Our Family Adventure

Had to take both kids with me to a work-related meeting in Grand Rapids (Michigan Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights). Both kids did exceptionally well through the 3 hour meeting. Although I was worried that they would phase out and be bored, both have recently told neighbors and family members that it was the coolest thing they’ve done this summer. A highlight for them was the fact that they each got 2 donuts. So either they are really interested in immigration and advocacy, or they really love donuts. Either way, they found it to be a pretty cool experience.  Ajax, however, now keeps saying that he objects to everything even though I keep telling him we weren’t in court.

Well Noomi is now 6 years old!  This was her big party year and we gave her the option of having a small group of friends at home or rent out the local movie theater and invite her whole class.  After much thought and discussion Noomi opted for a home party and invited a small group of friends.  We rented an inflatable obstacle course, ordered sandwiches from Subway, set up an ice cream sundae bar, and had an incredible time.

At Noomi’s 6 year old annual check up the Doctor declared she was healthy as could be. She was in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight.

Overall, both kids are having an excellent summer.  They love having someone come to the house 2 days a week and then going to summer camp 2 days a week.  Also as a parent it helps break up my week and it’s awesome having someone come to the house so that I don’t have to worry about getting the kiddos up and moving in the morning.

Well we took the kids to their first circus.  One came to town during the Red Cedar Jubilee.  It wasn’t terribly big, but it did manage to have lions and tigers, a trapeze artist, and a semi-funny clown.   The kids loved and it and were thoroughly entertained.

We also wrapped up our big outside project.  It took several weekends but it’s finally done.  We ripped out everything in the front of our house, leveled it off, laid a small brick retaining wall, had more dirt and mulch brought in, put in plants, spread dirt everywhere, put down grass seed, and watered. Oh we also painted a bench and made a planter.  So much work in very very hot weather.

We worked in the yard on the 4th of July and then went over to a BBQ at Beth and Mike’s house.  We actually didn’t make it to any fireworks this year since both kids had meltdowns around 8 pm.  They did sparklers at home and were happy.

I also took the kids to Bishop Lake in Brighton and we had a great day swimming in the lake. Dave had to work, so it actually gave him some quiet time during the day lol.

Oh we also spent one Saturday morning heading out to Grand Rapids for a rally to end family separation at the border (after having pancakes with Ms. Becki and her mom) and then we zipped down to Allegan for Ms. Vivian’s 3rd birthday party at the pool.  The kids did great at their first rally, but it was hovering at 100 degrees so at a certain point in the sun both kids melted down.  Luckily at the rally spot there was also an interactive fountain for kids to play in. Win-win.

Well, here we are. It’s Friday night and I’m feeling the need to rewind.  Last weekend, Saturday the kids had swim class and are doing excellent.  Afterwards we went grocery shopping and then headed back into town. I was hoping to have just enough time to get Ajax a hair cut before heading to Clarkston for a graduation party.  As we pulled into town, however, Grand River was closed due to the parade. I totally forgot about the parade. It was the conclusion of our small towns big TO DO, the Red Cedar Jubilee.  I must admit it is quite nice.  The kids completed a local scavenger hunt and we also took them to their first Circus which came to town (complete with lions, tigers and small toy dogs that jumped through hoops… they loved it).  By the time we got through the parade, the barber shop was closed and we had to rush to the party.  The kids had a blast at my cousin, Jess’s graduation party (which was complete with a bounce house).  That pretty much concluded our Saturday.

On Sunday, we worked outside to finish clearing everything from the front of the house (down to dirt), then broke down our planter boxes, moved a ton of dirt, and at that point had to go in due to rain.  Inside we did house work and general Sunday chores.

Over the week I found some bricks for the front of our house and they’ll be delivered next week. I’m beyond excited, but have no idea which plants to actually put into said landscaping.  We also had a cement guy come out to give us a quote for the shed pad which we hope to have done in early July.  Overall, our outside projects are shaping up nicely.

The kids spent 3 days at summer camp this week, which included a trip to Potter Park Zoo.  They had a great time and really enjoyed seeing their school friends and making new friends.  It seems a good combination of having a home sitter and camp.  Husker is growing so fast. He’s now up to 30 lbs at almost 5 months.  He’s very well behaved, is almost house broken, loves everyone and wants to sleep on the couch all the time.

For some reason my photos aren’t uploading properly. Here’s what I got –

Holy Moly where has the time gone!  It seems we’ve had more birthday parties, sleep-overs, road trips, mudders, field trips, the last day of school, and some seriously warm days of summer.

The kids’ last day of school was June 8th, but before that I got to accompany Ajax on a field trip to Lake Lansing and Dave was able to chaperone Noomi’s last field trip to the zoo.  Both kids ended the years strong and it looks like we’ll soon have a 4th and 1st grader.

For a recent Girl Scout event I took both kids to a Lansing Lugnuts game.  Although we aren’t that into baseball we ate a ton of junk food and then watched some awesome fireworks.

Oh and backing up a bit more, we also headed up north to help Grandma Dara and Papa pack up the house to sell.   Everyone pitched in and it was one busy weekend with lots of boxes!

Dave and I also completed another Tough Mudder while the kids hung out with grandparents in Brooklyn.  Noomi swam nonstop and Ajax caught three awesome bass.

Oh my goodness we’ve been busy. I don’t even know where to begin.  We’ve had birthday parties, girl scouts, soccer and this dog keeping us busy!

Ajax’s spring season of soccer started up with practice Monday and Wednesday.  Unfortunately we’re so busy on the weekends that it appears he’ll only make 1 of his games. Which is a bummer, but he still wanted to play.  I think next year he’ll do some type of running/track club.

Noomi’s had some girl scout field trips, the latest was yoga with pets in Old Town.  The girls stretched and did relaxed breathing with snakes and rabbits and a giant tortoise.   It was pretty darn cute.

We also wrapped up the Ice Cream Social at school and this was my first year coordinating it by myself.   My parents came down and got the kids off the bus and then brought them up to the school for the social.  Dave also took the day off and together we tag teamed it!

Mileage club is also in full swing and Ajax is nearing the 20 mile mark.  Noomi has logged a couple miles, maybe 5 or so?  Either way, both kids are enjoying it greatly.

This past weekend we were in Brooklyn for farm clean up. We all headed out on Saturday morning and started taking down trees.  Dave took down one tree solo and my dad actually showed me how to use the chainsaw.  The kids were a ton of help in the morning and then found a mud puddle to play in.  Grandma Mary had to spray them down with the hose.

In the late afternoon Dave took Ajax back to Williamston for another birthday party (his friend, Forrest) and they went to a Lugnuts game in Lansing. Noomi and I hung in Brooklyn and we ended up taking down a few more trees.  Afterwards we went to dinner and then when we got home we fed horses and Noomi and I wandered over to check on the smoldering fire.   As I was tending the fire Noomi asked, mom what’s that?  I turned around to see an 80 foot half dead tree near the fire pit billowing smoke and ash and charred black.  With minimal swearing, I grabbed Noomi’s had and we raced off to get grandpa explaining that “the big tree is on fire.”  Everyone quickly linked hoses and then grandpa Gordy and I stayed up way way late hosing down the tree.

On Sunday, Emily drove Noomi and I home and we all did some more yard work around our house. We cut the grass and removed several bushes from the front of the house. That was about all we had the energy for because everyone was tapped out at that point. We had an early dinner and now everyone’s getting ready for bed.  Even the dog needed a bath and is passed out in his bed as well.

Oh Ajax also had his spring concert at the High School which was lovely. They sang two songs.  And Husker had a trip to the office with me and we found him a puppy daycare near our house to attend. So far so good.  His best friend is a giant chocolate lab who seems happy all the time.

 

What a busy weekend!  On Saturday morning both kids had swim class.  We’re not quite sure how much longer we’ll keep them in swim, they both seem to like it and if it were up to me I’d have them swim through high school. But with so many time demands something will need to give.  After swim class I hustled Noomi to a martial arts class in town with her troop and Dave raced Ajax to a birthday party.  As both events wrapped up we took both kids to another birthday party, where they both got to stay (also at the marital arts place in town).  By the time everyone got home at 5 pm they were absolutely beat. We put them both to bed at a reasonable time, over much protesting, and *bam* they were both out like a light!

On Sunday we woke up to an ice filled state – it had rained through the night and then froze and every surface was covered in ice.  Unbelievable.  Second biggest power outage on record according to the news.  Luckily we never lost power, though the kids kept saying that it would be pretty neat if we did.   The roads were terrible, so we stayed home all day and it was the best.  We’ve been so busy that we really needed a quiet day.  We did laundry and some cooking, a bit of cleaning (not much), and lots of TV and video games and playing with the puppy.

Even Husker didn’t want to go outside (as evidenced by the numerous accidents he had in the house).  At one point both kids were playing on the iced up deck and he was howling at the sliding door and scratching like he wanted to go out, so I opened the door and put him outside. No sooner had I stood up to close the door, and he jumped right back into the house and just sat there watching them.  I didn’t really blame him it was quite cold outside.

Noomi asked why Husker has such sad eyes.

Well Ajax is 9 years old and I simply don’t know where the time went!  His birthday- day was pretty quiet as we’re celebrating it on Saturday.  His birthday did involve a trip to the dentist, as I have a few days off this week for spring break and well… that type of thing just needs to be done.  I also took him for his annual check up and he weighed in at 70 lb and 52 inches tall!  According to the growth chart he’s squarely in the 50th percentile for both height and weight lol.

The rest of week has been quiet, revolving mostly around this new puppy.  Noomi had a friend over to play yesterday and today we headed to Brighton to visit family from England.  Husker was home alone for a couple hours and did great.

We’ve been watching a lot of  Cesar 911 and now Noomi thinks she’s the dog whisperer and has asked repeatedly if Cesar’s number is 9-1-1?  We’ve told her that was not his number and please please don’t try dialing it in an attempt to reach him.

Well Husker is settling into the family quite well and we love him to pieces!  What we didn’t know, however, was just how much work a 6 week old puppy took.  For example, we didn’t know that a 6 week old puppy needs to go out multiple times in the night (say every 2-4 hours).  He is also up and ready to eat breakfast at 5 am (acting as if we never feed him).  We also realized quickly that he could not be left alone all day while we were at work.  Lucky for us, Emily also got a little 9 week old puppy the day after us and offered to take him to the work with her.

Mid-week hit us like a ton of bricks as we realized that it’s been a very long time times we’ve had to get up multiple times throughout the night.  It’s been tough.

The kids love Husker and getting out the door in the morning has been tough since they just want to play with him.  It’s pretty cute.  I’m also quite glad that we have old flooring that needs to be replaced.

Today was Easter and the kids found their baskets almost immediately.  Someone will need to step up their game next year.  Last night Noomi also lost another tooth (upper lateral) and is now missing three teeth in a row.  It’s making eating difficult.  After baskets we loaded up and headed to my parent’s house for dinner.  We had a lovely time with family and dogs.  Happy Easter!  Here are some pictures of the puppy (who everyone loves to carry around like a baby) and Ajax in his zombie hunting gear.

After years of waiting we finally have a puppy!  Welcome to the family Husker Noodle!  He is 6 weeks old (born February 10, 2018).  He’s a Boxer and so far seems to be settling in well to his new house.

We picked him up yesterday after Noomi and I had an all day Girl Scout event in Grand Ledge.  Afterwards we went out to eat and then hurried home to go pick up the puppy in Gregory!  We actually picked him out last weekend and Ajax just connected.  We also met the mom and grandma, both of whom were very warm and friendly dogs.  We also had a moment of puppy insanity where we put a deposit on 2, but the next day realized what a terrible mistake that would be.  So we reigned it in, lucky for us the breeder was very nice about it and applied our deposit for #2 to Husker, lol.

Last night was a bit rough in the crate, but we all survived.  It’s been over 20 years since I’ve had a puppy, but they seem to be a lot like babies – eat, play, sleep – repeat!  He’s currently passed out in his bed, but when he gets up I think we’re going to take him up to the pet store so that he can pick out some new toys!  Just like having a baby!