Vdubs

Kyle's 35th Birthday

2012-02-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

Crazy Bounce

2012-02-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I surprised Derek and took them to crazy bounce and a few friends met us there!

Heat Wave

2012-01-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

Woohoo, it made it to 45 degrees with lots of sunshine!! The boys went out and got nice and wet and dirty....and I cleaned all the cobwebs that were exposed due to the sun shining in :)

Luke was happy to move sand instead of snow

Hmmmm! How do I get up there?

Coloring with our friends after nap.....and let me tell you it was a short nap because of the lovely salesperson(who saw me coming to the door) decided he would ring the doorbell AND knock(BANG)on the door. UGH!! I think he knew he lost that sale when I POLITELY told him I had 4 kids sleeping!!

Luke working hard on his treasure map

Clean Room

2012-01-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

We have really been working on cleaning everything up before bed....Derek was sooo excited to show me his clean and decorated bedroom.....complete with a baby wearing sunglasses!

Playdough

2012-01-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

The boys and Playdough

Derek and I worked on the first step of his Valentines!

Outside

2012-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

As soon as Derek got up from nap he was ready to go out in the sun and play. It was still chilly, but this was the first sunny day all week. And if you notice he still has PJ's on.....it was pajama day at school. He had fun playing in the sandbox and Luke went with Grammy for the night.

Something New

2012-01-23T17:02:00.000-08:00

Luke loves these story/songs from Grandma. We listen to them often...I think I have them all memorized already!

Grand Rapids Children's Museum

2012-01-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

Derek's favorite thing was the Bubbles

Luke loved being a bank teller

Farmer Luke

Driving

Post office workers

Bubbles

I thought Kyle would like this one

Magnets

Giant Tinker Toys

It was a horrible day to drive, but a fun day to wash away winter blues!

Early Birthday Party

2012-01-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa VW had us over to celebrate Daddy and Derek's birthday since they are leaving to go south. Mmmmmm...sure was good!

Fun with Grandpa

Blowing out the candles

$5 for the almost 5 yr old

Love his face.....a sleeping bag and flashlight!

Big brother help

2012-01-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Luke and Derek got cold and I needed to finish shoveling so I sent them in to get their clothes off. 15 minutes later, I walked in and Derek was desperately trying to help Luke out of his clothes. And just so you know, Luke probably could have done this himself, but chose to be a limp noodle and let his brother work to get it off :)

Kiddos

2012-01-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

MR. K and Miss. A enjoying a snack with Luke after naps.

Where's Luke

2012-01-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, these are all their stuffed animals....and Luke LOVES everyone of them!

SNOW DAY!!

2012-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

A snowy day and no school, so out we went to play! Plus, a pic of the hats I made the boys.

Playing catch-up again

2012-01-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Wow.....the last 2 weeks have been crazy. The kids have been taking turns at Grandmas house before they go south. I have started babysitting 2 days a week to help out with groceries and haircuts. Plus I am trying to take a little extra time for me this year so I don't end up so exhausted and sick like last year. So here is so post from the last couple weeks....if I get them all done :/

Derek always leaves us note and gifts...he has such a sweet heart!

Derek playing outside....trying to break into Dad tool shed.....he can play hours by himself....he has a VERY big imagination!

Lazy Daze

2012-01-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a day when mom lets us have cereal in a bag and watch PBS....and nothing like having a comfy brother to sit on!

Reading stories with Daddy in the sun before nap.

YES, SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!

2012-01-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

We were all soooooo happy that we finally had snow the last day of vacation. We played outside over 2 hours and then enjoyed some hot cocoa and rice crispy treats!

Derek making his snow angel

Happy about the snow, but sad that Dad had to put their swings away :/

Luke trying to save the flowers

Another five years and we(that is Kyle and I) will be not have to do much shoveling :)

The fort we made with all the snow from the drive way.

Cookies

2011-12-29T19:54:00.001-08:00

Better late than never! We didn't seem to find the time to do cookies this year before Christmas, but Kyle took this week off :) So, we let the boys do a few cookies one afternoon just for the fun of it. The boys are having so much fun with Daddy home every day. They get up early and go sneak downstairs to find him. Hopefully this year he will have more days to be home with the boys...it makes such a big difference!

Rodgers Christmas Party

2011-12-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

Grandma VanderWall and her brothers did a Christmas party. There were 7 second cousins(all boys) 7 and under. The Great Uncles ans Aunts get gifts and the kids get to fish for them. They always have so much fun.

Our Family Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

Notes from the Elf saying good-bye

Dad got 1 lb Peanut Butter Cups

Opening stockings before breakfast

A nice dinner to end our day together

Kyle made me a stable for my Nativity set

It was a wonderful day(minus the migraine in the middle) to stay home and be together. It took ALL day to open the few gifts we had....they would open something like a coloring book and go color or read a new book and then we would have to ask if they'd like to open something else. They enjoyed eating with mom's real snowmen plates at our Christmas dinner and did fairly well with them :) It's amazing how much joy kids bring to the holidays!

Carron Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

We spent the day in Grandville with family. We went to Josh and Linda's church and then headed back to their house for yummy food and snacks. Everyone was so good and played so nice. I'm sure Gabi and Gavin slept good last night, Luke was asleep before we left the driveway.

Christmas Eve (for us) 2011

2011-12-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

VanderWall Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Grandma made a yummy breakfast and dinner

Waiting............

Hiding with everyone's gifts

What a fun day............thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Cousin Christmas

2011-12-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

The boys did their gift with their South Carolina cousins on Wednesday.

Walkie Talkies.....Derek talks for hours into these things....even if no one is listening :)

2011-12-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

Tents, naps, and our favorite friends

2011-12-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many tents I helped set up today.

Sleeping in their tents for naps.....after all, we have to have some fun on Christmas Break!

We watched the girls so their mom and dad could go have dinner together.
Derek just LOVES her!!

Friends!

Sam's and Scooters

2011-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

After a much needed trip to Sam's Club, they boys begged to go ride their scooters...a little chilly, but the sun was out and they did not seem to mind.

Christmas with Grammy

2011-12-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

Making donuts for breakfast

Trying to get them all to look....not with presents in their hands!

Grammy made the kids Crayon Bags

Derek was just a little excited to get a scooter!

Luke and his scooter

Trying out their new scooters

Nadia playing babies with Uncle Kyle

Playing with "tall" Uncle Joe

K-4 Christmas Party

2011-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Luke went to work with Grammy foe a couple hours so I could go to Derek party. This is his class.....oh, what is Derek going to do for 2 weeks. He LOVES going to school!

Snack time....which ended up with one kids (who has nut allergies) going to ER from an allergic reaction!

book exchange

craft time

His friends Brody and Gabby

Lining up for their stickers at the end of the day.

Naughty Black Squirrel

2011-12-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

I guess his food supply was low this week. He ate right through my feeder to get to the food. Merry Christmas to the sqirrel....now the boys want a new feeder for Christmas!

Gifts from Cubbies

2011-12-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Elf likes to color too!

2011-12-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

Coloring

2011-12-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is one of the boys favorite things to do right now. I love that they have a love for coloring and doing crafts!

Derek singing

2011-12-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

2011-12-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas songs at church before Cantata

Weekend Fun

2011-12-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

Daddy had to work Saturday, but he took Friday off. He got to take Derek to school and have a few minutes to play with Luke, and then I got him the rest of the day. :)
Plus, the boys got to spend time with both grandparents this weekend.

Elf Trouble

2011-12-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

Getting all tied up while decorating

Super-Elf

2011-12-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Luke doing an edible craft while Derek was at school

Derek set the table tonight for me....he even rolled the silverware in the napkins :)

Friends came to play...........

2011-12-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

A day to stay in PJ's and play, talk, laugh, eat...........precious memories and friends!
Raina and Luke coloring.

Derek sharing a sticker with Corinne

I love Luke's face.... they just adore Corrine.

Elf in the House

2011-12-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

An elf came to visit us through the holidays this year.....some how we got a mischievous elf. Here are some of the things he has done while we were sleeping!

The first night, he got lonely and cold....we found him in the Kleenex box with baby tiger and ostrich.

He sneaked in the boys room and decorated the tree with their underwear!

Crashed the trucks while trying to take off with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus

Ate all the candy from the candy jar...the boys were not happy about this. Tonight we will leave out some carrots to eat instead :)

Fun at Grammy's House

2011-12-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Since I stole my mom's camera for her pictures, I thought I would post some cute ones from the last month of the boys having fun at her house.
Nadia and Luke playing in the tent

Going to the fire station with Grammy

Luke and Nadia brushing their teeth before bed....I love this one!

Derek and his town of Lincoln Logs and Little People

Luke painting

Helping Grammy decorate for the holidays

Grammy made them curly fries Saturday night

More K-4 concert pics

2011-12-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

I finally got the pics off my moms camera, and found a few more good ones.

K3-5 playing kazoos

Singing and signing "For God So Loved The World"

Derek and his family pic

Grandma and Grandpa with Derek

Derek's K-4 Christmas Concert and Art Show

2011-12-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Luke snuggling with Grammy before the program

Derek's art work....our family (notice my hair!)

Enjoying some cake

The Two Trouble-Makers :)

My camera didn't work to get any of Derek singing, but he did a great job!....and Grandma VanderWall was there too, just didn't get a pic.

CHRISTmas!

2011-12-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

It does a mothers heart good to walk in and see her kids talking and looking at the Christmas story. They weren't too happy that I interrupted them, but so glad to see their excitement about the real meaning of Christmas.

2011-12-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

Luke fell asleep last night listening to Curious George

Making our Christmas craft today............trees for their rooms

--------------------The finished trees!----------------

Grammy made all the grandkids a Christmas countdown...this is Dereks.

Domino Night

2011-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Kyle taught the boys how to play Dominoes....it didn't last long, but they had fun while it lasted.

2011-11-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

It was so much fun watching Kyle and the boys bonding today as they have now had 4 days to spend together. We had an incredible day of enjoying each other and preparing for the holidays.

Searching for a tree

Playing some baseball

Decorating the porch

Decorating the tree

Playing trucks

Watching Frosty the snowman and snuggling with Dad

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

Luke waiting for everyone to arrive

So thankful for family, food, and laughter today.

Nadia playing with Uncle Kyle

PJ's and watching BOZ before bed.

A Weekend AWAY

2011-11-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

We went and spent the weekend with Linda and Josh. Friday night Linda and I took them to the Grandville Mall...they were amazed with all the people. We ate at the food court and Aunt Linda Gave them money for the carousel. They we rode the escalator....Derek LOVED it. Aunt Linda took him several times up and down. Then we let them play in the play area till they were tired and ready to go home and see Uncle Josh. Saturday we got up and went downtown Grand Rapids to watch the Christmas parade. Then we went back to their house, ate, slept and played some more...the boys were sad to leave and we decided we had to do it more often.

Aunt Angela and Nadia at the parade

ME AND MY BOYS

Uncle Josh, Aunt Linda, Derek, and Luke

Derek had so much fun with Uncle Josh...I just love the look on his face. He was so happy today.

Library Play n Learn Night

2011-11-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

Grandma's Birthday

2011-11-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Grandma took us all out for her birthday. Thank you Grandma!

Our Little Guys Big Day

2011-11-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

He had a home made bunny waiting for him when he got there.

All ready (only have to wait another hour and a half)

Finding ways to amuse himself while waiting

Bunny made it through surgery too!

Enjoying our 5th popcicle

Getting ready to go home

Balloons from Aunt Linda and Uncle Josh

A book and car from Grandma and Grandpa

Coloring a book

Big Day Ahead

2011-11-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

This little guy is getting tonsils and adenoids out on Wednesday morning.

2011-11-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Brought Great Grandma VanderWall supper and spent the night playing at her house. She left for Florida today...thinking the boys and I should have hid in the suitcases!

New hair cut

2011-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

This is the third time Derek has given himself a haircut...Ugh! It is the best one yet...he did not know I was taking a pic of his hair because I did not want him to think it was funny! I'm sure it will be funny in a few years!

Fun at Aunt Linda's

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Visiting Daddy

2011-10-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

2011-10-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday hayride with our Sunday school group! Didn't get many pic because I was busy with the kids.

School night at Chuck E. Cheese

2011-10-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

The LCA seniors were doing a fundraiser at Chuck E. Cheese and all the school kids could get 10 free tokens. After a horrible weekend, we decided we would go. I found a coupon for a pizza, 4 drinks, and 50 tokens for $20. My mom came so I would have help until Kyle could get there from work.

The boys had fun and we have lots of tokens left to use on non chaotic time.

when we got home the boys had mail from Grandma and Grandpa!

Carving our pumpkins

2011-10-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

pumpkins

2011-10-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Raina spent a couple of days with us while mommy had baby sister. I peeked in the living room and this is what I saw. I was laughing so hard....good thing my camera was close by. Here I thought she liked the boys!

Luke and Raina having fun playing while Derek was at school

Derek all Dressed.....that dollar store sheriff gun sure brought a lot of fun!

Fire Station Field Trip

2011-10-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

2011-10-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

Wow....what a difference 3 years makes!!!

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

Getting on the train

2011-10-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Picnic time

2011-10-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

F is for Farm

2011-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

Derek had his first field trip today. A little girl in his class has a horse farm. They had 3 different size horses they could ride as many times as they wanted. Derek rode the smaller 2.

Mrs. Stacie and his class(except for 3 three not there)

They had a hay ride (and she took them on the golf cart.)

They had cupcakes and cidar for snack and then played.

2011-10-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

What it is really like at our house with 2 boys.....enjoy!

Kitchen Helper

2011-10-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

Derek helping me make brownies while Luke and Dad were gone.

Another Butterfly Day

2011-10-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Miss Karen gave us another cocoon that was almost ready...and sure enough, it came out Monday afternoon.

2011-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Klackle Orchard

2011-09-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Had a fun day at the orchard!

Crickets and C story

2011-09-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

trying to find crickets or grasshoppers...they are getting scarce.

Derek's C story...can you tell we talk about getting hit by cars.

I assume this is the monster on the back :)

It's raining....it's pouring!

2011-09-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Having fun in the puddles after church today!

Full House

2011-09-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Raina, Nadia, Luke, and Derek eating supper together.

Swinging outside and making faces

The boys helping the girls swing

Popcorn and Franklin movie before bed.

We had a full house tonight with lots of giggles and laughter. It was nice to mix in a couple girls.

FALL Is Here

2011-09-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Luke had to go out and find one of those colored leaves this morning.

Luke found an old diaper and wanted to put it on Derek who was not happy with that idea. We found a baby to put it on and he wanted to take it everywhere today. I think he will be a great daddy some day.

One of the friendly neighborhood cats. Glad everyone else has a cat so I don't have to have pets.

After having a bad appointment in which God shut a door, Grammy took us for Lunch to cheer us up. Her neighbor lady had a bad morning too, so we invited her along as well. She adores the boys and they call her a Great Grandma. It was just what we all needed.

Then, Grammy took the boys to the beech to fly kites. What a beautiful day....nothing like a day in God's creation to soothe the soul.

Luke is a Cubbie!

2011-09-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

Luke got his vest and book at Cubbies last night.

B day

2011-09-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Derek's B story from school today.

Boys being boys.....building guns out their trio blocks

2011-09-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that Derek LOVES Legos! He made all these one afternoon for me....he doesn't like to take them apart, so he run out of wheels. I love to see his imagination at work.

Playing with our friend, Raina, tonight.

Mmmm! Bath, cookies & milk, and 1/2 hour of reading books......aahhhh! Now for a few minutes of quietness.......until morning comes :) Love you my little munchkins!

A Beautiful Day For A Hike

2011-09-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, FINALLY, we had another Saturday to spend together as a family. We decided to go on a hike. We were all laughing as we passed this guy on our way there.

Watching an animal movie at the nature center

Luke with horns

Having a snack

This is what they consider a nice picture....how can you not smile at them though!

Then down to the beach for lunch and metal detecting. Too bad we don't have more Saturdays together....the boys are sooooo happy when Dad is home and more content and happy throughout the day. Hopefully they will remember the few days we do have together.

It's fun being 3

2011-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Luke was overly excited when Grandpa Carron and Grandma Bette called and said they wanted to take him to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday. This worked out great because Derek got to have a party there when he turned 3 and I always feel Luke gets left out or its already been done. He asked all morning if it was time to go and had a blast! We picked Derek up from school and had pizza and played for a couple hours. They were so tired they couldn't even use the last few tokens. Thanks for making his day special.

2011-09-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

I CAN put my shoes on, but WHY....my brother will do it for me!

Uncle Josh and Aunt Linda sent a card with money. Oh how they LOVE getting money in the mail.

Cubbie Bear

2011-09-14T18:06:00.001-07:00

Luke got to bring cubbie bear home tonight. He was really excited...He loves Cubbies!

more birthday fun

2011-09-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

trying out his bug gun

his gift from Aunt Angela and Uncle Joe and Nadia....he stared at it all the way home from church.

LUKE'S 3RD BIRTHDAY

2011-09-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Playing his new uno game with grandma

His race car cake

Pillow case from his cousins

K-4, butterfly, and Cubbies

2011-09-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

Derek had his first day of K-4 today. He came home loving school :) !!!!! He got to play outside, make a shape monster, sing songs, and meet another friend named Caleb. Most important he found a treasure on the playground(broken charm from a bracelet).

Otto came out of his cocoon today. It was so much fun and the boys loved watching them...it was sad to see the last one fly away.

We also started AWANA tonight. I didn't get a picture tonight, but Luke was soooo happy to go to Cubbies with Derek. Good Luck with the Vander Wall boys, Cubbie leaders :)

Friend Day

2011-09-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Smokey came out of his cocoon last night while we were sleeping. So we let him fly away today.

Raina came to play today and brought us a special lunch.

Fog House

2011-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

They opened up the fog house at the end of the pier today. It was a chilly walk but fun to see inside and climb up to the top.

Showing his muscles

Jumping off the rocks

Tennis Time

2011-08-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Luke was with Grandma and Grandpa tonight, so we took Derek to play tennis. He did pretty good for his first time. Then he just chased balls for us...it was nice to have someone there to hand us a ball whenever we needed one. Good job, Derek!

Buzz and Thomas

2011-08-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

The boys having fun dressing up this week.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

2011-08-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

I don't think there has ever been a day where I didn't have to fix a single meal. TODAY was one of those days...:) Grandma Rodgers took out for breakfast...the boys were very excited to get up and go for breakfast. Then for lunch we went to Spring Lake Baptist Church for their free street party. After the fun there we headed up to my Uncle Walt's for our cousin get together(sorry no pics...forgot camera) Derek got to kayak with Kyle. We played in the river, caught crayfish, frogs,and turtle. It's a boys paradise up there!

Our little monkey climbing the huge slide with the big kids!

Mmmmmmm! Cotton candy!

Derek hit the target 2 out of 3 times!

We noticed Otto joined Smokey today in a cacoon.

Beach Day

2011-08-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

We had fun with Grammy at the beach today. The boys were laughing as they squirted her with water....until they saw her grab the big bucket. What a fun day we all had!

When we walked in the house from the beach, "Smokey" the caterpillar was just starting his cacoon. What a fun things for the boys to see. How can people say their is not a Creator out there!

The Very Hungery Caterpillars

2011-08-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Miss Karen brought the boys some caterpillars to watch and hopefully turn into butterflies. The boys named them Otto and Smokey.

paddle boards

2011-08-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

The boys went to Grandma's and came home with paddle boards. Derek had to finish coloring his.

Learning new things

2011-08-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Derek is trying to learn to swim this week.

Derek taking a nap in the warm sun

Derek loves playing with Legos

I taught Luke how to hopscotch this afternoon

Potatoes and peaches

2011-08-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Potatoes from Kyle's garden

The peach tree

Thursday at the Beach

2011-08-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Sarah, we made to the beach another day. After we were there, it turned into a perfect beach day and the water even was warm enough to go in.

A boy after my own heart...napping in the sunshine.

Running....running....running...o, to have this much energy!

Digging with Raina in the sand

Thursday at the Park

2011-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Water & Sand

2011-08-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day at the lake. The water was cool, but the boys loved playing in the sand, catching ladybugs, and running around being as noisy as they wanted.

When we got home they wanted the sprinkler on.....so, they played another hour in that...it was a good nap day!

Trolley Time

2011-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

With only 3 weeks of summer left, I had not had a day alone with Luke to take him on a trolley ride. So, with nothing else today and Coast Guard done we decided it would be a fun day for the trolley.

Fun on Friday

2011-08-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

Took this at my in-laws on Sat night

Luke learning to throw the Frisbee....yes, I do feed this child!

Derek swimming under water