Springtime

 When we went north this weekend the river was flooded. See the orange poles from the bench swing in the photo above? That's the actual bank of the river. 

 The boys were napping so the girls went exploring outside. 

 I read somewhere that the 5 best toys a kid can have are dirt, rocks, sticks, water and a box... well, we had 4 out of 5. 

 These waterfront cabins aren't supposed to be THIS close to the water. 

 Signs of spring!

 A happy camper:

Winter Retreat

We went up north for the weekend. We played in the car while Derek shoveled it out for us (that way the cabin could warm up too!)

These two did a little sledding. She wasn't very fond of the "nose dive" but she was brave and Derek was patient and they continued to sled for quite awhile. 

A fire keeps us cozy (and on the lookout at all times!).

They wandered down to the river for awhile too and threw in snowballs, watching them float downstream. 

Autumn Weekend

On our way up to the cabin in Newaygo we stopped at Fruit Ridge Hayrides and played on their "playground" for a little bit.

 yup, my coat doesn't fit anymore...

We also stopped at the High Rollaway, a road side park with great views by the cabin.

We stay in our jammies a bit longer when we go up there... 

Schwalliers Country Basket

We went to Schwalliers again this fall. It was so sad to see the empty apple trees. Some of the farms by our house had very limited crops this year but Schwalliers lost 100% of their crop to that freeze in the spring. Grandpa and Grandma Wright and Uncle Dan and Aunt Sarah came along too.We got to feed the goats, go on a wagon ride, go down the slide, ride a tricycle, play in the corn bin, play with the water pumps, and of course eat donuts and drink cider! Abigail sure has grown since last year. 

A Quick Cabin Trip

We went to the cabin for the weekend. We drove up Saturday morning. It was great to see the sun out!

 While Daddy unloaded the car we watched the geese and ducks swimming in the front yard. 

 She was a little extra cuddly after her nap so we thought she was maybe coming down with something. After a little snuggle she was acting back to normal though!

On Sunday, after church, we stopped at the Croton Dam to watch the fishermen on the Muskegon River.

 That afternoon she was a happy, happy girl!!

Pumpkin Patch

We spent the night at the cabin and then we went to Schwalliers again. 

 She wasn't too impressed with the baby goats.

It is an apple orchard with a pumpkin patch too. You can get fresh cider and fresh donuts. They have a corn maze, hay ride (orchard tour), cow train (behind a fast quad, not just a lawn mower!), a hay fort/maze, a huge tube slide, petting animals, and lots of things I'm forgetting that are geared for all ages. It was definitely worth revisiting. Their whole store is in the lower part of the barn and the upper part is for birthday parties - so neat! They have this sign up that looks very official that says something like "for your safety and to ensure that you don't catch any germs: don't touch anything and wash your hands immediately". Kinda funny right next to the petting zoo area. Ha ha, made this farm girl laugh; imagine all the stuff I was "exposed" to growing up. 

Down by the river...

...there is a little cabin with a charcoal grill waiting to be used

 with a deck and picnic table wanting to be climbed on

 and a boat that is wishing to be taken down that river. 

Good thing there's a guy willing to run the 5 miles back to get the car and trailer after our boat ride...

High waters

The river is up again. See the bench swing out there? That's by the bank. Below is a photo with that bench from last fall with the river at a normal level: (click photos to make them larger)

October 2010

April 2011

Spring Break

We spent 5 days up north at "the cabin". It's always a nice retreat from everyday life. We take walks, have a fire, watch movies, read books, and play. 

It snowed on Sunday!

 Abigail sitting by the fire.  We didn't let her roast marshmallows like last time though.

 Taking a walk (Derek ran 11 miles, we didn't join him)

 The river flooded the front lawn so the waterfowl swam right by the deck! (See the bush in the middle of the river, that's the shoreline normally)

Lots of water being let out of the Croton Dam. The fishermen were loving it.

Crawling and getting into all the cupboards!