Sprang Fam

Blake's Big Apple

2008-10-13T15:02:00.016-04:00

Well it's Columbus Day again.

That means that Mike has off work,

and we head to the Apple Orchard!!!

Despite their goofy smiles the kids really are excited to be there!
Potty skeleton is always funny.
Anything that has to do with a toilet makes 'em laugh!

Will and Mom

Meg and Mom

Trio

Mike's not in the pictures because he's always taking them.

We made it to the top of the straw tower.

We're the winners!

Tractor Girl

Meg knows she's cute!

Meg and Daddy

Meg loves to feed the horses!

She's a pro. Her hand is nice and flat.

Will and Daddy enjoy the hayride.

Thank goodness throwing hay is NOT allowed!

Meg still ended up with some in her pants though.

Thank you Daddy!

2008-10-08T19:55:00.002-04:00

MORE WILLISMS
He's on a role!

From today: Will got a new outfit for his Webkinz. As he was examining it he saw that it had two leg holes and a smaller hole in the middle. He became disgusted and said, "That is SO inappropriate!" Mike responded, "Will, that's for his tail." Will laughed and said, "I'm such an idiot. I thought it was for his pee-pee."

From last week: Will and I were playing a game together. He started making this terrible screeching sound over and over again. I looked at him and said, "Do you think that's annoying?"
He stopped. A little while later I was doing the dishes in the kitchen. I started singing a song from The Sound Of Music, "High on a hill was a lonely goat herd yodle odle yodle odle yea he who"...Will walked by and said, "Do you think THAT'S annoying???"
Touche.

2008-10-06T14:52:00.003-04:00

Willism
What's a Willism? A Willism is something funny Will says. I started keeping track of them when he was about 2, and he still pulls some funny ones out from time to time. He will be 7 in December and lately he's had some real zingers. Like today...
Will was having an apple snack today and said, "Mom, where does my breathing tube go?"
I explained to him that his breathing tube goes to his lungs and his eating tube goes to his stomach.
He said, "If you were on the "Magic School Bus" and shrinked down to go to my breathing tube you would probably find a piece of apple...you would probably find some other things too, like a candy, a candy wrapper, and 1/2 of a sharp Christmas light!"
I said, "WHAT???"
He said, "Yeah, I ate those things before. I lucky I'm not dead."
Praise God for watching out for little boys!!!

LABOR DAY IN CANADA

2008-09-02T20:29:00.024-04:00

We set off for Canada right after church on Sunday the 31st.

Meg fell asleep for the last 20 minutes of the trip!

Will occupied himself with his DS.

Finally, we arrived at our friend's cottage on Lake Erie.

Kylee and Meg play in the sand.

Sam, Will, and Nathan enjoy a boat ride.

The kids took turns flipping each other off of the hammock.

Everyone piled on with Papa!

He didn't get the rest he was hoping for.

We went blueberry picking.

Mom and Meg fill their baskets.

Nathan and Will

Luke didn't pick much, but he enjoyed running around.

I think Wendy ate one too many blueberries...don't you!?

Sam is a professional berry picker.

Meg and Kylee are purple like the berries.

A hard day's work!

We're ready to eat!

Our host and hostess Bob and Joanne.

Cassie and Scott.

Andrew smiles for the camera.

Luke and Wendy

The Kid's Table...the funnest place to be.

Thanks to the Maynards and Castillos for a wonderful weekend!!!

Pics from My Trip

2008-08-11T09:21:00.013-04:00

Here are some pictures from my recent trip. PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS BLOG. I know it is vague and random, but just enjoy the pictures. If you have questions give me a call!

Again, please do not comment on this blog. Just know that I had a wonderful time, and God is faithful!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

2008-06-11T21:37:00.023-04:00

7 NIGHTS ON ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S

"ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS"

At 6:00am Greg and Tricia (Mike's sister and her husband) are ready to go!

DAY 1 - At Sea

The happy couple!

Mike works on his tan.

Greg and Trish try out the arcade.

Mike and Trish join a dodgeball tournament.

NOT my idea of fun! At all!!!

DAY 2 - Beautiful Barbados

Catamaran and Sea Turtle Adventure

Yes that is Mike snokeling out there. Can you see him???

Sandy Lane - the beach where Tiger Woods got married!

Formal night... every girl's dream; every guys nightmare.

Greg was so excited to dress up in the clothes he wears everyday to work!

DAY 3 - St. Lucia

Canopy Tour

7 Zip Lines

2 Suspension Bridges

I felt like MacGyver!

The most fun ever!!!

DAY 4 - ANTIGUA
We were enjoying the surf when all of the sudden...

a wave came and tried to take our shorts off!

It also deposited sand in places we didn't even know existed!

DAY 5 - St. Marteen

Sorry, no pictures this day.

We took mini boats to Happy Bay and saw naked people.

Our guide reminded us..."Naked doesn't mean beautiful!"

Boy, was he right.

DAY 6 - St. Thomas

Morningstar Beach

nice, but many friends...

like this one everywhere!

So much fun!

We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Happy 10 Year Anniversary to Mike and Me!!!

A big THANK YOU to Greg and Trish for coming with us and making the

trip extra fun. Also, to our parents who took care of Will and Meg while

we were gone...piece of cake, right!?

Check out the video of me ziplining.

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE

2008-05-03T18:13:00.011-04:00

"DAY OUT WITH THOMAS"

at Henry Ford Greenfield Village

Nana and Papa took us to Greenfield Village to see the attractions

and ride Thomas the Tank Engine!

The Henry Ford carousel is one of the few in the country to boast a frog.

Will, of course, was thrilled.

Meg enjoyed riding the horse.

But her favorite was the kitty!

Last year when she saw Thomas, Meg screamed and fell on the ground like she'd caught sight of the Beatles. This year she was just as excited, but showed a little bit more restraint.

Here he is the "Train of the Hour"!

Nana, Meg, Mommy, Will, and Cousin Leah.

Will sports his Thomas shirt.

We had a great day and would do it again next year.

EASTER and April Weather

2008-04-18T19:35:00.003-04:00

EASTER

This year we learned that long ago many people from many different cultures would wrap up eggs in brightly colored paper and exchange them as a symbol of springtime and rebirth. I tried to teach this lesson to the children while they were coloring their eggs, but I got the feeling that they really didn't care. Oh well, at least I learned something new!

Will is hard at work. He made faces on all of his eggs. One for Daddy, one for Mommy,

and a two-sided one for him and Meg.

Meg cracked most of her eggs before she finished painting.

She really didn't mind, because she wanted to eat them all!

We took this picture after church one Sunday.
After this one, Will turned around and wanted a picture taken of his bum.
It never gets old.

It was a beautiful day today.

We spent many hours outside.

Frog boy.

Will now has two frogs in his habitat.

We saw these frogs at the neighbor's pond tonight.
Mike told him the "double" frogs were making babies,

and now Will feels he must share this information with anyone who will listen

Thank you Daddy.

Princess Meghan.

A tree in our backyard that I love.

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it," Psalm 24:1

A Week in Tennessee

2008-03-25T10:54:00.017-04:00

We spent the beginning of March down in TN! We visited family, went to the zoo, and enjoyed Bowie Nature Park. Here are just some of our pictures. We didn't get any pictures of Will and Uncle Layne playing wii, but they did a lot of it! We played with our cousins Sam and Noah, had dinner with Uncle Landon and Aunt Heather, and Meg was overjoyed to see Aunt Erin again. Shes's missed her since Christmas! Jason flew in for the weekend, but we didn't get any pictures of him either. Oh well, here's what we've got. We can't wait to go back!!!

I love this family of lemurs!!!

They cuddle together and wrap their tails around each other.

Adorable! Just like us...

These geese are very used to people.

This one would have eaten out of my hand if I'd had the nerve to try!

We enjoyed the mild weather and being outside everyday.

What is this??? We have no clue. We were walking around one of the lakes at Bowie Nature Park and came across this "chicken duck". That's what we've been calling it.

Does anyone know what it is or how we could find out???

Cousin Noah and Will

Tia and Sam at Bowie playground.

Mr. Will

Cousin Noah and Tia Nea

Meg at Bowie playground.

Frog boy

COME ON SPRING!

A NIGHT AT THE BARN

2008-01-29T20:39:00.001-05:00

Mimi is still a part of a women's riding group in Richmond on Tuesday evenings,

and tonight we joined her at the barn.

I'm not sure if Meg likes the horses better or the many kittys.

Doesn't she look cute in her cowgirl hat! She has adorable boots as well.

Meg has riden before, but this was Will's first time.

He did extremely well and was very relaxed.

By the end of the evening Will is a pro.

Meg tells Mimi, "Go faster!!!"
She likes speed whereas Will prefers to walk.

We all needed a bath after tonight!
We smelled like horses and...well, we smelled like horses.

Pictures from the Holidays

2008-01-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

Will holds his 5 month old cousin Samuel

while Noah, 2, poses with Meghan.

Sam and Noah live in TN, so our time with them was very special!

Uncle Jason taught Meg the techniques of GUITAR HERO!

Meg's time with Aunt Erin was very special as well.

They bonded quite fiercely, and Meg is still talking

about her three weeks later. She is anxious to visit

Aunt Erin in TN!!!

Meg also enjoyed her time with Aunt Izumi!
Time for one of your own Zuzu!

We've had quite a bit of snow already, and some great

times outside sledding. We're trying to figure out how

to attach the sled to Riley!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Birthdays and Handbells

2007-12-08T12:19:00.001-05:00

On Monday, Dec. 3 we had a Christmas Open House at King's Kids. This is our church daycare and preschool where I teach music classes each Friday. The 3 and 4 year old classes played the handbells for their program. The songs were "Jingle Bells" for the 3's and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" for the 4's. The 2's sang a song with motions, and the 1's jingled bells to "Jingle Bells"! It was a wonderful evening with lots of laughter! On Thursday, December 6th, Will turned 6! YIKES. I can't believe it . My baby's so big. We had a birthday party at Nana's house, and Nathan and Ian spent the night on Friday. Here are some pictures from both of these events to enjoy! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Meggie the red-nosed reindeer!

A little fuzzy, but you can see the students (Meg in the middle) with their white gloves on getting ready to ring their bells! They were adorable and did a great job!

Kolton and the other 1 year olds rang their bells to "Jingle Bells".

There were 3 children and 3 teachers.

It was all we could do to keep the little ones on the platform!!!

Ian, Will, and Nathan make funny faces while holding their beloved "Super Mario" videos!

I believe they call themselves Wario, Mario, and Bowser.

Vanilla cake with vanilla frosting.

No chocolate for this "6" boy!

Will smiles for the camera while Meg eyes the cake!

Will received 3 new Webkins puppies from Nana.

He already had all of the frog Webkins and has now started on the dogs.

Meg loves her Care Bears and needed Bedtime Bear to round out her collection.

She was trilled to receive a gift on Will's birthday. (NO, she's not spoiled!)

Meg also got a Leapster from her cousin Leah as a gift.

She feels like one of the big kids playing on her own game system!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE SPRANGS!

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-23T19:08:00.000-04:00

PUMPKIN CARVING

It's time to carve pumpkins again. We got a pumpkin carving kit from the store and let the kids pick their favorite design. Meg picked the kitty, of course, and Will (due to a lack of frogs) picked a ghost. We all went to work gutting them and flinging gross pumpkin guts at each other, and Mike did the actual carving.

Is Daddy done yet?

How about now...

Is Daddy done now???

YEAH!!! Daddy's finally done!

Meggie's Kitty & Will's Ghost

Mike did a really nice job on these!

In a moment of camaraderie Will gives his sister a nice smooch on the cheek.

(I think he was actually trying to squish her face!)

2007-10-08T20:34:00.000-04:00

A DAY AT THE APPLE ORCHARD

MIKE WAS OFF TODAY FOR COLUMBUS DAY!!

WE SPENT THE MORNING AT BLAKE'S ORCHARD

AND CIDER MILL.

MIKE THINKS THE MEASUREMENT IS OFF.

HE'S 6'3" NOT 5'11".

MY LITTLE GHOSTS

CHOO-CHOO!!

MEG AND HER TRAINS!

A SNUGGLE IN THE GRASS

FEEDING THE CALF

WILL ON TRACTOR BLOWING A WHISTLE POP

WILL IN CORN MAZE

WE HAD A BLAST ON THE MOUNTAIN O'STRAW!!!

AWWWWWW! AREN'T THEY PRECIOUS!

I'M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!

2007-09-30T20:01:00.000-04:00

HOME GROUP GANG

Every Sunday night we have a home group from our church that meets at our house. We have a Bible study, pray, and ,of course, eat! This week was a special pot luck and hay ride!

left to right:
Rica, Will, Meghan, Reina, Josiah, Autumn & Blake

We are missing our friends Kaenenn & Lexi who recently moved to Florida. We miss you guys!!!

Mike took the boys for a ride...

while the girls waited patiently for their turn!

Finally, it was there turn, and they got to bounce all over the yard!

Sean and Charlie wanted to ride but the wagon had a weight limit!

2007-09-22T19:13:00.001-04:00

A FEW PICS...

My "Super Spies"!

(It's a Backyardians thing.)

Meg being a "Super Spy",

but I think she looks like Catwoman!

Will being a "Super Spy".

He's holding a hot dog telephone!

Meg's 1st day of school!

2007-09-17T11:09:00.001-04:00

UPDATES

My last couple of blog attempts have ended in failure. My computer would freeze up on me, and I wouldn't be able to finish. I'll write a little bit and try to post a picture to ease back into it.

Had I succeeded in August you would have seen pictures from Meg's 3rd birthday party! We had a Care Bear Party complete with pinata and 20 friends running around the back yard. It really was fun.

We also made a trip to the Macomb Township Rec. Center for a day of swimming at the indoor water park. That was a blast. I enjoyed a few precious moments by myself in the hot tub. AAAHHHH!

The next day we met some friends at the zoo. We had 5 adults and 4 children, but we were still outnumbered!!! Their ages are 5 1/2, 3, 3, and 2 1/2. Do you think any of them wanted to go in the same direction at the same time???

The following week Will started home school kindergarten. It's been going really well. We're both enjoying it. We have our moments of challenge, but so far I've managed to keep my cool. We're using ABEKA curriculum for K5. We're basically focusing on Phonics, Writing, Numbers, and Bible. Mike has been helping me by finding Bible verses that start with the letter we are studying.

Two weeks after that Meg started 3 year old preschool at Shepherd's Gate Lutheran Church. Will's 3 year old teacher is now teaching there, and I really wanted Meghan to learn from her. Meg's speech could definitely use some improvement, so I'm anxious to see how her class helps!

I guess that's it for now. Gran Ihde is in a hospice home in Rochester, MN. We thought we were going to lose her this weekend, but she pulled through. She'll turn 83 on Tues. the 25th. That's also the 13th anniversary of my first kiss with Mike! AAAAWWWWW!

Will's verse of the week: "In your anger, do not sin!" Eph. 4:26

2007-08-16T15:14:00.000-04:00

"THE NORTH STAR STATE"

(that's Minnesota for those of you who can't figure it out)

I always thought Minnesota was the "Land of 10,000 Lakes",

but I guess in actuality they have 12,000 lakes!!!

Anywho...I was in Minnesota from August 10th - 13th.

I visited the Mall of America which is quite overwhelming but fun!

Will really liked the pictures and can't wait till he can visit.

Dave and Melissa Gafford were my gracious host and hostess for the weekend.

After dinner and a little shopping they took me to downtown Minneapolis

(which is a really cool and happening place by the way) to a jazz room called "Rossi's".

We enjoyed good music and wonderfully, sinful deserts that, I kid you not, were 12 inches high!

This picture of Melissa and I did not really turn out because of the lighting,

but there we are. (I'm on the left.)

On Saturday I rented a car and drove down to Rochester.
My Gran Ihde lives there. She has stomach cancer, so Layne (older!)
and I met up to spend some time with her. We enjoyed visiting
and watching the game show "Chain Reaction".
I stayed over with Gran on Saturday night.
We feel asleep watching an old John Wayne movie called "Donovan's Reef".
It was great!!!

Sunday I drove back to Dave and Melissa's.
I really enjoyed Woodbury and their home.
This picutres captures about 1/2 the ducks they
have swimming about their small pond.

The other half of the ducks!

If you ever get a chance to visit MN I would highly recommend it!

2007-07-23T21:20:00.000-04:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME...

Our "9" year anniversary was Wed., the 18th.

Mike surprised me with an overnight trip to the Dearborn Inn.

It is a very lovely and historic hotel in Dearborn, MI near all of

the Henry Ford attractions and the Automotive Hall of Fame.

This is the gazebo on the beautiful grounds where many weddings

take place each year. The flower pots came up to my waist, and some

of the flowers were over my head! (I realize this wouldn't be the case

for most of you, but it was for me.)

The next day I had a flight booked to TN to visit my sister and my new nephew. We were very near the airport, so after lunch Mike dropped me off, and I was on my way!

Bryon, Linnea,

Noah (20mos.) & Sam (2 wks)

Tia (that's me) and Noah!

Noah is a bundle of smiles and energy.

He gallops around,

points at things,

and makes an "S" sound.

Adorable!!!

Noah

Layne

Me & Sam

Landon

Linnea

It was fun to be all together again.

Mimi (my mom)

Tia (me)

Samuel Jay Wells

Proud
Puppa (my dad)
&
Sam

I praise God for my wonderful family!
I am blessed indeed!

2007-07-11T21:41:00.000-04:00

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER...

This is our Chicago trip from March!!!

We spent a wonderful weekend in the windy city sight seeing

and taking in the Broadway show "Wicked" with our

friends David & Melissa Gafford. They moved to MN this past

year, and we were missing them terribly!

We had an absolutely fabulous time!

Mike & Laurel in their hotel room.

Aren't we adorable!?!

Laurel and Melissa before the show.
Again...adorable!
No pictures of David, sorry.

We think our next couples trip might be to Washington D.C.
We'll keep you posted.

2007-07-10T16:57:00.000-04:00

Meg's 1st Haircut

It was a monumentous day as Meghan received her first haircut! She'll be 3 next month, and we've never cut her hair.

(Except for the time I had to cut gum out of it.)

We just wanted about 3 inches off of the back to help with the tangles. It was so long that you really can't even tell she had anything done.

When she was done she got 2 pink suckers which she promptly unwrapped and sucked at the same time!

(I wonder where she learned that!?)

SPEAKING OF WILL...

He too received a haircut today.

He's an old pro. He's been getting his haircut since he was 8 months old.

What a cheese!

2007-07-09T17:01:00.000-04:00

GREAT WOLF LODGE - JUNE 24, 2007

We had a wonderful few days at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, MI June 24 - 26. Mike and I had as much fun as the kids! The waterpark was not the greatest environment for picture taking, but here are a few pictures of our little fish.

Meg loved sitting and laying on the water fountains. She also stood over them, stuck out her bum, and said, "Shake! Shake! Shake! Shake your booty!" She does not pronounce the "T" in booty, so it comes out "bouy".

Will was fearless -of course- and did all of the slides and loved standing under the big bucket that dumped 1000 gallons of water!

2006-05-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

Our friends and babysitters Katie and Alex were married this weekend. Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Alex Brand! They had the most adorable flower girl and ring bearer you have ever seen!!! The first picture is of Will pulling Megs down the aisle in a wagon. The crowd gave him pause for a minute or so, but we finally got him moving in the right direction. Megs sat very still the whole time and dumped her flowers out in one pile at the very beginning. She didn't really get the concept, but she was too cute. I'm going to save these pictures for their weddings and say "Remember when..."! (sniff, sniff) Feel free to comment on how beautiful they are!

2006-05-10T21:59:00.000-04:00

Ahh, the sweet time in paradise...ok, anyone who has been to Jamaica knows that may be a little misleading. Land is beautiful but filled with poverty. One of those...been there, loved to look at it, but have no interest in going back. Maybe a little critical, but there it is. Little known fact: if you buy "wacky tobacky" from locals, be prepared for a strip search on the way back to the ship as the locals will sell you picture to the police...heard some graphic details going into dinner that night from a very large man that will haunt me for a long time. I don't need to get those visions in my head.

The cruise overall was tremendous and we are already planning our next one. 10 year anniversary is right around the corner, but we have to let the grandparents recover before we spring that on them. Good to be back with the kids, but we'll talk about them on another post. On to more pictures...

This was us prior to getting "too" much sun. The glare is coming from the very German boy...

Here's a photo of our friends, Joella and Phil. Celebrating their 20th anniversary.

We'll I'm new at this, so I'll end with a real reason why we will be going back as soon as God permits.

2006-05-10T21:35:00.000-04:00

Our first post...crazy that we received 5 comments before we even saw the site!

1st Time's a Charm

2006-04-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Sprang Family Blog Page! Come back soon for our first official update!