The scale never lies

Sunday was a big exciting day for the boys in my life. Out in Holland (as usual) we decided to fore-go the beach and let the boys do some fishing on my dad's boat while us ladies did our best to refresh our tan for the wedding this coming weekend. Anyways, Brad and my dad have spent countless hours this summer waiting for the "big catch" and it happened at the most unassuming time on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

They had just set the lines and we'd been trolling for about a half hour when there was a hit and suddenly all hands were on deck! We all grouped around watching anxiously as Brad reeled it in (and I have to say it is so funny to hear guys speculate on how big the fish will be before it even lands in the boat).

Low and behold, the catch came in and we had the biggest salmon my dad and Brad have ever caught together on Lake Michigan! It was quite exciting, even for us girls to be there to witness it. I must have heard my husband say about 12 times...."it's gotta be a 25 pounder". Well...the scales said a little differently bringing it to about 19 pounds but still, very large and very exciting! Yay fishermen Brad, Dad, and Andy!

Small Town Fun

Byron Center Days are here and once again we were asked to lead the charge of the parade with Brenda and Emma in "Uncle Joel's fire truck". This year it was a little more crowded in the back cab with a new addition to our group but Syd behaved and allowed me to hold Raegan on my lap for yet another year in a row. As usual Raegan was afraid of the whole situation until it was coming to an end and then couldn't stop talking about how we "waved at kids and Mommy threw candy."
We then hit the main park area to enjoy the other festivities and smells. Lots of yummy grilled food and elephant ears! There was even a "cooling tent" sponsored by St. Mary's newest facility with free water, Popsicles, and extra large fans set up to sit in front of. A much needed addition to the tents and booths this year as it was extremely hot this morning!
"Auntie" Brenda and Emma

Waiting to start the parade

And once the engines started...fingers in mouth.

"wreckage"

wreckage. (reck-edge), noun/adj.: A word to describe your kids after you drag them around the hot sun for 2 1/2 hours to shop sidewalk sales MINUS your double stroller.

This morning Brenda, my mom, and I headed out for our annual trip to the Holland sidewalk sales. It is our (mine and Brenda's) "tradition" to buy new flip-flops at The Outpost and I was very excited anticipating splurging on some cute new Tevas or Reefs since I have not bought new flip-flops yet this summer.
I should have known the morning would be difficult when we started out trying to pile all 5 of us (Brenda, Me, Syd, Emma, RG) into my SUV with strollers and 3 car seats. Let's just say I had broken a full sweat before we even left the driveway. Syd fell asleep in the car and was not happy about being woken up and shoved into the Bjorn carrier (remember, no double stroller as it would not fit into my truck with all of us). She screamed bloody murder for pretty much the first 20 minutes of our shopping experience. People kept stopping me on the street to express sympathy but I couldn't hear them due to my blown-out ear drums (this is not an exaggeration). My tank top was soaked and I had yet to look at anything on the tables...
Two and a half hours later (and only a stupid $5 purchase on my part) we were out of snacks and water, Raegan refused to be in the stroller and insisted on walking at a snail's pace, and I was still sweating like a marathon runner and had not found any new flip flops. Can you say crabby mommy?
After listening to both kids scream and cry the whole way home from dropping Brenda off, I now ask myself if I will continue the tradition next year. Perhaps, but definitely without my kids!

Bad Influence?

So, Auntie Krista left her bags of "unmentionables" here the night of her party and guess where I found Raegan Saturday morning? Digging through all of the packages and carefully laying the contents all over the living room floor. Right before I took this picture she looked up at me and very matter-of-factly stated, "These are the panties, Mom."

She also discovered that the pink plastic shot glasses stating "Girls Night Out" were very useful for carrying around her morning snack...Oops!

=)

It was Ladies Night!

So for an "old" lady I think I put on a pretty good party. =)

14 giggling girls, 4 pitchers of Sangria, a "male member" cake, the VFW trolley, and a beautiful Bachelorette made for a long night of fun! I even made it out dancing until 12:30 (whoo hoo) which has definitely caught up with me this morning as I am back to the reality of a messy house and kids to bathe. Fun times though...well worth it!

The bride-to-be and her stand-in bachelor for the night (Daniel Radcliffe, a.k.a. "Harry Potter")

"zoob-zoobs"

Cousin Caden spent the night at our house on Wednesday and played with us all day yesterday. He brought a special treat of fruit snacks (zoob-zoobs) which they wanted to have for breakfast. Great fun, especially when they noticed that their tongues turned blue (gotta love those artificial colors!)

Fruit Juice + Zoob Zoobs at 8:00 a.m. = hyper toddlers for several hours!

You know you're getting old and "lame"...

When you're planning your baby sister's bachelorette party and:

1. Your FIRST thought is safe transportation for everyone and the 20-something girlfriend you are planning it with is thinking about drinks
2. Your second thought is how long you will have to stay out to still be considered "fun"
3. Your third thought is worrying about how much food to have and how you will get your house clean
4. The same 20-something friend asks if you want to make the "suck for a buck" t-shirt and you instantly balk
5. You find yourself making lists about what you need to do and what's on sale to shop for
6. Making jello shots sounds really tacky and you worry whether there is even enough room in your fridge for them

And Finally...
7. You find yourself shopping in the "comfy" p.j. section for a gift because you know she'll get more wear out of it =)

Short weekend, Lots of fun.

Whew! Kreiders sure know how to pack alot into a small amount of time! My In-Laws, Brother & Sister In-law, and Nephew were all in town over the weekend to spend some time with us. This is the second year that Brent and Kristin have made a trip to Michigan to see us and we loved it! And now Benjamin has deemed it a "tradition" so I guess we'll be seeing them next summer again. My father-in-law, a.k.a Big Ken, is turning 60 on Wednesday so it was sort of a celebration of that too. We were busy from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening and managed to pack in fishing, shopping, grilling, boating, tubing, swimming,eating-out, ice cream, go-carting, AND a Whitecaps game! Lots and lots of fun.

Grandpa opening his new digital picture frame

Benjamin, Brent, and Kristin on the lawn at the Whitecaps game

overcoming fears

Last Thursday night we hung out at my cousin Katie's house in the "country", a.k.a. Alto. =) She and her husband grilled us a fabulous salmon dinner and then we all headed out back to their pond where her dad has built them a zipline 20 + feet off the ground. I was all excited as I remember my days at Young Life's Castaway Camp and ziplining over the beach into the water...

Well, this was a little different as there was no harness or safety gear; just a few hundred feet of cable tied to two telephone poles with a metal bar to hang on to (for dear life!). Not to mention that my Uncle is well over 6 feet tall so the metal bar is far above my head which required my cousin to build a make-shift stepstool for me to stand on. YIKES! I have to admit that I felt like I needed a little more "liquid courage" then the one glass of wine I had with dinner =)

But, after much prodding and "chicken" calls from my 'supportive' husband, I made the jump and had a BLAST! (Screaming like a child the whole way of course!) Unfortunately my poor 2 year old watching from the shore didn't understand my screaming and laughing so she threw a fit as I was getting out of the water. I guess we know where her non-adventurous-side comes from!

me getting up my courage...

Brad making the plunge

The 3 month mark

Brenda commented this morning that she would like her next child "delivered to me at 3 months". I think I agree with her. The newborn stage is precious but I'll take this age and older any day!

These are a few of Syd's favorite things lately...

~ Having anyone talk to her. You are rewarded with a huge toothless grin.

~ Drooling and bubble blowing. Suddenly I have a use for the 1000 small bibs we have.

~ Waking up at least once in the middle of the night (UGH! I'm so ready for this to be done. RG was 8 weeks when she slept through and never looked back...)

~Laying on her floor gym and grabbing for stuff and talking to it. So cute!

~And last, the Bumbo seat (shown above). I mocked Brenda when she talked about getting one for Emma when she was little and now here I am borrowing one and loving it!

Stimulating Reading

I'm half-heartedly attempting the potty-training thing.

Off and on RG has made efforts to sit on the potty (butt-naked of course) and in the past two days she has peed twice on her own. I seem to find her wandering around the house with no diaper lately and this is how I found her yesterday when things got unusually quiet.

Guess she and her daddy like the same bathroom reading material...

ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID...

...already a bride. =)

3 weeks until my sister's wedding and our bridesmaid dresses finally came in! I have to admit I was a bit skeptical of the color when she first described it but I really do like it now that I see it. It's very fun/funky with sort of an iridescent sheen. Apparently the "pick up" detail on the skirt is the hot trend in dresses this year. My sister's gown has the same style so we are matching. I told her it is sort of reminiscent of an 80's prom dress...(I'm thinking of a specific friend of mine~ Lisa, remember your borrowed pink senior banquet dress?)

I can say that cause she's my sister and she knows I am joking. All I need are some big bangs and an armful of plastic bracelets! ha ha

(Krista, I love you and your wedding is going to be beautiful!!)

Can't wait for the big day!

Action Packed Week

I love weeks like this past one! Brad had time off from work, we hung out in Holland, and I had something fun to do with the kids everyday.
Tuesday night we headed out to Holland for dinner and fireworks at my parent's house. Brad was nice enough to relinquish the fireworks show to just my dad even though I could tell he was itching to set some off himself. He says he's saving our (illegal) stash for Labor Day weekend.
Wednesday, the guys fished most of the day and were awarded with two "nice sized" walleye. This was an extremely big deal as apparently walleye are really hard to catch AND really good to eat. We women tried our best to put on our most interested faces =)
The rest of the day we relaxed and then had good old hamburgers and corn on the cob on the grill. YUM. We ended the night listening to the local fireworks go off around our house with the kids in bed. Maybe next year we'll take them out for a show somewhere...
Yesterday, RG, Syd and I piled into a minivan with my two cousins and their kids (5 carseats and 3 adults..it was tight) and drove up to the Hart area to spend the day with my cousin Holly and her family at her parent's cottage on Silver Lake. Holly and her husband live in Las Vegas so it was fun to see them again. Typical Raegan did not enjoy any of the outdoor fun and preferred to sit on her towel in the shade and eat snacks. Frustrating. Neither of my kids took good naps so it was kind of a long ride home. Lots of screaming on Sydney's part. Sort of wondered if it was worth the trip at that point, but decided it was, only because I was with my cousins and the weather was gorgeous.
Then this morning, Brenda and I decided to brave the crowds and head out to the Grand Opening of the free splash pad in Lamar Park. It was SO cool and we were so excited to have a new option for fun in the summertime. Brenda and I even got interviewed by a local radion station (WCSG 91.3) and had our comments aired! Such celebrities =)
However, as expected, as soon as Raegan got "splashed" she was done and wanted nothing to do with the water for the rest of the hour we were there. So we had a snack and headed home.
Tonight we're headed out to a BBQ without kids...can't wait!!

there are some perks...

... to being in the "business"!

Yesterday Brad jumped into his pond excavating/landscaping project, taking advantage of his three days off for the holiday. It's something he's been talking about doing for two years now...apparently it will make the fishing that much better.=)

In all seriousness, it was cool to watch him working all day and seeing his vision come to fruition. This morning he and Raegan are out buying the trees he wants to complete the look. He created several little peninsulas and lined the shore with stones. Here are a couple pics in the process. I'll post a few more once it's complete.

Raegan watching the work from a "safe" distance

Good Times in PA