Vacation 2010, Part 2

There are so many photos from our vacation that I had a hard time paring it down to a reasonable number for the blog.  Here is the second section of our vacation photos and stories, and I'm quite positive that I don't have a reasonable number of pictures.   Oh well.

On another day of our trip we went back to Ludington for some more playing and for one of our rare trips out to eat.  It was a special treat to eat out, but it usuallys reminds us how much easier it is to eat at home!   For lunch we went to a great place in Ludington called Chef John's.  We'd highly recommend it for a great sandwich.

At the park there were a bunch of statues in a grassy area, and we thought it would provide a great photo opportunity.  It did!  Kate had fun strolling around the statues.  She looks like such a little girl in this picture and not as much a toddler!

This is one of our favorite pictures of Kate on our trip.  She loved climbing up on the rock and jumping off.

Drew wasn't as much of a stop-and-pose-for-the-camera kind of guy, so we settled for action shots of him.

I didn't think Kate could jump this high, but she propelled herself up and raced across on the zip line.  Just kidding!  Jana is holding her and pushing her across.

The next morning we ventured into the Silver Lake area and visited a lighthouse.  Drew was super excited about the lighthouse and was thrilled when we found it open and that we could climb to the top.  There was a height requirement to climb up and Kate didn't make it (no carrying kids, either), so Jana decided to stay down with Kate.  Drew and I got about a quarter of the way up, he froze, and we ended up inching our way back down.  In his defense, I was a little nervous myself.   The stairs were a spiral staircase going up over ten stories!  After bringing Drew back down, I climbed up the rest of the way myself and enjoyed the view from the top . . . actually, it was foggy and I could barely see the ground.   Oh well, climbing it was fun.  Would you believe that I've lived in Michigan my whole life and this was the first time as an adult that I've been in a lighthouse?!

While I was up in the lighthouse, our cool dude climbed on the rocks below it.  Drew and Kate had great fun clambering all over the rocks and Drew quickly forgot about the failed attempt to reach the lighthouse summit.

Kate hadn't been to the water yet in her new bathing suit and she was very excited about trying it on and showing it off.  Little girl bathing suits are much more glamorous that little boy bathing suits, so Jana and I were a bit excited about it ourselves.

Kate enjoyed showing off her swimming suit!

I, of course, had to scoop her up and pose for a picture.  Kate woke up from her afternoon nap first, so it was fun to enjoy her and pay attention to her new bathing suit without ignoring Drew.

As you can see, any hesitancy about being in the sand was long gone from Kate!

I found a small shovel outside the cottage and the three kids had a great time building a tremendous fort in the sand.  It was fun (for all three of us) to have a tool and to see how big we could make it.

The sand castle got big enough that there just little heads peeking out over the top of it.

Despite heavy rains the night after we made this, the sand castle stood firm and before we left we had fun destroying it (it lasted over three days!). 

Taking a break from building, the three of us threw globs of sand into the water.  The water was very cold!  (~60 F)

Drew continues to be a pretty good thrower.  It was fun to watch him chuck the sand (as long as you weren't downwind of it).

Kate was fearless around the water.  We had to keep a close eye on her because she'd go zipping in and the next thing you knew she'd stumble and do a face plant into the water.  She'd pop right up though and keep on going.

One afternoon Kate decided the front deck needed some sweeping.  There's nothing like watching a young child trying to handle a full-size broom.  We had fun watching her "clean."

That same afternoon Drew got up and sat on the couch and proceeded to be highly photogenic, a rarity for him.  He so infrequently poses for the camera that we snapped shot after shot of him.  I'm so happy that we may have captured in a few pictures how cute he regularly is to us!

After a little while of sweeping Kate came over toward me to show off.  I love how proud she was of her work and how excited she was to have me watching.  This smile almost says, "Are you watching me dad?"

My two ladies ready to hit the beach for a walk.  Kate is looking quite a bit like Jana, isn't she?

Our annual footprints in the sand picture.  The order from left to right is Kate, Jana, Mark, and Drew.  It won't be long, and I think Drew will catch Jana in foot size!

This is were we headed on our walks.  Due to rains at night, there were several "streams" that fed into Lake Michigan.  The water was only a few inches deep, it was warmer than the lake, and it was perfect for playing.  Drew and Kate had lots of fun running around and messing around in the water.

Drew paused for a bit (from throwing sticks) so that I could take his picture.  He was surprisingly dry at this piont, which he remedied quickly.

Kate wasted no time going right into the water and getting soaked.  It was a little chilly out, but neither child seemed to mind.

Jana and I had fun wandering among the kids as they flew around us running into the water, splashing, and throwing stuff.

On the way back to the cottage, Drew was soaking wet, so we put him in my sweatshirt.  He's such a big four-year-old, but the sweatshirt helps give perspective on his size.  Jana also did the same for Kate and then scooped her up in her arms.  It was a neat moment looking at our little boy and our little girl, safely ensconced in a parent's sweatshirt and totally dwarfed by them.  I'm sure someday we'll look back fondly on how small Drew and Kate were at this time.

Just a couple more pictures to go, and in this one you can get a sense of Kate's fearlessness in the water.  Keep in mind, the water is cold!!  Kate marched right in though and splashed and played in the water like it was eighty degrees.

Drew had no trouble with the water either, especially when he found a stick to play with.  It's amazing how much fun a little boy can have with a stick!

On our way home from vacation we swung through Grand Rapids for a visit with GG and Papa (Great-grandma and grandpa Vryhof).  They have a pool in their complex and to sweeten the visit we made a trip to the pool.  Drew and Kate were so excited about it.  We don't often get to a pool in Lansing.  Papa gave Kate some swimming lessons and helped her maneuver around the pool.  Both kids had a blast in the pool and enjoyed swimming.

Vacation 2010, Part 1

This year for a family vacation we again rented a cottage on Lake Michigan just south of Pentwater. It was a fabulous time! We took so many pictures that I'm splitting them into two installments to make the whole phlog thing a little more manageable for me.

The week before we were due to leave on vacation the owners of the cottage called us and offered that we could come a day early (for no charge). Um . . . .yeah! That was a no brainer, especially as Jana and I sat down on Friday evening after putting the kids to bed and looked out to this: The next day we went into the "big city," Ludington, to get groceries and check out one of the kids' favorite playgrounds. They especially loved this "bumpy slide," as they called it, which consisted of rollers that formed the slide. You can tell it was early in the trip because Kate was allowing someone to hold her hand. Our independent little girl didn't want or need that help for long.

Tons of cool things to climb up and slide on and run over and yet these simple toys that go back and forth remain highly popular. I think they should have these for adults and you could have fun and get a workout on it! :)

We did a lot of messing around enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the cottage. While we were having lunch Drew and Kate got a little silly.

Kate started to show off her muscles. She flexes like this and says, "Muscles! Muscles!"

The next day Grandma Lynn and Grandpa John visited. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the greatest, so we spent some time in Pentwater and indoors. We finally got to the beach in the afternoon. Kate was quite hesitant about the sand at first. It's fascinating how that texture takes a little getting used to. After some coaxing and patience from grandma though, she started to venture out.

After a little while, Kate was having great fun in the sand!

The next day was beautiful in the morning and that morning Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bill arrived for a visit. We walked along the channel in Pentwater and Drew helped point out the incoming boats to grandma.

A rare Aupperlee family photo! We have all together too few of these, so we used my parents to get a picture where we're all looking at the camera and look reasonably sane.

At the end of the pier Grandma Sue made sure to hang on tight to Kate. It was a tough job to hold her, but someone had to do it.

Drew pointed Grandpa Bill back toward the shore and gulls flying around.

Another rare photo . . . just me and Jana. Who even cares about the parents?

Back to Drew and Kate now (I promise). Drew and Kate loved this slide in Charles Mears State Park in Pentwater. It's one of those old metal slides that used to be in playgrounds. I camped here when I was little, so I may gone on this slide when I was Drew's age. The slide was super-fast and both kids could hardly get enough of it.

The three Aupperlee women walking along the channel in Pentwater.

Kate also enjoyed the swings. She's looking pretty sweet in those sunglasses, isn't she?

Drew started walking on the wall next to the channel walk and had great fun on the "balance beam."

What big brother does, Kate must do also, so she also got in on the act.

Again, we were able to make it to the beach in the afternoon and despite it being a little cool (as evidenced by the hooded sweatshirts), it was still a nice afternoon at the beach. Drew and Kate were very busy with their buckets. Grandma Sue filled them with water, then Drew and Kate filled the watery bucket with sand.

For some reason we got lots of pictures of Grandma Sue and Kate. I think they were the only ones looking at the camera and smiling! :)

The next day we went back to Ludington again for lunch. While driving through town we saw this fire truck, which was incredibly exciting. It was parked in front of the firehouse with the ladder fully extended. We parked across the street from it and the kids gawked from the backseat for several minutes.

That's it for this post. We're about halfway through the vacation. When I get a chance, I'll get more photos and stories up.

Just like you

We just got back from a week-long vacation at a cottage on Lake Michigan and before getting to those pictures, I thought I'd post some pictures and stories updating what was going on before our trip.

Both Drew and Kate continue to adore doing things that Jana and I are doing. The other day Jana was with Kate on the driveway while I was mowing our lawn. Each time I turned the lawn mower to start a new row, Kate would closely watch me and do the same with her toy lawn mower. The thing they've been clamoring to do with Jana is yoga, so one night the three of them put out the yoga mat in our living room and they did some poses. Here are Drew and Kate in downward dog. Nice going! Drew liked this pose, warrior II. He's still working a little on his form :)

Jana and Drew worked on child's pose. Kate decided it was a good time to take a break for a bite of banana. Kate has her priorities right!

Kate has been growing like crazy and continues to thin out. She's still surprisingly average though for her age in both height and weight (a large contrast with Drew). Lest we think she's getting growing up and getting too big, pictures like this remind us of her size. She's still so little!

I think Kate is working on tree pose, but your guess is as good as mine. She showed great enthusiasm for the different simple poses Jana was teaching her and Drew, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what she was doing from the pictures!

Kate also loves helping in the kitchen. As soon as Jana heads into the kitchen, Kate scurries in and pulls up a chair so she can help. In this picture, Kate is helping to cut some orange slices (don't worry, grandmas, with a butter knife!).

Kate loves having her hair done at day care. Jana and I are still learning to do things with her hair. It's completely foreign territory for me. I was fascinated by this hairstyle that Kate came home with one day, although in getting a cute picture I think I missed out on the fact there there are two ponytails back there. It was quite the look. Trust me.

Every night, mom, Drew and Kate climb into Drew's bed for nightly prayers. For the past year or so, it's been Jana or me modeling a prayer for them. Within the past month though, the torch has been passed and Drew leads us each evening in a prayer. He does a fantastic job and we love to hear the things he comes up with from his day that he is thankful for (not always the things we would have said!).

Warm weather has meant lots of work in the yard. Drew and Kate both love gardening tools, with Drew's favorite being his shovel (below). He's got a miniature shovel from Home Depot that's a real shovel (wooden handle, metal end). Drew has been watching how I use it and he's been getting his form down. He looks pretty good, doesn't he?

Kate always finds that gardening is best done in a dress. I might have to work a little on getting her into grubbier clothes.

Jana took this picture when I wasn't looking and loves the symmetry of the two Aupperlee men digging in the backyard. There's certainly a minor resemblance there.

Kate got a trowel and did a nice job digging for me as well. Her favorite was to lift the trowel up and shower herself with dirt. Our bathtub got a workout that night!

Drew took a break in the shade to cool off and "hide" in the plants. It was one of the few times he stopped working and actually looked at the camera.

What big brother Drew does, Kate likes to do too. She also plopped down in the shade for a rest.

After preparing the yard, I had a few yards of bark mulch delivered to our house. The huge pile of mulch elicited wide eyes from Drew and Kate and much excitement at the prospect of helping. Kate, of course, had on her skirt for the project and paired it with her rainboots. Great workwear.

Drew had on his workgloves, his workboots, and was much more appropriately dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. If he was in jeans, he looks like he'd be ready to help much a stall at the farm, doesn't he? Both kids were again fantastically dirty after a little while of helping with mulch. Helping dad with yardwork is lots of fun and lots of DIRTY.

This past Christmas we got a sand and water table from Grandpa John and Grandma Lynn. Having cleared a space in the yard for it, we recently set it up and Drew and Kate have been playing with it almost every day since. I think the idea is to have one half sand and the other water, but it has quickly turned into moving as much sand into the water area as possible, while also taking water and putting it into the sand area. I've taken to calling it the "sandy water" table. Oh yeah, Drew's hat in this picture . . . is my old hat from high school. These sort of hats were in for a brief period of time in high school and the kids just discovered them. Drew loves to wear one. It's not often we get good pictures of Drew where he's doing a semi-nice smile and looking in the direction of the camera, so I have to include this one. While Kate is average in size, Drew continues to be off the charts. He routinely gets mistaken for a six-year-old when we're around town. Drew just finished his first year of preschool and during the school year he grew 2 1/2 inches. He's the tallest person in his class. When watching him with his peers you wonder, "who put that older kid in with those little kids?" Lately, Drew has turned a corner with shyness and has gotten much better about talking to new people and speaking up in large groups. It's been fun to see him open up and let others see what a fascinating little guy he is.