Illuminations: Activities

Illuminations: Activities

Perfect Fall Day

We have had some BEAUTIFUL fall weather these past couple weeks. I have a feeling it has come to an end, but we sure enjoyed it while we could. Wednesday was our last day of temps in the 70's with full sun. The Westra household soaked up every minute possible (outside of doing school for a bit in the morning) ;) It was a perfect day for playing in the leaves. I've never raked leaves as dry as these. It was tons of fun which was a good thing cause we raked a TON of leaves, and then re-raked them, raked them again, and then again. The kids could hardly wait till they were piled up to jump into again. There were LOTS of crumbled leaves left on the ground once we took away the piles. Proof of the fun we had during the day. Jeff surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers....purple ones at that. They are gorgeous!! When he got home from work we hauled the leaves to the pasture. The girls thought this was great since they got to ride in the wheel barrow. Melanie however didn't like riding, she LOVED picking the leaves up (usually one-by-one) and putting them into the wheel barrow or trash can. Picking up is one of her favorite things to do. I now know if she's being trouble in the house just send her outside with a pile of leaves and a bucket and she'll be occupied for hours. Too bad all the leaves blew away this weekend. Once the leaves were off the lawn we went out for a quick supper and then to the park to enjoy the last minutes of daylight (and the first 15min of darkness). The kids had a blast playing rough with Dad, mom had a blast watching everyone laugh and not having to cook, and I'm pretty sure Dad had fun playing with his girly's!! So many precious memories.

Our picture computer cannot connect to the internet so I had to post the pictures through a video. I added a song so you may want to scroll to the bottom of the blog and pause the music or just mute your computer to watch without any sound.

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A Most Precious Visit

Grandpa and Grandma Hoksbergen were able to come to Michigan and visit for a weekend before continuing on their way for a color tour out east. We had SOOOO much fun with them while they were here and only wish they could have stayed longer. We all went out for supper and ice cream Friday night and then back to the hotel to swim.
Miya and Jayden then got to stay overnight in Great G n G's hotel. This was such a special treat for them. A night in a hotel (one of their favorite things to do) and time alone with Great Grandma and Grandpa. I guess they woke up and had two breakfasts with swimming in between. I'm sure that was Grandpa and Grandmas' idea:0)
Jeff and I patiently waited at home with Melanie for them to come back so we could go fruit picking.....we'll they didn't come home till around 2. They ended up visiting an aunt in a nursing home and then spoiling the girls with Burger King. After a quick nap it was off to one of Jeff's customers to pick some raspberries and blackberries. It was good time picking and in between the spouts of rain we enjoyed some blueberry doughnuts and coffee to warm up. It turned out to be a beautiful evening once the rain stopped.





Then it was off to Crane's to pick a few apples. Being the first weekend to pick Honey Crisp, it was BUSY. So we quickly loaded up and ventured to Fenn Valley for a little wine tasting. Since we were in the fruit picking mode, I thought maybe we could pick some grapes. NOT the right kind of grapes to pick for eating....just for wine making. The wine sure tasted good though!! After an afternoon of fruit picking it was time for supper. And what to do you do after supper on a beautiful Saturday evening? ? You head to the beach of course!! We trekked out to oval beach to look at the view, and then the girls wanted to get out and run on the beach. Why not add some sand to the mud that's already in the clothes and van? It was a beautiful night on the beach (just a little chilly).


Once Melanie warmed up to Great Grandpa and Grandma, she had to be by "Papa's" side the rest of the weekend. She had to hold his hand while walking, sit by him at meals, and he was the only one who could carry her if the need be. She enjoyed playing with Great Grandma too, but Grandpa could never be far else she'd cry for him.
Sunday was much more relaxing. Melanie thought she had to sit by 'papa' during church. She actually did very well and sat on his lap throughout he whole service, she even took a little nap cuddled up in Great Grandpa's arms. After evening church we headed to the hotel for a little snack and to say goodbye. My secret pal left a basket of fall goodies that were just perfect for that night (thank you to my wonderful secret pal). It was much more delicious then the crackers and soup I had packed along. After visiting for awhile it was time to say goodbye. It's always sad to say goodbye, but we are so thankful they are able to come visit and treasure the memories they are making with us and the girls. We love you both! wish this picutre wasn't so dark :(

Glasses

The last couple of weeks we have had many, many, MANY appointments. Dr.s, therapists, opthamologists, and dentists, OH MY!! Miya had her first cavities filled and her first root canal (or whatever it's called on baby teeth, poly-something). She also got her first pair of glasses!! She LOVES them and so far is taking very good care of them. She asks to clean them all the time. Her first night, she put them in their case and then tucked them away with the cleaner and rag into the bag from the eye dr. The bag then went neatly on the counter in the bathroom. This morning I hardly got a "hello" from her before she ran to the bathroom to put her glasses on!! So thankful she enjoys wearing them. Hopefully her attitude towards her glasses will stay this way. She gets to wear her glasses all day - every day and since they really don't make her vision better I thought she might not want to wear them. So far so good! I think it helps that one of her friends from church gets to wear glasses too.

Allegan Fair

Last week was the Allegan Fair. Usually the girls and I are able to check out the Ottawa Fair and Hudsonville Fair early in the year. This year we were unable to go to either so the Allegan fair was our first fair this year. The girls behaved very well this year. . . I think. Those that saw us up and down, up and down at the show on Saturday may not have thought the same :0) They are definitely getting easier to entertain as they get older. Miya and Jayden were content playing behind the stands. When they got sick of that we would take them for a walk to the petting barn. Melanie was still a little difficult this year. Just like the other two, at her age, she likes to climb up and down the stairs. We'll like we've mentioned before, her balance isn't the best yet and she took a number of spills. We even got a "phhhhheeewwww" from the crowd as they all turned to look where that huge clunking/falling noise came from. . . . a couple of times. No blood, so all was good. We had lots of fun walking around petting the different animals. Melanie has gotten quite a bit better saying her animal noises. Maybe next year Miya will be able to walk a pig in the pee-wee show. Gonna take some practice come next summer. We'll have to see what next year brings.

Summer Vacation

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Just realized I'm REALLY behind in blogging. The last full week of August we were able to take a vacation with our family. It was SOOO relaxing and sooo much fun to hang out with just the 5 us every day. We vacationed at Barlow Lake, one of our favorites. We had visitors through out the week. But most days went like this. Jeff would wake up between 6 and 6:30 (CRAZY), make coffee and head out for a couple hours of fishing. He would get back between 8 and 9 and make us girls a BIG breakfast (the second breakfast for the girls since they couldn't wait that long to eat). Then Jeff would play rough with the girls for awhile. We'd go for walks/bike rides, go fishing, play games, or just hang out. Then it would be lunch time with more playing after. Then family 'rest' time. To Jayden and Melanie this means a NAP!! For Miya this means a lone time in a bed with lots and lots of books to look at (about 45min worth). For mom this meant a book, a lawn chair, and maybe a 15 min nap. For dad this meant another couple hours of fishing on the boat. After rest time we'd have snacks (lots of them) and play some more before deciding if we were going to grill or go out for supper. As a family we do not eat-out very often. Our vacations in the past are the same, lots of cooking. This vacation, for some reason, involved lots of suppers out. I LOVED it. It was a true vacation from cooking. Best part was I never asked, Jeff would just decide mom got the night off and we were going out for supper. Probably another reason this vacation was so relaxing.

Miya and Jayden are definantly able to "do" more on vacation now that they are older. They enjoy swimming, fishing, playing games, and playing in the loft and on the stairs(goofballs). Melanie was a little more of stinker. She had to be watched like a HAWK!! She would walk right up to the edge of the dock and try to touch the water. Great that she likes the water, but not so great since her balance isn't so good yet. She also liked sticking her head through the spindles of the stairs and attempting to go down the stairs walking forward. This girl is TROUBLE!!

Anyways, we were blesed to be able to spend a whole week together as a family. We loved not having to 'go' anywhere or keep a schedule. We made lots of memories....just didn't get to record them all in pictures since our camera went for a swim. Next time Jeff asks me if taking the camera near the water is a good idea, I will probably listen to the hidden meaning and leave it on-shore!!

We had a big adjustment Monday morning when Dad had to go back to work. The girls kept asking to play with him. They also kept asking for snacks and a 'big' breakfast. I had to adjust to a smaller living space and tripping over toys in the kitchen again. We loved our vacation and hope to go back next year.

First Day of Kindergarten

Tuesday was the first day of Kindergarten at the Westra house. Miya went to bed super excited and woke up super excited. The girls could hardly sit through breakfast. As soon as they finished eating they ran to the school room for a bible story. They had a long wait as they needed to get dressed, do their hair, and play a bit while mom set everything up. When we finished our plans for the morning I told the girls they could go play until lunch time. They kept asking me every 5 min if we could do more school, when I said no, they would ask if we could eat lunch. They loved it.

I have to say Tuesday was one of my favorite days EVER. It was so much fun having all this time with the girls when I didn't feel like I needed to be making a meal, or doing laundry, or cleaning, or whatever else needs to be done. This time is blocked out to do school! Yes, I slipped out to switch the clothes from washer to dryer and to change a poopy diaper, but aside from that it was our own time together. My favorite part of teaching 4th grade was the actual "teaching". I loved watching the eyes of the kiddos when they caught on to something or when you could see the determination in their face as they tried their best at something that was particularly hard for them. I know it's only day 1 of school, but I have already seen this with Miya (Jayden too) and I LOVED every minute of it. I'm so thankful that we are able to teach Miya at home this year and look forward to spending so many precious hours with our girls! I know every day won't be as easy as yesterday, but I also know this is a perfect fit for our family right now.