Happy Birthday to Suzanne!



To celebrate Suzanne's birthday, we took the kids camping at Tahquemanon Falls.  It was a cool August weekend, but great for camping!  We visited lower falls the first day, opting not to take them on the 4 mile (one-way) rugged hike to upper falls.

We did, however, take what we thought was a short hike through the woods, which ended up being a bit over 2 miles.  The kids enjoyed their "walk in the woods", which encouraged us that they might like some short backpacking trips next summer.

We visited upper falls the second day, which was quite impressive.

We even made the trip down to see the gorge from river level.  

 

The kids had no problem making the trek back up the steps!

We stopped at Oswald's Bear Ranch just north of Newberry on our way home and were able to pet the baby bear (who was eating Fruit Loops, by the way) and see a number of grown bears (through both chain link and electric fence protection).

Once home we enjoyed cupcakes and Suzanne got to open some great gifts (including homemade cards from the kids)!

Teal Lake Triathlon

Chad's ready for his big debut in the triathlon! 

Waiting for the start of the race.

He was the first out of the water!  Go dad! 

8th overall and 3rd in his age group.  We were so proud of his first try at the tri!

After deciding to sign up 3 days before the race and never having done a tri before, he survived . . . impressively!  Somehow I'm pretty sure he was just glad to be done!

Trip below the bridge

It was a hot few days at Canadian Lakes, which was great for spending time on the water.  Henrik wasted no time in asking if he could drive the boat.

Not the best picture, but this is what Suzanne got when Ida caught her first fish with a net!

The kids could hardly wait to try out the inner tube so we rode it around and around and around the lake.

Ida had learned to ride a 2-wheeler just a few days before we went.  Luckily, grandma was able to borrow a couple of bikes for the kids to ride.  This was Henrik's first time on a bike with training wheels, as he has mostly been riding a tricycle at home.

This bike was a bit bigger than the one Ida was riding at home and the steering was quite a bit different, but it didn't take long for her to figure it out.  She spent at least an hour every day riding around the .15 mile loop and was a pretty competent (for a 5 year old) rider by the time we left.

With a bit of encouragement, the kids discovered that they could float with the life jackets on and both were pretty proud of "swimming on their own"!

Hanging with some cousins before dinner (and showing off their new Build a Bears, Violet and Henry).

During dinner, Ida let out a holler and immediately started showing off that she pulled her second tooth.  Cousin EJ just happened to be missing the same 2 teeth!

Tour Around the World

Ida's dance studio put on a Tour Around the World.  Ida's class was Mexico, complete with maraccas and traditional Mexican music.  Ida's buddy Brianna (below) was in the Japan number.

Ida and Ellyanna (Ireland) showing off their beautiful flowers.

The exended birthday celebrations, aka Yipee--Henrik's 4!

The weekend started the day after school got out for summer break with breakfast at Donckers to celebrate.

We then moved on to a trip to the park to play, where Ida lost (or pulled out, actually) her first tooth!

 Henrik had a Superhero themed party, with Batman being his favorite.  We opted to let him open the family gifts ahead of time--he did not object!

The invitation encouraged guests to wear their favorite superhero costume.  Grandpa and Sandy got in on the action with their Superman and Batman t-shirts, which brought a huge smile to Henrik's face.

We had "batman" (black for boys and pink for girls) masks and Suzanne made capes for Ida & Henrik to wear.

The kids all had fun running around in their superhero costumes and masks!

When it came time for dessert, the kids discovered that The Joker had stolen the cake.  Thankfully he left clues around the house for them to use to find it.