Quite Possibly the Longest Post Ever and Happy Birthday Grant!

Please bear with me - this might be the longest post in the history of blogging. So much going on, so many pictures. If you don't have at least 10 minutes, you may as well not even read it right now :).
Well...as many of you who live in West Michigan know, we were socked with a doozy of a storm last week - getting pounded with rain and high winds. Grant thought it was pretty cool, but unfortunately, it did some major damage to the greater Holland area. Our neighborhood seemed to be hit by quite a powerful wind gust, as you see in the pictures below. There were lots of trees down, but this is so minor compared to what others experienced, especially those who dealt with flooding in their homes. We were very fortunate.

We also took a drive down 96th (or...48th once you get into Allegan Co.) to see the road washed away. What a sight! Giant culverts washed hundreds of feet from the road into the woods and chunks of road scattered throughout the field. I guess we're going to have to take a bit of a detour to get to my parents' house for a while!


Father's Day night was spent at Eric's parents' house with Brian, Steve and Joy and the boys. We had a very enjoyable evening, and Grant LOVES playing with his cousins (and therefore, getting him to leave is not always an easy feat).

Grant needs to work on keeping his eye on the ball :). Grandma seems to be doing a good job of it!

Brooke with my sister-in-law Joy.
The gang - Grant, Tim, Brooke, Aaron, and Luke

My parents have been camping out at Holland State Park, so I packed up the kiddos a number of days this week and took advantage of the beautiful weather. It was an added bonus that Kathi, Chad, and Brielle are home for a short while so we've been able to hang out with them as well (hopefully we'll get to see Chad a bit more this week, as he went back to PA for a few days to participate in a 100 mile bike ride - yes, you read it right - 100 MILES!). Way to go Chad - that's something I (or my thighs) definitely couldn't have done.

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of 3 3-year olds together? They are always on the go! (Morgan, Grant, and Reese)
Brooke LOVED the water. She floated in this thing for about an hour and a half straight one day.
Gotta get a picture driving Grandpa's Jeep!
Look at those little bun cheeks! :) This picture was taken after Brooke had peed on Grandma through her swim diaper for the second time that day. Poor Grandma.

Just chillin'
Grant adored my friend Marcy's nieces and nephews - especially Bryce and Joey. They were so good about including him in on their activities (and it made for more of a relaxing time on the beach for me!).
My mom and her two granddaughters.
Playing in the sand.
Me and my girl!
Eric's first visit to the beach in years. Can you tell he enjoys it?!

Close to last, but definitely not least - our little boy turned 3 years old today. Wow! He has added so much joy and spunk to our lives. The kid has a personality that is unparalleled. He is just so lovable. We were able to celebrate his big day on a number of occasions with many individuals. We celebrated with my grandparents on my dad's side last week Saturday.

We celebrated with Eric's family this past Friday at our house.

And...we celebrated with my Grandma Lohman and company last night.

My cousin Lindsay's daughter Tori helping Grant open his new bike from my parents.

While Grant is so appreciative of ALL his gifts (and he did receive many), it was not so much his excitement for new toys that ruled the evenings. It was the fact that he had THREE birthday cakes. The boy is a dessert fiend and thus, did not bother us once to open his presents - he just wanted to eat the dessert!!

Caught in the act!

I have to chuckle, because at lunch today I was eating pasta salad with broccoli in it. Grant has not been a fan of broccoli for quite some time now, but as we are eating, he says to me "Mom, I'm three! I think I like broccoli now." So...I dished him up some pasta salad and went into the bathroom to take care of some laundry. As I am sorting through things, I hear this come from the kitchen table, after he tried some of it - "Mom, I don't like broccoli yet. I think I'll like it when I'm 5!" Too funny.

Both Brooke and Grant had their well-child appointments this week as well. Both kids are in good health (aside from a bout with hand, foot, and mouth last week for Grant, minus the hand and foot). Poor kid had a bunch of blisters in the back of his throat and was just not himself. Grant tips the scales at a whopping 39.5 pounds (whoa - 95th percentile! Maybe it's just me, but he seems to hide it well! He's not skinny by any means, but I wouldn't look at him and say he's a big dude, either). He's my happy eater! He's also 38.5 inches tall (75th percentile). Brooke is my 50th percentile girl - 15 lbs. 12 oz. and 26.5 inches tall. She got a few shots, and wasn't too happy with the nurses, but didn't have any adverse reactions.

Summer just keeps on truckin' along, and we've got plenty more things to do that will keep us very busy, but loving every minute. Thanks for putting up with the length of this post. Oh, here's a parting shot for you - Spaghetti anyone??