Happy Campers

We returned home today from our first camping adventure with Thomas. He had a great time. We camped with our good friends, Rob and Kathy, at the Yankee Springs Recreational Area on Gun Lake. Gun lake is about half way between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. The crew on our first night. Thomas enjoyed roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores. Sticky, sticky fun.
Let's just say that T's aim has definitely improved. It seems like every time we turned around this was the sight behind (hee hee) our tent. Geesh, boys.

The State Park, including our campsite, was covered in poison ivy. Rob and I both have horrible reactions and are hoping that we were careful enough. I really hope that neither of us break out.

There was a really nice bike trail (1/2 mile) that connected our campground to another fishing area. We must have gone on this trail 8 or 9 times. Thomas did a great job on his bike. He liked racing Kathy and I - our ploy to make him ride a little faster.

All the bike riding, marshmallow roasting, fishing, and swimming tuckered Thomas right out. You know camping has been successful when your kid asks for naps and to go to bed.

Hanging at the beach.

Hanging out in the boat. He enjoyed pretending to fish just as much as the actual fishing.

Heading out to get ice cream. It just isn't camping if you don't make a special trip out for ice cream at some point.Our home sweet collapsible home. Rob and Kathy have a great new camper.

This trip was great - but REALLY tiring. Maybe we are just getting old ;) We will be camping with Rob and Kathy again in August. Can't wait to pack it all up and do it again!

The Rainy City

I am renaming Chicago. Everytime we plan an outing it not only rains - but storms! Thomas and I took the South Shore line to Chicago yesterday. We met up with Suzie and the boys at the Chicago Children's Museum. This is one of my new favorite places. We were there for about 5 hours. We played, went and had some McD's, and then went back to play some more. Our train was late getting into Chicago because the train in front of us had mechanical failure. Thomas entertained himself, and the people around us, by singing along to songs on my iPod.

Digging for dinosaur bones. The "dirt" is made of shredded and recycled tires. It is really cushy underfoot.
Safety first, Charlie.

My little builder. Thomas loves the building room. Luckily for him, TJ and Billy were into it as well. They played for quite some time with the nuts, screws, washers, and wood.

The water room was a HUGE favorite of the boys'. Billy liked analyzing the water flow and diverting it with plastic blocks (I think he is going to be an engineer when he gets older). TJ liked putting boats down Billy's river. Thomas liked filling up the bucket, setting it on the ledge, and then using the pullys to lift it as high as he could, let go and watch the splash. He was soaked!

Cute jackets boys :)

Working on a plumbing system on his second visit to this room.

In all, we had a great day. It was fun to spend the day with the Sias clan, let the boys run and play, and chat with Suzie in between. I'm also pretty proud of myself for navigating the train and bus systems all by myself in a thunderstorm.

A Little Country Excitement

Alan came flying into the house in a flurry after work today. Just before turning into our driveway, he noticed smoke coming from the power lines. He called the city and they promptly came out and took care of the situation. A dead branch was leaning on the lines, which sparked a little flame.

Yes, we sat and watched. Thomas was excited that a fire truck and cherry picker were both sent to the scene. He loves "worker guys."

Well Worth the Wait!

We are lucky to house a few pieces of furniture that have been handcrafted by my father in law. He has an amazing talent for working with wood. Pair that with my mother in law's eye for detail and design and they create beautiful works. For Christmas, they offered to buy us a hutch for our dining room. However, we couldn't find just the right one. Enter my father in law. He built this one, modeled after one we found on line and beefed up to fit the scale of our dining room. We LOVE it! The glass on the top is antique, but not as much as it shows up in this picture.

This hutch, like Thomas's crib (see below), was crafted out of maple. The maple is from the tree that grew outside Alan's bedroom window when he was growing up. Pretty special, huh?! Here is a flash back to October of 2006 when the crib was finished. An extra bonus was that they made this a convertible crib. He has been sleeping in the big boy bed since he was 18 months old :)

Homegrown

In an effort to be healthier, more eco-friendly, and budget minded we put in a garden this year. We are trying our hands (or green thumbs) at fruits and vegetables. We eat a ton of produce and thought it would be a fun experiment to try and raise some of our own food. We planted 3 varieties of tomotoes (Roma, Cherry, Beefsteak), jalapenos, green leaf lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, cauliflower, green peppers, asparagus, green beans, and blueberries. We already had wild blackberries growing all over our property. We cleared an area and have been watching them grow with gusto. Thomas has even been able to sample a few.

Alan and Thomas bought me this blueberry bush for mothers day. However, for blueberry plants to produce fruit you need more than one plant. So, now we have 5 :) Our financial advisor, who also belongs to a farming family, gave us an additional 4 plants. Some of them are starting to turn a little blue. Blueberries are one of our favorite fruits, so we are super excited to harvest some from our own yard.

Well, these weren't homegrown at my home - but, they came from the farmers market and I think that's close enough. Our local farmers market is a great place to visit. It is part of our Saturday morning routine. I bought 2 quarts of strawberries on Saturday with the hopes of making jam. Cooking and canning seemed out of my league, so I went with the freezer method instead. I can't believe how easy it was. I think I'll try my hand at some other varieties this summer as well.

Change of Plans

Big changes happening in the Asiala household. Alan and I have both just finished this school year. We are looking forward to more relaxing days, time spent as a family, and summer jobs that are a little more low key. For Alan, that means tending to the irrigation needs of a 4.5 star local golf course. It makes me chuckle that he punches in earlier for his summer job than he even gets up during the school year. I will be proving speech services 2 days a week for the Michigan Migrant Head Start Program. This is my 3rd year and I can't wait to learn some more Spanish! Thomas will be spending much more time home with mommy and daddy, something he is looking forward too. He will still go to daycare, but only a couple of days a week so I can work.

Alan and I both have new job assignments for the Fall of this year. Alan will be teaching elementary school - the grade is yet to be determined. He is a bit apprehensive since he has spent the last 9 years teaching middle school. However, the younger age should be a refreshing change of pace.

I am leaving my position in our Early Intervention Program for an Itinerant Speech position in our local school. I'm a little nervous, I haven't worked with "old" kids in a while. I recently joked with a co-worker that I'll have to get used to having conversations with my students. For the past 6 years I've worked with toddlers. If they get conversational they get dismissed! I have spent the last couple of days unpacking and sorting my new office. I'm excited for the new challenges. The biggest bonuses are that I will be working 1. In the school Thomas will go to and 2. In another building with my good friend Kathy.

In the meantime, we will be taking naps, reading books (okay, maybe not Alan), camping, and spending time with our friends and family.

New Ride

So, Thomas has been wanting a power wheels vehicle for a REALLY long time. Especially, in preschooler time ;) He lucked out today. Carol's grandson (and his buddy), Aiden, was selling one at the BIG garage sale. We had to come home to talk it over with daddy before making the purchase.

We decided that Thomas could buy it with the money from his piggy bank (mommy and daddy only had to contribute a few dollars). We even rolled up some coins to help make ends meet. He was very proud of himself for making this purchase.

In true Thomas fashion, he is wondering when daddy will need help mowing the lawn and is convinced that he will help plow the driveway with his tractor this winter. His tractor came complete with a trailer and a front loader. A real tractor for a real worker.

I can only imagine the kind of work that he will find to do around the yard now.