No more training wheels!

Kaden got an early birthday present this year- a new bike!  He's been practicing riding it all summer, and took a few rides around the neighborhood learning how to ride without training wheels (thanks to Daddy's help!).  He practiced on his smaller bike for awhile, and then all of the sudden, he just started riding his new, bigger bike perfectly!  It's been nice having Kaden ride without training wheels, as we've been able to take some bike rides as a family now.  The girls ride in the burley behind Daddy, and Kaden and I are on our own bikes.  It's convenient that the ice cream shop is within biking distance! :)

Daddy's First 5K

Andy and I were training to do the Byron Days 5K race this year.  I got off track on my training schedule, but Andy kept up with it and decided to run his first 5K during Byron Center Days this year!  It was fun being part of Byron Center days since we live there now! :)  We are so proud of Daddy for finishing his first 5k!!

Waiting for Daddy to pass by

Yay!  Go Daddy, Go!!!  Almost at the finish line!

Waiting for the parade to start after the race was over

The park

Michigan is a great place to live during the summer.  The weather is usually pretty mild, and there are so many fun things to do outdoors!  These kiddos love being outside, and I love taking them to parks so that they can play and discover!

Being a twin is great! :)

Almost even weight!

The girls always have to be like their big brother

They all love the swings!

Having a twin comes in handy when a see-saw is around!

The girls love going down the slide

Miss Daredevil (aka Maya)

Peek-a-boo!

Swings!!

Hangin' out

Maya trying to hang like big brother

Our first family camping trip...

...and we lived to tell about it! :)  We managed to survive our first family camping trip- in a tent, no less!  As you can see from the picture, our car was PACKED full of stuff for our weekend camping trip with some friends.  We were only camping about 20 min from home, so we knew that if we forgot something critical, or if it got really bad, we were a quick drive home.  The first night (my birthday, no less!) was one of the hottest days we've seen this summer in MI.  The kids could not settle down because it was so hot in the tent, and I'm pretty sure they were really confused as to what was supposed to happen in the tent.  Plus, it was loud since the adults were hanging out right outside the tent.  So, after going in and out of the tent and being up with all 3 crying children, we drove home at 2am.  We packed everyone up in the car, left our food for breakfast for the group in our tent, and drove home.  Everyone slept until 8am, we took showers and headed back to the campsite to meet our friends :).  They were jealous that we got to take a shower, and we were still tired :).  The next day went much more smoothly.  The weather cooled off significantly, and we drove the girls around to get them to sleep and transferred them to their pack n' plays.  Needless to say, we survived that night in our tent for the whole night!! :)

It was certainly crazy chasing the kids around all weekend, but they loved it.  They loved swimming at the beach and the waterpark, and loved the ability to run around and get dirty all day long.... and eat junk food that they don't get at home :).  

Maybe we'll think about doing it again next year....

Packed car!

Rain storm to begin our weekend of camping

Yup, that's my child drinking directly from the water spigot.  Ugh.

Tired boys waiting for the perfect fire for hobo pies

Making s'mores

Our "home" for the weekend

Yum!

Madalyn loved helping with the girls!

Boys and the trees

Makenna and her water obsession

LOVE these boys!

Maya

The kids- minus the Houtsma's

Sleepy kids

I think my kids have had a lot of action lately.  Random falling asleep, all in two days :)

Vacation to NJ/PA!

Our big summer vacation this year was a trip to NJ.  While we were there we drove to Lancaster, PA for a few days as a little get-away.  This was the first time that we've done the 12-hour NJ drive during the day and the kids did pretty well.  I had packed some special treats/goodies for Kaden, and he enjoyed lots of time on the IPad.  Makenna was much more flexible than Maya, who made several screaming attempts to get herself out of the carseat, to which she failed of course.  I don't think the girls were too happy about getting back in the car a few days later for the 3-hour drive to PA.  All in all, they spent a lot of time in the car over the course of the week, but they were pretty good troopers.

We had a great time spending time with my family, and I always love it when my kids can spend time with their great-grandparents, great aunts/uncles, etc.  And of course we all love seeing them.  It was fun to get away for a week and we enjoyed a break from the normal routine.  Or, like I've said many times..... same crazy life, just different location :)

Checking out Amish furniture in PA

Kaden found a new pirate ship for the backyard, haha!

Just the right size

So blessed by these awesome people! :)

Taking a train ride at the amusement park in PA

Rain/snack break at the amusement park

This bench is just right for us, Mom!

Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Slide time!

Daddy beat Kaden!

Bumper car competition

Grandpa's sidekick

Andy's all ready

Clearly enjoying the roller coaster

Grandpa and Grandma with the grandkids

Breakfast at Grandpa and Grandma's

Lots of playtime!  They both especially loved riding Kaden's new skateboard, too!