Muskegon Camping Trip

Ben and Maddy's Beach Kiss
Ben and Daddy in their sand castle
The 5 older kids posing for a picture

Muskegon Camping Trip

Two weekends ago we drove to the west side of the state to enjoy a little summertime camping (we look forward to this trip every year now with our neighbors). With 8 adults and 7 kids we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into but we ended up having a great time! The kids all really seemed to enjoying playing in the lake and helping Mike fish...they also got lots of good camping food (chips, hotdogs, smores, etc.) We slept through a thunderstorm Friday night and woke up to some rain, however by the time we came back from breakfast we were able to get dressed for the beach. It was pretty windy right on Lake Michigan, however as the day wore on it warmed up quite nicely. Sunday we decided we would stick around and enjoy all the sunshine we could and we somehow :) wound up at Duck Lake State Park...it was a little smaller and quieter and not facing the west, so the wind wasn't nearly as bad.

Ben is becoming quite the camper...he started in womb! He slept really well even during the storm! We finally upgraded to a larger tent to accommodate our family (last year we borrowed Doug and Joce's) and we really like it...Greg and I have even talked about trying to squeeze in another trip before the summer is over, we shall see :)

Happy 4th of July

Michael, Andrew, and Ben in their 4th shirts
Kylah, Emma, Ben, Cameron, and Michael on the fast boat
Kendal and Ben (doesn't Kendal look like a Charlie's Angel?)
Lindsey and Kailer (her 1st boat ride)
Ben playing trucks in the mud
Shannon (34 weeks), Kelly (30 weeks), & Jocelyn (32 weeks)

We had such a great time during the week of the fourth! We drove down to the lake the Wed. before the 4th and enjoyed a nice week at the lake. The Schmidts came for a visit on the 3rd and Kendal seemed to have a great time. She went on a wave runner ride with her Dad then went on a pontoon boat ride with the rest of us. Lindsey and Kailer came to visit the same day and Kailer got to go on her first boat ride...she wasn't to sure of it and decided she would rather be playing with some toys :)
On the actual day of the fourth Greg's cousin, Carmen, had a small outdoor wedding reception. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed just hanging out and having fun. All of Greg's cousins and their significant others, who were around that weekend even got to enjoy a night out at a restaurant together (kid free!) We had a great time and got a lot of great pics during the week!

Guilds Visit Howell

Ben and Andrew enjoying dinner together
Andrew showing Ben how to golf
Ben and Kendal happy after a trip to DQ
All 3 kids are ready to go home after ice cream

Jeff, Jess, and Andrew all came up to visit us during their week-long vacation to MI. Michael stayed at G'ma and Gpa's house with his cousin Cameron. It was a quick visit but it was nice to hang out before all of the commotion during the weekend. Ben and Andrew played really well together and Andrew even taught Ben a thing or two about golf (he uses a tee!) After dinner we took a bike ride up to DQ and let the kids run around...we brought Kendal with us too! We were glad they took the time to visit us and hang out since we only get to see them every six months or so. It was a short visit but we knew we would get to hang out a lot more once we headed down to the lake too.

Happy 2nd Birthday Maddy!

Maddy enjoying her Birthday treat!
Ben hanging out in the bouncy house
The 3 troublemakers at the top of the slide

A few weeks ago we celebrated Maddy's 2nd Birthday! The Kreiders had the party at their house and everyone had a great time...the weather was a little nerve racking however it never rained and it ended up being a perfect evening to hang out outside. The food was great, Jaclynn's brothers did a great job cooking the kabobs and all of the salads were wonderful. Since there are so many kids in Jaclynn and Jason's family they ordered a bouncy house again and this year Ben, Maddy, and Kendal even got to enjoy it. The kids had a great time and so did all of the adults. Maddy is such a fun little girl, we love spending time with her and watching her become a little person. She is so funny when you are explaining something to her because she nods her head and mumbles things back like she is reasoning with you :) She is such a joy to have around and we can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays together.