Adventures in Michigan

We arrived in Michigan Aug 4 and have been busy trying to fit in all the things we like to do out here.  For anyone I might have mentioned this to, we did get a good thunderstorm this weekend!  I was hoping for a good one during our trip.  We just don't get them back home!  One of the highlights for the kids is riding the lawnmower with grandpa.  C and A were enjoying running behind and "attacking" with foam swords.

 We celebrated C's 6th birthday with a Star Wars cake and lots of relatives.  Thanks to you all for coming over and making it a special day for our sweet boy.

 My dad likes to take the boys fishing.  They go out to the compost pile in the yard and find lots of worms. 

 We also found this great toad.  He had burrowed himself about a foot down in the compost pile.  What a  find!

 One of my favorite places on earth, the beach at South Haven...

 ...which is also home to some of the best ice cream on earth, at Shermans.

 We got to spend one night with my aunt and uncle and visit another aunt, and make donuts!

 This is the city pool in GR near another aunt's house.  We have been blessed with perfect weather and way too much fun.  I enjoy swimming too.  Ezra went down the waterslide with me about 15 times.  I'm not sure I'll have the courage to go down alone someday when he's too big to want me to go with him!  My mom went down though and we were all very proud of her!

 A and C got to take a horse riding lesson at the ranch where Aunt E rides every week.  They came away from it saying we now need to buy a horse (they were sure we could keep it in the dog pen in our back yard!)

It has definately felt like we are on vacation.  My mom has given me a nice break from cooking and there's not much cleaning that has to be done, since we are outside so much.  What a blessing.  We are all going to go through a little culture shock when we have to go back to our normal routines at home.  We have really missed Tim though and look forward to picking him up from the airport tomorrow night!

Austin's 9th birthday party

Last night we had Austin's birthday party.  His actual birthday is the 15th, but since we leave for Michigan in the morning and will be there for his bday, we celebrated with his friends before we left on our trip.  Needless to say, its been a little crazy doing a camping trip, a bday party 2 days later, and leaving for Michigan 2 days after that.  Its all fun stuff though and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves!  There is much excitement in our house.  Austin's party was a reptile party.  I met this wonderful friend, Bonnie, when I've subbed in the school where she works and have gotten to know her over the last 2 years.  She is a reptile enthusiast!  She has a whole room in her house dedicated to her creatures.  We visited her house last summer and it was the highlight of the summer for the boys to get to see and hold so many interesting reptiles.  Bonnie graciously agreed to pack up a bunch of her critters and bring them to our house for the party.  It was a lot of work for her, but I think its safe to say she enjoyed showing off her animals.  She even went so far as to catch a "deposit" from the tortoise to save it from landing on my carpet! 

The weather cooperated beautifully for pizza in the backyard.

 This is a ball python we borrowed from a new friend at church.  I met her when I was asking around for someone that had a snake we could use for the party. 

 The snake cake...

 Bonnie and her tortoise...

 My favorite, the chameleon named Frankie...

I don't know how to spell this one's name, its something like euromastix.  They come from Saudi Arabia/Egypt. 

 The frilled lizard named Lacey

 Lacey was so relaxed she would lay on her back...

 I think this was called an ornamental horned toad.  It will grow to be the size of a dinner plate.  It looks a lot like a puddle...

 Blowing out the candles...

Camping at Kanaskat Palmer State Park

We were able to go camping this past weekend with our small group from church. What a blast! We had 4 large tents on a site intended for two, but we all managed to fit. All together there were 8 adults and 10 kids there for most of the time. We hiked down to the river every day and played there. The water was icy but everyone got in anyway. The rest of the time we mostly hung out at the campsite. The kids could ride bikes and play on the rope swing Tim concocted. We felt very blessed to have this time with our friends.