The Cure for Cabin Fever

Being a one-car family was great...until the snow came.  Now that Keith is driving (rather than biking) to work, the kiddos and I are stuck at home most days.  All day.  Needless to say, we get a bit stir-crazy.  Or as we like to say..we lose our brain balls.  Thankfully it has warmed up quite a bit and we've been able to get outside and burn off some energy.

 Sure, snow is great.  But mud is even better!

Dad & Lida look on from indoors.

Of course, surprise flowers help to cheer up a mid-February day, too.

Chilly Challenge 2011

This morning, Keith and David braved the wintry weather to participate in the annual Chilly Challenge Bike Ride.  One of Keith's co-workers came along and the three of them rode 15 miles on the River Greenway.  


Along the way, they witnessed the polar bear club's plunge into an icy river and fought against some strong winds. Call it dedicated biking, call it a good workout... call it crazy, but I'm proud of my two biking boys.

Seven Years and Counting

Lindenwood in Autumn

Flat Top Grill - yum.

Like Father, Like Son

Papo & Irene

We don't see Keith's Grandpa and his wife nearly as often as we'd like to, so we were so happy when they came for a visit this month.  It's always great to talk with them...and they seem to love seeing David.  This was their first meeting with Lida - Papo held her nearly the whole time!


Keith has his Grandpa's height, and I'm guessing that David is going to end up with it, too.  Lida, on the other hand, has Papo's ears (at least that's what Keith thinks).  I'm hoping that one of them ends up with his woodworking skill so that they can build me lots of beautiful furniture.

Master Keith

Congratulations Keith!  I couldn't be more proud of you...earning your Masters Degree in a short 14 months.  And now you've got the fancy paper to prove it.  Way to go!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Sunny Sunday afternoon, free hot dogs and soda, cheering on the home team...what could be better than taking in a ball game with the family? 

Leaving the game early for a trip to Downtown Pizza  & Ice Cream of course! (Sorry Johnny, we love you, but the Almond Joy in a homemade waffle cone was calling.)

Camping 2010

David is three years old and has not been camping yet...how did that happen?  Keith and I used to go camping every summer, but between babies and masters classes, we just haven't made it happen in the past few years.  We decided not to let another summer go by without a camping trip, so we borrowed Keith's parents' van, loaded up our gear and headed to Michigan for the week.  Here are some highlights from the trip:

• camping next to the Hollidays and around the bend form Uncle Todd, Aunt Dee, Mike and Nic
• sleeping in our spacious new tent (and staying dry even when it stormed the first night)
• watching Uncle Jason try and try to get a fire going in the rain
• Macy's and David's wonderfully imaginative play - building campfires up to the trees and creating a compost pile
• Max losing his first tooth
• swimming in Lake Michigan (Lida even got her toes wet) and building sand castles with cousins
• Keith's veggie packets and pudgie pie pizzas made with homemade bread - yum!
• spending a day in Grand Haven with Peter, Niki & Jake
• taking a mid-trip stop at Papa & Tutu's cottage
• meeting up with friends at Michindoh (Flash, Quinn, Tate & Abigail and Pebbles & Kasia)
• ditching our tent during a torrential downpour to spend the night in Communiversity
• all kinds of Michindoh fun: swimming, nature center, archery, hayride, campfire, and of course...WATERSLIDE!

Swim Lessons

David participated in swim lessons again this year.  He seems to really enjoy the water, but is hesitant to do most of what is asked of him.  One thing he does love is playing with the rubber ducks and other animals during swim lessons.  We balance them on our tummies (to practice floating on our backs), scoop them through the water, and blow bubbles to them.

David also had fun jumping off the wall and into the pool.  It took several days for him to warm up to the idea, but eventually he was jumping in while only holding onto my hand.

Of course, we always enjoy the final day of swim lessons: Family Fun Day!  Daddy and Lida came with us and we were able to use all the toys and play in the sprayground area.

The Goldfuss Family Can Moo, Can You?

We happily celebrated Cow Appreciation Day by donning our spots and heading off to free meals at Chick-Fil-A.  It is days like today that make me so glad I'm a mom - I can get away with crazy stunts like this if I'm doing it with my kids.  It makes me feel like a camp counselor all over again, and I love it!

Fourth of July

We spent the weekend at the lake with Papa and Tutu.  It was a beautiful, hot, happy few days.  Here are some of the highlights:

• hanging out with Niki and Peter (and Bennario) for 3 whole days (including an adults-only trip to The Parlor)
• taking Lida on her first boat ride (she didn't like the life vest, but the humming of the motor put her right to sleep)
• watching David realize that he could touch the bottom at the sand bar (he was so excited) and seeing him overcome his fear of seaweed (he ended up happily picking it up to put on me)
• seeing Jake's amazing beard
• eating Tutu's yummy red-white-and-blue dessert and herbal life shakes
• staying up late to sit on Papa's new boat to watch the fireworks (being entertained by Max, Macy & David, but mostly Macy while we waited for them to start)
• hitting the volleyball around with my sisters and brother (I think those few minutes were my favorite of the whole weekend)
• catching up with Gagi and Grampa on Monday morning and watching them smile at Lida smiling at them smiling at her...

Happy Dad's Day!

Summer Fun @ the Library Part 1

We are taking advantage of all the free fun at the public library this summer.  So far, we've gotten creative with sidewalk chalk,

met Olivia the pig (David can't quite pronounce her name, so it comes out more like "Lydia"),

and enjoyed an outdoor "Rock the Plaza" concert (after a major meltdown forced us to leave our favorite pizza shop).

We're confident that there is much more summer fun at the library to come.