Catching Up

We've actually been here in Michigan now for almost a month and a half (with only 2 trips to other states in there), and we have been keeping busy!

J and I are enjoying our summer together-- it is hard for me to believe this will be my last summer of just him and me.  Crazy!  Next summer we will have a little lady to join us on our outings.... and might not be able to do as many fun things as we can now!  It's pretty nice that J is old enough to be self-sufficient and is up for pretty much anything (and is potty-trained, not dependent on a nap anymore, etc).  So easy to go out and do things!  My brain can not comprehend adding a baby to this mix.  Huh.  Anyhoo, here are some of the things we have been busy doing!

J is a beach guy.  He LOVES to play in the sand and splash in the water (no matter how frigid it is!).  We headed down to South Haven one evening (still plenty of play time when it doesn't get dark until after 10 pm!).

24 week bump picture!

One reason we went to South Haven-- Sherman's ice cream!  YUM!!

I signed J up for the reading program at the library here, and he got 3 free admissions to Nelis' Dutch Village!  Which was perfect because he had been begging to go there because we drive by it on 31 all the time.  They actually had a lot more fun stuff for kids to do than I remembered!

One trip around this track was all J's little arms could do! :)

 J is slightly bigger than the last time he rode this carousel with cousin Josie in July 2010!

I have no words.....sigh.... my baby with his little old man comb-over!!!

Reading about his Dutch heritage in the old school house.

The yellow shoe and big red slide that J so badly wanted to go on!  He never went down it.

Berry picking is huge here in Michigan!  We caught the tale end of strawberry picking season (I think it's blueberry season right now?).  It was fun, and we came away with lots of yummy strawberries!  Note to self:  Learn what to do with all those strawberries before they go bad.

For the 4th of July, we........ went to the beach!  Surprising, I know!  This time we went up to Grand Haven to the Diekema's and used their beach (and they graciously invited us to stay for dinner, too, which was so nice!).  After dinner, we headed back to Holland to the Kollen Park area to wait for fireworks to start.  I don't think they started until after 10:30 pm!  We also had a partially blocked view, so we'll know better next year where to sit.

Waiting patiently.

Our 7th wedding anniversary was on July 14!  We decided to make a long weekend trip to Milwaukee to see my parents the weekend right before.  The drive is a lot nicer from MI!

Friday we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo.  This was Jeremiah's request!  He wanted to see the animals that we had missed when we were at the zoo in Chicago. :)

They had a shark and stingray exhibit where you could touch them as they swam by, and J was super excited to do it!

He did not touch any of them.  But they were fun to watch!

J and his favorite-- the  giraffes!

J and his REAL favorite-- the tractor!

We HAD to ride the train before heading home!

The next day we went to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum and J had a great time!  His favorite area was the "car fix" mechanic shop where you could change the oil and change the tires of the car (which somehow I do not have a picture of).

He gave Grandma and Daddy a ride on the bus!

What's a trip to Milwaukee without a spin on a Harley?

Saturday night my parents were nice enough to watch J for us so that Adam and I could go out for dinner for our anniversary!  We went downtown to an Italian place called Rustico-- it was SO GOOD!  We both highly recommend it, and don't even get me started on the warm bread that was served with the meal-- oh my!

We took a walk along the river (in the rain) after dinner.

Sunday we did church and lunch and then spent a few hours at Fox Brook Park before we hit the road for "home" (sorry, MI still does not feel like home yet!!).

Oh yes!  A beach!!!!

This was a good idea, because J was tired enough to zonk out in the car for an hour-- very rare!

Let's see.... what else?  Adam and J had some fun bonding time when they went to see the new Planes movie!  J says it was awesome! :)  And he was SO looking forward to his special time with his Daddy- so sweet!

Thankfully they found a seat!

Michigan may not feel like home quite yet, but at least we have found our new favorite grocery store!  Meijer has 1 cent pony rides, but our new favorite place is Family Fare!

Free popcorn while you shop AND a Starbucks inside?????  We might move in.

As far as other things go.... I am 27 weeks along now and looking forward to my glucose test on Wednesday.  Blech.  That little orange drink stares me in the face every time I open the fridge.  But, it's for a good reason, so I'm happy to do it. :) Hard to believe that the 3rd trimester is coming soon!!

Also, we pretty much have decided that teaching is not going to be an option for me in the fall, and I feel SO weird about that!  I'm not sure I will know how to function!!!  But, with my due date in October..... plus then having to pay daycare for 2 after the baby is born...... it just doesn't seem like the right thing.  Not to mention if I would even get hired after showing my baby bump at an interview!  I would just feel weird about that.  I do, however, want/need to still bring in some sort of income while being home with J and new babe so I kind of went out on a HUGE limb and have become a 31 consultant.  WHAT?!?!?  I know.  Crazy.  I am totally overwhelmed and in over my head, BUT I'm just starting.  So, we shall see how it goes!  And hey, if it doesn't work out, I'm only out $99 (but not really cause that $99 got me some awesome new bags!!!).  Now who needs a new purse? :)  I'm going to try to also maybe find something part  time or else maybe do some subbing on the days that J goes to preschool..... something like that.  Another note to self: Get that figured out.

It's nice to have time this summer to take care of all of this and spend time with my boys! :)