I took Ben to It's Playtime at Mitchell Books for the first time today. It was a little bit of a drive to get there, but it was worth it because Ben had a great time. We met my friend Erin and her son, Will. Ben also enjoyed playing with the couple other kids that were there too. There were so many different toy options from cars/tracks, kitchens, dress-up clothes, balls, bikes, and huge slides. We had such a fun morning there! Ben playing on one of the tables with a car and truck. Trying out the little slide. Up at the top of the big slide, ready to go down. They let parents go on the slide too, so I was able to help Ben on the steep climb up to the top. Then he was so excited to go down by himself. We had to climb up there over and over and over.... He made it down to the bottom! Another little girl there liked to race on the slides with Ben. I would get him all set at the top and then they would go down on slides next to each other. She beat Ben every time because he would t...

After Ben's nap this afternoon, I thought it would be fun to go to the park to play. I headed to Parview park because we haven't been there in a long time, but it was closed for maintenance. That was annoying! So, I headed to Leo-Cedarville park because Ben was already excited to go to the park and I didn't want to disappoint him. He had fun playing on the slides and swings and it was nice to enjoy the sunshine! Ben has grown up so much in the last few months. He was able to climb the stairs to the slide all by himself! His hands are full of acorns. He wanted to pick them all up, but there were hundreds of them on the ground. Having fun on the swing!

Since we were out and about this afternoon, we decided to stop in at Taco Bell for some lunch. That means that Ben ate mostly nachos and little else, but I guess that's okay once in a while. :) Ben and Curt enjoying their lunches. Ben devouring his nachos.

The zoo is going to close on Oct. 11 for the winter and it won't reopen until April, so I thought we should squeeze in at least one more visit today. I really wanted to go this morning, but when I saw the frost on the ground I decided to wait until this afternoon. It wasn't too busy and we had a great time seeing the animals. Ben had to say "Hello" to every single animal that he saw today. It was very sweet. He also found some grass/stick things on the ground and he had to carry them everywhere we went. The lions sitting up on the hill. The leopard was very active today and kept walking near the front of his cage. What a cute conductor! Ben sitting in a bunch of pumpkins. I thought it would be a great "fall" photo, but he didn't want to look up and smile at me so that plan was foiled. Ben wanted to see the horse better, so he squeezed his face in between the fence slats. Still watching the horse. It's no secret that Ben loves the goats. We sp...

I am loving the fall weather today. The last couple days have been a little bit too cold, but today the sun is out and it feels great. Ben played for a while in the backyard this afternoon. He searched around for leaves, rocks, and pine cones. I hope the nicer weather stays around...I'm not ready to break out the winter jacket yet! Ben watching a big truck drive past on the street behind our house. He didn't really need to wear a hat, but he begged for one as I was putting his coat on. Hopefully he'll still feel that way when he actually needs one on. Looking at some leaves he found. His first pine cone discovery of the day. Crawling under a tree to get another pine cone. Trying to shove one of the pine cones down a much too small hole in his swingset.

Curt completed the Fort4Fitness half-marathon (13 miles) this morning! I am so proud of him. He is VERY HAPPY to have it over with. I'm not sure another marathon is in his future. :) Curt at about 5:30 this morning, before he left for the race. Coming home from the race at about 10:30. After he was done running, he rested for a while and ate some food before heading home.

My nieces Mya and Emma turned eight on Saturday, so we spent the weekend in Grand Rapids visiting friends and family. Saturday morning we headed to my best friend Rachel's house. It was nice to spend a couple hours visiting together. In the afternoon, we had the birthday party at my parent's house. After that that we stopped in to visit with my Grandma & Grandpa Bierema. It was a busy day! Sunday after church, Curt got his last big run in. He'll just do a couple shorter runs this week. He is ready for his 1/2 marathon on Saturday. I'm proud of him for sticking to his training! I'm sure he will be very excited when it's over with. :) Luke, Ben, and Jackson ready for the game in their Michigan State shirts. Our family posing for a quick picture. The birthday girls...Emma and Mya. Ben enjoying some cake and ice cream. Emma blowing some bubbles for Mya, Ben, and Caleb to chase in the backyard.