Ottawa County Fair

On Thursday, we went to the fair with my dad, Cohen, Lee and Lauryn. Usually my dad just goes by himself to look at all the animals (because none of us wanted to go) but this year he had some kids who enjoyed it just as much as him! Cohen loved touching all of the animals and by the end, Jackson and Lauryn were touching them too.

John Ball Zoo

Last week Friday (this is really late in posting) we went to the zoo with Lee, Betsy and Lauryn. It was a perfect zoo day - cloudy and cool. Lauryn and Jackson did really well until we gave them a snack. After that, they didn't have too much interest in seeing the animals. Jackson was more interested in riding in the wagon with Lauryn:)

Diamond Lake

We took a trip up to Diamond Lake on Saturday to hang out with the Van Dorps. It's so fun to see everyone again and we had a beautiful day up there. Jackson was thrilled to have so many people around. Here's the latest picture of the group (with the baby bump showing!).










Jackson and Cohen liked the Kayak.

Happy 4th of July

We spent the weekend at Sandy Pines and Jackson was quite busy! He LOVED the fireworks... he kept asking everyone "you see it?" and then he'd exclaim "oh man!".... can't wait for more fireworks with him! During the day on Saturday we went to the parade at Sandy Pines.

Playtime with Cohen and Easton

We had Cohen and Easton over on Wednesday while Becky went to Shipshewana. It was so much fun watching the boys play - now I know why my mom loves her Thursdays with "her boys." I thought it'd be really busy with all the boys but I was lucky that all the boys took naps at the same time and they play really well together - although Jackson and Cohen like to egg each other on sometimes. Jackson wanted to hold Easton several times.... makes me really excited to see how he is with the new baby!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!

We celebrated Jackson's 2nd birthday on Friday with grandparents and Great Grandparents. It was a lot of fun this year because Jackson knew he got cake and presents. What fun to watch him and think back to two years ago when he was just a little guy! We have been so blessed to have him in our life!


Grandma Hansen made Jackson a photo scrapbook from when he was born until now. It's pretty amazing to look at how much our little boy has changed!


Grandma found a golf club for Jackson ..... now we're golfing all the time at home!





We made sure to get a tractor on his cake (good old Zeeland Bakery cake) because he loves playing with tractors.






Jackson loved his birthday cake. As soon as we asked if he wanted cake, he told everyone to "come on" so we could eat it. We did allow him to blow out his candles twice:)

Early Birthday Party

We celebrated the June birthdays in my family on Saturday night. Cohen turned 3 on June 1, Dad turns 58 today! and Jackson has his 2nd birthday on Friday. It was a beautiful night (kind of warm ... but at least it wasn't raining!). Scott and Lori were honorary members of the family that night too. Jackson thinks Scott is the greatest and Scott claims that one of his best friends is 27 years younger than him.



Cohen just got a Gator for his birthday so he brought it along to the party. It was adorable watching them drive around in it!


Last year we found this pink Barbie Jeep for free (yes, Luke was thrilled with it at that price!) ... the battery doesn't work right now so Dad hooked it up to the tractor and took the boys around and around the yard.


Thank you Lori and Scott for the ANNOYING truck! Just remember paybacks .... (Lori and Scott are expecting their first in January..... any thoughts on annoying gifts to get them????)


My mom made Jackson a microfleece blanket and as soon as he unwrapped it, he laid down on the deck and said "nigh, nigh".... he loves his new blanket! Could it be because Grandma made a tag for him to play with?!

The birthday boys blowing out the candles on the cake. Jackson didn't understand the concept of blowing them out the first time but then when we did it a second time he blew them out before anyone else could. We ended up lighting them a 3rd time just to watch the boys.