3, 6 and 38

Yesterday we had a picnic to the IMA and took our traditional picture of the boys by the number that is their current age. And this year, Nick got to participate because the 3 and the 8 happen to be next to each other!

Michigan!

This past weekend we took a three-day weekend up to Saugatuck and Holland Michigan for a some family time together. Our first stop was Saguatuck State Park where we took a trail through these gorgeous woods to a lovely deserted beach on Lake Michigan.
















Here is Alex climbing the last sand dune and getting his first glimpse of Lake Michigan.


















Everyone was so excited to finally reach our destination! The shoreline is so pretty with age-old oaks and pine that lead right up to the sand dunes that rim the eastern shore of the lake.
















Here are my boys so excited to be on the beach! If you look behind them you can see we had the place completely to ourselves--heaven!




















The waves are surprisingly high considering this isn't the ocean. They had just had a bunch of storms come through and I think that really stirred the water up. The boys had never seen waves like that so they were so excited and kept charging toward the waves!













Eventually it was obvious that trying to keep them dry was a fruitless endevour so we stripped them down to their underwear and let them get into the water. There was no one for miles down the beach so I figured it didn't really matter and, after all, they are only boys! (Sorry Michigan residents, if the sight of my son's Diego underpants offended you, I apologize! :)















The next morning unfortunately dawned with heavy rain that lasted until about 11:00. We finally got the Oval Beach (sight of our engagement 11 years ago!) around noon and although it was very overcast, we still managed to have a splendid time making sandcastles and body surfing in the waves. Here is Nick and Andrew's masterpiece:



















The boys spent a long time looking for rocks, shells and sticks to protect their castle and they did a pretty good job! Here is the final result:















That afternoon we headed back to Holland for some dinner and then afterward headed to a go-kart track for some racing fun. (I know it looks like Alex is choking Andrew in this picture but he really wasn't!) They had really great go-karts that were two-seaters so Nick and I drove and each took a boy with us. We raced twice and Team Amy won each time! Woo hoo!














Sunday morning we packed up the van and headed down the highway in search of a blueberry farm to pick heaps of berries. It is currently the height of the blueberry season up there and they are delicious! None of us had ever picked blueberries before so it was a great adventure for all of us.

















Here is what they look like on the bush, for those that have never been. Gorgeous, huh?!
















Each time they picked one, they had to show it to us and we had to proclaim that they were master berry-pickers!















Here they are with the "fruits" of our labor. Haha.

Patoka Lake

This past weekend we decided to take a cruise on Patoka Lake while we were visiting Granny and Gramps. The boat was acting suspciously so we found a small cove right by the boat launch and had our fun there.


















Here's Alex swimming in the waves...



















Nick is an excellent rock skipper!




















And then, of course, the boys wanted to learn how to do it so they all started looking for the perfect skipper.
















Andrew spent much of his time out of the water looking for sticks to turn into light sabers.
















Look! It's Lents soup!
















Being the fantastic granny she is, Granny got in the water with the kids and had some fun.

Fourth of July 2010

Our second annual Fourth of July party was actually held on July 3rd this year but we had great weather, great friends and a great time! Here are the kids going down the water slide--always a big hit.

Whipper snappers are also a big hit with the kids. This year I made sure to get plenty! The basketball court was a mess afterward!

I have to say that I was pretty proud of my patriotic home pedicure. Stars and stripes forever! (or at least until the paint starts to chip!)













Our neighbor Dwayne brought these cool fireworks that shoot out a little parachute guy--here are the kids angling to catch one.













Sparklers!

















I love this picture of my friend Allison and her daughter Katie--Katie has a sparkler in one hand and some treat in the other. That girl was so excited for the treats that were in abundance!













This picture cracks me up! Here are Nick and Dwayne preparing their fireworks show. They looks like pyromaniacs with all those charges!

















Watching the beautiful fireworks display!














Here are Sophie (one of our neighbors) and Andrew holding hands. I mean, honestly! How cute is that!













One of the pretty fountians...

Holiday World 2010

Our annual pilgrimage to Holiday World was this past week and, as always, we had a spectacular time! This year we had the Cress family reunion there, which added to the fun.

We rode a few new rides this year, including Wildebeest watercoaster (awesome!), the Scarecrow Scrambler (boys loved that), and Frightful Falls, but unfortunately none of those were captured on film. Nick's personal favorite was the Wildebeest and mine was the good ol' stand by, Raging Rapids. We did all those and all the same ones we do every year. Here are the boys on the canoe ride...















...and Andrew on the kiddy spaceships...












...here's Alex driving an old timey car...













And Andrew driving an old timey car...












We stayed, as usual, at the Lake Rudolph campground in a rental camper. My mom and stepdad were right next to us and my step brother Chris and his family were next to them. One big redneck family in our respective trailers! ☺ Here is our attempt at a good family picture, including the "Cress Family 'Holiday' 2010" tee-shirts for all. (Yes, we're THAT family at the amusement park wearing the matching shirts!)













Getting everyone at the table at the same time was a bit of a challenge but here are MOST of us at dinner the first night.

















I don't know if it was the trailer living or what but the four kids found a dirt patch and went to town, getting absolutely filthy. I expect this from the three boys but I'm pretty sure that my neice Olivia was the instigator!














This is Alex and Olivia after they were busted and needed a hose-down before dinner. You can't tell because of the sunlight but they are COVERED in dirt, including thier faces.














Here's a better shot of the filth on Alex. That's not a black eye, it's dirt! Nice.