Happy 30th Birthday, Missy!

My little sister turned 30 years old in July and we threw her a surprise party at my parents house to celebrate.  A fun time was had by all and the kids even got to stay up late since we were transitioning to the Pacific timezone.  I even think we actually managed to surprise her.  Here are the pics:

What?  For me?

Opening Presents

The punchbowl cake my mom made - YUMMY

Teah's fazoodle crown

Blowing out the candles

The kids always have to help take out the candles - mostly to lick off the bottom

No 30th birthday is complete without Jell-o shots!




And the campfire that night was aweomse :)

Tegan's Graduation

Towards the end of June the kids and I took a trip to Rochester, NY for Robert's cousins high school graduation.  Unfortunately Robert was working and he just couldn't find a way to join us, so the kids and I hopped in the car for the trip.  Thankfully, we are very good at car trips, so the 10 hrs each way in the van weren't bad at all and we also were able to stop by and visit my sister in Canada while passing through!  Staying with the NY Hilliards is always a treat - their hospitality and generosity are amazing!  Tegan was kind enough to find a babysit for the kids so that I could attend the graduation ceremony and boy did I feel old when faced with the fact that I did it over 15 years ago! We ate good food and had fun in the pool, the kids love the girls, we got to meet their new dog Snarky and most importantly catch up on their lives.

Here are some pics I took while I was there.  I have to mention that Teah jumping off the diving board is a BIG deal.  For the first 5 years of her life she HATED getting her head wet.  She went as far as being able to go under water with her eyes closed and nose plugged when she was 5.  We signed her up for swim class not long after she turned six, and although it took her a few months to warm up to the idea, now she is a little fish and LOVES her swim classes.  I guess my little girl is growing up :)

Check out this picture!  Notice the angle that Teah is heading towards the water at.  She was immitating her cousin, Shealynn, and decided to try to twist off the board.  She face-planted and it didn't faze her at all!

June Soccer Camp

Well, I have now realized that I basically didn't blog all summer long!  So, I'm going through my photos now and catching up.  I apologize for the mass of posts to go through at once.  Going through the summer photos I stumbled upon the photos I took of Teah and Carter in early June for Soccer Camp.  I signed them up for a week-long soccer camp at the beginning of the summer.   They both were in the same camp since it was for 4 to 6 year olds (Carter turned 4 the week before) and they went Monday-Friday for three hours in the morning each day.  Teah was excited because her best friend Hannah was also in the same camp, so they did a lot of hugging and smiling during the week :)

Last year Teah took the same camp and did well during the skill lessons, but after a little boy took the ball away from her in the first few minutes of the first "game", Teah refused to play in the scrimmage portion of the camp for the rest of the week.  I was really hoping that she would actually play this year and she did!  I was amazed the change in her - she was aggressive and focused and determined.  She scored numerous goals and did a great job in the little scrimmages!  Carter wasn't so fond of the scrimmages, but he did try to get in there and kick the ball a few times, which is all I can really ask of him at that age.  Overall, they both had a great time!

I never did catch Teah scoring a goal on camera, but here's a video of Teah playing in one of the scrimmages.  She has some good moves!

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

This is the kick-ass lens that I rented from borrowlenses.com for our vacation.  For those of you who know lenses, you'll recognize this one as a really great lens - almost exclusively owned and used by nature photographers.  For those who don't, this lens is a super-telephoto lens, being able to zoom up to 400m - when we were whale watching the view from this lens was almost exactly that of the binoculars.  Anyway, I decided to rent this lens for our two-week vacation and I am so glad that I did!!  The whales were around 400m away from our boat most of the time, so it was perfect for getting that close-up of the tail.  Also, I really enjoyed the lens envy that I received from other photographers as they watched me walk by with this lens.  I should've had Robert snap a picture of me with my camera and the lens, because the lens itself is rather large, weighing in at 5lbs - much heavier than my camera.  Although I know that lenses can be just as powerful and awesome for different types of photography without being large and overbearing, there is something to be said for walking around with a really big lens around your neck :)  A few days before we left for vacation we went to my parents house out in the country to drop off the dog and I had received my lens in the mail the day before.  Of course I had to take it with me and try it out before we left.  Here are a few shots I took of whatever I saw that inspired me!

Vancouver Part 2

OK, so I'm a little late with posting these, or A LOT late as it is, but better late than never, right?

We stayed for a few days in Vancouver after our cruise finished and had a great time as a family.  Instead of staying at a hotel out by the airport, we rented a 2 bedroom condo in the heart of downtown.  After we disembarked and before we could check into the condo, we decided to spend the extra time at the Vancouver Aquarium.  Aquariums are always a big hit with the whole family and this one was no exception.  Based on aquariums we've visited in the past, including Shed in Chicago, the Atlanta Aquarium, and the one in Boston, this one had some pretty stiff competition.  Although the Vancouver aquarium didn't surpass others we had seen, it definitely held its own.  The HUGE tank filled with all sorts of sea creatures, the Beluga whale show, and the frog exhibit were our favorites.  Our first full day in Vancouver was spent visiting Stanley Park, which included an historic indian village and train ride, a dip in the very awesome zero depth pool with a view of the bay (although after 88 degrees on board the Disney ship, this one felt a bit chilly at 80!), and a beautiful walk along the seawall.  Without renting a car, the kids enjoyed taking the bus and subway around the city.  Our last day before we left for home was spent at Granville Island.  They have a kids area which includes a very cool outdoor splash pad along with a pretty big indoor playland (think McDonald's playland on steroids).  All around the indoor playland were unique shops with children's items and even a children's haircutting place.  We don't have one in the Kalamazoo area, so whenever I see one I take Teah to get her hair cut - it's just so much easier when she's sitting in a car chair and watching Dora, so on our last day in Vancouver Teah got her haircut as well!  The island also plays host to the Granville market, an extraordinarily large marketplace - it's like an HUGE indoor farmer's market that is open everyday.  We saw fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and meats, cheese, handmade art, and the food court had great options from sushi to crepes and everything in between.  On our way to a from our destinations, we did a lot of walking through neighborhoods to get to the bus station.  It was gay pride week in Vancouver and all of the local businesses had up very prominent rainbow signs of support.  Unfortunately we flew home before the parade on Saturday, but it was a fun time to be there nonetheless.  On one of our walks to the bus station, we stopped to get me some to-go sushi from a local place.  Now if you live in Michigan you know that to-go sushi is nothing like the real deal, but in Vancouver the sushi was AMAZING - even take-out.  Yes, I did take a picture of it :)  Here are a few of the pictures from our two days.

Carter sticking his head up into the bubble in one of the frog exhibits

A bullfrog at the aquarium

I love taking pictures of jellyfish - they're just so cool!

Salmon Crossing :)

Some totem poles in Stanley Park

The kids and Robert are ready for the train ride

Choo choo!

A view of the city from Stanley Park

Granville Island

The yellow water slide at Granville Island

Teah getting off the slide - she went down many times.  Carter, unfortunately, wasn't tall enough.

He could take part in the splash pad though - the best part was the water squirting fake hydrants

I couldn't resist taking a picture of some of the beautiful flowers available for purchase at the market

One of the MANY stands in the marketplace

A kids play area on Granville Island

Having fun!

We had to wake the kids up in the morning to catch our flight.  We put them to bed in their clothes so that we could just grab them and go since our flight was a pretty early one.  I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the two of them sleeping in the same bed.  Oh, and they both had covers before they went to sleep!

My to-go sushi - SO GOOD

I had a ham and cheese crepe AND sushi at the marketplace - I couldn't pick only one!