Good and Plenty

There's plenty to do to keep the kids entertained. Here, we go to the John Ball Zoo (Pygmy goats were a big hit) and to the Kids day at the Hollow.

Grandparents Rule!

One of the best things about GH for the girls is visiting with the grandparents. We were able to fit in numerous visits, but its never enough! Here are the girls with Grandma Eleanor (little Eleanor's name for Gramma Rycenga)... We tried to stop into their place whenever we were in the area. And when the fireworks got too loud for El, Gramma and Grampa came to the rescue and invited us to watch from their porch. It was a perfect view of the fireworks without the sound. Thanks Grampa and Gramma! While we missed Grammy when she traveled to Isle Royale for her women in the wilderness gig, the girls still had a change to sneak in plenty of fun. Gemma still talks about her trolley ride and wanting to take another soon. The Grand Haven Museum was really cool too.
When visiting Grampy, getting out on his boat is a must. The girls favorite part was anchoring in a bayou and jumping off the boat. Eleanor learned how to do the cannonball dive. Gemma jumped right in and didn't want to get out, swimming away from us when we mentioned we would have to leave soon.

Ol Sandy Pines

The first week in MI we had great fun visiting the Retsema's at Sandy Pines.

If you haven't had the Sandy Pines experience, you probably don't remember eating an ice cream while riding on a golf cart through acres of shaded lots filled with trailers after swimming and boating all day long. The girls got the full treatment.

We were lucky that not only Aunt Betsy and Uncle Don, but Peter, Becky, and Margaret were there as well. Here are all the cousins...The girls had to have some chats with Aunt Betsy...

And read to Aunt Betsy...
Before heading to the awesome new water park. They say the water was on 57 degrees and you can almost feel the cold water by watching the expressions on these two little girls.

Gemma made good friends with cousin Peter after he took us out on his boat. Gemma screamed "Faster!" as her sister pleaded him to slow down. What a pair.

It's Blueberry Time

A trip to Michigan in late summer is not complete without picking blueberries at least twice! We would have even gone a third time if the weather cooperated.


Gemma, our little "fruit bat" was in hog heaven. For the first 20 minutes she just sat under a bush eating everything in sight.Eleanor preferred discussing the experience. Who can find the biggest berry? How is your bucket going? What would happen if the world were upside down?
The second time we went with Thom, Jonelle, and Shelly. We were quite selective as we didn't need as many. I do believe we picked the finest bucket of berries that ever were seen. But of course, the girls kept taste-testing for good measure.

Hanging around in Grand Haven

We had a terrific stay in Michigan, where we were able to spend more than two weeks. More pictures and posts to follow, but our first order of business was just hangin' out. The girls tried to encourage Jude to try a wider selection of foods... Jud and Eleanor read poetry on Grammy's beautiful new screened porch...
The girls spent lots of time in playing in Moose Lodge, or as they called it "the Castle". Uncle Matt led "art time" at home.
The girls dressed up their other Uncles with accessories from the castle.


We were so pleased to be able to make a number of stops to visit Gramma and Grampa Eleanor for lots of hugs and kisses (and Werthers too of course).

Lollipop

For those of you who have never traveled with kids, or have forgotten what it is like, here is the inside scoop. And this is just stopping at the bank for two minutes. We have 20 hours slated for Sunday to Monday...

Big girl camp, swimming, soccer...

Eleanor spent three full days this week at a camp held at her preschool and loved it. Of course Gemma wanted to stay at the camp too. In fact, Gemma insists she is a BIG GIRL. While Eleanor was at camp today, Gemma and I went to parks and rec to sign Eleanor up for swimming and soccer. Gemma insisted SHE wanted to do swimming and soccer too. Gemma insists on reading books by herself, then gets frustrated saying "me not know how to read it!"

Last night, Eleanor was complaining about the long ride to Michigan and having to sleep in the car. Jud told her that she could stay up with him and they could discuss poetry. She was excited by the notion, and of course Gemma chimed in that she wanted to stay up and talk about poetry too.

Hangin' around Acadia

We had a great time just hanging around the camp site as well. Boo and Eleanor built an awesome fairy house. The cousins pushed Gemma around in her trike up and down the hill to the bathrooms she insisted she needed to use. The kids learned how to play Bocce. We roasted just about everything you could imagine over the fire...














After we packed up, we took one more hike, this time up Flying Mountain. The kids did some actual "rock climbing". We stopped at a cove, where Eleanor posed as a mermaid, Gemma collected shells, and the boys were goofy.





Throughout the vacation, Eleanor kept trying to convince folks to play Little Mermaid with her. She cast herself as "Ariel" and assigned Tris the role of "Prince Eric". Not understanding the game, Tristan kept referring to Eleanor as "Prince Erica" and when corrected answered "whatever". He was willing to pose with the mermaid, but assured me that he was neither a prince nor the merman Eleanor was currently trying to insist he was.

Acadia Fun

Last weekend, we spent an amazing weekend trotting the kids around the rocks and ocean at Acadia National Park. They were all such troupers and got along extremely well, with Bronwyn and Tris helping out with the little ones. Bronwyn acted as Gemma's "nanny for the weekend", which was a godsend as Gemma was majorly sleep deprived and not the easiest to manage. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the campground had both hot showers and a swimming pool. What else could one want? Oh - yes - Jud provided poetry interludes and Nana provided coffee first thing each morning. We could do this anytime.

Fun in the Sun

Besides swimming in our pool in the yard, the girls have enjoyed the local swim hole. Both of them are born fish. Gemma likes to put her head full underwater for nearly ten seconds, and just when you are sure she is taking in water and about to drown, she comes up smiling. They both love being tossed in the pond. It is best to have Gemma's life jacket on before she has sighted water as she walks straight in until it is up to her head. When she falls, she just waits under water for someone to pick her up. Enough to give a mother a heart attack!

My sea creatures are more than reluctant to leave the water, but are required to do so at lifeguard breaks. They can be bribed (ice cream works). They also can be talked into a break on the playground. Of course, Gemma wants to do everything her sister does, even the trolley drop.

Family and Fun for the Fourth

We were so busy having fun at our Fourth gathering, that we didn't take many pictures. We had a special visit from Supernana and Pappy as well as a group of other friends and the Caswell clan. It was a wet party with the pool, Slip -n-slide, water balloons, squirt guns, and even the garden hose involved by the end of the night. What a night! Perhaps it will have to be an annual tradition. We drove to fireworks, got earplugs in Eleanor's ears, watched about 5 seconds, and then headed home. Too loud!

Froggy comes for a swim

We caught a frog who was wanting a dip in the girl's new pool. He may have gotten more than he bargained for. (No animals or children were harmed in the making of this film ).

Being Sat Upon

The last couple of days, Eleanor and Gemma have had lots of fun with babysitters. On Monday, it was a trip to Nana's while I went to the dentist. Monday night, Glenn and Marianne's twin daughters Hilary and Morgana came over for their first babysitting gig, with their play seals in tow. I still remember when those to were younger than Eleanor! Yesterday, Jud got to come to one of my gigs and out for supper. The girls stayed behind with their Nana, who ended up staying the day and most of the night. Gemma woke up this morning wanting to know "When da babasitter comes?" and was disappointed it was not immediately.



Eleanor is in her second week of Mini-camp at the school she will attend next year. It is a great way to be introduced to the building, playground, and some kids for next year. The first day, Eleanor was shy, but Gemma joined right in with the kids and didn't want to leave. Eleanor is much more comfortable now, and Gemma still wants to stay each day.