Summer seems to keep outdoing itself. My only complaint is that it also seems to keep going by faster and faster. Looking back, there was no shortage of fun things for our family this season, and as we look ahead we’re not slowing down anytime soon. But, for those who know me and our family’s lifestyle… us Kladders don’t do well with sitting still. And so, it should be no surprise that the kids were both excited to start back at school this week. School is the vehicle of which they get to hangout with and see their friends. They are social beings and school is their haven. They’ve both had sleepy eyes in the morning but other than that it’s been a very smooth start.
Our most noteworthy event over the past month was by far our family trip to Banff and Lake Louise in Canada. We spent nearly a full week taking in the glorious Canadian Rockies, hiking, relaxing by the pool, and exploring what Banff had to offer. It was one of our most favorite family adventures thus far. Read more about our trip HERE.
A few weeks ago we also spent a long weekend in Northern, Michigan. First, we joined our group from YPO at Bay Harbor Yacht Club for the annual Northern Michigan Cocktail Party - which is essentially cocktails and networking with a view. Most of Jeff’s forum attended the event as well which allowed us to gather for a fabulous dinner that night, followed by a full day on the big lake with the group the next day. This is the second year in a row that we’ve joined the festivities and it’s safe to say that we’ll return for round three if the calendars allow.
Thomas had one request for his summer and that was to tent camp… because what sane human doesn’t want to spend the night together with their whole family in a tent after seven months of all sleeping in the same room during a house renovation?! I took it to mean he still loves us despite our recent closeness… and so, we booked a site at Empire Township Campground. The site was as basic as it comes: no water and no electric. Which I sort of forgot about until we arrived - I booked this place back in January. But thank goodness for the outlet in our car that allowed us to pump up our city slicker air mattresses. The best part(s) of the weekend included the hike on the dunes and the family time around the campfire. The worst?… well, the hole in the air mattress of course.
Speaking of the house renovations - we are so-so close to being fully done and we are so-so completely in love with it. The exterior driveway and landscaping work is taking place this week and this weekend we have our architect coming in for a final walkthrough. There’s just a small punch list of items that our contractor is helping to finish up and then we’ll be home for good. It was a long process but just like everyone said, it was worth it. Our architect is having formal photos taken of the house and we very much look forward to sharing some of those here on the blog, as well as creating a coffee table book of the whole project. We’ll be able to look back and laugh, I’m sure.
Natalie enjoyed a big sleepover in the new rec room space celebrating her belated 11th birthday last week. Nine chatty middle school girls stayed up into the wee hours of the morning with popcorn and movies. I had to wake them all in the morning in order to be ready for parent pick up on time. Having the space filled with Natalie and her friends gave me a ton of joy and it sure seemed like they enjoyed the party, too.
Thomas also got his time in the rec room with his buddies celebrating is own belated birthday. Thomas turned 9-years-old in March (Natalie’s was in April). Both kids were promised a big sleep over birthday upon the completion of the house this summer. Thomas and his buddies golfed the night away on the new simulator and chose Happy Gilmore as their movie for the night. There was cake, presents, and goofy 9-year-old chatter all night long.
Thomas wrapped up PGA Jr. Golf last month as well and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, he missed out on the year end tournament as we were on our family trip in Banff, but his fire for the game has certainly grown. The golf simulator is only fuel to the golfing fire as he swings a club as much as he has time for. It was a ton of fun to watch him play this year and we’re both pretty excited about his new vested interest.
Natalie and Thomas both enjoyed the annual Kladder Cousin Camp at the lake with their grandparents and cousin crew in July as well. This year’s theme was archeology and the kids had to work together to decipher an elaborate puzzle put together by my mother-in-law Marilynne. The adventure ended with a sand dig to uncover a giant dinosaur puzzle. Jeff and I used the kid free night as an opportunity to golf just the two of us for summer date night. Good times were had by all.
In addition to couples golf, we’ve had plenty of time on the course lately including the Men’s Member Member at Watermark for Jeff as well as the Women’s Member-Guest at Stonewater. Neither teams came home winners, but we did come home with with some cash in our pockets which, in the end, still feels a little like winning. We’ve done a solid job getting out after church this summer with the kids for family golf and we even were able to schedule a few outings with friends for nine and dines.
We had a great time with friends on the big lake last weekend. The DeWittes who we don’t get to see often enough anymore (natural progression when kids activities start driving schedules more) extended an invite for a boat day. We grabbed dinner at Sandy Point Beach House and on the way back into Grand Haven caught the Musical Fountains (not planned) before docking the boat in the dark. It was Michael Jackson night! Funny how you lose track of time when you’re having fun with friends. It was a great summer evening.
Thomas was invited to join a fun kids training day at Ford Field with legendary Lions kicker Jake Bates. He spend the whole day on the field running drills, kicking field goals, and even came home with a sweet signed jersey by Jameson Williams from a raffle he won. He wore it home and is basically swimming in it.
And what would a Grand Rapids, Michigan summer be without a Whitecaps game! We joined a large group from Mercantile Bank for a double header one Sunday afternoon. The sun was hot, the beers were cold, and the Whitecaps gave us a good show. Back at the office, work is steady and I’m grateful for the work-life balance our culture provides our people. As the kids get fully back into their own swing of things, it’s so valuable to belong to a place that understands and respects the things happening outside of our office walls. Baseball games included!
Worth mentioning: Natalie and Thomas both learned to water ski this summer! One weekend at the lake we took the kids out for the afternoon to give it a go. They both took to it extremely fast! Natalie had 10 tries before taking a break to give Thomas a go who got up on only his third try. Frustrated, Natalie got back out there and was successful on her very first try during the second go around. Big thanks to Grandma Kladder for providing her water widows upon the kids. She was waist deep in the water with both of them coaching them through the entire thing.
As Fall fast approaches, we always look forward to the kid’s sports schedules, crockpot meals, and the change in the weather. This week was the first time we were able to turn off the AC and enjoy the windows open at night. I love hearing the cicadas and crickets (and often times the neighbor’s dog barking) as background noise to drifting off to sleep. We’re also looking forward to the new Broadway GR season starting next month with Alecia Key’s, Hell’s Kitchen. In the meantime, we’ll keep finding our way to water, boats, and golf courses. Till next time… enjoy the rest of summer!