June 16: Bounce Party and a Fire Truck!



Bouncing on the trampoline.

Koen had the chance to go to Bounce Party a few weeks ago for a birthday party, but Tysen was so disappointed that he couldn't stay to play, so when it was a rainy day this Thursday I thought we'd visit for the open bounce.  Of course, I forgot that the few times there had been bouncy equipment at gymnastics Ty had wanted no part of it.  So it took a while for him to go on any of the items, but eventually he had some fun bouncing on the trampoline and going down the slide with me.  Brielle also bounced on the trampoline and liked it... mostly.  We went with our friends Ian, Caleb, and their mom.  The kids ran around for over an hour before they lost interest and we headed home for lunch. 

Koen, Ian, and Tysen paused for a
moment for a picture.

Caleb and Brielle.

Kentwood fire truck.

On our way out of Bounce Party there was a fire truck stopped on the road.  The firemen were testing the fire hydrants...over 4200 to test in Kentwood!  The Lieutenant came over to us as we stood and watched them work.  He gave each boy a sticker badge and a postcard with a picture and info of the truck.  They were pretty excited about the whole experience!

The fire lieutenant talking with
the boys.

November 11: Deanna's Playhouse

With my parents living in Holland, MI, I've driven past Deanna's Playhouse numerous times, but never really noticed it.  I wasn't aware of what it was until I discovered the link on grkids.com (one of the best sites!).  Deanna's Playhouse is a FANTASTIC place!  Grandma Smits met us there to explore the 15,000 square feet of toys, music, crafts, snacks, and so much more.  I was so impressed with the different areas of play and so were the boys.  They even had an area for infants/young toddlers with age-appropriate toys.  Of course, my boys immediately found the trains, but shortly after we arrived they had a story time.  The book, Mouse Paint (I think that was the title) was about three mischievous mice mixing paints to create different colors.  Koen and Brielle were the lone listeners (Ty was playing trains), and Koen received his own book to create at home (which he did soon after we arrived home).  

We were one of two groups there that morning which was so nice.  The kids could run and play wherever they wanted and I could easily keep tabs on them.  Of course, the staff said the weekends and winter days tend to be much, much busier. 

The neat thing about Deanna's Playhouse is its connection with the non-profit group Life Services.  They have a huge number of resources (brochures and check-out materials) to help parents and families...everything from encouraging reading to safe car seats. 

October 15: Visiting Kaye's House

The boys having been wanting to visit my cousin Kaye's house for a long, long time!!!  She is so great about coming here to watch the kids for us, to hang out with me for the night, and to stop by to drop things off.  The kids, though, wanted to go see where she lives, especially after they heard she had cats!  They LOVE animals, and are fascinated with cats! 

Seth was off for the weekend to the Michigan high school state golf tournament with two of his golfers, so I thought this would be a perfect time to invade Kaye's for the night!  She graciously let us invite ourselves over to her apartment for pizza (for the kids) and Subway (for the adults) and to watch a movie.  Of course, the boys picked the movie, so we got in the Christmas mood watching The Polar Express.  They peered at her cats hiding under her bed and even got to meet the kitten Kaye had rescued -- Shelby was a bit more daring and had to investigate the newcomers. 

It was an enjoyable night out for all of us, and as we pulled away, Koen asked when we could come back to Kaye's house again.  :)

September 23: Holland Aquatic Center

I grew up in Holland and took swimming lessons at the Holland Community Pool twice a year from a young age through middle school.  The pools and pool deck were basic and served the needs for swimming lessons and competitions.  Since then, I'd heard the pool had been redone and made into an aquatic center, but I hadn't been there.  I discovered through grkids.com that the Holland Aquatic Center had a Tot Time Monday through Friday from 10am - 12pm and decided to visit my mom who has Thursdays free and check out the "new" place.

The new center is AMAZING!  There's a weight room, therapy pool, lap pools, and this fabulous Splash Zone.  The Tot Time is when kids six-years-old and younger can play in the Splash Zone (an adult must accompany them).  I LOVE that the kids can play without worrying about bigger kids coming to take over the play area, etc. 



Cute in her suit!



My mom met us there, and thanks to her coupon book (and Ty and Brielle being 2 and under), we only paid $8 for 5 of us to swim!  Gotta love buy one, get one free coupons!   The boys were excited about spending time there after seeing the splash zone from the windows in the entry way.  After a quick change in the locker room, we headed out to the splash zone.  Koen dove in immediately, loving all the activities and water wheels (kids can control some of the water sprayers).  Tysen wasn't so sure at first, but after a while he was in the pool splashing and playing, too.  Brielle just took it all in...we never saw a real smile, but she did well.  The water was so warm that once I got wet it was hard to be out of the water...maybe Brielle felt the same way. 


We spent about an hour playing in the Splash Zone and then dried off so we could go visit Grandpa during his lunch break.  This is something that would be great to do again, especially mid-winter when we need to do something fun and active in a non-freezing environment.  There were only five other families/groups there so it was easy to share the space. 



Ty and Grandma Smits



Driving home again, I realized that our times of doing things like this with all three kids are becoming limited.  Next year, Koen will be in school all day, every day, so we won't be able to take off for Holland for the day in the middle of the week and include all the kids.  That's a little sad for me, but I know that's all part of growing up.   



Koen on the tire swing.

















September 2: Bounce Party!

Another field trip with friends from church!  This outing was to Bounce Party which is conveniently five minutes from our house!  We've driven past it many, many times but this is the first time we stopped to play.  We went during an open-to-the-public session, but it wasn't very busy and the kids loved running around and playing in the inflatable toys.  It took Ty a while to get used to the feeling of walking on the blow-up runways, etc. but by the end he was extremely comfortable and having a blast!  This will be an excellent place to go during the winter months when we need to burn some energy!  Another perk is that adults can play, too!  I had fun jumping on the "trampoline" with Ty and some of the other kids.

Since we were a little late, we were only able to play about an hour even though the open play time was an 90 minutes.  Can you believe of the four moms who were able to meet at Bounce Party that not one of us remembered a camera???  It was disappointing, but it gives us a great reason to go back!

August 27: Grandma and Grandpa's House

I hadn't planned anything official for this "Special Day," so it was nice when the boys were invited over to Grandma and Grandpa Smits's house overnight.  Grandpa Smits came over to help Seth work on the basement some more (it's looking really great!), and then he took the boys home with him.  They came home with new treasures (aka Thomas movie, back pack, and game) and stories galore.  They particularly loved swimming in the "pool" -- the cooled off hot tub.  They also got to go the the Holland Christian football game although it sounded like they were excited about everything except the game!  It doesn't matter what they do...it's just special when it's with grandparents!