What? No Pictures??

I cannot believe that I have not taken any pictures of the last weeks activities. Last weekend we enjoyed some time at home Saturday. My dad and Phyllis came over Saturday afternoon and we went to the driving range. Carter had been wanting to take Papa and Grandma to play. We had dinner and enjoyed a nice evening. Sunday morning Matt and Carter went golfing with Papa Ron. Carter has been wanting to play real golf for a LONG time. He asks all the time so Matt brought him along and from what I hear it was fun. He liked it and really enjoyed driving the cart...go figure! While the boys were golfing Riley and I went to Rivertown with Grandma Phyllis, Aunt Alli and the kids. We had a great time, played a little and had a nice lunch. Sunday afternoon we decided to go camping. We were sitting in the camper looking at what needed to be done to put it away for the winter (yes I know it is hard to believe we are thinking that way already) because we are busy every weekend until late October and we will not be camping then. So, I suggested we go camping then! Why not? I had an hour to pack and load everything. We had a nice time even though Matt had to work. We were close enough he could work from the campground. It was fun and now we will pack the camper away. :( This week we have been enjoying the last part of summer vacation. It has rained a lot and we have spent a lot of time inside. Matt and I are leaving for a weekend away in DC tomorrow so I will be packing today. The kids will be at Grandma and Papa Dans until Monday. They are getting excited for us to leave but we have never left them for this long. I promise to have pics when I get home from DC. :)

Ohio

Last week Riley, Carter and I went to Ohio with my mom and Aunt Sandy to visit my Uncle Dick and Aunt Barb. I had never been to their house and sadly they have lived there for almost 22 years! Pretty sad if I say so myself. We left Wednesday morning and took our time getting there. We stopped and did some shopping in Howell and eventually arrived late in the evening. Thursday we spent the day at the Columbus Zoo. That is Jack Hannah's zoo and it was the best zoo I have ever visited. It was a beautiful day and we saw so many animals.



Waiting in line to see the baby elephant, Beco.


Baby Beco born in March




We spent a lot of time at the gorillas. Aunt Barb, AKA the Gorilla Whisperer, was able to talk to one of them and he would plug his ears when she talked. He tried sharing his toy with her too.

Aunt Barb discussing nap time with the gorilla

Riley and Carter walking into the mist

Feeding the birds some nectar. Aunt Barb had the worst luck because she was covered in birds and they were mistaking her shirt/arm for nectar!





Friday we went to see the Longaberger Basket stuff. I do not collect or buy the baskets but it was very interesting learning the history of the company.
This is the office building.



Enjoying some wonderful chocolate malts at an old diner.



Saturday we spent the day playing baseball, pool and the kids learned some scuba diving skills from Uncle Dick.








We went out for a wonderful dinner on our last night.

A day of bugs with Carter...

Today was the second of two classes I signed Carter up with through the Outdoor Discovery Center. It is actually through Zeeland Rec but the ODC does the class. Carter loves it and he has now been three times. I am impressed that every time they cover different topics and he learns something new everytime. Today we searched for leaves to do a leaf rub on paper. He LOVED that. Then we took a hike, read a book and then played some nature hunt games. He also learned how to use a magnifying glass which was hilarious. Here are some shots from the day.

Garage Sale

Last week was our annual charity garage sale. This year we decided to donate the money to Gilda's Club in GR. We raised $1300 during the two day sale. Friday was a great day but Saturday it was raining and storming and we were surprised to be busy! Lots of people garage sale in the rain! Friday the kids played and built a fort. They made a pretend fire and had a great time. When things slowed down in the afternoon Riley and Carter did a fashion show.

Chicago

On Monday, Riley, Grandma Phyllis and I took the train to Chicago to do some shopping for the day. We had a great time. It was raining when we got there but it soon got really hot and humid. We were able to shop and have a nice lunch. Riley made it to the American Girl store and the Hershey store (those were her favorites of the day).

Swimming and Birthday Party

Sunday we spent the day in Grand Rapids with family. We went swimming with the cousins and had a great time at Grandma Betty's pool. Matt went golfing with the guys and we swam. Afterwards we got to go to my niece and nephew's 3rd birthday party. The kids loved playing with their cousins and we had a wonderful time!