Last weekend was action packed with more than one big event. On Saturday we finally got to celebrate Natalie’s 5th birthday with five of her girlfriends in the ‘party garage.’ This weekend marked her half birthday which made the timing just perfect. Speaking of perfect, how about this September weather!? Natalie was surprised with a bounce house, piñata and a birthday cake fit for her personality (from Meijer Cascade Bakery for $11.99 and delicious as all get out). Natalie was all smiles and it was super fun to host her friends and their mommas.
Later that afternoon I met up with Jeff at the golf course where he was competing in the Mens Annual 3-Man Scramble. I arrived just in time to see the scores go up on the leaderboard and to celebrate his team making the finals. Two hours, 4 holes and a chip-off later Jeff and teammates Ben and Brent took first! It was a beautiful night to follow along with the horse race and even more fun to watch Jeff and his team win.
On Sunday we made the drive down to Kalamazoo for the Annual Smith Fall Festival. A while back my extended family on my Dad’s side stopped gathering for big holidays and later found consistency in gathering once a year in the Fall. My cousin John and his wife Lindsay own property with a large barn that’s perfect for the event and my Aunt Bonnie organizes Halloween themed games for the kids including a cake walk, a sack race, eyeball toss and this year they did an egg hunt which the kids loved because they were filled with candy and money. At the end of the egg hunt there were still 5 eggs missing and Aunt Bonnie upped the ante to $2 an egg which got the adults involved; that’s a Starbucks coffee at the office you guys!! The kids had a great time and it was nice to see my Grandparents for the first time since Christmas.
We’ve also enjoyed some quality cottage and boat time with friends who’ve shared with us over the last couple of weeks. We love being on the water and we’re very happy to bring the snacks and beverages in exchange for FBRs (fast boat rides) and lazy afternoons on the lakeshore. Jeff has suggested on more than one occasion the possibility of having a boat docked at Roses on Reeds Lake someday; I’m doing my very best to fan that flame. As for the boats on Lake Bella Vista, I’m avoiding asking our parents when they’re coming out of the water in hopes for one last evening cruise bundled up with blankets and hot toddies!
The Watermark Women’s Association hosted our last event of the season this month titled ‘Partners in Crime.’ Jamie and I dressed as Thelma and Louise and tied for second in our flight with two other teams which means we won enough cash to buy ourselves some socks. I decided this will be my last year on the board and am looking forward to simply being a participant in women’s golf for 2021.
Two weekends ago I headed out of town with the women from Watermark for 18 holes at Macatawa Legends and again, the weather was excellent. For the first time in my life I completely ran out of golf balls (there’s more water there than Watermark - as in, as much water as there is faraway on most holes) and had to borrow a sleeve of balls from a friend in order to finish the round. We stayed overnight in Grand Haven and my favorite part of the weekend was walking the north pier at sunset with the ladies. It was all kinds of Pure Michigan and some good quality time spent with the golf crew.
Jeff also had a weekend away this month to celebrate our friend Marcus who’s getting married to his beautiful fiancé Colleen this February. We’ve still got fingers crossed for them that their big day will go on as planned. From the little that Jeff told me the Bachelor Party had a great time golfing and gambling the weekend away. Meanwhile the kids and I had a great time back in GR with chocolate chips pancakes and mimosas with neighbor friends.
It was a very big month for Thomas as he had his first day of school the week after Labor Day. He’s 3 weeks in and doing great. The most annoying part is that when I ask him ‘what he did at school today’ he follows his sister’s lead and answers, “I don’t want to talk about it.” It’s made me really appreciate both of our kids teachers regular communication and photo sharing via their blogs and emails.
Another first for both kids this month was their visit to the dentist office. I know what you’re thinking: we should have taken them way sooner, BUT it 100% makes me feel better to know that what we’re doing at home must be sufficient because both Natalie and Thomas are cavity free. We chose to take the kids to Grand Rapids Dentistry which is not a pediatric specialty office but they might as well be because they are fantastic with kids. I wanted our whole family to be patients at the same office so we could consolidate visits. GR Dentistry was extremely accommodating and the kids did awesome during both their visits.
As for me, work has picked up substantially at Steelcase which has been good. And some even bigger news: The Dailey Method back open for in studio classes again! Just in time too because with the cooler/rainy weather that’s around the corner it’ll make outdoor walks less appealing. This weekend I wrote down in more detail how the return to the office, gym, school and church has been over the last 6 months and you can read about that here.
Last, I am a true Michigander and therefore love all the seasons but Fall marks the beginning of a very special time for me and that, my friends, is crockpot season. You can keep your pumpkin spiced everything and just leave me to slow cook all our family meals from now until Springtime. Happy crockpotting!
