2023

The Return of the Wolf

Back and better than ever. Great Wolf Lodge. The kids seriously talk about this place all year, its definitely one of the highlights of the winter. This year the Gornick's came along so we had a whole crew. Huxley got to sleep on the top bunk for the first time, and both girls stayed in their nook every night, for the whole night! 

Since we were hold hands at GWL procedures we certainly made the most of our time. We stayed up one night to attend a late night dance party, celebrated Callie's birthday in stayle, and spent tons of time at the waterpark. Liesl was one of the stars of story time one night when she went up on stage to hold a character. After a quick visit to look around build-a-bear we noticed that Liesl was carrying the unstuffed skin of a brown bear back to the room. When asked where she had acquired said bear she indicated she "Saw it and took it." She stole the bear (*sigh*).

These trips are fun for the kids and rewarding for the parents. We are very grateful we can provide these types of experiences for them with great friends. 

Wintertime Blues

We all know Michigan winters can be long, cold, and gray. What we often don't see are what families do to stay entertained during that seemingly endless stretch of time after the new years, until the weather breaks sometime in April. We do our best to plan activities, see friends, take and take short trips, but there is also often a lot of time spent just hanging out. 

Parents all know the daunting feeling of coming home on a Friday after work, seeing poor weather is expected, and realizing you have not planned anything for the kids to do for the next 48 hours. Sure, those times can be boring and the house will be trashed, but it also seems that those endless weekends spawn unexpected creativity and result in some really priceless photos.

Liesl's (Delayed) Birthday

This year we decided that waiting a couple of months to have Liesl's birthday outside was the way to go. So, we settled on a date in May, booked a picnic shelter at Lakeview park and planned a party! Liesl insisted that her party be Yoshi themed, hence the herd of Yoshi banner flying above her cake.

Part of the reason we wanted to wait until nicer weather was the fact we thought it would be easier to have a party away from our house so set-up, clean-up, etc. would be less. Turns out its stressful and difficult to try keeping an eye on a bunch of 3-5 year olds running around at a playground with a lake close buy. Who knew!? The party turned out to be a success in the end. It was a perfect day, lots of people showed up, and kids had a great time playing on the equipment, looking for fish in the water and walking through the "forest". Liesl was pleased with her gifts and had a wonderfully messy time digging in to her Nintendo cupcake cake.

Springtime Activities

Ah spring, everyone's least favorite season of the year. When you REALLY want the weather to be nice, but it's just not. To keep busy while we waited for a desirable season to actually start we participated in a few activities and took a couple of trips.

Huxley tried out Little League...with marginal success, Liesl continued to enjoy gymnastics, and we all spend some time in nature at the Gornick homestead searching for delicious mushrooms. Huxley has a better eye for them than Dad does, Liesl spent most of her time balancing on random logs in the woods. Both girls love going to Costco, eating all the samples, and getting a big hot dog at the end.

Dad traveled to Chicago to present his dissertation work at the annual AERA conferance for educational researchers. This was quite possible the most he had ever felt like an academic, giving a talk to a respectable 40-50 people as a doctor. The highlight of spring (year?) was Mom and Dad's trip to Hawaii for 10 DAYS. While we certainly had an amazing time celebrating Sander's wedding and exploring with lifelong friends we definitely missed our little family and probably will not be away that long again without the kids.

Doing Some L-I-V-I-N, LIVIN'

Summer finally arrived and as Matthew McConaughey says, it was time to do some LIVIN'. Huxley was set to start Kindergarten in just three short months. Our "little family" was not so little anymore, and we wanted to maximize our experiences with family and friends this summer before the craziness of the school year began.

Huxley and Liesl tried rock climbing for the first time at Climb Kalamazoo. Hux loved it and asks to go back often, Liesl got her harness on, then promptly sat on the ground yelling "No!" and "Get me outta here!" We also attended a Growlers game with the Hudson's. Hux enjoyed it so much just her and Dad went to a game a couple weeks later and stayed the whole time. She also asked to watch games on public access on a daily basis. Mom and Dad escaped for an evening with friends out at Fennville winery, everyone had a wonderful time, sign us up for next year! 

We also decided to build a house. More about that next year...

Cedar Point

Other than Disney, this was our first family trip to a theme park. Unbeknownst to us, Cedar Point offers TONS of rides and activities for kids too small for traditional roller coasters. Huxley clocked in at just over 42 inches and Liesl made the 36 inch cut off by the slimmest of margins. Good thing too, since 36 inches was the minimum to ride most of the fun kid's attractions. In our two days at the park the kids probably rode close to 100 rides...some of them several times in a row. 

We also spend a good amount of time in the pools and on the beach. Huxley loved chasing down flocks of seagulls and got a kick out of standing in the shallow water far from shore. Liesl LOVED the foldout couch. She thought it was hilarious how large her bed was. So much room for stuffies!

All in all a successful mid-summer vacation full of laughs, water, rides, staying up way too late, and of course, ice cream.

The End of an Era

It was hard to imagine the wonderful little women that Hux would become 5 and a half years ago when we first held you in our arms, yet here we are. The end of summer brought a monumental change for all of us. Huxley had her last days at Ms. Tara and Mr. Nate's, then promptly started Kindergarten. Mom and Dad are so very grateful the opportunity that Huxley and Liesl had to be together everyday for over three years at daycare. We sincerely hope the bond those two share blossoms in the years to come. 

The first day of school went off well. Unsurprisingly, after some initial apprehension, Huxley bravely walked in the doors of Amberly elementary while Mom and Dad held it together just long enough to see you walk inside. You stepped off that bus a few hours later into the waiting arms of Mom and Dad, sporting a new "First Day of Kindergarten" crown. We could not have been more proud.

Bombing Around the Dunes - Silver Lake

This year we went on a trip up north a bit later than normal, mid-September, and traveled to Silver Lake dunes. Although a popular Michigan destination Mom and Dad had never been to the area, so everyone was excited to experience all that the dunes had to offer. We kicked off the trip with stop at Mac Dune rides where we all become passengers on a large dune buggy that sped us up and down hills and stopped for a bit on the shore of Lake Michigan. The girls were a bit unsure at first, but quickly grew to love the speed, sand, and wind. We then finished off the first day with a quick stop at a lighthouse, first one the girls had seen up close.

The second day we realized one of Huxley's constant dreams by going horseback riding. Hux loved it and Liesl...dealt with it. To get the complete experience we stopped for lunch at a locally famous expansive diner that served a variety of chicken wings and other fried foods. We topped off the vacation with a trip to Craig's cruisers. Driving go karts was very possibly the highlight of the trip for the girls. They could not get enough!

Autumn Again...and a Few Christmas Photos for Good Measure

There seemed to be an abundance of fall fun this year. The kids got to go trick or treating (twice), once at Huxley's school and once around the neighborhood. The group seems to expand every year with Henry joining the group this time around. This year our family's costume theme was split. Huxley and Mom followed a pokemon theme with Huxley dressing as Eevee and Mom as Sylveon. Liesl decided her and Dad would be Nintendo characters. Much candy was had...

We also continued our annual trip to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch with the Hudson's and Gornick's. Schultz's Fruit Farm never disappoints with manageable crowds, crisp apples, and delicious donuts. 

In addition Huxley and Dad went to the "Monster Mash" at Ramona Park where Huxley collected even MORE candy. we build Halloween haunted houses at the library, and spent an afternoon at Gull Meadow Farms experience their extensive array of harvest and fall-themed activities. Whew, I'm exhausted just writing that!

Christmas does not get its own post this year (we went to Mexico right after the holidays!), so a few family snapshots from the holidays are included as well.