catch up!

I am so far behind on blogging it's not even funny.  It's not that we haven't been doing anything, I just haven't been posting.  So, here's my attempt at catching up all in one post...it's going to be long...mostly just pictures, though:)

The last week of June, our friends, the Allemans, came from Iowa for a quick visit.  Kate was not all about sharing toys with Jonah, as you can see.

Firehaus with all their munchkins (missing Brian)

The next weekend, we went to the zoo.  Kate liked the flamingos.  She also got to see the bears, lions, baboon, and chimpanzees.

waving to the spider monkeys:)

The same weekend, we had a cottage day with our small group down in Middleville.  It was a beautiful day and all the kids loved swimming!

Kate wanted to jump in just like the big kids 

such a lover...both dogs got hugs:)

Kate started lining up her babies and reading to them:)

We spent the 4th of July with my family since all of my brothers were in town.  It was such a fun day.  We went to the Grandville parade in the morning and then swam all afternoon.  My mom's family came over to grill for dinner and Kate got to play with her little buddy, Benjamin.  We skipped out on fireworks this year because Kate was afraid of the loud noises.  Hopefully next year we can take her to see them, though.

this little one is quite bossy; she kept telling Tom to jump in

cutest girl in the world:)

The weekend right after the 4th, we went to the farm because Brian was preaching at Pine Ridge.  Kate had a great time learning to play the piano.  We went swimming and did lots of good relaxing and Tiger baseball watching.  Brian did a fantastic job at church Sunday morning - we are very proud:)

Whew.... I'm still a week behind, but that's good for now:)

Intern Welcome Party

Last Saturday was the welcome party for all the new peds interns that Matt will be working with.  They had it at a house with a pool - thank goodness! It was super hot outside, so lots of people went swimming.  As soon as she saw the pool, Kate wanted to get in:)

sprinklers and strawberries

We had a few hot days last week, so on Wednesday afternoon, we got out a sprinkler for Kate.  Aunt Tessa was here to play too, and it was a lot of fun.  Kate didn't get overly wet, but really enjoyed filling up her bucket and dumping it out:)

The neighbors had a sprinkler out the following day, and as soon as Kate saw it, she ran over to join in the fun.  I think the sprinkler will be a favorite summer activity.

Friday, we went strawberry picking with my mom.  Michigan strawberries are seriously the best.  The strawberry patch was pretty busy and it was a hot morning, but with a little help from Kate, we each filled up a box and were on our way.

tasting a berry:) 

not so sure about it

Kate's basket:)

Kate explored quite a bit; thankfully, she couldn't
get over the rows, so she was pretty contained 

snack break! 

My mom makes the best pie crust EVER, so she and I made two strawberry pies once we got home.  Since Friday, I made a little batch of freezer jam, froze a bunch of whole berries, and froze a few containers of shortcake berries.  I can't wait to eat them!

my best little helper

Kate is such a good helper.  If I'm watering the flowers, she wants to hold onto the hose; if I'm sweeping the garage, she wants to sweep too; If I'm watering the herbs in the deck pots, she wants to dump water too.  I'm sure the day will come when her helpfulness is a little less than helpful, but for now, I'll take it!

she calls this one Kate's broom

Happy Father's Day!

Matt had to work all day on Father's Day this year, which was quite a bummer.  We celebrated Father's Day with him on Saturday night instead:) During the day on Sunday, Kate and I went to my parent's house for a cookout and swimming with my extended family.  The pool was only 70, but Kate, Lukas and Liana didn't seem to mind.  They all wanted to go swimming.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the day, but Kate did get to see Matt for a few minutes before bed.  Here they are just loving each other:)

Kate wanted daddy to lay down on her pillow

lots of Father's Day kisses

Frederick Meijer Gardens with Grandma!

We went to the children's gardens at FMG with my mom a few Fridays ago.  Kate had so much fun, and we ran into our friends, Leigh and Caleb, too! What a fun day.  I'm so glad my mom is close by to hang out with us.  You can probably tell from the pictures, but Kate's favorite thing was choosing a boat from the cart and putting it into the 'Great Lakes' water and watching it float.  She's so cute!