after years of only having about two and a half feet of counter space, diana and i finally did something about it! we have a really small kitchen with only a couple feet of counter space on either side of the sink, and one side is covered by the huge microwave! after years of complaining about it, we finally went out and got a little cart to put next to the stove so we can put the microwave over there instead of using up the valuable counter space. the biggest change, though, has been getting used to the new placement of our trash. it was always next to the stove where the new cart is, but now its under the sink. its been a few days since we made the change, and we both still walk over next to the stove to throw something away. one of these days the change will sink in and ill stop trying to microwave our trash!
kitchen shuffle
after years of only having about two and a half feet of counter space, diana and i finally did something about it! we have a really small kitchen with only a couple feet of counter space on either side of the sink, and one side is covered by the huge microwave! after years of complaining about it, we finally went out and got a little cart to put next to the stove so we can put the microwave over there instead of using up the valuable counter space. the biggest change, though, has been getting used to the new placement of our trash. it was always next to the stove where the new cart is, but now its under the sink. its been a few days since we made the change, and we both still walk over next to the stove to throw something away. one of these days the change will sink in and ill stop trying to microwave our trash!
sandy supper
on monday the family gathered together for a yummy dinner together: hot dogs and brats on the grill! we always have such a fun time together, just hanging out and chatting. the weather wasnt quite as hot as it had been all weekend, so we sat outside and enjoyed the shade from the trees. the kids were as fun and bubbly as ever! i wish we could spend more time with them than just the occasional bi-monthly visit! soon after we ate diana and i had to head back home again. why are holidays always so short?!?
hole in one
my mom had a great idea, she wanted to go out on the paddle boat with the bubba and tweets. diana was excited about that and wanted to go enjoy the fun too. well, that leaves aves feeling left out. thats where i come in! i went over to tim and jill's trailer and invited aves to go on a cart ride with me and go play some mini golf. she felt pretty cool to be singled out by, what i can only assume, is her favorite uncle! tim came along too and the three of us had a great time playing putt putt. tim and i did pretty well, we ended up tying each other at the end of the 18 holes. aves, on the other hand, did amazingly well at mini golf! she got almost 15 holes in one! it was truly amazing! granted, she started off by dropping her ball about 3 inches away from the hole after the first three holes...
fireworks!
the kids get excited for fireworks, but you know who gets even more excited about it than them? my wife! diana loves fireworks! every 4th of july it is the highlight of the weekend. at sandy pines, as dusk set in, we headed down to the usual spot down by the beach for the show to begin. the ritual also includes the kids playing around with sparklers before it gets too dark- and they have a blast with them! its been fun over the years to see the kids play with them because it wasnt that long ago that the kids, all three of them, were terrified of sparklers! they were so scared that they were going to get burned that they wouldnt even hold them- their dad and i had to hold them and they would move our arms around. the firework show at sandy pines was especially good this year, where as in years past the whole thing was, at times, a bit underwhelming, this year was the park's 40th anniversary so they went all out and had a great firework display!pines potluck
its the 4th and we are at sandy pines- that must mean its time for a potluck! every year mom and papa invite over all their friends and kids from sandy pines for a grill out. its been going on so many years that now the kids have kids! there more than twenty people there enjoying the food and fun of sandy pines. diana and i have a good time each year at the potlucks mom hosts (theres usually one on memorial and labor day weekends too), and enjoy seeing everyone again. each time it gets more and more comfortable seeing everyone again, chatting it up with the old gang from back in the day. i tell ya, if diana and i move back to grand rapids, we are totally going to hang out with squeegee and his wife- those two are a ton of fun!
buried treasure
as we were leaving the beach after a few hours of fun in the sun, we happened across a fun event for the kids. at the volley ball court they had hidden hundreds of plastic coins under the sand for the kids to find. when the kids got word of this they were excited and wanted to join in! it started a couple minutes after we stopped there so they dug right in! the kids did surprisingly well with aves actually getting the most coins with 18. once the coins were collected they could trade them in for a frozen icee pop, which they were super excited for! it was a fun little even and the kids had a blast!parade candy
the 4th of july has rolled around again and that means diana and i are off to sandy pines to enjoy the weekend with the family! soon after we got there on saturday we all drove over to the main road for the annual parade! the kids walked over from the beach where they had been swimming all afternoon. the girls put on their patriotic antenna (which aves corrected me on when i accidentally called them antlers!), all three of the kids got their bags out for the important parade job of candy collecting! we waved at all the passing vehicles and carts all decorated for the holiday and enjoyed the fun of the spectacle! after it was over, all of us looked over the candy they had gotten and each picked one for ourselves. hey kids, its the price you pay for getting all that yummy candy- the adults get a little piece too!(more pics)
after all these years
so, a month or two ago my buddy adam decided that he wanted to have a reunion with our former classmates. high school reunion? sounds like fun! the thing is though, adam didnt go to the same high school as most of us, so he actually wanted to have an 8th grade class reunion! thats right, all of our former classmates from kelloggsville christian (rest her soul)! thanks to this strange thing called 'facebook' (maybe youve heard of it) he was able to get the word out to almost all of our graduating class of 1993! the crazy thing is, many of them showed up! adam ended up hosting about 17 former 8th grade classmates! so friday night everyone gathered at adam's childhood home (he lives in l.a. and for some reason wasnt willing to fly us all out there to have the reunion. rude.) for a bit of catching up. i got there a bit late, living two hours away and trying to fight 4th of july weekend traffic will cause that sometimes... but when i got there it was such a strange sight- all these old faces that i hadnt seen in almost 18 years! granted, some of them i have kept up with, but many of them had been relegated to the 'i'll probably never see them again in my life' category. the night was spent catching up and hearing about where everyone is now, most stories involved marriage and multiple children. it seems so strange because last time i had seen some of these people they themselves were children! oh time, what have you done to us? it was a great night filled with fun and memories. at the end of the night adam promised to do this again next year with even more people in attendance. well, put me on the list- ill be there!
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