Fun with Gma B, Part III

On Mom's last day here, we rode the train to the coast and let the boys play for a while there (despite a slight earache on Isaac's part) before riding the train back home.

 Isaac wore my winter headband (not sure what it is actually called) to keep the wind out of his ear.

Watching the scenery go by

Isaac took this picture of them looking at Gma's camera

Heading to the beach

Playing at the park

Gma's favorite CA flower

Fun with Gma B, Part II

The boys got to do a bunch of fun things with Gma B (both while I was gone for symposium and then when she was here again at the end of her trip). 

Riding bikes in the street--a favorite thing for both boys!

Playing games on Gma B's computer

Dipping truffles with Mom

Day 100

To celebrate the 100th day of school, everyone was encouraged to dress up like 100 year-olds. Here is what left our house that morning:

Did not want the white hair paint

Used the white hair paint and a razor

Bic-ing the head to get the cue ball effect

Weatherman

For homework this week Isaac needs to keep track of the weather each day. On Tuesday, I told him to check the weather and then paste the correct type (sunny, windy, cloudy, rainy, snowy) on his chart. Willingly, he jumped up, grabbed the iPad, opened the weather app, and announced that it was windy.

I looked outside and noticed the leaves on the trees were not even quivering on this supposed windy day so I made him go outside to see for himself. He finally did with much protesting (I mean, why go outside when he already got his weather report?!?) and still wanted to include windy on his chart when he came back inside.

Ah, the joy of technology!

(Gpa and Gma N, this post's for you. You can see that all of us are using the iPad and loving it!)

Overheard, Part VI

Just a little listen into our lives the last few weeks:

Noticing the game Caleb was playing on one of our Wii games with random games on it:

Paul: Why is Caleb playing beer pong?

When the kids are dismissed for children’s worship during our worship service, Caleb likes to be the first one in line. Since we sit in the front of church, the only way to do that is to run like mad. Paul told him this week that he can’t run. Watching him leave, he walked about five feet and then took off running, dodging around other kids (thankfully not taking out anyone else's child along the way). Our conversation in the van on the way home from church:

Me: So, Caleb, who was at the front of the line today?

Caleb: Me! I was there before everyone!

Me: But how did you do that?

Caleb (loudly and proudly): I was FAST! I runned really fast and beat them all!

On our parenting to-do list: 

1. Continue working on not running in church 

2. Talk to Caleb about not being overly proud

Isaac running into the house (holding himself) after playing soccer with Caleb:

“Caleb kicked the ball, and I blocked it with my nuts. That really hurt!”

And my favorite is part of the conversation with my mom regarding the cost of funerals:

Mom: Funerals are expensive…when I die, my plan is to have a plot in [my hometown area]. I asked Brian if he plans to load up my body in the back of his pickup to get me there. But you can’t cross state lines.

Me: I think your body would need to be transported through the funeral home.

Mom: But that would cost an arm and a leg.

Paul: Well, you won’t need yours anymore. Just trying to lighten the mood here.

Grand Rapids

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." er, I mean Grand Rapids in January. This was the view we awoke to the third morning that I was in Grand Rapids during the last week of January.

The view from my bedroom

Spending a few days in Grand Rapids for the symposium on worship held on Calvin College's campus was a wonderful time full of great information and discussion on worship as well as many laughs with friends. I am excited to share some of the things we learned with our congregation at Crossroads.

Meeting up with friends was the icing on the donut of this trip. It was fantastic to stay with the Werfs and enjoy their boys. It made my heart glad to get snuggle time with J and to chat and play Cars with O and see how much both of them have grown in this past half year since we saw them.

Really, we were only out for a minute--besides, coats for kids are overrated

I also spent an afternoon catching up and enjoying a meal with a couple of our Dordt College friends--one of my roommates and one of Paul's roommates. I admit that it is surreal to realize that we are 14 years out of college and that we are all grown up with kids. (Michael and Jess's oldest is a sixth grader so it was fun to see our friends discussing screen time and school with a soon-to-be young adult--when did we get so old?!?)

With Jessica

Pastor Mark also attended symposium (he actually was the motivator for getting me to attend with him this year), and we filled our free time with exploring Grand Rapids (Marie Catrib's gets my vote for best sandwich and funky atmosphere) and meeting up with youth from our church who live in GR for college or work. We even got to attend a Calvin basketball game and watch Dan play on the varsity team.

Dinner with VWs, Pastor Mark, Lucas and Heather

Lunch with Dan

On my final night there we had dinner and talked late into the evening with the Schreuders. What a blessing it is to connect with friends and get to see their children!

Nearly midnight picture with Joel and Sarah

Special thanks to my mom and Paul who took over watching the boys and keeping the house running while I enjoyed my time away! (As soon as I can snag Mom's camera, I hope to have some pix of what they did at home while I was away.)

Fun Friday, Part II

This past week's fun Friday dress-up was dress like a movie or book character. Isaac was pretty excited about wearing his hat and the bow and drawing whiskers on his face. He even redrew his whiskers on when he got home from school so they would last longer.

The Cat in the Hat

Batman