Vacation in South Haven

We spent the last week enjoying South Haven, MI with my parents. South Haven is on Lake Michigan. We rented a house there that was perfect for all of us - besides the fact that the 'queen' beds were actually 'full'. It was 4 blocks from the water and 2 from town (with three ice cream shops right there!). We had a great time.

We spent several days at the beach. Even Nick took his naps there. Ryan and Emma loved the water. Ryan even got a little more confident and used a float that made his feet not touch the bottom. The last day it was pretty windy and gave us some great waves. Ryan loved them; Emma not so much. They both loved digging in the sand and even being burried. We even got smart enough to make a sand Bumbo chair for Nick. He loved splashing in the water.

We spent one day at the Farmer's Market and the Maritime Museum and later that day Kris and Ryan went on the tall ships boat that they have. My mom and I went shopping while the little ones napped and then my dad and I took those two to the park.

We also travelled to Holland, MI to visit the famous---Chuck E. Cheese! That was where Ryan wanted to go for his birthday and we were happy to oblige. My friend from elementary/high school, Jessica lives not to far from there, so her and her family met us there to play for a while. We all had a great time. It was so good to see her again! Plus, who doesn't have fun at CEC? We stopped at a winery on the way home and picked up a case of wine. That should last us another 2 years until we probably make it back!

Kris and I also got to enjoy a wonderful few hours without the kids. Although I had brought along some milk to make it longer, somehow (ahem Emma) the bottle didn't make it into the bags that we took.

While we love going on vacation, it is great to come home. After a few nights, the kids just don't sleep as well and are just so tired from not having their normal schedules, naptimes and consistent bedtimes. Nick especially was having troubles. No doubt that the two teeth he managed to pop while we were gone helped that. But the last night, he woke up with a fever that took a few hours to bring down.

Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way and when we got home on Saturday, I ended up running him to the ER because he had a 104.6 temp (we didn't have a thermometer with us on vacation). It's now Monday and he is still battling the fever. Although it has started helping his sleeping. He took some good naps yesterday and today and slept for 7 hours last night. Thank goodness, since I haven't had a good night sleep in some time!

Ryan's 5 year old Pictures

Yes, Ryan hasn't turned 5 quite yet, but since we'd be out of town and my mom was in town, I thought it was a great opportunity to get Ryan's pictures taken. I tried to get a picture of all three kids, but it wasn't the greatest - Emma just wouldn't cooperate. And they all looked so cute! So here are some of them.

July 4th and Beyond.

We're on our way to South Haven, Michigan in a few days, so I knew I needed to update the website before we leave. We spent our July 4th in Three Springs with Kris's family for the wonderful Rumble in the Pasture. As always, Kevin outdid last year and put on a phenomenal fireworks display. The kids all had a lot of fun playing together and getting ride on the uncles/grandpas new BMX car.

At home, we made it out to the zoo last week for a short visit. The kids are excited to go back and have been studying the map for the next time.

Monday, Ryan went shopping with my mom and Nick was sleeping, so Emma and I were playing outside. I was trying to get pictures of her swinging on the tire swing we have, but she fell off right before I got the camera and wouldn't go back on it. So instead she watered the flowers and trees.

Nick news: On July 4th, Nick officially turned over from back to belly. Now he is rolling all over and keeping himself really busy. We laid off the baby food for a week because he was spitting everything out. But we started back today and he did a lot better. Green beans, applesauce and cereal are on his menu and that's about it. I guess that's what happens with third children.

Two weeks ago, Ryan spent the week at my parents house. He had a great time while he was there. They kept him very busy - taking him to the spray park, the Fish Fly Festival, the movies, etc. He was exhausted by the time he got home (a day late due to a flat tire on my dad's car). The picture above is Emma talking to Ryan on Skype. When we met up to get Ryan back, they sat in the booth whispering "I missed you" to each other for several minutes. The other pic is of Nick finally starting to 'play' on his belly.

While he was gone, I was making the most of the time I had with only two kids. Especially anything I could do with Emma at the gym while putting Nick in daycare (I feel sorry for Nick but he can't do anything yet!). So we went to the pool several times, gymnastics class and to the museum. We had a great week, even with Daddy out of town.

Nick loves playing with his feet, so I wanted to get some pictures of him doing it. And Emma just couldn't help joining him (she still loves playing with her feet).