Big Star Weekend

Another fun tradition each summer is to go to Big Star Lake with DeWitts. I went every summer as a child with Jenni so its always fun to go back. Carter loved being on the boat and watching daddy and Jason tube and surf. It was a beautiful weekend. Friday night we went for a nice cruise around the lake.

Saturday morning Brian took Carter and Jacob (and Quincy) out for a walk on the dock.

The dads and their boys hanging out on the dock.

Snack time!

Saturday night we went to the lodge at Bitley to see the 'monster fish.' Carter and Jacob had a lot of fun feeding them.

This is what we seen when we threw food in! They went CRAZY!!!

Here is scuba Steve (aka Jason) getting ready to scuba dive...it was a little dark but he was still able to see lots of fish.

Ah, nothing like a bath on the beach!

Garage sale special keeping the boys busy. :)

Chilling with daddy.

Jacob keeping Carter and Deacon entertained.

Deacon and Carter ready to go on the boat!

Loving the ride!

Here is what Brian and Jason mastered this weekend...surfing! It's kind of crazy but fun to watch. Jason has a video on their blog you can check out.

Testing the water in the pool.

Overall we had a VERY FUN weekend. The boys (all 5 of them) :) kept us busy but they are sure a lot of fun and we made lots of memories!

Weekend Highlights

Carter and I started off our weekend with a walk to the state park with Jen and Liam on Friday waiting for the sun to shine. Then it was off to mom and dad Meeuwsen's pool for the afternoon. The boys both napped the entire time and Jen and I got some time in the sun. Perfect!

Friday night we went out with both of our parents on mom and dad Meeuwsen's boat to watch the fireworks. It was a beautiful night. Carter could sit on grandpa's lap the entire night and drive. He absolutely LOVES it.

After some play time with grandpa DeJonge it was off to bed! He slept like a champ in his pack n' play down below. Never heard a peep!

Saturday we spent the day at DeWitts house in Spring Lake. Here is Carter, Norah and Jacob in the play yard...worked good to keep them confined! Isn't Jacob a stud in his diaper and Safety Seal? He cracks me up!

And here is one of the attempts at a picture of the five munchkins. Norah and Carter had their PJs on but oh well! From left to right: Jacob, Deacon, Liam, Norah and Carter.

Sunday was back at mom and dad Meeuwsens pool for the day and of course a boat ride! Such a fun weekend!

15 month appt...oh what a day!

So we had Carter's 15 month appt today. As far as the stats goes he weighed 22 lbs. 12 oz. and was 30.75 inches....right around the 25th percentile for both height and weight. And of course 90th for his head...don't all kids have big heads? Or maybe it's just b/c he's so smart...ha,ha.


Anyway, he had to get two shots which I was NOT expecting. Went okay though. Then when we were checking out the Dr. said he should get bloodwork done to check his CBC and LEAD levels so I thought while we are here we might as well go down to the hospital (connected to Zeeland Physicians) and get that done. The registration lady and lab girls were SO NICE but it was a disaster. They had to poke Carter's finger and fill in 2 circles with blood. Then the battle of getting a bandaid to stay on...oh what a mess...blood everywhere, BAWLING kid. We finally were able to get some gauze taped on. He cried in the car for about 15 minutes trying to get that stupid thing off while it is COVERED in blood...every inch of the gauze. We finally get home and he is okay. We take the gauze off and then listen to the answering machine....they FORGOT one of the tests! They didn't realize there were two pieces of paper and since they filled in 2 circles of blood I figured one was for the LEAD and the other for the CBC. So we have to go back....ugh, seriously??? I think that is an appt. for dad to handle...be good for him, right? Okay...sorry for that long story but I just had to share....so frustrating and not a fun afternoon. Carter spotted his bagel from breakfast and is now eating it...time for a nap though!


Like my shirt Jacob?

Golden Birthday!

Yesterday was my GOLDEN birthday (you can figure out how old) and it was the BEST birthday weekend I could have asked for. Carter and I started out celebrating on Friday morning with breakfast with Kathy and Jackson. And a couple Zeeland Bakery cookies...yum! Then we headed to mom and dad Meeuwsen's pool for the afternoon with friends.

Carter and Jax hanging out. Two little blondies! Love it!

At night we went to mom and dad De Jonge's for presents and cake and ice cream. We celebrated with Brian's side on Wednesday night. Here's the guys (minus grandpa and Liam). Yep, Tim and Jen are part of our family. :)

Jen bought me a basket for the market...love it!


Carter went home with Mike and Kim and on Saturday morning we headed to Shipshewana. We had lunch at the Blue Gate, did some shopping and then went to our hotel, Splash Universe. It was SO FUN to be kids for the day. The big water slides were a ton of fun. Here is Brian standing under the bucket of water.

I am pretty sure we were the ONLY ones there without kids. :) At night we went to the Essenhaus for dinner. After dinner we went out on carriage ride.

We loved to watch all the horse and buggies along the rode...especially on Sunday we drove past a couple of churches (barns) and the field was filled with buggies and horses...so cool! On Sunday we headed to Michigan City to the outlet mall. We had a lot of success! We got home about 3:30 and picked up Carter and then after his nap it was off to Grand Haven!

The best pic of Carter and I. :) We met up with Jen and Liam for some ice cream, got a bottle of wine from Debi and headed home!

It was such a fun weekend.

While I celebrated my birthday, Carter celebrated turning 15 months! Crazy! He still isn't walking but I think getting closer...he does not want to be pushed though. I was 15 1/2 months so maybe he's just like his mommy! He jibber jabbers all the time and definitely knows what you are saying. He knows several animal sounds and his body parts. He also figured out how to get up on the couch last week. He hasn't been a huge fan of water or pools yet but that's okay....it will come. He LOVES to be outside and does not like when it's time to come in. He is definitely our big sleeper yet taking 2 naps for about 2 hours each and sleeping about 10-11 hours at night. Can't beat that! He is so much fun and still the LOVE of our lives! We love you buddy!

Busy, busy boy

"Why you looking at me?" The never ending battle of destroying the kitchen. :)

Friday afternoon Carter headed up north with Eric and Kate and the girls to their cottage. Brian and I left after my jewelry party on Friday night. We had a GREAT weekend up north. So much fun and beautiful weather. Here we are enjoying some lunch. The flies were pretty bad but I will take those over mosquitos!

We took a lot of paddle boat rides and a few kayak rides. The lake is so clean and nice and quant.

Uncle Eric helping build sandcastles.

Playing on the raft with my favorite cousins.

Monday Liam came over to play for the day. Kathy was kind enough to lend me her double stroller so we went to the park. Liam enjoyed his first ride on a big swing!

I can't get over how sticken cute he is and he was such a good baby.

While Liam was napping I took out Carter's new sand and water table. The neighbor girls came over to play too. Definitely worth the money...he played by it for an hour and loved it.

Then it was time to try out the sprinkler ball...definitely loved this too!

Another fun filled weekend

We started off the weekend with welcoming Parker Robert Maly into the world on Friday morning. Jen, Liam and I went to see him...so cute! Brian and Carter wanted to go so we went yesterday but the little guy was under the lights! Hopefully he gets to come home today!

Friday night we went to Victory Points car show to support Tim and Jen's youth group. Cole and Reese were there and are always so sticken cute and fun as always. Brian and Cole are such little buds even though we don't see him often enough.

Carter and Jacob were getting restless so they took Liam's wagon for a ride. He is a pretty lucky guy for his dad to make him such a sweet wagon!

Last night we went to the gravel pits with Brian's brother Eric and his family. Eric did some tubing and skiing, Brian went knee boarding and then we were trying to get the girls to go tubing but they weren't too sure of it so Carter had to show them how to do it.

Whew....check out that hair! The sun was a little bright for Carter but he loved it.

So then Karinda and Kylie decided it looked fun so they went with Eric. It was such a nice night out there and we had a lot of fun with them.

Catching Up

What have we been up to the past few weeks? Well here is a run down.

We enjoyed Memorial Day like most and went to the parade in Zeeland and then worked outside most of the day and enjoyed dinner with family and friends at night.

The usual Friday night cookouts have begun at Amber Rose so last week last minute I decided to make a cake for dessert. NOT perfect by any means but the neighbor girls thought it was pretty cool to have a cake with them on it.

Carter's favorite sleeping position. Who sleeps on their knees? What a nut.


Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at Crazy Horse with DeWitts and then playing and watching the Red Wings at their house. A fun night as always!


Sunday we got to take our first boat ride of the season with mom and dad Meeuwsen. A chilly but sunny day and a nice cruise to the big lake.


And Monday nights we have been eating Vitales and walking to the guys games with the DeWitts. It's so fun to watch Carter, Jacob and Deacon together. Can't wait to watch them grow up and be big buds. The boys even have their own Chips Groundcover shirts...so cute, eh?

Jason coaching Brian on first base. :)


And of course have to leave you with Carter's little smirk he gives everyone lately. It's so funny. He was quite the charmer to the Walgreens pharmacist today.

Now we are just patiently waiting to hear news from the Maly's of their new little guy to be born tonight or tomorrow! We are so excited to add another boy to our group of friends! Not sure it will be fun when they are all in high school and causing trouble just like their dads!