Kiddie Pool Fun

We recently got a new kiddie pool (from one of my bosses whose kids are too old for it now) and the boys love it -- with or without the water! They played in it today for a good hour.

We had breakfast this morning with my VLugt sisters at Nana's with all the cousins as a last hurrah before Auntie Dana heads back to school for the year and to celebrate the end of summer. Woah... end of summer?! When did that happen?

20 Months, 21 Weeks

My 20 month old boys are growing and changing every day; Sam is 25 pounds, Ty is 30 pounds. My 21 week old boy is growing and changing every day too; little bud is 1 pound. That's right -- it's another boy! We had our ultrasound this week and he is looking great -- healthy and normal, 75% for weight. We went to an allergist two weeks ago for the twins -- not so healthy and normal so we went and had the blood testing redone and hopefully we'll get the results soon. We may have to reevaluate our diet for the boys but thankfully, the allergist recommended we see a dietician. It would be wonderful to have some help with what to feed our kids -- somehow I think sausages, hot dogs and fruit snacks probably isn't cutting it. There are days when I would just love to make them an easy PB&J, or mac n cheese, or grilled cheese, or pretty much anything normal. It's hard to say no, heartbreaking even sometimes. Argh. But I guess the idea is that by doing all this crazy diet now, hopefully someday they can eat normally.

We had a fun and busy day Thursday at the Conference Grounds with the Ploegs. The boys played on the beach, played a little in Lake Michigan (although mostly just with buckets as the water was in the 50's), played in the kiddie pool, played on the playground, played at the campsite. They were both out cold within minutes of leaving at 7:30pm. Just exhausted. But it was a beautiful, fun day!

Camp VanderLugt 2011

Another year of Camp VanderLugt is in the history books. We went back to Big Star Lake in Baldwin, Michigan this year and it was a beautiful week at the beach (only two days were gloomy). Sam struggled a little at night with sleeping but as a whole, they slept and napped pretty well (especially compared to last year!). We played in the sand, in the water, by the cottage, in the cottage, and around the cottage. There was a lot of baseball, sand and water in and out of pails, sunscreen, wet bathing suits, sandy feet, trains and cars inside, campfires, smores, popsicles, Praise Baby and Backyardagains. I can't tell you any one super exciting thing that happened but every day was busy, busy, busy and filled with family and fun. It is very cool to see how the all cousins interact (Will and Caleb are two peas in a pod) -- we are up to 8 grandbabies as of this year, 11 come next year, and they are all so different but all very good and happy kids.

I do miss seeing and hugging all the little munchkins (and of course, my siblings) and having a lake feet away from our place for the hot days when the boys want to be outside, but it is nice to be home. I wasn't exactly anxious to get home (thankfully, I really love my family!), but the benefits of a bed that we fit in, air conditioning, water that doesn't smell like eggs, feet that aren't constantly sandy and dirty, and kids that sleep fairly consistently are nice. The boys were quite funny when we got home too -- I think they missed their house and toys. All in all, it was a successful week at camp!