First Cottage Weekend 2013 - Week of May 20th

"Most people see what is, and never see what can be.."
~ Albert Einstein

Before heading to the beach for the holiday
weekend, Cam and Jane both "worked" at Grand Valley this week.

Kayla, Luke, Abby, Justin & Cam

Jane gave a short presentation to the grad students about Cameron and his PT experience.  Cam met with a group of students on Friday to "teach" them how to be better physical therapists.  It definitely isn't all work, and there's always some silliness.  Since the crew all knew how much Cam liked Curious George, the students gave their best "monkey face" impressions!

Cameron and his parents were very excited to make their way to Cam's grandparents house on Lake Michigan.  Even though there wasn't a heat wave on the beach, it was warm enough for some long treks along the big lake.

The "CamMobile" (designed and built by Cam's Dad) made its 2013 debut on the shores of the lake.  Cam pointed out every log along the way and at each log we had to leave the letters C-A-M to show that Cameron had indeed followed this route.

Cam wanted to go into the water, but we convinced him it was a bit too cold for that.  He did settle for walking through the creek, which was definitely chilly enough.

Cam & Harry

On Sunday, the family ventured over to Aunt Mary's cottage to attend a beautiful wedding shower given for cousin Annie who will be married in July.  Cam had big laughs hanging out with his cousins.  Cousin Harry sat with Cameron to read him some excerpts from the year in sports.  Cam was quite interested and Harry's mom indicated that no one else she knew would sit and listen to Harry for that long.

Grandma and Grandpa had plenty of playtime with their grandson and the family greatly enjoyed the peaceful walks and delicious meals.  A big thanks to Oma and Opa for a wonderful weekend!   Tradition holds that this holiday weekend is the unofficial start of summer and we look forward to an abundance of upcoming trips to Lake Michigan!

Summer..already...in Michigan?? - Week of May 13th

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you..."

Maybe because Cameron wore eye glasses at a young age, he had an aversion to sunglasses before this year.  However, we were quite excited to see that this sunny season, Cam was ready for a pair of shades.  He actually picked out two pairs that suited his taste.  Now that he's gotten so many compliments, he wants them on every time he gets in the car or is outside in the sunshine.

Cam had his first official "working" ride on the new lawnmower.  He rode with Chris for over 40 minutes mowing the front and back yard.  Cam's Dad gave him the headphones to wear because it's actually quite loud!

The unseasonably warmer weather continued throughout the week.  Cousin Libby went with Jane and Cam to check out the Meadow Brook Elementary playground.  Since this will be Cameron's school in the fall, we thought it would be fun to see what his favorite outdoor activities would be there.

Libby and Jane were a bit surprised to find that Cam's preferred choice were the "saucers" that you sit inside of.  Of course, he had to check out both of them in case one was different from the other.  It did feel a little cooler inside the spaceship like structure versus the very sunny swings or slides.

Another riding adventure for Cameron was trying out his bike this year.  Last summer, he was still a bit too short to use the pedals effectively.   But, this year....those legs are getting some great exercise!!  When you come for a visit, you may see some road signs in our driveway and a very happy biker!

A Day for Moms - Week of May 6th

Delivery from Auntie Ronda!

Ashley, Peter, Marcie & Cam

Cameron kept himself busy in
preparation for Mother's Day.

Each week, Cam's Advanced PT students at GVSU keep him working on activities.  During a quick break, Ms. Ashley showed Cam her ukelele.  He really liked playing a tune!


Chris had Cam try out the new riding mower.  He decided Cam isn't quite ready to mow the lawn solo, seeing as how his feet don't reach the pedals yet.  But one day, father and son may be flipping a coin to see who wins to complete this chore.

As the person blessed to be Cameron's Mom, it is fun to have a special day reserved for mothers.  And what a day it was!  Chris and Cam woke up before Jane (and graciously told her to sleep in), and quietly drove to one of our favorite breakfast places, Sundance, to pick up our morning meal.  They also stopped at one of Jane's guiltiest pleasures, Starbucks, for a delicious coffee.  When Cam's mom walked in the kitchen to greet her boys, there was a scrumptious breakfast, coffee, and presents!

Water Dancing Speakers

Cam was very excited to have his Mom open presents- he had picked out a sweet smelling candle and both he and Chris gave Jane the coolest speakers ever...

Cousins Coco and Libby joined the family and Oma and Opa to go out for a very late lunch at Carraba's.  Call-ahead-seating seemed like a great idea at the time...however, after a 45-minute wait, we weren't too sure.  Cam was such a trooper waiting in the very crowded restaurant!  Chris was trying to explain the finer points of selecting wine when we were finally called to a table.  The delicious food and great company made our Mother's Day meal so enjoyable- many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Coco and Libby for making the day so very special.

Cameron is blessed to have many "moms" in his life and we celebrate you all!

 "God could not be everywhere, and therefore He made mothers."   ~ Jewish proverb  
"At its best, motherhood is a communal project.  It takes a village, sometimes several villages, indeed."  ~Edwidge Danticat
 (Excerpts from the book "Mom Candy"- given to Jane by Auntie Karen)

One Door Closes, Another One Opens - Week of Apr. 29th

On May 1st, Cameron had to say goodbye to some of his classmates at school.  Due to federal funding, the Head Start program ended on Wednesday.  Cam made some great friends this year and he wanted to give them something at school.  At Party City, he picked out sand buckets and bouncy balls to give the kids and he colored a card for each one.

On Wednesday at school, Ms. Kathy told us that Cam picked out the color of bucket for each classmate, remembering favorite colors of a particular friend and also giving stickers to each one.  He wore his "tie T-shirt" and looked very handsome!
He'll certainly miss his classmates, but he is still attending Wellerwood at different times throughout the summer and has already made some new friends!

On Friday, Cam attended his first official graduation!  The family drove to Lansing to watch Katherine and her Mom, Ann, receive their Master's Degrees!   This boy was so excited to see his Katherine and Ann walk across the stage.  After the ceremony, celebratory pictures outdoors in the beautiful weather were a must, followed by a tasty dinner out.

On Saturday, we didn't want the fun to end, so Katherine and her boyfriend, Paul, Ms. Ann, sister Molly, sweet friend, Lily, and Gordy all gathered at Cam's house to have a tasty lunch on the deck.  After feeling full, it was time to play some games.  Headbands was a crowd pleaser and even Cam thought the game was pretty cool.  However, when neighbor, Emma showed up play with Cameron, the best game ever couldn't keep him with the adults...

A big congratulations to Katherine, Ann and our sweet Coco for graduating this weekend!!

Doors close every day and new ones always open- it's the attitude we have accepting each change that makes all the difference.


I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. ~ Mother Teresa

Kindergarten Round Up! - Week of Apr. 22nd

The school Cameron will be attending in the fall is Meadow Brook Elementary School located less than 10 minutes from his home!  Chris and Jane told Cam that it is much bigger than the elementary schools they attended.  Over 500 kids attend Meadow Brook providing education for Kindergarten - 4th grade.

For Kindergarten Round Up, Cam took a tour of the school and met some other kids as well as teachers.  There is a large cafeteria, gym, and media center.  Part of the morning was spent riding a bus so that first-time riders could get used to it.  Of course, Cameron is a pro at bus riding- he's been doing that for two and a half years!  Now that Cam knows where his new school is, we had to drive cousin Libby to see it too.  He happily posed for a pic with his Dad in front of the school's flagpole. 
The big boy sat on the bench outside of Meadow Brook and showed Libby where the playground was. 



It was a busy weekend for Cam, first attending Emma's soccer game where he watched her score a goal! 

After the game, a picnic was prepared for Emma, Cam and Jane to meet up with Auntie Jo and buddy Will.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the friends met at Pere Marquette in Muskegon.  The kids played in the sand and on the playground.  The beach was toasty warm and the picnic lunch was delicious.

We hope the warm weather is here to stay since we saw some crazy wet snow this week, which thankfully, didn't stay on the ground too long!

Rainy Days - Week of Apr. 15th

The river is flowing above the office windows~downtown GR

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs... ~Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

Chris & Cam- snow on back deck

It was a record-breaking week for rainfall and flooding in Cameron's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  In fact, it felt like we went through all four seasons in a 24-hour period!  On Saturday morning, we had snow on the ground, but it was gone by that afternoon.

Jane, Cam, Emma- to the right of Emma is a green "gator"

Cam's buddy, Emma, came over to play and we all decided it was time to check out some of the nearby flood waters...
In less than 5 minutes, we drove into the village of Ada and were detoured due to flooding across the roads.  We stopped to walk around by the town's baseball field- you can see the scoreboard almost "swimming" in the background.  Some funny people posted a sign "Don't Feed the Gators" and even anchored two plastic inflated alligators in the flooded ball field. 

Next we drove around the corner to see our favorite homemade frozen yogurt place, Spoonlickers, except...the road to that was flooded too!  The actual entrance to Spoonlicker's is at the pine tree on the right side of road!  On our drive out to the nearby town, Lowell, we saw farms that were flooded and livestock congregated in one small area that wasn't covered by water.  A portion of the main street in Lowell was completely closed due to impassable roads.

Sunday afternoon, we took cousin Coco and ventured downtown to check out the Grand River, which runs right through the heart of our city.  In front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Chris and Cam are standing at the water's edge...however, the water isn't supposed to be there.  Behind them is a set of lampposts that are normally on land with a walkway for pedestrians.
The sun was shining brightly and it felt like spring to all of us.  Many other residents were out walking around downtown and quite a few had volunteered to fill sandbags, most of which, thankfully were

Jane & Cam

not needed.

Chris & Cam are in the middle of the bridge!

On our way back home, we stopped once again in Ada and Chris took Cam high up over the river on the train trestle.  As always, Cameron, the adventurer, had no fear, and happily yelled "hi" to his Mom and Coco from up above. Even with roaring water, Cam could still be heard!   Jane and Coco made it up to the track, but felt content to stay on land.

It was an exciting and historic week, complete with Kindergarten Round-Up for our son!  Stay tuned to next week's blog for the inside scoop on Cam's school adventure...

More Spring Break - Week of Apr. 8th

For Cameron's second week of spring break, Katherine got creative (as she always does!)  She took Cam over to Barnes and Noble where he decorated a lunch bag for charity.

They made multiple trips to the library and current favs include The Berenstain Bears, Curious George, Arthur and The Little Critters.
Cam's newest favorite tv show is Daniel Tiger, on PBS.  It is a spinoff cartoon of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Mr. Roger's daughter was one of the co-creators.  Katherine, Cam's nanny, possesses many skills and one of them is drawing.  Her freehand rendition of Daniel Tiger looks identical to the cartoon.  Cam loves to practice his "roar" like a tiger!


Oma and Opa spent the weekend with Cam (many thanks!) while Chris and Jane had their own playtime in Chicago with awesome friends, Dan and Leslie.  Cameron had a fun trip to Spoonlickers over the weekend while his parents were away.  His friends, Emma and Will and Auntie Jo had fun tasting their own creations. 


Most weeks, Cam has an opportunity to see his favorite professor, Ms. Lisa.  They worked with a spatial tracking computer program that the group has deemed "Cam-Man."  Cameron has used the program before, but now that he's grown even more, it's fun to see the progress.  Chris and Jane really enjoy the 70's-esque colors in the background!

A drawing is simply a line going for a walk. ~Paul Klee

Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. ~John W. Gardner

CAM Cookies - Week of Apr. 1st

“Think what a better world it would be if we all...the whole world...had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. And it is still true, no matter how old you are-when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”  
~ Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten 

Cameron certainly started his spring break out right by making cookies with Katherine!  She found a recipe for cookie cutter type chocolate chip treats.  Emma was a big help rolling out the dough and assisting Cam with the letter cutouts (thanks to Auntie Jo for the letters!) and of course, taste testing.

Since Emma was on spring break too, she and Cam had time for reading, playing, and eating.  The buddies giggled over the Alphabet Adventure book and seeing Cam's pic on every page.

To keep this spring breaker busy, Katherine helped him work on his Alphabet book, coloring and practicing his words.

A special treat this weekend was a visit from Ms. Karen, who drove up from Chicago!  She brought Cam some of his favorite books and yummy cookie treats!!  Jane's treat was spending time with such a great, sweet friend and shopping with Karen and Cameron...for some reason, Chris opted out of that adventure.


The weekend ended with a big adventure indeed- the discovery of The Time Capsule!!  If you are an avid blog reader, you may recall the capsule was buried a few weeks ago.  Although the authors of the capsule note had some expectation of a delayed discovery, Emma and Cam had other plans...