Rainah's World

Christmas Card Shoot

2010-04-23T20:53:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I never posted any of the photos I took of Rainah for our Christmas card, and I wanted to share because I think they turned out so cute!

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T19:53:00.088-04:00

This morning Rainah and I woke up at Grandma and Papa's (Don drove out later in the morning) and after getting dressed, she was ready to go on a hunt for her Easter basket. She looked high and low and finally found it with a little help from Grandma. We headed to church where she happily went into her class :)
When we got back to Mom and Dad's, everyone came over and we attempted to get a photo of the four kids, which, as expected, didn't go as well as we'd hoped. Poor Hayden couldn't stop squinting because of the sun, London was practically falling out of his arms, and Rainah and Talan were just being NUTS. We got some pretty funny shots, though.
We had a great Easter dinner, as always, and lots of yummy desserts. The kids had their Easter egg hunt and had a blast. It was so nice spending a beautiful day with everyone!

Looking in every corner

There it is!

The bunny left LOTS of goodies!

Mmmmm; Peeps!

The fun begins!

Grandma with some bribes

Going on an egg hunt

Dave and London

Ahh; Talan's favorite- lip gloss!

Easter Egg Time

2010-04-03T19:42:00.032-04:00

This year we were at mom and dad's again for Easter, and Rainah and I helped color the Easter eggs. She did a great job, and I don't think she broke one!

Fireflight Rocks VanAndel Arena

2010-03-25T23:03:00.054-04:00

Today the Winter Jam crew pulled into Grand Rapids, ready to rock. Rainah and I showed up after lunch and caught up with Jessica. We were able to go out for coffee and hang out most of the afternoon, which was great! We even met up with Don and had dinner with Jess and Justin at the BOB. We had all-access passes, so we pretty much got to go anywhere... backstage, the buses, and we got to pretty much pick where we wanted to sit. We watched the first few bands, and the Fireflight took the stage. Rainah is kind of in awe, I think. She just sits in her seat and stares. I tried to get her to stand up and dance, or clap, but she was content just sitting and watching. Fireflight was awesome, playing to a pretty full Van Andel Arena. We hung out a bit after Fireflight played- Rainah chowed down on some cotton candy, and we talked with Jess a bit more at the merch table. We caught up with most of the band to say good-bye and left around 9ish. Rainah did pretty good considering she had no nap, and the afternoon and evening were so crazy. I had a great time, too, and it was really great to see everyone. I was also excited to catch up with an old highschool classmate who is in Newsong, so that was a nice surprise, too! Here are the photos:

One of Fireflight's biggest fans

Robert Pierre

Phee takes the stage behind his drumset

Justin and Glenn

Fireflight

Uncle Justin

Dawn

More Artwork

2010-03-21T21:44:00.014-04:00

After taking pictures of Rainah painting a few weeks back, she decided I should take some again- yesterday and today she spent lots of time drawing and then had me get out my camera.

She told me that this was a drawing of a mouse (3/20)

Rainah with her masterpiece (3/20)

More artwork (3/21)

So pround (3/21)

A Night With The Butterflies

2010-03-14T22:55:00.077-04:00

Each year during the months of March and April, Meijer Gardens brings in butterflies - lots of them. The kids always love it and they have lots of fun activities. They also offer a night to members only to come in at night, and watch the butterflies fly around at night. The kids bring their flashlights and have a great time. This year we ran into the fabulous Zwart family, which Rainah was thrilled about, as Simon is her best buddy. We had a great night of food, music, activities, and beautiful butterflies!

Rainah getting her tattoo

Snacking away on cookies

Anna and Simon getting their tattoos

Jen getting lots of hugs

Rainah looking sleepy

Rainah dancing to the music

Simon showing off his moves up on stage

London Comes Home

2010-03-07T22:04:00.085-05:00

Jill is not a fan of not sleeping in her own bed, and especially can't wait to get out of the hospital after she has a baby- she somehow got released pretty early in the day today. Mom spent the night with Hayden and Talan and so this morning Dad, Rainah and I picked up a few things and went over to wait for them to come home. The kids all "practiced" for when they got home. Once they did, we just kind of hung out most of the day, taking turns holding London. Mom made a yummy dinner for all of us, and the kids got to run around and play together. We had a fun day and are so glad to have London as a part of the family!

The kids practicing for when Jill, Dave, and London arrive home

Talan waiting patiently

Talan happy to have his little sister home

Big brother Hayden

Dave and Hayden loving the new girl in the family

Story time

Rainah entertained herself for quite awhile in the corner.

Papa and his newest granddaughter

Cousin London Arrives!

2010-03-06T21:17:00.023-05:00

This morning the telephone rang at 4:30am, and I immediately knew it was Jill calling to say she was in labor. She said they were just leaving the house and not to worry about rushing out with Rainah, especially that early. I went back to bed, but 10 minutes later knew I'd never go back to sleep, so I just got up and showered. I packed up my bag, then tried to sneak in Rainah's room to pack some of her things, but she woke up right away. I got her dressed and we took off around 6:00am. Before we even got on the highway, Jill called back and said that she had given birth to London Avery at 5:30am. I told her that we were on our way and would be there in about 2 hours. We got to the hospital around 8:30am after making a quick stop at Caribou Coffee to grab everyone something. London was sound asleep and sooo sweet. We spent most of the day hanging out with the family in the hospital. We finally took off around dinner time, grabbed something to eat, and got Rainah to bed- it's been a very long day for her, but she was very happy to meet her brand new *girl* cousin. Here are a few photos I took today:

Our Little Artist

2010-02-21T21:19:00.029-05:00

The past few days, Rainah has been very interested in her easel, paints, and crayons. Several times a day she will go over, sit down, and create away. I caught a few photos of her work today.

Valentine's Day Party

2010-02-11T20:53:00.047-05:00

Today, Sara and Chloe were kind enough to host an amazing Valentine's party. At the door, the kids got boas or sparkly hats. There were crafts to do, super fun decorations, a bounce house to play in, and a delicious lunch which included heart shaped pb&j sandwiches fruit kabobs, fancy drinks, and of course, ice cream. The kids all exchanged Valentine's cards and had a great time all playing together! We had so much fun- thanks again, Sara and Chloe!

Liane and Kalea being crafty

Ollie!

Rainah

Rainah pounding out the tunes (and Ollie poking his head out)

Rainah entering the bounce house (hence the bounce house hair)

Chowing down

Simon

Chloe

Leah

The girl loves her ice cream!

Genevieve

The Big Girl Bed: Day Two

2010-01-31T20:59:00.015-05:00

After a rough start last night, Rainah was perfectly fine going down for her nap today in the bed. She still doesn't want any of her stuffed animals, and doesn't want to do anything from her old routine, but I'm just glad she went down happily and even slept!

Caught her sleeping

Night One In The "Big Girl" Bed

2010-01-30T21:52:00.040-05:00

Tonight did not go quite as smoothly as we would have liked. We've been hyping this up for awhile now, and Rainah seemed ok with it, but when it came down to it... she was NOT a happy girl. As soon as we walked in her room, the bottom lip came out and she started wailing that she didn't want to be a big girl, she wanted a baby. She continued crying and resorted to throwing all of her stuffed animals (which she HAD to have in her crib), out of the bed. I tried to rock her and sing "the three songs" (Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, and Jesus Loves Me), which were MUSTS in her bedtime routine, but she wanted none of that. I turned on her sound machine which she also had to have on every night, and she wasn't wanting that either. I finally told her I would lay with her for a little while and that calmed her down for a bit... after about 15 minutes I told her that I was going to leave. We spent about an hour listening to her cry and scream that she wanted her crib and she didn't want to be a big girl. She never did get out of the bed, though, and she eventually did drift off to sleep. Here's hoping that we have a quite night and all goes well. It was so heartbreaking to hear her so upset... and I can't believe that she is already big enough to be out of her crib.
Here are a few photos I got in the midst of all of the drama:

Don bought this stuffed dog for Rainah for Valentine's Day when she was 1. Ever since, she has slept on it like a pillow in her crib. That isn't happening tonight!

Rainah's Last Night In Her Crib :(

2010-01-29T21:58:00.026-05:00

I thought I would document in photographs (what's new?) Rainah's very last night sleeping in her crib. Tomorrow her mattress is being delivered and we'll be converting her crib into a full size bed. She seems excited about it, but we'll see how it goes. She is quite into her bedtime routines, so this will be a big change. Tonight she just had fun hamming it up for the camera!

Just a comparison- this was taken when Rainah was one month old (January 30, 2006)

Rainah's First Bowling Trip

2010-01-24T21:48:00.056-05:00

A group of us from MOPS have formed some really close relationships and we love to hang out and do things together. Usually it involves something with the kids, though once in awhile we get an occasional girls night out. Today we had a family get - together at the bowling alley. In total there were 19 of us. Most of the little one's hadn't bowled before, and they had a great time figuring it all out. They were all really great about waiting for their turns, and usually would just sit on the step and watch. We were all shocked. We all had so much fun and Rainah can't wait to go again.

Ready to bowl in her super cool shoes

Had to do a little dance to test them out!

Genevieve

Genevieve, Kalea, Ollie, Simon, and Rainah patiently waiting their turns

Daddy helping Rainah with her first shot

The ball barely made it down the lane

Simon's up

AWWW; so close!

Rainah using the ramp to get a little speed

Simon

The final scores

Three Year Well-Child Check-Up

2010-01-19T17:09:00.002-05:00

Today Rainah went in for her yearly well-child exam. The appointment went great, and everything is good with her. She had to get a flu shot, but other than that, no other pokes. The nurse who gave it to her felt so bad when Rainah started crying and saying, "that hurts". I held her for a few seconds, then put her down and the nurse asked her if she was ok. Rainah replied, "I'm ok", with her little bottom lip quivering. Then the nurse asked if she could give her five and Rainah got a big smile on her face and gave the nurse a high five.
Rainah weighed in at 35.2 pounds and was 38.25 inches tall.

Rainah Turns Three!

2009-12-29T18:44:00.075-05:00

Today, our baby girl turns three years old! Time sure flies. Such a crazy time of year for a birthday- we were at mom and dad's for a few days for Christmas, then came home to prepare for the party. Aunt Lynne flew in from Arizona the night before and helped set up this morning.

This year we had an owl theme- I made a fun banner to hang and an owl cake that I'm not quite sure actually looked like an owl, but, oh well.

Jill, Hayden, Talan, Jessica, and Justin came out as well as mom and dad. Aunt Kris and Isabelle also drove in from Chicago. Our friends Jen, Joel, Anna, and Simon also came over to celebrate.

Rainah got lots of great stuff, including some fun games, a doll house, movies, and Leapster games. She also got a play kitchen.

After all the gifts we sang "Happy Birthday" (which put a huge smile on her face), and ate cake and ice cream. The kids all had fun playing together and Rainah had a great day.

We have been prepping her for potty training, telling her that when she is 3, there are no more diapers. She took that quite literally and wore underwear, making me a nervous wreck most of the day, but it was cute.

We also were Day Sponsors again this year for Way FM, our local Christian radio station, so throughout the day our message played.

Rainah was whipped by the end of the day, but more partying is to come tomorrow as we drive back to the other side of the state for cousin Hayden's birthday!

Happy Birthday, Rainah- we LOVE you sooo much!

The cake

The goody bags included handmade owl magnets and necklaces, pencils, crayons, stickers, straws, and paper.

Cute owl balloons

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T21:09:00.075-05:00

Christmas this year was so much fun with all three kids being totally into it. We started bright and early with a yummy breakfast that mom whipped up and TONS of gifts. You'd think these kids had actually been good this year! It was great all being together! Among many other things, Hayden and Talan got this year's hot gift... Zhu Zhu Pets, which they all loved playing with. Rainah got a few games, a Leapster, a personalized book from Grandma and Papa, and a "Big Sister" shirt to announce the news that we are expecting.
We had a fabulous traditional ham dinner and then vegged out pretty much the rest of the evening between all the yummy desserts and chasing after over-tired children. It was a great day, though- next year will be even crazier with FIVE little ones! WoW!

Rainah in awe of ALL the gifts

Hayden and his Pez Dispenser

The kids checking it all out

Breakfast!

Hayden and Talan warming up for the days events

Rainah getting her personalized fairy tale book- she LOVES it!

Pop beads rock!

Rainah "helping" Papa with his gift

Dad's new netbook from everyone

Rainah opening her "sponges" - Santa listened!

The "Big Sister" shirt

Mom getting a back massager

Talan germing up Uncle Justin's Starbucks cup

Santa's Reindeer

2009-12-19T20:03:00.003-05:00

Every year, a few of Santa's reindeer come visit Frederik Meijer Gardens, and we've gone every year since Rainah was born. Indoors, they have Christmas trees decorated from all different countries around the world, as well as a great electric train that Rainah just LOVES to watch. I actually think she likes the train more than the Reindeer. Every year we have to drag her out of there. As always, we had lots of fun- Rainah and Daddy even had a little snowball fight outside. Good times!

A Visit With Santa

2009-12-10T22:01:00.004-05:00

Rainah and I went over to Novi for a few days and had to make a trip to see the amazing Twelve Oaks Santa. We met up with Jess, Justin, Jill, Hayden, Talan, and Mom and Dad. The kids were all great and went willingly right up to Santa, telling him what they wanted.
Rainah told him that she wanted sponges. Yes, that's right, sponges. Now, you might be thinking... "Yep, that's Jenn's daughter... NEAT FREAK". But actually, she loves those little capsules that you put in water and they turn into little sponge shapes. They are her favorite bath toy. I'm not sure how Santa reacted to this request, but he didn't seem phased by it. After the pictures, Santa gave the kids a Polar Express train that you could put your picture in- just a cardboard type frame. At the end of it was a ticket they could tear off. Later, when it was bath time, Rainah had to run and find it and wanted to turn it into me to get her sponges. It took me a few minutes to put it all together, but apparently she thought Santa gave that to her in order to get her sponges. I had to explain that Santa would not be bringing them until Christmas. So funny how their brains work sometimes!

Hayden, Talan, and Rainah- the cousins

I have no idea why she is making this face, but she chose today to do it every time we asked her to smile

Driving the Polar Express

Playing in the "snow"- which we can't figure out why they would put right BEFORE the photos with Santa!

Santa talking to Talan and Hayden

Santa reading Hayden's letter

Rainah's turn

Here comes the silly smile

Getting her "ticket"

A MOPS Family Christmas Mexican Fiesta

2009-12-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

For the holidays, a very exclusive group of amazing families decided to get together for a Mexican Fiesta, which was held at our place. In total there were 10 adults and 10 kiddos

(unfortunately we were missing the 3 Boivins and they were VERY missed!) Everyone brought super yummy Mexican food- we had chicken fajitas/tacos, rice, chips, dip, guacamole, some amazing deserts (including fried ice cream), and Jen's delish sangria.

The kids all had a great time playing together (and he little ones put on quite the fashion show), but the highlight for them was the Pinata, which proved to be very difficult to break open, even for the older ones. There was an assortment of weapons for them to choose from to hit the pinata, including light sabers, hockey sticks, and hatchets (all toys, of course). Surprisingly, no one got hurt, and everyone got some fun stuff.

We had so much fun... hopefully this will turn into an annual event!

Ollie- he is NOT a happy boy when his heels won't stay on!

Rainah and Simon discussing who will strut the catwalk first

Leah

Rainah, Simon, and Leah

Genevieve (aka Fairy Princess)

The Pinata

Rainah chooses her weapon

Simon's attemp

Genevieve had quite the swing

Kalea has at it

Leah

Hailey

Courtland

Caleb

Ollie tries again

Rainah (can you tell she isn't very familiar with weapons?)

Anna

Courtland finally finished it off

MOPS Christmas Brunch

2009-12-03T21:35:00.004-05:00

At the end of the first semester, MOPS (Mother Of Preschoolers) always puts on an amazing Christmas brunch. This year there was quite the spread, including a chocolate fondue table. At the end, the kids came down to sing some Christmas songs for us, and, as you would guess, it was adorable! They were very excited to have some bells to ring and an audience to play to.

Christmas Is Coming!

2009-11-22T21:00:00.007-05:00

Since we'll be headed to Novi for Thanksgiving, we decided to pull out the Christmas tree and start decorating today. Rainah had a great time going through the boxes, unwrapping all the ornaments, and hanging them up on the tree. It was so fun watching her - she is already excited about Christmas and is going to have so much fun this year!

Rainah's favorite ornament- the robot

I think here, she is actually doing the robot dance

The finished product (minus the star that I couldn't find)

Rainah's Tree

2009-11-19T21:22:00.005-05:00

When Rainah was a few months old we planted a willow tree for her. This spring it wasn't looking very good, but after some pruning and fertilizing, it came back nicely. It seems to be a real favorite with the wildlife, too!

Pow Wow at the GR Public Museum

2009-11-07T19:46:00.005-05:00

This morning we took Rainah to the public museum downtown for a pow wow and to check out the museum. We walked around for awhile, but most of the things were over her head. The best part of the museum is the huge carousal, so Don and Rainah took a little ride. We hung out at the pow wow for a little bit; Rainah danced a few songs, and then was ready to go. I remember the days I'd spend hours at a pow wow- crazy how kids change things! But we had fun and it was nice to get out and do something a little different.

(borrowed this photo from the fabulous Derek Bailey, who was MC today)

Happy Halloween~ 2009

2009-10-31T21:55:00.018-04:00

This year the halloween tradition continued starting with mom making a yummy chili dinner. Jill and Dave came over with Hayden and Talan and after dinner we began the task of dressing them up. This year Hayden elected to be Superman. Talan was the cutest spider you've ever seen and Rainah was a ladybug. Rainah had been saying all day that she wasn't going to dress up, but she did cooperate. When the three Yahoos were ready, the picture taking commenced. They actually did much better this year than in years past- it helps when they're being bribed with brand new Pez dispensers from Grandma.

It was pretty cold out, but the kids didn't seem to mind. At the first house, Rainah had a field day. Miss Rochelle made the mistake of letting the kids pick what they wanted out of the basket- needless to say, Rainah needed to be escorted off of the porch before she cleaned them out.

Hayden was raring to go and was racing from house to house. Rainah was over the whole thing after about the fifth house. She eventually just rode in the stroller and Don and I went ahead back to mom and dads. Talan did well, but no one could keep up with Hayden! He came back with quite a haul.

Rainah's favorite: the ring pop

T.C.

Striking a super pose

Poor Talan lost his Pez dispenser in all the leaves!

The first house- Tucker was ready and waiting for them

The other kids are gone and she's still taking more candy

Finally, Uncle Dave escorts her away from the candy

All done

The Leaves Are Falling

2009-10-28T21:13:00.011-04:00

Rainah has been wanting to go out and play in the leaves, so since it was a nice day, we pulled the rakes out. As we were piling up the leaves for her to jump in, Cheyenne brought us back one of her "finds", (if you get grossed out easily, you may not want to look at the first few photos!)
Rainah had a great time jumping, raking, jumping, throwing leaves, jumping, and just getting filthy out in the yard. Needless to say, it was straight to the bathtub when we were done!

Nice little six-pointer

Yep; that's a deer leg... complete with fur... (did you just throw up in your mouth a little?)

Pumpkin Carving Time

2009-10-23T21:25:00.007-04:00

This year I thought Rainah would be really into carving the pumpkin... well, she was into the CARVING, as long as she didn't have to touch anything slimy. I was shocked because she loves playing in dirt, sand, water, rocks, mud, woodchips... anything dirty. But apparently NOT pumpkin guts. So daddy scooped it out and Rainah helped me carve the face. She had fun for about ten minutes and then was off to do something else.

Later on we roasted the pumpkin seeds, which she wouldn't even try. But it was a fun little family project!

Our blank canvas

Wouldn't even touch the seed that fell on the ground... she had to scoop that up, too!

Ready to carve

The finished product

Taking Advantage of a Beautiful Fall Day

2009-10-21T19:35:00.009-04:00

Today we met up with Jen and Simon Z for lunch at "the Pepper Place" (aka, Chili's), and then headed over to the park to let the kids play. This will probably be one of the last nice days of the year, and it was gorgeous! Glad to get out and play!

Rainah's favorite thing to do

Taking after Papa

Leave those kids alone for a few seconds, and look what happens...

and back to getting dizzy

Simon helping Rainah down the slide

Poor thing was worn right out

Later on, we played outside for home a bit, too. Here are a few photos of Rainah by the tree that we planted for her:

Halloween Costume #1

2009-10-16T18:01:00.005-04:00

We're having a hard time finding a costume this year, but I found this one online and was so excited. BUT... it came the other day and even though it is a size 2 - 4, it barely goes over her shoulders and there is no way we'll get any warm clothes on underneath it. I'm so bummed out and Rainah LOVES it- she's had me put it on her every day since it came. So I thought I'd take a few photos of her in it- our little butterfly!

Fireflight Plays Richland

2009-10-10T22:19:00.005-04:00

This morning Fireflight arrived at Richland Bible Church ready to play their 9th straight show of their HOPE tour. Mom and Dad came over and hung out in Grand Rapids with us yesterday, and we took off for Richland around 10:00am. We got there a bit before 11:30 and the band was just waking up. The crew was starting to set up all of the equipment and we hung out with Jess and Justin for a bit before we had lunch. Afterwards Jess started setting up the merch table (with mom and dad's help) and Jill arrived with Hayden and Talan. The kids all had fun playing, running around, and watching the set up and sound checks. We had dinner with the bands, where Hayden took an instant liking to the white boards and quizzed all of the musicians on their letters (they all kindly played along!).
An old friend from Ward EPC showed up with his daughters who are big Fireflight fans, so we spent some time catching up with him. At one point I took Rainah in to listen to one of the opening bands and she freaked out. I thought it was because it was so loud, but when we came out she said she didn't like the dark.
I finally got her to go back in when Fireflight started and she just wanted to be held. She was so worn out by that time, but she was good. I eventually made it over to the front/side of the stage and set her down to get some photos. I looked down and she had layed down under a a cross and was covering up with the tulle that they had wrapped around it. Like I said, she was tired.
Fireflight was amazing, and we even got to hear one of their new songs, due out on their new cd February 9.
We had such a fun time and it was great seeing and spending time with everyone for a bit. Thanks for putting up with us for the day!

Rainah stayed out of trouble by reading a church paper while set up was going on

Talan- ready to rock

My baby sis- she does good work!

Dawn

Justin

Phee- rock on, superfreak

A Day On The Farm(s)

2009-10-03T21:54:00.009-04:00

Today we decided to go out on the Kent Harvest Trails- basically in the fall, some local farms open up to the public and offer different activities for people, like scarecrow making, corn mazes, hayrides, etc. The weather wasn't that great, and one of the first farms we stopped at was closed because of the rain. So we went on to the next - The Country Basket in Sparta. It was a great place with goats to pet and feed, a silow filled with cracked corn to play in, a (fake) cow to milk, a slide, and a "cow train". Of course there were lots of apples, donuts, and yummy cider. Rainah had a blast and we could have stayed longer if the rain had held off, but we had a little while that was nice enough to be out. Hopefully we'll get to visit a few more before the season is over!

A smaller stand we stopped at- we got our pumpkin here to carve for halloween

This was at The Country Basket- Rainah and Daddy feeding the goats

Literally buttin heads- they were so cute

Yeah, this was a little creepy, but funny, too

Rainah could have played in here all day

This dog was ALL ABOUT the cow train- he was a riot!

Don just had to ride, too

Taking off- the guy driving the ATV took them for quite a ride- they were going FAST!

And the dog lead the way the whole time

Hanging Out Downtown

2009-10-01T21:39:00.008-04:00

Today after MOPS, Rainah and I went downtown to visit Daddy at his office and go out for lunch. Afterwards Rainah and I walked around ArtPrize and she let me take some photos and was actually cooperative most of the time. I can't believe how big she looks in these; definitely not a baby anymore!

Raspberry Picking

2009-09-16T15:49:00.009-04:00

Today Bright Beginnings had an outing to a Raspberry farm just up the street from us. When we got there one of the workers was saying that because of the cool summer, there weren't nearly as many raspberries as there normally would be at this time.

Just as with the strawberry picking, Rainah was eating them quicker than I could pick and she didn't have much interest in actually picking them. She eventually slowed down and Don and I were able to pick enough!

Annual Apple Picking Day

2009-09-11T21:20:00.007-04:00

Every year, the Kellogg/Skiver/Petersen clan heads out to Erwin's Orchards to pick apples. The last few years we've been going on the day they start picking the Honeycrisp apples. This year was Hayden's first day of first grade, so he wasn't able to join us, and Jess and Justin were in Florida Rocking the Universe. So Jill, Talan, Mom, Dad, Rainah and I took on the task ourselves. It was a gorgeous, warm day and the kids knew exactly what to do as soon as the wagon dropped us off. They did a great job and only left a few dozen half-eaten ones on the ground. When we were done picking we let the kids play on the bikes and in the straw maze for while before getting our AMAZING donuts! The bees started attacking, so we didn't stick around to eat them at the orchard, but most of us dug in as soon as we got home.

As a tradition, mom always makes apple high rise pancakes for dinner and they were delish! Another great outing with lots of fun, and of course, tons of photos:

This one didn't want to leave his home...

But she was determined

Oops

One of her scores

They love hugging

Doesn't that face just say TROUBLE?

The Last Days of Summer

2009-09-05T21:06:00.002-04:00

All summer I've wanted to take Rainah back to Millennium Park to play at the Sprayground and beach, but it just never worked out (it didn't help that it was not a very warm summer)! So since we had no plans today, we decided to head out there for the morning. We went to the sprinkler area first, but Rainah wasn't too thrilled for some reason, so we went over to the beach. She had fun playing in the sand and water, and even ran into a friend from Gymboree. We hung out there for about and hour and then went back over to the sprinkler park where she did play for a bit- I wish we could have gotten out there with some other people this summer! We can't believe it's already the end of summer... it went by so fast! Not at all ready for the cold weather!

Showing Daddy how she can put her face under the water

Over at the "Sprayground"

Sand Dunes, Petting Zoos, and Fish Boils, Oh My!

2009-09-04T22:30:00.018-04:00

A few weeks ago, Don read an article in the GR Press about something called a fish boil and he decided it was something we just had to check out. It was out in Shelby, about an hour and a half away, so we decided to go a little early and check out some things in the area. First up, we hit Mac Woods Dune Rides- we figured Rainah would love it, which she did. Every time we went down a hill, she'd scream, "Wheeeee". We stopped on the beach and got to play for a bit- it was gorgeous, with the most beautiful blue skies!

After that we drove out to a farm market/petting zoo. I was expecting goats, sheep, maybe some cows... we walked through the market and went out the back door and the first thing Rainah saw was a peacock just standing there. She, of course, had to chase it. We walked around and saw goats, horses, cows, wallabies, a camel, alpaca, and a baby zebra among other things. They also had slides and other fun things to climb on.

From there we went on to the fish boil. Apparently, fish boils are a Scandinavian tradition and consists of a large pot filled with water that is boiled over a large fire pit. Special spices are added, then red skinned potatoes, onions, and finally the whitefish. When it is finished, kerosene is poured on the fire, causing the oils that had been drawn out of the fish to boil over the sides. I am not a seafood person, so they kindly made me a turkey sandwich, but Don said that the food was great and he loved it. The farm also had a labyrinth that was beautiful, and Rainah had a fun time running around it and looking at all of the sunflowers. It was a busy day, but a great family outing!

Dune Ride:

Rainah waiting to be called for our dune ride

The dunes and Lake Michigan

Rainah following Daddy to the water

Couldn't wait to get those shoes off

Notice the sand pouring out of her hand? The girl LOVES sand, dirt, rocks, etc!

It was COLD!

Some dune wood

Gorgeous day

Petting Farm:

Chasing a peacock

A little bunny town- see the ihopp???

Wallaby

There was a pouch hanging from the wall that this little guy was sleeping in

A camel and a donkey

Heading to the slides

Baby zebra- only a few weeks old

Washing up

Fish Boil:

Checking out the sunflowers

The kettle

The boil-over

Rainah's New Pet

2009-09-02T21:07:00.002-04:00

Today Rainah was outside playing (and I was pulling weeds), when I saw a little snake- I called Rainah over and she brought a bucket and put some grass in it for him. She was so excited and sat there watching it for awhile. When Don got home, she ran over to him with the bucket to show him. He asked what the snake's name was and she told him Gary. Not sure where that came from, but it was pretty funny. She picked him up and posed for the camera for a few minutes and then decided to let him go. I was kind of surprised that she picked it up... I'm not sure why- she's pretty brave and willing to attempt just about anything! So here's our little snake wrangler:

Cousins Invade the Gardens

2009-08-27T21:07:00.005-04:00

Today before Jessica, Jill, and the boys headed home, we decided to go over to Meijer Gardens and let the kids play in the children's garden. It was a gloomy day again, and on the cooler side, which was kind of a bummer since we couldn't really let them go nuts playing in the water. But we had fun walking around looking and playing. Hayden loved the treehouse and all of them expended some energy climbing and rolling down the big hill! We were so glad to have everyone out for a few days- it was so much fun!

An Afternoon At the Beach

2009-08-26T21:10:00.012-04:00

Yesterday Jill, Hayden, Talan, Jessica, Mom and Dad all came out to our side of the state for a few days. Yesterday we hung out at the house and we cooked out, then celebrated Dad's, mine, and Don's birthdays.

This morning we woke up and it was chilly and cloudy out. Everyone was hoping to go over to Grand Haven and play on the beach for awhile, but it didn't look promising. Luckily, mom contacted a friend who lives out there, and she said it was sunny and beautiful there, so we packed up and headed out. So glad we did, because it ended up being a gorgeous day and so much fun. Hayden was in the water before we even got halfway down the beach and swam around like a fish most of the time. Jill was the only "adult" brave enough to get in (the water was about 71 degrees). The kids had so much fun in the water and sand and we had a great time taking tons of photos as usual:

Hayden, Rainah, and Talan

Talan wasn't too sure about the water...

but he had fun anyway, running around doing "skateboard tricks"

Rainah had to show us how she could put her head under, too... maybe just a little too close to shore!

Talan Cash

These two are nothing but trouble when they get together!

Jill was able to get some of her frustration out on Hayden today, without him really even knowing it

Aunt Jessica and Talan

Talan's "Baywatch" pose