A Day at the Beach

Actually it was just an hour, but incredibly exciting for Kate and rewarding for me to see her experience her first encounter with Lake Michigan. Grace came with us and showed Kate the ropes - sand castles, muddy sand pools to sink your feet in, blowing sand and toes dipped in freezing cold lake. I thought I would have a hard time dragging her away when it was time, but instead she said, "Wanna get an ice cream cone, Mommy?" and off we headed for the Dairy Treat. At one point this afternoon she had sandy feet, an ice cream cone in one hand and a Pronto Pup in the other. Life is good in Grand Haven!

In honor of the day, we dropped off flowers to the grave site of Grandpa and Grandma Oole on Friday. It was nice to see Grandma's name - Anna - printed on the stone, born exactly 100 years prior to our new little Anna soon to arrive. How happy she would be to have another Anna around, and it is always nice to have a reason to remember Grandma and Grandpa Oole. Happy Memorial Day to all!

Michigan Visit Part III

Last week we wrapped up our time house/kid sitting at Grandpa Grizz and Aunt Phatty's house and I took a few days to visit Lauda in Chicago. While we were in GR Kate attended more softball games than she had ever thought about. The great part was that she used her new hockey game cheering skills for her big cousins AND there were other little kids at the games. This little girl became Kate's friend. I know this because Kate walked up to me and said, "This is my friend."

After I snuck away to the train station during the wee hours of the morning, Grandma took Kate to the zoo. I received a call about the time I arrived in Chicago with news that at that very moment Kate was riding a camel. Here is the proof. I hate that I missed this...

Part II - Visiting the Oldest Cousins

We've now moved on to house-sitting and hanging out with Kase and Mal in GR. They treated us to a lovely Mother's Day brunch at their country club and we've been attending a couple of softball games, much to Kate's delight. She's learning a lot about being a big kid (last night she watched Mal paint her toe nails from about 2 inches away with great curiosity), but she has started asking to go "home". I don't know if she means back to Grandma's, or back to Boise, but needless to say, hanging out with the big kids is fun. Oh - and watching Uncle Dan's hockey team in the fight for the Stanley Cup has been super fun with them, too. Lots of cheering, jeering, and inappropriate behavior ensues. I love it.

Grand Times at Grandma's House

We've been keeping busy with cousins and soccer games and Penguins hockey games. We're having a great time and Anna has been growing by the minute. Here's a quick look at our first week here.