Summertime Hits

So a list of highlights for the past few months...let's see...May: Jonathan's graduation from Med School. Shawna and Micah met her whole family clan in Richmond, VA for a wonderfully long weekend of grad festivities. Micah met "nani" for the first time and fell in love. June: What happened in June? Oh! The Cutlerville parade and carnival. Americana at its best. Small town parade, choo choo rides, fire engines, polka music and elephant ears and fireworks to top it all off. We'll definitely plan on being there again next year! Shawna's Mom came to visit and we drove to Rochester, NY to help Jonathan and Chrissy move into their new home. Micah was reunited with Kenai, his best doggie friend. We also took Micah to the zoo for the first time. The pygmy goats and monkeys were a hit. Summer time hits cont...July: We headed to Gull Lake Family Camp and enjoyed the best week in Michigan yet at a friend's cottage on Gull Lake. We enjoyed the Camp facilities and programming and made some lasting family memories. It was truly a time of refreshment, relaxation and renewal. Later that month Janet Purvis Miedema came to visit. We thoroghly enjoyed the MI lakeshore in all its grandeur and also Meijer Gardens where we spent time wondering what the "Thinker" is really thinking about. We also hosted two parties in July. One for the college and career group at our church and one for Greg's Grand Rapids chaplain team. The highlight of the month was finding out we are PREGNANT!! Praise the Lord!! Due date: March 23rd, '08. On to August: Greg's brother Steve, Nikki and their three kiddos came for a few days to see Michigan for the first time. We headed up to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and had an awesome time splashing around in their over-the-top indoor waterpark. Micah rode the kiddie waterslide around 150 times, I think. We also took them to the beach and strolled the street of Saugatuck one afternoon. A day after they left, we packed up the trusty ole Honda and headed to Rochester, NY again, this time for the Walsh family reunion. We stopped in Niagara Falls overnight on the way there and saw all that water as well as all that built-up concrete materialistic tourism. What a place! Micah was more fascinated by a small garden fountain than by the falls (go figure.) We rode the quintessential Niagara Falls tourist attraction "Maid of the Mist" and were literally blown away by the force of the falls. Very cool. At the reunion, Shawna's relatives flew in from all over the States. It really was a wonderful time and one of the best reunions in years, they said. Lots of singing, laughing, joking, playing, eating and catching up with family we hadn't seen in years. I guess it's exactly what you hope a reunion to be. After the arduous drive home, we took a few days to recover when Greg's Dad and Step-mom flew in from San Antonio. We also took them to the lakeshore in Grand Haven, but it's so stinkin' cold out we didn't spend much time soaking in any rays...just raindrops. Today we went to the Gerald R. Ford Museum here in town. Very impressive. The weather is still cool but we are not complaining. Just shaking my head that it's acutally August 20th! What in the world?! I'm in a sweater and just made a cup of hot chai. You never know, huh? So that brings us up to date. Much more has happened and much more is planned (and unplanned, for sure), but now that I am an official blogger, we will do our best to keep you "posted" :) Until then...