The Children's Museum

We went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum today and it was so fun!!  There is so much to do there and so much to learn.  The weather was so yucky so it was nice to get out of the house and do something different, Mimi came along and that was really nice to have an extra hand :)  Of course Tanner and Blake were thrilled about that as well, they ADORE their Mimi!!! (and she adores them!)  They were also thrilled to be able to spend the whole day playing with their Daddy!!!!  (and I think he liked playing with all of the stuff just as much as they did! haha)  It is so much fun watching them interact with other kids and the just watch them play and learn :)  They are just so precious!

 making a rainbow with Daddy

 Blake had lots of fun too :)

 this was Tanner's favorite thing!! He loves to drive :)

 Are these Schipper eggs???

 yikes!! He is taking his brother for a fun ride! (he told me the Grandpa Tim does this!)

 fishing with Daddy :) so cute!

 Blake REALLY wanted to eat the fish!

 At the dentist with Mimi :)  (Mimi's work!)

 Brush em good boys :)

 Dr. Schipper???

  Blake thought this was pretty cool....I did too :)

 I don't know who enjoyed this more...Tanner or Ross???

 Blake thought it was fun too :)

 Playing with magnetic bolts...and yes Blake was about to eat one!! ooops!!

 Gaint Light Bright

 playing music with Mimi

 Building....??

Taking a few chicks for a ride :)

At the post office

Where has the time gone??

I just took some cute pics of our boys the other day, Blake did really good with taking the pictures, but Tanner didn't really want much to do with it, and you can only bribe him so much! haha so that is why there are only a few good ones of Tanner, I am not showing favoritism :)   I am slowly realizing that Blake is almost 1 and Tanner is almost 3!!!!  Oh my word!!!  What happened???  It seems like just yesterday Blake was so little, and Tanner was just starting to talk!! He seems like such a big boy now!!!  Blake started crawling a couple weeks ago and I am now finding myself having to tell him not to touch things and having to babyproof my house again :) I loved them when they were little, but I am finding that every stage is so much fun, (and every stage also has it's challenges:) )  It's such a blessing that God let me borrow these precious little guys, and it's so fun to watch them grow :) 

Mexico!!!

I have been feeling sooo stressed out and just overwhelmed with life in general lately!!  I feel like everything around me is making me so uneasy and on top of everything I keep getting these HORRIBLE migraines that completley stop me usually for the entire day!...well bless my wonderful husband!!!!  I was talking to him and just said that I feel like I just want to get away and not have to think about ANYTHING and just have fun!!!
On Tuesday afternoon Ross came home from work and had a great idea...  He came home and surprised me with a trip to MEXICO!!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!  I was sooo excited but at the same time I had major anxiety about leaving our boys for that long!!!  We were scheduled to leave on that Friday and come back on the next Monday.  So....I thought it would be a good amount of time away but not too long :)
We had such a great time!! We really needed this!  The weather was beautiful all but half of one day, and that was nice too! (we took a nice nap in the hammock and just listened to the rain:))  It was just so much fun to be together and to not have to worry about anything but having fun!  Of course I worried like crazy about our boys but I knew they were in good hands :)  (They only had one rough night)  I wrote everything down that we did but I took pictures of everything too so .... this was our trip!!
     Day 1:
We arrived at the airport on friday morning at about 5:30 and took off on our plane at about 7:15am.  (after getting stopped at the baggage check!!  I wasn't aware that we had a limit on liquids!!! aahhh...I had to forefit some of my mousse and lotion...which I guess could have been a lot worse!)  The flight was really good we watched a movie...the Bounty Hunter..it was really good!  When we got to Mexico the weather was soo nice and sunny!!! It was nice to see sun for a change!  We had about an hour ride to the resort.  when we got there we couldn't check into our room for another three hours!!!  what??? I didn't quite understand that but oh well there was plenty to do :)  We got our swimsuits on and walked around by the pool, checked out the beach, and had some lunch.  When we finally got to our room, it was awesome!!  The coolest part was the outdoor shower!!! It was soo cool!!  There was also a ton of wild life all around...lots and lots of iguana's!!  We basically just walked all around the resort and checked things out for the rest of the day and enjoyed lots of sun and lots of drinks!!!
 Day 2:
Today we checked out the rest of the resort...we found the salt water pool...it was AMAZING!!!!  It was a pool but the ocean flowed into it and the floor of the pool was just like the ocean floor..kinda wierd but really cool and soo beautiful!!!  the weather was really nice today, we got lots of sun and lots of burn! haha!  I am having a really rough time missing my kids but I am having fun at the same time...it just feels wierd to be without them.  We learned how to dance the Merenque today too, I was actually quite impressed with ross!!
Day 3:
Today we slept in!! woo hoo!! havn't been able to do that in a long time!!  When we got up we ate breakfast and then we went to play mini golf, it was sooo hot that we decided to bag it, plus i was kicking Ross' butt so I think he wanted to quit before it got too bad hahaha!!  Then we went to the salt water pool again and then to the main pool when it started to thunder!!!  yup, it rained all day!! bummer on the sun bathing but we had a blast hanging out indoors, they had a live band and dancing :)  This is when I wish I had another female to dance and have fun with...it's not really Ross' thing but he made the most of it :)

our villa was awesome!!!

paradise!

we learned how to scuba in the pool but it was too windy to actually go out!

outdoor shower (private) this was the coolest part!! haha

the Mayan's beleive that this is the day that the world  will end....

Overall I think this trip was soo thoughtful of Ross and it was well needed!!  We can all get so stressed out sometimes and things can get pretty crazy, so felt good to take a breather and realize how blessed we really are!!  It was hard to be away from our boys but I think it was a healthy amount of time and a good break...plus i'm sure they had just as much fun!!  Thank you sooo much babe!  I love you!

Bragging rights!

Just wanted to brag about my boys a minute :)   They are just such a joy to have and I feel so blessed that I get to be their mommy! Everyday they do things that make me smile...along with things that make me...well...not smile!  but overall I feel so lucky to be able to spend everyday with them! There are so many things that I'm glad I don't miss!
 Tanner got a Red Ryder bb gun for his first Christmas and Ross just put it in the gun cabinet until Tanner would be old enough to use it...well Tanner found out that it was his and ever since...he has been asking if he can hold it!!  Ross finally caved and opened it and let Tanner hold it!! here are some pics. He was soooo proud!!! (so was Ross!) 

Blake is changing soo much the past few weeks its amazing!!  I forgot how that happens!!  He all of the sudden has started saying things like "mama"  "dada" "baba" "puff" and "t..t..t..t" ( i think for tanner??)  He also started to wave "bye bye" and will do "soo big!"  It's crazy!  He can also get on his hands and knees and move backwards but he hasn't figured out yet how to go forward..soon enough!  I kinda like it that he can't get too far!  I can still use the bathroom without worrying!

 Speaking of...I was blowdrying my hair the other morning and Ross was taking a shower, Blake was sleeping and Tanner was playing...or so we thought!!! this is what happens when you think you can trust your 2yr old!!! oh my!! Thank goodness for Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser!!

                                               yes! this is pen all
                    over the bathroom door and wall!!!                                         

  
It's crazy that we are already thinking about pre school for Tanner!!  I have been trying to get him ready by teaching him a few basic things and he has caught on really well!!  He knows all of his colors, he can count to 15 (when he wants) sorta sing his ABC's and we are working on shapes and letter recognition.  So far he knows A, B ,D,M,O,P,S,and of course, T (for Tanner!) I am soo proud of him and it makes me so happy to see him grow like that!!
 They both surprise me EVERY DAY seriously!  I just LOVE them!! Sometimes I wish I could freeze them at the ages that they are but then again...I really look forward to what the future has in store for us :)

I thank God every day for giving me this life..it's all I have ever wanted!!!

"Snowed In"

                                                               the swingset is buried!!

On Feb. 2 we had almost the biggest snow in history!!! It was sooo exciting!! We had been hearing about a huge storm for about a week and we sure got it!!  In Holland we got a little over 13 inches from about 8pm on tues. night until about 10am on wed. morning!! It was incredible...I couldn't sleep I was sooo excited...I love the snow...especially snow storms!!  We were even having lightning?? kinda wierd??  Ross got up at about 3am to plow and couldn't get down the road because it was so drifted over!!  When he finally got (about 1hr later) he plowed ALL DAY and didn't get home until about 10:30pm!!!! Let's just say it was a LONG DAY!!!! but for me... it was really fun!!! Tanner and I got to play outside for a little while when Blake was napping, and for the rest of the day...we just did fun "inside" stuff :)

Tanner in the sandbox...there is drifts all around him!

our front door

     our slider      

My boys

Here are some pics that I took of my boys and a couple of our family!!!  I love them soo much, I truly feel blessed to have them!! Even when things are a little stressfull!  For example....this week Tanner has...
-fallen in the bathroom and hit his head on the counter and got a black eye!
-he has officially figured out how to open ALL child locks!! ( cupboards, doorknobs, and even his vitiman's)
-he got a hold of Ross' pocket knife and opened it!!!!
-he tried to flush a play cell phone down the toilet
and fell off the kitchen table chair and bruised his OTHER eye!!!
Then he proceeded to ask me if I would fall and hurt myself because he wanted me to cry!!! OMG!!
While this was happening...Blake apparently thought it was hilarious because he was laughing SO HARD!!
I guess that's the life of having boys! Gotta Love My Boys!!!!  I REALLY DO!!

                                                             can you tell they are related???

eeew don't look at mom and dad kiss!!!