Gampa Party

We went to a summer party at my dad's work a few weeks ago and it was so fun! I kept telling Kate all day that we were going to a party, and when I asked her whose party it was, she would say, "Gampa Party!" The weather was beautiful and I got cotton candy:)

Kate had her first sucker

They had these swings that were basically just a board with a few chains to hold the kiddos in while they went around and around, and I was a little nervous to let my squirmy child ride them, but I told her to hold on tight and then let her go.  She LOVED it.  She rode them three times and cried the last two times when she had to get off.  She squealed and laughed the entire time they were moving.

doesn't look so safe, does it?

Next, we tried out the bounce house.  Another huge success.  Kate loves to jump lately, and the bounce house was perfect for her.  She didn't even care that she kept falling down:)

Kate also got to sit in a Holland Fire Department Truck.  She was pretty excited to 'drive' it.

The zoo and Miss Independent

Last Wednesday, Kate and I spent the morning at the zoo.  She LOVED petting the goats (yuck!) and seeing the penguins get fed.  I think her favorite exhibit is still the bears.  She says bears now and it's the cutest little word you've ever heard.

this is the face you get when you tell her to smile:)

look at my bear, mommy!

the monkeys are always a fave

Kate has also become Little Miss 'I do it' lately.   Her independence brought her to the snack cupboard last week....so she helped herself pull the cereal box down, pulled out the bag, and started snacking.  At least it was just Crispix!

the look on her face just kills me:)

coloring queen

Kate has been really into coloring with crayons and sidewalk chalk lately.  Last week, she decided that daddy would make a good table for coloring on.  

tickles!

babies!

My best friend, Sarah, is pregnant and expecting a sweet little girl sometime around September 15.  I can't wait for her to become a mommy! Here are a few pictures from her shower on August 10.  We had such a fun time celebrating Baby Molenkamp:)

one of my favorite handmade touches:)

My cousin, Jessica, is also expecting a little girl, sometime around November 5.  She's a teacher, so we had her shower before school starts and things get too crazy.  My mom helped a lot with the food (and Kate control).  Again, celebrating a new little one was so much fun!

look familiar? i made two:)

Yay for new babies! Can't wait to meet both of these sweet ones!

just a day in the life...

A few weeks ago, we had a really fun Tuesday.  I know, Tuesday is a random day, but when you're a stay at home mom, any day can be a fun one.  We went to Target in the morning - a favorite of both Kate and I:) And after Kate's nap, we went to Heritage Park.  It's in Grandville, and my grandma used to take us there to feed the ducks when we were kids.  Kate has been really missing the ducks at our pond lately (I don't know where they went, but I think all the construction scared them away), and I knew there would be plenty of ducks there.  We brought some old bread and buns and got to feed the ducks! These ducks are obviously fed by people a lot because they come right up to you and wait for the food - a little scary when you have a curious toddler! But we had a great time.  And, thankfully, the ducks only tried to eat my pant legs, not Kate's:)

After the park, we met my mom at school and cut letters on the Ellison Die Machine for a few upcoming baby showers.  Kate got to run all over the halls at school and even met a new friend - another teacher's daughter.  We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house afterwards, and then headed home for an evening with daddy.

It was National Night Out, so we went to the Kentwood celebration.  We got sno cones, and there was live music, and the sheriff's department was there with a few of their horses.  Kate really likes horses right now, so she was really excited to pet them.  The closer we got, the more nervous she looked, but she was so brave!

All in all, a pretty great day:)

Doug & Sara's wedding

My cousin, Doug, married his long-time girlfriend on August 3.  We left Kate at home (napping) with our friend Tisa (THANK YOU!) for the ceremony, and then picked her up for the reception.  Before dinner, she was super content to sit with Grandma and color.  But, as soon as the music started, you couldn't keep her off the dance floor.  All she wanted to do was run around and dance.  And she cried when we pulled her off the dance floor to go home.

Uncle Adam's sunglasses and CAKE!

Boyne Vacation 2013

Our annual Pridgeon Family vacation up north was July 26 - August 2 this year.  On our way up, we stopped to see our good friends, the Hammers, for a night.  Lincoln and Graham were already in bed when we got there, but the kids had LOTS of fun together on Saturday.

love is in the air:)

these two held hands while eating lunch...so sweet

In the late afternoon, all of the Pridgeons and Hammers got together for dinner and hanging out.  The guys played bags.  The girls cooked.  The boys grilled.  The kids played.  Our families had such a great time together.

grill masters

first time eating corn ON the cob

the kids had a fantastic dance party before we left on Saturday night

Matt had to work Monday - Wednesday in GR, so he took off on Sunday night.  Monday, we took a trip into Gaylord, and then Paul, Nikki, Brian and Tristan and I had dinner out at Cafe Sante (thanks, Grandma for putting Kate to bed!).  The food was, as always, awesome.

silly girl in the car

We went to the park on Tuesday morning, and, even though there were no swings, Kate had a blast playing with Uncle Paul on the teeter totter.  We also had a really yummy dinner at Morel's on Tuesday night.  Kate ate a ton of red peppers, pasta, and even some of my salmon!

Kate and I went to the farmers market in Boyne City with grandma on Wednesday morning.  Luckily, there was a huge playground right next door, so we had extra play time before leaving to go grocery shopping.  The playground was seriously awesome.

Thanks for the fun tubes to play in, Aunt Nikki!

The Durows were also up north for the week and Kate and Jack played together a lot.  I think this is the only picture I took, but they had a lot of fun.

Matt came back up Wednesday night, and it was so good to have him back.  The Hammers came over to hang out at Boyne for the day on Thursday.  Matt and Brian golfed 18 holes in the morning then Brian and Tristan joined them for another 18 holes in the afternoon.  Jill, Aunt Bethany, Lincoln and Graham hung out at the condo for the day.  We took a trip to the playground, had a yummy lunch, took naps (not very good ones!), walked down to get ice cream, played with Jack, and had a great dinner together before the guys came back and we had to say goodbye to our friends again.

jumping in the pack n play

yummy ice cream!

thanks for sharing, Aunt Tessa!

We took a quick beach trip Thursday afternoon.  It was a bit chilly - and rainy - most of the week, but we took advantage of the sun when we could.

Kate wanted to 'sweep' the sand

We spent Friday morning wandering around Petoskey, and headed back to Boyne after lunch at City Park Grill (where Hemingway used to hang out!).

Kate was very sad to say goodbye to Brian and Tristan when we left Friday night, but got some good play time and loving in before we had to go.  By the way, Kate developed quite a crush on Tristan during vacation.  She walked around saying his name all the time and was always looking for him around the condo.  She didn't warm up to him enough to give him a hug until Friday, but she sure smiled at him and wanted to play with him a lot!

We had a really great time with family and friends.  Thanks for a fun week up north!