Binder Park Zoo...

For a late Father's Day celebration we spent the day at the Binder Park Zoo!  The zoo was so beautiful and huge!   We enjoyed the African Safari the most...feeding giraffes was unbelievable!  It seemed so surreal to be so close to them and they were absolutely gorgeous!  

Zeeland Criterium...

Downtown Zeeland was having a Criterium and a kid's race...so naturally we signed Parker up!  He did really great while we were registering,  getting his number and getting to the start line, but then entered Griff, the mascot for the Griffins, and it was all over!  Parker has a fear of mascots for some reason and this was evident once again when Griff joined the kids (7 years and under) at the start line.  Parker instantly started crying and climbing Joel like a ladder.  We knew it was all over at that point...Parker would not be able to recover from this and complete the race.  We just had to laugh it off and let it go!  We walked to the finish line and got his ribbon and celebrated like he actually did it!  We stayed the rest of the time and watched the professionals which was really fun!

The Star...

Our week at Big Star Lake this year proved to be one of our favorites! We had beautiful weather every day, Parker loved the beach and all of the activities that go with cottage life and we enjoyed spending so much time with our family!

Highlights of the week
Sunny days at the beach
Parker catching 1st fish
Riding Sea-doos
Late night campfires every night
Lots of laughs...some got us kicked out of cottages...we won't say who was laughing so loud!
Oodles of fabulous food
Riding the golf cart
Joel won the golf outing...again!
Building sandcastles for the kids' dinosaurs
Romantic row boat ride with Joel and I

 All packed up and ready to go!

The boys came out dressed as twins on Father's Day...

Future Phil Mickelson...

Seth loved playing with Peyton...

Bath time spectators...

Morning snuggles with all the kiddos...

Time on the lake...

Playing in the sand...

Boat cruising...

Best buddies...these two crack me up!

Lots of basketball...

Fishing...

Parker's first time fishing...

Parker caught one!!!!!!  He was super excited!

Campfires every night...

Boys' secret club...

Beach beauty...

Abi loved baby Peyton...

Peyton loves her daddy and her daddy is in love with her too...just a little bit!

Family dinners at night...

All the cousins...finally have two girls to add to all of the boys!

Best family picture we have so far!  None of us have showered/bathed in several days but we are all looking at the camera so we are pleased!

Sea-doo rides...surprisingly Parker really liked it!

Evening golf cart rides were Parker's favorite...

A nice nap on the ride home finished off the week!