Sis and her crazy brother

Look at my wild hair! Sis just woke up from her nap in 87 degree weather. We have NO air conditioning because the part is still on order to fix it. Brooks will not let me take pictures of him these days.

We only have 1 more day of school- half day. Cobe goes until noon tomorrow and I teach from 10am-11am and then I am done for the year! Yippee! Our computer will be away for the weekend so if you think I am MIA, I am! A friend of Ryan's is going to clean it up a bit because it is pretty slow these days.

No plans tonight- the boys are next door trading Pokemon cards, and Sadie is napping. We went to our neighborhood pool yesterday/last night in Knollwood- that was nice. Tomorrow night the Boeve girls are sleeping over so Chad and Lisa can go out in South Haven. Cobe has a birthday party also at Laser Storm. Sat. morning he has a birthday party at Crazy Bounce, and then we may head up to the cottage overnight. We have to be back by 5:00 on Sunday evening for Justin/Chad's birthday gathering at Jen's. Next week starts our summer schedule. Ryan is going out of town for a golf tournament, so the 4 of us will be solo. Gotta run- Ryan is here to get the computer.

Party & Parade Post

We had such a fun weekend. Ryan and I had a very nice dinner last night at On the Border in Grandville. We were home by 8:00 so it truly was a nice, relaxing early night. We climbed in bed and watched Arlington Road. It was a really good flick if you haven't seen it. I don't like "guy" movies because they are usually too intense for me, but this was a suspenseful thriller that I really enjoyed. It was funny that we were in bed so early. We thought that might be a preview to our older years when the kids are old and out of the house. :-) We don't manage to get to bed before 11:00 when they are here for some reason. And they are usually in bed by 8:30 or 9:00, so it doesn't make sense. We got up and met Lisa and Boeve at the parade. Brooks decided to stay with us and not ride on the float. He seemed scared. Cobe met up with his school and was very excited to walk because he got to throw candy to the crowd. We headed home after the parade and got ready for the party. We had gorgeous weather, hot, but nice. Remicks and Agars brought over slip-n-slides, so we loaned out all of our bathing suits, and it was just what the kids needed on a hot day. The kids really had a blast playing with each other. There was a good mix of ages, mostly boys here, which was nice for my 2 boys since they usually seem to have more girls to play with. Sis slept most of the day. She was still whipped from her day/night at Lisa's. They stayed at the lake in Lisa's subdivision all afternoon while they were there, so I think she was worn out. It actually was nice, since I didn't have to keep track of her and could enjoy myself more at the party. The families that ended up coming were: Bekins, Remicks, Freriks, Turners, Everses, Boeves, Culvers, Onstotts, Julie's cousin Lindsey from Florida, Elgersmas, Agars, DeWitts, Doan came by himself and Jeff Viening came too. I got way too much sun and didn't put on sunscreen until it was too late. I hope I am not hurting tomorrow. Well, now that the house is back in order and all is cleaned up, I will leave you with lots of pictures from the day. My mom asked me in a recent email if I ever get sick of keeping up with this blog, and I have to say honestly- NO! I do get sick sometimes of taking pictures, because lately I feel like I don't get the good ones, but I enjoy and look forward to posting an entry. I honestly think this is a great outlet for me- I love to write and I don't get to do it often, so this is it! Have a great last week of school- I have one more full day of work and then 3 half days, so my summer vacation is starting really soon!!!!! Jason after just going down the slip-n-slide. Ella and Brooks just jumped right on him.
The guys at the party. They actually left the party around 6:20 and headed to the country club to golf, so the girls and kids hung out for a little while longer after they left. And yes, you are figuring that right- we were left with the mess! :-)
A few of the girlies.
Slip-n-slide fun

Lisa and Sis coming to you sideways!
Mrs. Dobbin and Maya on the 3-school float. Brooks chickened out and wouldn't ride.
Aliyah on the ECC float.
Sis playing hide n seek in her stroller.

Sadie and Dana
Sis waving to the veterans passing by.
Brooklyne, Amy, Lisa and me
Cobe walking in the parade. I know, you can't see him. He is behind the guy in the blue shirt with his hand up- I never could get a good shot of Cobe because of the delay on my camera.
Cobe after walking in the parade- tired and hot and NOT wanting his mama to take any pictures of him!

Free Sunday

The 3 Babies!!!!

We ended up having a busy Friday after all. It was Julie's 30th birthday on Thursday, so she was having some people over to grill Friday night. We hung out for awhile and had a few drinks. The kids played all afternoon, so Ella came over and had a bath with Sadie. They all snuggled in our bed after bathtime to watch a movie and Brooks and Ella decided that they needed a pipe like Sadie! Cobe left and went to Jaxson's to spend the night, and the other 2 went to bed relatively early. Ryan and I came home and watched a movie, so it ended up to be a fun and relaxing night.

Saturday morning, I picked up Cobe and Lisa and her girls and us headed to Mimi's pool to swim. We had a great time there. We hit McDonald's afterwards so the kids could play in the indoor playland. It was a great day for indoor swimming and an indoor playland because it was quite a chilly day. The Boeve girls came back over to our house for awhile to play so Lisa could run some errands. Once Ryan got home, I ran to Target and Meijer's. Our party for tomorrow has grown to over 50 people, so I had to make another grocery store run to stock up on more food. I can't wait- it should be so much fun!

Today Sadie was still napping at church time (it changed to 10:30 for the summer this morning), so we just stayed home. Lisa picked up the kids at around 12:30 and took them to her house so I have a free day ALL to myself. I spent it spending money that we don't have! I needed a dress for a June wedding in NC, so I spent the day finding one. I got a cute sundress at Younker's as well as a few pairs of shorts, a few shirts, and some clothes and shoes for the kids. It was a very successful day shopping by myself which doesn't happen much. Ryan and I were headed to Saugatuck tonight with some couples, but he called mid-day and said he was exhausted and wanted to stay home. We have to be up early in the a.m. to meet Lisa for the parade (she has the kids overnight) and we have the party here tomorrow, so Ryan said he wanted to make it an early night. We are going to grab dinner alone, and then come back home. I feel guilty that Lisa will have the kids all night, but she wanted to keep them, so I wasn't going to argue!!!! We have her kids here overnight next weekend, so it saves soooo much money on sitters for us both.

Ryan just walked in the door, so we are off to On the Border in Grandville for some good eats!

Holiday Weekend

I am so glad it has cooled off today. We caved in and tried to turn on our air yesterday, and it didn't work. So we were so hot all day. I am glad the weather forecast is much more pleasant for the next few days. We had someone come out this morning and look at it, and a part needs to be ordered to fix it, so at least we have a reprieve from the heat while we wait.

Cobe has a friend coming over after school to play, and then they are going to his house to spend the night tonight. Other than that, we have no plans for tonight which is nice. I plan to hit Target at some point for a few things, so maybe I'll go there tonight. Ryan works all weekend, but we do have fun stuff scheduled for Sunday and Monday. Sunday night we are heading to Saugatuck with some couples for a night out. Remicks, Bekins, Holsteges and us are going out to dinner and to some bars. Monday morning, Brooks is in the parade, so we'll go to that, and then people are heading over here for a cook-out. It started as us, Elgersmas and Onstotts, and now has grown a bit to include Culvers, Doans, Bekins, Remicks. Julie and I are sort of hosting it together since it will take place in our back yards. Hopefully the weather will stay as forecasted for that day- 72 degrees and sunny. Perfect outdoor weather! Whatever your plans may be, I hope you have a good weekend. I'll be back maybe Monday to post some parade pictures. Enjoy!

Words can NOT capture the humor!!!!

My, oh my, the nerves are setting in so I think I'll chew on my shirt to calm myself.
I'm okay now. I am doing my favorite song: Lion, lion on the jungle floor. Lion, lion let me hear you ROAR!
Now I am showing the moms and dads how to get ready to go into the hall. Hand on your hip, finger on your lip, quiet in the hallway.
This is when I am about to shut down. The teacher called us in one by one to get our diploma. I had done so well singing all of the songs and doing all of the motions, but I just couldn't handle it anymore.....
In front of everyone watching, I curled up into a fetal position and STAYED like that the rest of the time. All the other kids had to walk/be carried around me. :-) I told mom later, "Mom, I 'scrumped' up into a ball!"

As you can see, Brooks' 3-school graduation was an absolute HOOT! We were so proud of him, and then he managed to pull a Brooks, and that was the end of that! He was still all smiles; he just wouldn't get up. Ryan videotaped the whole thing, so for those of you who would like to see our $10,ooo winning video when we send it in to AFV, just come on over!

The Sweet Sound of Silence

My cutie kids at breakfast this morning being their sweet selves!
Sis with a mouthful of pancake!
And another mouthful!
Cobe with his "do-rag" from Chase's pirate party- he loves that thing and wanted to wear it to school.

I have an unexpected quiet morning, and after days of rushing around, it is such a nice surprise. Brooks, Sadie and I went to Lisa's to walk this morning, and Brooks stayed there to play. Sadie and I came home, and she went down for her nap, so I have time to myself. Thanks Lisa! :-)

Bible study last night was so uplifting. It was our last night and therefore, sharing night. Everyone meets together and shares about the past year in BSF. I am too chicken to share, but it always has been my favorite night to hear how good God has been to others. We shed some tears, but it is always a great night to praise God.

Tonight is my niece Braelyn's 3rd birthday party, so we will go to Kyle and Amanda's for pizza and cake when Ryan gets home from work. Happy Birthday Brae brae!!!!! We love you!!!!! I cannot believe you are 3 years old!!!!!!!!!! Where does time go?

Fun on the Boeves' Tramp!

Sadie and Brooks
Cobe, Aliyah, Sadie and Brooks
Spot (Lisa) and Aliyah
Spot and her daring stunts
Bisky and Boeve

What a day! We got up and went to our last Sunday of Sunday School and Children in Worship until fall. We'll still have church, but we'll just have to have the three kids with us all summer- don't get quite as much out of it for some reason. :-) Jonathan preached an awesome sermon that sparked a buzz around church. I got two emails this afternoon encouraging everyone to email Jonathan and thank him/encourage him for preaching what he did. As he said, he opened up his veins and bled today. He really talked about Romans 12:9-21 and taking off your mask. He talked about his own weaknesses and really took a risk- a good one, but he knew it would offend many. I just spent some time emailing him to let him know how much I appreciate his being vunerable and the challenge he set forth to all of us.

We then came home from church and had tacos for lunch. A friend of Cobe's (Jaxson) came home with him from church and played for awhile. When his mom came and picked him up, we left and went to the Boeves to enjoy their new tramp and to grill out. We had some humorous accidents and a not so funny accident. Sadie fell ALL THE WAY DOWN their deck stairs head over heels. Her neck was twisted in the most awful way. I was at the top of the stairs and could not run down fast enough to catch her. Boeve was at the bottom of the stairs and caught her maybe 2-3 stairs from the bottom. He jammed his thumb catching her, and she has a big goose egg and cuts on her forehead. Fortunately, that is all she has. I have never felt so helpless and scared at the same time watching her tumble down those stairs. She cut her big toe as well at some point during the afternoon, but I don't know if that happened then or later. She was all about climbing a ladder all by herself to get on the tramp. Once she fell down the stairs, it took her about 30 seconds to start climbing the ladder again. We put up their gate at the top of the stairs and she stayed put the rest of the night b/c I was not about to let that happen again.

On the more humorous side, Boeve flipped 3 of the 5 burgers off of the grill!!!!! One went flying over the railing and hit the ground and the other two landed on the deck. Emma (their dog) downed one before he could get it, and he salvaged the other one. I don't know who was the lucky one who got to eat it, but I hope it wasn't me! :-) The other funny thing (not so funny to Cobe) was that Brooks accidently peed on Cobe's head and arm! He had to go bad, so he went in their back yard. Cobe didn't know he was going and ran right in front of him. You can only imagine how hard we laughed at that. Cobe even laughed after he cried. :-) So on that note, we left to come home. All three dirty and bedraggled kids came home to be scrubbed in the tub and put to bed. Cobe still had about 45 minutes of homework, so we knocked that out as fast as possible. I am AMAZED at his spelling words. I swear my 7th graders don't know how to spell some of his words. His words for his test tomorrow are: sprout, oxygen, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. He gets 5 words each week and they have progressively gotten harder. Last week he had the words illustrate and February! He has had such a great 1st grade year and has an AWESOME teacher- Mrs. Snyder. She is the best! I am so thankful for great teachers. Even though I am a teacher myself, I don't have what it takes to teach my own kids for some reason. So I feel blessed that Cobe has had such caring and dynamic teachers and that Brooks has started off that way in 3-school as well. He loves learning because his teacher, Mrs. Dobbin, made it so much fun for him this year.

I need to still make my meal for the week tonight for Lisa and my system. We have dropped it back to making one meal a week for each other with the busyness of the season, there just isn't as much time to sit down to family dinners unfortunately. We'll adjust again when summer hits and maybe pick back up to two meals a week for each other in the fall. Tomorrow night is my last BSF for the year- my favorite night of the year- sharing night. Tuesday night we have Braelyn's birthday party- pizza and cake and Kyle and Amanda's. Wednesday night Cobe has a baseball game. Thursday he is having Jaxson over to play with him again, but we don't have
anything that night. Ryan works all weekend coming up, so I haven't made any plans yet.

So if you are still with me after this rather long post, I challenge you to read Romans 12:9-21 and apply it to your life. Are you willing to "hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good"? Are you willing to show a love that is "honest and true"? Are you willing to "overcome evil by doing good"? I hope the spark Jonathan ignited this morning can reach thousands. Wouldn't our world be such a better place?

Baseball !!!!!!!!

Cobe warming up before his game this morning.
An action photo- I think he just caught the ball and is getting ready to throw it.

Chase, Alec and Cobe waiting on the bench for their turn to bat. Brooks gets all decked out in his baseball gear to go to the game.
The coach asked someone to catch balls that went over the fence so Brooks was hip to that job. He took it very seriously!!!! (He was supposed to just do it while they warmed up, but he stayed in that position by the fence for quite sometime and felt important!)

When we woke up this morning, it looked like rain, but thank goodness turned into a beautiful day. Cobe batted great this time at his game after working with Ryan all week on form and stance. After the game we dropped Cobe off at Chase's birthday party- they had 15 boys all dressed like pirates. It was a hoot to see. Lisa had decorated the house with pirate stuff and her cake was amazing- she made a pirate ship on the ocean! Cobe had a blast! After we dropped him off, we headed to Frank's for burgers for lunch. Ryan took the kids to the bakery afterwards, and I headed to Don's. I got Julie a birthday present and graduation cards for the 2 open houses that we have. We headed to Sam's Club and returned the DVD player, to Payless to return a pair of shoes, and to Bumblebee's to drop off all the clothes of mine that didn't sell at the garage sale. We headed home after that for Sadie to nap and I ran back up to pick up Cobe. We went back to Sam's to get pictures and then to a greenhouse for another hanging basket to go with the one Ryan gave me for Mother's Day and 2 other big pots of flowers- one for the porch and one for between the garages. Brooks helped me replant those in my planter when we got home. Then we were off to Chelsea's open house where she had an ice cream /topping bar. Yummy! After that, we took Cobe to Jaxson Bedolla's house to play. He is still there but I am going to get him after dinner instead of him spending the night b/c I assume he'll be whipped! My neighbor, Jennifer, sold some of my stuff this morning so I can add another $17.50 to my grand total!!!! She is also going to sell my Baby Bjorn on Ebay as well as a few other nicer items that didn't sell. I'll give her a cut of the price so it will be a win-win situation for both of us! :-) I actually need to run over the other 2 things she is selling for me now so she can take a picture of them. Toot-a-loo!

The lull before the storm

As if the weekend could get any busier.... we now have another showing tomorrow morning. We are up to our ears in garage sale "stuff" trying to get that cleaned up, and the realtor calls and said there is a showing between 11:30 and 12:30. So when we leave to go to Cobe's baseball game at 10- we won't be coming home. We have a ton of errands so I guess we'll have to kill time by doing all of those. Ryan has already run an entire truck load of stuff that didn't sell to Goodwill, he returned all of the tables, and I have about 10 things I am going to put out at my neighbor's house because she is going to sit out in her garage tomorrow. I am grateful that she didn't mind. We have to return our car DVD player AGAIN to Sam's Club. This is the 4th time we have had to return the things. They work for a few weeks, then break. This set lasted since Jan. 19 (which is the longest yet) but now they do not work. We are returning them for good. I don't know what we will get to replace them= but definitely NOT what Sam's Club has!!!! I have to return a pair of shoes to Payless. I got Sis a pair of sandals that had a strap between her toes, and she did not like that feeling at all. We have to run to Bumblebee's and drop off a huge load of clothes that didn't sell, and run to church at some point and donate some baby stuff. Oh- and to the bank- 2 people wrote checks at the garage sale. I was quite impressed with our total.... $428. That is the most I have ever made at a sale. And I didn't really even make a dent in the junk we have.

I am counting the minutes to get the kids in the bed- Ryan and I have to clean. It is funny how we have this cleaning down to a science. He mops the kitchen floor, vacuums, and cleans the master bath. I dust, clean the other 3 bathrooms, and de-clutter. We know the routine by now!

Lynette- you should see my van today- it is PACKED. It is literally a house on wheels!!!!The whole family could probably live out of it for a few weeks no problem. :-)

I am sure I won't check in tomorrow unless it is late tomorrow night. I don't even have hope that this showing will be the one, but maybe with prayer????? So any of you who check this tonight or in the morning, please say a prayer that maybe, just maybe.... Thanks! Hope you have a great weekend!!!

Just a quick post

I am exhausted so I am heading to bed. But I did want to share that the garage sale so far has been a success! I made more money today than I have in the last few years (around $250 today so total of about $350), so I think I'll open up in the morning for a few hours before work. I ended up having company for the afternoon. My friend and neighbor Kendra came over and sat with me for a few hours. It was so nice of her b/c it helped the time fly. I was so busy all morning that time flew by, then we hit a lull around noon and that is when she showed up. I actually got some huge bargains myself. My GENEROUS neighbor Julie gave me a great deal on some adorable clothes/shoes for Sadie and some things for Brooks as well. She probably could have made well over $100 on the stuff she gave me, and she only charged me $25 bucks!!!! I can't wait for them to start wearing the things.

Cobe's baseball game that got rained out Tuesday night has been rescheduled for Saturday morning, so I can't open up that morning, so I guess tomorrow is my last shot to get rid of everything. This weekend is going to be sooooo busy again. Well, really just Saturday I guess. Tomorrow I'll finish up the garage sale, go to work, pack everything up and return tables to work. Sat. morning, we'll head to Cobe's game at 10:00, take him to a birthday party at 11:00, and then go to a graduation open house sometime between 2-4. Then Cobe has been invited over to a friend's house to spend the night. So I guess I should rephrase my wording... Cobe has a busy Saturday. :-) I didn't realize I would be scheduling a social calendar when my child was only 7!!!!! Sunday morning I teach Sunday School for the last time this year. I have enjoyed teaching the 3 year olds, so I may do it again next year. It is a good age to teach.

Off to bed to get up bright and early again tomorrow. :-)

She did it!!!!

I can't believe it, but Sadie pooped on the potty today. I got out the little potty from storage, and she wanted to sit on it before her bath. She sat down and started pushing as hard as she could... and it worked! :-) I don't think she'll be potty trained any time soon, but boy to think we are almost done with diapers is a good feeling! I think she will be easy because she always wants to do what the rest of us are doing, so going on the potty is something she started herself.

I have been up to my ears in garage sale stuff. My garage is busting at the seam with JUNK! I hope someone finds some treasures hidden in there somewhere. I do have two tables of clothes which I think will sell. A friend of Lisa's came over tonight and bought some stuff. So now my grand total in sales is up to $97. It is almost comical how much work goes into making money for a garage sale. Ryan has helped me set up, helped neighbors set up, I have set up and priced everything. Probably between the two of us, we have put in 12-14 hours just getting ready for it. So if you break down how much you make per hour, it amounts to nothing. We'd probably be better off donating everything to Goodwill and taking the write-off! But, for some strange reason, I enjoy the process and the actual day. I usually have a friend sit with me and hang out making it much more fun, but tomorrow I'll be solo. So I am not looking forward to that part as much. The kids will be gone until about 3:30 so that will help tremendously!!!

Cobe's game got rained out last night. They made it through pictures, then it started to downpour. We still had to stay gone for the house showing, so we went and picked up Wendy's and went to Mary Jo's to eat. We left there and went to the Elgersmas to hang out for awhile. Long story short, they didn't like our house, so we are back to square one. AAAGGGHHHH!

Well I am off to bed to hopefully rejuvenate for my long hours sitting in the garage tomorrow. I haven't even checked the weather, so I hope for a sunny, warm day. I'll check in tomorrow night with the grand total made. :-)

Update of weekend and the upcoming week

I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day! I did, even though Ryan worked all day, he managed some surprises as did great friends of mine. Cobe had made me a clay pot at school that he was pleased as punch to give me and Brooks gave me a flower from school. I woke up to a very sweet card from my husband, a beautiful necklace (one that I had been eyeing for over a year) from Lisa that she gave me at church, a potted begonia AND a cool bracelet from Julie when I got home from church, and then a funny card and an I.O.U. for a hanging basket from the kids when Ryan got home from work. We went to his mom's for dinner for Mother's Day and to celebrate Jake's birthday. It was a very relaxing day. I have the BEST friends in the world to spoil me on Mother's Day. I just got the mail today and had a VERY sweet card in the mail from my mom too- you gotta love Mother's Day!

Ryan ended up being able to golf in a celebrity golf tournament today very last minute so he is gone. I have bible study tonight, a house showing tomorrow as well as Cobe has a baseball game. Our neighborhood garage sale is Thurs. and Fri., so I am sure I'll be busy as a bee Wed. getting ready for that. I still have a TON to pull out for that and price. I hope to make a small mint on all of our junk! :-) I have already made $97 without even setting up yet- not too shabby. I sold our patio furniture to a friend yesterday and I sold 6 pairs of shoes of Sadie's too. So I guess I can't complain. Hope everyone has a great week- school is winding down- only 13 more days!!!! We took the 7th graders today to Craig's Cruisers in GR and had a blast riding go-carts, playing laser tag and a HUGE pizza buffet. It was such a fun afternoon. Off to fix the kids dinner!

Musikparade 2 pictures

See next post for more details about our day. Sadie loved all the bands, the floats, and hanging out with the kids.
Bisky Loo pretending that she didn't want me taking a picture of her. :-)
Once again, Sis is WAY too big for her britches! She thought she was something else having a water bottle like the big kids.
Loving cousins! Sadie absolutely adores Selah. She gets so excited when I show her pictures of Selah. I can't wait for them to grow up together as close as they are in age.
Aunt Jen and Joshy boy- Sadie was trying to hone in on them. She liked sitting in Aunt Jen's lap.

Musikparade-Saturday

Today we went to the grand finale parade for Tulip Time. The weather could not have been more perfect for a parade. Sunny, a little breeze at times, and warm, but not overly hot. Perfect! The kids all had fun watching the parade and playing with each other. We got right in and parked with no problem and left probably about 10 minutes before the parade ended, so we got right out of there with no traffic. Sis jamming to one of the bands. Brooks is eating- which they all did they entire time. I am surprised they even wanted dinner tonight (but they did of course!).
Cobe's friend, Ethan Geary, Cobe, Braelyn, Josee, and Aliyah
Aliyah, Josee and Regan
Ethan, Cobe and Brooks
Aliyah and Josee

Random Tulip Time 2007 Shots

Ain't they sweet?

The boys at Russ' after their photo shoot.

Sis at Russ ' after her draining photo shoot.