I have no idea!

Aliyah was being a big helper (she loves to help!) by picking up some toys after the other kids were already in bed.  When I looked over to see how the picking up was going, this is what I saw:

She had her leg up on the table and then she would reach down to the floor (with her leg still on the table) and pick up a toy and then put it in the basket on the table.  I guess that's one way to make picking up a little more interesting (and challenging!)!

A Walk in the Woods

Today we took a walk in the woods at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Savannah and Samuel ran ahead and started exploring.

Grandpa showed Hope and Aliyah some Jack-in-the-Pulpits.

Daryl and my Dad decided to pull down a branch that had broken off of a tree but was wedged in another tree.  There were no injuries . . . but just barely. 

Grandma, Samuel, and Savannah walked on a big fallen tree.

Hope and Daddy walked on the tree too.

Aliyah preferred climbing over little trees/branches.

Grandma, Savannah, Samuel, and Aliyah peeked at a Jack-in-the-Pulpit.

Aliyah loved playing peek-a-boo with Jack. :)

Where'd Jack go?

Hope held Grandpas hand for part of the walk.  She loves her Grandpa.

And Aliyah really loves her Grandma.

Samuel played peek-a-boo with the camera from behind a tree.

We all heard lots of laughter.

The guys and the kids took a break on the fallen tree towards the end of our hike.

Samuel wore himself out and wanted to be carried the rest of the way on his Daddy's back.

We all had fun and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather!

April 28, 2012

April 28 is "Remember Dad" Day.  13 years ago on this day, Daryl's Dad passed away.  Every year Daryl's Mom gets all of the kids a little Case tractor as a way to remember Grandpa Alex.  We weren't able to be in Ontario this year to share this day with the rest of Daryl's family so Daryl gave the kids their tractors and explained why they were getting them.  They all know that Grandpa Alex is in Heaven with Jesus just like Aunt Rosie is.  It was a special time of Daryl talking with the kids about his Dad and how we remember Grandpa Alex on this day.

A New Bike

Another deal at a garage sale!  My Mom found this bike for Samuel for $10!  Not bad at all.  Samuel waited so patiently for Daddy to get home so that Daddy could put on the training wheels.  But once Daddy was home he was constantly asking if the bike was ready yet.  He was trying hard to help Daryl and to do whatever he could so that he could try out his new bike.  He had a big smile as soon as he got on and started pedaling but it didn't take long before he was pretty unsure about the whole thing - especially turning.  I think it feels more tippy than his little bike.  It'll take some getting used to and if he doesn't ride it much this year, that's okay too!  It's a great bike for him to grow into.

A little Samuel side note:
- Samuel is in love with baseball right now.  We've had the Tigers games on at our house and he has been watching closely!  He is getting really good at playing catch with a tennis ball and his baseball mitt.  It's fun to play with him.  He has a good arm on him!  Tonight he was totally into the Tigers game and had to run outside to tell Daddy (he was power washing the deck) that tonight Tigers are gray and not white and that the Tigers were winning 3-2.  By the time Samuel was ready for bed the score was 6-5 Yankees.  Samuel asked if he could watch it until the score was 6-6.  Tigers had a guy on 3rd with no outs so I told him that he could watch it until the next commerial to see if Tigers could score a run.  Sure enough, it wasn't long before the Tigers tied it up.  Yankees did a pitching change so a commercial came on.  Samuel got right up and said to Daryl, "Mommy said that when the next commercial comes on it is time to go to bed."  What a good listener!

Aliyah Workin' Hard

 Aliyah sat (squatted) in the sandbox, scooped up sand, dumped it in her bucket, and patted it down for over 30 minutes!  And she hardly said a word.  She was so busy and focused.  Every few minutes I'd have to dump out the bucket and make a tower, she'd knock it down, and then start filling up the bucket again.  I have never so quiet and so still for so long.  It was really fun to watch her concentration!

See that coat she is wearing?  My Mom bought it at a garage sale today for Hope.  Aliyah saw it and insisted on wearing it.  Her sweet and gracious big sister Hope said it was okay.  I'm not sure Hope will ever see that coat again.  Aliyah is absolutely in love with it.  She didn't even want to take it off when we came inside.

Samuel's Airplane

Samuel's Great-Grandpa (my Dad's Dad) is going on a Pride and Honor Flight to Washington DC at the beginning of June.  WW II Vets fly to Washington DC for the day to visit the WW II Memorial and receive special honor for their Service.  They also do an old-fashioned mail call where the Vets receive mail from their close friends and family.  Samuel chose to paint an airplane for Great Grandpa.  I thought he did a great job!! 

 My little artist was very proud of his picture

Didn't he do a great job?  He wanted the airplane to have 4 wings.  And the orange line on the front of the airplane is the horn.  Love it!  The orange zig-zag on the far left side of the picture is an "S" for Samuel.

Frederik Meijer Gardens

Today we made a last minute decision to head up to Frederik Meijer Gardens with Becky and her 2 girls.  I wasn't sure it was worth the drive and the money, but we had a great day!  I have no regrets at all about going . . . until the major meltdowns that happened after we got back home from 3 tired little kiddos!  The weather was low 60s and beautiful.  We spent most of our time outside and only went inside to see the butterflies for about 20 minutes. 

 When we first got there Samuel was literally bouncing around and jumping up and down.  He told me, "I'm so excited!"  

 Sitting on the eggs.  Samuel told me that when his hatched it was going to be a dinosaur!

 Playing with the boats and water.  Definitely a highlight of the day.  Samuel had just watched his boat go over the waterfall in this picture.

 The girls playing with their boats.  Once again, Hope won the prize for the wettest child at the end of the day!

 My Samuel Butterfly

 My Hopey Butterfly

 My Aliyah Butterfly

 Eating lunch.  All sitting in big chairs!  Where did my babies go?!?

 Aliyah loves carrying coats around.  She is a little girl that knows what she wants and wants to do it without any help.  We often hear her saying "Delf! Delf!" (self) or telling us "No!" when we ask her if she wants help.

 I love this picture of Samuel and Hope together.  They truly are the best of friends!  We were sitting at the supper table the other night with the girls (Samuel was at my parent's house) and Hope says to us "Where did my buddy Samuel go?  Where's my buddy?"

 All 3 of my precious kids.  These pictures in no way show how crazy busy it was while we were there.  It was nuts.  Lots and lots of school groups.  Kids running everywhere.  You get the picture.  And b/c of our warm March, all of the flowers were in bloom!  When we've gone in the spring the past two years the flowers haven't been blooming yet so that was an extra special treat.

 The kids were fascinated with the butterflies.  They alternated between totally freaking out if a butterfly would come close to them and then shrieking in delight.  Better than last year when Samuel cried. :)  In the picture above, Hope is saying to a butterfly, "Can I touch you?"

 This is one of Samuel's freak out moments . . . shrieking in delight but also in terror.

 Aliyah kept doing this and saying, "catch you, catch you!"  It was too cute!

It was really hot in the butterfly house so we weren't in there for long.  But I was glad we made it up there for it because the butterfly exhibit ends in a couple of days.

Another highlight of the day was the big sandbox.  For whatever reason, I don't have any pictures of that!  The kids had a great day and had a lot of stories to tell Daddy when he came home from work.  And I loved it too.  What a special day it was!

Aliyah and Great-Grandpa

Aliyah had some special time with her Great Grandpa this afternoon.  They were having fun drawing together on the magna-doodle.  Great Grandpa would draw, Aliyah would guess what it was, and then she'd erase it.  Over and over and over again.  Neither of them got sick of it for a very long time.  So precious to watch!

Happy 21st Birthday (Aunt) Anna!

 We had a great time celebrating Aunt Anna's 21st Birthday!  Her actual birthday is tomorrow but she is still up in GR at school so we had to celebrate it today.  As you can see, the kids were very excited to help her open her presents.  We got her a tumbler cup (the cups that are all the rage right now - the ones with the insulated sides and the straw) so that she could fit in at Rockford Christian School (where she is doing her internship) - ha ha!  Samuel told her, "We got you a new water cup!" first thing when he saw her at Church this morning.  Oh well . . . . the funny thing is, when I asked the kids what they wanted to get Aunt Anna for her birthday, Samuel said, "a new water cup!"  Come to find out, that was exactly what she wanted!  Hope said that we should get her a Dora doll that could go in the bathtub (Hope got this for her bday).  I think Aunt Anna is happy that we went with Samuel's suggestion and not Hope's!

 They absolutely adore their Aunt Anna!

 Surprise!!  A new water cup!! 

 They all needed to help!

And we all loved Aunt Anna's yummy ice cream dessert!!

Happy 21st Birthday, (Aunt) Anna!  We love you lots!!