Summer 2k15~ Day 39

When her sister is at basketball camp & her brother is hanging out with friends for the day & the baby wants to take an impromptu trip to the zoo to check on her penguin friends, well..... that's what you do!

Yup! They're still waddling in circles. 

Made it just in time for the penguin feedings. The man in the enclosure was handing out fish to the penguins. How he could tell who had been fed & who hadn't, I have no idea. That is why he is the penguin feeder and I am not.

The lily pads were in full bloom. Beautiful!

I just love her!!!

Summer 2k15~ Day 37

Wouldn't ya know that the house we're renting right now happens to be about 6 miles from where my grandpa was first posted with the Michigan State Police! Considering we never knew this part of the family history & the fact that we looked all over the greater metro Detroit area before settling on our current Hosmerville, this is a crazy coincidence!

My mom brought my grandpa over to his old stompin' grounds for the day & he was able to see our home & take us on a personal tour of our present surroundings. 

This was the house my grandpa had built for the family. He & my grandma had 5 kids in this cute little home. He was able to reminisce over some of the house's features with the current owner after we reassured her that we weren't crazy psychos to call the police on. 

This house was the former post for the Michigan State Police. It was just a couple blocks north of my grandparents' family home. 

My grandpa rented the upstairs space of this house right next door to the police post after he was first assigned to the area & was waiting for the builders to finish the family home. 

Wedding crashers! We tiptoed into this church just in time to catch the bride's procession to the altar. Gorgeous wedding ceremony aside, we were able to peek into what is now a prayer room to see the space where one of my aunts was one of the first babies to be baptized after the church was built. 

Grandpa hasn't been back to the area for a good 50 years so it's safe to say that things have slightly changed over the years. His memory, though, is solid and Tom & I both enjoyed our trip back thru time with him. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 36

Holy raspberries, batman!!! Our raspberry bushes are abundantly producing yummy fruit & this was the first of many successful pickings. We were so excited over our harvest that we counted each one. 

And then promptly ate them all. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 35

Took my farm fresh peaches, tomatoes, & cilantro and chopped them into this awesomeness~

And although all the prep time was TOTALLY worth the explosion of flavors {seriously, I could have easily made this & some tortilla chips my dinner. Oh, yes, it was all that AND a bag of chips} I've gotta find a more efficient way to dice~n~slice the produce next time. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 34

Well, the day's pre~planned agenda had "BEACH DAY" written all over it, because you cannot NOT go to the west side & spend time at one of Michigan's gorgeous Lake Michigan beaches. But the weather had other plans. 

By the time Lindsey & I returned from our morning walk, my fingers were begging to wrap themselves around a hot cup of coffee. I mean, was this summer or did we skip straight to fall?!?!

Beach plans were scrapped in favor of exploring the farmers' market in downtown Holland where we could stay warmly bundled & avoid all possible risk of being splashed by a mischievous kiddo. Or three. 

After sampling all the farmers' goods, I'm not sure we really needed to meet Micah for lunch, but we managed to squeeze in a couple slices of pizza at Crust 54.

Refueled from all the local deliciousness, we stopped at the park to work off the rest of our energy before we had to hit the road for our long trip home. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 33

My little artists met their aunt at Selah Art Studio to paint flip flops where Lindsey is doing a "Summer at Selah" painting series. Each date is a different canvas to paint or craft to do. The Toes in the Sand canvas was Audrey's pick for the summer.

I love that each girl added her own unique touch to her painting. And I'm kinda partial but I think my two cuties' canvases were the best;)

We made the most of our road trip to the west side by inviting ourselves to Micah & Lindsey's for a sleepover so after the girls finished at the studio, we headed to their place for a low~key evening of wiffle ball and, of course, ice cream. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 30

Happy 4th of July!!! I personally think there's no better way to celebrate a summer holiday than with family. 

And food. Let's not forget the truly important things. 

Tom's brother & family graciously hosted the whole clan for a day of grilling & baseball. 

Throw in a couple rounds of ice cream & some snuggling with the newest family member, baby James & I can most definitely say our Fourth was fabulous!!!

Summer 2k15~ Day 29

A day's worth of yard work equals a big ol' bonfire & a nite's worth of fun. We drenched ourselves in Off {anybody else's yard completely overtaken with mosquitoes???} & spent the evening playing baseball, catching fire flies, & playing hide~n~seek in the dark. 

And if there's anything I've learned as a parent of 3 kiddos it's that "It always ends in tragedy. Always." 

This time {well, aside from Lexi's tears over a baseball mishap & a slightly twisted ankle} it was the bench that experienced the tragic ending. 

And when we realized the little Hosmers would easily outlast the neighborhood fireworks displays, we took the party inside. 

Fun times all around. Unless you're the fire pit bench. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 26

This girl came home from camp today!!! She even survived a trip to the doctor's & 2 nites in the medicine teepee after coming down with strep throat. Whew! What a week chock full of adventures. 

She spent an extra nite at her grandma & grandpa's so that we could do the Tigers' benefit so I was super anxious to hug her & her sister's necks when Austin & I finally arrived to pick them up. 

Tom's mom treated us to lunch & Inside Out with the cousins before I took my kiddos home {but not before some photo booth antics}.

And for the record, the excitement of having everyone home together lasted approximately 35 minutes before they were back at irritating & squabbling with each other. 

And that's something I didn't miss. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 25

Tom, Austin, & I were invited to attend "Keeping Kids in the Game" hosted by Miguel Cabrera at Comerica Park. And when Miggy says "come"..... well, who are we to turn down an invite? So we did our part by~

Sitting in the dugouts. 

Playing catch infield and making some stellar plays in the outfield. Not sure why the Tigers haven't signed me yet???....

Touring the clubhouse. 

And meeting players. 

Rajai Davis was my favorite because he complimented Austin on his bow tie and thanked us for coming out. Super nice guy.

And then there was the food. The. FOOD. No truer words have ever been proclaimed by any napkin of mine.

And the fireworks. Which were really, for me, an excellent opportunity to digest the copious amounts of chewy chocolate chip cookie & rice krispy chunks drenched in dark chocolate that I had for dessert.