"We all scream for Hudsonville Ice Cream!!!!"

Today we got to tour the Hudsonville Ice Cream plant in Holland, with the Meyerings who were offered a private tour b/c Katie mentioned them in her blog!!! What an experience....we got to see where the ice cream is made and tested and even got to go in the HUGE freezer where all the ice cream is stored until distribution!!! The tour was given so that the kids could understand it and I couldn't believe how fun the atmosphere was once inside the plant itself. When you first walk into the back you are greeted by a wall of colorful portraits, all having to do with ice cream of course!!!! We also couldn't believe how clean everything was.....it was amazing! The daddies even got to take a little time off work to join us!!!The murals were so well done and simply adorable!They were full on phonetic spelling, typical of little kids and a blast to read:)Our guide really geared it towards the kids and kept them interested, while at the same time answering our many questions throughout the tour.The freezer.....brrr...........Before we left we had hoped to get to taste some of the yummy ice cream that we had seen being made....but oh no......our tour guide handed each of the families a cooler and headed to a freezer case full of half-gallons of ice cream!!!!!! He had each family pick out 6, because he said that's how many fit inside.....6!!!!!! We even got one that you won't find yet on the shelves at the store:) Yummy!!!!!!!I scream, You scream, We all scream for Hudsonville Ice Cream!!!!!!

Random Cuteness:)

Just some pics that didn't really warrant a whole post.....but too cute to skip!!!!Kailyn ready for beach day at Threeschool.

Will playing "blankie-head" with daddy and Kailyn.....he appears to be flying:)Wearing daddy's earmuffs......look at those cheeks!!!!!!!

St. Patty's Day!

To celebrate St. Patty's day, we all dressed in green!! We also baked some rainbow cupcakes, cutout some shamrocks, colored a pot of gold and read lots of books about why we celebrate! It was a gorgeous day outside as well and we opted out of naps to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Before bed we made shamrock breadsticks with green sugar!!! Kailyn wished everyone she saw that day a "Happy St. Patrick's Day," it was adorable:)Our colorful rainbow cupcakes! Yum!

Sparkles and Nemo!

We have (had) a new addition to our family: goldfish!!! Will had won a goldfish at family fun night a few weeks back and about a week ago now we broke down and took them to VIPets to pick out their fish. There isn't too much invested, just a fishbowl, some food and an additional .15 cent fish for Kailyn.....and boy is that a good thing!!!!! Just yesterday Sparkles "went to heaven" in Kailyn's words and this morning we found Nemo doing the side float....at least they lasted for a week!!! I've cleaned the bowl and removed all evidence of goldfish and have yet to be asked where everything is:) R.I.P. Sparkles and Nemo.

Potty Training!

We are on our third day of potty training with Will, using the "3 Day Potty Training" e-book by Lora Jensen and things are going good! On the first day we went around the house and found all the diapers and threw them into a trash bag.....then we took it onto the breezeway (where mommy later hid it in the garage to donate or give to someone who can use them!) Then we put on the first of many pairs of clean underwear! The first day was very frustrating as Will needed to learn to feel when he needed to go on the potty. I think I washed at least 20 pairs of underwear that first day. Day 2 wasn't quite so bad....he went through 5 pairs of underwear and was starting to communicate to us when he had to go (although usually after going a bit in his undies). We decided to just day train our little man due to the fact that he sleeps like a rock and never woke up for us (even when we tried to wake him) to go on the potty. So, he gets to wear special "undies" to bed! Today is day 3, and although he isn't up from his nap yet, I am hoping he is dry, like he has been for the last 2 days!!!! Today he is also telling me "I peed" when he has a few dribbles in his undies and we run to the bathroom. He also went #2 on the big boy potty this morning....I, of course, was thrilled:) My big boy all excited to wear his Lightning McQueen undies!I've had to keep Will close by, so he has been doing lots of things at the table while I make lunch or dinner or whatever it may be. This picture was just too cute not to post. He's doing Kailyn's princess puzzle:) You're doing a great job buddy! Keep up the good work!!!

Pirates & Princesses!

Last Friday night we were able to attend Holland Christian's family fun night! Now it's been a while since I've been to a fun night, and this time I got to go as a parent and not a teacher, so it was a first for our whole family:) The night's theme was "pirates and princesses" and many of the attendees were dressed up as one or the other...well, we had no clue about dressing up so we just went as we were. We did stop in to make a princess and pirate hat though, and Kailyn recieved many compliments throughout our hour there about her princess hat!

The kids shared a game ticket and were able to play quite a few games. Some games handed out prizes while others just gave tickets, which you redeemed at the prize room when you were done. Obviously, the kids didn't get too excited about recieving tickets, but they sure had fun picking out a few trickets with those tickets before we left:) Will even won a goldfish- which we have yet to get! All in all, a wonderful night was had by everyone and we thank God for the blessing of being able to share it as a family!