where to begin...

wow. it's been a while since i've written anything. well things here have been busy.
to sum it up....we've been at the doctor lots in the last few weeks.

our trips went a little something like this...
*failed hearing tests - olivia (her 3rd failure) & garrett (his 2nd failure)
*ear infection - garrett
*respiratory infection - ryan
*eye check up - josie ( she passed!)
*chest congestion - josie
*more chest congestion - josie
*more & more chest congestion - josie

the bright side of all these appointments is that we've gotten to weigh josie quite a bit. as of yesterday she's up to a whopping 6lbs 6oz :)

in the next few days josie should be seeing a pediatric pulmonologist to make sure her lungs haven't suffered from her congestion. yesterday, her chest x-ray showed some fluid on her right lung, so it's just a precaution. then olivia & garrett are off to an pediatric ent to see if they really can't hear. the solution could be tubes, allergy meds, etc. we shall see...

but it hasn't been all stethoscopes and antibiotics. we've had plenty of summer fun.
i have plenty of fun pictures to post... stay tuned.

ryan and his hat

4

...is the number of reasons why i should have brought my camera to the msu craft show this weekend.

...is the number of pictures i would have posted today.

...is the number of scenes you will have to imagine.

get ready.

get set.

imagine.

1. a woman carrying her dog in a baby bjorn

2. 2 dogs being pulled in a wagon...the wagon being pulled by a motorized scooter

3. me getting tom izzo's autograph for caryn :) just kidding! but tom did hang out at the booth next to us for a long time while his daughter got a henna tattoo. and several people did stop by to shake his hand.

i've saved the best for last...

4. a large, LARGE black pig on a leash. ok, i get the concept of someone owning a pig. just like you could own a cow. but farm animals stay on a farm. what exactly is the thought process of someone who loads their massive pig up (and what kind of car did they use?) and drives it to a craft show where they tie it up to a sign post?? my favorite part of the whole "pig as a pet idea" was that the pig actually had an id tag on it's collar. are runaway pigs are problem?

different points of view

olivia & garrett have their own rooms. but most nights garrett sleeps on olivia's top bunk. the pink gingham sheets don't bug him one bit.

the other night they were in bed sleeping. well, supposed to be. i went upstairs and they were both sitting on olivia's bed and she was "reading" to garrett.

i asked them what they were doing.

olivia: mom, were not tired yet. i'm just reading to garrett. when we are tired we'll go to bed.

garrett: mom, we are just working on our muscles.

about an hour later, i checked on them. both were asleep in their respective bunks.

my point of view... they were asleep.
does anything else matter?

in case you were wondering

this is josie's favorite napping spot

sunny days = long naps
cloudy days = not a very happy camper (or camper's mother)

HAPPY MOTHER' S DAY

thanks kids (and tim!) for a fun mother's day :)

see jane elizabeth run

ok... you can't actually see me in this picture, but you get the idea

this morning was my first race post-josie
riverbank run - 10k

it was also my first race without a running partner
emily & jill - i missed you girls!

and it was first race without friends or family cheering me on
7:30 am start time, 4 little kids... not going to happen!

overall it was a good race. perfect weather. and a decent time.

plus a really cute sign when i got home.

as seen in ryan's crib

ryan's new obsession... diego underwear
ready for potty training... HA HA umm...NO

going dutch

it's tulip time in west michigan, so we loaded up the suburban and headed to holland on saturday. our first stop was kinderplaats*. the kids had a blast :)

well, i should say it was our first & last stop...well except for a trip to ben & jerrys. the weather turned windy & rainy so we never made to windmill island. that's ok. i'm sure next year the weather will be perfect and we'll go to windmill island and get a great picture of all the kids standing nicely in front of a lovely bed of tulips. ha ha. who am i kidding?? ryan standing still for a group shot, no noses being picked and everyone smiling? well i can dream...

regardless of the weather, it was a fun day. our new stroller worked like a charm, no sippy cups or shoes were lost and most importantly we didn't lose any kids. so i guess we're ready for disney world next month :) ha ha, kidding once again! that is going to be one insane trip!! just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap :)


*kinderplaats... dutch word. that's about all i know. i googled it to figure out a translation. no luck. so perhaps one of my dutch friends (who i know frequented tulip time as kids and read this blog) can shed some light on what it means.