2nd Annual Amber Rose Pig Roast

This past Saturday we threw our 2nd annual pig roast with our neighborhood for all our friends and family. 4 of the 5 houses in our neighborhood put it on. We estimated we probably fed about 150 people and had around 200 total guests.

Briana's dad ready to get the pig off the roaster and cut it up...it was a BIG one! 225+ lbs!
Carter and Alyssa having a blast bouncing down the bounce house slide.
This year we tried out a pinata and wow...what a hit! Carter got to have the first swing at it and as you can see there were a lot of kids in line behind him! Next year we will have to get more than one.
Brian and my dad having a little too much fun controlling the pinata.
Ah...it finally broke...the scramble for all the candy.
The weather was once again perfect this year and we had a great time. It's fun to get every one's friends and families together with our great little neighborhood.

Busy boy!

Last week Carter was able to attend VBS at our church (Community Ref. in Zeeland). He of course LOVED it. And he got to have his friends Alyssa and Jackson in his class too. He is in the first row hanging over the pew with the bandana on his head in this pic.
Sunday morning Alyssa came to our church for the finale. He did all the motions during practice but just stood there during the real performance! He was SO tired from a busy week and our neighborhood party the night before.

The last couple of weeks Carter once again took swimming lessons at our friend Lindsey's pool. We missed having Miss Martha as a teacher his year but Miss Jen from the Aquatic center did a great job and Carter really improved from day one. It helped that his buddy Jackson was in his class too...they did AWESOME!

Looks like he's swimming away...and probably not supposed to be!
Being the class clown and goofing off!
Learning to kick on his back.
Racing to the beach ball with Jackson.
And we can't forget Carter's biggest fan Trey! It was a fun couple of weeks for all the kiddos and for us moms to...I love catching up with some old friends and of course reminding ourselves that all our kiddos are in the same toddler stage which can be challenging at times! There were a lot of baby bellies too....all little girlies on the way!

Fathers Day 2011

Sunday morning when the boys woke up they were excited to give daddy his Father's Day gifts. Nothing too exciting...4 new shirts!

My three favorite boys after church.

Sunday night my parents came over for some pizza and cake. Mom and dad Meeuwsen came home on Sunday from South Haven so unfortunately we didn't really get to celebrate with them but they were graced with our presence Fri-Sat....that was probably enough for them! :)

My dad with his favorite daughter as he always says. I am quick to remind him I am his only daughter. :)
Grandpa Jim and his boys.
All the boys ready to dig into the DQ ice cream cake. Yum!
Thank you dad and Brian for being wonderful father's to us and our boys....we love you so much and appreciate you both!

South Haven Harbor Fest

Last weekend we headed to South Haven for their annual Harborfest to stay on the boat with mom and dad Meeuwsen. Friday night we headed to check out the fun and games they had and spent some time playing at the beach. Brian and Carter having fun going down the inflatable slide.
And bouncing away in the bounce house!
Trey loved swinging on the swings...full of giggles!

Carter wanted to ride this boat ride with daddy. He had his hands up the entire ride and giggled away!
Carter is definitely going to be our roller coaster lover....he drew quite a crowd of people thinking he was big stuff.
Trey watching the Dragonboat races with Grandpa and Grandma.
Each year they have these races. Some teams are local and some even come from Canada. It's always fun to sit on the docks and watch them.
We headed to the beach late morning and the boys played for HOURS...loved being in the water as well. They took big naps that afternoon on the boat...we had to wake them up for dinner!
It was a great weekend but BUSY. Trey is at a hard age since he isn't quite walking yet so it's hard on the docks. I think our boating trips may be put on hold for a few years!

Grandma Karen's Birthday

A week ago Sunday we celebrated mom Meeuwsen's birthday at our house. Here is the flower cake I made.
Grandma Karen and her boys singing Happy Birthday.
Thanks for all you do for us mom! Wishing you many more years!

Baby Girl Update

Had a Dr.'s appt. today and all is still going great. Dr. G. read the report from the ultrasound and all looked good. I asked him about my due date since the ultrasound showed a date of Oct. 6 but he said we will still stick with Oct. 15 but wrote down 'maybe a week earlier.' The boys both came early so here's to hoping! I have been measuring about a cm small each week...not complaining! Of course the weight keeps going up and up! Her heartbeat is right on track for a girl...160 bpm. My boys definitely had 'boy' heartbeats so I can say they were true to the guesses we all make when it comes to the heartbeats being high or low. I have still been feeling great and Brian is quickly realizing how fortunate he is to have a wife that has had three smooth sailing pregnancies! :) Carter asked me the other day why I had bought chocolate milk and I told him that mommy will take chocolate in any form she can get it! Definitely a craving! He has been enjoying the sweet treat with me. He asks me about every day when his baby sister is going to come. I told him the other day that she will come out when it's pumpkin season and Brian said, yep, once mommy's belly is as big as a pumpkin she will come out! :) Trey on the other hand...well...it's going to be hard on the little guy. Whether it's Carter or a baby on my lap he does not like it....definitely loves his mommy! I'll take the cuddling though...I just love it from my boys as I know these days will fly by. I have enjoyed filling the closet with pink but never thought I would feel so awkward shopping in the girl section....still seems so surreal!

Wonderful Week

We started off our week by going to the Zeeland Memorial Day parade with our families. Eric and Kate were home for the weekend so Carter was able to enjoy it with the girls.
My mom and dad and Grandma DJ joined us.
Mom and dad Meeuwsen with their grand kids.
After the parade we headed out on mom and dad Meeuwsen's boat and headed to Saugatuck and anchored outside the pier for the afternoon. Trey HATED his life jacket at first but once we got out of the channel and it cooled off we figured out it was just the heat that had been bugging him and then he was happy. He loves to stand by this door and watch the water and boats.
Carter was so tired that he actually fell asleep snuggling with me...he loves to cuddle but so unlike him to fall asleep! He loves to sleep on the boat though and the boys both took awesome naps.
Carter has been waiting to plant my flowers with me so we got that done this week too. My mom had picked them up while I was in DC last week. Carter did a great job and it's so fun to see how excited he gets when he can help me.

Trey happy as can be playing in the sandbox. Poor guy got eaten up by mosquitoes even with spray on and I think one was in his bedroom this week..he looks like he has the chicken pox!
Last night Sydney transformed her sandbox into a pool and it worked great to add bubbles and do baths as well!
Today after church we went to mom and dad Meeuwsen's for lunch and then out on the boat to Laketown beach. I stayed with Trey (and then later Carter) on the boat while they napped (great naps!) which was nice. It was so peaceful and I got 1/2 a book read! Carter and Brian climbed the sand dune so I was able to catch this shot of them running down the hill.
Brian, Trey and mom enjoying the ride back to Holland.
After dinner the boys were so full of sweat, sunscreen and sand that they needed baths. Since they only have older girl cousins grandma only had a stash of girl PJ's...good thing they didn't care! :)
What a great week!