Ouch! The Storm of 2009

A major storm hit Fruitport (and the surrounding area) on August 9th, and it really rocked that little town. Trees were everywhere! Anna and Dustin had one on their garage, Grandpa Watson got one on his truck and in his pool, nearly every road was impassable, and the Circle Drive neighborhood was devastated- to say the least.

Dustin's garage:





Circle Drive neighborhood:







Like I said earlier... OUCH!!!

Anniversary Fun, Year One...

For our one year anniversary, Denis and I decided to head back to the land in which we exchanged our vows, Chicago.
Prior to hitting up the city, we spent a couple days visiting Jason, Jen and their brood. Good times were had, as always. On day three we headed into Chicago to attend a Cubs game. The weather was mediocre and the Cubs lost, but the food was good, the beer was good, and the seats were even better... we had a great time, and for once, it was just the two of us!
After the game, we hung around the players' exit, catching glimpses of Derek Lee, Milton Bradley, Carlos Zambrano, and more! We then tooled around Wrigleyville, checked into our hotel, and proceeded to meet up with Denis' dear friend Tony Stalec and his super fun girlfriend, Meredith. Of course, more good times were had.



Welcome to Wrigley...


It was raining when we got there... luckily, I prepared ahead of time to avoid misery... and it cleared up by the 3rd inning!


Wrigley Field, b&w.





mmm, beer.


mmm, beer, peanuts, and Wrigley Field hot dogs.



"Get some shots of the outfield!" -Denis



Milton Bradley



Jeff Samardzija in the bullpen...
We took this photo for Jake because Samardzija played football for Notre Dame. He had the choice between going pro football or pro baseball. He probably should've chosen football... though he didn't end up pitching at this game, he did start a couple weeks later, and gave up a ton of runs! Ouch.


Derek Lee at bat.



Ryan Theriot at bat.



My best action shot of the day.



Kosuke Fukudome... and the 10th man, Mr. Seagull.



My long lost father, Mr. make-up-a-song-to-go-with-anything. He was quite entertaining, and kind of annoying.



It amused me very much that the seagulls INSTANTLY attacked the bleachers once the game was over.



Stalking players after the game, Denis stole this very much zoomed in shot of my favorite guy, pitcher Carlos Zambrano. This was my only opportunity to see him. He was supposed to pitch at this game, but got bumped due to another pitcher's injury. At least I got to see him!


Day 4-
One year anniversary day...


On our actual anniversary we spent the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. I've been wanting to visit LPZ for a while now, and I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that they charge no admission... major bonus!
My favorite part of the trip was getting to practice using my new camera on the animals.









Spectacled Caiman- you can thank Denis for remembering this little guy's title.





I think this crocodile picture is way cool, and it happened completely on accident.



Smile!





lol!



I really enjoyed this crazy bouncing bird.





Saying farewell...

Goodbye Chicago, we love you!



Happy wife on her one year wedding anniversary. :)

I heart SL

Here is an aerial photo of Spring Lake that I stole from the Village website. I think it's way cool to have a view of SL from above... so I'm posting it here.

Our niece and nephew

Here are a few photos of our adorable niece and nephew,
Halle (9) and Kolton (2), taken over the warm summer months of '09.
Denis and I just love them to pieces, they are the two most good natured kids you'll ever meet!



Halle came to visit us at our apartment in Portage for a couple of days back in July. We had a TON of fun with her. We went shopping, swam in the pool, made some killer food, went to the Kalamazoo Institute of Art to see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit and Uncle Denis took her to see the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the theatre... and more!
Halle must be our good luck charm too, because while she was down Denis found his job in Holland that has now brought us back to West Michigan.




It's hilarious how much Scooter loves to be carried around in over-the-shoulder bags- ANY bag with two straps that looks like he'll fit in.
In this picture he could tell that we were getting ready to leave, so the first second he got, he hopped in with hopes of being able to come along!





A few days after Halle came down to visit, baby Kolton had his 2 year birthday party at Central Park. (Sadly, I guess that makes him a baby no longer.)
The kids really enjoyed playing on the slide, and I enjoyed playing with my new camera. Good times were had.



Sneaking a bite of his Spongebob cake... he LOVES Spongebob these days, and he OBVIOUSLY loves cake. He was eyeing this forever before deciding he didn't want to wait any longer to have a taste... too funny!



What an adorable picture!

Back in West Michigan!

These past couple weeks have been pretty crazy....

Denis got a new job in Holland less than a month ago, so we began apartment hunting in Grand Haven. Our apartment hunt quickly turned into a house hunt once we realized that NO ONE wanted to rent to us, being the owners of two dogs. We were, however, more than welcome to move in if we decided to get rid of them... yeah right... not our kids! I also began packing up the apartment in the hopes of moving out before the middle of August, in order to find someone to rent our apartment for the remainder of our lease agreement. We started house hunting with our Realtor on a Friday, and ended our hunt (hopefully) on the same day! We both fell in love with a little brick house on Lakeshore Drive in GH and thought about it endlessly over the weekend. On Monday, after taking a second look and getting Mama Ruth's approval, we put in an offer! As of now, we are awaiting a response from the bank that holds the seller's mortgage, as the sellers are about to go into foreclosure and need the bank's approval to sell their home at a minimal price. What a pain in the butt this is! Good things are worth waiting for, I have no doubt about this, but we are on pins and needles right now.

Not to mention, in the midst of packing, moving and house bidding, a horrendous storm hit Fruitport and the surrounding area, taking with it our electricity for over two days, causing lots of traffic congestion and greatly limiting our ability to communicate with others. Thanks for that, Mother Nature.

Meanwhile, Denis is also preparing for his new job in Holland, where things will surely be different, including the new 30/40 minute commute and his new responsibility of teaching 6th and 7th graders, as opposed to only 7th grade for the past 4 years. Crazy, exciting and stressful. Let's just say I'm glad that I'm not him right now! And did I mention he's also looking for a new vehicle before his breaks down?! For now, we're staying at Mama Ruth's house... hoping to hear good news soon.

They say that when it rains, it pours. For me and D, and this point in time, they were right on.