A plug for MOPS

So some of you with young kiddos may have been invited to the MOPS Facebook page...reason being is that our church, Community Reformed in Zeeland, is starting a MOPS group this fall and I am on the steering committee and my job is Publicity! So I created a blog and Facebook page. :) I have never been to a MOPS group anywhere else so this is all new to me but I am SUPER excited about it. I think it will be a great 'out' for moms to meet other moms from our church and the community and to share our experiences and learn some new mom tips. So please check out the MOPS blog or find us on Facebook!

Unfortunately I am going to miss out on the Open House in September b/c I am going to be in DC for work but you will see me at the first meeting. Hope to see you girls and your kiddos there!

If you have any questions let me know! Everyone with little kids (not in school) are invited!

Another cottage getaway

This past weekend we enjoyed our annual trip to Bass Lake in Pierson at my Aunt and Uncle's cottage. We always have so much fun and it was so nice that all my cousins and their spouses came up too. Brian's Great Uncle has a few seadoos so they let us borrow them for the weekend. They were a lot of fun and Carter loved to go with daddy. The boys were SPOILED by all the attention and loving they got all weekend. Cousin-in-law Jason took Carter for a paddle boat ride.
Everybody hanging on the deck. Looks as if Carter is telling everyone what he wants to do next. :)
Brian and Matt went for a kneeboard ride together.
Carter and I were the spotters on the boat.
Trey, well he was perfect baby Trey all weekend and just chilled out. He got lots of love from my family!
Yum...had a delicious Sunday dinner after going to 'tent church' at Pine Grove CRC. Carter came out of nursery with a craft and t-shirt...he was so excited!
Carter loved to feed the fish. He even laid on the dock and netted some and put them in a bucket. He even liked to dangle his feet on the dock and have them bite his toes...he is such a BOY!
Thanks Uncle Ken and Aunt Pam for hosting us once again!

We have a nephew!

On July 15 my brother Mike and his wife Kim had a baby BOY Kasen Michael. He was 7 lbs and 20 inches and is SO CUTE! We were so excited to have a nephew so close in age to our boys. They will all be such good buddies (at least we hope so!).No pink for my mom and dad yet! My dad says he's going to go broke buying quads and dirt bikes for these little guys. : )
Trey and Kasen are only 3 months apart and I couldn't believe how HUGE Trey looked next to Kasen already. They grow up way too fast.

3 Months!

Can't believe my lovebug is 3 months already! Time flies! Everyone told me I wouldn't have an easy baby like Carter but so far I am proving them wrong! Trey is SO similar to Carter as a baby...it's kind of scary! He has been sleeping through the night since 10 weeks and is just so content. He is full of smiles and LOVES to be talked to. He talks right back to you....seems to me more than Carter did.

Here's a couple of pictures of Carter at 3 months. It's pretty crazy how much the two look alike. I think Carter has a little more of the Meeuwsen forehead :) but overall they are almost identical in so many ways.

Carter does great with Trey. He always needs to know where he is but otherwise he pretty much leaves him alone. He has started to play more by himself which is nice and I love to listen to the stories he makes up. He is definitely a 2 year old but so much fun too as he learns so much every day.

Summer Fun

Wow, where do I begin? Another couple weeks have passed by! I am trying my best to keep the blog updated but now I am back to work and our weekends have been packed. I want to keep it updated though to hopefully turn it into a book someday soon! So...grab a cup of coffee and enjoy checking out some of the latest highlights in our lives.

A few weeks back Carter took swimming lessons for his first time. He did pretty well and it was nice that our good friend Martha was his teacher. He was the first one from his class to jump off the diving board so I was pretty proud of him!

Another proud day in my life was when my good friend Sheri got married. I set her and her husband up on a blind date almost 2 years ago and now they are married! It was my 4th couple that I have set up that has gotten married! Are ya single???

Our neighborhood (4 houses) threw the 1st annual Amber Rose pig roast. It was a GREAT night...perfect weather, about 150 people, and tons of fun! Carter helped me make some puppy chow. It was priceless when Carter was standing like this and Brian walked in the door and Carter said, Daddy I like chocolate! Oh how he has his moms taste buds!
We rented this inflatable for all the kids. It was a BIG hit!
The guys taking the pig off the roaster.

Some of the guys playing cornhole.
Crowd picture.
Oh and it was my birthday amongst all the busyness. One more year til the big 3-0! We celebrated Fathers Day, my birthday and mom Meeuwsen's b-day together. Carter helping her open her cards.
Our niece Karinda getting in some cuddle time with Trey.
On my birthday (June 28) we went as a family to the Muskegon Summer Celebration to get some junk food and walk around. Carter rode a few rides for the first time. He loved them! We also stopped in Grand Haven on the way home for ice-cream....it was a great night.
Last weekend we headed up to Big Star Lake for our annual trip with DeWitts. Huyers and Slaghs also joined us during the days so we had 8 kids under the age of 3! It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect.

Snack time!
Here is the story guy (Dan) that we hired for the weekend. Ha, ha. He is like a magnet to the kids...it was so funny. He would sit and read recipes, yes recipes, out of magazines and he made them so dramatic the kids loved the 'stories.' :)
Ethan telling Trey to gain some weight already. :) Jason and Brian took the boys to Bitley to the trout pond and they also went to Foster Lake. On the way the road was blocked by this big tree. The big Chevy was able to haul it out of the way!
The kids had fun hanging out on the tube in the water. Carter, Deacon, Jacob, Addison and Norah.

Ah...this is the life on the boat.

The kiddos on the fourth. We were missing Norah and Ethan...can't remember if they had already left or not showed up yet. From left to right....Ellery, Addison, Carter, Trey and Jacob (Deacon wanted nothing to do with it).

Brian was going to quick suds up Carter in the lake for a bath and we all cracked up when Carter went outside and put his hat on. Hilarious.
It was HOT out so it was off to go get ice-cream at Mel's. Got a decent family picture.

Tubing with daddy. It was a little rough but all the kiddos did pretty well with their daddies.

When we came home from the cottage it was off to my parents house to celebrate birthdays...mine and my sister-in-law Kim's....who is hopefully going to have a baby this week! Friday during the day we went to the fountain downtown with Kathy and the boys. My camera battery died so check out her blog for more pics.

Friday night we went to the BELLieve fundraiser for our good friend Josh Maly's sister Lynette who is fighting breast cancer. It was SO well organized and they had a ton of stuff for the kids. Carter wanted to ride the 'train' and little did I know that I had to ride with...it actually went REALLY fast! Not like the one that just goes in a circle at Post Family Farms.

Saturday we headed to Green Lake for our annual trip with our friends. Here are three yahoos riding knee boards. Let's just say it was a LONG trip around the lake with these boys messing around. Tim, Ross and Brian. And after all the water sports of the day the lake now owns Brian's wedding ring and Mike's Oakleys. :)
The three older boys (missing Parker & Trey) on their riding toys. Carter, Liam and Jace.

Carter's first sea doo ride. Of course he loved it!
Liam and Carter having fun swinging. I should have video taped it b/c Liam has the CUTEST little giggle I have ever heard.

Sunday night we went to the park in Allendale to play for a bit. Carter loves it there and we were excited to see they are going to have a splash pad soon!

Phew...I am just exhausted after reading all we have done lately! Hopefully I update more often as this was a 2 day project to get all these pics up! :) Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!