November Meals

This month's meal is...

Baked Pesto Ravioli with Chicken

I also made homemade dough for dinner rolls in my breadmaker. I really enjoyed this and thought they turned out great!

Happy Halloween!!

We went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with the Holman-Nystrom's. Much better than the rainy Halloween we had last year. The kids really went far and completely filled their baskets!

Thanks to Grandma for picking out these awesome costumes and accessories.

Pumpkin Carving

We only carved one pumpkin this year, so the kids each chose 1 half. Toby wanted his side carved scary (see left side of pumpkin) and Natalie wanted her side to be carved happy (see right side of pumpkin). Very different, but everyone was happy!

October Meals

So, this month not only do I make meals, but also desserts. Today I prepared 12 pans of Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, 12 sides of Rice Pilaf and 6 pans of Apple Cake. Lots of work, but also lots of delicious meals in return!

September Meals

Did you know that all of this...

...can make 12 Chicken-Bisquit Casseroles?

Celebration on the Grand

Celebration on the Grand was a blast, as usual. This year, we met up with the Fitzgerald's and sat with them on the bridge. Instead of spending a fortune on carnival food (as much as I do love it!!), I packed uncrustables and snacks for the kids to eat for dinner.

Toby's a Kindergartener!

It's official. Toby is now in school. Class of 2021!!

Grace's 1st Birthday

Today was Grace's 1st Birthday party. Toby and Natalie really enjoyed the playground and wished that they could have a park birthday. 2 winter birthdays mean no park parties....but maybe Chuck E Cheese.

(Note: Janette's baby Grace is not to be confused with Angela's baby Graclyn.)

How to make 18 lasagnas...

I recently joined a cooking group with Michelle. Each member prepares 18 meals to freeze and exchange with 8 other members once a month (keeping 2 of your own), so that we each have 9 different freezer meals for the month. It took just over 5 hours (and 108 noodles, 27 eggs and just over 100 cups of various cheeses) to prepare and assemble 18 lasagnas, with Tim's help.

A day in Grand Haven...

We took the kids to Grand Haven for the afternoon. It was their first time walking the pier. Of course, to complete the experience we had dinner in town and ate ice cream on the pier.

Toby had so much fun people watching and loved looking at all of the boats. I kept telling him "Toby, watch where you're going." and "Toby, you're going to run into them." One time, when I was just about to tell him to watch where he was going for the 100th time, he walked right into a beam on the pier. He was so upset. I think he was more embarrassed than hurt, because there were a lot of people around that saw it. Apparently, he didn't learn from it, because we saved him the 2nd time he almost walked into a pole. I guess he's easily distracted.

Toby lost his tooth!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

We hit a big milestone in the Robinson household tonight. Toby lost his first tooth!

We love the drive-in!!

We took the kids to see Wall-E at the Getty Drive-In in Muskegon. We lined the back of the truck with blankets and chairs and ate Wendy's happy meals for dinner.

A tiring day...

The kids were zonked out from a busy 4th of July....parades, malls, family BBQ's and fireworks!!

Happy 4th of July!

Toby and I went to the Kentwood 4th of July Parade today. We ran into some girls that I work with and sat with them and their family. Toby made out with pocketfuls of candy!

Happy Father's Day!

Tim and I took the kids and Troy up to visit my dad for Father's Day. It's nice to have him back home!

The aftermath...

It rained so much Saturday night that by Sunday our lake was flooded. You can see how the water rose a few feet and is covering the boardwalk and sidewalk around the lake.

It didn't seem to bother these people much. I'm not sure I'd really want to go swimming in the lake the day after a storm like that.

Almost got zapped!

I should probably NOT stand outside during thunderstorms. This one hit right across the street.

Festival 2008

Festival this year was a little different. The entire weekend was forecast for rain, but Saturday seemed to be the best option.

So, we gave it a try...

Things were going well at first. Toby got to tour an ambulance and got a sticker from EMS driver.

It was still pretty hot and sunny when we shared some ice cream. The kids preferred Tim's butter pecan ice cream over my mint chocolate chip. But that's ok - more for me!

A few hours into the day, it started to cloud over and we left just before the thunderstorms hit. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Chalk-the-Walk for our annual photo and this really disappointed me. We have "Robinson" pictures in chalk from the past 10 years or so. Oh well, there's always the next Festival.

The Annual Memorial Day Party...

My mom had her annual Memorial Day party at the cottage again this year. It was a beautiful day and the food was fabulous!!

Guess who's back home!!

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Karen are back in Michigan and we can't be more excited about that!!