Andy & Sam visit:)

Andy had a class at the seminary last week, so he and Sam (and Burley) made the trip to Michigan together.  Kate and I got to hang out with them for a while on Monday.  Kate and Burley had quite the reunion...unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.  Kate and I also had a lunch date with Aunt Sam on Wednesday.  Andy's class was done on Thursday, so we all went to Frederick Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies and the sculptures on Friday.  Kate had such a fun time! There were different butterflies again and Kate is becoming more and more aware of them and loves watching them fly around.

cutest picture ever:)

On Saturday, we spent the whole day with my family and Adam came to town too.

Kate decided she was a big girl and would rock in grandma's rocking chair all by herself.

She begged for bubbles all day, and Aunt Sam was kind enough to oblige her:)

We had a dance party with Uncle Adam:)

Then we celebrated Andy and Sam's birthdays at The Green Well.  We got Andy AppleTV.  He was very excited:)

peek-a-boo

It was so much fun to get to spend a few days together, we can't wait to see you again!

rainy days

We had 14 straight days of rain in April - the rainy-est in history.  Grand Rapids is quite flooded right now.  We're grateful to live on higher ground and to have a dry basement.  Being stuck inside while it rains hasn't been the most fun, but we're hanging in there.  Here's Kate post-nap and very happy to be eating a snack:) She's the cutest.

John Ball Zoo!

A few weeks ago during my mom's spring break we had a nice day, so we decided to go to the zoo.

We got to watch the penguins get fed, we saw lots of fish, some nasty snakes, the petting zoo animals, and some really fun monkeys.  A lot of the animals were still inside or at their 'winter location', but I'm sure they'll be coming back soon.

on a roll

all kids do this at some point, right?

Easter at the Farm

We spent Easter with the Pridgeons this year.  Friday was a beautiful day and we got lots of playing outside in before getting in the car for the 2 hour trip.  Kate stayed awake the whole way in the car and went to bed fine once we got there (that's big for her!).

We got to see lots and lots of family, many of whom we hadn't seen since Christmas! Kate had fun playing with her second cousins, Hadley and Tatum.  She went on her first trip to Ray's and loved playing with her uncles and the dogs.  She couldn't get enough of them.

talking to the dogs outside:)

hugs for Hadley!

"here, Hadley, play with this egg!"

sharing Uncle Bri's water at Ray's

feeding Aunt Barb a french fry

love for the dogs:)

We are bad parents - we never took a picture of Kate in her Easter dress...oops! She was cute, I promise:)

spaghetti head:)

vacation with Daddy!

Lots of fun was had during Matt's recent week off...

On Monday, we went to swimming together.

On Tuesday, we went to Frederick Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies (yes, for the third time).

On Wednesday, I got to leave Kate at home with Matt while I went to Bible Study.  And Kate got to go to Home Depot with daddy:)

On Thursday, we went to the Children's Museum.

On Friday, we went shopping with Grandma and then Matt and I went on a date:)

On Saturday, we went to the zoo.  Not many animals were outside yet, but we got to see some fun ones inside.  Kate especially liked the penguins and the monkeys.

This was Matt's first week off since last July, and it was so nice to have some family time together:)