Here's a quick peek at what Calvin has been up to lately!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Swimming Lessons
Way back in February, Katie, Holly, Rachel Feenstra and I decided we would like to have our litte ones take swimming lessons.
We decided to go with our cousin Gayle Lotterman and to have them at Keith and Holly's pool. Gayle did a wonderful job being patient with our sometimes-not-so-willing little ones in the cool pool water. She was a champ!!
The kids had fun for the most part,at least mine did, I guess I shouldn't speak for everyone else, huh? Austin was able to complete all but one lesson, whereas Bradyn only completed 3 out of the eight. He came down with pneumonia after 2 days, and was finally better to complete the last lesson. Bummer!
I was amazed at how far Austin had come after only eight lessons!! By the end of the two weeks he was jumping into the deep end of the pool and swimming to the edge with no floating device whatsoever!! Pretty cool!!
Bradyn's lesson
Getting ready to swim with a noodle.
Austin and Dylan's lesson
Listening intently.....
Austin getting ready to jump in.
Swimming to the edge!!
Bradyn and Austin with Gayle.
We decided to go with our cousin Gayle Lotterman and to have them at Keith and Holly's pool. Gayle did a wonderful job being patient with our sometimes-not-so-willing little ones in the cool pool water. She was a champ!!
The kids had fun for the most part,at least mine did, I guess I shouldn't speak for everyone else, huh? Austin was able to complete all but one lesson, whereas Bradyn only completed 3 out of the eight. He came down with pneumonia after 2 days, and was finally better to complete the last lesson. Bummer!
I was amazed at how far Austin had come after only eight lessons!! By the end of the two weeks he was jumping into the deep end of the pool and swimming to the edge with no floating device whatsoever!! Pretty cool!!
Bradyn's lesson
Getting ready to swim with a noodle.
Austin and Dylan's lesson
Listening intently.....
Austin getting ready to jump in.
Swimming to the edge!!
Bradyn and Austin with Gayle.
Tree Cutting
On Saturday, June 18, we had a bunch of people over to help us cut down a bunch of trees. We also had a HUGE pile of junk at the back of our yard that needed to be burned, so Russ started that fire, and that is where all the branches from the cut trees went.
A huge thanks to all who showed up to help. Dad and Mom Lotterman, Keith, Ryan, Phil and Emily, Cornelis and Jared, Ethan, Kylar, Kyndra, Ashlinn and Ethan and Katrina. We really appreciate all you did to help, whether it was watching the kids, folding my laundry, or driving the tractor, we couldn't have gotten finished with all that we got finished with, without all of you!! The biggest accomplishment of the day was cutting down the row of HUGE pine trees on the west side of our property. It's so much brighter in the house now, without the trees blocking the sun! I'll post a few pictures of the fun we had. Enjoy!
Raking up the branches and leaves from the cut trees.
If you look closely you will see Ryan in the tree! He had the job of tying the rope
to the tree to help with pulling it down. Thanks Ryan!!
The boys had a lot of fun pulling on the rope to topple each tree.
Keith manning a chain saw. Thanks Keith!!
A huge thanks to all who showed up to help. Dad and Mom Lotterman, Keith, Ryan, Phil and Emily, Cornelis and Jared, Ethan, Kylar, Kyndra, Ashlinn and Ethan and Katrina. We really appreciate all you did to help, whether it was watching the kids, folding my laundry, or driving the tractor, we couldn't have gotten finished with all that we got finished with, without all of you!! The biggest accomplishment of the day was cutting down the row of HUGE pine trees on the west side of our property. It's so much brighter in the house now, without the trees blocking the sun! I'll post a few pictures of the fun we had. Enjoy!
Raking up the branches and leaves from the cut trees.
If you look closely you will see Ryan in the tree! He had the job of tying the rope
to the tree to help with pulling it down. Thanks Ryan!!
The boys had a lot of fun pulling on the rope to topple each tree.
Keith manning a chain saw. Thanks Keith!!
Catch Up
I guess I've fallen a bit behind in my posting. I'm going to do a few posts that are from a few weeks back to serve as a catch up on what has been going on in our lives.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
First trip to the beach!!
Last week Friday was a gorgeous day! Russ and I decided it would be fun to make a tradition of sorts for most of our Friday nights this summer. We love to go to the beach and have a picnic supper whether that be hot dogs, pizza or Subway and McDonalds.
This time we picked up Subway for us and McDonalds for the boys and made our way to the beach. It was a beautiful night out there. The lake was calm and it was warm thanks to the wind coming out of the east instead of blowing off the frigid lake water.
We met my sister Chelsea and Matthew and Malaya there. We spent some time sitting by the channel and watching the boats go by, not too many were out, but we did see a few sail boats and the boys had a good time waving to all the people on the boats.
Later we walked down to the water. Bradyn and Russ had a good time playing baseball. Russ was hitting balls to Bradyn like pop-flies so he could practice catching them. All was going well until the wind took one and it missed Bradyn's glove and hit him square in the lip, knocking out his tooth and giving him quite the puffy lip. Thankfully the tooth was already loose, (just not loose enough to pull out) and not a permanent one. He was bleeding quite badly and almost hysterical about it, but we managed to calm him down, and auntie Chelsea was nice enough to run to the ice cream shop on the beach and get him some ice. When we finally convinced him to put some ice on it, he was much more calm and wanted to go for a walk on the pier. We walked to the end and sat for a while until the sun went behind some clouds.
We left the beach then and went to Captain Sundae for some ice cream. We had a great time, and look forward to many more evenings spent on the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan, Lord willing! I'll leave you with some pictures of our adventure!
Calvin loved the sand and kept running it through his fingers
Austin and Malaya playing in the sand together
Daddy and two of his boys walking down to the water
Austin testing out the water - it was C-O-L-D!!
BEAUTIFUL sunset!
Calvin "wathching" the sunset.
Bradyn's puffy lip and tear stained face :(
Looking much better this morning, he just has to get used to the hole in his mouth for a while :)
This time we picked up Subway for us and McDonalds for the boys and made our way to the beach. It was a beautiful night out there. The lake was calm and it was warm thanks to the wind coming out of the east instead of blowing off the frigid lake water.
We met my sister Chelsea and Matthew and Malaya there. We spent some time sitting by the channel and watching the boats go by, not too many were out, but we did see a few sail boats and the boys had a good time waving to all the people on the boats.
Later we walked down to the water. Bradyn and Russ had a good time playing baseball. Russ was hitting balls to Bradyn like pop-flies so he could practice catching them. All was going well until the wind took one and it missed Bradyn's glove and hit him square in the lip, knocking out his tooth and giving him quite the puffy lip. Thankfully the tooth was already loose, (just not loose enough to pull out) and not a permanent one. He was bleeding quite badly and almost hysterical about it, but we managed to calm him down, and auntie Chelsea was nice enough to run to the ice cream shop on the beach and get him some ice. When we finally convinced him to put some ice on it, he was much more calm and wanted to go for a walk on the pier. We walked to the end and sat for a while until the sun went behind some clouds.
We left the beach then and went to Captain Sundae for some ice cream. We had a great time, and look forward to many more evenings spent on the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan, Lord willing! I'll leave you with some pictures of our adventure!
Calvin loved the sand and kept running it through his fingers
Austin and Malaya playing in the sand together
Daddy and two of his boys walking down to the water
Austin testing out the water - it was C-O-L-D!!
BEAUTIFUL sunset!
Calvin "wathching" the sunset.
Bradyn's puffy lip and tear stained face :(
Looking much better this morning, he just has to get used to the hole in his mouth for a while :)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sewing
Some of you have been asking to see pictures of the things I have been sewing, so I decided to do a post on that. I LOVE to sew and LOVE to see what it looks like when I'm finished. I'll just post a few pictures to bring you up to speed on what else has been keeping me busy.
An outfit, hat and shoes for Calvin.
Outfit and shoes for my new niece Kayla.
New church shoes for Calvin.
A purse with fabric flower - a birthday gift for a friend.
Hats for the grandkids of a lady at church.
Purse with a fabric flower for myself.
I hope you're all having a wonderful day!
An outfit, hat and shoes for Calvin.
Outfit and shoes for my new niece Kayla.
New church shoes for Calvin.
A purse with fabric flower - a birthday gift for a friend.
Hats for the grandkids of a lady at church.
Purse with a fabric flower for myself.
I hope you're all having a wonderful day!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Building and planting and riding....oh my!!
Despite the rainy weather on Saturday, we were still able to get a lot of things accomplished around the house. Here is what we kept ourselves busy with.
While I went grocery shopping with Calvin, Russ took the other two boys with him to Menards (their favorite store) to get some building supplies. For what, you ask?
Well, about 2 years ago, Russ and Uncle Herman built a tree house in a tree just off our driveway. Until Saturday, there was no way of getting up in the tree house. Austin helped his dad build a big ladder so finally the boys can play in their "new" tree house. Now just to get some siding and a door to finish it off!!
The new ladder
Austin showing me how he can climb the ladder
He made it to the top!
We also were able to plant some more of our garden. Austin just LOVES to help his dad outside, so he was tickled when Russ asked him to help him with the garden. He enjoyed pouring the seeds into the planter, and following in daddy's footsteps as they were being planted.
When that was accomplished, we finally took the training wheels off Austin's bike. We have been talking about doing this for a few weeks now, but have been so busy that we never got the chance. Austin did quite well and though he isn't quite to the point where he can take off and ride by himself, he is well on his way!
Our BIG boy ready to ride his two wheeler!
Here he comes!
Take a picture of me, mom!!
Bradyn showing him how it's done.
While I went grocery shopping with Calvin, Russ took the other two boys with him to Menards (their favorite store) to get some building supplies. For what, you ask?
Well, about 2 years ago, Russ and Uncle Herman built a tree house in a tree just off our driveway. Until Saturday, there was no way of getting up in the tree house. Austin helped his dad build a big ladder so finally the boys can play in their "new" tree house. Now just to get some siding and a door to finish it off!!
The new ladder
Austin showing me how he can climb the ladder
He made it to the top!
We also were able to plant some more of our garden. Austin just LOVES to help his dad outside, so he was tickled when Russ asked him to help him with the garden. He enjoyed pouring the seeds into the planter, and following in daddy's footsteps as they were being planted.
When that was accomplished, we finally took the training wheels off Austin's bike. We have been talking about doing this for a few weeks now, but have been so busy that we never got the chance. Austin did quite well and though he isn't quite to the point where he can take off and ride by himself, he is well on his way!
Our BIG boy ready to ride his two wheeler!
Here he comes!
Take a picture of me, mom!!
Bradyn showing him how it's done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
