A Big Birthday

Joel and I are only the same age for 11 days...then he turns a year older than me. So, if you remember I turned 29, which means Joel turned 30!  (Goodbye 20's!)  He is handling it very well.  Some of the reason he is handling it is because we celebrated big time!

His birthday was on the 22nd, a Friday this year, so we made it into a whole birthday weekend.  He did have to work on his birthday, but I think he got done pretty early.  (He actually made it home before me; I had to work as well.)  When he got home, he found this from the kids:

Thanks to Pinterest for the idea.  It was so simple, I just got some white card stock from my friend who scrapbooks and cut out the shirts and ties.  I then wrote the words on them and let Kyper color them.  Finally, I taped rubberbands onto the shirts and ties and hung them on the coke bottles.

I wasn't sure I was actually going to get him anything, but I felt bad.  So, that morning after I dropped the kids off at daycare and before my meeting,  I hit up Dunhams and got a swim suit and hockey stick.  He had asked for a hockey stick, so he could play with Kyper.  (Kyper has some kiddie ones, but it is hard work to bend over and play with those, especially for a 30 year old.  Just kidding!  Love you, Joel!)  He also got a new hammer from me.  He was once mocked because of his little hammer, so I got him a nice one from Lowe's.   He also got a gift card to Lowe's from my parents, so he'll be able to add to his tools.

That night, our friends Tim, Melanie and Judah came.  We took it pretty easy that night--fajitas for dinner and then some Pirateer was played.

Saturday morning, we had a babysitter come over for the kids.  We loaded up Tim's jetta with their kayaks and our kayak.  Then we went kayaking near Bellville lake.  (We did the little river that connected Bellville Lake to Ford Lake.)  It was a beautiful morning and a great kayak trip.  I haven't kayaked in a long time, so it was good to do again.  Joel loves getting out, so it was a perfect event for his birthday weekend.  After kayaking and before returning to the kiddos, we ate at Culvers.

After kayaking, we got home and did some preparations for a birthday party.  Joel's younger brother and sister-in-law came from Holland that day.  So, did our friends Tim, Tricia and their new baby, Jaxon.  Joel felt really special that they made the trek to this side of the state for his birthday.    We also had invited our small group and some close church friends to our house.  Joel requested chicken wings and 7lb chocalate cake for his birthday party.  His wish was granted.  I went to Costco on Thursday to pick up the cake--sure enough 7 pounds of pure chocolate.  We ordered the wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.  Friends who came filled in the table with a dish to pass.  We had watermelon, chocolate chex mix, grapes, cookies, salads, potato salad and coleslaw (which Kyper loved.)  The party went great.  The weather was wonderful, so we did it all outside.  We had a little pool and sprinkler for the kids.  They also loved the hammock (although, we might take that down next time, there were some scary moments).

Uncle Aren and Tia Leah took their tent and camped out in it.

After our church friends left, the Holland friends stayed the night.  The girls had to make a trip to Meijer and Target to pick up some breakfast and baby stuff.  The guys built a fire, so we made our trip short.

Due to the long evening we had, we decided to sleep in as much as kids let us sleep in on Sunday and do a big breakfast in fellowship with one another instead of going to church.  Thanks for bringing the breakfast meat, Tim and Tricia! Joel got his bacon that morning.

Kyper and baby Jaxon

Mommas and their kids (minus Kyper--he decided it was naptime)

Tricia and I were due a week apart.  I had Anja on April 22; she had Jaxon on May 8

Our friends left right around noon and Joel, Kyper, Anja and I all took naps.  It was a long weekend, but very fun!  I think Joel would agree that this was one of the best birthday weekends he has had!

A Birthday and A Goal

Well, I turned the age that no one really believes you are--29.  No really I am 29 this year and not 30.  That party will be next year.    I was able to spend the day at the cottage.  It was the one cool day, so we really didn't do a lot.  My in-laws did stop by on their way home from camping in Pentwater.  We went for ice cream at Jones in Baldwin, which is a great treat.  Later that week, my mom made sure I got my favorite dessert--strawberry shortcake.  Joel had to work, so he didn't get to be with me on my birthday.  But, he did get me a gift early--I absolutely love it.  I have been pestering him for this for awhile and I seriously didn't think he was going to get me it...

It's my mom necklace.   I love it!

My parents got me a fun apron and a gift card to Kohls.  My in-laws gave me some money.  I think I am going to save the gift card and money to do a little shopping for myself.

However, I don't want to get anything new right now--I first want to lose some weight. I'm saying this here, so I am more accountable.  I know I am not huge, but I also know I am not at a healthy weight for my height and body. After I get back from Seattle, in July, (I'm in a wedding and do not want any extra alterations done on the dress), my friend and I are going to join weight watchers.  I have done it in the past and it worked.  I feel motivated to do this and now a little more accountable since I am putting this on the blog.  Besides eating healthier, I want to start exercising more.  Any suggestions for exercise with 2 kiddos and a husband that is at work a lot?   Although, I really dislike running, I might be willing to give it a try...the thing holding me back besides the dislike is my asthma.  Any asthmatics out there that run?  Other things I would like to do, is start swimming laps and perhaps a Zumba class.  The things with those is cost at this point.  But, I know if I pay for something, I am more motivated to go and get my money's worth.  (Which is actually another pro to Weight Watchers, if I am paying for the program, I want to make it worth my money!)  There you have it, my goal for my 29 year old self is to lose some weight and get back to a healthier self by eating better and exercising more.

The Rest of the Cottage

Anja, Kyper and I got to stay a whole week at the cottage with my mom and dad.  It was a lot of fun.   We relaxed, ate too much junk food, and stayed up way too late.  The weather really was beautiful.  There was only one day that it was a bit chilly, so we stayed inside.  One morning we went to Pentwater.

Here are a few pictures of the week.

Anja "comfortably" asleep on Grandpa

Grandma and Kyper reading about birds

Bird Watching

Grandpa working, Kyper playing

Helping Grandpa fill the bird feeders

Cottage Week(end)

We got to go up to the cottage this weekend.  Julie is spending the whole week with Kyper and Anja, while was the lucky one who got to return to work in the ICU.  So, I decided I would share some cool video of this weekend.  There may be more postings to come as Julie returns with stories from the week.

While up there, I figured out how to attach my tripod to my kayak, so I could take my video camera with me on my adventures.  I took a ton of footage and am in the process of editing my sunset kayak...maybe someday I will post it, but I didn't want to bore anybody with 25 minutes of paddling just yet.  Trust me, the sunset was beautiful though.

So here is a video of my Saturday morning kayak.  I just downloaded some new software and was able to speed it up.  So, my 10 minute video is now only 2 minutes.  I hope nobody gets to sick by the rocking!  It was a pretty morning with water smooth as glass, and you can hear the ripples hitting the bow later on as the I came out of the wind shadow.

For years, Mom Koning has been putting out jelly in a bowl for the Orioles to feed on.  In the past, I have tried to get pictures of the birds, but to no avail.  This year, I got creative and put the video camera right next to the bowl and waited.  By waiting, I mean, played in the water, sipped on my coffee in the pontoon boat, and generally ignored the fact that the camera was running.  I captured 4 feedings after more than 2 hours of footage.  Most were the male birds, but I did see a female as well.  I posted the best video here.  The lighting on the Oriole was the best of the four, but the background is kinda boring.  Listen for his chirping and calling while he is eating.

Thanks to my new video software, I was also able to turn some of the video into still shots.  Here are are a few of my favorite images.

We also got to dip Anja's toes into Big Star lake.  So now, she officially has been in Lake Michigan and Big Star.

Lake Michigan in May

Big Star in June

We had lots of fun playing in the water too.  Our nephews Nate and Nick got to go tubing, and Nate brought a friend along.  Everybody enjoyed the water.  Kyper would dip his toes in, but he wouldn't go too deep because he was afraid the "big bass will get me".  Thank goodness he likes playing in the sand!

Look Mom, no hands!

Liz was the spotter for the boys

Hopefully Julie will come back with even more stories, and we'll see if Kyper ever did get enough courage to swim with those bass.