Fun at school

Lillian's school is hosting the "Just Right Library" once a week throughout the summer.  Normally the JRL is a place Lillian would visit daily at school to pick out a book that is right at her reading level.  But, during the summer students can visit once a week to pick out up to 5 books.  Tonight we ventured out and, of course, took advantage of the playground afterward.  I love it that our kids play so well together (most of the time)!

 

 

 

An exciting day (haircut, ice cream, and minions)!

Today has been quite the exciting day!  It started with some of the usual fun and craziness at our house...

 

...later on, Lillian and I went out to get her hair cut.  I mean, really cut!  She donated 10 inches to Locks of Love when she was three, and now it has grown long enough to donate a second time!  She was very excited!

 

 

 

Later on the whole family went out for ice cream.  

Caleb was concentrating rather hard on his ice cream!

After we put the kids to bed, Dan and I continued our project from the last few nights.  We have been hard at work sanding, staining, and sealing some of the wood work in our kitchen.  Here's some of the progress from the last few days.

 

Tonight we had to remove the door in order to stain it.  It's rather humid out and we wanted to keep the A/C on to help the stain dry, so we covered the screen door in plastic bags to minimize the amount of air flow in and out of the house.  I also positioned the minions to protect us from any intruders. 

Good Time Donuts

There is a little doughnut shop that we pass every time we go downtown (Good Time Donuts, for you local friends).  On many occasions Caleb, our resident doughnut-lover, has asked to go there.  We decided that we had to take the opportunity to stop in sometime this summer and, lo and behold, today was the big day! 

 

 

Liam the singing elf

Apparently Liam was feeling left out when I referred to Lillian and Caleb as talented kids.  Today he showed off his talent with the microphone, which just so happens to be a "Merry-o-ke" elf microphone we received a Christmas or two ago from my parents.  Hours of fun, I tell you...!

Talented kids and squirrels

Lillian, Caleb, and I worked on a puzzle this afternoon.  They were quite proud when they completed it!

In unrelated news, I have a rather amazing squirrel story to share.  Tonight Dan and I walked into our bedroom and looked out the window at the same time.  There was a squirrel in our yard, which is entirely commonplace.  However, something about the squirrel caught our attention.  Perhaps it was the way he was perched on his hind legs and appeared to be staring right at us.  Impulsively, Dan and I waved at the squirrel.  With no hesitation, the squirrel raised his paw and shook it at us.  Astounded, Dan and I laughed and waved again.  For a second time, the squirrel raised his paw and shook it.  At this point Dan and I were looking at each other in amazement and decided to wave a third time.  Much to our astonishment, the squirrel raised his paw and shook it a third time!  At this point I attempted to get my camera to take a picture, knowing that the chances of making it to the other end of the house and back while the squirrel still stayed in the same position were slim.  I did manage to get a quick pic of the squirrel as a memento.  We have talented squirrels here in Holland!

More backyard excitement

It seems like every summer we have a tree that falls down and, therefore, some extra excitement for the kids to watch in the backyard.  Last summer was the highlight with the crane that hauled our giant tree away.  This summer we have been blessed with a lack of such events (Lord willing!).  However, the flooding of previous summers led us to the realization that we have a crack in the foundation of our house.  Today a team arrived to dig up the dirt around the foundation and repair it.  The kids were getting ready for swimming lessons and were very excited to watch all of the commotion. 

 

Don't you love what Caleb rigged up to help him see out the window?  Slightly dangerous but highly resourceful, I think.

The excitement never ends at the DuPuis house!

Carousel

We spent some time at "the big mall" aka "Grandma's mall" and since the day just called out for something special, we let all three kids ride the carousel.  This was Liam's first time and he was not interested in riding one of the animals that moved, so we sat on the bench together instead.  When I look at these pictures I am overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness that these three beautiful children call me "Mommy!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Builders, part 2

Remember when I said the kids were getting to be good builders?  Today they really had a chance to put their skills to good use!  Dan brought them to a Build & Grow clinic at Lowe's and they made race cars!  After going to Lowe's so often for kitchen renovation trips lately, the kids were really excited to go there and have some time that was all about them!

 

Builders

The kids are getting better at building with blocks.  Maybe it's the inspiration of the construction going on around them!

Minions, blueberries, and oreos!

The minions coached the kids as they painted this morning.

The next picture is blurry but you can see how much Caleb loves his crown from VBS!

After swimming lessons and lunch we went blueberry picking.  This has become a summer tradition of ours and the berries are delicious this year!

 

 

 

 

After swimming lessons and blueberry picking the kids were beat!  We went home for naps and then Dan took the "big kids" to VBS.  Liam and I had a fun, quiet evening at home.  It was strange but special to be home by ourselves and Liam even got spoiled a bit with an Oreo for dessert.  Isn't he adorable?!

If you want an extra dose of cuteness check out the video below.

A day of firsts

Last year Lillian had a great time at swimming lessons and Caleb was eager to join her this time around!  Since participants must be four or older, we signed both kids up for two weeks of lessons beginning today!  I love it that Lillian was looking out for her little brother at swimming lessons and that Caleb was so excited to be there with her!  The photo below was not staged - they both sought each other out and grabbed hands at the end of lessons!

Today was another "first" for Caleb as he attended his first night of VBS!  Dan led the music and was a group leader and made sure that Caleb and Lillian were well taken care of!

While Dan, Lillian, and Caleb were at VBS, Liam and I got to hang out with my friend Kate and her son Luke!  Luke and Liam are only about a month apart and it was fun to watch them play alongside each other!

Thank you, God, for friends who can pick up where they've left off... even when the busyness of life interferes with spending as much time together as they would both like!

Happy 4th Birthday, Caleb!

After a fun party yesterday, today we celebrated Caleb's official birthday.  It was fitting that his birthday fell on a Sunday this year because Caleb loves "church day!"  After church we ate lunch (including leftover finger jello!) and played outside in Caleb's new sand box.

 

Isn't this the coolest sandbox ever?!

Lillian was so excited to give Caleb the present she picked out for him!

They both had fun trying out Caleb's new block set.

We let Caleb choose a place to eat out for dinner or dessert and he chose Logan's, which came as no surprise!  Everyone had a great time!

 

 

Caleb James, you are our sweet, crazy, silly, loving, happy little boy.  Happy fourth birthday!  We love you so much!