The most recent news from Camp Kladder is that come Fall 2020 we’ll be able to walk to church! This Sunday Mars Hill Grand Rapids announced it’s second location as East Congregational Church which is located in the Ottawa Hills Neighborhood just a few short blocks from our home. Regular Sunday services will be offered at 5pm - which is something we’ll have to get used to after years of attending morning services out in Grandville. Mars Hill will be renting space from East Church with a commitment of a 2 year lease. You can read a bit more about MHGR here.
I am out right giddy about the announcement of the new location and more so about the impact this new endeavor seeks to have on the community East of downtown. Expanding our church into a second location and offering a service at 5p means being accessible to members we otherwise would not have. Mars Hill in Grandville will remain our home base, but we are thrilled to be given the opportunity to invest in the community right where we live.
On Saturday we took the kids ice skating at Rosa Park Circle downtown and had a frigg’n blast! The kids loved it and the sunshine wasn’t bad either! After about 45 minutes of skate time we hoped across the street to Cinco de Mayo for some Mexican food and to celebrate National Margarita Day! Full disclosure, I had vodka.
This month we’ve been making the most of our cold weather and kept warm with happy hour indoors. On Friday we attended our second Ottawa Hills Happy Hour which included hours of conversation about stories and history on the neighborhood - something I’m still diligently looking into and am overdue on posting more about.
I hosted book club last week where we covered The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Per usual, we spent approximately 5 mins discussing the book and the rest of the night catching up about life, of which there was plenty: new homes, babies, weddings and more. Next month we’ve selected Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - I’m already 3 chapters in and loving it.
I’m currently in the middle of a fitness challenge at The Dailey Method with my partner (and co-worker from Steelcase) Jami Moyer. The challenge is 3 weeks long and the goal is to take as many classes as we can cumulatively during that time. After surpassing one full card totaling 20 classes you are entered into a drawing for the grand prize which is … I actually have no idea of the details for the grand prize - clearly it’s not about the prize for me! Jami and I are currently 8 classes shy of completing two full cards with one week left. We’ve got this! Also, if you missed my last post about TDM 200 Club, of which I’m very proud of, you can check that out here.
Last weekend Natalie and I joined the ladies from golf league to celebrate the upcoming arrival of friend Amber’s baby girl, Violet. We had a great time sipping Rose and watching Amber open all the adorable outfits. Natalie has since decided she wants 5 kids instead of 3 so our prospects of one day becoming grandparents is still strong. See pic below for how Natalie spends her afternoons these days - taking care of all her kids!
Earlier this month we had an Ottawa Hills ladies get together to watch the Oscars - a first for me. We love the movies but have never really been into the award shows. We filled out our own ballot sheets (which was kinda fun), sipped bubbly and enjoyed movie worthy snacks which which made for a fun Sunday evening. I do wish, however, that more of these events weren’t on a Sunday night… Superbowl included dang it!
Jeff has been a pretty stellar classroom parent recently after volunteering as one of the chaperons to the Planetarium earlier this month followed by his participation at the Valentines Day party. That said, he’s a terrible photographer so he’s got nothing to show for it but his good reputation as ‘Dad’ to Miss Natalie.
For Valentines Day we booked an outdoor yurt at The Sovengard. The newly opened yurts are reservable (and free) for up to an hour and a half where you can enjoy cocktails and select appetizers. They are heated with a small electric stove and furnished with festive Scandanavian decor. We would recommend dressing warm despite the heater and blankets that are provided! You might also consider playing music off someones phone or a bluetooth speaker. After happy hour in the yurt we spent the rest of the evening indoors for dinner.
And for GALentines Day I celebrated with the Rosewood Ladies - with only 2 of 5 (soon to be 1) still reside on the actual street of Rosewood. This year everyone brought one another a GALentine and hands down my favorite was the surprise of finding out Kim Crawford now sells their wine in cans!
Thomas passed a couple big milestones this month after his transition out of diapers forced our hand in graduating him from a crib to a big boy bed. We chose for him a set of bunk beds which quickly became the coolest new play spot in the house. He and Natalie have since had multiple sleepovers where he insists on taking the top bunk. I have now learned that making the bed on a set of bunk beds is super cumbersome. Whoops.
This Friday Jeff heads out of town for his annual Ski Trip with the guys and I’m looking forward to a fun couple of days with the kids solo. The weekend is sure to include pancakes for dinner, a playdate or two and after the kids bedtime you can find me on the couch with some wine and Netflix.
ON DECK: We’re looking forward to…
Lee & Birch is mid transition of it’s stores from winter to spring and tomorrow I’m looking forward to a Sip & Shop party for 20% off the entire store.
The Butterflies are Blooming at Fredrick Meijer Gardens and this Saturday is the Butterfly Ballet. We are looking forward to seeing the Butterflies next month for one of their family events.
Lent begins this week and Mars Hill is having an Ash Wednesday Service at 7:30am. We will be following along the Lent Children’s Guide this year with Natalie and Thomas.
Jeff and I are heading to Vegas the end of March. If you’ve got recommendations, please share!
POSTSCRIPT: Things worth mentioning…
Ramen bowls at Ando on the westside. Soft boiled eggs and all! Wednesday is buy one get one hibachi and half of bottles of wine!
Kim Crawford now sells its wine in cans. You can find them at Target, but not yet Meijer - I checked.
Right now book club is reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and it’s got me entertained.
Trader Joes is currently selling these adorable vases with tulip bulbs in them for $9 a pop. We were gifted one for a house warming and I liked it so much I purchased them for my mom and sister-in-law for their birthdays two weekends ago. The kids loved watching them bud then bloom.
