The Freij Family: July 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Fair Fun!

It's becoming quite obvious that our summer hobbies include carnivals, fairs, and festivals. We've already been to a few and this past weekend we visited the BEST county fair in the state of Indiana, the Porter County Fair. Here are some lovely pictures of our most recent travels!

And look who went ~~camping~~ sleeping in the back yard at Grandma Esther's house. Helaina was so excited to put up the tent, make a smore, and sleep the night inside the tent and her sleeping bag. I love how the most simple things make a child so excited! This summer has been filled with so many great memories already!

"Look Mom, I'm a big girl!"

Lots of marshmallows on her smore.

This morning, Grandma and Grandpa McGinley (my Dad's parents) renewed their wedding vows in honor of their 65th wedding anniversary. They are the pillars of our family that now includes 65 people! They are truly the perfect example of faith, family, friendship, and fun. May God grant them many more years together!

While in town, we celebrated my grandparents anniversary and also the upcoming departure of my sweet cousin Jess. She will be overseas with her husband for the next two years, and we will miss her dearly. A few pictures from her going away party.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Summer Lovin'

The afternoon we returned from our Indiana trip, Helaina had her very first t-ball game. She was excited to wear a "uniform" and couldn't wait to show her neighborhood friends. Just the simple sight of her in uniform brings back so many wonderful memories from both of our childhoods. But now it is time to make some new ones and hopefully they will be as great as ours!

We weren't sure how well she'd like the sport, but this smile tells it all. She has a decent amount of skill (yipee!!) and has definitely improved since she began about a month ago. We're already looking forward to next summer and Zach will finally be old enough to join the team too!

Who doesn't love FREE face painting at the public library?!? Instead of lemonade stands at the end of our driveway, Helaina takes her markers and chair and advertises "Face Painting." Not exactly the same money maker as lemonade, but hey, at least she has a passion.

Last Saturday evening, we were invited to a wonderful dinner party at Uncle Dan and Auntie Kathy's home. Since it's easier to divide and conquer with the children, we allowed Helaina to join us for the evening while Zach spent the night with Seedy and Teta. Helaina wanted to wear a fancy dress and jewelry and took great pride in being with the "adults" for the evening. Here she is setting the dinner table.

And then we found the South Lyon Kite Festival Extravaganza. We were sure what to expect, but they had wonderful activities for the kids and we managed to spend about 7 hours there!
The kids were able to decorate their own kite before they had the chance to fly it.

Petting farm...nothing like spending over $20 on carrot sticks to feed the animals. Next time I think we should bring some from home and hide them in our pockets!

Roller-coaster together

The spinning bear with Dad.

A surprise appearance from one of our favorite princesses! And she invited us to her tea party (juice and crackers) for stories and songs! Yes, it is possible that Zach will want to burn all these princess pictures in about 15 years, but for right now, he loves hanging with the pretty girls!

They were SO PROUD that they rode "NO HANDS!"

Oh wait, let's buy MORE carrots...

The pedal tractor pull! Uncle Nate grew up dominating these tractor pulls and it's possible Helaina will give him some stiff competition!

This girl scored 2 "full-pulls" and in the final pull, beat out her competition. She was the winner of the 5-6 year old age group and even left all the boys in her dust! Way to make us proud strong girl!

On Friday, July 18, we celebrated Papa's (my dad's) birthday as well as welcoming Jeff and Julie's new baby into the world! It took a few days for him to finally arrive, but here's a photo of Jenson James Boogren. Welcome to the world big guy!

In no time at all, we've made some new friends and have them over often. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Zachary's first Tiger's game! Seedy, Randy, and Zachary attended a game this past Saturday.

The next day, it was Helaina's chance to get spoiled with Teta and Seedy and Amo Jack and Auntie Georgette. They spent the day picking blueberries, taking horse drawn carriage rides, and eating chicken in Frankenmuth.

So it's safe to say, we're having a bit of fun this summer!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Close to the heart

Several years ago, I was like most Americans when it came to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in Gaza. I heard the news on TV and read the newspaper articles when I had time. But then I met my Palestinian husband and his Palestinian family. And then, several years later, I moved to MI and was introduced to a large Muslim and Christian Arab-American population and joined my husband's church with the majority of its' members having some Arab decent. And then, one year later, we had children, Palestinian/American children. So, in time, this issue has become very close to my heart. This is not a political issue, it's a humanitarian issue. My in-laws immigrated to this country because they lost their home in one night, ONE NIGHT, to Israeli invasion and occupation. Not one of us supports war, but we most certainly believe in basic human rights. So take the extra time, read a variety of media from a variety of sources, or talk to someone in Randy's family. They have real-life stories that do NOT depict what the American media reports.

http://israelsoccupation.blogspot.com.es/2014/07/understanding-israels-apartheid-and.html

Sunday, July 6, 2014

An Indiana Summer Vacation

As I sit down to post these pictures and journal about the last 10 days, I find myself smiling at each and every picture, knowing that we've created another wonderful set of memories. I also know that we have several people back at "home" in Michigan that have been missing these kids like crazy and a Daddy/husband that has been counting down the nights till he gets to tuck his kiddos into bed again. And just like that, our Indiana vacation is almost over. Here's a small peak into what we've been doing over the last week and holiday weekend...

Nothing like an early morning bike ride with my girl to Grandma Esther's house. Almost 3 miles we road together, surrounded by nothing but soybeans, corn, and just a few passing cars.

Somehow, the stars aligned and 4 of my closest girl cousins spent some quality time together at the Snook's pool. Katie was in town from Virginia, Jess will be moving over seas in just a few weeks and Lisa is now a resident of Valpo again after living for several years in Chicago.

Another picture, this time with our kiddos.

Since we were half way there already, why not hop in the car and make the drive down to Indianapolis to celebrate two of the most special twins that we know!?! Happy 2nd Birthday Owen and Hadley! Thanks for having us over and sharing all of your toys and costumes with us.

An Elmo themed party and a super talented mommy that baked and decorated the cupcakes and cake.

A guest appearance from "Elmo" himself :)!

Some post-party fun with all the kiddos.

While all the men are hard at work, it seems the women enjoyed themselves at the Farmer's Market while the kids played in the splash park. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and ice cream.

Who doesn't love a movie at dusk in the park? Too much fun in one day!

Helaina bowling with mommy and her cousins!

Celebrating my birthday with the kids, my family, and some ice cream cake.

Celebrating my birthday with family, friends, and some adult beverages :).

Then it was time to visit my Dad at the lake! Woo hoo! A full day of boating, tubing, jet skiing, and some fireworks on the lake at dusk to celebrate the 4th of July.