John Ball Zoo

Last Saturday we took Noah to John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids.  I was a little unsure of it as I had never heard of it before, but it turned out to be a great zoo!  Plenty of things for Noah to do and to enjoy.  If he were a few years older there is a rope walk and a zip line he could have done as well.  He got to go into a birdhouse filled with parakeets and feed them while they landed on him (he loved it!), got to see a penguin up close, petted a stingray, brushed a pig, played on a train, and had a macaw say "hello" to him.  The expression on his face when the bird talked to him was priceless.

Noah talking to the Macaw and realizing it talks back!

feeding parakeets in the birdhouse

Playground Fun

We found a new playground in Charlotte that we started taking Noah to, he seems to really like it there.  There are also a couple of little girls there most nights that he likes to play with as well.

Noah has been watching the Olympics too much

Peach Lake

Noah loves to be outside, so when we are in West Branch he's always up for a boat ride.  You mention it, you better be going...NOW.  One of the times we told him we'd take him out, he ran and got his lifejacket and put it on and snapped it himself (though not quite perfectly).  But he enjoys being out there and touching the water, but he's usually just as content to throw rocks into the water as well.

Notice the straps aren't quite right, but he did it himself!

trying to catch turtles

Noah loves to row with the oars

the loon hanging out nearby

Avery Lake

One of the days we were up in West Branch, we took a little trip up to Avery Lake.  Cute little lake, sandy bottom, and Noah was able to find frogs and crayfish.  Then he decided to be a "naked baby" and off went the clothes.

Noah wasn't too sure about the crayfish

the frog was perfectly content sitting on my hand.

New Buffalo Splash Pad

A few weeks ago Grandma Margie, Grandma Tammy, Noah, Ryan, and I took Noah to the new splashpad in New Buffalo.  Noah loved it, though he was a bit timid at first.  He stood around a watched a lot the first time, before running next door into the nice playground adjoining the splashpad.  That's how the next hour went, back and forth between the playground and splashpad.

Rosy Mound

We met up with the Smith's to go to Rosy Mound, just south of Grand Haven.  It's a little bit of a walk down to the beach, but the walkways were great and the boys didn't seem to mind.  Lake Michigan was frigid on this particular day, which was odd because the week before it was really warm.  Noah and Owen spent most of the time playing in the sand as the water was just too cold to really enjoy for more than a minute or two.

The walk down to the beach

Noah's balancing on a board in the hole.

MSU Children's Gardens

I took Noah to the gardens again, but this time Noah had company.  Owen and Jess came with us to visit the gardens.  Both kids seemed to enjoy the place, however the part I thought they would enjoy most was a muddy mess, so they couldn't play in the maze.  Noah usually checks out all the statues, and Owen was no different.  They played on a train, the bells, the treehouse, the pond.  Noah and Owen were both sitting there playing with the spraying water and Noah reached a little too far and fell into the pond, luckily it wasn't deep.  He just stood there and got back out.  Silly kid.  Afterwards we went to the MSU Dairy Store and Noah actually ate something besides soft-serve vanilla.  He chose Blue Moon, but then had a fit when I gave it to him.  After watching Owen eat his own Blue Moon Noah decided to eat his own, and he liked it. 

friends walking

Owen making the frog spray water

Owen in the maze

Noah in the fort.

jumping on the bells