All in the Family at ArtPrize

We spent a couple hours taking in the art at ArtPrize this past weekend like so many West Michiganders. One of the Art Prize entries belongs to our sister-in-law, Lisa.

We're so proud! Congratulations Lisa!

PLENUM: a space, usually above a ceiling or below a floor, that can serve as a receiving chamber for air that has been heated or cooled to be distributed to inhabited areas.

See her profile and voting info at ArtPrize HERE.

2 the Park 4 Park2Park

This weekend we headed to our neighborhood park not for the usual purpose. The three of us helped out with a running race.
Despite our explanations, Brighton didn't understand why we couldn't hang out by the swings and slides until the runners showed up. Then he saw them, and we had a great time.
We took care of a water table on the 5k route and of course cheered the runners on too. We saw some familiar faces which was fun as well.
The Park2Park race happens right near our home and church. They do both the 5k and a 1/2 marathon. The proceeds benefit Neighbors Plus, an organization housed in our church that we very much believe in.
If you're a runner and you live in the area you should definitely consider it for next year. We'll cheer you on and help you stay hydrated.

The Donut House

Ranking right up there with trains, one of Bright's favs is definitely a donut. We only have them once in a while making them all the more special. To make it even sweeter, we started taking him to a bakery to pick one out. It seems like it should cost more for how much joy it brings this little guy. At this time, without hesitation, he chooses a cinnamon sugar twist. We think because it's of course really good and unusually large.

This particular bakery is Morat's. We're huge fans. Maybe you've seen their popular muffin bread at a Michigan supermarket near you. Bright affectionately calls Morat's "The Donut House." There is even a window around the building where he can see into the kitchen and watch them baking. This weekend we went to a donut house in Holland: Crane's In the City. Love it that we don't have to drive to Fennville for those apple cider donuts or any those other really great goodies.

What's your favorite donut house?

Fall Festivities at the Farm

Hokey Mokers

One of the things my dad says is "Hokey Mokers." I think it's a variation of "Holy Smokes," but I'm not really even sure about that. Anyway, we did a "Fall Fun" outing and ended up teaching Brighton to say Hokey Mokers. You'll be able to see why.
This family farm we found up north has the least expensive Honey Crisp Apples around that we know of, and we lots of those. So, we were headed there for our apples, and then we were pleasantly surprised to find they also had really huge and really inexpensive pumpkins too. I considered and then tried rolling one, but it took my dad and Jon together to heave this one into the trunk. While we were there, a guy bought one that required a fork lift...for $25! For the use of the forklift alone I was thinking he deserved a $25 tip!

So this giant pumpkin will greet you if you visit us in the next month or so. We aren't going to carve it; I think that would take double-digit hours and tools we don't have. We are considering keeping and replanting the seeds though. Either way, I suspect we'll be saying "Hokey Mokers" about our pumpkins for years to come.

Smitty's and Steps

We were looking for a quick evening outing last week, so we decided to head to Smitty's Pronto Pups near Holland State Park. We were there once when it opened, but their menu is much more extensive now. We had ice-cream, so we're going to have to go back for those deep fried pickles we've heard about! Have you tried them? Thankfully they're open 'til the end of next month. This restored boot was quite a hit, but Brighton kept asking, "Where'd da watah go?"

A trip to Smitty's wouldn't be complete without climbing the next-door stairs to the top of Mount Pisgah. It wasn't long ago we had to wear him if we wanted to head up there, but this time he climbed up to the very top all by himself! He thought he was big stuff, and we were pretty impressed too.

Not Without Bumps

I feel it necessary to clarify my "Back to School 2010" post, as it was in reality not without bumps and in need of some clarification. The transition this school year did go extremely well as I wrote, but we were struggling with something else. It started Thursday, September 2 and is just clearing up now.
Brighton broke out into unexplainable hives - no other symptoms, just really nasty hives. The doctor told us he wasn't contagious, and we wanted to believe him, but he looked just awful. So just to be extra cautious, we kept him home. At the 12 day mark the doctor determined blood work was in order. The picture below is from that day. Jon stayed home from work to take him to the lab where they learned that Bright is double-jointed in his elbows making the blood draw a nightmare in itself (one lab gave up and sent them to another), but they both survived.After bottles of Benadryl, hydrocortisone cream, and then a steroid prescription, it appears that whatever was bugging Bright needed to simply run its course. Weeks of giving this little guy medicine was probably just as bad as the unexplainable hives for two and a half weeks. We have lots of theories on what caused it, but more importantly we are just so thankful that Bright's bumps are behind of us, and we're hoping they stay that way.

Picnic Plus Ponies

We had our annual block party last weekend. It just happened to be in the rain, but we didn't have to travel far. Just down the street from our house there is a horse farm where this year's party was held. We ate great food, visited with our neighbors, and fed carrots to horses all in the rain. We quickly determined we were very naive about what we thought was a pony farm down the road from us. The horses were BEAUTIFUL; even the barn was beautiful. We weren't just feeding any horses, we learned they were all Arabian. What an operation! We had no idea. It was very impressive to see them, feed them, and learn about them - even if it was raining.

Whoa Auntie JoJo!

We headed out to West Ottawa Football game last weekend. We had a great time, but we weren't just shouting "Go WO!" We were also thinking "Whoa, Auntie JoJo!" On this night, Dan and Jordan told us they are expecting their first child, due in April. We were super surprised. Brighton understood the concept a lot more than we thought he would. He immediately said he wanted the baby now, and has excitedly talked about the baby nearly every day since then. He tells anyone that will listen, and they of course think he is talking about me having a baby, but he isn't...it's Auntie JoJo.

Congratulations Dan & Jordan!

Vote for WO!

Cow Pie & Pizza Pie

We recently headed out one of our favorite spots in Northern Michigan: The Country Dairy. There is lots to see and do here, but we spent a lot time trying to explain to our son how cows poop on the ground, but he can't.

The other very memorable part of this trip was The Country Dairy added on, and they now make and serve pizza. They have several unique pizza options on their menu. We're HUGE FANS!

Back to School 2010

I haven't written the proverbial "Back to School" blog post yet. So much to do, and so little time. Thankfully I did get some help with my "Back to School" to-do list this year from my boys. Maybe we'll have to make this an annual tradition, what do you think? Hopefully next year we won't have to get out the ladder.

The "Back to School" transition for us went well this year. Jon has stepped up at home. Bright is loving life with his grandmas and friends while I'm at school. I am adjusting to a 6 hour day on a semester schedule, but I do have a student teacher. I also have really great kids; my days have been great.