The Accidental Boilermaker

This was Fort4Fitness weekend.  Evelyn ran the final 1.2 miles of her kids marathon Friday night.  She helped make a sign for Nate and Jameson to hold. Unlike last year where where she was nervous and a little overwhelmed, Evelyn was ready to go the minute we got to the race. Lined up in our corral. Evelyn did great.  She ran the entire 1.2 miles.  We crossed the finish line and she kept running.  I had to tell her to stop. Big smile with her medal. This morning was my race.  Nate took the kids to a park near mile 7 to play until it was time to start looking for me.  At some point a police officer offered to let Evelyn sit on top of his car.  He gave Jameson the same opportunity but apparently Jameson was not at all interested. My sign for the half marathoners.  I got to see Nate, Evelyn, and Jameson at mile 7 and just before mile 11.  At mile 7 it was so cute, they both started running with m...

Wednesday we met up with some friends at the zoo. It was a perfect fall day. The zoo closes soon so we need to get in all our last visits. Thursday Evelyn’s class took a field trip to an apple orchard. The kids got to pick 4 apples and one little pumpkin.  Jameson came with us. I think he just assumes he is part of the class. He got to pick one apple and a little pumpkin.  A nice class picture. 

One last out of town weekend trip!  This time to Kenosha to visit my Grandma and Clarence and to celebrate my dad and my Aunt Ginger's birthdays.  My grandma treated us all to lunch and then we took a quick trip to Lake Michigan. Much too windy to be in the water, the kids enjoyed climbing over and around the big rocks. More family pictures. On Sunday we went to Cosley Zoo which is a great small zoo in Wheaton.  I remember going to Cosley lots as a kid. Cosley doesn't have any exotic animals, just lots of birds and mammals that you would find in Illinois.  The zoo also has a nice representation of farm animals: horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, pigs, and chickens. Evelyn and Jameson watching the coyote with Grandpa. It was a perfect day to be outside and the zoo was a nice way to tire out Evelyn and Jameson before we got in the car to drive home.

I've been trying to get to the zoo all week and we finally did today. It was really hot today.  We all kinda wished we were the seal lions or the penguins who got to swim and play in the water to stay cool Or the keeper we saw scuba diving and cleaning the shark tank. Or the sting rays splashing in their tank. Oh well.  We went on the log ride which was as close to water as we got. Even the kangaroos wanted to be close to the water. It was so hot I decided we couldn't go home without a treat, so we all shared an ice cream cone.

Nate’s friend from the bike team throws a neighborhood party every September called Barnfest.  He runs a dentist practice so it’s a good way to thank his current patients and try to round up new ones. Evelyn and Jameson love it because there are bounce houses and face painting.  Jameson went conservative and got Batman on his arm.  Evelyn went full spider(wo)man. 

One last camping trip.  This time we went to Chain O'Lakes state park which is only about an hour away and we stayed in a cabin with my mom, dad and Katherine. We got in around dinner time on Friday.  It had been a busy day so everyone was ready for stories and bedtime. Saturday morning we checked out the camp playground. Evelyn and Grandpa played catch with the frisbee. After lunch we went to a nature talk about tree cookies.  We learned that tree cookies have nothing to do with cookies, but are instead the cross cut of a tree that allows you know how old the tree is. After the talk, we got to decorate our cookie. Our next activity was a nature walk about beavers.  We didn't see any beavers because they are nocturnal (I learned that), but we did see two beaver dams and a beaver lodge. After naps, we went down to the lake.  Chain O'Lakes gets its name because the state park contains several lakes linked together....

We were back in Michigan for Joel and Emily's wedding. Evelyn was so excited to see her cousins; it was all she could talk about all week. The beautiful couple. Jameson and Grayson were fast friends.  They spent most of the evening running around the venue, chasing each other. Only the coolest aunts think to bring legos to keep the kids occupied. Evelyn was also very excited to dance at the wedding. Missing just one grandkid in this picture Evelyn thought her flowers out of Emily's bouquet were very special. Saturday we took a trip to the Critter Barn. Evelyn loved holding the chicks and ducks. Isaac with his duckling. After the Critter Barn we took a walk around downtown Holland to get coffee and treats. The cousins taking up the whole sidewalk with their cuteness. Sunday morning we took a nature walk with Pat and Paul.  Pat realized all the Hope grads were sporting their blue and ...