A Day at the Zoo

Caleb, Alanna and I spent the morning at Binder Park Zoo with Auntie Nicole and Cousin Jake. It was quite the drive down from Grand Rapids, but well worth it. The best part of the zoo are the giraffes. The kids, especially Alanna, LOVED feeding the giraffes some crackers. It was very easy to spend $10 on giraffe crackers. Another great feature of the zoo are the roaming peacocks. As you're going from exhibit to exhibit you will come across peacocks. Again, Alanna loved "chasing" them. What a great age to be at the zoo!

Klackles

This past Saturday we spent the day at Klackles, an apple orchard about 40 miles north of Grand Rapids. Caleb and Alanna played in a giant sandbox, played on some inflatable bouncy things, took a ride on a "barrel train," and petted some goats. Later on we took a wagon ride out to the orchards and picked apples from a variety of trees: Galas, Jonathons, and Courtlands.
It seemed kind of strange to have us all in shorts and Tshirts while picking apples, but that's the Michigan weather for you! We all had a great time. Alanna especially loved being able to eat her own apple.

Yankee Springs

Keith and Caleb spent Labor Day hiking through Yankee Springs with Abby. They all had a blast throwing the balls for Abby and watching her swim in the lake.

Peaches

Awww Man! So this is what happens when you put a jar of peaches in the water and you hear a sort of popping sound. I didn't know what the sound was until much later when I went to lift the jar out of the water and all the peaches fell out the bottom of the jar... I'm not really sure what prompted me to take a picture, but I did think it was kind of funny to see all those peaches floating in the water.

Boyne Mountain

In August, the whole Ritsema family traveled up north and stayed at the Boyne Mountain Resort. We spent our days going down water slides and swimming in the pools and spent our evenings talking and playing with family. Caleb and Alanna had a great time with their cousins, aunts and uncles! In the second picture, Caleb is with his Auntie Nicole, the next picture shows Alanna sliding down with Auntie Cami and the last picture shows Caleb floating down the lazy river with Auntie Cami.