Hey, everyone! Hope all is well as summer is winding down and fall is starting. The weather is really gorgeous up here...70s most days and sunny. We got lots of rain from Gustav and Ike, but now are back to sunny days. Today was John's birthday...he's officially in his late 20s! We barbecued at a park together and I got him a little present. Just a small family thing...which we are getting used to doing, since we are both so far away from our families. It was nice though. He had to work this evening. Bummer.

John's parents came to visit over Labor Day weekend, so we were happy to have family up. We spent the weekend visiting Frederik Meijer Gardens and going to the beach at Lake Michigan. They also got to visit with Uncle Pete and Aunt Jo Duyst, which are John's great uncle and aunt--Pat's uncle and aunt. They hadn't seen them for many years, so it was nice for them to catch up. Lucie knew exactly who everyone was and was excited to see Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Cody, and Uncle Jimmy. She really misses them now that they are gone. She's looking forward to Stacy's parents coming up after the baby is born.

Speaking of...9 more days to go...max! We are very excited to meet our baby boy. I have a scheduled induction on the 30th if I do not go before then. I'm just looking for the 30th...not trying to get my hopes up too high...otherwise time will go by too slow. Lucie picked out a present to give to him when he is born (a rattle). We've made arrangements for where she will stay and think she will do okay. She's such a good little girl. I imagine it will be quite an adjustment for her, but I'm really proud of how good she is. She's growing so fast...learning lots of new things. She talks constantly! She has made some new friends and likes to play with them. She always wants to go to their house or have them come over. She enjoys Dora and Elmo most.

Here are some pictures of us since our last post! Some of the pictures are of Labor Day weekend when John's parents visited. The other one is playing dress up with her friend, Aviela. The bird picture is at the zoo in Grand Rapids. You can pay $1 to go into a budger cage and feed the budger birds. Lucie loves it! Well, that's the latest with the family...we'll let you know when the newest member arrives! We'd love to hear from anyone!