Oliver's in town

OLIVER IS HERE!  OLIVER IS HERE! (and he brought his Mom & Dad with him!)  I adore my little nephew, and the girls are obsessed with their cousin, but with his parents insisting on keeping him in Virginia, we don't get to see him that often.  :(  We soaked up our time with him during his week long visit to Michigan this summer.

In addition to visiting Oliver at Grandma Dee's house, we also got to see Haley & Mikayla again - score!

He's getting so big!  I find him to be the cutest eater ever.

Those eyes...

This girl was quite smitten.

The littlest two were hardly cooperative, but we attempted to get a group picture of the youngins'

We got him at our house on Tuesday night.  I had my opportunity to hide him and keep him, but against my better judgment, I returned him to his rightful owners.  Sigh...

He's so good at basketball that he shoots backwards

His cousins were definitely involved with this little getup

On Wednesday we got to meet them for dinner.  Fortunately for me, Oliver was totally wiped out from a nice visit with Grandpa Garry & Grandma Suzy, and was feeling particularly cuddly

Again - cutest. eater. ever.

Girlfriend loves this boy.

Until next time, little dude!  Pretty much immediately upon his departure, Grandma Dee and I made plans to go visit him in December.  We can't wait!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Hannah and I made our own fun while Dad & Megan were out on their adventure.  

We took Lacey on a trip to the playground.  This is an elementary school that has an outdoor learning center.  Our girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play "teacher" when we visit.  This time we were lucky enough to have a class pet, too!

Fun on the playground

We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the Farmer's Market to get some of the last strawberries of the season

We visited the splash pad while we were downtown

This turkey loves the splash pad

Can you tell we had ice cream?  There are some people you just can't take anywhere...

There is a store nearby on the boardwalk that leaves a bucket of sidewalk chalk out for you to draw - we can never pass by without Hannah stopping to sketch for a bit.

Dad's Day with Megan

Kyle wanted to do a special "Day with Dad" for each of the girls this summer.  The way he explained it to me was "we are going to do whatever we want."  He gave them each a list of some attractions (some they've been to, some they haven't), as well as favorite snacks and meal options, and taking their picks, he organized a full day of fun.  (Yes, he is Super Dad - no doubt about it).

Here is how Megan's day unfolded:

In GH, ready to get started on her day of fun with Dad

First stop was the Farmer's Market for kettle corn and a soft pretzel (some people call this "breakfast")

Quick visit to the playground by the pier

A beautiful morning for a Day with Dad

Next stop: Critter Barn (Zeeland)

Happy and surrounded by cats

Checking out the rabbits

This place is VERY interactive, giving you free reign to hold, pet and even feed all kinds of animals

More rabbits

He doesn't look super thrilled about being held, does he?

On to the baby chicks

She's got one!  And I think he lived to tell the tale.

Bonding with the baby goats

...and sheep

More sheep

...and more goats.  She made quick friends with them when she found the feed buckets.

She was lucky enough to participate in bottle-feeding the baby cows, too.  Awwww!

Lunch at Anna's House (Grand Rapids)

Do not be fooled by the Snoopy in this picture - Hannah was nowhere in sight.  This is her "spare" which was adopted by Megan.

After lunch, they visited the Children's Museum (Grand Rapids)

Working the construction site

Fort-building fun at the Children's Museum

Testing out her fort

Out for a drive

Playing shop

Creating a body bubble - she almost had it over her head this time!

I cannot explain this strange little get-up

And finally, it was back to Grand Haven...

A little splash pad fun

Mini-golf at the Chinook Pier

Lining up her shot

Ice cream treat at Dairy Creme

Their last stop after a FULL DAY of fun was to fly her kite at the nearby elementary school and playground by our house (this was a major score for Dad - she had been bugging us for WEEKS to fly her kite)

Happy little kite flyer

Nice job to Dad on a perfect day for our big girl