Trip to WI

Over the weekend we took a trip to WI to visit Grandpa and Grandma Voogt.  It was a fun trip, even if it did have a rough ending.

We left Friday morning and took the Lake Express ferry across Lake Michigan.  Both kids did great on the way there.  Rebecca spent most of the boat ride coloring and doing her workbook.

We got to the farm around 3pm WI time.  We got settled and took some time to explore the farm.  Rebecca enjoyed seeing the tiny kitties and helping Grandpa collect eggs.  Abram wanted to join, but the rooster and cows were being a bit too noisy for a sleeping baby.  Of course Rebecca made a mad dash for Grandma's toys the instant we got there...and spent most of her time in the office playing.

Saturday morning we went to a nearby park.  Rebecca had fun running around with Grandma while Grandpa and Daddy got to bat and play catch. 

Here is how Abram and Mommy spent the trip to the park :) 

After lunch, play time and good naps we went to Frogg's for ice cream.  It was a little melty, but Rebecca enjoyed her twist cone with sprinkles as always.

 After ice cream we played, did baths, had dinner and settled down for the night.

Sunday morning we went to church and then had a yummy grilled chicken lunch.  After lunch we packed up and started the trip home.  We stopped at a park near the ferry to stretch and have a picnic dinner.  It was a nice park right on the lake and of course Rebecca thoroughly enjoyed playing.

Then we boarded the ferry.  We expected to put the kids in their jammies, have a snack and fall asleep.  Unfortunately the lake was pretty rocky from a storm that had gone through.  So the boat was really rocking.  We managed to get Rebecca in her jammies and Abram fed just before the down side of the trip began...Rebecca started crying and then threw up all over.  One of the crew members helped us clean up and gave us some cold water and bags.  Daddy took Abram and Rebecca did not leave Mary's lap for the rest of the trip.  Which included 3 more crying/puking episodes :(  I think everyone on the boat felt bad for us.  One lady was making hair bows and gave one to Rebecca to try to cheer her up.  Mary was definitely not feeling the best either but managed to keep it together by sucking on candy and drinking ginger ale (the crew member gave us that as well when he saw how pale Mommy was).  Rebecca was so worn out that she did finally fall asleep with about an hour left in the boat ride.  And Abram slept in Daddy's arms (so thankful he didn't get sick!!).  Needless to say we were all very happy when the boat ride was over.  We got in the car and made the drive home.  Everyone (except Daddy) slept on the way home too.  We got home around midnight and got the kids in bed/got things unpacked a bit.  Mommy and Daddy got to bed around 1:30am.  What a long day!

Today we are just taking it easy.  Hopefully Rebecca will be feeling better and we can get her rehydrated.  And we'll be doing lots of laundry :P  Hopefully Rebecca's blanket (her blanket we bought for her before she was born) isn't ruined.

As always we enjoyed our time on the farm and seeing Grandpa and Grandma.  But we are very happy to be home and may not be riding on the ferry again for a while.

Our Week in Review

The past week has been pretty crazy.  We started off the week a bit rough.  Abram was teething like crazy and had one of his vaccines.  Mary developed mastitis and got 2 fillings.  And Rebecca got an eye infection from a mosquito bite on her face.  But as the week went on we were all on the mend and did some fun stuff.

Thursday morning we made another trip the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.  Rebecca absolutely loves going there.  She loves the little store and kitchen/restaurant.  She's our little mommy.  This was an especially eventful trip since it ended with Rebecca wearing a pair of Abram's shorts (size 3-6m) since that's all that was in the diaper bag for her after an accident.  We're thankful she somehow squeezed into them.

Friday morning we went to a consignment sale at a local church.  Then headed to Mary's Aunt Marcia's house to see some out of town relatives that we haven't seen in a couple years (Mary's cousins).  Rebecca, Maggie and Breanna were all born within 3 weeks of each other.  And they haven't all been together at the same time since they were about 2 months old.  So it was fun to see them again.

Saturday we made our first trip to the Grand Rapids Art Museum.  They have family-friendly activities on Saturdays.  This month it was canvas painting inspired by a local artist.  Rebecca really enjoyed painting.  Mommy painted "with" Abram.  After painting we walked around the museum.  Thankfully it's quite small.  An art museum is not the ideal place to go with an energetic 3 year old :P  Here's what the kids thought of the museum.

Aside from that we've been enjoying the beautiful summer weather when we are able.

Rebecca seems to be in a learning mood or mental growth spurt.  She's really into coloring right now.  She'll sit and color for a long time...and she's getting very good at it!  Staying mostly in the lines.  She creates very bright, well colored pictures.  We can't wait to start more structured learning in September.

Abram is growing like a weed.  He's almost 17 lbs. now and wearing 9m clothes.  He's doing very well with tummy time and holding his head up.  We've started using the Bumbo and exersaucer.  He seems to be a fan of both.  As long as he can see what's going on he's happy.  Of course his favorite thing to do still is watch his sister.  When he watches her eat he just laughs and laughs at her.  It's quite funny.  He even imitates us chewing sometimes.  Our big boy is also teething.  No signs of a tooth coming through yet, but probably soon.  Overall he's a very happy baby.  And he eats and sleeps very well.

This week's adventures - having our former neighbors over for dinner tonight and a trip to WI to visit Grandpa and Grandma Voogt later in the week.  We'll see what both kids think of the ferry ride.  Rebecca is very excited to visit the farm again.

Michigan's Adventure

To continue our week of fun while Justin is on vacation we went to Michigan's Adventure yesterday.  And we've learned that when your kids are 3 and 3 months...you pretty much go to an amusement park for the 3 year old to have fun :P  Abram slept on Mommy or wiggled in the stroller the whole day.  Mommy and Daddy took care of Abram and took Rebecca on rides/played with her in the water.  No roller coasters or water slides for us.  But it was worth it to see the smiles on Rebecca's face.  And it was fun that she could ride a lot more this year than she could last year.  Her favorite was the Frog Hopper (check out the video in our album).  And of course she loved the water.  Although it did take some work to get her to go down the water slide.  We had a picnic lunch in the back of the mini van.  And shared our usual twist cone after lots of time in the sun and water.  Abram's highlight of the day...getting to "eat" outside ;)  Both kids were pretty worn out by the end of the day.  Rebecca finally crashed in the car about 10 min. before we got home.  And had a little meltdown when we got home because of how tired she still was.  But after dinner she settled down and then went to bed pretty easily.  Rebecca loves Michigan's Adventure and is looking forward to going again in a few weeks with her cousins.

Double JJ Ranch

For our first family vacation of the summer we went to Double JJ Ranch for a few days.  It is a combo ranch and resort with a water park.  Both kids did very well, and we all had fun.

We left Monday after lunch.  When we got there we checked into our log home looked around, visited the animals, saw some horse jumping and played on the little playground.  We went out for dinner (they have several restaurants there).  And then relaxed and got settled.  The night was a bit interesting.  This was our first trip with Rebecca not in the pack 'n' play.  We put her in her sleeping bag on a bed.  In the middle of the night we heard a big thud...she had fallen off the bed (thankfully unharmed!).  So we had to make a new bed for her on the floor with blankets and pillows.  And Daddy had to lay with her for about an hour before she finally fell asleep.  Abram slept in the pnp for the first time since he was about a week old...and did very well!

Tuesday morning Rebecca went on a "pony" ride.  Mommy and Abram had to miss it because he was hungry.  She had fun, but it was a big horse ride for a little girl.  Thankfully she held on tight!  After a little more time outside we put on our swimming gear and went to the indoor water park.  They have a good kiddie area.  Rebecca had a blast.  By the end she was getting pretty brave and would jump into the water towards Daddy.  Abram wasn't quite sure what to think.  He just looked around and was as quiet as a mouse the whole time.  He seemed to enjoy getting a little wet.  Justin got to try a few water slides.  We went back to our cabin for a quick lunch and headed back out for balloon animals and face painting.  Then we tried the outdoor pools.  Rebecca really liked those.  They have one just for kids that is only 1ft. 6 in. deep.  So she played in there for quite a while.  Mommy waded while Abram slept in the Moby.  Daddy got to try another water slide (that goes through a barn!) and go in the big pool.  After getting changed we hit the ice cream parlor for a little snack.  Rebecca chose bear claw ice cream.  As you can see from the photo she thoroughly enjoyed it :)  After ice cream we went to the craft barn, stopping to put Daddy in jail.  They have all sorts of crafts for little kids.  Rebecca did the sand art and filled a little ducky necklace.  By then it was about 4pm.  Rebecca was so tired that her eyes were closing as we walked back to the cabin.  But in typical Rebecca fashion she fought the fatigue tooth and nail.  She laid on a bed while Daddy read to her for quite a while...but would not sleep.  After quiet time we went out for dinner.  Then it was time to clean up/pack a few things and get to bed...early :P  It didn't take Rebecca long to fall asleep that night!

Wednesday morning we packed everything and checked out of our cabin.  Then we went to the water park again for a couple hours.  Rebecca had another fun time in the water.  Abram slept most of the time :P  Then we got dressed and headed to Silver Lake State Park for a picnic lunch.  It was VERY windy there.  So it was a bit chilly and hard to keep things from flying away.  But it was still fun.  Then it was time to head home.  We drove home at nap time.  Rebecca kept herself going for a while, but finally crashed part way home.  She was so worn out and still really tired when we got home.  She spent a while relaxing on the couch.

We all had a great time at Double JJ.  It would be fun to go back some day when the kids are older so we can do more of the activities, including riding horses.  They have a really nice camping area that could be fun.  Or the log homes are really nice (where we stayed).  And they are set up in small groups. It would be a fun place to go with all the kids/cousins.  The food at Double JJ leaves a lot to be desired.  You can read my review on my food blog.  But other than that it was a great trip!!  There are lots of pics in the album.  It was tough to take pics with our little camera in the water park, so they didn't turn out that well.  But you can get an idea of what it's like.