Bubble Buddies

Pics with Grandma and Grandpa

On Saturday morning, it was a gorgeous one, the kids and I met up with my parents at Morning Side Park in hopes of taking some nice pictures for my parents to use for a Christmas card. I had taken the kids for pics the day before, and it didn't go so well, so I admit I was a tad worried that the pics wouldn't turn out and it'd be another trying experience. My kids don't have a whole lot of sit in them. Anyway, my mom was a thinker and brought three wrapped presents along as a little incentive for them to smile nice. Sure enough it worked and we got some cute shots. They couldn't wait to be done and tear into those presents. I'll have to remember that the next time I get their pics taken. Leave to grandma to get them to behave and smile sweetly. :-)

Date with Daddy (Deer Hunting Style)

On Friday, Kennedy and Bryan headed out on a date. Instead of going out to eat they decided to go sit in the woods and look for deer. Kennedy was SO excited!! She's been Bryan's biggest fan and is always excited to hear about his hunting adventures.
After a very muddy walk to their spot, they set up their tent and Kennedy instantly began looking for deer and wanting a snack.

Where's all the bucks, dad?

On the lookout again...

Taking a break to snap a photo of daddy.. she just loves taking pics.

She kept saying, dad, there's a big one!!

Bryan got excited for a sec and then realized she said that every time she looked thru the binoculars.

Trying her skills on the buck grunt.

Bryan said she'd hit it about every 20 seconds. (good times!)

You can't hunt without an i-pod, hehe, so this pacified her for about an extra 20 minutes as dawn was approaching.

Bryan said hunting with Kennedy was the highlight of his hunting season and they didn't even see a thing. Not even a bird. :-)
Kenz had a great time, too, and never stopped telling stories and talking while they were in the blind. Bryan said the only time she stopped talking was when she was on the buck grunt. Lots of good memories were made while out together. I'm sure there will be many more daddy/daughter hunting adventures (and father/son) to come.
Next time- she hopes to shoot a BUCK!

Thanks, Elders, for letting us share our first daddy/daughter hunting memories at your farm!

Black Friday Christmas Pics

Santa Parade

On Saturday we ventured into Hudsonville with our friends to enjoy our first ever Santa Parade. It was a beautiful Fall day just perfect for a parade. Needless to say we very much enjoyed and will make it an annual thing if we can.

Kenz and Logan are quite the pair.
Amanda and I always joke about them dating someday. We've got lots of cute pics of them over the years if that does ever happen. (I'm thinking they'll appreciate these someday either way)

The pen of reindeer. Kenz and Logan were the only two that showed much interest. Pretty neat to see and you could even pet them.

Me and my, don't want to smile or sit still for the camera, kiddos!

Brooklyn and Kolt stroller bound. That didn't last for long. :0)

Kolter thinks parades rock!

Kenz decided she no longer need her coat on. It was nice, but the coat didn't stay off for long.

Amanda and I.

Kenz thought we needed one taken, too.

Frolicking in the grass as we waited in anticipation for the parade to begin. We sat near the end and got there, perhaps, a tad too early. Thankfully it was a gorgeous day and the kids had a blast playing and enjoying outside time.

Another BUCK!

My husband is quite the stud. :-)

ALL that hunting finally paid off. Praising God for two bucks this year all within a few miles from home.

Wishing the rest of you hunter's a successful and safe remainder of the hunting season. You know Bryan isn't going to be done just yet.. muzzle-loading hasn't even begun.

Kennedy was pretty proud. She's the only one of the three that really took to this buck.

She'll be hunting with daddy before we know it.

Special Helper

On Friday Kennedy was the special helper at school. This means that I also got to attend class with her, and help out, for the morning. It was such a fun day for me. Seeing her in class was truly a special treat. It was also fun to see her interact with the other children. They have a bunch of sweeties in that class. It's amazing how some take to you like right away. I had several different lap sitters throughout my time there. Looking forward to my next time there with her. She has informed me though that she'd like daddy to help next time, so he might be going in place of me. I'm thankful they give us parents an opportunity to help in the class.
Dressed up as turkey's. The spanish teacher comes in and spends about 15-20 minutes teaching them. I was amazed at how much spanish they could retain. It was super cute.

Addison, Taylor and Kennedy

Kenz and her school BFF, Taylor

The Shopping Cart relay- very entertaining !

All the kiddos lined up and patiently waiting for our turn in the gym.

Since Kennedy was special helper she got to be first in line. She thought that was pretty cool.

Kennedy's prechool class friend, FROGGY, came to visit our house.

Kennedy was special helper at school on Friday so that meant the Tuesday prior she was able to take FROGGY home for a few days. Having FROGGY come home was something she looked forward to since, pretty much, the first day of preschool as each student get a turn taking FROGGY. FROGGY had a great time at our house and is already missed. We put together this photo collage of some of our fun times with FROGGY. We also put this in a book that goes home with each student when it's their turn with FROGGY. There's cute note that went with it- but I can't get it to copy/paste so we're going to end it here.

Ruby Red Lips

Kennedy loves lipstick. Ruby Red at that. She was having some fun the other day with my hat and glasses and, of course, lipstick. She also loves the camera, so we had a little fun with it. She looks a tad gangster in some of these. Cute, nonetheless, though.

Kissing Cousins

Cute Chicks!

This post is primarily for blog book sake as we didn't get to see Ella on Halloween. Jill and I ended up buying the same costume- so we just had to get a pic of our cute little chicks. Aren't they just like the cutest little chickens you've ever seen? We sure think so.

Lovin the Leaves

This afternoon we headed over to the Grove to enjoy the beautiful fall day by breathing in some fresh air. The kids had a blast on the playground and also frolicked in the leaves.

No one was really thrilled when it came to posing in the tree.. you can tell as all have concerned looks on their face. Classic!

We did play with the selftimer a bit and managed to get one of us looking.

And then it was back to playing in the leaves..

Happy Halloween!!!!

We had lots of fun this Halloween. Instead of trick or treating door to door we went door to door by visiting our family. We got lots of candy along the way, too, so I guess we did out own style of trick or treating. It made for a busy, yet special day.
The kiddos all dressed up and ready to go..

Kennedy- our cute little chicken..

Kooper- our super, duper, spider.

Kolter- our curious, yet super cute, little monkey.

Grandma and grandpa Rotman's was our first stop.

It was extra special because our cousins Reed and Carley were there.

Next up was grandpa great VanderWoude.

On the way to grandma and grandpa Hulst's we stopped in and said hello to the Yount's. They live right up the road so we figured why not.

Grandpa and grandma Hulst.

Great grandma and grandpa Hulst. Marco, the dog, loved having us over.

We also ventured to cousin Tara and Andy's and then were on to grandma and grandpa Broekstra's.

Kenz wanted a pic of us, dressed as mom and dad, so this is what she got.

Original costumes, hey?

We headed to Allendale next to visit grandpa great Rotman.

Our last stop was at the Post's for a fun Halloween Party.

Kennedy, Logan and Kooper.

We did pop in at Brad and Jill's, earlier in the day, but ended up missing them as they were off to a party. All and all it was a great day of visiting family and friends. The kiddos had a blast collecting candy and seeing everyone. This morning when they got up they asked if we could go trick or treating again. They were a tad disappointed when we said we have to wait until next year. Time flies, as a child, right?

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Tonight we had a little pumpkin carving party. I think Kennedy had the most fun with it. Kooper wanted nothing to do with it. He thought the insides smelled yucky and were gross to touch. We thought Kolter would be all about it, as he'll typically try anything, but all he did was look on with curiosity. He wanted no part in feeling the inside. Maybe next year the boys will be more into it. We had fun regardless and they all did enjoy seeing the pumpkins lit up when the carving was done. We baked up some pumpkin seeds as well and no one really took to those. We should've sprinkled them with sugar and cinnamon, rather than buttersalt, and perhaps they would've enjoyed. Next year. :-)

The pumpkins all carved and lit up!

Post Family Farm

We made our annual trip to Post Family Farm and had a wonderful family night. The weather was perfect, so that made it even that much better.

Petting the goats..


The pumpkin train...

Fun in the pumpkin patch.

The hayride to and from the patch was also fun!

Daddy got a little crazy with the hay and the kids had fun trying to cover Kolter. He was loving it.

All and all it was a great night. If you've never been there, we totally recommend it. It's a great family fun spot.

A Basket Of Cuteness

I just love this kid!

On The Mend!

Oh what a week we've had. It started on Monday and lasted until yesterday. A nasty little flu bug hit us and went full circle throughout our family. It started with Kennedy on Monday, Kolter on Tuesday, Kooper on Wednesday, me on Thursday, and Bryan on Friday. Bryan, ever so sweetly, stayed home on Friday to take Kenz to school, and watch the boys, as I was in no condition to do so and ended up with it later that day. We have since went through lots of lysol and done tons of laundry and are happy to report that we are all on the mend. We did stay home from church today and our life group tonight, just for the sake of everyone else, but are looking forward to a healthy, normal, week ahead. We had to miss SO many fun things this week. Father's night at Kennedy's school, a field trip to Tuesinks Farm, our niece's 3rd b-day party and a fun night planned with friends. On the bright side, we were able to get outside both yesterday and today and enjoy the beautiful, fall, crisp air. It felt really good as we were all sick of being cooped up. We thank God that the bug has passed and that we're all feeling better. I'm hoping that's it for us, in terms of the flu, for the rest of the season. I'll end now with some pics of our fun outdoors.

Kooper helping Kolter on the trike..
I can do it myself.. see.


Hanging in the truck..

Pouting in the truck..

Shooting something.

He loves pretending like he's an action hero.

Mowing the grass..

So pretty!

Lot's of laughs..

Kolter had a blast playing with a ball and a shovel.

Kenz pitching to daddy..

Little sweetie..

I love his cold little red nose and cheeks.

More fun with the shovel and the ball.

Brothers..

Cookie time..

A sweet treat for a sweet time outside.

Pumpkin Painting

Fall Pictures

We ventured out for some fall pictures so I thought I'd share. My proof sheet was from last Christmas, so I figured I should update it. Kolter wasn't feeling the best, thus the reason for his lack of smiles and cooperation. All and all I think they turned out alright. Nothing like Tracy VanDerMeulen Photography, but that's a given. :-)

Buck!!!

Saturday morning was a good hunting morning for Bryan as he came home with a nice buck. We were pretty excited as this marked the 3rd time he'd been out, so not too bad. Meat for the freezer is always a good thing. The kids were pretty excited when they heard the news and couldn't wait for daddy to get home with the buck.
Kolter was probably the most hesitant. Curious, but not all about it.

Kenz, however, was ALL about it. She even named him Princess. Daddy said she had to come up with another name though, as it's a boy and not a girl. I think Acorn Tree was the last name I heard her mention. I'm sure it'll change often. I, personally, thought Princess buck was pretty cute.

Someday, I'm certain we'll be capturing a picture of her with her very own buck.. until then, she doesn't mind sharing daddy's.
Praise be to God for a successful and safe morning in the woods!