Snack time with the Big Kids!

Allison usually eats her snack in the living room with Paul and I and the kids eat theirs while they watch their bedtime video. The other day she was playing on the couch at snack time, so we served her along with Nicholas and Gabrielle. She thought she was pretty hot stuff.

It was actually quite interesting! Our love seat that the kids sit on has two recliners, so there is a definate line between the cushions. Nicholas and Gabrielle have a "stay on your own side of the line" rule to avoid as many fights as possible. On this particular night, however, they commented that Allison got to sit ON the line. It was just assumed that this was her new spot!

August 25, 2006
A fun day of new experiences - and mama forgot her camera!

Well, it looks like our camping season has finally drawn to a close. We have pretty much been camping every weekend since the 19th of July and were supposed to spend one final weekend at the lake this week. However, the weather was not forecasted to be very nice and to be honest, we were just ready to be home. Given that and the fact that Grandma and Grandpa would be gone most of Saturday to a funeral we decided to just make a day at the lake on Friday, pack everything up and come home.

The weather indeed was kind of dreary in the morning. The sun finally did come out in the afternoon but by that time we really didn't feel like going down to the lake. It takes more time to get everybody ready to go than the time we would probably spend at the beach itself. So...we decided to take the kids to Putter's Creek for their first experience at mini golf. We were told it would be $3.50 for kids under 10 so only Nicholas and Gabrielle would golf but when we got there kids 4 and under are FREE. Awesome! So, all 3 kids got there own tiny golf clubs and there own ball. Grandma decided just to watch Allison instead of golf. Toni, Paul and Grandpa tried to golf but soon gave up on that idea and just had fun with the kids. It was so much fun watching the kids explore each hole.

Allison was watching her ball one time as it came back down a hill toward her. It went right through her legs and she kept following it to the point of standing on her head looking backward through her legs. She did hit the ball a few times with Grandma, but for the most part she was thrilled with carrying her ball and club around. Every once in a while she would grab someone else's ball and walk around with one ball in each hand behind her back with this look on her face like "I know that I'm not supposed to have this, but what are you going to do about it?"

Gabrielle, was totally not interested in receiving help in holding the club correctly, but totally into getting that pink ball of hers into the hole. She would practically end up pushing the ball around the green as it went in a direction she didn't like, but each and every hole she made sure her ball ended up in the hole.

Nicholas, was a little more open to being instructed on how to hold the golf club correctly and by the end of the game he was definately trying to do it the right way (at least for the first shot off the "tee"). One hole, he did actually complete in 2 shots. Yeah, Nicholas. He is also very into telling anyone who will listen the details of certain holes. Exactly what they looked like and what you had to do to get it into the hole. Most people have no idea what he is talking about, but me having been there, am quite fascinated by what he is actually trying to communicate.

As a side note, we also saw 2 garden snakes on the course - YIKES!

After a game of golf, Grandma decided that they needed to try the go-karts as well. So Grandpa took Nicholas and Paul took Gabrielle. Gabrielle was a little unsure at first, but by the end she was squealing in delight, especially when Papa tried to catch up to Grandpa. Nicholas loved the whole experience and had a smile frozen on his face the whole time. Allison watched with mama from the side lines and once she figured out what was going on she squealed with delight as the cars reached the half way point of the track where she could see them coming and new they were coming her way.

What a fun day we had with the kids, with there first experience of both mini golf and go-karting. I can't believe I forgot my camera because I missed a lot of cute shots.

Portraits - August 2006

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Here are the most recent professional portraits we had taken. Nicholas' 4 year portraits and Allison's 1 year pictures. Allison was a perfect angel and cooperated in every way. Nicholas started out well and then got bored, so it took a little persuading and the promise of a trip to Toys 'R Us. We also got a group shot - seeing as how 2 out of 3 were already dressed up we thought we'd give it a try. We ended up having to bribe Gabrielle with a flower, which of course, meant Nicholas wanted one, and with that Allison couldn't be left out. Luckily, they had 3 and everyone was happy!

Bathtime in the Trailer 081806

Watch the videoAugust 18, 2006 Bathtime in the Trailer

August 18, 2006 Tea Anyone?

Gabrielle decided that she needed to have a tea party. So....she dragged the little table over, set up everyone's chair around it and summoned Nicholas and Allison to join her for a tea party complete with juice in a sippy cup.

August 18, 2006 - The Wagon

Well, last year Nicholas and Gabrielle practically lived in our little red wagon. However, even though we have had the wagon at the lake all summer we really haven't been using it. Gabrielle seemed to always want to ride her bike or ride in the lightweight foldable stroller. This past weekend though, Allison discovered the wagon and boy did she love it. One day when we put it back under the trailer she proceeded to throw herself into a 5 + minute temper tantrum and do everything she could to get it back out under her own power (which she was unsuccessful at).

August 17, 2006 - The Block House On the way back from checking out the freighter at the state park we took a "climb" up to the block house overlook. It was fun to let the kids explore, they weren't too into the sightseeing but enjoyed running around and climbing up and down the stairs.

August 17, 2006 - Indiana Harbor

Paul has always had an interest in freighters on the Great Lakes. Growing up, he spent many weekends heading up to the Sault Locks with his dad in search of freighters. This is a memory of his that has carried into his adulthood. We spent our honeymoon up at the Sault, and early in our marriage we made a weekend trip over to Port Huron in search of the freighters. Well, Thursday morning while standing at the lookout at Pioneer Park we saw a 1000 footer getting ready to come into Muskegon channel. So we all hopped into the van and headed down to the channel at the State Park. We got there just in time to see it coming in. Much to our surprise however, it was the exact same freighter that we saw when Nicholas was 15 months old. I am sharing a picture from back then also.

Another great weekend at Lake Michigan! Here are a few pictures from August 11-13, 2006. We had another great time at the beach. It was much cooler than the week before, we were running a heater in the tent instead of a fan. The water was much cooler too.

Sprinkler Fun 080906

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Camping July 31 - August 6, 2006

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July 29, 2006

Well, it took a lot of patience and understanding from the kids, especially Nicholas and Gabrielle and Paul pushed to get his wheel order completed. There was a lot of working during the day which is something we typically try not to do if we can help it. However, this time it was unavoidable and often occupied both of our time. Nicholas and Gabrielle were very good about trying to keep themselves occupied while Allison was napping so we could get some work done.

Nicholas has been waiting for the new Veggie Tale movie to arriving. He has been telling people for months that "in July Larry Boy and the Bad Apple is arriving". Well, it came out today and Family Christian Stores had a special celebration. So after, our Hager Family Reunion, we put Allison down for nap, Paul went back to building bike wheels, and Nicholas and Gabrielle went with mama to get there new movie.

Nicholas took the sales flyer and brought it up to the sales person at the store and showed her exactly what he was looking for. She brought him to the back of the store and showed him right where it was. He was thrilled. Then they each got a special Veggie Tale magazine for being one of the first 100 kids of the day, and then they also got a sheet of Veggie Tale window stickers which we later used to decorate the mirror in the kids bathroom.

Below you see the kids enjoying popcorn and their new movie after their bath that night with Papa.

July 29, 2006 - Bike wheel marathon in progress

Because of the huge quantity of wheels that Paul got for this order (300) he decided that he need to work in the garage instead of carting everything to the basement and then back up again. As he neared the mid point of the order he realized that in order to complete the order on time and still participate in our upcoming family camping trip that he needed a little assistance. So he taught me how to lace the wheels to help him out. It was a lot of work but we did get to spend some time together while we burned the midnight oil. Eventually, half of the garage was not enough room either, so he had to move both vehicles out to the driveway so we had room to move. Here are some photos of the state of our garage. The picture with the wheels stacked under the window is about 100 completed bike wheels and boxes were actually empty, so this may give you an idea of how many 300 wheels would have added up to. Thankfully, they picked the wheels up in smaller shipments so we never had 300 completed wheels at one time, it would have been a nice picture though.

July 28, 2006 - Allison's One Year Doctor Appointment

Well, our big eater Allison is finally catching up to our other kids in the size department. She weighed in at 19 lbs 7 1/2 oz (10 oz smaller than Nicholas was and only 6.5 oz smaller than Gabrielle was). She is 29 1/2 inches tall which is (2 inches shorter than Nicholas was...I forgot how tall he was early on, and she is 1/2 inch TALLER than Gabrielle was). Her pediatrician was very pleased with her weight gain as she was only 16lbs 1 1/2 oz at her 9 month checkup. Of course, now that she is walking who know what will happen to those "just now starting to get chubby" legs of hers.