Growing up Hoosier

Fall Break on 30A [VIDEO]

2018-10-22T15:56:00.000-04:00

Once again, we headed to 30A in Florida for fall break this year. Luckily, Nana and Boppa were able to join us for a few days of our trip this year!

Password: ReeseW

We had an absolutely amazing dinner at Great Southern in Seaside and I'm literally salivating as I type this because I can't wait to go back.

Another great trip to 30A!

Palmer's 6th Birthday [VIDEO]

2018-09-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

While Reese's birthday party was the last one we celebrated on Kingsley, Palmer's birthday was the first one we celebrated on Ivy and this year's theme was "Space."

Palmer had a great time celebrating once at Bo and Cici's house and again for his party at our house. A few school friends came over for cake, bounce house, and lots of fun!

Password: ReeseW

Summer of New Beginnings - New Puppy, New School, and a New House!

2018-09-05T14:42:00.000-04:00

Whew, the summer of 2018 was a busy one, and one that was full of changes.

First off, we adopted this adorable beagle from southern Michigan. The best part was we got to surprise the boys while we were in South Haven for the 4th of July. They had NO idea we were getting a puppy and they just about lost their minds.

Maizy has been a great addition to our family (even when she gets a little crazy as a puppy), and we can't imagine living without her.

Just about a week after we got Maizy, a house came on the market about a half-mile from our house, so we put an offer down and got it! That quickly turned our slow, puppy-training summer into a mad dash to redo the kitchen, get rid of a lot of junk, sell the house, and move summer - in addition to puppy-training! It was a crazy summer, but we sold our house in a day and by Labor Day, we had moved into our new house just 8 blocks away from where we've lived for the past decade plus.

Our third big change for the summer was switching schools. The boys' school opened a new location within walking distance (of both our old and new houses), so we made the jump!

Reese's 9th Birthday [VIDEO]

2018-06-20T21:28:00.000-04:00

Reese had an awesome ninja theme for his 9th birthday. It was also, unbeknownst to us at the time, the last birthday we'd celebrate in the house we'd lived in since the boys were born.

:Password: ReeseW

Reese's Ninja theme was a big hit and everyone invited had a great time.

Spring Break 2018 - New Orleans [VIDEO]

2018-05-11T09:58:00.000-04:00

Yes, we went to New Orleans on spring break. Yes, we went with our kids. Yes, we had a great time!

Password: ReeseW

We started off the trip with a drive and hike down the Natchez Trace Parkway, an old trading route from the Mississippi River up to Nashville.

The boys earned three more National Parks Junior Ranger badges on the trip.

A trip to New Orleans isn't complete without hearing some jazz music in the French Quarter.

We took a French Quarter Kids Tour and it was a fantastic introduction to the French Quarter.

The boys' favorite part of the trip? Beignets from Cafe Du Monde.

We took a streetcar to the zoo and back and it was a great experience.

At City Park, we found a great playground that was themed after fairy tales.

Another fun part of the trip was the swamp tour we went on as we left town.

Palmer would have brought one of the swamp raccoons home with him if we let him :)

Christmas 2017 - Chicago with the Parkers [VIDEO]

2018-02-08T20:43:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Christmas a bit differently this year. Usually we're home on Christmas morning, but this year, we headed to Chicago to spend the holiday with Lindsay's side of the family.

We rented an Airbnb in West Lakeview and spent a couple of snowy days celebrating Christmas.

We made a stop off at the Field Museum and the Bean in Millennium Park on our way into town.

The boys had never been to the Field Museum and they really enjoyed meeting Sue the T-Rex!

It was FREEZING, but the boys thought the Bean was really cool.

The Airbnb we stayed at was absolutely perfect for Christmas and the boys loved spending time with their cousins, and others from the Parker side of the family.

We were lucky enough to have a white Christmas for the first time in several years and playing in the snow was a highlight of the trip for the boys.

What's Christmas without making Christmas cookies?

The cousins:

Reese got an awesome LEGO set from Santa and Palmer got a really cool BB-8 Activity Center.

Nana just couldn't get enough of her newest grandson.

Nana, Boppa, and the grandkids.

Although it was a different way to spend Christmas than usual for us, we had a great time in Chicago!

Fall Break 2017 - Seagrove Beach, FL [VIDEO]

2017-12-05T20:19:00.003-05:00

We had another great trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida back in October for Fall Break (see last year's trip here). We stayed in the same neighborhood that we stayed in last year, and spent just about all our time at the beach.

One change this year: it was really, really, really hot. A hurricane blew through the area on our way down to the coast and brought hot, sticky air with it, so we really had to spend as much time at the beach as possible to stay cool.

On our way down, we stopped off in Nashville to check out their Adventure Science Center.

Password: ReeseW

We stayed in a great little cottage in Cassine Village, the same neighborhood where we stayed last year.

Sunset on the beach...nothing better!

It was great to see Aunt Fran and Alice again!

The boys LOVED boogie boarding and would have spent the entire vacation on their boogie boards if we let them.

On the way home, we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park and the boys loved checking out their first cave.

Palmer's 5th Birthday Party [VIDEO]

2017-10-17T20:01:00.001-04:00

Happy 5th Birthday Palmer! It's hard to believe he's already 5, but he's really been growing into such a fun kid. Palmer has really been into sharks lately, so he decided he wanted a shark-themed birthday party this year.

Password: ReeseW

Palmer was really excited about his shark party and a few weeks before, he told us that he really wanted a shark with a disco ball in its mouth, so we made it happen!

The first activity was making sparkly blue slime. It was a bit messy, but the kids really enjoyed getting their hands dirty and making some fun slime.

He really loved his shark "sleeping bag" and basically kept it on non-stop for the next several days.

Happy 5th Birthday Palmer, we love you so much!

Williams Family Week and Sailing to Sixty Party [VIDEO]

2017-10-10T16:03:00.001-04:00

Over July 4th week, the entire Williams family gathered together in South Haven for a week of family fun. We also took the opportunity of being all together to celebrate a joint 60th birthday party for my parents.

Password: ReeseW

The kids had fun at the annual South Haven 4th of July Parade.

The boy cousins loved their golf cart trip up to the Golden Brown Bakery for donuts one morning.

One of the trip highlights was making tie dye shirts.

Of course, it's not a South Haven vacation in the summer without spending time at the beach.

The boys were super excited to stay up late to watch the fireworks on the shore of Lake Michigan

Reese, Bo, Taylor, and I all went out for a fishing trip. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything.

Luckily, my Uncle Richard, Aunt Carol, and cousins Matt and Caroline were able to visit for the 4th of July and we had a mini Williams Family Reunion at the cottage.

For their joint 60th birthday celebration, Lindsay planned the decorations around a "Sailing to Sixty" theme.

It was another great trip to South Haven, this one with the entire family!

Nana and Boppa's June Visit

2017-07-23T20:55:00.000-04:00

Nana and Boppa came to visit for a week in June and we had a great time with them.

They were in town for Reese's birthday, so we all got to celebrate Reese turning 8 together.

Once again, Reese got several LEGO sets for his birthday, but his favorite was Jestro's Volcano Lair from the Nexo Knights series.

Everyone enjoyed exploring Connor Prairie and getting out into the great summer weather.

We were studying France during the week Nana and Boppa visited, so the boys each grabbed a partner and had a competition to build the Eiffel Tower.

Palmer's little dog-loving heart exploded when we visited the Dogs exhibit at the Eiteljorg Museum downtown.

What's a visit to Indy without taking a picture in front of the NDY sculptures?

As is our annual tradition, we headed over to Christ The King's Summer Social and had a blast.

Another tradition when Doug and Leslie visit is to work on a project. This visit's project was putting in new carpet in the breezeway.

While Boppa and I worked on the breezeway carpet, Nana and the boys enjoyed some mini excavation kits.

Reese's 8th Birthday [VIDEO]

2017-07-16T07:56:00.000-04:00

Reese had an excellent 8th birthday party this year!

He's been interested in Pokemon for a little while and this year he wanted it as the theme for his party.

Since Reese has a late-June birthday, we hosted his party a few weeks before, right after school got out so a couple friends could join and celebrate with him.

Password: ReeseW

While most of the decorations ended up at my parents' house, we had a kind of "progressive birthday party" this year.

We started picking up Reese's friends and kicked things off with lunch at McDonald's (Reese's choice).

After lunch, we headed to SkyZone (which everyone loved).

We finished up the party at Cici and Bo's with swimming and cake.

It was another great birthday party, and Reese loved celebrating with his friends!

Late May & Early June Activities

2017-06-21T20:04:00.000-04:00

We've had a busy past few weeks. In addition to Reese's birthday (which I'll post about soon), we've done a lot in the past few weeks.

Thanks to Lindsay's blog, we've had the chance to experience some pretty cool stuff throughout Indiana in the past few months, including Mini-Golf at the IMA.

Reese helped me make some Mango Mosaic beer, which is delicious, by the way.

We checked out the 500 Festival Parade once again and, once again, it was great!

We explored a new park and splashpad in Zionsville, Mulberry Fields.

And, the boys had their last day of school.

Palmer loves his teachers, Mrs. Singh and Mrs. Irish.

Reese finished up his second, and final, year with Miss Sjoerdsma. We'll miss her next year, but Reese is very excited to start 2nd grade.

Mother's Day and Reese Rides His Bike Without Training Wheels

2017-05-18T21:05:00.000-04:00

We had a Great Mother's Day weekend this year.

The weather was perfect and we spent almost the entire weekend outside.

On Saturday we met with Bo and Cici in Westfield to Rail Epicurean, a great restaurant where we got to sit outside and enjoy an early Mother's Day lunch.

On Mother's Day, we opened some gifts and ended up teaching Reese how to ride his bike without training wheels.

Reese was so excited to learn how to ride (not to mention the new bike he got)

Password: ReeseW

Of course, since Reese got a new bike, Palmer got Reese's old bike and he was just as excited as Reese to start riding his bike by himself.

Easter 2017

2017-04-16T17:06:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter!

It was quite a late Easter this year, so it was nice and warm by the time Easter rolled around. We got the opportunity to do an Easter Egg hunt at a friend's church just down the street from our house.

Reese and Palmer both really got into the hunt this year.

The haul:

After the hunt, there were several activities like tattoos, cornhole and bubbles.

Palmer even got to meet the Easter Bunny!

We even dyed a few Easter Eggs:

On Easter Sunday, we headed to Cici and Bo's house to spend the holiday with them.

The boys were pretty excited about the costumes in their Easter Baskets at Cici and Bo's house

We got to decorate the eggs we dyed on Saturday

And, we had yet another Easter Egg Hunt at Bo and Cici's house.

Overall, we had a really great Easter!

Spring Break 2017 [VIDEO]

2017-04-01T20:44:00.002-04:00

We just wrapped up Spring Break this year and we had a pretty busy two weeks.

Reese and Palmer got to paint their very own ice cream bowls:

The boys were very excited for their new Darth Vader and Yoda sweatshirts for the trip to Evansville.

We spent a long weekend down in Evansville and had a lot of fun exploring their zoo, Children's Museum, and more.

Evansville Trip: Day 1

Password: ReeseW

Spring Break 2017 - Day 1 from Jeremy Williams on Vimeo.

Evansville Trip: Day 2

Password: ReeseW

Spring Break 2017 - Day 2 from Jeremy Williams on Vimeo.

We had a fantastic dinner at Pangea Kitchen.

We stopped off in New Harmony, Indiana on the way home and spent some time at the Roofless Church...

...and one of the labyrinths in town.

After our trip to Evansville, Lindsay and the boys went to Conner Prairie

Both boys joined the Union Army

And trained to become soldiers

I also brought the boys to the zoo for a day.

We got to check out the grand opening of the Fresh Thyme in Broad Ripple, complete with Face Painting.

The boys tried their hand at painting crafts in Noblesville.

Lindsay, Reese and I got to go horeseback riding to cap off a great spring break.

Reese was a little nervous at first, but as soon as we started moving he loved it and couldn't stop smiling.

President's Day Mini-Vacation in Ohio

2017-02-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

The boys had President's Day off school and I was going to start a new job a couple days later, so we took a short, impromptu trip to Columbus and Dayton Ohio over the holiday weekend.

We first stopped at COSI (Columbus' Center Of Science and Industry), an excellent museum that I went to when I was a kid. Best of all, it was free because we got reciprocal admission with our Indiana State Museuem membership!

Both boys loved that they could lift a car with fulcrums and levers.

Even though OSU is located in Columbus, it was a pretty cool city. It reminded me a lot of Indy, but it felt a little more like it was a city made up of a bunch of small towns rather than a planned city like Indy.

We stopped by Jeni's for ice cream twice because it was SO GOOD!

The Columbus Museum of Art was free on Sunday, so we dropped by to check it out. We were very impressed with a few of the exhibits.

Lindsay researched and discovered a realaly cool bookstore in German Village called The Book Loft. It was a windy old house that had 32 rooms full of books.

We explored Scioto park, right on the banks of the Scioto river, just a few miles from Dublin, where we spent the night.

On the way home, we dropped by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to check out the amazingly impressive U. S. Air Force Museum.

There were 4 enmormous hangars full of planes from replicas of the earliest airplanes from the early 1900s, through World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Korea, modern Air Force jets, and space exploration.

We walked more than 4 miles just inside the museum and got to tour 4 Air Force One jets used by JFK, Eisenhower, Truman, and FDR.

It was a great mini-vacation and it was fun exploring a city we'd never been to as a family!

Early 2017 Fun (Jan & Feb)

2017-02-21T19:51:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy January and Februrary and we haven't blogged in a while, so here are some updates.

Lindsay and I got to check out the RV show in early January and got to tour some really cool RVs, Campers, and Fifth Wheels.

Nana and Boppa visited over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and Pie Face Game was a huge hit all around.

Nana and Palmer had fun building a cottage out of his new Legos.

We even got to go bowling while they were in town and Palmer loved his first time.

Reese created his own board game out of Legos after being inspired by a Lego ideas book he got for Christmas from his cousins.

We also explored Tarkington Park, a brand-new redesigned park near the boys' school and the LOVED it.

Oh, I also got rear-ended in my beloved '03 Civic, and, because of its age, it was totaled.

Reese was a little sad about having to get rid of my car, so we went out, took some pictures, and said goodbye.

However, within a week, I found a great deal on a '10 Civic from some family friends in Michigan and I love it.

While we were in South Haven to pick up the car, we checked out the Ice Breaker Festival

And, who could talk about the past few weeks without talking about the crazy warm weather. We've been able to be outside a ton in the past few weeks and it's been glorious.

As is our tradition, we wrote things we love on hearts on the boys' doors for Valentines Day

And, we finished the day off with some cheese and chocolate fondue.

Christmas and New Year's 2016 [VIDEO]

2017-01-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Merry (belated) Christmas and New Year! We had a busy few weeks surrounding the holidays in 2016, but we had a lot of fun.

Password: ReeseW

We visited French Lick, Indiana just before Christmas and spent time at Big Splash Adventure, a hotel/water park in town and the boys were in heaven.

We took some time to explore both the French Lick Casino and West Baden Springs Resort.

We spent Christmas at home this year and had a great time as a family.

Palmer got some super cool Legos.

And Reese was ecstatic over his Harry Potter costume and book.

A few days after Christmas, we got to celebrate 2nd Christmas at Cici and Bo's and the rest of the family was there to celebrate with us.

Reese and Elliot couldn't wait to play Minecraft and Palmer enjoyed just watching.

During the inaugural Williams FamilyNew Year's Olympics, we had the runners-up...

...and the Grand Champions!

We capped it all off by celebrating Cici's birthday!

Thanksgiving & Thanksgiving Weekend 2016

2016-11-29T18:07:00.000-05:00

We had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend this year. We had two Thanksgiving meals, took a road trip and went out to see a movie!

Since we didn't have any family in town this year for Thanksgiving, we decided to celebrate a day early with our own "Sidesgiving" on Wednesday. That way we got to make and enjoy the best part of the holidays anyway - the sides.

On Thanksgiving evening, we went over to a friends' house to celebrate with their families and the kids got to relax with a little TV.

After Thanksgiving, we took a road trip down to Madison, Indiana, on the banks of the Ohio River. Reese and I got a chance to see the river from the Visitor's Center in downtown Madison.

We had lunch at the famous Red Pepper Deli, which was delicious.

Madison is surprisingly hilly and taking State Road 7 into town brings you on a winding descent past great rock structures like this.

Our two little turtles...

We enjoyed several hikes in Clifty Falls State Park, one of our favorite State Parks and one that Lindsay and I visited way back in 2007.

It was chilly, but we all had fun hiking, even on the rugged trails of Clifty Falls.

We stayed overnight at the Clifty Inn and had a fantastic time there. In addition to the nice suite we stayed in, they had a huge room full of games, puzzles, and a nice warm fireplace.

What Williams vacation is complete without trying on some silly hats?

That evening we wandered into downtown Madison to explore the town.

We got to read in the children's section of their downtown library...

...and had a great dinner at Hinkle's.

After dinner, we hopped into a few shops and checked out the Christmas Tree and Fountain all decorated for the Holidays.

On Saturday (also, our Anniversary), we took the morning to explore one more trail at Clifty Falls State Park before heading home.

After a long, busy Thanksgiving break, we chilled out on Sunday and went to see Moana at the movie theater. I think Palmer liked the electric reclining chair just as much as the movie! Even though they look bored, we all loved the movie.

Palmerisms:

"You made me sadder than a sad goose!"

When we were listening to the Beatles and he heard another song that sounded like them he asked: "Is this the bugs?"

From a while back, when we were in Florida, he saw waves coming and would say: "Here comes a beautiful, beautiful wave!"

Just before election day Palmer went and unlocked the door as we were getting ready to head into the house. He let Lindsay go first and said: "Ladies first!" Then he said; "Now can I vote, because I'm a gentleman?"

Reeseism:

Reese and Palmer were playing in the basement and Reese came up to let us know there was a bug on the floor. We asked where Palmer was and Reese told us "Oh, he's in the basement". We know Palmer doesn't really like to be in the basement by himself, so we said we'd need to go down so Palmer didn't freak out. Reese's response: "It's okay, the bug is keeping Palmer company!"

Monumental Marathon and Williams' Thanksgiving 2016

2016-11-08T18:04:00.000-05:00

Cici just ran her third Monumental Half Marathon in Indy and Uncle Matt ran it with her this year.

We went down closer to town to cheer them on!

Since Cici and Bo will be out of town for Thanksgiving, we did an early Thanksgiving with Nathalie, Matt, and the cousins.

Cici got to snuggle with her younger grandkids and read a book.

Hanging out on the porch on a sunny, warm, November day.

Out of dozens of pictures, this was probably the best picture of all the grandkids.

Chess was a big hit this weekend.

We had a great weekend celebrating an early Thanksgiving with Cici, Bo, Uncle Matt, Aunt Nathalie, Elliot, and Rosie!

Happy Halloween 2016

2016-11-08T17:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween from the Williams! (check out 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009)

We did Trunk or Treating at the church down the street a few days before Halloween, so Reese decided to dress up differently for that.

CANDY!

The boys loved trick or treating in Meridian Kessler, our new favorite area to go on Halloween

This was at the beginning of the night before they ended up with literal pounds of candy.

We got to trick or treat with Cici and Bo this year, so that was a lot of fun.

The aftermath - pounds of candy sorted by type.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Break 2016 - Seagrove Beach, Florida [VIDEO]

2016-10-28T14:49:00.000-04:00

The kids had more than two full weeks off this year for fall break, so we decided to head to the Florida Panhandle to get away on a beach vacation. Unlike when we go to Disney, we decided to drive this time.

Password: ReeseW

Our first lunch stop was in Nashville where we had a picnic on the banks of the Cumberland River just across from downtown.

We stopped off in Fort Walton to visit Aunt Fran and Alice. The boys even discovered a turtle in the back yard!

Next stop, the beach!

Palmer was so excited, the first thing he did was make a Sand Angel.

Even though we were on Fall Break, it's still important to practice writing

We took a short bike ride to Seaside and it was a great little town

We checked out the bookstore and record store right across from a beautiful park

We got a little silly before heading back to our condo for the evening

One of the boys' favorite things to do was eating Jello while watching the sunset

Reese was determined to catch some of the tiny fish that swam right at the foot of the surf. Unfortunately, he didn't nab one.

Can't beat that Gulf of Mexico Sunset

We stopped off at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL on our way back home and the boys had a good time exploring there

We still love South Haven and Lake Michigan, but there was something pretty special about Seagrove Beach too. I'm sure we'll be back.

Palmer's Birthday & The Parker's Fall Visit [VIDEO]

2016-10-03T08:07:00.002-04:00

I still can't believe Palmer is 4 years old. He wanted a Paw Patrol party for his 4th birthday and it went off without a hitch. It was great to have Nana and Boppa in town and have Cici, Bo and the Morrisons attend Palmer's birthday bash! (Here are pictures & videos from Palmer's 3rd birthday, 2nd birthday, and 1st birthday)

Password: ReeseW

Nana always loves snuggling with her boys

The party was great. Lindsay did a great job on the decorations (see more in the video) and Palmer loved it.

We took our bikes downtown and Nana and Boppa used the Pacers Bike Share bikes and we biked all around the Cultural Trail. We had a lot of fun and will definitely be back to bike it again.

Checking out the little free library in White River State Park downtown.

The weekend of Palmer's birthday party was the last hot weekend of the year and we took advantage of that by heading to Central Park West in Carmel to check out their brand new splash pad. The kids LOVED IT!

What trip is complete without stopping by Meijer? The boys, Nana and Boppa, and Lindsay did a scavenger hunt at Meijer before they headed out of town.

Another year, another great birthday party. Happy 4th Birthday Palmer! We love you!

2016 Labor Day in South Haven [VIDEO]

2016-09-20T20:53:00.001-04:00

"You never forget your first fish" I'm sure that's a saying somewhere, right?

We went to South Haven for a long weekend over Labor Day and had a great time hanging out with my parents. The highlight of the trip, by far, was Reese catching his first fish out in Lake Michigan. He caught an 8.8 lb. King Salmon and reeled it in all by himself. He was so excited to go out fishing with my dad and me and even more excited when he caught his first fish.

Password: ReeseW

Rosie and Elliot were there for the first day of the weekend, so it was great for the boys to hang out with their cousins.

We finally got a great place to get out and ride bikes.

Farmers Market visits are always great

iPad time with Bo is A+

What summer trip to South Haven is complete without a trip to the beach?

All three of us had a blast fishing out on the Lake.

Palmerisms:

He says "stunk" instead of "skunk"
He says "fravorite" instead of "favorite"
He and Reese both still call "barbwire" "Bob Wire"
Instead of a "bench", Palmer calls it a "vench"

Penrod Art Fair and the Conner Prairie Apple Store

2016-09-11T14:58:00.000-04:00

We made our first family visit to the Penrod Art Fair this weekend. It's very much a fine arts fair, but there were activities for kids, so the boys were fairly entertained.

The boys got to color some bags from Riley Children's Health

Palmer was mesmerized by the Melchior Marionettes

Reese got to draw a picture (Iron Man, one of this favorite things to color lately) and leave it for someone else to pick up. Since he was one of the first kids to leave artwork, there wasn't anything he decided to bring home, but he was pretty excited that another kid might enjoy his drawing.

Th shaved ice was the kids' favorite thing about Penrod.

After lunch a cold front came through, cooled things down and made it start to feel like fall, so we headed to The Apple Store at Conner Prairie to get some apples!