A something in a summers day..

The summer is over and I am finally beginning to blog about it.   I try to not overuse the phrase "I'm busy" because I think most people around me can say that about their life.  

Having responsibilities on this planet is enough to call ones life busy.  This summer I felt I had the right to use that word and the lack of updated post are partial proof that I have indeed been busy.

 I have categorized it as a good busy. 

We weren't busy being sick all the time, having to be in the hospital or dealing with adversity, we were entertaining company and getting as much out of a Michigan summer as we could.  

That is a blessed busy and I won't complain about it.

Anticipating summer I got a new bike this year. After test riding a few of them I settled on a Trek. This ride was taken shortly after the historic flooding that had occurred in Grand Rapids this spring. You can see the how high the water was by the lines in the trees.

The biggest news for us this summer was our relocation to Zeeland.

1809 32nd was our first home, the place where our kids went from cribs to beds and diapers to tricycles. Even when we lived overseas we came home every summer to the same house.

Watch your footing on corn and beans.

 We now share the road with tractors and get a good smell of farm life in our new location. 

I am happy with our new house and our neighbors seem friendly.

I love the natural light.

Holland State Park 

Elliot chose this outfit he said he looked like a Little Rascal. 

 Sweeney Brother reunion.  

Daddy daughter bike ride.

 Jane was part of the Homeschool softball team. This volunteer run program, was perfect for us this summer. One day a week and cheap.  They were not strict on what you needed to wear either.  Jane forgot to put on her sneakers and played this game in her boots.  I was not happy about this, reminding her that running would be difficult. I was also thinking I would be looked at as the mom who let her daughter play in boots. Because that is what mom's do, we feel responsible every time our kid has a dirty face, mismatched socks, or forget their manners.  I felt better once I noticed a girl playing in flip-flops, what was her mom thinking? Ha..  
To Jane's credit every time she played she got a hit within three tries and got on base. Only once did she fail to get a run in.

The Arnold family had a reunion this summer too.

two swims from outypants on Vimeo.

faygo from outypants on Vimeo.

K bike ride from outypants on Vimeo.

Rodeo and The Reds

The Sweeney brothers had a reunion in Tennessee.
Left to Right: Greg and Linda, (with Aaron in the middle) Garrett and Lavona, Grant and Gloria, Glen and Elaine, and Graham came with his son Loren. 

The kids had fun with a pool around. Uncle Aaron is having a good time splashing his niece. 

We went to a rodeo in Rutherford. It is a fundraiser for the  fire department.
Gloria showing Jane some dance moves.

Elliot and Loren thumb wrestling.
Elliot loved the attention of his older cousin.
It was nice getting to know Loren and we invited him to visit us in Grand Rapids.

The calf scramble ( I think they call it that) All kids 12 and under compete to pull the tags off three of them. Once you pulled a tag you were to return to the middle and give it to the rodeo clown.
Elliot had pulled a tag, but dropped it a bigger kid grabbed it off the ground and ran up to claim the prize. The clown had noticed what happened and told Elliot to come up and get a prize too. The prize was a five dollar bill.

Congratulations.

This was the kids first rodeo. They immediately began asking for boots and cowboy hats.
We left the kids with their grandparents for four days and met up in Cincinnati over the next weekend.

The highlight was the baseball game.

Hoping to catch a practice ball.

The infamous Charlie Sheen was there. They had him play a game during one of the innings. 

We purchased Reds shirts at Old Navy and came ready to root root for the home team.

Johnny Cueto bobble-heads for the first 20,000 people.
Jane sold hers after the game for $5.00 to a couple of guys who were buying them.

The T.V announcer was drowned out by the cheering fans.
The Reds were number one in their division and were on quite the winning streak. Watching the last inning was very exciting. The Reds closer had 100 MPH fast balls, the Pirates didn't score any runs and another victory was added to Cincinnati. 

  My favorite part of this video is hearing grandma, start clapping and cheering while Elliot is awarded his $5

Don't mess with Texas.

Texas can be checked off our list. The dream to visit all fifty States has begun with a visit to the second largest State in the Union.  This was a first for me and the kids. Nathan did his basic training for the Air Force in San Antonio, so technically he has been to the State, although this was his first time getting to explore.

We sincerely hope, it will be the first of many return visits.

Uncle Graham with his daughter Kara and grand-son Ashton and Uncle Grant.  
Someone forgot to smile in this picture can you guess who?

We stayed in the home of Uncle Grant and Aunt Gloria. They have two grown kids Sean and Kenny.  We were spoiled by great company and the best cooking. The kids got to swim in a pool and play with a dog.  We really didn't want to leave.

Chance, the dog was a hit with the kids who desperately want a pet.

I was really impressed at how little he barked and how easy going he was with the kids.

Uncle Grant and Aunt Gloria have a community pool shared by their subdivision.
My kids would spend their life in the water and were thrilled at visiting the pool every day.

Jane's first visit to American Girl Store.  No doll was purchased at this visit.

Cosmic Jump was the name of this place that has a bunch of trampolines set up. You could slam dunk a basketball or bounce off walls. The kids liked this dodge ball area.

DALLAS WORLD AQUARIUM

We even saw a Rhinoceros Hornbill!
A favorite bird we would often see at the Aviary in Kowloon Park.

RANGERS BASEBALL

The ASTROS and RANGERS are both Texas teams.
They compete over this trophy.
Rangers won that day. 

Across the way is the Dallas Cowboy Stadium

It was a hot first inning. We weren't sure if we were going to make it.
The clouds came out in the second and we were able to sit and enjoy the game.

Boo Cruz! He had recently got a lot of runs off the Tigers, we were keeping our loyalties.

Cousin Sean took pity on how hot it was and bought the kids lemon ice.

There was a stadium wide wave  going on during the game.
 "Deep in the heart of Texas" was played during the 7th inning stretch. 

A visit to Uncle Graham's house. He has a pond, golf cart, woods for a backyard, and neighbors who own donkeys. He got the kids to make donkey calls, something he often does with Ashton to get the donkeys closer and feed them.

Jane and dad hanging on in the back.

FORT WORTH

The Longhorns

They added a challenge, requiring you to spell the word maze by getting a card punched at letter stations.
It was super hot and although they had water spraying out from above, it didn't quite bring relief. I stayed out while dad and kids went through.
This maze was featured on the Amazing Race show.

Jane riding the bull. She stayed on a lot longer than eight seconds.  

Three of the six flags.

Kenny was taught  how to play Monopoly Deal, on our last night.
When he was about Elliot's age, he memorized the Monopoly board and it was his favorite game. We thought he would like this abbreviated version played with cards.

Thank You Sweeneys for the great time in Texas!