Skylar and Alysha's AWESOME Playroom

YEAH!!!! I am happy to report that Scot and I gained back our living room! It feels so good to sit in our living room at night with no toys!

Skylar and Alysha (Mommy too!) are very blessed to have a Daddy that is very talented with wood working. Below is a picture of the AWESOME storage system Scot made for the girls' playroom. It will be fun to watch Skylar and Alysha grow with their playroom.

Alysha enjoying her playroom.
Skylar chilling in her chair.

If you are interested in a storage system for your playroom or any other room in your home give Scot a call.

Van Dam Concepts, LLC

Phone: 616-836-2173

Happy Valentine's Day

Wine Tasting in Traverse City

Can you believe that none of us were ready to leave the hotel till 12:30 this afternoon?? I guess that is what happens when you don't get to bed till 2:30 AM and you don't have kids waking you up at 7:00 AM.

We headed down town to do a little bit of shopping and to get lunch. I found the cutest shoes for the girls!

Around 3:00 we took off for our wine tasting tour. This is the first time Scot and I have done this and I can not even begin to explain what a beautiful drive it is. I thought it was beautiful in the middle of winter I can only imagine how gorgeous it is in the fall. Scot and I are not wine drinkers so we had no idea what to expect or if we would even enjoy ourselves. Our first stop was 2Lads. Our group was basically the only ones there which was nice because we did not have to wait to taste any wine. They give you a glass and a list of the wines they are currently allowing their guests to taste. They recommend you start with white wine and work your way to the red wine. 2Lads had a very small section of wine to test and I did not care too much for the wine at this location. Our 2nd stop was Chateau Chantal. This winery is huge and very beautiful! There were more visitors at this winery, however we were lucky again and were able to all taste the wine at the same time. At Chateau Chantal they give you 6 chips and you are allowed to pick only 6 wines to test. Some of the wines took 2 chips which allowed you only 5 wines to taste. Scot and I really enjoyed the Sparkling Cherry Wine and even bought a bottle. Who knows...we might become wine drinkers after all. Our last stop was Bowers Harbor Vineyards. This was a very cute winery. We did not buy any wine at this location, but Scot did purchase Feta and Pink Peppercorn which is a bread dip that he fell in love with.

We were only able to hit 3 vineyards because they all close at 5:00. Scot and I had an awesome time tasting wine and would love to do it again. After our last stop we headed back to the hotel to rest. A few of us chilled out in the hot tub. At 8:00 we headed out to Apache Trout Grill for dinner. I got the Char Grilled Filet and Scot got ribs. It was so YUMMY!!! And I hate to admit it, but Scot and I ended the night stuffing our faces with another cheesecake!

After dinner we went back to the hotel to drink some wine and catch up with one another. We had such good conversations that it was 2:00 AM again before I went to bed. I can't tell you the last time I went to bed two nights in a row at 2:00 AM!!!

First Night in Traverse City

YEAH!!!! This afternoon Scot and I left for Traverse City for our first mini vacation since the birth of Skylar and Alysha!!!! Our plan was for Scot and I to have my birthday dinner and then meet up with our friends for a night of gambling at Turtle Creek.

Our choice of restaurant was Boone's Long Lake Inn. Scot got prime rib and shrimp and I got a New York strip. Dinner was very good. We of course had to top it off with a triple chocolate cheesecake. Not the best thing for my diet, but we are on vacation after all.

Thankfully we were able to finish dinner and get back to the hotel in time to catch the 9:00 PM shuttle bus to Turtle Creek Casino. It was a very interesting and long ride to the casino because there was one local on the bus that would not shut up! I swear we are attracted to the weirdos. When we were about to pull into the parking lot Scot cracked us all up with this comment; "I can't wait to feel the felt under my fingertips." You would think he did this all the time and was a pro!

The hotel gave all of us a $10 voucher to use at the casino. I was lucky and received an additional $10 for my birthday...CHA CHANG! You could only use the credits on the slot machines. We all had a good time trying to figure out the penny slots. We spent 4 hours at the casino and I am happy to report that I was able to walk out with an extra $15. I wish I could have said the same about Scot. I forgot how much I love playing blackjack.

My 33rd Birthday

Today I turned 33 and what a wonderful day I had. My morning started with Scot singing happy birthday to me with the help of the girls. I also received a very nice card from Scot and the girls. Throughout the day I received several phone calls from family wishing me a happy birthday. I also received several messages on Facebook wishing me a great birthday.

For lunch I was treated to Panera Bread by my girlfriend April and her daughter, Tessa. It was such a great gift from her! She brought lunch over to my house which worked out great because the girls played with one another which gave us time to catch up. Now that the girls are a bit older, it was fun watching them interact with one another. I have a feeling we will have a lot of fun play dates in our future!!

Later in the afternoon my Mother-in-love came over and brought me a wonderful gift....SHOPPING $$$!! Scot and I are headed to Traverse City this weekend with friends and I think I plan on doing some serious shopping!!

THANKS to all my family and friends for making my birthday a special day!!! I am very blessed in more ways than I can count!!

Mission Impossible

I have decided today that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to take the girls' one year pics.

Pics from Monday's photo session:

Photos from today's session:

"Really mom.....NOT AGAIN!!!!"

"Mom, when is it my turn??"

First Wagon Ride

The girls have been in the house for the past few days and I decided they needed to get some fresh air this morning. So I bundled them up like Eskimos and took them for their first wagon ride. We went down to the barn to visit Dad.