Namaste and Merry Christmas

The shopping is all done, Aaron is cooking, (what an awesome husband) and I am looking forward to a nice evening with all the family. The past few days I was having a little trouble feeling the Christmas spirit, but I am much better now! As if the holidays weren't already crazy enough with Meagan taking drivers training, Aaron and I working and the boys being home from school, I am in the process of opening a yoga studio, called Flow in Plainwell with my friend Betsy, and was driving myself nuts designing my first-ever website. It is up now, and while it's still a work in progress, at least that's out of the way, so I can get on to the fun stuff, Like decorating the studio and figuring out what to teach in my Intro to yoga class!

Check it out: Flow, Yoga by the river

Riley the videographer

Riley shot this video of our new cat Stella.

South Haven Storm

I went to South Haven today because there were reports of 20 foot waves. I don't think they were quite that big, but the wind was really blowing. Too gray for really good photographs, but I did make this little video of the lighthouse.
It was hard to keep the camera still, as the wind was practically blowing me over! I am still picking sand out of my hair.

South Haven Storm

Happy Holidays!

Tonight we had family over for our post-Thanksgiving holiday meal and photo session. We had tons of good food and great company. My experiment with making everything gluten-free seemed to work pretty well, if the amount of pie devoured was any indication. I also brined a turkey for the first time, and I don't think I will ever make a turkey any other way. It was fabulously juicy!
Today we also added to the family. We welcomed Stella, a fuzzy gray kitten belonging to the girls. They had a total of 7 cats in their house, and something had to give, so now we are pet owners again. The boys are ecstatic! Luckily the cat is really mellow, because I don't think the boys left her alone all day. Now we just have to make sure Riley isn't completely allergic. It's been awhile since we had animals in the house, and Riley was a little wheezy when we put him to bed. I don't know what he would do if we had to get rid of this cat!

Grand Island Paddle Trip

Aaron and I just got back from our belated anniversary trip, which we attempt to take every year to remind ourselves that we still know how to have fun. We did a paddle trip to Grand Island, near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Lake Superior. We had been saving, and Aaron got a deal on some kayaks that we have been wanting for a long time, a couple of Current Designs sea touring kayaks. So we loaded them up and drove up to Munising, MI, then paddled across to Grand Island for a wet and cold weekend. It was the first weekend in October, in the U.P., so I wasn't expecting 70s, but I also didn't expect it to rain on and off the entire 4 days we were there. Thank goodness we have good gear, otherwise we would have been miserable. As it was, despite the rain, the winds were blowing (or not blowing, really,) in our favor, and we were able to paddle a good portion of the coastline, which is marked by 200-foot cliffs, waterfalls, sea caves and sea arches. It was beautiful! I gripe about the rain, but it really was a great trip, and already has me planning our next destination, which will probably be the Les Cheneaux Islands, near Drummond Island in the U.P. Although with the possibility of snow in the forecast this weekend, that trip may have to wait until next year.

Birthday fun

We had the boys' birthday party at Greater Kalamazoo World of Gymnastics. This was the first year we invited school friends and not just family, and the boys had a blast! Aside from the gym being in a warehouse in an industrial park area of town, it was really cool. A coach led them though a whole bunch of gym activities: rings, trampoline, vault, and something she referred to as "big blue." For two boys who like to run and climb all over everything, it was a dream come true!













After the gymnastics party and cake, we had another gathering at our house, with family and more friends, and a couple of Darth Vader pinatas. I was a little disappointed that the dark lords of the Sith didn't put up a better fight. A few whacks with a bat and they spilled their candy guts all over the place!

Bakers baking

This is the boys decorating the gluten-free birthday cakes we made for their party. I made them both gluten-free so that Aaron could partake. Everyone deserves cake, right? Can we say sprinkles? I was actually worried that the kids wouldn't like the cakes because they were gluten-free. But then I realized if you put sugary vanilla or strawberry-flavored frosting on a dog turd, a kid would eat it. ;) And these cakes tasted waaaaay better than dog turds, so I had nothing to worry about!

Crazy creekin'

This is what happens when you leave random camping gear in the boys room after you put them to bed. This is a Crazy Creek camping chair the Riley decided would be a good addition to his bed.

School transitions

After a great first week of school, reality must have set in, because every morning when we dropped the boys off at school, there was a hysterical screaming or crying fit by one or both of the boys. Connor seemed especially sensitive, and last Friday he clamped onto my neck so hard I had a difficult time prying him off. Their teacher didn't seem to understand that all she had to do was take him by the hand and distract him for a minute so I could get away, since as soon as I leave they almost always stop crying immediately. I was finally rescued by the art teacher, Mrs. Murphy, who led both the boys into the art room to "help out." I am not quite sure I am sold on their kindergarten teacher, but maybe it's because I was used to the smaller class size and rapport they had with their teachers at the preschool, because they had been going there since they were babies, (literally, at 11 weeks old!). I guess we all need a little adjustment.
This week though, I had a talk with the boys, and let them know the screaming crying fits weren't allowed, and I gave them an incentive. On Tuesday, I told them that if they had a good drop off with no tears or tantrums, that we would go swimming that night. There were very excited and when I dropped them off they seemed fine, until I was getting ready to make my exit and looked over at Connor's seat, and he wasn't in it. I went over there and he was bent over, basically hiding under the desk, because he had started to cry and didn't want me to see! I gave him a big hug and told him he did a good job, and that it was okay to be sad, just not okay to have a fit about it. After that he seemed okay, and I managed to get out of the room without any hysterics. Today I instituted a sticker chart. For every good drop-off they get a sticker, and if they get stickers today, Thursday and Friday, we get to go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It worked like a charm! I dropped them off and said goodbye at the door to their classroom, and there wasn't a tear in sight! Hopefully Because I don't know how long I can keep topping the awesome bribes, I mean, incentives!

First day fun

So here are the long-awaited first day of school pics, only a week after the fact. I am still so excited for the boys and can't wait to hear everything they did every day, even though it is already like pulling teeth. "How was your day?" I ask. "Good," they say. "Well, what did you learn today?" I ask. "I don't know, and can you please stop asking?" They already have the whole teenager thing down.
The first day went smoothly, Aaron and I both drove them to school since the bus doesn't go to our house, we waited with them in the gym as everyone got organized and checked off the list, then we marches as a group down the the classroom. They looked small and a little tired and lost as they got settled in, but as soon as the teacher sat them down "cris-cross-apple-sauce-hands-are-in-our-laps" and started reading "The Kissing Hand"
by Audrey Penn, they were just fine. I thought I would cry at some point, but I was so proud and excited for them that none of us even shed a tear! I can't believe how big they are getting. In fact, they seemed to have gotten older by the time we picked them up from their first day of school. We went to the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Sunday, and they have some birds on display; a kestrel and some owls, among others, and Connor asked me to get out a piece of paper and write notes about his observations about the birds; i.e, "The American Kestrel has a sharp beak for stabbing into the meat that it eats." I don't have the paper in front of me, but that was the gist. I love it that he gets it that writing things down can help you remember, and that he found the things that he learned that interesting.
Here are some pictures from our first day of school. Click on the slideshow to see them bigger...

Elementary eve

Its ten p.m. The new school clothes are in the dryer. Backpacks on the hook. Kids in bed, ready for a big day tomorrow. Me, trying to think of something profound to write on this day before the first day of kindergarten. I don't know quite how to feel. Mostly I am SO excited for them to start this next chapter. There are so many fun and interesting opportunities out there, and I can't wait to for the boys to experience them all. I always thought I would be a "slacker mom," because I hate the idea of the boys being over-scheduled, but now I am thinking of all these activities that they can sign up for: swim lessons (done), soccer, baseball, karate, gymnastics, climbing camp, the list goes on and on!
Meagan is now living with us full time, and we just got her registered for high school at Kalamazoo Central today, and I was reminded of the anticipation of a new school year, and all the new and exciting things that came with it. It's a big switch for her, transferring in 10th grade, but she seems excited. Almost as excited as I am for her. Honors english, college readiness, journalism, and geometry. Helping her with her homework might be my one real chance to put my rusty math skills to work!
Well, off to bed now, having a high schooler who catches the bus at 6:50 a.m. means our house will be waking up pretty early from now on. Well, at least Meagan will be!

Stay tuned for the obligatory "first day of school" pictures.

Graduation

Here are some photos from the boys graduation in June. Kindergarten here we come!
Connor won the scientist award, (he is always making things) and Riley won the future banker award, for saving up all of his crystals (awards for good behavior) for 2 months to get a prize of Galactic Putty.

The boys' first movie

So I got a new camera at work, the Canon 5D Mark II, which aside from being an awesome SLR, also takes HD video. It works a little differently than a video camera, so I though I would test it out. Trying to focus on two jumpy little boys turned out to be my downfall. They wanted to make a movie, so here they are, re-enacting the swordfighting scene from the Princess Bride. Riley gives it an unexpected twist at the end. Please note, Sorry to all the tech gurus out there, I did not shoot this in HD.

Some like it hot.

There are a few more things I want to post, but it is 83 degrees in our office, and my laptop is like a heating pad for my hands. So instead I am going to sit in the other room and sweat a little less profusely. Check back, some possible topics include; Jazz Fest in New Orleans, Bonfires, and Drummond Island.

Camping Extravaganza

I love camping. It is something that was instilled in me at a young age by my parents. There is nothing better than cooking outside, kicking back, watching a campfire burn, then sacking out in the tent, listening to the sounds of the outdoors. Even better if it is raining. ( As long as you have a good tent that won't collapse in the middle of the night, forcing you to sleep in the car.) I want the boys to love camping too. They have been a couple times already, and Aaron and I have been talking about taking them this year, but our schedules have been crazy and we haven't been able to get a trip planned. But two weekends ago, I had some time off, and decided it would be fun to try and take the boys camping. Aaron was traveling, so it would be just me and the boys. By ourselves. In the woods. I think Aaron said "Are you sure?" when I brought up this idea. It actually was a lot of fun. We drove to Lake Michigan, to Van Buren State Park, which has a campground and a beach. I set up our camp, with minimal help from the boys, then we hit the beach. The water was 53 degrees, hypothermia cold, cold enough to make my legs cramp up when I put my feet in, but Connor actually dunked himself under more than once! We spent tons of time digging giant holes in the sand and running up the giant sand dune that is there at the beach. The same kids that whine that they can't walk up the stairs because their legs are too sore ran, and I mean RAN, up this sand dune. Have you ever tried to run in sand? It's hard. But they couldn't be stopped.

Needless to say, after all that excitement, they passed out within about 30 seconds of me zipping the tent closed that night.

The next day we hit two more beaches, one at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, where you had to hike through the woods for a little over a mile to get there, and Oval Beach in Saugatuck, which is a great family beach. I was surprised to see there were no longer lifeguards there. It used to be one of the few spots that still had them, at least a couple years ago. After all that beach time, stopped for some ice cream and headed home. Connor passed out in his car seat almost immediately and Riley followed soon after. I would have joined them, except I had to drive. Despite the huge pile of camping gear and dirty laundry that followed us home, it was a blast and totally worth it. When I asked the boys if they had fun, Riley said, "No, because we only got to camp for one night." Next time then, we'll go a little longer. But I am definitely taking Aaron along for the ride!

Happy Mother's Day!

Every once in a while, even after almost 5 years, I think about the fact that I am a mom, and I can't believe it. I still feel like a kid myself, and don't feel old enough to be entrusted with such responsibility. But no one told that to Connor and Riley, and they seem generally happy with me. Except when I tell them they can't watch T.V. or that they have to wear that pair of pants they don't like. Then I become "THE WORST MOMMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD." Luckily my status as the worst mommy ever is a fleeting one. I can just as easily become "The BESTEST MOMMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD" for the simple act of making brownies. The boys still think they can marry Aaron and I, and lately Connor has taken to calling me his wife. We explain to them that Mommy and Daddy are already married to each other, and we can't be married to them, but they don't quite get it. But I like to think it's only because they know that when you love someone, you marry them, and they can't imagine loving anybody more than us. Maybe I'm just projecting, but it's an illusion I can live with for now. I'll take it, because one day the boys will become teenagers, and I will permanently become "THE DUMBEST MOMMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD."
Here are some pictures from our Mother's Day adventure canoeing on the Muskegon River. the boys "fished" with their fishing poles from Grandpa Rob and took turns paddling the canoe as we floated down the river with our friends Jake and Tammy. It was a nice relaxing day on the water.

2009 Earth Day with Keen and Dick's Sporting Goods in Pittsburgh, PA

This is what we did for Earth Day, an event with Aaron's company in Pittsburgh. Look closely, Aaron, Connor and Riley all make appearances in the video!

WInter blahs melting away

Well, it has been a while since I posted anything. We got back from Key West, and settled back into the winter stupor. Getting up in the dark, heading to school or work, then coming home in the dark. Wearing gloves any time I stepped outside. Sleeping in sweatshirts, even under a comforter and blanket. Ugh.
We tried to keep the memory of Key West alive by going to family swim night at least once a week at the Kalamazoo Valley Orthopedic Pool—a pool designed for people rehabbing from injuries and suffering from arthritis, so it is heated to at least 89 degrees. Let me say this is the only reason we have been swimming so much lately. Its awesome. The last time we tried to go swimming at a non-heated pool, the boys were shivering so bad we didn't even stay half an hour!
The pool also offers swim lessons, cheaper than the YMCA, so we signed the boys up. Since they are old enough to not have me in the pool with them for lessons, I am having the first glimpse of what it will be like to chauffeur kids to all their activities. We get up on Saturday morning, pack off to swim lessons, and I sit there with all the other parents and wait for a half an hour. Pretty soon this will turn into soccer practice, and T-ball, and climbing camp. I guess my job will be to find the balance between exposing them to lots of activities and having them (and me) be overscheduled.
Right now I am just happy to have them go outside and play. We are currently experiencing SUN, something not seen in these parts for a long time. It is also going to hit almost 60 today, practically a heat wave! Rachael went through the house this morning, saying, "It's too dark in here," as she pulled up the blinds on every window. I can't tell you how fabulous it is to able to be in the house and not have to turn on any lights. With the arrival of warmer weather comes the possibilities of spring—all the bike riding, gardening, grilling and playing we can cram into the slowly lengthening days. It's enough to wake up this hibernating mama bear.

Better late than never

I realized last night that I uploaded this to youtube, but never posted it. Will try to get the rest of our pics up this weekend!

Swiming videos

As requested by Grandpa Barry, here is some video evidence of the boys' new swimming ability. It is amazing how fast they have picked up this skill!

Guess who knows how to swim now?

You guessed it, in less than a week, the boys have progressed from swimming with swimmies to diving underwater and picking things up off the bottom with no assistance! Connor is still a little more comfortable with at least one swimmie in his hand, but Riley can swim about half the length of our pool underwater; I can't believe it! He loves when we drop him into the water and push him down to the bottom so he can retrieve these little torpedo things we have for the pool. About a week before we came here, Aaron and I took the boys to the pool at Western, the first time they had been swimming since the summer. They grabbed onto our necks and wouldn't let us go. What a difference a week in Key West makes!
Will try to capture some pictures of it tomorrow!

Connor, out cold after a long day, with Chloe and Ma Hua, who belongs to Jungle, the fishing boat captain. (I know I've massacred the spelling; forgive me Jungle!) We had Jungle and Grandma Candis' friends Claudio, Brenda and Heinz for dinner Friday night.

Fishing for real

While I guess I can't really complain about the weather here when it was -8 this morning in Kalamazoo, Key West is experiencing somewhat of a cold snap. Which wouldn't be so bad, except I didn't really pack for a Key West cold snap. I didn't even pack a sweatshirt, or, as I realized, a windbreaker, which would have been really useful. It has been about mid 60s here for the past few days, which isn't so bad in the house, but we went out on the fishing boat yesterday and I froze my butt off. I didn't think about how windy it would be, and boy was I sorry! We went out on a boat belonging to Grandma Candis' friends Dave and Beth, and their captain took us out for a few hours to take the boys fishing for real. They have been using their Spongebob Squarepants fishing poles to "fish" off the dock in back of the house, but without hooks or bait, they weren't really going to catch anything. So we went out on the boat, Jungle, the captain, set up a few poles, and within a few minutes, Riley had caught his first fish ever! It was a little pinfish, about 4 or 5 inches long, but he was so excited. Connor took a little longer, but eventually he came up with a few as well. The total was 6 for Riley, including one he reeled in all by himself when no one was looking, 4 for Connor, and one for Mommy (whoo hoo!). It was so fun to watch the boys actually catching stuff! It made the cold blustery trip and my frozen fingers totally worth it.
Jungle was nice enough to give us some hooks and a little squid for bait, so this morning we fished off the dock for real. I couldn't believe it, but the Spongebob pole is capable of actually reeling in a fish, because I caught another pinfish this morning. I guess I am catching up to the boys!
Later this morning the sun finally came back out and things started to warm up. Hopefully this means the cold snap is ending, both down here and up in Kalamazoo!

Connor and Riley are part fish!

So we arrived yesterday after a pleasantly uneventful flight, the biggest drama was the fact that I had forgotten to pack Riley's car seat, but that was quickly remedied by Grandma Candis, who picked one up and met us at the airport with it. We had no sooner gotten in the door of the house after a 3 hour drive from the airport than the boys asked if we could go swimming in the pool. It was dark and a little cool outside, but the heated pool made up for it. (Thanks Grandpa Barry, for insisting on that!) This morning we woke up to a beautiful day, and the first thing the boys wanted to do was fish. Then swim. Then we took a walk, then they were so hot from the walk that they stripped down and jumped in the pool as soon as we got home. (See above photo) Two hours later, I had to make the boys get out of the pool for lunch. Then naps, grocery store, and you guessed it, MORE pool time. They are crazy about it! They completely wore themselves out today, to the point where we were playing a neverending game of UNO and Connor said that we should put the game away, so they could go to bed. Those words just don't come out of a four-year-old's mouth!

Fun Fun. Wish you were here.

On the eve of our trip to Key West, Mother Nature has had one last laugh at us. At least a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. Luckily it appears to be tapering off, and hopefully by tomorrow morning the roads will be clear for the trip to Chicago.
Right now I am doing the last of the packing and wishing that Aaron and the girls were coming with us. Too bad work and school have to get in the way.

The next post will probably show something much sunnier.
Cheers!