Broken Heart

Sam and Julia have known each other their entire lives (all 21 months) and have grown quite close. They have camped together, hugged, kissed... So it was a heartbreaking experience for Julia to open up her email to find a picture of Sam kissing another girl!!! We'll start with the incriminating evidence and move to Julia's heart breaking.

Thanks to the Herzog's for sharing these great pictures.

Ready? Jump!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Our computer died and it took a little while to get everything back. Here is a taste of what Sam has been up to.

Hippopotamus

We have mentioned to a few of you that Sam is now saying "hippopotamus"... Well for those who haven't heard him, here is a short video of him saying it. Sorry the video is a bit bumpy, and the most clear "hippopotamus" is at the end.

Happy Birthday Abby!

September 1st marked Abby's 3rd birthday. Thank you to those who called or sent a note (or a butterfly!) and continue to remember Abby in your own way. We miss her so much!

At the Farm!

While Kath and I got out for a date to see the Bourne Ultimatum (great movie...) last Friday, Sam's Aunt Lyndsey took him to a farm. He had an awesome time seeing baby chickens, kittens and playing with all kinds of tractors.

Uncle Brian shows Sam how to hold a baby chicken.

Sam thought it was funny that the baby chicks would follow him around.

Sam sitting on a combine.... I've always wanted to do that!

Sam on his favorite tractor... mini loader.

Sam playing in Uncle Brian's derby car. Can't wait to watch the derby this weekend!

Camping at Silver Lake

Sam experienced camping in a tent for the first time last week at Silver Lake State Park. We went with our friends (the Herzog family) and had a great time. Here are some highlights.

Sam and Julia (2 days younger than Sam) hanging out in their camping chairs. They were both incredibly good and just enjoyed being outdoors for 4 straight days.

Sam trying to get a quick big drink with Jeremy's assistance.

Sam just simply loves being outside. Everyday at home we hear him say at least 5 times a day "outside" and we did not hear that once while camping.

We all rode our bikes to the dunes and enjoyed a good hike on Monday.

Ahh Yes! - Kris and I had to rent a 2 person dune buggy. Sam and Julia sat in it for pictures before Kris and I tore up the dunes.

Our afternoon at Lake Michigan proved tiring for Sam, so he took his nap under an umbrella.

Even while camping, Kath figured out a way to get bath time in.

"It's a bird - it's a plane" - I have no idea what we are looking at.

Oh Boy! - Kris teaching Sam how to start the campfire!

A beautiful sunset over the dunes of Silver Lake.

The whole clan from left to right: Kath, Duane, Sam, Kris, Julia, Gabby, Leslie, Jeremy. When do we go again?

Best Buds!

Sam got to spend a few days with his cousin Nathan from the east side of the state. These two are so much fun to watch. Every day since Nathan went back home, Sam says "Nate - miss". He is looking forward to hanging out again soon. Here are a few pictures of their time together.

2 goobers!
2 monkeys jumping on the bed.

Nothing is better than tractor time with Papa!

Papa - we're here to help!

Which way are we going?

C'mon Nate - let's rock these frogs!

Papa's Tractor

The 2 words that come out of Sam's mouth the most lately (and there are a lot of new words) are still "Papa" and "Tractor". He loves his Papa and Papa's tractor. So he was one happy boy when he got to ride Papa's tractor by himself.

For those of you that may not be able to watch the video above - here are some pictures.

Good Stuff

Since a lot has happened from the last post, I decided to once again group a few events into one blog post. So here is more good stuff! More to come soon.

My brother Dale came to visit from Arizona. Can you guess which one? Yeah that's right -the tan one... second from the right. In the picture are: my parents, brothers Dale,Dave,Dan,Duane(me) and my sister Char. Missing are my sisters Mar and Dar who both live in Florida. And Yes - those names are correct!
Ahh -yes. A rainy Saturday morning means kick back and enjoy the morning paper. Sam enjoys the Sports section.

That's my boy! Go Blue!

Sam getting into the bathroom remodel project. Here Dad let me take that door off for you.
Kath always enjoys a kiss from Sam while working in the garden.
This is Sam 1. With his new summer haircut (looks sooo much older all of sudden) and 2. his "I don't know" look which he also says "I dunno"
Sam and his friend Jeremy playing on Jeremy's soon to be rock climbing wall.

Summer!

Wow - it has been way too long since I have updated our blog. Summer is in full swing and Sam is having a ball. He is definitely moving from our little baby to a little boy. He loves being outside and is amazing us with new words every day. I will try to update the side bar with some of his new words for each week. Below are some pictures of the highlights so far.

Sam at the parade at Cutlerville Days after the Diemer 5k run that Kath ran. He did quite well for his first time getting candy that was thrown our way.

For Kath's birthday we went to Battle Creek for the weekend to check out Binder Park Zoo. When we woke up at the hotel, it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. We decided to at least drive to the Zoo and as we entered the park it stopped raining and we had a great time.

Giraffes in Michigan!.... who knew?

Sam taking in all the amazing animals at the Wild Africa area at Binder Park Zoo.

Sammer's first slam dunk on his new basketball hoop.

Sam absolutely loved playing in the water and in the beach sand in Grand Haven.
Kissin' lips for Mama!
Loungin' in his beach chair.
Who can resist this face?