Tulip Time

If you are not from West Michigan, you may not know that Holland celebrates it’s Dutch heritage every year with a Tulip Festival. At one time it was the second best attended festival in the U.S., secondly only to Marti Gra. I am not sure if that is still the case but we love to partake in the festivities and look forward to it every year. Due to Keyan being in the hospital, this was the first night that we have made it downtown to see the Dutch dancers and enjoy the traditional elephant ear. We did not make Jamahl put his costume on tonight but he will be donning it for the kids parade on Thursday, which we will both be walking in!!!! I hope you enjoy celebrating the tulips thru the pictures, and if you are ever near the area, it really is worth partaking in! Don't forget that you can click on the slideshow to view it larger and at your own pace. Enjoy!

A “big girl” milestone

A few months back while the kids were all at the dentist, Abby told me that the dentist told her she had a “wobbly” tooth.  When I asked her which one it was, she pointed to one in the back, so I assumed she had no idea what she was talking about! (I know, I know, that is a terrible thing to say, but she is our little attention seeker and had been telling us how some of the kids at school were loosing their teeth…and she was sure she was loosing hers also!)  About a week ago, she excitedly came running to find me shouting about her “wobbly” tooth again and this time much to my dismay she was wiggling her one of her front teeth…it was in fact “wobbly”!  She was VERY excited, and I had the heeby-jeebies because people touching their teeth really freaks me out.  Anyhow, I got a call this morning at the hospital from an ecstatic little girl…Abagayle, our baby mind you, had lost her tooth.  It just popped out while she was wiggling it!  I was so disappointed to have missed it but they quickly sent Keyan and I pictures so we could join in on the celebration.  The amusing part of it all…she is wondering if the tooth fairy will leave her an i-pod, or a nintendo ds, “this is her first tooth you know!”  Oh dear, I hope she is not too disappointed in the morning!

A Hockey Game to Remember

Spring Break…a week meant to be filled with fun activities, family time, day trips, and making lasting memories…maybe in some fantasy of mine!  That is what I envisioned for our week.  I thought, “ok, so we can’t go on a trip due to Keyan’s limitations, but I am going to make the best of the week anyhow.”  Ha!  As most of you probably know, Keyan spiked a fever Monday evening and we fought it all week, ending in a trip to the hospital where she stayed for the next 12 days.  There went our Spring Break!  However, the kids earned tickets to the Griffins hockey game by reading and Grammie and Poppie had promised to take them so fortunately, the other kids were still ale to do something fun!  I won’t go into a rant about how Paul and I were supposed to actually go out on a date…that is a whole other post!

Everyone got dressed up in their Red Wings attire and they were off to enjoy the game.  The highlight of the game was the ice cream that they got to eat but even better, after the game they waited and got to meet Justin Abdelkader who plays for both the Red Wings and the Griffins.  The kids could not believe it!

Sidney brought her Red Wings year book, which she has memorized, and had it opened right up to the “Justin” page!

Of course, Abagayle thought that Justin was SO handsome…she came home and renamed all of her boy barbies, “Justin”.

Signing the book!  Notice McKenzy is having a hard time with the attention!

Sidney could not believe he was actually signing her shirt..she just kept staring at him.

Nervous McKenzy needed Grammies support while getting her shirt signed.

Hanging with the star!

We can’t forget to catch a moment with Grammie and Poppie!  Thanks to everyone who made this possible!!!!  The kids will never forget meeting Justin!

Rock Band…a new family past time!

It all started back at Christmas time. My Mom got “Lego Rock Band” for Jamahl as one of his gifts. At the time, she was told that you could play the game even if you didn’t have any of the instruments. (In case you are not a family who spends their time rocking, this information was incorrect) Thus, I have spent these last several months searching for instruments, which proved to be impossible. There evidently is a shortage of “Rock Band” instruments for the Wii. If you have any of the other gaming systems, it is not a problem, but the Wii instruments continue to be elusive, at least in Michigan, the surrounding states, and on-line. Anyhow, last week while at Meijer with Roo and my Mom, we actually came across the entire set…and better yet, it was on sale!!! WE HIT THE “Rock Band” JACKPOT!!!! It has been so much fun! For not quite a week now, we have all taken our turn rockin’ out to all sorts of different music. It brings out a different side of all of us. Who knew my brother missed his calling as a drummer???? Or that quiet, laid back Paul would love jammin’ on the guitar? Jamahl likes to take a turn at all of the instruments, but if you ask me he is best doing vocals…especially to the songs “Ghostbusters”, and “Eye of the Tiger”! Our new family motto: The Family that Rocks together, stays together! Rock On!!!

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“Celebrate America”

Jamahl had his celebration of learning tonight at the performing arts center and it was so good. The theme was “Celebrating America”, which yes, is right up my alley so I was crying before the thing even started. It was all of the 1st-5th graders from his school and the night centered around our great country. I couldn't help sitting there feeling so happy that all of these kids were learning the songs that celebrate our freedoms, our diversity, our heritage, and the sacrifices that were made for us to live in this great nation. It was so moving to hear all those kids singing “God Bless the USA”, “God Bless America”, “The Star Spangled Banner”, and many more. What a great community we live in that allows our kids to learn and share their values.

The videos were taken with our little camera, so it is not the best quality, but still moving none the less! Jamahl...you did a great job singing and holding your sign up at just the right time. We are so proud of you and the great citizen you turning out to be! We love you!

Breakfast with Belle

What a wonderful morning we had…the girls, myself, and Grammie all went up to Muskegon to the high school that I graduated from for a special breakfast. Part of the high school choir is performing Beauty and the Beast starting next weekend and this weekend they held a breakfast with the characters. It was so much fun. Keyan was a little anxious when we got there, until she realized that the prince was there and not the beast! She is so scared of that beast! We ate breakfast, gathered autographs, and got pictures taken with all of the characters. It was a topnotch girls morning…we can’t wait to see the show next Saturday! Thanks Mona Shores Allegros for a phenomenal event.

A Fun Day in the Snow

Last Sunday the temperature was 40 degrees and there was absolutely no wind, but we still had a lot of snow. The kids had spent all day Saturday in the house se we decided to venture outside with all of them, including Keyan! In case you don’t know, Keyan suffers from low body temperatures and goes into hypothermia easily so she does not get to play outside in the winter, but on this day, I just couldn’t help but take the chance and boy was it worth it. We first put her snow pants on, but because of all of her tubes, we couldn’t zip them up all the way. next, I put a plastic bag over her backpack and than put one of Jamahl’s old coats over all of that. She could hardly stand up straight but she did not care…she got to play outside!!!! She was so thrilled.

We all had a great time building a snowman, constructing a snow fort, sledding down our “hill”, trying the snowboard out, and throwing a few snowballs! It was so nice to be out in the fresh air together as a family. There were lots of laughs, a few tears when things didn’t go the right way, and lots of fun memories made! Sometimes, it is SO worth taking a risk!

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