Life In the Fast Lane ( A Recap)

Hello all you faithful blog readers who are wondering where I've been the last few months....

For those still wondering, it's been a bit of a crazy time. We've had some sadness in our family, and I simply haven't felt like posting. By now, most of you probably know the topic to which I am referring, and if you don't, just comment, and I'll let you know in a less public arena.

With that said, I'm back...and I'm hoping to stay a little bit more caught up now. To catch all of you up with what we've been doing these last few months, here is a photo recap:

We played soccer, soccer, and more soccer! (Well, Lauryn did at least.)


We celebrated Great-Grandma Riekse's 88th Birthday.

We were the special helper in threeschool (KJ, of course.)

We carved pumpkins.

We went trick-or-treating.

We ran into our neighbors, who think just like us, and were dressed in the same costumes. (To further prove that we think alike, both of our youngest boys are named Greyson.)

We hung out as a family and were very silly together.

We decorated our house for Christmas.

We sang at church in the Kids Christmas Choir (Lolo).

We made gingerbread houses with "Uncle Tracey and Aunt Karl" (hee, hee, hee).

And, we had LOTS of Christmas parties....





Hope your new year is bright!

Wordless Wednesday

The First of Many Firsts

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 was a day of firsts. It was my first day to purposefully wake a child before sunrise. It was Troy's first day to request a wake up call when he didn't need to get up for work. It was Kaden's first day to wake up and know that his best friend had already left the house. It was Greyson's first day to wake up and be Kaden's first choice for a playmate. But amid all those firsts, it was Lauryn's first day of kindergarten! It was a magical day!

For those who don't know, Lauryn is attending kindergarten at my school. So we got up, got ready, and headed to school...TOGETHER! I had worried that she wouldn't like having me along and that she would want school to be her thing, but she was all smiles. She just loved going to school! She was excited about the hook for her backpack, excited about her seat, excited about her name tag, excited about her teacher, excited about art class, and excited about being excited. And that has not changed in the last eight days. Each night, she tells us, "Tomorrow is my third (fourth, fifth, sixth...) day of school!" It is a joy to watch her love learning and love being here! The whole family, with the exception of Kaden, who is a little lost without her, is so delighted and amazed to believe that we are already at this place in our lives!

And after her third day of school, Lauryn had another first...her first soccer game! She was so confident and cool, it was hysterical to watch. It rained and was cold, but she played like a champ. She showed herself to be the same girly girl she has always been, however, when she tripped and got the tiniest speck of dirt on her white sleeve. She ran straight off the field to show me and ask if I could get the stain out! We laughed, sent her back on the field, and later explained that it's a good thing to get dirty when you're playing sports!

We're so thankful for our sweet and not-so-little girl! She is growing up so fast, and it is really awe-inspiring to watch God work in her life. She has a heart of gold and is already making friends and smiling at everyone at school and on the soccer field. What a gift she is!

Playin' At Piatt

Our last adventure of the summer was our now annual trip to Piatt Lake in the Upper Peninsula. Some friends from our small group, the Lintemuths, have a cottage on Piatt, and they invite the whole group to spend a weekend there each August. We have such a good time. If the weather is good, we go water skiing, kayaking, and swimming. If the weather is cool, we go walking, play games, and read. No matter what the weather is like, we eat and talk in abundance. Our friend, Jon, is a gourmet chef and he "helps" us prepare a wonderful meal at least once while we're in the UP. We spend hours and hours catching up with one another and talking about our summers. There are gorgeous tracks for riding the four wheelers and as the road circles the lake in a 3 mile loop, it is also the perfect place to go for a run. It is most definitely a little piece of heaven on earth!

This year, the weather was cool throughout the weekend, and even rainy at times. We spent Friday evening at the local VFW Fish Fry, and since none of us had been before, we trekked to Paradise for the annual Wild Blueberry Festival on Saturday. At the festival, the kids watched a goofy juggler who was really quite amazing. He could juggle a flaming wand, a ball, and an apple all at the same time, and each time he caught the apple, he took a bite! It was really quite something to behold. Of course, the sunshine came out just in time for our drive home!

It was, as always, a very restful time, and we did manage to snap a great group shot on the Lintemuth's deck just before we left. Now that we're back into the daily grind, we're already counting the days until next year!

Whee-hoo Wisconsin!

I'm back, I'm back, I'm back...it's the start of a new school year, and it always takes me a little bit to get under way. But...I am a few posts "behind" in catching you up with our activities over the last six weeks or so. Because of this, I hope to blog often over the next few days and get us back up and running. :)

So...Wisconsin. Some people say "Whee!" when they are excited. Others say, "Whoo-hoo!" Not our son. Our son says, "Whee-hoo!" It's the best of both sayings. So as we crossed the Illinois-Wisconsin border, Kaden declared, "Whee-hoo, Wisconsin!" And, really, when referring to our trip to Door County, that about sums it up...Whee-hoo!

We had a wonderful time on our eight day trek to the "other" side of the lake. While there, we stayed in a wonderful little place called "Bailey's on the Rocks." Our cottage was called Rockledge and it was a quaint little white clapboard cottage with yellow shutters. What it lacked in air conditioning (we were there during the heat wave with 95+ temps), it more than made up for in charm.

While there we relaxed, spent much family time together, and took in the sights. For those who don't know, Door County is a peninsula that sticks out into the northern part of Lake Michigan and makes Green Bay. Door County boasts something like 22 beaches. We spent time at two, although after swimming in some yucky algae the first day, we moved to a new beach and spent the remainder of our beach days there. Our cottage was located in Bailey's Harbor, and thus, our favorite beach was Bailey's Harbor County Park, just down the road. Unlike our local beaches, Door County has very few dunes. We were able to park and walk right onto the beach. The water was very shallow and warm, and about fifteen feet from the shore was a large sand bar where the water was only an inch or two deep. It was perfect! We played in the water, and Greyson could even just sit on the sand bar and be part of the action.

When we weren't soaking up the sun, we played miniature golf at a place called Pirate's Cove, visited restaurants like the Yum Yum Cafe and Shipwrecked Brewery, and even whittled away a rainy day at a place called PC Junction. PC Junction is a railroad themed restaurant with peddle carts on outdoor courses, a big wooden train for the kids to play on, and food served via a toy train with the track mounted right to the bar! It was a blast, and the kids really had a great time.

Other highlights included touring a working lighthouse that has been in operation since the 1860s and attending a traditional fish boil. The fish boil consisted of a huge pot of whitefish, cooked over a fire with potatoes and onions. At the end of the cooking time they announce "boil over" and throw kerosene on the fire, which shoots into the sky. Then, they serve the meal. It was great fresh fish that had just been caught that morning, and there was local cherry pie for dessert.

After a busy school year and start to the summer, it was wonderful just to sit back and relax with the fam. Hopefully we'll make it back to Door County again sometime soon!

Blueberries, Blueberries, and More Blueberries

Wow! Where has the summer gone already? I can't believe it is the end of August. I knew I wouldn't get much chance to post this month because we were vacationing and gone often, but I can't believe how fast the month flew!

To kick off the month, the kids and I went blueberry picking. Troy was supposed to go with us, then got called in to work, then was told he didn't have to come in, then got called in again, but that's another story for another day. Blueberry picking is an annual tradition for us, but it was Greyson's first time going along, and Kaden's first time to actually fill his own bucket. I was a tad nervous because I thought Kaden would be tempted to eat every berry in sight. On the way to the farm (we always pick at Reender's Blueberry Farm), Lauryn and I reviewed with Kaden the two DeWys Family Blueberry Picking Rules:

1.) Wait to eat the berries until we get home and wash them.
2.) Leave the green berries on the bush so they can keep growing.

Kaden repeated the rules and looked very serious about doing a good job, and guess what...he did FANTASTIC! In fact, he didn't eat a single berry while we were picking, and when we were paying for our berries, the clerk offered Kaden a berry to eat, but he politely said, "No thanks. We wait to eat the berries until we take them home and wash them." What a little man!

Lauryn was her usual delightful self. She filled her bucket quickly and carefully, meanwhile calling out what each of the boys were doing lest I forget to check on them. "Mom, Kaden has moved over to a new bush so don't let him get too far away." "Mom, Greyson has a little bit of sweat on his forehead. You might need to wipe it off for him." (Did I mention we picked 5 p.m. on a 90 degree day to go blueberry picking?)

Greyson was also true to form. He rode in the hiking backpack, content to lean over one shoulder and then the other watching me carefully. He also sucked his thumb and wiped his own little sweaty brow.

We came home with just shy of 10 lbs. of blueberries after 30 minutes of picking. Not too shabby, and we froze some so we can make lots of Blueberry Buckle, a yummy recipe I just acquired. (Thanks, Megan!)

Hope you all enjoyed the blueberry crops as well!

To Infinity and Beyond!

If you look back a few posts, you may remember that at the beginning of the summer, we started potty training Kaden. At the time, we thought this task would never be accomplished as he was very set on staying in diapers. It seemed like he would be spend an infinite amount of time in diapers. In reality, once he caught on, he was trained VERY quickly. As a reward, we had told him that when he was completely potty trained, we would take him to see Toy Story 3 in the theater. He was PUMPED! He had never seen a movie in the theater before, and he asked right away if he could bring Lauryn with us. ("Cuz she's my best friend, Mom.") For the days leading up to the movie, Lauryn pumped him full of details about what you do in a movie theater. Since she has seen a movie in the theater (yes that's right, just one), she considered herself to be an expert. When Kaden reached the point where we felt he was trained, we made plans to see the movie. At this point, Kaden was completely dry and clean throughout the day, and although he was wearing a diaper at night, it was always dry in the morning. We had a handful of diapers left, and our theory was that we would just use them up and be done.

So...we headed off to the movies. Lauryn had told Kaden that he would get a BIG container of popcorn and a special drink, so we couldn't disappoint him. He was so cute! The popcorn container was as big as he was, and at one point, when we looked down the row at him, he had his head completely inside the bucket. It was a scream. Both kids loved the movie, and Kaden and I left the theater no less than three times to use the bathroom, and it was well worth it. Our boy is a big boy now!

Two days later, we were getting into pjs a little bit earlier than normal. I had told the kids that we could have a family movie night that night, and we always wear pjs for these. As I was putting Kaden in his pjs, I told him that we would leave his underwear on for the movie and I would put him in his diaper just before bed. He looked me in the eyes and said, "No." I said, "No?" And he stated, "I don't wear diapers anymore. Diapers are for babies like Greyson. I sleep in underwear because I am a big boy. No more diapers for me ever again." And to this day, dry at night and no more diapers ever again! Like Buzz, we have been to infinity and beyond!

All Around the Town

Last week, we met friends at Timbertown for a play date. It was a blast! It was also about 95 degrees and humid as can be. Why is it that adults notice the heat and kids generally seem oblivious? I mean, sure they came and got a drink now and then, but they ran and played as if it was a balmy 75. Ahh, to be a kid again.

We didn't stay too long because of the heat, but I just want to recommend this playground to anyone looking for somewhere different to play. It is HUGE! It's also got a little something for everyone. There is a play house and farm for the imaginative ones, monkey bars and climbing grids for the little Spiderman out there, and slides and swings for those who love to fly. Plus, it is fairly easy to see the whole place from one or two locations so you can really just let them be. It's parental bliss.

Enjoy the pics of my sweaty crew!

Mr. Perfect

Those of you who know our children know that there just isn't many negative things we can say about Greyson. It isn't that he's perfect; it's just that he doesn't really ever do anything we can complain about. He sleeps 15-16 hours a day, it takes 30 seconds to put him down for a nap or for bed, he eats VERY well (although out of honesty I suppose I must say that he does yell a bit if he doesn't feel we are feeding him quickly enough), and since learning how to sleep through the night at 3 months, he has never woken up in the middle of the night. Never. Not even when teething. He is serious and kind, and he loves to cuddle. Who can really say anything bad about a kid like that? In fact, his first year went so well that I was beginning to think that my classroom assistant's comment about me getting another naughty little boy was hogwash. I even purchased him a t-shirt at the Gap outlet that said, "Mr. Perfect" because he really is kind of perfect.

Then, Grey began to "explore." I say explore because he moves in slow motion most of the time, and his face is so expressive that you can literally see the trouble he is thinking of causing and dissuade him before he begins. Recently, Grey has begun "exploring" more unique items in our house...his sister's twistable crayons, the faucet in our tub, the box of trash bags under the sink. The other day I left him for a mere thirty seconds. He was playing perfectly quietly with some blocks in the bonus room. When I returned, he was no where to be found. After a moment of searching, I found him in our bathroom, trash can upturned, look of pure glee in his lovely dark little eyes. The ironic twist? The tee I had chosen for him that day.... I love this boy. His perfection is made only more sweet by the fact that at 13 months he knows just the right moment to show his little imperfections.

Happy Birthday, USA!

Due to a summer school class that I taught as part of a class at Grand Valley, I'm a little behind in posting. Sorry! I'll get caught up over the next few days. In the meantime, I thought I would share a few pics of our holiday festivities over the 4th.

As always, we took in the Graafschaap Fire Department Annual Pancake Breakfast, held this year on July 3. This has been a DeWys family tradition for the last several years, and it was great to attend again with Troy's parents and our sister in law, Sami. Unfortunately, both Troy and his brother, Travis, had to work, so we had to eat without them. The kids had a terrific time playing on the fire engines and restocking their collection of plastic firefighting helmets. This year, there was a new addition as well...shooting the fire hose! Kaden was all about it, but Lauryn waited in line a full five minutes and then decided that the boy assisting the kids with their shooting made her nervous. Oh, well.

On the actual fourth, we had a cookout with my parents, my brother, Karl, and his wife, Tracey. We lit off sparklers with the kids and just relaxed. It was very nice, and the kids had a great time there as well! Enjoy the pics! More to come on our busy July activities!

When You're Teenagers, I'll Miss These Days

Yesterday was one of those days. You know the days where not only does everything seem to go wrong, but it all goes wrong at once? It was one of those days!

Currently, I am teaching summer school at an inner city Grand Rapids Catholic school. I'm teaching here because it is a practicum for a class I am taking. I need to be at this school at 7:30 a.m., which requires me to leave home no later than 7:00 a.m. On this particular morning, I left the house right on time, but I drove cautiously because the day before something had happened to my car. Those of you who know us know that this is not good. My wonderful husband has just one flaw, and it is an over-obsession with our cars. He cleans them weekly, if not more often, and to say he does not care for it when things go wrong with our vehicles would be an understatement. Anyway, on the previous day, while driving home from summer school, I had been rerouted into one lane of traffic because they were filling the cracks in the road with tar. The people who were doing the signage for the one lane driving were not paying attention and suddenly, I had someone in my lane heading directly for me. In an effort to avoid a crash, I inadvertently swerved into some freshly laid tar. This caused some tar build up on my front tires. I noticed it right away as they began to shake while I was driving. When I got home, I called Troy to ask what I should do, and being that he was busy at work, he said, " I don't know...just drive it and it'll probably wear off." For those of you reading this who may eventually drive through tar, DO NOT attempt to drive it off! It does not work and it makes things worse!

The drive to summer school the next morning included some vibrating of the wheels but was otherwise uneventful. At school, I spent time putting out fires such as a child who wet her pants and calling parents who only speak Spanish. On the way home, the car began having worse issues. It vibrated so badly that I could hardly hold the wheel, the vehicle stability control turned itself off, and the check engine light came on.

I arrived home exhausted only to discover that Greyson had been having some less than normal diapers and my laundry room was filled with dirty clothing for me to wash. I also called Troy to tell him about the car only to be told that it was my car, my fault, and how could I not possibly see that I was about to drive through hot tar? Why would I do something like that? I hung up the phone, attempted to make an appointment for the car to be looked at the next morning only to find that Troy had already called, and then I heard Grey wake up from his nap.

(At this time, I should mention that this post may be too graphic for some readers. Read at your own risk.) When Greyson woke up from his nap with yet another leaking diaper, I took him to his room to change him. While I was changing him, Kaden stuck his foot through the bars in the foot board of his bed, and got his foot stuck. He screamed bloody murder until I was available to free his foot. He then insisted on wearing his slippers which were quite the fashion statement with his jean shorts.

At this point, we headed downstairs to make dinner. I quickly discovered that there was very little to make for dinner, and set about making the boys a grilled cheese sandwich to share with the last piece of cheese. (I still hadn't decided what to make for Lauryn and I.) As I was looking through the fridge for the rest of our dinner, Kaden stated, "Oh, no...I peeing." With a quick glance I noted that sure enough, he had in fact peed, and it had completely soaked his train engine slippers. Readers should note at this point that Kaden has been wearing underwear, but has yet to actually use the toilet. He simply holds it until he is put back in a diaper for a nap or bedtime. I was hustling around cleaning him up and mopping the floor when I noticed a strange smell. It was the smell of charred last piece of cheese sandwich. In fact, it was the smell of charred to the bottom of the pan, fill the kitchen with black smoke, chip off and throw in the garbage sandwich. At this point, I began to cry uncontrollably. I called my mom to vent, and as I was talking to her and crying, Lauryn began rubbing my back and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to me. This only made me cry harder as I realized she was parenting me, and my mom was simultaneously saying, "I know you don't want to hear this, but someday you'll wish for these days." Right.

After I pulled myself together, we ate a gourmet dinner of bread and butter. Then, I marched Kaden upstairs, placed him on the toilet, and told him it was his job to poop in the toilet. I told him not to leave the bathroom until this had been done. Five minutes later, as I'm doing the dishes, he calls to me and announces that he is done. I trotted upstairs thinking that there was no way he was done. He has been known to sit for an hour without doing anything. However, SUCCESS! For the first time ever, he had actually pooped in the toilet! Yea!!!! We cheered, we ate M'n'Ms, we called the Gummys, and we took a picture. And I even thought there might be hope for my day yet.

As it were, that was not the case. Fifteen minutes later, while bathing both boys (if you want to know about that, see my earlier bathtime post), Troy called. As I was telling him about my night, Kaden began to yell. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that someone had pooped in the tub. Kaden began to shout that it was Greyson, and then, pooping expert that he now was, began to lecture Grey on how it was naughty to poop in the tub and that you should only poop in the toilet. Greyson laughed and attempted to pick up the bits of poop floating by him. I began to laugh. After all, someday I'll wish to have these days back....

Three is a Magic Number

Kaden, you are three years old! I cannot believe that you are already here. You are such a little man. We celebrated your birthday with a backyard party because you insisted on it even though it was only 60 degrees outside. You also insisted on a diamond shaped ice cream cake because you don't like sponge cake and your favorite shape is the diamond. :) For your presents, it was Cars, Cars, and more Cars! You were delighted! You also received a sweet fire engine from Gummy and Grandpere that you use to shoot your sister with water and two awesome sprinklers from Gummy and Boop that you use to spray yourself. You love water! In honor of your third year, Kadertots, here is a top ten list of who you are right now:

10. You are the messiest eater we know. Somehow, even when drinking water and eating nothing, you can make a mess.

9. You want to marry your sister and you tell us this often.

8. You love your dog like no one else, and you refuse to go to bed without kissing her good night.

7. You often just refuse to go to bed, and we find you sleeping on the floor in odd places like the hallway or the stairwell.

6. Of all our children, you are the one most prone to separation anxiety. Some days, you cry whenever anyone leaves the house, and you try desperately to make us stay by saying, "I have to tell you something! I have to tell you something!"

5. Lately, you have used the word "my" as a term of endearment with us. You say, "What are you doing, my momma?" or "Is this your favorite shirt, my daddy?"

4. You love to be outside, and lately, you trick us into going outside by volunteering to give the plants a drink.

3. You take helping people very seriously and ask to help us often. On Saturdays, you help Pere and you are his yeoman...or if you are chopping wood, his yeoman-jack.

2. You love all things CARS. This includes but is not limited to: your Cars t-shirt, your Cars pjs, your Cars toothbrush, your Cars cars, your Cars crayons, your Cars movie....

1. You are the life of the party, even when there isn't one. You have an infectious laugh that makes us want to tickle you just to hear it again. You sparkle in everything you do, and we know that this charisma is going to take you far in life. You live life wholly and completely, and we know that whatever God's plans for you, you will pursue them relentlessly because that's just who you are. We are so grateful for the gift that is you, our son. Happy, happy birthday!

Kaden at birth.


Kaden with his diamond shaped Cars ice cream cake.


Kaden's wonderful laugh.

Greyson's First Haircut

Okay...so this is probably not real post-worthy, but my little buddy got his first haircut a couple weeks ago, and then, through a memory card deleting error, I thought I had lost all my pictures of it. As it turns out, I found six of them. He was such a cutie, and for some reason, I really feel that for little boys, this is the turning point from baby to boy, so I thought I'd share. He was not so much a fan of "Miss Kelly" trimming near his ears, but what a trooper! And now he has a faux hawk to match his brother's....

Greyson is ONE!

Well, it's official...our baby is no longer a baby! On Wednesday, Greyson turned one and we celebrated with a small family gathering on Sunday. Greyson was adorable, as always, and we had so much fun celebrating with him! In honor of his first birthday, I wanted to share a top ten list of all the things we love about Grey...

10. Greyson drinks so quietly that at first we didn't think he was actually swallowing! With siblings who drink loudly enough to be heard in another room, this is quite an accomplishment.

9. Greyson loves dogs and one of his first words was the name of my parents' bull dog, Nigel...or Ni-Ni as Grey refers to him.

8. Greyson eats anything...and lots of it. The only time he is ever unhappy is if he feels he should be eating more and faster than he is.

7. Greyson is an excellent younger sibling. He rarely cares if a toy is taken away from him, and he shares willingly without being asked. He also smiles more for his siblings than anyone else.

6. Greyson loves splashing in water and playing with bubbles. Both make him giggle.

5. Greyson has always preferred stuffed animals to any other toy.

4. Greyson is the best snuggler we've ever had. He loves to cuddle with anyone or anything...probably why he loves stuffed animals.

3. Greyson studies everyone and everything very intently. He was born with a puzzled, almost worried, expression on his face, and that expression is still often present.

2. Greyson is all BOY in the sense that he is curious and somewhat naughty; however, he is much quieter, slower, and sneakier about it than his brother. We'll have to watch out for this in the future....

1. Greyson is a lover not a hater. Of all our children, he learned to give kisses at the youngest age (6 months). He is always cuddling, kissing, or loving on us. We love Grey, and he is excellent at showing us that he loves us too!

Here are some pics to show you how Grey has grown, and what a great time he had at his party!

Greyson on the day he came home from the hospital.


Greyson with his Daddy.


Greyson showing no hesitation whatsoever and diving into his cake!


Greyson splashing in his new water table...the perfect gift for our little water boy!