Eternal Summer

I'm in the midst of what I like to call the eternal summer.  School has not started here in MI yet, so it still is very much summer here (nevermind the chilly-ish weather sometimes).  But schools have started up in Iowa already, and I can't tell you how strange it was to see all the "1st day of school" pics on FB and not actually be there for them..... SO weird.  I didn't set up my classroom this year OR sit through beginning of the year meetings for the first time in.....12 years?!?!?  Yes, it is definitely strange.  But yet, since school has not started here in MI yet, it just feels like I get to have an extra long summer this year!  Like a REEEAAALLLLY extra long summer.  Maybe once the weather cools down it will hit me that I'm not going back to school this year?  I don't know.  But it's just strange, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  "Teacher" has been part (a HUGE part) of my identity for 12 years..... to not be doing that this year just really feels" off."  I am sure the transition from working-mom to stay-at-home mom will take some time to adjust, and in the midst of that transition we'll be adding our little lady to the family..... crazy!  One year ago, I would NOT have ever thought we'd be where we are today.  Just goes to show that our plans are not necessarily God's plans!  But anyway, since this summer just goes on and on and on and on...... we have been doing fun things and keeping busy!

Sorting all his cars by color!  Totally his idea.

Apartment-living is getting old, and we are always eager to get OUT of the apartment to do things!  We spent one day at my Uncle Carl and  Aunt Cora Mae's house, where Jeremiah got to ride the train.  It was such a fun day for Jeremiah!!!!

Riding the train with Juan, Esther, Peter, and Miriam.

Pretty sure J was asking a question here.  He asked a LOT of questions!

My cousin (2nd cousin actually?) James was the train engineer, and he was SO good about explaining everything to the kids and answering questions!

Checking out the steam engine..... again, asking a question.

We also spent the afternoon with my cousins Laura and Betsy and J had SUCH FUN playing with Laura's kids, Brad and Megan!  He had so much fun that I left and ran some errands and he hardly knew I was gone. :)

We spent another day with Betsy, Laura, Brad, and Megan-- this time we went to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  What an awesome place that is!  All kinds of wild animals out in the country of West Michigan-- who would have thought?

A highlight for J-- feeding the giraffe!  He did NOT like the long, slimy tongue though.

There were many more animals than giraffes.... not sure why I don't have more pictures of the others!  We saw and fed alligators, saw lemurs, kangaroos, snakes, bats, lizards (shudder), zebras, and many many more.  We also got to ride on a safari bus and saw some of the animals out in the fields.  Really, a very cool place!  All the kids came home with a new stuffed animal souvenir, too.  Surprisingly J did NOT pick another giraffe to add to his collection.  He picked a snake!  Yuck.

Oh, and on the way home from the animal park, we just HAD to stop at the Ice Cream Caboose!

We also went and enjoyed some of the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven.  We were not super eager to mingle with the crazy crowds on the weekends, so we went on a week-night to go see the Coast Guard ships that were docked in Grand Haven for the week.  They give free tours each evening!  And yes, I had a death grip on my son's hand the entire time we were on those huge ships!  Oh, my brother Matt was in town for a class at Calvin, so he came along and enjoyed the ships and the frigid weather with us.

Of course J was in his glory being on these huge ships and checking out all the machinery!



 

Jeremiah has been doing swimming lessons at the Holland Aquatic Center for the last few weeks, as well.

Lesson 1= Good.

Lesson 2 = Bad.

The first day, they spent most of their time in the little kiddie pool where J is very comfortable.  They practiced kicking, blowing bubbles, climbing along the wall (that was the hardest part, according to J), etc.  The next time, though, they brought the class into a different part of the aquatic center where there are just 3 huge lap pools.  This was very intimidating to J (and others, actually)!  He spent the entire time crying.... although he still did what his teachers asked.  He just did everything while wailing.  Lovely.  It hasn't gotten much better since, because they continue to go to the big pool that J hates.  He is literally counting down until he is done ("First we had 3 swimming lessons left, then 2 left, now we only have 1 MORE LEFT!!").  Little does he know, we'll be signing him up again because he needs to practice and improve his skills.

Silly silly boy.

I have really been enjoying my days with 1 kiddo.  I've probably said it before, but J is at such a great age-- up for doing things and going places, and pretty low maintenance (as long as I occasionally provide food and drink).  It is hard to believe that in a few short months, running errands is going to become a whole lot more challenging!

Let's see, what else.  J has been accompanying me to my Dr. appts, and I am now going every 2 weeks (I am 31 weeks already-- eeek!!).

I got to enjoy this a couple weeks ago:

No gestational diabetes for me!  Woo hoo!!

We celebrated with coffee, scones, and super sweet muffins after my appointment.

The baby bump is getting bigger, and Molly finds it to be quite a nice headrest.

And my awesome Craigslist find:

Pottery Barn crib bedding!  Score!

I can not wait to get out of this apartment and into a place with more room and a bedroom for the baby!  I am feeling the need to start nesting, and there is only so much I can do in this tiny space!!  For now, I'm making piles of baby stuff.... and trying to rack my brain for what all we have for baby in storage.

So that's about it!  We are looking forward to a trip "home" to see our friends in Iowa over Labor Day weekend!  Probably our last easy roadtrip with 1 child.  Wow.  We can't wait!!!!

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! :)

The Main Event (and the rest of our Chicago time)

So yeah, I thought that before the summer flies by, maybe I should finish my post about our trip to Chicago and Abby and Neil's wedding!

Picking up where I left off....

The wedding was Saturday June 21.  Abby and I had appointments in the morning to get our hair done at the Twisted Scissors in Bucktown (I think?).  Wow, this place was interesting, to say the least!  The decor was..... a lot of skulls and other deathly things.

Yep, that's a baby mannequin thing gnawing on its own foot.  Now if that doesn't say "Happy Wedding Day!" then I don't kow what does.

Anyway, Abby and I both tried to stay awake while the other got her hair done.  And the gal did a really nice job!  I have the bag full of bobby pins to prove it! :)

Getting started.

Almost done-- adding the veil! :)

The wedding was at 3:30 in the afternoon, and it was just beautiful.  Abby looked beautiful, The church was gorgeous, and not too terribly hot (since there was no AC!), and I think everything went as planned, for the most part!  If you were looking for a ton of pics, sorry to say that I have very few.  I even had to steal a few off of Facebook in order to get one that included the groom.  Oops.  But seriously, the matron-of-honor job plus keeping an eye on the ring-bearer kept me busy!  Adam and I were both able to snap a few pics from before the wedding:

Abby and Mom

Ring bearer, flower girls, and scripture readers.  So cute!!

Mom and her girls

Sadly I have no pics of myself walking down the aisle or of J doing his ring bearer duty.  I made it about half-way down the aisle before the tears started to fall, and then I turned around and saw my boy coming down the aisle.  THAT certainly didn't help!  But thankfully I was able to get it together for the rest of the ceremony.  I DID steal a FB pic of the more important one walking down the aisle!

Dad and Abby

After the ceremony we had time to get a few more pics, and the photographer took some formal family pics in the church as well.

Mr. and Mrs. Okuley!

Our little family :)

Me and the cutest ring bearer EVER

 J is holding paper airplanes in that pic.  Instead of throwing rice, we threw paper airplanes (many of which were made by my own 2 hands).  J was happily part of the airplane clean-up crew!

Bride and groom with the cuties!

The reception was held at La Luce in the West Loop.  I think the only thing that may have not gone as planned was probably the torrential downpour that happened right as people were arriving at the reception!  Plus that meant no outdoor pics of the wedding party-- bummer.  I have exactly 0 pics of the reception. :(  But let's see-- the food (Italian... obviously) was AWESEOME and J loved the cannoli for dessert (he snagged 2).  My matron-of-honor speech went well until I cried..... but that was inevitable!  It was a very fun night, and what was really the best thng about it was seeing Abby and Neil so happy!

J surprisingly lasted until almost 10:00 pm.... but he was pretty much a walking zombie for the last little while.  I was pleased he lasted so long!  Overall it was just such a lovely day!!!!

On Sunday, we were tired.  At least I know I was tired because I was crabby.  But, we hit up the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park in the afternoon.  The kids had more energy than I did, and seemed to have a really good time.  There were tons of hands-on activities and things to do!

Learning about lakes and making dams.

Jeremiah wearing an animal skin.  Gross.

We watched butterflies being released!

Climbing around on a fountain.

That night (thank goodness the pics on my phone are dated-- it's the only way I can remember what we did on each day!) we had pizza special delivered from Piece by Uncle Ben.  Super good pizza!!!  And the kids liked it, too.

Monday was our last full day in Chicago, and it turned out to be kind of a cool, rainy day.  We hit up the Purple Monkey Playroom so the kids could play.  And bonus-- it was walking distance from our apartment!

J always loves a good train table!

Later that day, we headed south to Beverly to my cousin Adam and Jessica's house for a BBQ with our Wiers relatives.  It was so fun to hang out with my uncle and aunt and cousins (and spouses) and all of our kids had a blast playing together!

J loved this water slide!

 Thankfully the weather improved so we could enjoy our time outside!

More than enough vehicles to go around.

J and Evan enjoyed some ice cream!

Jeremiah and Will became fast friends!  Plus, they look alike, don't you think?

It was a really fun evening for everyone!

Then Tuesday was basically packing, cleaning the apartment, and heading out.  Matt and Cheryl did not fly out until about 4 pm that day, though, so we had some time to kill.  Uncle Roger and Aunt Sheryl graciously offered to have us over for some lunch and playtime with Will and Charlie.  The kids did rocket balloons and flew wooden airplanes.... and played in the new basement, too!  I'm pretty sure J would live at "Aunt Roger's house" if we let him!

This hockey game did not go as well as the picture would lead you to believe.

Rocket balloons!

Obviously J loved them!

All too soon it was time for hugs and good-byes and for everyone to head different directions (Matt and Cheryl to CA, Mom and Dad to WI, and us to..... MI.  Yes it was weird not to head west to Iowa!!!!). 

Hugs!

J really misses having his cousins around to play with and get into trouble with!  It was a really fabulous week and we were all sad to see it end! :(