

Miriam and I call Tuesdays "Mommy-Miriam Days" because we get the whole day together.  It is the only full day each week that she doesn't have school and I don't work.  I am going to miss those days so much next year when she goes to first grade!  We usually try to keep them low key and just hang out at home or do something fun.  Today was a beautiful day, so I told Miriam we could do whatever she wanted to do.  She chose the library, having a picnic by Reed's Lake, and going to Meijer Gardens.  It was such a lovely day and I loved every minute of being with her and letting her choose whatever she wanted to do along the way!