Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park

Last week, on a beautiful 70 degree sunny September day, we went to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park in Alto.  I'd heard it was pretty cool from a lot of friends and I'd seen pictures ... but let me tell you, it was cool.  Granted, we went on a beautiful day and it wasn't busy.  But what was so cool about it, especially compared to the Zoo (which we also loved), was that so many of the animals were so close (touchable) and so active.  They also have a safari bus that tours through the larger / wilder animals (ostrich, wild boar, bison, zebras) which was also a lot of fun.  Tyler LOVED it.  Sam and Lucas were totally into it too, but Tyler was having a blast.  The absolute coolest part was the giraffes, by far.  They are in the main area (in a huge fence) and you can feed them.  And they play the part -- as soon as visitors came looking, out came the giraffes.  SO COOL.  We had a great time and would recommend it to anyone!

Western 'Stache Bash

Round 'em up:  The 10th Annual Party at the Ploegs has come and gone.  The Western 'Stache Bash was a success with fabulous facial hair, fancy cowboy boots, and funny costumes.  See for yourself!

New Beginnings

Along with everyone else (or so it seems), we started something new this week.  Today, my boys had their first day of real day care, complete with preschool for the twins.  We have so loved having the boys at home these last three years (almost three years exactly since I went back to work) and have had some wonderfully loving caretakers over the years.  But it was time for them to have a little more stimulation and structure.
After searching high and low for something that was 1) logistically convenient considering my changing work locations, 2) could do preschool + daycare for all three kids considering I didn't want to deal with mid-day drop-offs and pick-ups, 3) would handle my kids' crazy food allergies, and 4) was at least relatively affordable, I found Little Smiles Day Care.
I heard of them through three Facebook friends from three very different parts of my life.  They each knew the owner, a fellow momma of twin boys (hers are only 6 months), in different ways and highly recommended her.  While the transition was met with a little apprehension (mostly by me), they did great today.  And, to ease my worries, I was sent these super cute pictures of the kids throughout the day.

Tyler takes a nap.

Sammy takes a nap.

Lucas takes a nap.

One of Lukie's favorite ladies from the Kroc Center, Ms. Kayla,
also works at Little Smiles!  He loves to back it in and read books!

Lukie's New Bed

My baby is growing up.  He figured out how to escape the confines of the crib a few weeks ago and has lost all fear of the fall.  After posing the question on Facebook, I was persuaded that a toddler bed was at least a safer alternative.  A quick Craigslist search, a few quick emails, and a shove and a push into the van later -- we have a new bed for Lukie.

He loves it ... until it's time for bed.  To be honest, I think he's a little scared.  Plus, I got out the old baby gate and put it in his door frame so he doesn't like that he can't get out.  That said, if it's too high in the door jam, he squeezes under.  If it's too low, he climbs over.  He's a determined little fella.  And he's determined to grow up!

The last picture of my baby in his crib.

Helping take down the crib.

Lukie's new bed.

Camp VLugt 2013

Official Camp Portrait

Camp VLugt 2013 was at Little Blue Lake (part of the Lincoln Lake chain of lakes near Rockford/ Greenville) at a huge house that (per the Craigslist posting) could sleep 35.  The house was literally built for family reunions like ours -- five very large bedrooms filled with beds and bunk beds, two kitchens, large deck (seen in photo above), beach area, slide and diving board off the dock, and lots of green grass for baseball games.  The only issue this year ... was the weather.  Unfortunately, we really only had 2 nice days out of the 6.  There was a lot more jeans and sweatshirts, fishing in drizzle, and indoor craziness than in previous years.  But besides the weather, we had a fabulous week.  You may recall our "vacation" from last year - with ridiculously crabby kids, no sleep, and boo-boos.  While I can't say that I got a lot of sleep still this year (comes with the territory of sleeping in the same room as the kids), they all did MUCH better at playing and just simply having fun. 

There were many hours spent on the dock fishing -- and I mean MANY hours (particularly by Josh, Caleb and Will).  On the rainy days,  Sam and Tyler both liked feeding the fishies with bread (There were so many little fishies right by the dock it was perfect for the kids.  One small piece of bread was fought over by like 20 fish.).  We had our own version of Camp Games: an Easter Egg hunt, Pin the Tail on the Elephant, a treasure hunt, water balloons (which was really just a "try to chuck them at Aunt Amy" game).  On the nice days, we spent all day on the beach and in the water.  Sam and Tyler both loved it and on the crummy days, Tyler kept asking me "what time will it be warm enough to go in the water?"  They had kayaks there for us to use and both twins had lots of fun going on the "boat" with mommy.  Lukie had a lot of fun too just keeping up with all the kids -- playing in the sand and water, running around, and taking serious naps. 

All in all, Camp 2013 was night and day different than 2012 (at least for me).  I read part of a book (never even dreamt that would be possible for years), got to talk to my siblings a little, and actually had fun!

Our family.

Tyler & Sam

Mommy and twins

Daddy and twins

 

Cousins - Kenzie, Levi & Lukie

Catching fish.

Sweatshirts.

Lukie driving the boat

Sam plays in the sand while daddy takes a nap.

Tyler learns to kayak

A line up of boys.

Miss Rita's Swim Class

 

Jack has wanted to put the twins in swim lessons all summer but I've been kind of hesitant -- lots of excuses, but no good reasons why not.  But after having a dinner out with some girlfriends, I was convinced.  Our friend Hilary took her little Ruby to Miss Rita's swim class in Grandville (she is known by some as the Swim Nazi) and said we should try it.  So, on a whim, I called to see if they had any openings for this week and they did! 

On advice from Hilary, I didn't watch a minute on Monday.  On Tuesday, they both cried on the way to swim class, but I watched from inside the house and they were getting chucked into the deep end and swimming to the ladder.  On Wednesday, I sat outside and watched while they learned some more.  Today, Daddy came along too and look at what they can do! 

 

Fun at the Raredon's

Last Sunday afternoon, we went to the Raredon's to play at the beach.  Their new house isn't quite ready yet (but I did get a tour of it all framed in, which was fun) but the beach and the water were ready for fun! 

At Duncan lake with the Raredon's

Ty & Sam having a riot with Noah

Lukie in the sand.