Spring Break...the end

We had a fabulous second half of our spring break as well. After 3 days of rain we were thankful for some sunshine and warmer temps so lots of time outdoors could be spent. We went to Orange City for a long weekend with Ryan's parents, which the kids are always super excited about. We had a fun time relaxing. We went to a movie (the kids and grandma-"The Lorax" & the rest of us to "The Hunger Games".:)) We also took the kids to an indoor pool in a neighboring town and of course to the park and the bakery. We also got visits in with both of the great-grandmas. The kids broke in the new little puppy Morgan. I'm pretty sure the poor little dog will sleep all week after the chasing that went on.:) Angry Birds!

The kids love to sit by the bar to eat their meals. There's a chair for each of them!

Walking the dog

Reagan and Morgan:)

Aunt Elise and Grandma did an Easter egg hunt for the kids. They had a great time hunting for them.

Drew showing Oma how the ipad works.

Reagan reading Green Eggs and Ham to Oma.

The puppy loves to play tug of war with her toy. Drew would have her hang on and then drag her around on the hard wood floors.:)

Grandpa gave airplane rides on Saturday. It was calm and a perfect day for flying. This was Lauren's first time in the airplane. She finally decided she would like to try. As we were taxing for take-off she said to me, "You're right, Mom. This isn't so bad!".

The girls turn

Drew checking out the scenery below.

The boys during their flight.

Grandpa and Grandma just returned from a trip to Cancun and brought all the kids new shirts and hats.

Drew and Luke love the motorcycle!

Drew also loves to hunt for rainbows made by a prism in grandpa and grandma's room.

Grandpa Mike, Luke and the Harley

Helping Grandpa out in his work truck.

Grandpa and Grandma also have a wii now, so we had lots of games of Mario Bros.

Spring Break...the beginning

We've had a fabulous start to our spring break! The weather has been gorgeous, which makes it all the better. My sister and her 4 kiddos came to our house on Friday evening and had a sleep-over. We went out for ice cream and to the park and the kids were even able to go in the water and dig in the sand by the beach for a while. I'm sure it was cold, but they didn't mind at all.
It's so nice to not have to be anywhere at any specific time. Yesterday we hung out at home and the kids played outside a bunch before the rain started. Unfortunately, it looks like rain for a lot of today and tomorrow, but I think we'll head to the library later, make some cookies and maybe even homemade doughnuts.:) Towards the end of the week we're going to head up to Orange City and visit Ryan's family. We're looking forward to getting away and seeing them all.

(Thanks to Lisa for all the pictures. I didn't have my camera, so I swiped these from her.:))

Luke, Jaren, Bethany, Reagan, Erica, Drew & Lauren

Digging paths in the sand
The big boys

Jaren and Luke hung out at the top of this climbing feature a lot. This is one of those mom moments where I have to try to let it go, but I did remind him to please hold on.:)

It was windy by the water, but when the sun was out it felt great!

Lauren checking out the sand.

They spun and spun on this toy. It always cracks me up when they get off because they don't realize how dizzy they'll be.:)

Running through the water. My kids have already asked several times when we can go back to the beach. I think we'll wait until May or June!

Our attempt at a jumping shot.

My sweet peas.:)

Gliding along

Ready....go!

I got to hang out with Kate a bunch. She does a great job with all the big kids and just kind of goes with the flow.

Kate had no desire to be a part of our picture.:)

Testing the water

Crazy fun

Celebrating Grandpa

We were able to help my grandpa Van Mersbergen celebrate his 87th birthday on Saturday. We had an open house for family in Pella and much of the immediate family were able to make it. What a blessing Grandpa is to our family and what an awesome example he has been to me. We are so thankful for the many years God has blessed him with and pray for many more!

Great Grandpa with 11 of his Great-Grandchildren

Our family with Grandpa

The De Bruin's with Grandpa-notice the blur that is Hailey in the background. Kind of makes it all the more amazing that we were able to get the above picture of them all sitting still!

All the siblings and spouses with Grandpa