Goal!

This morning Kaitlyn had her first soccer game of the season. They play on small fields with four kids on each team. Kaitlyn is #1 on the white team. Given that she stood and watched the kids play in the spring, we are very proud of her for trying and getting involved this morning. She did great.

Here is a video of her scoring a goal. They put the ball down and she took it all the way. The other kids could have stopped her, but they didn't. Yay!! Also, you'll hear me cheering because a few minutes into playing Kaitlyn came over to me and asked me to cheer for her. I assume she heard the other parents and not me, I promised her I would start cheering louder. What a cutie!!

My Ballerina

Kaitlyn likes the Barbie Dancing Princesses movie. She also likes the 12 Dancing Princesses fairytale. While Grandma and I were working on lunch and feeding Madelyn, I caught Kaitlyn in this adorable moment. She didn't know we were watching. She's my little ballerina!

Yikes - Produce & Pesticides

So, recently I feel like I have been bombarded with information about produce and pesticides in parenting magazines, on e-mail subscriptions and in my nutrition class. Is there a message for me there since we eat so much fresh fruit and so many of the items on the 'dirty' (i.e. pesticide susceptible) list?

Given our love of cooking and food, I'll post a list from Parents magazine, which pretty much mirrors the list in my nutrition book.

Foods low in pesticide residue:

• onions, corn, pineapples, avocados, asparagus, sweet peas, mangoes, eggplant, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi, cabbage, watermelon, sweet potatoes, grapefruit, and mushrooms.
• Note: many of these have outer shells or skins that are peeled off before the actual fruit is eaten. I would venture a guess that this is why they make the 'clean' list.

Foods that are susceptible to pesticides and to consider buying organic (oh sigh...they cost more, I know!)

• apples, celery, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, kale/collard greens, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, imported grapes, imported nectarines, spinach, and peaches.
• Note: If you do not buy organic, the articles say to wash the food very well. "Rubbing it or swirling it in a colander under tap water for at least 15 seconds reduces pesticide deposits by 30 percent." (Food and Chemical Toxicology Report in Parents Magazine).

Last but not least, consider trying to buy fruits grown in the U.S. because we have strict regulations on pesticides whereas other countries (i.e. Mexico) do not have the same restrictions and it is a great thing to support our farmers! As such, an illegal pesticide in the U.S. may be sold to another country, used on their produce and that produce resold back to United States consumers (information taken from my nutrition book).

A Trip to Michigan

Enjoy the photos below of our trip to Michigan. I loaded them backwards, so the beginning of the trip actually starts with Dairy Queen at the very bottom. Since we lack a wonderful Dairy Queen where we live, it only made sense to start our first day in MI with a visit to the local DQ. Yum - it tasted so good!

After a day spent with Gamma and Pa Kuopus, we visited friends of ours in Ann Arbor and then ventured off to our first (and hopefully annual) "808" college reunion picnic. Thank you Meredith for the awesome pictures of the group, the kids, and the splash pad. A great time was had by all!!

We also enjoyed family time with Aunt Niki and Pa Harry and a visit with Mrs. Susan at Gamma Linda's house and at the beach.

Mommy and daddy snuck away to Chicago for our anniversary (pictures in a separate blog) and then traveled with the girls up to Traverse City to visit Uncle Tim, Gamma Laurie, and Mr. Joe. Mr. Joe graciously invited us to the family farm, workshop and orchard where Kaitlyn (and family) picked carrots, watermelon, cantaloupe, green peppers, and fresh peas and much more. Everything tasted so good!

We returned to Gamma Linda's for a short rest and some fishing and putt putt golf, another quick visit with mommy's two friends, and then back home. It was a whirlwind tour as usual, but a lot of fun! To those of you we didn't get to see - we're sorry and we hope to catch you next time.