September 18-20, 2009
Hoffmaster State Park

The past 2 years we have begun our camping season at Hoffmaster State Park in April when the park is mostly empty. However, this year we re-visited in the fall. It was a warm weekend and the kids were actually able to go into the water - which was one of the reasons we decided to go back there, as they don't go swimming in April.

We made our traditional visit to the Visitor's Center to see the animals and other displays they have about the Great Lakes. Then we went on a hike, taking a trail we have never taken before. At the end of the trail, we found this huge set of stairs to climb.

The climb was worth the view.

We spent some time running and goofing around in the play field and discovered that Allison is quite the little soccer player. Our little girl who is always "too tired" to walk on our hikes and doesn't seem very motivated about anything - ran and ran and kicked the ball for 5-10 minutes straight. She did really well and surprised us.

The kids loved playing in the creek area that feeds into the big lake. The shallow water allowed for much running and jumping. Nicholas found these big stumps that he was rolling to different places in the water and Sam soon joined him.
Here they are taking a rest on their newly placed log stools.

Sam loves the water.

Nicholas takes in the scenery right before sunset. We are hoping he is learning to enjoy the little things and notice the beauty of creation as we do. One of the reasons we love to camp. There are so many things in this world that we as a society don't take the time to stop and look at. We love to get away from the schedules, routines, TVs, computers and everything else that distracts us from the beauty God gave us and be able to enjoy it together as a family.

The kids take in the sunset.

The girls got a little creative while drying the dishes.

A hike on Black Creek Trail (first time we did this one too)

Allison was loving all the yellow flowers - as her favorite color is yellow.

Our beautiful bouquet.

September 14 and 16, 2009
Allison Starts School

Allison has been looking forward to starting school for so long, she has been talking about it all summer long. She was so disappointed to find out that she didn't get to start school last week with the other kids. So, this week her long awaited first day of school finally arrived.

Monday she had Orientation. The parents had some general things to go over and paperwork to fill out while the kids got to play and get to know a few of their new classmates. She had to take her backpack, just as if it were a regular day of classes.

Because they wanted orientation to involve smaller groups of children and there are 3 different preschool classes to orient - she had Tuesday off, before she finally got to go to her first day of school on Wednesday afternoon. She will attend classes Monday thru Thursday from 12:15-2:45pm.

As excited as she was for school to begin, I was very surprised to see tears from her before I left. She entered the classroom and the kids were playing with table toys and she just sort of wandered around without finding a seat. The teachers invited her to have a seat, but she ran back to me in tears instead. It took me a few minutes to get her over her nerves and before I left she seemed fine. We never had another tear or any sign of reservations about school after that though.

September 13-15, 2009
Holland State Park

School may have started but our adventures in camping are far from over. However, our planning changes slightly. Because we only have short weekends once school starts - we play every weekend by ear. We basically wait until Wednesday to watch the weather forecast and if it looks dry and decent we head out. Sometimes it's Friday before we actually decide where we are going - but it doesn't matter to us, we just want to be outdoors having fun as a family.

This weekend found us at Holland State Park's Macatawa Campground. This was our first time camping in Holland and therefore, we had lots to explore.

Friday evening we road our bikes over to the beach area to take in the sunset.

The kids loved - just laying around in the sand as the sun fell below the horizon.

They had 2 decent playgrounds there for the kids to enjoy.

We spent the morning on a wonderful hike. The trail started at the campground and went up to the top of Mount Pisgah where it wound through the woods for bit and then joined up with a huge boardwalk which provided us with an absolutely awesome view of the beach from a high vantage point. We then had to go down over 200 stairs to the road level. (Glad we went down them and not up them!) Soon after that - We made our first ever stop at Smitty's Pronto Pups for some Pronto Pups and Deep Fried Pickles. MmMm good!
We also took a walk down to Ottawa Beach General Store for some Ice Cream. Needless to say - we didn't have a very nutritious lunch that day, but it sure was good!

It may be September and school may be back in session - but the weather on Saturday evening was beautiful and the Lake Michigan water temperature was warmer than it had been the entire week before while we were at Pioneer. The kids had a great time splashing around in the wonderful waves and enjoying the warm water.

I was trying to take a group picture of Paul and the kids like I usually do - and a kind young woman offered to take my camera so I could get in on the picture. An actual family picture was nice to have for a change.

On our way to the park, we had passed a sign that said "Stu Visser Trails" so we took a drive down there before heading home on Sunday morning. It was a wonderful neighborhood nature area with a nice trail running through it. There was a pond and creek and made for an enjoyable morning seeing where the trails would lead.

September 8 and 9, 2009
Nicholas and Gabrielle start school

The carefree days of summer have come to an end and the days of schedule, routine and homework have once again returned to our household.

Nicholas started 2nd grade this year and will have Mrs Kantola for his teacher. He seems very excited to get back into the swing of things and see his friends again.

Gabrielle is very excited to start Kindergarten this year. She will attend school all day, every day and get to ride the bus in the morning and afternoon (unlike last year where she only got to ride the bus home). She is excited to have Ms. Doane as her teacher, just like Nicholas did and was glad to hear that some of her friends from Young 5s last year will also be in her class again this year.

First day of 2nd Grade for Nicholas

Gabrielle had Orientation on the first day of school -
so she didn't get to take the bus until the next day.

August 30 - September 6, 2009
Pioneer County Park
Muskegon MI

It has become sort of a tradition of sorts to spend Labor Day weekend at one of our long standing favorite campgrounds on 'The Big Lake' - Pioneer County Park. My family began camping there in 1978 (I believe). My Uncle Gerry loves to camp near the Lake Michigan, given the fact that he lives in Ohio now. So - whenever they can make it they try to join us over Labor Day, for lots of fun and fellowship and great food (Uncle Gerry loves to cook). As in her usual fashion, Aunt Nancy is one of the family and brought her tent to spend the week. Why is it that when we had tenters along - it was the coldest nights of the entire summer? Aunt Nancy was well prepared however, and had an assortment of coats and sweatshirts, which she appropriately hung on the coat rack she had brought from home and placed in it's new home inside her canvas home away from home (sorry - had to put that in because we teased her about it all week).

We had a great week - with visits from my brothers and several cousins. The kids loved getting to play with everyone and really grew attached to cousin Kelly's dog, Bailey. As a matter of fact, when we returned home Nicholas went to bed the first night in tears because he was missing Bailey and afraid he wouldn't see Bailey again.

We headed home on Sunday, so we could use Labor Day to get the kids ready for school. What a great week we had.