Zoo Trip

The kids have been so excited to visit the zoo with Aunt Sharon. She always takes good care of us when we visit her favorite place. Being that she is a docent at the zoo, she is able to get us in early before the zoo opens and on a cart to bypass all the foot traffic later in the day. 

Here we are on our special golf cart we rode on through the zoo. The kids loved it!

 The famous fountain (and some pretty cute kids as well!)

 The Wolverine

 Jackson loves eagles and couldn't get enough pictures of them with his camera.

 They loved being able to get up and close with the groundhogs.

 This girl cracks me up. She brought her journal to jot down her favorite things in the zoo.

 Sweet photo of Aunt Sharon and Jackson. I am pretty sure the next time we come in two years Jackson will be as tall as Aunt Sharon.

 The highlight of the zoo trip is always the polar bear cave. Thankfully the polar bear was cooperative and swam/walked on the glass above us.

 We love making our trip to the zoo with her and making memories that the kids always remember. The kids are already looking forward to the next time we come. We were telling them that our next trip they will be 8 and 10. That is hard to believe!

Loving MI So Far

So far in Michigan we have had a fantastic time! It is so good to be back with family.

This post is a picture overload, but there were just way too many to choose from. As you can see from the pictures we cherish our family time!

Grace loving on her new cousin, Kennedy

 GG with her newest great-granddaughter

 Jason and Grace having some playtime with Kennedy in the morning. She is happiest that time of day.

 Our family shot from our trip up north to Ludington. It was a great get-away for all of us.

The park had different sculptures throughout the ground the kids played on. I loved their posed ones.

 Papa and Yaya in heaven!

 AJ is always moving an up to something active. I couldn't find him and then I looked up and he was high in the tree. Such a handsome boy!

 Just like a little model...

 Grace and her friend, Chloe June. 

 Dinner at Rain Forest Cafe. The kids loved it!

 GG and Grace doing their favorite thing together; playing cards. They do it multiple times a day and have so much fun!

As you can see we are loving our time here together so far. We have some great things planned in the days and weeks to come. I'll be sure to keep it updated.

First Days in Michigan

Our first days in Michigan we hit the ground running! When we arrived Chris, Shannon and Kennedy were here waiting for us. It was so good to see them, but even better meeting our niece/cousin for the first time. What a little doll she is!

After a wonderful Father's Day spent with the ones we love at the Tiger game, we had a fantastic grilled pork dinner at home. The next day we piled in the car for a 4 day road trip to up north Michigan visiting the old stomping grounds of the Scherden fam. We had a wonderful time seeing and spending time together during those four days. 

It's times like this that make this crazy whirlwind summer trip to the States all worth it!

(I have more pictures to post, but those will come later when I download the pictures).

Summer School Work

To keep up with the kids skills this summer everyday we do some school work out of their workbooks. I bought them a Scholastic Summer Express workbook between their grade levels. It's perfect for them to remember some kinder and 2nd grade work and then move on to some 1st and 3rd work that they will be learning next year.

First & Last Day of School

Hard to believe the school year has ended. What a great year it was! 

It is fun the see the changes in the kids from the beginning of the year to the end.

                                 First Day of Kinder                   Last Day of Kinder

                                 First Day of 2nd Grade            Last Day of 2nd Grade

Enjoying Time Together

With only 2 1/2 days of school left I went to hang out with the kids for a bit. This is the last time I'll have lunch with Jackson at the elementary school. Next year he moves up to the intermediate!
Grace's class had a water fun day outside. It was a steamy 94 degrees here (no a/c here in Germany!) so the kids had fun cooling off and running around in their bathing suits.