A-Maze-Ing

Jim and I had a dinner date tonight with some dear friends. This meant we needed a sitter. This meant we needed to put "Operation Go To Bed Early" into full force. So, today, it was the Corn Maze. The Corn Maze is what it sounds, a path cut into a field of corn. It is fun, it is frustrating, it is freaky but best of all...it is lots of walking. The folks who make the maze carve an image that can be seen from airplanes and then they plant way stations along the way with special paper punches there so you can show you made it. The maps are a bit tough at first but we did the medium sized maze today. Here they are at the entrance...

There were times when it was a bit discouraging...the map was a tad confusing and we weren't sure which way to go...

...and a certain person really wasn't too into it.

But we ended up having a nice time after all.

(It didn't hurt that they had homemade donuts and cider!)

Happy Autumn All!!!

Autumn Tradition

The view out any window is beautiful right now. We are lucky to live in trees and the leaves right now are so amazing...until they fall. But today, they paint a red, yellow and orange picture. I just love to look outside.

Out the front door window today, the view had a little extra something. A box. More specifically, The Box. The Boo Box. The Boo Box that Marie has included every night in her prayers for almost a month now. And today, it arrived.

The box has traveled from Georgia to Michigan, down to Florida, back to Virginia and arrived here in Northern Michigan today. It was addressed to Marie and Ty (of which I am very thankful, by the way) and Ty didn't even take off his coat before they tore into it.

Ty liking the yummy snacks.

Football, crazy ball, princess wand, crafts and, of course, CANDY. They were thrilled beyond belief. And who was our benefactor? Shoshannah, Marie's friend from Virginia. We thank you (and the elves who helped stock the box) very very much!

An Overdue Visit

Shortly before school started, we got to make a special visit. Marie, Ty and I drove down to Grand Haven to see Aunt Jacqui and Jack-Jack. The drive was long but very worth it. On the way in to Grand Haven, I shared with Marie why it was a special place for me. Aunt Jacqui and I had spent many afternoons on the beach growing up, Mommy and Daddy celebrated their wedding with a boat ride along the channel up to the lighthouse and spent the first few days of the married life in Grand Haven. But, today, it was special because we got to see old friends. Watching the three little ones eating dinner together around Bonnie's table made my heart burst. Marie was infatuated with Jack and thrilled that she was allowed to feed him dessert. You can see by her expression how serious she viewed this privilege.

After dinner and dessert (of Bon's homemade German Chocolate Cake...YUM), the kiddos got into their PJ's. Marie begged to help Jacqui bathe Jack but then got distracted by Bonnie's jewelry and took off to dress Bon up. After bath time, it was picture time. Ty was tired and that may be the cause of his facial expressions but I believe it was also because he did not like sharing his sister all that much.

We believe this was a hug and not vengeance

More Marie-Love for Jack

Ty expressing how he feels...actually the kids were trying to pose "silly style." Ty succeeded.

And Momma Wept...

It was a little long, true. And, perhaps we put ponytails in it at times (see below). Yes, it was in his eyes. But...it made him look like a sweet little baby still.

And Now...

Now, he is such a big boy!

Saturday, Jim took Ty to get his hair cut at the "Hair Doctor" while I took Marie to gymnastics. I asked him to keep as much as possible but clean it all up. And he came back with a short hair cut. And he had aged 3 years, no baby left in his face at all. I cried. A lot. But the day went on and playtime was had. Here, Marie has made a new game. Not sure what it is but she loves it.

Ty thinks it is pretty great too!

Moomers

Mistakes in judgement were made...

...but they were so happy...

...and then the sugar kicked in...

...shouting at the cows afterwards.

Moomers...good stuff

Dune Climb

If you haven't been to Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, it's pretty amazing. Which is saying something because we live in God's Country to begin with. This past week, Jim took a long weekend (Thur - Mon off)! It was HEAVEN. Thursday we took the kiddos to gymnastics and bummed around the house, Friday was beach day, Saturday we crammed in the Farmer's Market, 4-H Fair and a swim in the lake, Sunday was MOMMA GOES TO CHURCH AND THEN GETS TO BE ALONE IN THE HOUSE day! This, was Monday...the Cherry on the Top. We took the kiddos to the Dune Climb after Ty's nap. Then we had reverse dinner which means we stopped at Moomer's on the way home for the Best Ice Cream in America (so says "Good Morning America)!

Sleeping Bear Natl Lakeshore actually consists of several different features along a 30 mile (or so) stretch of shoreline. Breathtaking hikes, a river to float down into Lake Michigan, amazing shoreline and this, the dune climb. Or, as we like to call it, The Nap-Maker.

Here is where the two started. The peak that you see is not the top, it is where the dune first levels off. To reach Lake Michigan, it is a hike across the sand dunes that is a little over 1 aerial mile. Walking it is more like 3 miles. We just went up high enough to get a good run down the dune.

Love this! Ty is not into climbing the dune yet and his very mean parents will not carry him (hey, no one carried me up the Silver Lake sand dunes so get used to it, buddy. And I ain't carrying your skis either!) If you have seen Ty in action, you know he is a touch on the manipulative side. This was his wasted attempt to get me to carry him up the dune. Or maybe he had sand in his eyes. But, he got over it and decided to pursue the dune on his own initiative.

As I said before...God's Country.

Slice of Lazy Summer Life

The kiddos and I have been home together all week. We have had great, amazing weather, some nice company, but still...about 5:15pm, we are stalking the front porch waiting for Daddy to come home. I *may* hype it up some but they do love their daddy! I back off at this time for his and my own good. It's ALLLL Daddy!!! I think, giving the evidence above, Daddy plays with them a little differently then I do. He could breathe, he says. No worries.

Ty is indeed a full-blown toddler, no baby in there! He does enjoy his "chores" and insists, firmly, loudly, that he do it! "I DO!!! I DOOOOO!!!" One of his favorite tasks is feeding the cat. Good job, Ty. Take that thoroughness with you on your road in life and you'll do fine.

Marie is giving up her nap. Not sure who this is hardest on. If she naps, she is up quite late. No nap, no fun for anyone some days. Additionally, at times, she is waking in the middle of the night and has a vast number of fears: the fan, the dark, the possible disappearance of stuffed animals. This results in her sleeping late, very late, some days. This AM she slept well past Jim's departure and was stricken upon waking because evidently he had promised some magical breakfast experience. We made due with some old waffles and shredded chocolate on top with a splash of whipped cream. She recovered.

Some days, they are indeed exhausted in the late afternoon. This was Marie's idea of a "fun game" to play about 4:30 PM. See... no nap!! See... toddler who wants to do everything "Sissy" does. See...where the HECK is Daddy???

The Artist Within...

"Don't interrupt me...I must create Great Art with these circle stickers."

And, his other medium...performance art. This piece, "Theft"

Bryant Park Beach

Today rocked. We hit the beach park. Packed up an ordinary lunch of finger food, got that jumbo Sam's Club bag to hold the beach toys, lunch, tent, kick board, water and beach blanket. Marie had to carry her floaty and Ty had to walk across the sand. *gasp* Hey, we all gotta help when Momma is schlepping two big bags. But we made it!!! The kids cracked me up. Ran to the water, got wet and immediately came back for food. Food that they would've turned their noses up to at home suddenly was magical as it was at the beach. My favorite was Ty's apple. First of all, he stole it out of the lunch box. I was going to cut it up into slices for both of them. Secondly, he had to eat it in the water. Well, fumble-fingers drops the apple in the bay. No biggie, he picked it back up as it bobbed in the waves and took a few bites when, splash, down it goes again.

Marie feasting!

Ty eating his apple. The fruit is submerged.

We played and played till Ty fell in. At that point, he took a break for a while on my lap while Marie tried to swim to Power Island.

We hit the park and Ty started to fall asleep on the swing. No way, buddy. We flew back down to the blanket and popped up the nap tent. After a drawn-out, public battle, Ty crashed in his tent. Marie didn't mind...
Once he was up, we all went swimming again. The kiddos thought it was great to both hang on to Momma. Their favorite was getting spun around in the water as I sang, "Let's Twist Again..." Marie kept coming around and staring in my eyes, laughing and smiling, which I thought was so sweet until I realized she was looking at herself in my sunglasses. I went under and then I plopped her under once briefly. She couldn't believe it and didn't know whether to be thrilled or angry. Then a little kid started stealing the sand toys so she was done with the water.

We warmed up with our towels.
Then, the pick up. Well, the tent gets back in the bag within a minute. Toys - sent Marie on that mission. The only difficult part was the swim diaper. If you have taken one of a child, you understand. They don't remove easily, especially on the beach blanket and especially when they are filled with more than just sand and water. And this part made my day...I had brought along Marie's safety scissors. Grabbed those puppies and two snips later, the aforementioned pooey diaper was free from the toddler. Two more minutes and we were packed and on our way.

Like I said, today rocked.

Kiddos and a Pool...It's a Beautiful Thing (Thank you Ms. B for the altered quote!)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I just tried to empty the dishwasher...

"You won't pay attention to ME, Momma??? I will give you something to pay attention to!"

This is particularly disturbing...

Had the audacity to ask for more...

Meijer Gardens

Wow...looking through the photos, I see I am quite behind. Father's Day, goofy summer events - yes, I have some blogging to catch up on! But, today's I want up right away so the other's must wait.
So, it's been a busy week, errr, summer. Monday was my last meeting/work committment that I must attend for a while. WHEW! So our summer began Tuesday! Tuesday was a picnic day for us after Ty got poked at the Dr. Wednesday was gymnastics with Annie and then we got in the car to head to Grand Rapids. Grandma hosted us for the night and the kiddos enjoyed her pool. Actually, Marie enjoyed floating around on her life raft and Ty liked the steps and splashing. Still not into the pool yet for him. Kids had fun seeing Grandma and they giggled far, far past their bedtimes and then started up again when I went to bed at 11pm. Needless to say, Momma was big time crabby this AM.

The purpose of the trip was to meet up with some sweet girlfriends from my college days. We all met at Meijer Gardens, skipped the indoors part and went directly to the kid area. Threw bathing suits on the little ones and let them play, play, play.

It is built on a hill and the water flows naturally downward, taking everything the kiddos place in it with it. Marie made several trips top to bottom and back up again. Ty rarely left the "proximal zone of Momma safety" but nearly took a plunge himself into the slip stream.

We drifted to a smaller fountain for some splashing and then dried off to explore some more. You can see Marie thought this was all good...

After switching back to dry clothes, the kiddos explored the giant tree house. Here they are, sitting on the big blue eggs.

In short, they had a blast. And I had a blast visiting with my friends. You know it is a good friendship when the conversation picks up right where it left off. And when you leave you realize how much you miss them. Thank you, ladies!!!

Video, pt 3 "Goofball"

I think the title of this post says it all...

Drive home from Florida...southern Georgia, I believe.

Ty playing one of his favorite games this past winter...hide in the office. You can see the dozens of grubby fingerprints on the glass as we play peek through the door. The bit about Thomas in the closet...we have several Thomas the Tank Engine toys that move or light up. Any Thomas bigger than his hand freaks Ty out and he makes us keep those toys in the closet. Every once in a while he makes us get them out but just for a few minutes and they MUST be returned to the closet.

(Yes, this is footage of Ty doing some business)

Enjoying some fine, if not familiar, cinema...

Video Lane, pt 2

These are all different clips of the Dynamic Duo enjoying each other's company. First, rocking it out to Vanilla Ice. At the beginning, you can hear Ty's version of "Ice Ice Baby."

Next, same location but months earlier. The Sit-and-Spin Grudge Match:

Third, some old footage of the two of them in a shaving cream mosh pit:

Last, just a little more "Ice Ice Baby"

Cleaning Out Old Videos, pt 1

Daddy has a date tonight, "Iron Man II" with his movie-wife. While they while-away-the-hours, I am cleaning out the camera files. Some of these videos were too cute not to save but don't want to YouTube them. So...for your viewing pleasure, I give you "Ty and Marie, Winter 2010, A Life in Movie Shorts."

The first one (above) is Marie dancing, twirling and flourishing while Daddy narrates. I wasn't there for this filming but I gather he is pretending she is Cinderella. She is wearing a hand-me-down Princess dress that is just a wee bit too big all over! We have had extensive negotiations on parting with this dress. She spent weeks in it this winter. Ty, of course, is emptying a cabinet.

The second one (below) is Ty and Marie enjoying some candy treats sent for Valentine's Day. Jim would like it on the record that he has lost significant weight since this was filmed. He has; I can vouch for him. We still have a bunch of Marie's candy left. I am such a candy-miser, I know. But you all give them sooo much!!!

Next, we have some good ole baby belly laughs...you know, the kind they make when they are overtired?

I hope you have enjoyed the video stroll down memory lane. I still have more files to plug through so I anticipate more posts. Check back!

Quick Work

One trip to the kitchen to refill my coffee results in...

2 1/2 summer months...

approximately 15 unlocked, non-toddler proof cabinets...

thousands of teeny-tiny objects stored within 3 ft of the ground...

This could get ugly.