Holland and a bit about #TLC

Unbelievable!  But our time in Holland has come to an end.  We had a revolving door of visitors sandwiched between lazy days.  The path between the Lauchlan and Catherwood apartments was well used.  The refrain of “The door’s always open” was heard daily.  Sometimes in Tim’s falsetto imitation of Cindy.  Othertimes yelled by an entire group of whoever was inside the unit at the time.

We filled  ourselves and our time with fro yo, Gal Pal, naps, shopping and a myriad of  other activities that made the days stretch into weeks that felt like they would never end.  And we all wished they didn’t have to.  Cindy and the girls left today ahead of Tim.  Everyone was a bit sad but the thought of being together in only 11 days for our big swim kept spirits up.  There are lists to be made, unpacking and more packing to be done.  Oh, and Cindy?  Is now designated by #TLC.  Otherwise known as Three Lakes Cindy.  Because no passport.  No enhanced license.  No birth certificate.  I’ll let #TLC continue this sad saga.

Two Weeks until Holland!

In just two short weeks, I'll be belly up to the bar at Cherry Republic for my first of many free wine tastings.  You can go once a day!  Who wouldn't?

Last week was the end of school for us and we've been keeping busy.  This week is recital so all our kids have had rehearsals until all hours of the night.  Pam's kids had to go to school this week so they've had exams on top of recital madness.  Thank goodness it'll all be over soon.  We're ready to get our summer on!

Looking back at pictures from the last few years in Holland makes me so excited for this year!

Putt-Putt!  I think we may have lost more golf balls than we putted.  There may even be a sign forbidding us from ever playing again.

Ice Cream as big as Jonah's head!  Actually, it's FroYo, but who cares?  It's cold and wet and they don't weigh it!  Scot is a FroYo artist, but I've never actually been able to snag a photo of his towering creations... probably because I've had my hands full with my own.  Yum!

Puzzles!  Nuff said.

The 3 littles & Mamma Pam with the most depressed balloon animal guy in the world.

Free slurpees on 7-11 day!  We're all about freebies.

Our Summer Home

In 30 days (less for Pam's family), we all head to Holland, MI for our 3rd summer of fun. Our dancers will attend a ballet intensive while the rest of us will eat ice cream, watch sunsets, eat farm-to-table meals, and take a few side trips where I'm sure we will get into some mischief. We rent 2 apartments through the local college which are located above a little shop on the "main drag" of Holland. Sadie tries new recipes that we all sample, we pick a cheesy 80s or 90s movie to watch together, and try to get a little of our actual work work done in between outings to the farmers market, beach, bakeries, and who knows what else. 



Last year was "game on" with Wayne's World, which the adults laughed uproariously and the children didn't understand, and so we spent the rest of the holiday making fun of them. I'm not sure why we didn't also hit the penny candy store to get Super Ropes to eat. We probably should have.

We also hit a bakery which was featured on Cupcake Wars. The kids thought it was way cool, even though the owner wasn't around to greet them. They even had something for little Jonah, who is allergic to everything.

We always try to take a few minutes to let the dancers strut their stuff in weird public places so we can take pictures to show off to our online community because they're so incredibly talented. This one is courtesy of Pam, who was jealous of my camera so she had to get an even better one. Not jealous. 

This year, we may even take a REAL side trip with the little girls who say they feel left out, but really get to do all the fun stuff while the big girls are dancing.  Hoping like crazy it actually happens. 


We're all together in Holland for 3 weeks, and 10 days after we get home, we take our 5 Great Lakes trip.  It's pretty much going to be a make-it-or-break-it situation in our friendship. 

Tim and "Pam"

My husband, Tim, thinks he's really funny, and takes a picture of "Pam" every time he goes to Sam's Club.

Here are some actual pictures of "Pam" that Tim has posted to Facebook.  Yes... it's a new one every single time, and I swear there are like 10 more.  I just don't have the time to look for every single one right now.  It never gets old.  Yes it does.

 

Of course, he often bakes with "Pam"

 

Tim & the real Pam... and "Pam" at Sam's.   

And of course, Pam & "Pam", because neither of them can ever let a joke die.

How did we meet?

We are 2 families who met through our children’s shared love of dance. Our kids have been dancing together for 5 years, but the adults didn't really come together until late 2014. If Pam tells the story, she would tell you that I was too intimidating to talk to. From my perspective, I thought Pam was part of the "cool mom crowd" which I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. It took a shared experience of being involved with the Nutcracker Ballet to come out of our proverbial shells.

I'm one of those people who has big ideas and wants to try everything, but when the time comes to actually do it, my social anxiety usually leaves me paralyzed on my couch. Pam, on the other hand, is the Queen of Following Through. As I would soon learn, if she gets an idea, she will go to the ends of the earth to make it happen.

The first time I hung out with Pam outside of the dance studio started because of what I thought was a joke... honest to God. Pam happened to stumble upon a Groupon for Drag Queen Bingo. I didn't even know that was a thing. So she sent a facebook message out to a bunch of people asking if they were interested. I love Bingo... I assumed I would like Drag Queens... so I said YES... thinking that there's no actual way we would ever actually do it. But lo and behold, Pam bought the tickets. Not only that, but she arranged a whole morning of mimosas, brunch, carpooling, etc.

I'm going to be honest here... I completely regretted the decision. It turned out that I was the only dance person to accept, and everyone else was a part of Pam's family or friends. I hardly knew Pam, and certainly didn't know anyone else. I didn't want to go drink mimosas in a strangers house. I don't like being a passenger in ANYONE’S car, much less someone I don't know. Plus, I had absolutely no idea what one would wear to Drag Queen Bingo. I was a complete wreck. If I would have had Pam's direct phone number, I totally would have called off. I was a basket case in the car on my way to mimosas. I arrived early so I could sit in my car outside the lady's house and wait for Pam to arrive. I walked in with her and it turns out that everyone was super nice and we had a great time. I insisted on driving my own car to Bingo, and once again, almost turned around and went home. I finally got over myself and went in. It was a blast, and bonded Pam and I forever.

Cindy (left) & Pam (right)

Crazy friends with crazy ideas

We all have those friends who push us past our comfort zone.  You know, the ones who encourage you to try a new restaurant, stay an extra 2 weeks on your vacation, and stand up to someone wronging you (or your child)?  These are, of course, just examples (wink, wink). 


Well, I have one of those friends.  The awesome thing about it is that not only is she amazing, but so is her husband and her 4 kids.  Not only that, but our kids get along and our husbands enjoy each others company.  We're all smart asses and snarky, and no ones feelings get hurt because that's just how it is.  It's kind of fantastic.


She will probably say that I'm the crazy one, but I definitely think it's HER.  I'm perfectly content just sitting on my couch binge watching Netflix while sipping my Sam's Club moscato and letting the big kid take care of the little kid.  But she motivates me to do & say things I might not do otherwise.  Because of her, I've seen more sunsets than I ever thought possible, gained a huge appreciation of baked goods, and realized that there is life outside of my living room. 


Why this long introduction?  Well... SHE has come up with an insane idea to pack 4 adults and 6 children into 2 cars and drive all over God's green Michigan (and Canada) to SWIM in 5 great lakes in less than 24 hours.  She is really hoping we could get Samuel L. Jackson to make some kind of awesome intro for us, but until then, this will have to do. 


This won't be our first vacation together.  Leading up to our epic misadventure, we will share with you some stories and photos of our past adventures so you can get to know us and how insane this actually is going to be.  Plus, I'm sure we'll have a few mini-misadventures in July we all skip out on our real lives & head to ballet camp. 


I'm actually still kind of surprised I signed up for this.  I can hardly stand being stuck in a car with my own family long enough to get 1.7 miles down the road to the dance studio, not to mention however long this is going to be with 6 bored, wet, tired, hungry, and getting-on-each-others nerves kids.  I'm going to spend the next 4 months stock piling Xanax.