Weekend in Grand Rapids

This post is a little late...our hard drive crashed last week so we have been out of a computer for a week. I did not realize how much we depended on this little piece of technology! It is good to have it back. Unfortunately we had to get a whole new hard drive and lost EVERYTHING on the old (pictures, work plans, music, etc...) Oh, well! Thus is life.

Anyway...last weekend we spent a glorious two days back in our old area of Grand Rapids!!! The kids spent the weekend with my parents and grandparents at my grandma and grandpa's beautiful home and property in Middleville. Russell fed the rooster, caught frogs, and rode Great Papa's golf cart. Sloane enjoyed following her brother around and playing with cousin Katie. Aron and I went back to GVSU to celebrate Homecoming with our college friends. It was wonderful to see the old gang!!! I was also fortunate enough to run into some old co-workers. I loved catching up with everyone. Aron and I love GR and always look forward to our annual Homecoming trip!!!

Here are some cute pics of the kids enjoying time with their great grandparents!!!

Sloane looking for frogs in the pond with Great Gramma.

Russell telling me about the deer he saw while riding with Great Papa through the woods.

Fall is here! We love it!!!

We had another wonderful weekend at home. On Friday, we enjoyed Family Fun Night in downtown Royal Oak. The streets were packed with families enjoying the hometown festivities! The kids loved people watching, eating popcorn, and hanging onto their Mickey Mouse balloons. On Saturday, we lounged around the house in our pj's most of the morning and then headed out in the afternoon in search of the perfect mums to plant in our backyard. After finding the BEST mums in town we brought them home to plant. Russell was completely hands on helping to plant while Sloane was the inspector, smelling and touching every flower bud. Today we spent the afternoon at Westview Orchards with our neighborhood gang. This was our third year going as a group. It is fun watching the neighborhood kids grow and change. We had fun playing in the pumpkin patch, eating donuts, drinking cider, and watching the farm animals and tractors pass by. It was a beautiful autumn day...sunny and 65 degrees. FALL IS HERE! WE LOVE IT!!!

Relaxing Weekend at Home

The past week was a busy one! On Tuesday, I took the kids to a soccer game played by some of my past and present students. Russell was in Heaven watching the "big" kids play soccer. Thankfully I remembered to throw his soccer ball in the car at the last minute because he was happily kicking his ball around trying to imitate the players on the field. Russell didn't realize that these players weren't quite the pro-athletes he thought they were and didn't even notice when one of them kicked the ball into the wrong net:-) Sloane enjoyed people watching and befriending the spectators dogs. My students were thrilled to have me there and excited to see my children. I always enjoy seeing the students outside of school and visiting with their parents. On Wednesday, I was called out of work by daycare because Sloane was running a 103 temperature. I didn't panic, but dashed out of school to pick her up and make a quick phone call to the pediatrician. The nurse assured me not to worry, but to monitor her condition and call back if the symptoms got worse. Sloane remained at home the rest of the week while Aron and I took turns staying home with her. She broke the fever Friday and has been back to her normal perky self. After a very busy work week, we decided to lay low this weekend and enjoy some much needed family time. We spent most of Saturday morning in our pajamas building a fort in the family room. We used the sofa cushions, dining chairs, sheets, pillows, and many clothes pins to create a fort for all four of us (plus Mac) to fit in. Russell insisted we all stay there to rest and brought us blankies and stuffed animals to cuddle with. What can I say...I love those kids!!!

Hanging out with Dad in the family fort!

That was hard work building this fort. Time for a break!

Goodness, Mom! That flash is bright under here!

Petting Farm

We just got back from a fun weekend visiting my parents in Gladwin. While the men of the family had their annual day trip bird hunting, my mom and I took the kids to the petting farm. We had a BLAST!!! Upon arrival, the kids were given a bucket filled with animal feed, a bottle of milk, and a chore list. We had to follow a path around the farm and stop to complete certain chores including bottle feeding the baby lambs and goats, milking the cow, feeding the llamas, sheep, ducks, chickens, and bunnies, and collecting an egg from the chicken coop. We were also able to jump in the hay loft, ride ponies, and go on a wagon ride pulled by horses. Sloane absolutely LOVED feeding the animals!!! She is definitely our animal lover and I would not be surprised if in the future she brings home stray animals!!! Russell's favorite part was swinging on a rope in the hay loft and jumping around on the piles of hay. They both enjoyed riding the ponies. It was a terrific way to celebrate the last weekend of summer!!!

Rain, Rain, Rain!!!

It was raining when we woke up this morning and it is still raining now. After cleaning the house, running errands, coloring, painting, watching Curious George, reading books, and several other activities, I decided to let the kids play in the rain!!! As soon as I asked them if they wanted to go outside to splash in puddles, Russell yelled "YES" and told me he needed his swim suit and boots. So, we got on our swim suits and I dug out the snow boots :-) Russell put his boots on by himself and thankfully I bought too big a pair last year so they still fit! Sloane doesn't have boots yet, so she was happy to wear an old pair of shoes. Both kids practically skipped out into the rain in search of BIG puddles. We walked the entire block and got extremely wet splashing, kicking, and jumping (lots of jumping) in the puddles surrounding our neighborhood. We had several cars slow down to take a look at the crazy mother with her two toddlers out in the rain. We also had several neighbors perched at their windows smiling while the kids were giggling and running down the sidewalk!

Russell enjoying his first jump in a puddle!

Sloane joining in on the action!

Walking around the block in hunt of BIG puddles.

Let's do this everyday!!!

Back to School

We have had a whirlwind of two weeks at the Carlson house. School officially began on Tuesday, September 2nd and we have been trying to get back into the busy school year schedule...up at 5:30, out the door by 6:45, drop off at daycare 7:00, arrive to work at 7:30, pick up the kids at 4:15, home by 4:30, dinner on the table by 5:30, baths at 7:00, bedtime at 8:00, and do it all again... Thankfully we have a terrific staff of daycare providers at Grace Christian Learning Center where Russell and Sloane have transitioned beautifully back into full time daycare! Russell slid right back into his classroom as if he never left. Ms. Betty, his teacher is awesome!!! She welcomes him with a hug every morning and he is always eager to fill her in on his latest adventures. Sloane is no longer in her infant classroom and has entered into the toddler room. We miss her infant caregiver, Ms. Justine, but are excited for Sloane to receive the expert guidance from her new teacher, Ms. Linda. Linda was also Russell's toddler teacher. Outside of teaching, she is a mother and grandmother. I am always asking her advice on discipline and other difficult parenting tasks. Aron and I are constantly amazed at what Russell and Sloane learn at Grace Christian. I feel so blessed that my children are happy and well taken care of each day. My school year has been off to a busy start. I am at a new school this year and LOVE it!!! The staff is friendly, caring, and enthusiastic. I have a team of special education teachers to work with which has made lesson planning so much fun! I have a full classroom with 15 students. Each child is very unique and several are medically fragile which has brought new challenges for me, but I am finding it very rewarding as well. As sad as I am to say goodbye to Russell and Sloane each morning, I still am passionate about what I do. I am fortunate to go to work everyday and LOVE what I do! It has been crazy around here, but I am still finding time for my evening runs and yoga classes to help keep me sane! So, all in all, life is good!!!

Sloane gives Ms. Justine a morning hug.

Russell eats his breakfast at school.

Russell poses and gladly says "CHEESE"!

Sloane is busy collecting acorns as they fall!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. It began with a visit from Aron's mom (Grammy Carlson). The kids absolutely adored spending time with her! The first thing Russell did was try on his cowboy costume and then talked Grammy into being the horse! We laughed quite hard about the way kids can get you to do things you never thought you would!!! We spent Saturday in downtown Royal Oak at the farmer's market and window shopping along Main Street. The kids always enjoy stopping for popcorn and sitting on a bench to eat and people watch. On Sunday, we said goodbye to Grammy Carlson and then hopped in the car to head north for a visit at my brother's house. Uncle Keith's is always a favorite place to visit. He has a home on 80 acres of land with his own private lake. Russell loves to ride Uncle Keith's quad, golf cart, and John Deere riding mower. Both kids love to play in the water. Mac also enjoys his time running free and getting wet in the water. We were fortunate to join 15 other friends and family at Keith's house for a good old fashion BBQ!!! I have put together the slide show to share the events of our day at Keith's!