Addison's First Day of First Grade

It's been a long time.  Almost forgot we had this blog.  Time to brush up on how to use it.

Meet Ryland, he just turned one

One full week

Today marks one week that we have been in California. In some respects I cannot believe it's already been a week, but if I think back to all we've done and all that's gone on - it's been a busy week ;) Yesterday, I started off the day with a swim at a nearby gym - they were kind enough to get me a month guest pass for $20 - you really can't beat that. I am extremely pleased to have this convenience nearby! After my swim, I headed back to the parents and we had breakfast and then headed out to 'the market' for some fruit and veggies. We went straight from there to the water park where we met up with Auntie Anita, Uncle Rob and the cousins (Logan, Garrett and Myles) The kids played great even though there was a slight breeze - they were in the water and on the playground and running down the hill.... good fun! Then we had lunch, took naps and finished out the day by helping Grandma weed and plant flowers!

Today we were on our own, well, we just didn't have cousins to play with since Anita and Rob both worked today. But, today was still eventful. Addison helped Grandma feed the kitties - which is becoming a daily routine and one she looks forward to as well ;) She LOVES the kitties! However, she's learned that most of them are "scared" (with good reason). After that we had some breakfast and Grandma got out the play dough. I don't think Addison has ever played with play dough before and she just loved it! I would say it occupied her for nearly 2 hours!

After play dough, Addison and Grandma picked tomatoes - they each had a bucket and at first Addison's job was to take the stem off of the tomatoes that Grandma picked, but she got bored with that pretty quickly. Then her job became to pick the yellow ones (pear tomatoes) She did pretty well with it, a few not-so-ripe ones were picked but seems like that's the danger in having toddlers do your gardening.

After lunch we just played outside and on the swings...oh, AND in the dirt. I don't understand her fascination with the dirt or picking all the rocks out of the dirt, but I know it's harmless. All of this, of course, led to bathtime. And then to bedtime....

Tomorrow Grandma has chemo for 1 hour and we are spending the day at Auntie Anita's. Auntie Emmy comes up from Santa Barbara tomorrow as well. That's all for now!

The West Side - Day5

On the first day of our trip out here, my Grandmother's husband passed away. So, we have had quite the week with much of my father's family here from out of town and some of them staying with my parent's. Addison has had a lot of fun getting to play with her cousins and 2nd cousins. Yesterday she had quite a long day - she slept a little restlessly on Thurs night, then she played ALL day with her cousins (well, she did nap, but still played very hard!) She was super tired Friday night when we tried to Skype with Dan and she really, really misses her daddy :( Here's a little clip for Daddy, just to let you know even though she misses you, she really is having some fun out here with Grandpa, Grandma, the cousins and all the other family!

Back on the Homefront (day4)

Well, since the girls left it's been a bit too quiet around here. On Tuesday Ruby and I went for a run around Reed's Lake, made dinner, and then and gave the inside of Michelle's car a good cleaning. Wednesday night I went mountain biking got home made dinner, mowed the lawn, got out the weed trimmer for the second time this summer, and took Ruby for a 25 minute walk. Thursday after work I took Ruby up to Wabasis Lake Park where we visited the Cool family (they are camping there for the week). Ruby got to do some swimming,which their kids found very entertaining. She found a spot where she was taking about a 6 foot running leap into the water off from a ledge. When she hit the water she would make a huge splash and actually submerge for an instant. I almost wish we had a camera to get a photo, she was fun to watch. Then today I took the dog for another lap around Reed's Lake, this time during my lunch hour, then tonight we took a good walk after dinner, and I did laundry,dishes and the bathroom got a major cleaning (scrubbed the ceiling, walls and floor). Now it's time to unwind!


From home, Dan and the dog

THE TRIP - Day 2

For those of you checking in on us, here is "the scoop".... Earlier this year, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She has a tumor in her lung and some spot in her lungs and also some of the cancer has spread to her lymphnodes. She began chemotherapy in early August and is handling those treatments very well. However, I felt that I really wanted to spend some time with my parents after this news. Given this situation and the fact that I (Michelle) am currently unemployed, I figured that I had the opportunity to go now, so I purchased 2 tickets to CA ...for the month of September. We left Dan at home :( wish he could have come too...

So, Addison and I left yesterday for the west coast. Addison was a great little traveller! She was quite excited about taking a "trip" and going to visit Grandpa and Grandma... There were a couple minor outbursts in the plane, but nothing major to write about. I was SO thankful! Here's a little picture of her watching her "shows" while we were flying :) I felt like I was sitting next to a teenage daughter instead of a toddler...she was in her own little world...

Since we arrived, Addison has been busy playing with her cousins and chasing the kitties at Grandpa and Grandma's. Here's a couple pics of Addy with her crazy cousins (two of them at least)

I hope to update more during our trip, but for now....I'm too sleepy....

Birthday Girl!

Well, it's been awhile! I'm not going to try to "catch up" - it's summer in Michigan and we are enjoying it, that's all that needs to be said.

However, I couldn't let the day pass without saying "Happy Birthday" to our dear daughter, Addison. What a blessing! We didn't have a big party today...that is for another day, but we did have cupcakes (or, "muffins" according to Addison), we went to the park and had some great family time! Here are some recent pictures and a clip from today of her with some new toys that Grandpa and Grandma Wissink sent (she's obviously been introduced to these characters before!)

Addison teaching her puppy to go potty!

Addison teaching her puppy to go potty!
Originally uploaded by dmmodz