Who's 2????

IT'S ME!!!!!!!

A little sugar high

Oh the anticipation

Kirra's 2nd cake she picked from my book...it's called the Pinata cake cuz there's a chocolate shell that we put over it and decorated....she then took a little toy hammer and cracked it open like a pinata!

Kirra LOVING her present from Aunty Ann, Uncle Jonathan and Narelle!!! Thanks guys!!!

Kirra's 2nd 2nd Birthday Party

Kirra woke up at 6:30am on Friday because she was sooo excited to go to Miss Shelly's that morning to have a birthday party and eat the cupcakes I made the night before! When I went into her room, after hearing her singing, she sat up, no BOLTED up and said, "Happy Birthday to Kirra?" "cake?!"

I love this kid!!!

Let the Festivities Begin!!!

The same weekend we went to the Gardens, my dad, Alan and our friend Zach took out our two windows in the "nook" and put in our new DOOR our to the deck!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

We also celebrated Kirra's 2nd Birthday early since her Nana and Papa were both in Grand Rapids!!!

"Happy Birthday to you!" (Kirra sang along with the entire song!)

Alan's mum gave me a kid's birthday cake book a long time ago and I let Kirra choose which cake she wanted for her first 2nd birthday party!!! She chose the moon cake...I added the star with the cutout cake that was leftover!!

Me-"Where are you going?" Kirra-"GARDENS!"

Kirra finally got to take her Papa to Meijer Gardens!!!

September, Crazy-ness

Can I say that our little girl is HILARIOUS!?! She has quite the sense of humor these days...as you will be able to tell from these pics!

flossing

yes, that is a chicken nugget...not proud of it, but she enjoyed every minute of it!!!

Labor Day 2009

Labor Day weekend consisted of us heading up to Higgins Lake to spend the weekend with Nana and Papa AND our sweet friends Luke, Ashley and Seth Iliff!!!!! (thanks again guys for making that LONG trip from VA)

Nana with her kids reading "The Carrot Seed"

Some Higgins Lake fun....it was FREEZING!!!

Taking advantage of our bike trailer and two kids who LOVE to go for bike rides, we headed out to go geocaching!!!

Some geocaching excitement!!

Best Mates!!!!!

Just a note to my sweet roomies from HOPE whom I normally get together with over Labor Day.....we DID miss being with you wonderful swordswomen + families....just wanted to say that!

Quite Backlogged...

So, life has been REALLY busy since Aruba in August!! :) Here are a few things we were up to at the end of August (other than getting our classrooms ready and preparing for a new life of us both working and Kirra having to go to daycare)

We snuck away for a day to go Tunnel Park in Holland to play and enjoy the last days of summer together!

Our House Church took a quick visit to Chi-town to see the Cubs play....they lost, but we had a great time together!

Potty training in FULL swing!!! We came home from Aruba and my mom had encouraged Kirra well...so well that she was dry during the day, every day!!!!

Big Girl Panties (funny to think that I would never post a picture of mine!)

Before our trips this summer we decided to get Kirra used to her BIG bed...she still LOVES it!!

We're Still Here!

We're just really busy! I'll be posting very soon about the end of our summer and the month of Sept.

Check back soon!

ARUBA

Aruba 2009

3 couples, 6 friends, 5 kiddos left in Michigan, 6 grand parents and 1 babysitter caring for the 5 kiddos left behind, 2 long delays, 4 airplanes, 6 seats in business class, 2 birthdays, 1 10th Wedding Anniversary, 3 condos at La Cabana, lots of adventures, heaps of laughter, and 1 Happy Island = A FABULOUS VACATION!!!!!

The pre-trip pedicures!

Jeremy and Tracy Quist--celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary!

Alexis and Sam Vilardi--celebrating Sam's 30th birthday and their 8th wedding anniversary!

US--celebrating Megan's 29th b-day and just enjoying being with friends!!!

We were hoping to spend some of Saturday in Aruba, but due to our long delays, we got in around 10pm and took a quick walk to the beach, but headed to our rooms to settle in.

First Day In Aruba!!!

Sunday started out a little wet (Aruba only gets 17in of rain a YEAR, so we got to witness about 4-5 inches of their total during an early morning downpour). We decided to catch the bus and head to town to get a few groceries and sightsee.

A little mishap on the way to the bus...we thought we were going to miss it, so we were running single file...Jeremy was running ahead of me and I didn't see him move a large branch out of his way until it came smacking me across my face! Ooops!

Waiting for the bus

Still waiting for the bus

Finally on the bus, after about an hour of waiting!

Our first sunset dinner in Aruba!

Day 2:

Monday was a day of playing around the resort, swimming in the pool and ocean and just getting some Caribbean sun!

Our little green friend!

Eating at Las Ramblas ( a tapas restaurant at our resort)

Four Wheelin' Day:

Tuesday was our major adventure day. We rented two Jeep Wranglers and headed out to explore the island at our own pace and timing! We had an absolute BLAST! Aruba is an amazingly beautiful country/island that is very diverse...

California Lighthouse

One of the Natural Bridges (the original collapsed a few years ago).

Our fearless driver!

Supposedly, this rock is in the shape of Aruba itself!

The Natural Pool--a CRAZY drive to get there, but very worth it! This beautiful "pool" formed between rock formations where you can snorkel and swim without the fear of crazy ocean life!

Baby Beach--a beautiful beach on the south point of the island where you can swim and snorkel without the water getting too deep!

A Day of Rest:

We spent Wednesday at the condo just relaxing and trying to stay out of the sun for a while! That night we headed to the High Rise area and had a wonderful dinner at Gianni's Italian Restaurant.

Happy 29th Birthday Megan!!!

Thursday was a day full of celebrations! We woke up and just enjoyed the peacefulness of the morning. Alan took off around lunch time to do his 2 dive scuba trip, while the rest of us headed for our snorkeling adventure! That night we headed to the High Rise area on the north west coast. Alan took me to a Japanese Steak House for my birthday dinner! So yummy! We met up the crew later in the evening and headed back to the condo for a night full of games, laughter and midnight fun on the beach! It was a great way to celebrate my birthday!

The Last Day in Paradise:

We all woke up very late and decided to spend our last day at the local water park! We had a blast...but were exhausted after about 4 hours of constant play! Instead of going crazy our last night, we chose to head downtown for dinner and then back to the condo to play some games before packing and heading to bed! Our last Aruban sunset was a perfect way to end our vacation!

The Divi Tree...the wind is constantly blowing in Aruba and it blows in the same direction daily--from east to west--which causes the vegetation to grow in an east to west bend!

Getting ready to see our sweet pea the next day!!! This was truly an awesome vacation, but we were definitely ready to head home. Thanks friends for helping make our week in Aruba such a wonderful time! Thanks Mom and Dad for allowing us to use the timeshare!!! Aruba--thank you for letting us enjoy you!!! We'll be back someday for sure!

Work Girls

Stephanie, Debbie, Courtney, and Julie are some of my good friends from work. I'm really dreading going back full time this year and leaving Kirra, but knowing that I'll be working with this group of ladies will help me get through it!!!!