Tulip Time

Walking through Hope's campus




Gotta have the tulip pic

Kids enjoying the parade...think they look alike?

How sweet...that's my Grant, what a charmer

I couldn't resist...


We headed out to Tulip Time this year to brave the crowds. We had a chilly day walk through Holland, and even made a trip through Hope's campus for a stroll down memory lane. We had to show Grant and Molly where Mommy and Daddy first started out together. The kids enjoyed the parade and especially liked the visit to the Peanut Store, where he was thrilled to learn of what they really sell there...not just peanuts.

30:04

Well, it may not be a world record...or any kind of record, but I did it! I ran my first 5K today. For those of you who don't know me very well, I have always hated to run. I despised it. I refused to do it. This year though, as one of my yearly goals, I decided I was going to run in the Fifth Third Riverbank Run. Matt has been an avid runner over the past few years, and even ran the Chicago Marathon (but unfortunately is still recovering from knee surgery at this time). I never understood how he could do it, but I thought I'd try it out. I know it's only 3.1 miles...but for me, this was a huge feat. I was a sprinter, not a runner. So I did it and I finished in 30:04 minutes. That's 1971 place out of 4311 runners. Not fast, but I finished! Next goal...the 10K!

Little Peanut

This past Thursday was Molly's nine month check up. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She did great with her one shot and only cried for a minute. She weighed in at just a bit over 16 pounds (15th percentile) and measured 27 and 5/8 inches (50th percentile). To compare my children, Grant was 16 pounds at 5 months old. She is definitely my little peanut...which is surprising to me because she LOVES to eat! Her toothy smile these days gets me every time. She still is doing the army crawl and is getting pretty quick at it, but has no desire to stand or walk yet. Little laid back Molly. Precious.

Tea Party

This past Saturday, we had a lovely tea party wedding shower for my cousin to be...Alexis. My sister-in-law, Rachel, and I drove down to Chicago for the day with Molly, Sofia, and Stella to have an afternoon high tea with some relatives. It was a yucky day outside with rain and cold, but it was so fun to catch up with some cousins, aunts and grandparents, as well as celebrate the upcoming wedding of my cousin Nolan and his future wife Alexis.

The Ladies of the Sheldon side (Alexis in the middle)

Practice, Practice, Practice

Since starting T-ball, Grant has taken a new interest in baseball. Check out the little man knockin' it out of the park!

and the Bloopers...

Batter Up!

Grant had his first T-Ball game last week and had a blast! He seems to really like it, and Matt is having fun helping out too. It's interesting how they teach kids this game. There are no outs, you always throw to first base, and everyone gets to hit. So it's pretty much just practice, but at least they are having fun. Every time a ball was hit, Grant would run across the entire baseball diamond to get to the ball...even if it wasn't anywhere near him. I love his competitiveness. He loved running the bases and kept telling me that he got a homerun. It's so fun to watch him learn a new sport and enjoy himself while doing it.

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.