The Clutz Gene Hits Again!!!

Theses pictures were taken the day of.




This picture was taken a few days after the game.

I was asked to be an alternate on a softball team of a friend of mine and they asked if I could play last night. I have been wanting to play for a while and jumped at the chance. Zach helped by throwing the ball around and I also went to the batting cages for some practice. We got to the game and the other players were warming up when all of a sudden I notice that the 1st baseman was throwing the ball to me. I put out my glove to catch it and it hit it and bounce right into my eye. What luck!!! I shook it off and continued to play. After a couple of innings I touched my eye and was shocked that it had swollen to the size of a golf ball. Thank goodness for bangs and sunglasses or else everyone would have seen it. We lost but we were playing the best team in the league and our team had 4 alternates playing. I still had a great time and would love to play again. Next time I will make sure that I pay closer attention to where the ball is.

I Love The Beach!!!

The beach is the best thing about living here in Holland Michigan. It is so nice to walk in the sand and squish the sand between your toes. However I hate the sound it makes when you walk in it. It gives me the chills. Anyway, Sunday, Ryan and Emily were going to the beach so we decided to tag along. It was a pretty nice day and we were tired of being stuck in the house. When we got there we told the kids that they could get their feet wet but of course they came up with several excuses why they got wet. MaKayla's famous excuse was "I fell in". I actually saw her dive into the lake. I think that she forgot that she wasn't wearing her swimming suit. We had a great time but as we were leaving the kids decided that they were cold and Ryan and Emily's kids and Abigail whined all the way back to the car. What began as a great little outing turned into a whinefest. We still had a great time enjoying the view.

Abigail's Pre-school Field Trip

This year we did a co-op preschool with some moms from church. We would each take turns teaching in our homes. It was really fun for Abby. She really learned alot and also got to be with her friends. These are picturs of a field trip we took to the Zoo. They all had a great time.

OOOPS!!! I forgot Easter

The Family. OOPPS I almost cut MaKayla out of the pic. Sorry Sweetie.


Coloring Eggs


Abigail and her stash


MaKayla and her stash


Jacob and his loot

My beautiful kids. I am so lucky!!!

We had a great Easter this year. I thought that it would be our last one with the twins still in the dark about the Easter bunny but they still believe. Jacob was the first one to wake up and he came up the stairs and caught me with the egg carton wandering around the family room. I of course made up a silly excuse and he bought it. We waited for Abigail to wake up because you really don't want to wake her if you don't have to because she can be a real bitty. It always seems like there is one egg that goes missing each year. We had to look pretty hard for the last one, but finally found it. I wonder if it grows legs and hides itself sometimes. We went to church and then came home and took family pictures. We took a lot of them but the only one that everyone looked good in is the one where MaKayla is almost cut out of the picture. But it is better than the other ones. Sometimes I think my kids are possesed when it come to picture time. We hope everyone had a great Easter.

Tulip Time 2009

MaKayla and her 2nd grade class.


MaKayla, Cassidy, Alexis and Michaela B.


MaKayla and her best friend Hailey.


Jacob, MaKayla, Morgan(couin), and Abigail.


Jacob wearing a fishing hat he found at the craft fair.


The dutch dancers.

Well it was Tulip Time again. Every May we get to watch the Dutch dancers, eat greasy fried food, walk around downtown Holland and see all the beautiful tulips. We are so lucky. It is a beautiful time of year when everything starts to pop with color and family comes to visit to experience it for themselves. MaKayla was able to walk in the Kinderparade with her class from school. She was so excited. Grandma and Grandpa MacPherson visited and took in the sights. We love tulip time.

Jacob's First Pinewood Derby

Jacob was just like a kid in a candy store. He was so excited to race his 1st pinewood derby car that he and I had built out of a block of wood. I worked on the design and cut it out and Jacob painted it while at a scouting activity. We then added stickers and the final car looked pretty good for it being our first. I think I was just as excited to see him race. It was my first atempt at building a car. I have 4 younger brothers who were in scouts but never really remember experiencing the derby. Jacob was able to race quite a few times and in the end he got 5th place and an award for the most colorful car. Pretty good for his first time. I was excited because I built the car and wanted it to do well. Every race I was on the edge of my seat and cheering him on, well, cheering on the car. In the end it was a successful race and Jacob was happy with getting 5th place. I was estatic that he didn't end up in last. Well goes to show ya that girls can build derby cars too. And darn good ones. :)

Twins field trip

Jacob and MaKayla had their final field trip to the Meijer Butterfly Garden. We were able to go to the simple machines workshop and learn how the early settlers used different simple machines to help them make their jobs easier. They also were able to see some amazing butterflies. We visited the butterfly garden a little late in the season so there wasn't as many butterflies as we had hoped for but nonetheless we had a great time looking at all the different colors and sizes of butterflies. The kids wanted so badly for one to land on them but no such luck. We had a great time and hope to go back when there are more butterflies to see. MaKayla found a couple of baby squirrels in the garden and wanted to take them home with her. She is such an animal lover, she takes after her mom.

The Twin's Baptism

Grandma Manley found this picture at an antiques store and fell in love with it because if you know MaKayla you know she loves lambs. Grandpa Manley then made the frame out of barn wood from MaKayla's Great,Great,Grandpa Brown's Barn that is still standing. What a great gift.


Each of the kids got a bank so that they can start saving their money and also pay their tithing.

They each got their own scripture set. They were so happy because they had been using some old ones and they were falling apart.

Wow, I can't believe my twins are old enough to be baptized. How time flies. It seems like yesterday that they graduated from Nursery. What an amazing weekend we all had. Zach's parents and grandma got into town Thursday night and then took the kids out on their special day on Friday. Grandma and Grandpa Mac do a special day with each one of their grandkids when they get baptized. The grandchild gets to pick what they want to do for the day (within reason or course). Jacob and MaKayla decided they wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch, a movie, Craig's Cruisers (arcade games)and then to top it off they went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. Yummy!!! They were so excited to spend the day with their grandparents. On Friday my parents arrived and so Abby, Zach and I went to get them at the airport. We then went home and started cooking. We had a ton of food to prepare for the luncheon we had after the baptism. We also had Rob and Annie and their kids from Utah, Andy and Steph and the boys from Ohio, Mariah, Art and their kids from Illinois and Ryan and Emily and their brood from Michigan. When you get that many MacPherson's in one place your bound to go a little crazy. JK. We had a great time. The baptism program was the Grandpa's said the prayer, The Grandma's gave fabulous talks and the Uncles where the witnesses. Jacob had been so naughty he had to be dunked twice. No just kidding. His toe came up and so they had to drown him all over again. He was a good sport. We then had a luncheon at the church which was really yummy. Thanks to all those who helped with food. It was great!!! Jacob and MaKayla each got their own set of scriptures and Grandma and Grandpa Manley gave them some great gifts. They also got to ditch school for a couple of days after to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Manley. Boy did they get spoiled. We are so lucky to have such great family and we appreciate all of them for coming and supporting Jacob and MaKayla. Thanks!!!!

New Van,Yea!!!!

We'll after having no vehicle for 2 weeks due to brake problems, I finally talked Zach into getting a new van. I had originally wanted a Toyota Sienna, but we were only able to afford a 2005 or older with 50,000 miles or more on it. We then came across the Chrysler Town and Country and found that we could get a 2008 with only 10,000 miles for the same price as the Toyota so we took it. It has been so nice to finally have a dependable van. We had our last van for 7 years and had put it through a few trips to and from Utah. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it works just perfect for me.

Jacob's 1st Pack Meeting

Jacob was so excited to go to his first pack meeting. He was involved in a couple of skits so that should explain the bushy eye brows and brown shirt. He had so much fun being the center of attention. He received his first merrit badge.

When Jacob received his merrit badge he then gave me a pin of the badge he received.



During the pack meeting they also did a talent show. Jacob wanted to tell jokes for his talent and he did such a great job. He wasn't even nervous to get up in front of all those people. Way to go Jacob.

Twin's Birthday Party

The twins wanted a birthday party so they could invite their friends, so I came up with an idea so that I only had to do one party and everyone was happy. We decided to have a sledding party at Pigeon Creek Park. There they have a little lodge with tables and a huge fireplace and a great sledding hill. They all had a blast. The kids went sledding and then went into the lodge for cake and ice cream and presents. What a fun party.