May 29/30 With my Emma

Saturday/Sunday:  I was late picking Emma up tonight. Kaity and I got playing and lost track of time--before we knew it, it was past 8PM! I hadn't talked to Emma since the night she graduated and I wanted to hear all about the "mystery" overnight trip the seniors were treated to following the graduation ceremony. 

They took the senior class to the Double J Ranch (Grand Ledge--just this side of Lansing). I took this picture off the internet--it looks like a very fun place! Emma said there was mini-golfing, other games, a great water park, etc. They spent about five hours there (in the middle of the night) and returned to the high school at about 6AM. As she told me all about it, I could tell she had a really good time. There was one bummer, though. The camera we purchased for her at Wal-Mart ... is kind of a DUD. It will have to be returned. I'm not much on returning things (hardly EVER), but this just has to go back from where it came!

Saturday night, after we had talked for awhile, Emma suggested that we watch a movie. I had a few choices picked out and asked her if she had done any "research" on movies during the week. Yay! She had quite a few ideas! We ended up watching "Get Smart". I can't remember when I laughed SO hard! I could hardly stand it. 

We worshiped at Calvary Sunday morning and were challenged to make Christ OUR LIFE. Pastor Tom was a real blessing with this teaching. I have lots of things to think over and felt truly challenged by what he had to say.

I was hoping that the afternoon would warm up--but alas, it did NOT. I talked Emma into going to Lake Michigan anyway. I told her we could just take a walk and then relax on the beach for a little while. It was a gorgeous day. It was very close to 70 degrees in Grand Rapids BUT when we drove out to the lake shore, the temperature was 10 degrees colder ... 59 degrees was as hot as it got! I'm still glad we went!

I truly thought there would be about 80,000 people here today ... but evidently people listened to the weather report and decided to stay home!

I love boats, don't you? Especially sail boats.

I'm glad I brought along jackets for Emma and I to bundle up in!

We did spread out our sheet, got out our towels and sunbathed for 45 minutes. There were a few other people here and there on the beach, but hardly anyone was in the water. I put my toes in and that was all!

What a beautiful day! What a delightful weekend. I'm super thankful for it!
 

May 29 Kaity, Matey, Charlie & Sweetie

Saturday:  Kaity and I came home from swimming and enjoyed a yummy hotdog dinner with watermelon and other good stuff. Matey decided he "owned" my piece of melon ...

Isn't Matey the cutest bird ever?

Kaity was cracking up because everytime I leaned in to take a bite, Matey would squack at me and scold me for getting in his way!

Kaity got Charlie out to play. We had watched Darci Lynn with her puppets (on Youtube) and Kaity decided to try a little ventriloquism herself!

Look at how happy she is with this little puppet!

Kaity, Kaity, Kaity! 

We turned on "Happy" so that Kaity and Charlie could do a dance routine ... it was an absolute scream.

Kaity keeps excellent rhythm (not at all surprising) and is a very good dancer ... she was super good at manipulating Charlie to do dance steps with her. Kaity kills me.

Sweetie-Pie was entertained for awhile too. 

We really had a nice time together Saturday. Kaity was ... IS ...

... completely PRECIOUS.
 

May 29 Kaity swims ... even at 56 degrees!

Saturday:  Last Sunday and Monday it was in the 80's and wonderfully warm. It rained Sunday, however, but Monday and Tuesday were warm and beautiful. A cold front came through sometime Wednesday and lowered our temps by 30 degrees. Seriously?

Thursday was a bit drizzly--plus it was only in the 50's--so Kaity reluctantly agreed to wait until Saturday to go for her first swim over at Versluis Park. I was hoping with all of my might (!!) that we could possibly reach 70 degrees Saturday. However, that did NOT happen.

Did 56 degrees and wind deter Kaity's plans to swim? Nope! Not a single bit. I did put my suit and cover-up on, brought towels and a few digging toys--but I was very truthful with Kaity when I told her I was 95% sure that I would NOT be swimming today. I have a real difficult time with COLD and I am about the biggest sissy in the world when it comes to getting into cold water.

But not Kaity. She was pretty determined. I wondered at first if she would actually go all the way in ... she was a little bit hesitate after getting her feet freezing cold wet ...

However, little by little, our brave Kaity-Fish got her entire body in and did about 20 minutes of actual swimming, head under the water and the whole nine yards. Amazing.

There are times when I love this little girl so much it hurts ...

Look how clear that water is! A nice sandy bottom--not rocky or mucky!

This year Versluis is being operated differently. I'm not sure what to think of it. I hope it goes okay throughout the summer season. THIS year, there are no lifeguards and there is no fee to get into the park and swim. SO ... I've saved $25 ... but will it be safe for people? They really did a good job lifeguarding.

I will say, there was a TON of rules here to abide by. You could NOT bring any swim toys into the water--no boards, no goggles, no noodles--but the park provided life jackets for big and small alike, there was a lifeguard tower manned by THREE guards at all times, and it felt pretty safe. 

We'll have to see how it goes this year without the guards. I did notice that a police/rescue car was parked closest to the water and it looked like someone would be available in case of emergency, so I was encouraged by that.

Right now, as in years past, my only criticism of the park is ... the DIRT. This is not beach sand. This is DIRT.

I pointed this out to Kaity and she was completely nonplussed. She went right ahead and dug with her hands, laid down in it (I pointed out to her that I had plenty of towels for her to use--but she wanted to whole effect of the DIRT on her body), made molds out of it, etc. Look at her happy smile.

Oh Kaity Jane. You are such a part of grandma's heart. Thank you Jesus, for the joy of being Kaity's grandma.

May 28 It's Dylan's Birthday!

Friday:  I asked Dylan if I could take him out to lunch today to celebrate his birthday. He agreed! So I drove downtown to his place of employment at noon and we walked over to One Trick Pony/The Corner Bar and had their luncheon special--we both chose the fish sandwich with American fries. It was SO yummy. Dylan also got a free dessert because of it being his birthday--a piece of chocolate cheesecake. I haven't had a one-on-one with Dylan for a very long time. It was wonderful ... just to sit across the table from him, look at his handsome smiling face, and actually have conversation that was uninterrupted (by little ones) and meaningful. So thankful for this time with you, Dylan.

This is the birthday card that I made for Dylan this year. I know it might SEEM a bit weird--but actually many of my cards seem that way I suppose--but I was just reflecting on Dylan's family and his part as a dad when I picked out these pictures and words for him.

I love you so much, Dylan James.