Vegas Baby

We just got back from our first trip to Vegas! Matt won a sales contest through work, and we spent four days and three nights hanging out by the pool, losing money, and eating great food! We saw a great show called Le Reve, which is like Cirque du Solei on water I think, and lost at BlackJack...and war...yes there is a war table. It was fun hanging out with the crew and meeting new people. We had a great time, but we did miss Grant and Molly a ton. Grant was thrilled to see us, and Molly didn't seem to care much at all. I don't think she cares who feeds her and changes her, as long as someone is doing it. Here are some pics of the trip...


Matt in front of the Venetian (I think...they're all the same)

After dinner and before the show "Le Reve"

Flo and Matt

Cleve, Matt, Amy, and Lesley

Flo, Amy, and Lesley

Matt and Dan

The boys...I mean men, at our outdoor dinner and "show"

Lovely ladies

Matt and Les in The Wynn lobby

The Wynn


Matt and Cleve at Mandalay Bay beach

Amy and Lesley at Mandalay Bay...super good food!

Hanging at the "beach" at Mandalay Bay

Our awesome view of the strip from The Wynn

The Terrance Pointe Cafe overlooking the pool

VIP seats at the Le Reve...champagne and chocolate covered strawberries

Air Zoo in K-zoo

Nolan and Grant getting ready to take off

Up, up and away

Molly watching big brother fly

Hot Air Balloon ride

Nolan, Sloan, Isabella, and Grant at the Space Museum

Last weekend we had our first visit to the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo. We went with Eli and Kathy and their kids and had great time. Grant thoroughly enjoy flying the airplanes, and I am still trying to regain my equilibrium from the flight simulator. I am a pretty sweet pilot!

Jake and Molly

Last Friday we had a visit from our friend Jake Boer. Jake is about 6 weeks younger than Molly and is such a cutie pie! His mommy, Bethany Boer, and I went to high school together. It is so fun to watch all these kiddos grow up together. We love having visitors so it was so nice of them to stop by and see us. Thanks for visiting!!

Spring Break Road Trip

Great Grandma Ruth and Molly

Drew, GG Rusty, Grant, Molly, GG Ruth, Maggie, & Ryan

Great Grandpa Rusty, Maggie, & Molly

It is Spring Break this week, so my sister Lissa and I decided to pack up the kids for a road trip to Memphis Michigan to see our grandparents. It was nice to visit with them over lunch and a game of Disney Bingo. This was the first time that GG Ruth and Rusty had met Molly. It was fun to see them. On the way home we decided to swing by Birch Run for shopping. If you have ever shopped with five kids, you know this is not an easy task. We decided to take turns going in stores while the kids watched a movie in the car. Clever, I know. We caused quite a show when we did take them all in at the same time, but we survived. We decided we definitely needed to come back...without the children.

Great Friends

Matt, Lesley, Carrie, and Ben

Zach and Molly
A couple of weeks ago we got to hang out with our good friends, Carrie and Ben Leonard and their two kids, Zach and Taylor. We always have a blast with them and always stay up way too late trying to catch up. We love watching our kids grow up together as Taylor and Grant are about a year apart, and Zach and Molly are about 2 and half weeks apart. I love this last picture because the whole time we were taking pictures, Molly was poking at Zach and he didn't care one bit, but as soon as the tables were turned, she loses it. Ahh, my sensitive little Molly. We can't wait to hang out again soon!

Easter 2008

We had a wonderful Easter this year as we celebrated the Risen Lord! Here are a few pics of my Easter darlings. Molly is just about 8 months old now. During church on Easter Sunday, we noticed that Molly has cut her first tooth! She is also starting to wave and say a lot more too. I am putting it in the books...her first word was Ma-Ma! Grant really enjoyed the many egg hunts we had this year and is still on a sugar high.

Little Singer

Molly is my little singer. Ever since she has been a teeny baby, she has loved to "sing" to us. She is very vocal. Whenever she hears music, she loves to join in. You should hear her in church!

Almost Spring

Any hint of warmer weather, and we hit the outdoors. This was Molly's first backpack walk and she loved it!

Friends and Butterflies

Evie, Jack and Grant

Grant and Evie (both 4...you should see their dads next to each other)

Will and Molly




This past Saturday we decided to go to Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies. We do this every year, sometimes numerous times. This year our first visit was with the Doezemas. It was nice to have a hint of Spring through this dreary weather we've been having. Grant and Molly had a great time hanging out with Jack, Evie, and Will. The butterflies were definitely blooming. We even made it outside to the children's garden for a little while. We can't wait for Spring!

Confessions of Lesley

So I stole this idea from my friend and fellow blogger Carrie. She always has these fun ideas to waste my time!

1. I have a major sweet tooth. If you know me in the least bit, you know that I always have candy nearby. I used to hide it in my backpack in school, and it's always around my house in jars and cupboards. Recently it has moved more towards chocolate, but usually anything gummy and sweet will suffice.

2. I secretly enjoy B-movies. Before I had children, it was a great Saturday morning and afternoon if I was laying on the couch, watching a horribly produced, bad acting, B-movie. Don't ask me why, but I thoroughly enjoy this. I think I picked it up from my dad...liking the bad movies...not the laying on the couch part. Since having children, laying on the couch is not really an option anymore, so it's been a while.

3. One of my eyes is smaller than the other. Please don't stare now. Actually, I think my smile is crooked and it makes one of my eyes close more than the other, but my sister is continually crept out by my "small eye".

4. Paper is an obsession of mine. Since I was little, I have been slightly obsessed with paper...all kinds. I have journals stashed everywhere, without anything written in them. I think this is why I got into making cards, because I get to use all sorts of paper. I used to buy post-it notes in bulk!

5. I am getting better, but I will admit that I'm a bit of a pack rat. I have just a small problem of throwing things away (such as those journals upon journals I'm storing away for a rainy day).

6. I hate spending money. It hurts me to spend money. It has taken me a long time to loosen up on this part of my personality, but I'm working on it. Yes, I'm cheap. I would rather sock it all away in the bank than spend it. It is a good balance in my family though.

7. I, unfortunately, am a worry-wart. I tend to look at things as "glass half-empty". It is something that I know about myself, and have tried to fix...I'm still working on it.

8. I like my handwriting. I really do. I love to write things out with the perfect pen. I'm sure this has to do with my love of paper.

9. My favorite thing to do is sing with my husband Matt on the praise team at our church. It gives me great joy to praise God with my best friend and the love of my life at my side.

10. I am amazed still how much I love my children. Before I was a mom, I knew that I would love my kids someday, but I never knew that they could fill my heart with such warmth and happiness.

First Skating Party

Grant had his first skating party this past week. We started out on old school skates (all of us)...and that didn't go so well (for all of us). Grant was quite unstable. So we quickly switched over to rollerblades. He loved it! He wanted to keep going and going and going. We just pulled him along after he got the hang of it a bit. It was crazy being back at Woodland skating about twenty years later. It's still crazy to me that I was there as a mom this time. Matt and I even had a chance for a "couples skate". Our favorite part of the night? Why...the Hokey Pokey of course!

Soooo Big and Yummy Toes

Molly recently has started grabbing one hand with the other and pulling it up over her head. We always say...Molly is SOOO big. She won't do it on command yet, but Grant did this exact same thing. I think it's hilarious that her little arms can't reach above her big round head.

Unlike Grant, Molly has decided that her toes are very tasty. I don't think Grant ever did this because his belly was quite large and round...he just couldn't quite get his toes to his mouth. I don't know why this is so amusing to me, but it is.

Grant Skiing - Boyne Continued

Just thought I'd get some actual footage of the G-man skiing...

Boyne Mountain

This past weekend we went to Boyne Mountain with the Sheldon side of the family. It was a beautiful weekend and the sun was shining the entire time. It was wonderful to see the sun as it doesn't show up too much in Michigan in the winter. Grant participated in his first ski school on Saturday morning and learned how to make his pizza (snow plow) and french fries. We're not sure that he enjoyed it too much, but Matt got to take him down a couple times, despite the fact that he was scheduled for surgery on his torn meniscus two days later. Molly mostly stayed back at the condo, but Matt bundled her up once to come visit big brother Grant. We also had a blast at the indoor waterpark, Avalanche Bay. Grant particularly like the Vertigo ride...which "flushed him down the toilet".

Sitting Pretty

Well I can't believe that Molly is six months old today. The last six months have been so much fun watching her grow. At her six month appointment today, she weighed in at 15 pounds 6 ounces (50th percentile) and was 26 1/4 inches (75th percentile) long. She is starting to master the art of sitting and loves it! She's been learning a lot of new things, like rolling down the hallway, spitting up her food everywhere, and keeping an eye on big brother Grant at all times. What a blessing she is to this family.

Dance Party

We love music in our house. We love to listen to it, we love to sing to it, and we love to dance to it! It is quite common for us to have a dance party in family room at least once a week. Unfortunately, Matt usually decides the best time to do this is right before bed. It started out while Grant was getting his pj's on. He heard the music blaring and came rushing to join in...minus the clothing. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. He thought it was very freeing to have a dance party in the nude. For pictures sake though, I made him put on some shorts. He even broke into a little bit of break dancing. We love the energy of our little man and its so fun to watch him break it down!