Another Week Gone By

This past weekend we had our final "long-term" visitor, Oma Linda. We took advantage of the warm weather and the help to take a morning trip to Meijer Gardens. Here are Oma & Sydney in front of a blown glass sculpture by Chihuly and another of Sydney playing in the Great Lakes water area.

Sydney getting her first ride in the bike trailer with Maggie

I love this photo of the twins becuase it shows their true personalities (8 weeks old)!

The Tantes

Well, another great week has flown by.  The twins are almost 7 weeks old and Sydney is edging in on 23 months.  We realized more than once this week that we really do need to watch what we say with her around!  Two of my sisters, Jessica & Marissa, were here visiting for the week, and despite some less-than-desirable weather, we had a great time hanging out together.  As always, I was sad to see these latest visitors go home! Here's a bit of what we did this week:

Tante Jessie & Tante Rissa with the nephew & nieces

Holding babies

Multi-tasking, as women do

Playing with Sydney

A chilly visit to Holland State Park to see Lake Michigan

Asher & Geneva at 6 weeks old

More Visitors

What a great week! Nana & Grandpa were here to meet the twins and hang out with the family. Sydney was introduced to a whole new type of "fun" from Grandpa and spent her days following him around doing home improvements and cleanup....something that Daddy usually ends up doing after she's in bed.

Here's Syd sporting her new work gloves (secured by duct tape - what else?) and Grandpa's safety googles.

And riding around in her new "van"...headed to Canada, of course.

There was plenty of playtime with Nana too...

And just a little bit of baby-holding

And a few extra visits from Auntie Renee & Uncle Jon too!

Tribute to Beppe

This post is a tribute to Beppe for her help with the kids during the month of April....and to Pake for being without her for a whole month! We couldn't have managed without you. Thanks Mom! We love you and miss you being here with us.

A few rare photos with Mom....and Dad

The Kids

Sydney - 22 months

Asher - 3.5 weeks

Geneva - 3.5 weeks

Frederick Meijer Gardens

We decided (along with the rest of Grand Rapids and several schools, apparently) to take another quick trip to Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies before they're gone for the season. The butterflies weren't as big a hit as earlier this season, but the outdoor scenery and activities seemed to do the trick!

Keeping Sydney Busy

Sydney has been introduced to all new types of fun lately in an attempt to keep her busy and entertained. Sidewalk chalk, painting canvases for the babies' bedroom, and a Lite Brite game from my ancient past have all been big hits!

A Morning at John Ball Zoo

My mom, Sydney, the twins and I took advantage of the 74-degree forecast on Thursday this week and took a morning trip to John Ball Zoo.  Many of the exhibits were not open yet for the season, but Sydney enjoyed her first real trip to the zoo nonetheless.  I realize that many of my posts fail to include much commentary, but I am a busy mom and I think the photos tell the stories just fine!