JUMP!

We just got a letter!

Ben's class had a really fun letter writing project this year. They all got letters delivered to school from friends or family and then had to write a letter in return. Thanks to Lisa and Jason for writing a very sweet letter to Ben. He was very excited about the whole project! He had a little trouble explaining to the class who Lisa and Jason were ... he said, "How do I describe who Lisa and Jason are? Are they my grandparents? I don't think so." Too funny! We now have dubbed them as a bonus aunt and uncle!

Once the kids had all written their letters we had a walking field trip to mail them and went to the ice cream shop as well. I was lucky enough to go with the class - what a fun afternoon! The kids had a blast and were sooooooo excited.

Farmer's Market

The market near our house always has a great pumpkin patch with tractors the kids can ride on and fun slides. It's becoming a fall tradition to walk for a visit!

What she's up to-

Here's our "sweet little miss-miss" ... how we all love her so! She is super funny these days and is  growing up so fast. She loves to sing and dance; wear "pretty" bracelets, necklaces and hats; talks a lot; loves Elmo and Big Bird; loves her "broder" (she doesn't call Ben by his name - mostly "brother"); she loves her "deet" (somehow that translates to milk in a cup); she loves going to the sitter twice a week with all of the boys (she says "ohhhh boys!" and expects them to follow her every instruction - I think we're in trouble in the future); gives sweet and sloppy wet kisses; and in general is as sweet as pie. Here's a laundry list of some of her words:
Dada, Mama, Brother, Bubba, Grampy, Bebe, Daddad (Grandad), Maggie, Doggie, Kitty, Bus, Night-Night, No, Stop, Otay (okay), Bear, Read, Fish, Up, Nono (Nora), Pretty ...

1st Day, 1st Grade

Here's Ben with his teacher on his first day of school. He looks a TAD nervous, no?! Mrs. M. is the perfect first grade teacher - sweet as can be with a fun sense of humor but can lay down the law - especially with those rowdy boys.

Vacation to South Haven, MI

We dragged Bebe and Grandad to MI with us this summer. It was exhausting and fun.

 Building...

 Taking a swim break...

 More building...

 Catching the sunset in Holland.

 Friends Good Will

 Someone LOVED the MI blueberries!

 Still building...

 We went to Air Zoo in Kalamazoo.

Ben checking out the boat of the woman who was rowing around Lake MI in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. She happened to be in South Haven while we were and it was fun to see her and her stuff. What she endured is pretty amazing. I'll definitely be reading her book if she writes one!

 Loving ice cream.

 Fun at Tot Lot.

 Look Ma, no life jacket!

After our amazing blueberry cobbler our teeth and tongues were blue for hours.

It was absolutely worth it.

Now vacation is over ... is it back-to-school yet?!

More Summer Fun-

Ben went to swimming camp for a week this summer and he REALLY improved in the water. He is so much more comfortable and even moved up a level. Woo-hoo!

Here's our little swimmer Nora with Bubba at Innsbrook. She LOVES the water and is fearless when it comes to swimming. We'll sign this girl up for lessons soon!

The boys used a 5-gallon bucket and made a river at the beach (like we did with our friends in WI). This kept them busy for several hours - thanks for the tip, friends!!

Ben and his beloved cousin A.J. We had the chance to celebrate A.J.'s 7th birthday at Innsbrook. See Charlie in the background? He's almost a teenager - sheesh! It was so much fun we swam and swam and swam and played Uno late into the night.

Here's Ben at another camp - science camp. He LOVED it. At the end of the week they shared their experiments in front of an audience. He told me he has stage fright but did it anyway.