Photo Session & Fall Festival

 

I bribed the girls to go take some photos - they did pretty good considering Willa decided a few minutes earlier that she did NOT want to have her picture taken! Grr!

 I love this pic! I have no idea why! :)

 

 On the way home we stopped and visited Grey. Violet took this picture! I don't think she's ever taken a picture before where everything she wanted in the picture, she got! Grey's ears are even up!

 I love this pic of Willa and a random horse - they were pretty fascinated with eachother!

 We also went to a local Cider Festival - it was really fun! I am glad we gave it a try, I think it's going to be a new family tradition!

 They got to go on a tractor ride together.

 

You will never guess what happened. Violet actually PET AN ANIMAL in an actual PETTING ZOO! I was pretty proud of her, because usually it's just ME petting all the baby goats!

 They also took a burro ride. You can see how incredibly thrilled Willa's tiny burro was about his job! Apparently this little burro is the mascot for the School of Mines!

Violet rode on this bigger burrow who was a little happier about his job. I was so proud of my girls to get up there and ride by themselves! And (don't tell Jon) Violet did ask today if she could have a pony. Ha!!

Michigan Trip 2011

We went back to Michigan in August - Violet and Willa were SO SO excited to hang out with the COUSINS!! Here are Claire, Violet and Anna right after they first got to see each other at a family reunion. Violet was SO happy!

 

Anna, Willa, Claire, Violet and Ethan (aw!) all snuggled up watching a movie together.

 The girls were SO excited to see Oma! They got to stay at her house for a few nights and she had so many fun things for them to do!

 

Violet LOVES baking! Check out this yummy chocolate-covered cake she made with Oma!

 

We also got to go up to Glen Arbor and visit my Grandma - I miss her a ton! We took her on a whirlwind tour of Glen Lake - we only had one day and we had to fit it all in! 

 

 First the girls looked at the Crystal River and waved at all the canoers and kyakers.

 

They even got their suits on and went in the river. Aren't they cute in their matching pink ballerina suits? 

 

We climbed up Sleeping Bear Dunes - and ran down, of course! Violet went up TWICE by herself!

 We also stopped out at our cottage on Glen Lake and Violet got to pilot the pontoon on a quick trip across the lake. It was pretty funny because she really was steering, and she just kept going in veeeery tiny circles.

 

 We can't go up North without visiting Max! He looks great (and fat) as usual, and Willa was happy to brush his leg.

   

Violet & Willa each got a ride around the pasture too! 

 

 Back in Grand Rapids, we did tons of fun things with "the cousins" including visiting this nifty new zoo...

 And visiting MORE horses! They are both brushing Roy, my friend Sue's horse.