Good Bye Winter, Hello flowers!!!

So it has been forever since I have
updated our family blog. Our crazy schedule probably has something to do with that ;0). We were lucky enough to have been able to take 2 family vacations this spring. The beginning of March we spent a week at Boyne Mountain ski resort up north. We spent several days on the slopes and we all had so much fun. Kooper and Kendall spent an entire day at ski academy and learned to downhill ski. They were both doing so well, Kooper was so daring, and even reserved Kendall surprised us. Addison was shredding on her snowboard!!! She was fearless too!!! I had a hard time keeping up with her. We signed her up for a day long camp and she lucked out with a private instructor for the day. She was doing some steep hills by days end. Her instructor said she was the best 7 year old girl he had ever worked with. He said she was up for anything
and suggested we think about getting her into freestyle competitions in the next few years. She loves snowboarding and is already talking about next winter. We also went to the indoor
waterpark. We went on the lazy river, and various water slides. It
was so much fun. The trip was so relaxing and fun and the family
time was priceless!!!

Over spring break we took a road trip to Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina. We drove there, and on the way we stopped at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. That place is amazing and so big. We all learned a lot during our tour and got some really cool pictures!!! We rented an ocean view condo on the Atlantic Ocean in North Myrtle Beach. We spent lots of time swimming in the ocean and collecting shells. The kids really liked the lazy river at the condo, oh and the hot tubs and indoor and outdoor pools. We also went miniature golfing at a cool dinosaur themed course.
The whole trip was so fun, we went with our long time friends, Amy and Phil and their 3 boys. The kids all got along so well the entire time. We were all so sad to go home and back to reality.

Since spring break the kids have all started soccer. They all enjoy, but the schedule is crazy with all three doing it. With Reid at work I have had to call in grandma and grandpa to help on nights we have had to be in two places at once. It is all worth it though!!! Addison plays for the Orcas, Kendall plays for the Robins, and Kooper is on the Ohio State team (Reid had a hard time with that one). Addison had a talent show at school this past week. Her talent was collages with two friends, Bella, and our neighbor Olivia. We have been spending lots of time playing outside and trying to do weekly hikes. Last week was the tulip festival here in Holland. Addison marched in the parade, and she had a blast. Kooper got to go on a field trip to Centennial Park and watch the dutch dancers. He even wore his dutch costume. I finished my first semester at Muskegon Community College. I ended with a 3.87 GPA. I was so happy. I am anxiously awaiting my hopeful approval for student loans for the fall. Addison is so excited that I am going to be a nurse. Whenever we are at the Doctor office or hospital she tells them all. I have been running and have signed up for my first 5K the first week of June. I am running about 2.8 miles continuously, and am really enjoying it. I am also hoping to start kickboxing in the next few weeks. That will be a great workout!! Reid has been busy getting the yard in order after winter. He has not had to work much overtime at al and we are all really enjoying having him home more. The school year is quickly coming to an end. Kooper's last week is next week already and the girls will be done the beginning of June. We are excited for our first camping trip the middle of June. Hopefully it will be sooner then 3 months before I blog again!!!

Bring on the snow

So Reid has always been a "hot weather guy". It starts snowing and he starts the whining :0)!!! His dream place to live has always been Arizona (Well if he's really dreaming then it's probably Aruba). Don't get me wrong, he does enjoy winter activities, but summer activities ultimately trump them all. He decided to take Addison snowboarding for the first time. They both had a blast, but I'm positive Reid formed a deeper love for it then Addison. She fell a lot, but was a trooper and rode for almost 6 hours. She did say that next time she wants to try skiing, so that is what we will let her do. Reid though says he will never downhill ski again, and actually has his eye on a board he plans to buy next week. Heck he needs it before we hit the slopes next weekend. Next weekend we are taking all the kids to Bittersweet. Kooper and Kendall are both excited, and we are putting them in a lesson to learn to ski. Keeping my fingers crossed that this can become a fun family activity for years to come. We have a week long trip to Boyne the end of this month. They have lots of stuff to do there, but we are hoping to get lots of skiing and boarding in. If Reid had his way he says he would be on the slopes all day, every day at Boyne. We are going to check out the water park, snow shoeing, tubing, and other family friendly stuff.

Kindergarten Roundup

Tonight we had Kindergarten roundup for Kendall. She will finally be at the same school as Addison, and will also be participating in Spanish Immersion. She is excited, and thinks her new teacher is nice and pretty. The only thing that scares me about my children speaking fluent spanish is all the conspiring they can do right in front of me since I thought taking German in high school was the cool thing to do. It is amazing how much they learn in so little time. Kooper will also enter the program in 2011. Right now we are trying to decide if we want to send him to Spanish Immersion Preschool or FUN Preschool next year, we'll see where we are meant to be. We have had a great week, very busy, but always entertaining.

Here is something that had my laughing this week:

Me: "Hey Kendall, where did you go with Daddy today?"

Kendall: "That one store with the blue roof and white house on it."

Me (laughing): "Oh, Lowe's"

Kendall: "Yeah that's the place."

A Time Out

When my husband says to the kids "If you don't stop now, you are going to get a time out" I often say to him, if I misbehave do you PROMISE to put me in a timeout? Nope he says, you are not that lucky!!! I feel like that is something that is said often at our house, and more times then not the threat is followed by a timeout. The other day Kooper tried to tell me that he is too little for a timeout. Of course all I did was laugh at him and left him to his timeout. The crazy thing is that you would think after coming off a timeout they would behave, but no not normally the case. At the end of the timeout we always give them a hug, and make them apoligize to whoever or whatever they hit/hurt/break/ect.

It seems like our family is always busy. As much as I try to limit our schedule it seems to be neverending obligations. Most the time it is fun stuff, just busy. Reid works a lot, last week he clocked 72.5 hours, luckily this week was only 42 hours. We'll see what next week brings.......

Addison is on an Indoor soccer league through the Soccer Stop in Holland. She is really enjoying it. Kooper continues to ask me when he gets to play soccer, I figure we will do something for him soon. Last spring he participated in Little Kickers, a program for 3-4 year olds offered through our township. He did okay, but every week he seemed to push kids more and just fall down on the field and yell. We figured maybe we would wait until the fall of 2010 and sign him up again, and see if he does any better. In the meantime I don't want to spend $100 on an 8 week program for him. Kendall has played soccer for several seasons, but has stated she is not interested in playing this spring. I am okay with that, I will ask her the next fall and see if she changes her mind. Here are a few pictures of them in soccer.

Time Flies

Time flies when you are having fun!!!! It has been 11 months, actually almost a year since my first and only post!!!! I am committing to updating this blog. Not tonight though, soon I promise!!!

Back to reality

Hello all, this is my first blog post. Although from the outside our lives may seem very borring, I promise you they are not at all (at least not to me). Yesterday we returned from a 5 day trip to Orlando, Florida. Our family created many priceless memories that we will hold near and dear to our hearts. It was the kids first airplane ride ever! They all seemed to do very well. Addison had some issues with her ears not popping, so it caused some discomfort. I kept giving her more and more gum so she had to chew harder and that helped some. Once we landed though she was A-okay! Kendall loved looking out the windows and being above the clouds, she thought it was so cool. Kooper was his usual strong willed self and tried to fight sitting still. Hey at 2 it is hard to sit still for too long, so I do give hom credit for lasting as long as he did. He stayed occupied with his leapster for a majority of the first flight and slept most the second.