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!