I've been terrible at taking pictures lately. I took our nice camera with us when we visited family/friends up in Michigan last weekend and I never took it out once. :( I have taken a few photos here and there with my phone. The picture quality isn't great, but at least I captured a few memories.  Ben's friend Olivia has morning kindergarten, so we were able to meet one afternoon at Bounce Mania. They were the only kids there! They spent most of the time going down the biggest slide over and over.  I met my friend Erin (and her kids Will & Lauren) at Parkview Park on a beautiful sunny morning. Ben had fun running up and down the hill with his friend Will. (They are the little specs at the top of the hill).  When we recently visited my family, Lucy had a good time hanging out with her Uncle Joe. She was so tired (she would not take a nap that day despite all my efforts) that she was practically falling asleep on him.  Lucy loves pla...

Last Friday I spent the morning at the zoo with the kids. It was a perfect day for the zoo. The sun was shining and it was in the 70's. Since most kids were back to school, it was not very crowded. It's never fun to be rushed through certain spots because there is a huge crowd waiting behind you. I like to let Ben take his time at whatever he's interested in that day. In the African section, the swamp monkeys were really active. Ben enjoyed watching them jump around and wrestle with each other! I hope we'll be able to fit in a few more zoo days before it closes in October.   No long wait for the safari car!  Lucy did a good job in the stroller for about half of our visit. Then, I had to switch to the carrier. She does love being able to see everything going on around her.  The leopard was walking around and jumped right up on this branch while Ben was watching. He thought that was so cool!  The giraffe area only had a couple people, so we were abl...

Curt's parents and sister Molly's family (husband Tim & kids Abby, Katie, Brady) took a vacation to Pigeon Forge, TN last week. On the way back home, they stopped at our house to spend the night. They showed up at dinner time on Saturday and left Sunday afternoon. It was nice to visit with everyone and Ben had so much fun playing with his cousins! Ben & Lucy with their cousins Katie, Abby, and Brady.  Ben and Lucy with Curt's parents 

Pirates are on the loose!  Such a cute pirate. Ben said he was a "super hero" pirate. 

Last night, we went to the Vera Bradley work picnic at the Fort Wayne TinCaps. They've had it there the last few years, but it is usually on a weekend afternoon. The game started at 7 (with the dinner before at 5:45), so we knew that the kids (esp Lucy) would not last that long. It was a hot night and we were ready to leave around 8. After the kiddos were in bed, Curt and I sat down to watch the Olympics. I love watching the Olympics, but I wish they would get done closer to my bed time! It's sad that I want to go to bed by 10:30, but my kids do NOT sleep in. I can't even remember a time that Ben slept until 8. We are usually up by 6/6:30 around here. Oh well, I'll just have to drink more coffee until the Olympics ends. :) 

We spent a few days last week visiting with my family. Curt was gone most of the days playing in a golf tournament with his friend Derek. That was the main reason we planned our Grand Rapids trip. While he was gone, I hung out with my family. I also visited my grandparents and spent time with my friend Rachel. My dad looked great! I cannot believe that he had a stroke a couple weeks ago. He will have some more tests this week that will check into a hole that they found in his heart. That may have been where the blood clot traveled through, so it his dr will decide whether they should close it or not.    My mom and dad with Ben and Lucy  Ben and Uncle Joe  Ben talked Uncle Jake into taking him in the pool.  Lucy and Uncle Matt Lucy in her cute new dress (from Grandma and Gramps). She wanted to look good for her cousin Caleb's birthday party. :)   Friday afternoon I took the kids over to Rachel's house...

It's NOT! :) This morning the living room was a mess. It gets this way many times a day. I decided to take some pictures to prove that my house is sometimes a disaster. I don't enjoy the disaster, but kids need to play. Since messes make me crazy, the house gets cleaned up several times a day and one last time when the kids are in bed. If you have a planned visit, you will most likely find a nice clean house when you arrive. If you decide to stop by for a surprise visit, this is the kind of mess that might greet you. :)  Ben's stuffed toys all over the place!  He built a "house" for his buddies that he occasionally had to run and jump into.  He found a bag of magnet numbers and had to make HUGE numbers on the floor.  The stack of library books we read together while Lucy took her morning nap.  More stuffed toys on the floor.  Lucy and Ben being so sweet together. Usually it's a little more like this! :) *Thank you to...