Sunday, May 18, 2008

Kites and Tigers and Bears, Oh MY!

This weekend the family too a much needed vacation. On Friday we headed west and stopped in Grand Rapids at the John Ball Zoo, where we saw Tigers and Bears! The weather was truly beautiful and we had a picture perfect time.

There were so many school-aged kids at the zoo. Liam felt right at home amongst all of the bigger kids and got in the thick of things. One of the highlights of our visit was getting to pet goats, sheep, and even a chicken in the barnyard. Liam also gently brushed a sheep who was shedding his winter wool. While this zoo didn't have a train to ride, they did have a fun wooden train that Liam love to climb on. He was in train heaven! "Boop, boop!"

We ate a picnic lunch at the park before continuing our trip westward to Grand Haven. We arrive just as the Great Lakes Kite festival was beginning. This was Liam's second kite festival (third if you count the one he went to in utero). The beach was gorgeous and the breeze was perfect for kite flying and playing in the sand!



We had a very long and exciting day. Our hotel room had a pool and mommy could resist taking Liam for a dip. However, the cold water was no fun at all, so we didn't stay long! Instead we relaxed and watched cable TV.

On Saturday Grandma Kathie and Aunt Rae joined us at the beach. They came just in time to see Liam's first kite flight. We found a very cute parafoil kite with a dog on it for Liam. He even picked it out. Liam was excited to see his "doggie" fly! We kept it up for a while, but the wind started to get squirrelly and it came down. Liam, my little helper, bright his kite back. Aunt Rae got to fly one of daddy's stunt kites for a while. We enjoyed watching all of the other peoples stunt kites and marveled at the huge 90 foot creations that filled the sky.



But then the wind died on us and we had to take down all our kites. After two days of sun and wind, we were feeling rather burnt. So we decided to call it a day and headed to dinner with grandma and auntie. After dinner we headed home to get a good night's sleep.

After taking care of a few chores Sunday morning, we met up with grandma and aunt Rae once again. This time we met them in Marshall for the Mayfaire Renaissance festival It's a small festival, but just the right size for an afternoon with a toddler. At first Liam wasn't in a very good mood (perhaps it was the kilt that mommy dressed him in?), but soon he was having fun! He enjoyed the performers and liked playing with the child-sized trebuchet with daddy. Liam also managed to charm mommy and daddy into buying him his very own stick-dragon (much like a stick-horse but with scales). It was so much fun that we may just have to find another faire to visit this summer!

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