Father's Day Fun

Another Father's Day!  Hard to believe this is Kirk's 5th Father's Day.  Time flies, doesn't it?

Yesterday we headed over to meet my family at Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  A seriously super fun place for all of us.  It was worth the trip and the price of admission and then some!

We met my family for lunch first and then headed over.  They have so many unique and different animals including zebras, giraffes, ostriches...so many animals you don't see.  They had giant snakes, some scary spiders, a lot of turtles, a hissing cockroach, lemurs, goats, porcupines.  I could go on forever.

We were able to feed the giraffes (and goats and maybe the zebras too...I can't remember).  They had two giraffes who really loved to eat carrots.

My favorite part were the birds.  For a dollar, you could buy a popsicle stick with bird food stuck to it.  You walked into a big aviary and birds came right to you.  The birds flocked to us and the popsicle sticks. Lincoln loved it!  It could be some people's worst nightmare, but we loved it.

While we were in the bird cage, Kirk held chicks.  I didn't get a picture of that, but they so cute and fluffy.

We took a safari bus ride where we saw all kinds of animals.  I can't even name all of them.  It was super fun!  The kids loved the animals and the bus ride.

Go there if you've never been!  I would totally take the kids again. Lincoln has declared he wants his birthday party there this year. :)

Earlier this week, I took the kids to paint pottery for Kirk.  I decided to let them do their own thing and be completely hands off.  It was so hard for me to not help at all, but I felt like it would mean more to Kirk if it was just from the kids.  Lincoln and I raced to the Ceramic Studio to pick them up as soon as we got home yesterday.  We were so excited to see the finished products!  They turned out just as you would expect, but so special.

Today we went to Kirk's parent's. I didn't get any pictures but we had a great time and ate great food and enjoyed the company. 

To my husband and my papa, I couldn't ask for anyone better!  To all the other dads out there, I hope you had an amazing day, too!

(Lincoln, Easton and Uncle Nate)

My New Love

I think I love camping.  Scratch that, I love camping when the weather is amazing and we have four walls and a roof over our heads.  And we're on the water.  Yes, that's when I love camping.

We had an amazing time.  One of our favorite vacations ever.  I was completely nervous about the whole thing and worried it wasn't all going to work out or that we would forget something.  Miraculously, it was all fine and while we forgot a few things, it all was just fine.

Last night Kirk took the kids into the lake to wash up.  Obviously, you can't tell by this picture, but they wanted no part of it!

Today we got up, packed, went to the beach, Pronto Pups and ice cream.  I told I requested a repeat of yesterday!  (I wrote the previous blog yesterday but we are almost out of space on our data plan for the month so I didn't publish it until we got home.)  The weather was great (again) and the beach was empty (again) until right before we left.

Lincoln helped me vacuum in his backwards undies. 

I guess this means back to reality tomorrow.  Boo!  Kirk already has to go back to work.  Sigh.

Here are a few random shots from the last few days.

Still working on getting a good picture of these two knuckleheads.  You should see the others.  Ugh.

I can't be the only one who loves toddler teeth!  They're so little and perfect!

 Still kite flying!

School is out for summer!  We have another vacation planned in July.  Before we know it, Lincoln will be starting pre-kindergarten.  Remind me again where the time has gone?

Still Camping

Thursday. My fave day so far!  We started the day off with a trip to the beach. It was breezy, which is probably why there was no one there until right before we left, but it was perfect. 

The kids, (and Kirk, of course) built this awesome sand castle. 

Lincoln was digging to China while Isadora looked on. 

After the beach we went and got ice cream. They had sorbet for Isadora. I was so excited.  She told me it was "so good". 

We also went on a walk near a public beach. There was a a Pronto Pups!  It was like being in Grand Haven.  So good. Kirk had one, too. The guy said this is the second location in addition to the Grand Haven location.

We went up into the lighthouse which was awesome and Kirk and Lincoln tried flying a kite. Again. 

Such a great day I've requested a repeat tomorrow. :)

Another Day at Camp

Today. Another really fun day. It was pretty much just this:

And this:

And this:

If it's possible, too much of this:

And topped off with this:

There was also a little swimming in Lake Huron I didn't snap a picture of. Tomorrow. 

Super fun. Super nice. Super relaxing. 

So, We're Camping

Whose crazy idea was this anyway?  Really, I can't remember. 

Lincoln has been wanting to camp every summer for the last couple of years. He begs us to go camping almost as much as he begs us to go to Disneyworld. 

Since tent camping is out of the question for us at this point in our lives, and we don't have a camper or trailer, we decided to rent a camper cabin through the Michigan DNR. 

It has heat, electricity, a coffee pot, microwave and dorm size fridge. It is in East Tawas at Tawas Point State Park. To some this may not be camping but for us, it is!  It is on the bay side so the water here isn't great, but the kids just need sand. 

This is the view from the Adirondack chairs on the porch. 

 

Almost sunset:

I'm hoping to get over to the Lake Huron non-bay-side of the campground before we leave to see a sunrise. Sure this means getting up by 5:30 but seeing as Isadora was up for three hours last night/this morning, it could be possible.  

I asked the kids if they wanted to fly a kite. The answer was not just yes, but a dancing yes. The kite string later broke and the kite is currently stuck in a tree about 20 feet high. 

We are here for a couple more days. Hoping for more good times and fun memories!

The Butterfly Project

The last month or so, we have been watching caterpillars become butterflies!

For Christmas, Isadora got a butterfly kit. We had to send away for the caterpillars. I wish I had taken a picture of the caterpillars.  They came to us (5 of them) in a small jar full of food. They ate their way through the jar of food. Eventually, they crawled to the top of the jar and built cocoons for themselves. We moved the cocoons to their butterfly habitat. 

Here they are in cocoons. 

There is one missing because he fell down, but he was totally fine!

In about a week - 10 days, our first butterfly hatched!

We (aka Kirk) fed the butterflies flowers and sugar water. They survived just fine. Even though one might have broken his wing when he got stuck under the paper plate we put at the bottom of the habitat. 

We loved having them around!  So fun to watch them, maybe more for us than the kids, but really cool!

Today we said good-bye to our friendly butterflies. 

Isa was scared of the butterflies. I did get some better pictures with my actual camera, not this iPhone business!

We had so much with the butterflies!  I think we will send away for more for a round 2. :)

In other news, I got my rings stuck on my finger. Not my proudest moment. It went from this:

To this:

It happened when I put the rings on my middle finger while I was in the shower...then I couldn't get them off. I tried to "recreate the shower scene" by putting shampoo and conditioner on them. Nope. Butter?  Nope. Hand in ice water?  No go. Kirk was working and freaked out a little when I sent him the pictures. 

Long story short, he had to bring a ring cutter home from work and cut off my two gold bands he got me when each of the kids was born. Bummer...but I still have 10 fingers!

I know, this is such a "me" thing, right?

The Amazing-ness

I can't be the only mom who finds it hard to believe they're a mom. It's been almost a full 5 years now and yet I STILL have a hard time believing I'm the mother of two kids!

Kirk and I weren't sure if we wanted kids but Lincoln and Isadora will always be our greatest accomplishments in life. It's amazing how becoming a parent changed the way I look at the world. 

I'm amazed that in a room of a thousand people, it is my face these two would look for. 

It amazes me when I look at Lincoln, I see a little bit of Kirk and when I look at Isadora, I see myself. 

It's amazing how it doesn't feel that long ago when both kids were babies. Now they are walking, talking, funny, quirky, crazy, little people. 

I love the look on one of their faces when they see something new or do something they love. 

I secretly love it when it's me they look for when they've hurt themselves and collapse into me. Because sometimes the only thing that can make you feel better, are snuggles from your mama. 

I secretly love how they go to Kirk when they aren't feeling well. Because sometimes Daddy is the only one who can make them feel better. 

It's amazing how much I love watching the kids sleep. I love the peaceful look on their faces, I love they way they mumble "I love you" in their dreamy sleep. 

I love the unprompted I love yous, the hugs just because and the sweet kisses. 

I love the times when I hear myself in the kids; when they say something I didn't know they heard (or listened to) me say. 

I love all the pleases and thank yous and you're welcomes and the bless yous from the kids. 

I love watching them learn new things. 

I love seeing the world through their little eyes. 

I can't wait to see what kind of people Lincoln and Isadora become. What they choose to do with their lives. Where they will end up. If they will have kids. I'm not wishing the days, years or months away, but I do look forward to seeing them grow into themselves. 

It's not all roses and flowers and sunshine. Some days are hard. But these two will always be my greatest accomplishments. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas!  I hope your loves are taking care of you today!

PS: I'm also amazed how impossible it is to get a decent picture of or with these two. I mean, really?!