Memorial Day Weekend at Silver Lake

We were so excited when my parents bought a place at Silver Lake late last Summer. We didn't get to enjoy it last year but really look forward to trips there this year. We went up on Sunday and stayed overnight then spend most of Monday there as well. My parents had gone up on Friday with Mila and took Abby with them to help. She and Mila had a wonderful time together and Abby really does great with her! They are best buds. :) We spent our time up there on the boat, tubing, climbing sand dunes, building sand castles, playing catch, going to Craig's Cruisers and enjoying time with family. What a wonderful weekend!

 

 

Girls on the Run

Since last year Abigail has been excited to be in Girls on the Run once she got to third grade. Unfortunately no one stepped up to lead the team this year so Colin and I volunteered. :) With the help of awesome coaches we had a great 12 weeks with 14 awesome girls. The concept of GOTR is awesome...teaching girls about self-esteem, positive attitudes and how to be great girls and friends while also training for a 5K. Most of these girls struggled with the running at first and I'm thrilled to say that they ALL finished their 5K in Allegan on May 18, some with a very, very good time! I'm so proud of Abby and all of the girls and how much they've grown, both physically and internally. We already can't wait until next year!

 Abigail and Annaleigh

 The coaches - Betsy, me, Laura and Lisa

 All the girls - love them!

 They make a good team, don't they?

 Pre-5K stretching

 Coming to the finish line, running with Daddy. I think that was HUGE for Colin. :)

All smiles and 5K later...so proud of her!

Tulip Time, Part 3

Like we do every year, we went to the Thursday Kinderparade this year. Abigail was marching again and Henry also got to March with YoYo since she is retiring and this is her last year. We were sitting in front of 84 East and found out Abby's class was lining up right behind the restaurant on 9th Street so I went back there to grab a couple of pictures. It was a perfect day for a parade and the kids had a great time! 

 Abby and lots of friends from her class.

 Henry and Sylvie waiting to get started.

 Sylvie, YoYo and Henry

 We found Dani downtown and Jos wanted to hang out with her for awhile.

 Abby and Max VanVliet. I think we have 9 years of these pictures!

The kids got to choose one more thing from the junk food wagons. Abby wanted a snow cone but wanted to wait a bit. We walked around downtown for awhile and ended up at Kelly's Marketplace. We'd never been there before but saw Hawaiian Ice on their sign out front. We checked it out and it's our new favorite place! For $2.50 you get a HUGE shaved ice (that they shave in front of you with a real, authentic machine) with three flavors, served in these cool flower like cups. Abby was in Heaven! Looks like Josh was enjoying himself too.

Tulip Time, Part 2

Things to do while you wait for the Tulip Time Fireworks:

1. Get junk food from the wagons, specifically from our friends who make these awesome M&M carmel apples!

2. Hang out with friends and enjoy above mentioned junk food.

3. Jump on dad and wrestle.

4. Move on to climbing on a nearby tree.

5. Take advantage of wristbands from earlier Kinderplaats (where is rained) and go on a few carnival rides.

We had a great night! The kids loved hanging out with friends, eating junk food and loved the fireworks! 

Tulip Time, Part 1

Because of the super warm Spring, the tulips bloomed quite early this year. We figured we better get some pictures of the kiddos early if we wanted any tulips in the pictures! So, on April 30, we went with the Kuipers Family to Window on the Waterfront and tried to snap some pictures. Luke did NOT want to sit with the other kids for pics, but we did end up getting a cute one or two of him as well.