Friday, September 28, 2012

Greatest Show On Earth......

We took the kids to the Circus. This was Brady and Mom's first circus experience. Dad and Brooke have been going for the past few years. It is defiantly entertaining and so much going on sometimes you don't know which way to look! Both kids love all the action and to be honest I did too! There are some crazy stunts that you shake your head at and sometimes are relieved that they are over because of the danger involved. Brooke liked the animals/tumblers, Brady loved the guy getting shot out of a cannon, Mom loved the rope and trapeze artists and Dad loved the human guys in rolling hamster balls (probably the hardest to watch since it seemed so dangerous!) The big top did not disappoint!
 
Grabbed some pizza before and just wanted to include this unusual pizza Brooke got.
Mac and cheese pizza.
Waiting for the show to start....
Wouldn't be a circus without the beloved sugar cotton ball.
Brooke would try and ration it the whole night - "Now Brady we should only eat this much and then put it away until after the tigers..."
The Crazy begins....

and the crazy continues.....

Under the big top.
Tigers...(actually one of my least favorite acts)
I don't know if it is because of their size, but never gets old to watch.....

And that my friends was the Circus - circuit 2012.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

First day of School - Kindergarten & 3rd grade.

Well another summer behind us and a big school year in front of us. Brady is transitioning to ALL day EVERY day Kindergarten and is proving he is ready for it! Brooke is entering 3rd grade and is super excited to have the only male teacher in the school! They were both looking forward to the first day and getting back to their friends and beloved teachers!
 
Backpacks all ready to roll, for an early morning start!
 
 
First day pictures as they were both up and dressed with time to spare. Brooke flashing her new grin with her braces, I can already see how it is reshaping her face.

Close up.....I predicted that Brady's white shirt would stay white for a good hour and low and behold I was probably right as he came home with paint and markers all over it.....must have been a good day!

Not even the rain on the first day can keep us away from the traditional picture.
 They were missed....
 We arrived too early due to some anxious kids wanting to "go!" so more photo ops....
 Finally the bell rings and we were off to go drop them off at their classes. There go my big kids for all day adventures!

Brooke's locker all neat and organized.....not sure why her closet at home doesn't follow suit....

 Mom and bugs at his locker .....and one last squeeze before he takes off.
Happy first day of School!

Friday, September 07, 2012

Bye Bye Summer!

Just because I love these pictures.....its a nice way to send off the summer season!



Thursday, September 06, 2012

Brace Face!


Operation close the barn doors has begun!
Brooke is officially with braces and somehow is so happy about it! It's a weird phenomenon going on with these kids getting them on so early, it's become a "cool" thing and they can't wait to pick what color bands etc... (she went turquoise - surprise surprise). The first few days were rough, eating nothing but yogurt and applesauce and complaining about the soreness, but 3 days passed and its been smooth sailing since. In 8 weeks she gets new wires on and can pick out a new color - she is already coordinating with her Halloween costume! So just like that the wheels of growing up are again set in motion and there is no stopping the train as it has already left the station.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Camping Pentwater

Our annual camping trip this year was to Pentwater, Michigan. We had to cut it down down by one night since it was raining cats and dogs and neither of us wanted set up a tent in the rain and be reminded of last years storm. So we held out and enjoyed our comfy beds for one more night and left Friday morning and arrived to a dry campground (insert happy face here!)

The kids continue to have a blast together. They got to enjoy home made ice cream, tye dying t-shirts, rock concert make up, the pool, the beach, fireworks, the cosmic candy store, sand castle contest, snowboarding down the dunes so lets just say the camping adventure was complete!



The ladies .....(minus Beth - still sleeping??)







The boys....

The Beach .....
Limbo contests...
Brady cheating on his knees...
Random 6 year old yoga class....
Who doesn't like a downward dog?
Father/Son field of dreams moment....

Then dad got booted for some tackle with the boys....
Shhhh the dragon is sleeping.....


Making Tye-dye shirts...

Firework celebration for their homecoming weekend.


 
Not a shabby weekend....


Monday, September 03, 2012

August Activities.

August was a busy one......and I have obviously fallen behind. Here is a quick recap (in no particular order) of what we did in August in an effort to getting me current.
 
 
 
Filmed a segment for the Lifetime television show, "Destinations" that was featuring Grand Rapids and the Pub Peddler.
Got obsessed with shoe organizers! Try to find a door in my house without one, they are the best. below is my lunch/snacks door and Brady's million lego/action figures door.

Enjoyed another beautiful day at Torch Lake boating with friends.
The Torch forecast was good to us as we anticipated cold and rainy!

 
Hanging at the sandbar.
 
Went to a pretty cool bike race downtown
Visited the Coast Guard boats at the Festival.
 First visit to Pine Lake, and tried to help Tom break ground on the beach.
 weird random concerts.......

Michigan's Adventure........

 
Brady's favorite this year was Jack Zoomer and Brooke's was the corkscrew coaster......

 Beach Time......
 Balancing acts....
 Target Practice
 More Coast Guard Festival.....
 
 
 Making paper chains for the countdown to school!
 Assembling lots of Lego birthday presents.....

 Starring in a Phineas and Ferb video.....
 Brady hopped out with embarrassment .....Brooke continued to rock out....

 Backyard paint class....
 Camping in Pentwater.
I think that about sums it up.