We had a great visit with Jack and Kelly (and Owen) this past weekend. You forget just how much you miss someone until you spend time with them again. We took the kids to a fun park not far from where they live. It has a small zoo there as well (and I mean small. We're talking monkeys, lynxes, prairie dogs, a bald eagle, and a petting zoo with pigs, goats, and miniature horses.) It was such a blast, though, and the kids were loving it. The rest of the time we relaxed and visited.
Tim and Noah pretend to be prairie dogs.
Owen is a perfect combination of both his parents' looks. It was good for Noah to have a little boy to play blocks and trucks with.
Tim and Noah pretend to be prairie dogs.Owen is a perfect combination of both his parents' looks. It was good for Noah to have a little boy to play blocks and trucks with.
Our flamingo. This was the only hole he could reach his head into.
Monday night our small group started up again. It was good to all hang out and we also welcomed a new family in. They have twin boys, so now Noah is not outnumbered anymore! Afterwards we went to Matt & Jeana's and played with their new Wii that they got over the weekend. It is SOOOO much fun and easily addicting. Then the boys watched "Heroes" and Jeana & I discussed our sewing projects.
Tuesday night we found ourselves at Matt & Jeana's (again!) for Harvest Moon Festival, an important Chinese holiday. Jeana describes it as Thanksgiving without the Pilgrims and Indians. It is a time to celebrate harvest and family. There were 9 of us in all celebrating (including Noah, who hit the hay after dinner.) We had a great Chinese meal that Jeana had prepared and tried out some mooncakes for dessert. NOT so good. The wintermelon tasted a little like fig, but I still couldn't eat it. The lotus mooncake was the worst thing I had tasted in my life and I have had some nasty things. I spit it out the second it touched my tongue, as did others who tried it. Thankfully, there was a back-up dessert of cookies and ice cream. We then made our way out to the TV and the Wii. Tim and I won the bowling tournament and I beat him in tennis (that was a first.) When it comes to the homerun derby, though...I was definitely one of the losers.
Yesterday afternoon I made my way into Grand Rapids with Noah. We visited with our friends, Jen, Maddie and Leighton for a bit and then met Tim. We had dinner at Dave and Holly's and got to meet their new baby, Jaden. He's a cutie, and a very good baby from what we could see. It was nice to visit with them. Again, you forget how much you miss people when you don't see them that often.
Today I finished reading for my book club tonight. We're meeting at my house and I still have a lot of cleaning up to do, as well as some baking. We are discussing "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. I put off reading the book until yesterday because I had found out it was about a school shooting and I just wasn't looking forward to it. It turned out to be a fascinating book and I am so glad to have read it. The only other book I have read by her is "My Sister's Keeper" which I would also recommend. She is able to write a book and her characters in such a way that you get everyone's perspective and you don't feel that she is necessarily taking sides. She always seems to throw in a surprising twist that throws you completely off-guard at the end. It was hard to read as a parent of young children because it makes me wonder what my children will grow up to be like, but I think parents and educators should take the time to read it. One of the subjects it tackles is bullying and the effects it has on a teenager. Jodi Picoult does a great job of taking the gray issues in life, the ones you don't want to take time to think about, and presents them in a very real way by throwing in characters whose emotions you can actually feel as you read the book.
It is chilly right now. I actually have on pants and a long-sleeve shirt and there is a light rain falling outside. I'm going to make pumpkin bread for our book club tonight. I would say that fall is right around the corner, but this Saturday is supposed to be at least 75 degrees.
Sugar Pea Ross is doing well as far as we can tell. Still causing me to have miserable mornings and snack all day to keep food in my stomach or else I get sick. I just keep telling myself they are reminders that there is life inside.
3 comments:
I love those prairie dog "look-outs!"
Have you decided what Noah is going to "Bee" this year? I just found pictures of him from when he was a bunblebee ~ too cute! The boys and I just got back from purchasing their costumes ~ we were adventurous and went to Muskegon (I usually go to GR because I know my way around).
Check Toys 'R' Us for the dino outfit. I think you can view the weekly ad online ~ they have one on there :o)
The phrase "talking monkeys" leaped out at me as I scanned the first few paragraphs of the post. Glad I went back and read it properly and set the record straight!
Post a Comment