Ottawa County Fare

"Is he allowed to do that mommy?"

So yesterday Nicolynn and I went to the fare with Cousin Zach and Aunt Sarah.

This is the first time Nicolynn got to see all the live animals that she has been reading about.

She loved it. Zach wasn't so sure about them though.

May I touch him please...

Nicolynn wanted to let them all "lick her hand" but I didn't trust most of them.

They are animals you know.

So I would take her hand, wrap mine around it, and maybe let part of the animal graze her hand a little bit. :)

I did let her touch a pigs ear, sheep wool, and a bunny's fur.

But I want her to keep all her fingers.

Can I touch this one? It's just a kangaroo...

Ok this is my stroller, go get your own. And I don't want to touch you anymore either.

TIMBERTOWN!!!

Peek-A-Boo

We love timbertown. Especially when Daddy comes to play with us. If we need a little break from being at home, this is one of our favorite places to go. Nicolynn loves the swings, climbing everything, playing pee-a-boo and the slides!!

Deanna's PlayHouse

July 20, 2012 Nicolynn and I spent an afternoon at Deanna's Playhouse. We had a good time. She loved the music room and playing on the drums. There was a little house with a full kitchen set that she played with most of the time. She played with the dollies and strollers, large boats, cars to ride in, and trucks and blocks. I think we will wait till she is a little older to go again, but we had a good time.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Holtrop

Grandpa and Grandma Great (Holtrop) came over for a night of dinner and haircuts.
Nicolynn LOVED them reading books to her.

Pool water... fresh today :)

The pool was almost empty by the time I could get her to stop drinking...

Helping Grandma in the Garden

July 09 we stopped at Grandma D's house to "help" her in her garden. We actually just stopped by to watch her in her garden, but Nicolynn was ready to pull the weeds.  I'd let her help out at our house too if I didn't have to pull the weeds first and then hand them to her...
She is awesome!

Ready For Church...

Most Sunday mornings begin with Josh and myself running around the house trying to share in the duties of taking care of Nicolynn and still trying to get ready ourselves. It's not always the most pleasant place, but this Sunday was perfect. (July 8, 2012)

Nicolynn didn't get to bed until 10pm Saturday night, so we figured she wouldn't get up in time for church. Little did we know, Little Miss Sunshine was up early enough for me to take care of her by myself and we even had a little down time.

I was cleaning up the kitchen, and she is sitting so precious just reading her book. I had to grab the camera.

At church, Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Tony sat by us, which was awesome. Aunt Lindsey always brings her huge purse (Uncle Tony calls it her luggage) which is full of stuff. Nicolynn loves it, and it takes her almost the whole sermon just to pull everything out of it. When Lindsey is not sitting by us in church, we are so lost, and Nicolynn normally has to be taken out.

4th Of July

We are still working on our deck and 3-season room, so Josh and I decided to have a fun little family gathering for the 4th instead of a big bash to show off everything that we've been working on (since we're still working on everything).

 So we invited my parents and siblings, Josh's parents and siblings, and the Borst's (who practically are family). It was such a HOT day, but we made the most of it. As you can see from the pictures, Papa definitely made the most of it.

Apparently the day after the party, Lydia couldn't stop talking about Mr. Steve and Nicolynn in the pool. :) Thanks Mr. Steve/Dad/Papa... you made our day!!!

We ended up playing yard games, and enjoyed the new deck. Dad H, you really frustrated me by beating me 2x's in a row at Corn Hole. I need to practice, and then I will have a do-over with you. I did not like loosing twice at all. But I still had fun. 

 In case I ever decide to look back and wonder what we had for food, here is the list: burgers, hotdogs, potato salad (meijer brand that I added radishes and onions to), chips, watermellon, baby carrots, dip, frozen grapes on a stick (thank you pinterest), cookies, red/white/blue yogurt desserts (thank you mom/pinterest), and my very own made up punch :)

Happy 4th everyone!!!!

Sandy Pines

 On June 29, Grandma H took Zachary and Nicolynn (and myself) to Sandy Pines to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Dale. They have a pool there, and all these water toys. We had such a good time running through the water. And did I mention that Nicolynn loves shoes? Well, there were a few pairs of stranger's shoes that Nicolynn continually went after. Attend to your shoes people, otherwise Nicolynn will take them and try to put them on herself :) (Or worse, she brings them to me to put on. Here she has Zachary's shoes, and she is in her glory!!!

Fred Meijer Gardens

How do you tell a 1 year old not to play in that kiddie pool?

Ok, so I am very behind on my blogging and keeping in touch with everyone, but that's because this summer is so much fun!!!

Nicolynn and I are busy almost every day, and nap time is clean-up time or work-out time for me. And in the evenings I am trying to clean-up some more or relax and recuperate. :) (I can't recall spelling that word before, so I hope spell check gave me the right word)

Macho women!

So on June 28 Nicolynn and I met up with some friends at Fredrick Meijer Gardens. It was such a hot day, and they have the coolest outdoor water things.

The only problem with the cool water toys is that Nicolynn wanted to play in the water. (Right next to the sign that told me to keep my kid out of the water). Needless to say that was not the most relaxing day trying to keep her out of the water. But we did have fun.

They also had some shaded paths outside, and inside there was a whole room with a model of the gardens that Nicolynn could play with. As she gets older, this will be a great outing for us.


My good griend Rachel also wrote about this day. You can see her blog here:
http://gootefamily.blogspot.com/2012/06/girls-day-out.html

Finally some water she could go in!!!

She was a little ahead of me on her blog. By the time Josh got home that day, he already knew all about our trip to the gardens because Rachel is so good about keeping up on her blog.