Memorial Day weekend 2016

Every year goes faster and faster, I swear. I can't believe Memorial Day Weekend is already here and gone....though we are VERY ready for summer!
We spent Thursday and Friday wrapping up school for the year, for both boys.

Thursday night, my dad came into town for a few days from Arizona. It was a gorgeous weekend for spending time with family!

Saturday night after dinner we visited Helder Park and the kids had fun playing with Grampa Randy!

Sunday morning already it was time to say goodbye. We spent the rest of our day working on some projects at home and taking some much needed naps before we met up with some friends for dinner.

Again, it was a perfect night to be outside, enjoy some watermelon, and even some hair bye for the holiday! ;)

 
Monday morning we headed down to watch the parade. Both boys were supposed to ride on floats with their class, but Harrison decided not too. Bentley did, and he had so much fun!

We headed to practice riding bikes at Grampa's Farm while sister napped with Dad and grabbed a cool treat on the way home. ;)

We came home and got ready to head to Great Gram's for a family cookout. Harrison opened some birthday presents a little late and one was a slip n slide. The kids had a blast on it!

 
And Gramma's girl had fun enjoying a popsicle too!

It was a perfect weekend; weather, family and friends! The boys were pretty excited to not have to wake up early for school today, Bentley even laid in bed until almost NINE!
We are looking forward to many fun days ahead this summer! :)

my 30th birthday

Among wrapping up school and celebrating Harrison turning 4, I also managed to celebrate a milestone birthday myself! It was so fun to be pampered and spoiled for a few days!

My mom and sister and I took a day to ourselves and enjoyed some kid free shopping, lunch and a pedicure. Sometimes, its the little things! ;)

Saturday night, we had plans to do dinner in Grand Rapids with my parents and Kaindls; no kids. I was pretty excited to get out and do something different, and enjoy a warm meal!
Kaindls picked us up at 4 o clock and we were going to swing by my parents to have a glass of champagne before heading out.
I opened the garage door to all our closest friends, and their kids...along with the babysitter that had OUR kids (who I thought were going out for dinner and to see some puppies)...
SURPRISE! I was totally shocked, and so excited!

It was a PERFECT night to be outside, and I loved being able to celebrate with all our friends and our kids. Don't get me wrong, dinner out would have been awesome too but being together what just perfect, and just what my heart needed!

We had a fun night playing yard games, enjoying some cake and opening some presents.

The whole crew that surprised me! best.friends.everrrr

my precious family (and a fleeing harry; too busy for pics)

my mom and sister put all this together, behind my back, while spending nearly every day that week with me. stinkers! I had NO clue. Thank you both, you are two of my greatest blessings. And thank you to my mother in law, who was in on it too...again, I had no idea.

and to this man. who was also behind the scenes and never spilled the beans.

Looking back now, I can totally see what they were all up to! I was even going to let my kids out of the house in dirty play clothes with the babysitter, but changed my mind when B said "maybe you should change them, they're pretty dirty..." (he never says much about what they wear, but now I know why he did..and I'm SO glad he did!)

Thank you again to everyone who came out, I was totally surprised and it was the most perfect night!

Bentleys Last Day & Graduation 2016

Just one day after Harrison, Bentley wrapped up his third year of Preschool.

Top picture was the first day of school, bottom picture was the last day. My how he grew!!

His last day of school was spent at a park as well, playing and enjoying each others company before the summer comes. His class was small this year, and comprised of ALL boys, so they were all very close. It was pretty bittersweet to say good-bye!

His teachers this year were beyond amazing. We cannot express enough gratitude for the way they taught him this year. Not only did they help him through some academic challenges, they truly modeled their Love for God and it rubbed off on him completely. His heart for the Lord grew ten fold this year and we couldn't be more proud!

 
He also had a formal graduation ceremony, now that he is off to Kindergarten next year! He was so proud to walk down the aisle in his special graduation cap.

Our Graduate!

His little brother and biggest fan. These two make my heart melt.

We couldn't be more proud of you Bentley! You have grown SO much in SO many ways this year!

We are looking forward to a fun and relaxing summer, but we can't wait for Kindergarten either!

Harrison's last day of school 2016

Harrison wrapped us his first school year this past week. The top pic is the first day, bottom pic is the last day. He's grown and changed so much, in so many ways!

The last day in the classroom they had a bike parade down the bus drive. They were able to decorate their bikes first and then put on a parade for some other classes.

Evie couldn't participate without wearing a helmet, at least for a minute...crazy girl!

Parade-ing in the bus drive!

watching his other 3school friends

On the actual last day of school they had a park day. he had so much fun playing with his buddies one last time!

Mrs. Borr and Mrs. Laarman were awesome teachers this year. They taught him so many things, and it was fun to watch him grow, especially for his love in Christ!

 

What a fun year! We are excited to see what Preschool brings next year!

Harry's birthDAY

Last week we celebrated Harrison's FOURTH birthday! It was a fun day!

He woke up to a present from all of us - and he was over the top excited! A dump truck, soccer ball he calls a football, some legos and more...he could hardly contain himself.

We had cinnamon rolls (We don't have them at all anymore) with a candle for breakfast.

We spent our morning running some errands and then headed to have a picnic at Grampa's farm for his big day. He got to ride in the mower, even!

We spent the rest of the gorgeous afternoon outside and the boys caught this crazy little toad that just hung on the side of this bucket! Too funny!

Per Harry's request, we went to "china's" for dinner. This little boy would live on white rice if we let him, so there was no question that is what he wanted for his birthday dinner. China's directly translates to China Inn ;)

Nana and Papa Posma joined us for dinner and we came back home and opened a couple more presents before calling it a night! Harrison had the most perfect day that included ALL the special-est people in his life!
He woke up the next morning and put his shirt on himself (never has done this successfully before) and opened the car door himself (again, never done successfully) and on both accounts he announced he could these things because he is FOUR now! ;)
We love you buddy, thanks for sharing your special day with us! xoxoxo

Harrison's special day

Harry got to be special helper one last time before school is done, to celebrate his birthday.

Even Weather Bear wears his shoes on the wrong feet sometimes!

Part of his class time was walking to Captain Sundae for ice cream! 

Enjoying his ice cream with friends

He picked out chocolate sports balls as a birthday treat, so we packaged them in these cute little bags! He loved handing them out to his friends!

Hard to believe another school year has come and gone, and our middle baby is turning FOUR! We are very excited to celebrate him and see what the next year holds! 

Harrison Lee, you are 4 years old!

Harrison,

You are FOUR years old today! 

You have really become a little boy in the last year, and we have had so much fun watching you grow. You are all boy, all things trucks, all work, rough and tumble and you are very tender hearted. 

You are always smiling!

You love to be goofy and your imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. Playing pretend is one of your favorite things.

You look up to your big brother with so much love, and its amazing to watch you two grow together.

We often laugh that you are his parrot; you do what he does and says what he says. 

You love to be home, and are a huge creature of habit. In fact, absent mindedly one day I put the sheets that are normally on Bentleys bed, on your bunk instead. You were so thrown off by this you had to sleep on the top bunk because that's where you color sheets were ;)

You have a giving heart and are very affectionate with those you love.

You love to play outside in your "jobsites" or go to work with Daddy. Anything boy-ish will do! ;)

You could live on white rice, and white milk, along with "chocolate" toast (nutella).

We are SO excited to see what the next year has in store for you, love!
Happy Birthday! xoxo

Tulip Time 2016

Our Tulip Time festivites were short and sweet this year! Life is busy right now for us so we spent just a part of one morning downtown walking around and snapping the obligatory tourist pics! ;)

Best buds.

Miss E was not super thrilled about having her costume on, but she did great!

dutch babies

The best I could get with all four of us...and I had to bribe with a trip to the peanut store after!

Saluting the flag! 

Harrison went back down the same afternoon with a friend from school to watch the parade. The rest of us didn't see any parades, or enjoy any junk food this year!

Maybe next year we will be able to spend more time down there enjoying all the fun things!

17 months

Another month has gone bye, sweet girl!
We are having so much fun watching you grow.

The nice weather has opened a new spot in your heart for the swing! You are all smiles when you're in it. Sometimes you are content to even just sit, and not even be pushed!

I had to document your feet here. I never want to forget how chubby they are, and what a tough time I have finding shoes that fit. You are only a size 4, which is pretty small, but they are nearly as thick as they are long. So far, I have not been able to find any cute summer shoes that fit, without pinching your feet so tight they turn bright red! Someday, i tell myself, someday!

You love to get into everything. You are actually starting to play with things, but you still love to get into things you shouldn't. You love trucks, and your babies and you love to push anything around in your baby stroller. You also love to ride in the wagon when we are outside.

You are fully walking now. Finally! Its still quite the little stomp, but its super adorable to watch! and yes, you still have your "on" fetish going on.

You also love to drive. You reach for anything with a steering wheel. Future dump truck driver, daddy thinks ;)

You are wearing 24 month clothes and some 2T. Size 5 diapers. You are sleeping 10 hours at night and taking for sure one nap (3-4 hours) a day, sometimes 2! You still love bathtime a lot. You will eat pretty much anything but some favorites include chicken fries, grapes, yogurt and of course milk!
We are looking forward to a fun summer with you, little love!