Blessed Beyond Measure: The A Team Week 40: Meijer

This week had some exciting moments. On Wednesday Avery turned nine months old, and on Saturday we spent the day as a family at the Brookfield Zoo. Now these events will each get their own special mentions and blogs in the future, but the third event is the one that we have pined for the longest and the one that I will focus on in this blog: Meijer! That's right, for the past nine years, we have lived in Kenosha and longed for a Meijer and our dreams have finally been realized.

You see, Kenosha is a fine small town but lacks some amenities that we grew accustomed to in Ann Arbor. One of those (among the endless selections restaurants) is Meijer. What is Meijer you ask? Well, in actuality it is simply a big box store in competition with Target and Walmart, but we love it so much more than either of those as it has the quality and cleanliness of Target and the variety of Walmart, but beats both in having a great selection, very competitive prices and a grocery section which kicks both competitors butts easily. When we lived in Michigan there was one down the street from our apartment and it was our go-to for pretty much everything...including random winter dates when we just wanted to walk around, but the temperatures were too low to do so outdoors. Then in 2006 we moved to Kenosha and realized that Meijer (which is a family owned company located only in a few Midwestern states) had not yet reached the Wisconsin market. :( Not long after this was discovered and we realized just how much we missed it, Eric wrote the company an email and told them that they should consider moving into Wisconsin and that Kenosha would be a great place to start. Then, a couple of years ago, Eric (who frequently knows what is going up in Kenosha before most others due to his job) heard that Meijer was considering a site in town. We were both very excited and Eric continued to hound a contact at the City of Kenosha planning department to keep him in the loop. When the building was approved, we both cheered and then it was just a matter of time until we got to enjoy Meijer in our own hometown. This week was that time!

On Tuesday June 23, Meijer opened its doors in Wisconsin for the very first time, and you can bet that Eric was there (even though he had already taken a building tour of the store a few weeks prior). I will admit that I was very excited for the store to open, but nothing could prepare me for the excitement of my husband...you would have thought it was Christmas at our house! We talked about it so much that every time we would drive by the un-opened building, Asher would ask if it was open yet. When Tuesday finally came, we told Asher that the day had finally come and when I picked him up at daycare that night, the first thing he asked me is if we were going to Meijer! :) ..needless to say, we did (after making it into a family event and enjoying dinner together first).

Eric with his first Meijer frozen Coke on Tuesday morning...our first official Wisconsin Meijer purchase.

Video: "We're Going to Meijer!"

The excitement of Meijer continued throughout the week. Eric went to Meijer Every.Single.Day at least once, and some days up to three times! He was a happy guy (don't get me wrong, I was pretty happy too, but couldn't match the enthusiasm of Eric as shopping with the kids is not nearly as enjoyable as our kid-free trips that we take while at the cottage), not only enjoying our new store, but also enjoying the give-aways that came with it...and for anyone that knows my husband well he LOVES freebies (no matter what they are). In addition to the gift bags full of water bottles, chip clips, paper pads, tortilla chips and more Eric got a special package in the mail! After he had taken his building tour earlier in June, he had written Meijer a message stating how excited he was for the store to open. Later the same day, he was emailed asking him to provide his address and they would send him something special as he waited for the grand opening. He came home that night to tell me the exciting news and I tried to prepare him for the fact that he would likely just receive some coupons or something small. On Thursday though (the date of the official Grand Opening), I found a package addressed to Eric Migrin on our front porch when I got home. When I showed it to Eric he lit up with excitement (an enthusiasm I didn't even see on his face the week prior when I gave him his birthday presents)! He opened it up with Asher's help to find a letter and some grilling supplies to "enjoy as we awaited the store's opening" (a bit late on that aspect, but still appreciated). He was very happy with the gift and made sure to rub it in my face that it was not just coupons! ;)

So, that was a glimpse of The A Team Week 40 and while it was exciting to see our Meijer dreams realized after an almost decade-long wait and possibly the most memorable moment of week, it was in no way the most special moment of the week. Rather, every single second that we spend with our little guys is a special and precious moment that easily trumps any excitement that we could have for a store. Thus, here is a glimpse of the rest of our week...

On Monday, after a great but busy weekend with our boys celebrating Father's Day and enjoying Asher's pirate party, I really missed my little guys. So...I requested a couple of pictures from daycare...

On Wednesday (Avery's 9 month birthday), the boys and I enjoyed a great day together complete with matching tattoos, fun at the playground, a hike in the woods, and a new milestone for our baby boy...standing on his own!

Asher & I showing off our matching tats.

Asher at Pet's playground.

Since Pet's park not only has a great playground, but also has a beautiful site with hiking trails, I took the boys into the woods to enjoy a walk by the river. Asher loved exploring with me, and I relished the quiet moment in God's creation with my boys!

Asher showing me where we should go.

Frolicking in the woods.

Avery couldn't walk around like Asher, but still enjoyed our exploration.

I realized it was time to leave the woods when the Mosquitos were overpowering and when Asher said, "Look Mommy!" while holding up a plant he picked for me...I'm pretty sure it was poison ivy but I immediately had him drop it and cleaned his hands with sanitizing wipes and thankfully he never had a reaction!

Avery enjoying watching Mommy & Asher run around with Asher's big ball.

I tried to get some pictures of the boys together, but that rarely works out as intended. While there is never the picture perfect moment to enlarge and frame on our walls, the series of attempts always makes me smile!

Littlest man enjoying the swing.

Stopping to smell the flowers.

Video: Raspberries

Avery discoveries how to blow raspberries on my leg...Kept him busy for SEVERAL minutes!

Video: My Boxcar Children

"Look Mom, No Hands!!" (How is he growing up so quickly?!)

...and moments later...down he goes.

Video: Hello to Theo

Asher taking a moment to send a hello to his buddy Theo

My adorable little (matching) dudes.

On the same day that Eric got his Meijer package, we found a surprise for Asher on our back porch...an early birthday surprise from our neighbor Marge!