Playing with the Cousins

One of the greatest things about having our family visit is that the cousins get to play and create memories together.

 Aidan woke up and found this little frog in our backyard.

He loves frogs!

 Super Roswell having a breather.

 The super cousins!  They were all able to wear the capes I made for Christmas at the same time.  Super fun!

 The girls got to wear theirs too.

 We got to play hockey in the driveway.

 I think Avery will fit right in!

 Ainsley wanted in on the action too.

 Ross was playing the zamboni.

Sibling rivalry?  Nah, just more fun!

Later, we even got to challenge each other on Boom Blox.

Born to Run 5K and John Ball Zoo

Jason likes to run just like Dan, so Dan convinced him to run a 5K with him.  I think Dan wanted to see if he could beat him. ;)  This specific race was called Born2Run, supporting pregnancy services of Lansing.  This group helps prepare pregnant mothers for motherhood/adoption while discouraging abortion.

Donovan also signed up to run the kids 1 mile fun run.

 Earl boys pre-run.

 When we found out the race route and there were some stretches that we wouldn't be able to see, we thought it would be safer to not let Donovan run alone.  Since Dan would be running in a little bit, I was able to run with him at the last minute.

 We are in the home stretch.  Fun run is not what I would have called it.  I found out just how out of shape I am!!

Rankings

Donovan finished 4th.  But 3rd in his age bracket.  The kids that beat him were all 9 and older.  Good job Dono!  These were his prizes.  A runner pack and legos.

 Then Dan and Jason got to run.  You can see Dan in the royal blue shirt and Jason in white to his left.

 Off they go.

 Jason running mid-way.

 Dan running mid-way.

 Jason finished somewhere around 24 minutes.

Dan's finish was somewhere around 28 minutes.

Great job boys!

You should be proud of yourselves. 

 Aidan found a frog in the field.

Since we were up early and had the whole day in front of us, we decided to drive to Grand Rapids and visit the John Ball Zoo.

 We got there at a great time!  They had a baby alligator to pet.  Aidan had no fear and stepped right up.

Donovan was nervous, but this is right after he pet it too.

 Ross just went up and layed his hand on him and didn't want to let go.

 Avery thinking her brothers are crazy.  Or just being cute!

It was such a hot day, we tried as many indoor exhibits as possible.  They even had misters to help those walking by.

I guess this guy was hot too.  He wasn't moving at first and we thought he might be hurt, or dead.  But after a bit he would move his hands into little GQ poses.  It was funny to walk up and see him like this.

The Brown Family Vacation/ Impression 5

Aunt Amy (Dan's sister), Uncle Jason, Aidan, and Ainsley Brown came to Michigan to have a little vacation.

 The kids had a fabulous time together.  For some reason, my boys love to dog pile on Uncle Jason.

 My kids got free tickets to Impression 5 for reading this summer through the library, so we got to go with our cousins!

 Our favorite spot was in the kids playroom.  They have changed the location and some of the fun stuff since I've been here last.

 The wood play equipment was a favorite.

Aidan showed that it even has a see-through bottom.

 I caught Roswell having a blast with his friend!  :)

 Of course, it wouldn't be fun unless the boys got to play at the water table.

 Aidan sweetly playing with Avery.

 Avery kept trying to figure out how to push this stroller.

 She found it was easier to not bump into things if she did it backwards.

 The girls Ainsley and Avery playing with the chips.

 About mid-way through Avery found this baby.  She would only pick it up by pinching the clothes and dragged it everywhere she went.  It was funny to watch.

 Ainsley and her Daddy

One of the only times I could snap a picture of my boys, they were zipping through everything too fast to take pictures!

Avery Walks!

Avery has really been walking since July 1st, but here is some footage of our little walker.

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A New Do

I am ok fixing my own hair, but when it comes to little girls, I'm not so talented, yet.  While Vanessa was here, she gave me a few tips on fixing girl hair.

 We were able to get Avery's long top hair into a pony tail!  Man those tiny rubber bands are hard to work with.  Hopefully Avers will have a hard head and will sit still till I'm finished after Nessa leaves.

 She has such curly hair when it's wet.

Avery is getting really funny with her faces.  She can make some pretty cute ones.

Vanessa's MI Trip (part deux)

Saturday we celebrated Pioneer Day with a church branch party.

We ate yummy food.  My strawberry pie won first place in the pie contest!

 Lots of food and friends.

 And fun.  Dan was in charge of helping put this activity together.  We got this idea from our friend Whitney.  The kids got to have a cow pie eating contest.

 Pudding is really tough to slurp through a straw!

Roswell's turn.

Elliott and Dono trying.

 Dan vs. the kids in the stick pull. 

 Dono battling Jared K.

 Vanessa and Ross enjoying the show.

 Mark J. and Dan battling it out in the stick pull.

 I guess Dan's loss of weight puts him at a little disadvantage.

 Tug-of-war

 Dono and Elliott in the sack race.

Ross loves his nursery teachers.  This is one, Sister Crosby.

 Dan sawing a log against the Draut guys.

On Sun. after church, Vanessa enlisted the boys to help her make cookies.

 They enjoyed every minute of it, the rewards after too. :)

 Nessa and I then battled it out with words.  Scrabble that is.  We'll have to have another challenge though.  We both won very close games, so we'll have to see who reigns supreme next time.

We also worked hard (and wasted so much time) to defeat the new Super Mario Brothers game on wii.  We sailed through it.

Until we got to this gigantic Bowzer or whoever he is in the 8th world.  Freaky!  But after MANY tries, we finally defeated the game.  And then they add a new world.  Silly game.

These games are more like it.  Outside, enjoying the weather, and getting a bit of REAL exercise (or getting wiggles out depending on who you're talking about).



Sisters!

I'm so glad my little sister was able to come visit.  It was lots of fun!  Thank you Dad for giving her this opportunity!  Next time, we'll try to get her kiddos Grant and Zoe to come too!