Jones Visit (at our park)

Just some fun pictures from the park right across from our house.. There is a basketball court, swings, and a huge playstructure, by the end of the summer the girls were burned out on the playstuff.. They enjoy running around in the open field, picking flowers, leaves, etc.. We just had some fun just strolling around and posing for pictures.. And I think it was about 95 degrees that day!

This was just a "stage" they were going through!! Ha ha!! Can't imagine how we got to the 3rd pose after the struggles.. Aunt Courtney is a champ!

Jungle Joes/Girls bday party

I fell off the blogging wagon.. I have not posted since my parents and sister were here in August--yikes!!.. So I'm starting off with pictures from Carly and Casey's Jungle Joe's birthday party in Kalamazoo, MI.. The above picture is at Bell's Brewery downtown Kalamazoo, they have a great "garden/patio". A perfect spot to relax after the big birthday party.. Carly sipped on rootbeer and casey napped in her stroller...Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Clif, & Tim enjoyed some Bell's flavors...

August 19th, 2009 celebrated with 25 of the girls friends at Jungle Joe's.. It is a large warehouse where they have inflatable bounce houses and huge slides.. It was our first trip there, Casey was pretty brave, Carly is a bit more cautious. A super fun place for the kids and parents too..

The cake:) Carly loved it and said "i love flowers!!"

Grandma Kathy and Aunt Courtney helping the girls with their Birthday tshirts..

More Kalamazoo Fun

Watching the twin fawns that frequently visit our backyard..


Gull Lake, MI...Relaxing after lots of swimming:)

Hana East Hibachi. This is a favorite restaurant of ours.. Carly and Casey enjoy watching the chef cook up yummy Japanese food.. Plus they love the chopsticks...We all got a chance to catch some chicken, flung by the chef, I think Clif and Tim were the only ones with success..

The chef called the girls "princesses" and carly said "ahh, how did he know I was a princess?!"..

Crazy picture of my mom with her first sampling of sake.. uuhh, i'm thinking we took this picture after our second round of sake...I think she was trying to keep her eyes open...?!!

Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek

We took a trip to Binder Park Zoo, in Battle Creek.. This picture was taken at the end of the day, we were all pretty wiped out, but it was fun:)

Grandma, Grandpa, & Aunt Courtney took the girls on the kid's train ride.. Carly and Casey were so excited, they love to ride this little train.. it takes just a short 5ish minute trip..

Carly was brave enough to brush the goats..She likes animals, but usually doesn't like to be near them.. She's taking big steps here..

Casey loves animals and dove right in, literally.. At one point, she tripped and fell in a pile of goat droppings, I was worried what the front of her shirt was going to look like when I peeled her off the ground..Whew, just a little dirty.. She went right back to brushing ALL the goats..

On the way to "Wild Africa".. This is a tram that heads to an area of the zoo where it looks and feels like Africa..It's suppose to give you the feel of being on a safari. They have giraffe's out this way and we were able to feed them lettuce this day, Carly and Casey like to "watch" the giraffes eat, but not "feed" them..

Air Zoo

We visited the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo. It's a museum of different kids of airplanes etc. and they have a few rides to try out.. They had several 3d/4d experience rides also.. Carly is on a little helicopter ride in the "kids" area..

Courtney rode the bi-planes with Casey 2 times. Casey enjoyed making the plane go up and down while it went around in circles.. Courtney had fun too, but i think 2 times was her limit.. What a super auntie:)

The above two pictures are of the hot air balloon ride.. It looked harmless enough, but once on it, some serious speed and tilting.. Carly loved it and wanted a second ride! Casey put her head in my lap by the end of the ride, it made her a little queasy.. Courtney and I also felt the same way...Too much spinning..

more of Casey turns TWO

A very proud big sister..She picked out the cupcakes for casey and put in two candles... very pink and very chocolaty!!!

mmmmm, birthday cake in her birthday suit!!

Casey in her Birthday Girl dress

singing Happy Birthday Video...pretty sure she wasn't a super fan of this................I almost thought she was going to cry...

Casey turns TWO

Casey turned two on August 13.. It was a super fun day for us, we started out the day with a trip to Grand Rapids, to see the Wiggle's live.. The girls have loved the Wiggle's forever and it was a great concert.. I took a few video clips, because, yes, THEY REALLY ARE THAT GOOD!!! They did a fantastic job and they sounded wonderful and the dancing was great too.. The girls were glued to the show:) We went to the show with a few of our neighborhood/playgroup friends and ended the day with dinner at Steak n Shake, all the kids got milkshakes for the ride home.. Casey loved that part!!!!