Beautiful Sunday

Our time with family here in Ontario is coming to an end. Sunday was a beautiful day starting with Brooklyns baptism and ending with many beautiful cousins playing together until it was much past bedtime at Nate and Winonas (Thanks for hosting all of us). We were able to visit with some friends as well as family and it was such a meaningful time to witness the baptism and then spend time together strenthening our bonds as family and friends. Tomorrow we get to enjoy one last day with the Klompmakers and Julius's parents in the evening and Tuesday morning we head out for the US.

so much fun

Pictures of cottage life

Oh what a week it was!

Summer fun

Without Internet access it has been difficult to keep up with the blog. Our time in Ontario has been tremendous - highlighted again by the fact that the kids are connecting wonderfully with their cousins. We look forward to water skiing and tubing today - our last full day at the cottage. Next up - baby Brooklyn's baptism on Sunday and then hanging out with Jodi and John and their girls Jocelyn and Kirsten.

Picton Bay with Siebenga's

The last few days have been full of fishing, campfires, kayaks, swimming and great times with family sharing and playing. Our trip from Grand Rapids,MI to Picton, ON was a good one and we made it just in time to share in our first campfire of the week. Tonight we had smores after a great day at the beach.

Our last day here in Michigan

Its a bittersweet day as we enjoy our last day with family here in MI and we say goodbye. Our time here has gone by quickly as each day seemed to hold a new place to see and people to get to know for the first time or again.

Some of us slept in today and then after some packing we headed out to see Aunt Carole's new place. It is wonderful! She has decided to upsize rather than downsize in her retired years and it looks like she will be the hostess for many wonderful gatherings of friends and family. We will miss you!

Then off to meet Uncle David, Aunt Cathy and Cousin Emily for an afternoon at Meijer Gardens. It was a steamy day, but everything in this amazing place kept us going. Whether it was the enormous DaVinci horse or the tree house or the gardens it was beautiful. Thank you for taking us to such a great place! The frozen custard afterwards was a delicious treat and we are so glad we got to spend time with you.

But our day wasn't over yet, we decided to surprise Julius and snuck over to Calvin and found him. He was heading out for dinner with his group, but it was good to see him and plan our departure for tomorrow. His Fellowship is going well, but he is looking forward to starting his summer vacation.

Back home in Hudsonville we ate pizza with Uncle Chuck, Aunt Diane, and 2nd cousins, Sarah, Jacob and Anna. It was a special night with smores from the fire pit, playing tag and catching fireflies. We wanted it to never end.

Our time here has been so special for all of us. Staying with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Diane has been a gift we could not even imagine as we planned for this trip so many months ago. Their constant generosity of time, housing, friendship, child watching, meals and outings has made this trip more meaningful than we ever expected. We are so very grateful. We will miss waking up in your beautiful home every morning. Thanks for giving us the best beds in the house...

Sunday we leave for another leg of this wild ride. Eager to see what it brings.

Amazing day at the Lake

Today we headed up to the lake house of our cousins Kara and Harold and their 3 beautiful children-Will, Ty and Alyssa. Aunt Diane and Uncle Chuck showed us the way there and it was as beautiful as promised. We did so many new and exciting things!

Fishing was one of the most anticipated events and we were not disappointed. Uncle Chuck got us going and gave us our first lessons and soon Uncle Harold came and we were baiting hooks, learning to cast and reeling in some pretty amazing fish. Sofie, Toby and Eliot all caught a big fish and lots of little ones and felt so proud and happy to of had a new experience. Especially for Eliot as he has been interested in fishing for a long time.

Next we all took turns and went really, really fast on the wave runner and also got pulled in the big skee doo tube. It felt as if we were flying! Each one of the kids loved it and couldn't wait for it to be their turn again. Even Heidi learned to drive the wave runner and took a turn in the tube. She was not the driver of choice for Toby as she didn't drive fast enough, but Sofie took a ride with mom and she said is was "fast enough for her"-thanks Sof.

Then a ride around the lake on the pontoon boat for more fishing. Then when we didn't think it could get any better, the kayaks came out. What a great way to see the lake in a quiet peaceful ride. Sofie said that it took a lot of "determination" to do some of these new and scary things, and she is so glad she tried them.

So we arrived home exhausted with stomachs full of good summer BBQ and memories to last a long time. Thanks Krols and Konings! We loved spending time with you all and getting to know you better!!

Fun in the sun with cousins!

Wednesday was a day full of so much fun. We started at VBS which was full of crafts and great story telling. Heidi and Amy Koning had a chance to grab a coffee and catch up on things while the kids were busy there-what a special time.

Straight from VBS we went to Grandhaven Beach which is such a beautiful Lake. We spent some good hours there in the very cold water (OK maybe just the kids played in the water), building sand castles and walking down the pier.

Next we headed to our cousins house and played more, had a delicious summer BBQ meal, played some more and then had more yummy Hudsonville ice cream. It was great to be with Bob, Amy and family. Already our kids are looking forward to more visits with them. Julius was able to steal away from his meetings for the evening, so we got to visit with him as well and hear how things are going with his fellowship. Then late night drive to Grand Rapids to drop him off and late to bed for all of us.

Today was a quieter day for all of us with errands and time spent at Uncle Chucks and Aunt Dianes. Our outdoor highlights today were fire flies and playing with the biggest frisbee we have ever seen-thanks Uncle Chuck! Chuck and Diane also did some major babysitting today for us and we are grateful! It gave Heidi the opportunity to go to Calvin and see the work that Julius is doing as well as meet some of the great people he has been meeting with over the last 18 months. It was great to see Julius in action.

We can't believe we only have a few days left here. It has been such a good time. But there are lots of good times still to be had here before we leave for Ontario. More tomorrow!

Full to the brim Tuesday

Today was a day filled with so many new things to do and places to see! First the kids went to VBS with their new "cousins". They had great fun and are eager to go tomorrow. After learning about Nazareth all morning we were all off to see Uncle David in Grand Rapids, to see what he does all day at work. His lab at Van Andel was so interesting and even though some of the details were a little gross, we enjoyed seeing this really exciting place.

Next we were off to see Auntie Carole at her house. She is in the process of moving so we got to choose a huge box of books to take with us. She greeted us with rootbeer floats which tasted delicious!

Then we dropped Julius off at Calvin and got a great tour of all his favorite places there (especially the soccer field). He will be there till Sunday morning and will will miss him a lot.

Then back to pick up Auntie Carole and go to Reeds Lake for dinner at Rose's. We enjoyed the beautiful time at the lake and a wonderful meal. By now, we were exhausted and ready to head back to Hudsonville. We saw the fire flies were coming out when we got there so we collected a jar full and then released them again.

Its been hard to sleep with all the excitement and new experiences but hopefully sleep comes soon and we will be ready for another adventure tomorrow!

Thunderstorms, Mosquitos, Fire-Flies, Ice Cream and Cousins

Our first full day in Michigan was great. It started with a few thunder storms that we rarely experience in BC and ended with the kids catching fire-flies in their pajamas and giving them to Uncle Chuck to put in a jar.

Tonight the kids met Heidi's cousin Bob and Amy's kids (Sarah, Jacob and Anna), and Heidi's other cousin Kara and Harold's kids (Will, Tyler and Alyssa). It was a crazy night of the kids playing tag, fuseball, getting bit by mosquitos, and all in all just having fun getting to know each other. They anticipate spending more time together throughout the course of the week including Vacation Bible School in the morning, the beach and going to Kara and Harold's Cottage on Friday.

Tomorrow we head to Calvin to drop Julius off for the rest of the week at his Van Lunen Fellowship. He is looking forward to it ... but he will miss the excitement of the week. And we will all miss him lots (he is really good at a newly made-up form of tag).

It has been neat to connect with family we haven't seen in years and connect our kids with theirs as they run and play in the yard. We look forward to what the rest of the week holds. And the Hudsonville ice cream really is that good. Thanks Uncle Chuck and Aunt Diane.

We've landed safe and sound

We arrived in Hudsonville MI, at Uncle Chuck and Aunt Diane's house this evening after another successful day on the roads. The kids have been troopers as we've passed by everything that looks remotely interesting with the comment of "we'll stop on the way back". Our only stops have been gassing up and a dinner stop each evening (give or take a bathroom break here and there). The News Boys has been the music CD of choice, Penguins of Madagascar the movie of choice, and the Adventures of Oddyssey again is the favorite story CD.

We are certainly thankful for the safety we experienced and for the health of everyone (Sofie is close to her usual self). Your prayers have carried us.

The kids are quite excited about being in a new place, meeting new family members and all the beautiful spaces to explore. Tomorrow we want to catch fire flies in a jar and have the famous Hudsonville ice cream. Sounds like a good day.

4 states in one day- what a ride!

We've made it to the east side of Minnesota late tonight. It was a day of crossing time zones and seeing 4 different states. From our neat travel books we learned about state trees, capitals and saw lots and lots of land. Eliot said at one point "There just isn't anything here, Mom". He seems to of grown accustomed to being surrounded by mountain peaks in Abbotsford. Sofie also chimed in with "all I see is cars and cows". She's our city girl for sure. Toby sat in his nest in the back seat and would nap only to wake up and wonder when we were going to stop and eat. Our car ran well today and even though the car repairs are still painful to think about, we are so happy to have air conditioning. The kids got their first dose of humidity today and they were surprised by it. We found some really cool bugs at one of our rest stops and for some of us it was our first time to see fire flies. We were pretty excited. Toby and Eliot seem to be feeling so much better and Sofies improvement from yesterday is good. We are grateful for Bioxin. Tomorrow we arrive in Hudsonville, MI which will start our next phase of this adventure. Its been good so far, but we are eager to get to MI. Time for bed...

Big Sky Montana - Evening of Day one

Day 1 on the road-a few bumps....

So grateful to be on the road at 6:30am with 3 cheerful children. We zoomed over the border and into Washington state. What happened next, includes a crabby police officer, Meridian Rd. and a few miles over the speed limit. Ask the kids what happened, they can't wait to tell you. With our trusty new GPS (with our driving speed clearly illuminated), we went through Idaho and into Montana. Over the course of the day is became obvious that Eliot and Toby were feeling much better due to rest and meds, but Sofie was not. So in her words "this has been a hard day for me". The winding roads and congestion were hard on her, but we are happy to report that at 1am our time they are all tucked in bed and no coughing. We hope for a quiet night and a great drive tomorrow full of license plate hunting and new stories to hear. We hope to arrive in Albert Lea, MN a little earlier than tonight. Good night.

Hiccups

So ... its July 7 and the expectation was that we would be at our first hotel in Butte Montana by now. Unfortunately our trip has had to be altered. We had our van looked at prior to the trip because of an A/C malfunction (having working air conditioning is a pre-requisite for the trip) - only to find out that not only was the A/C broken, but the radiator in the car needed to be replaced. Lovely - in the meantime - the kids were not showing signs of getting over their colds that they had had the last week and a half. We took them to the clinic this morning and every last one of them was diagnosed with something that required antibiotics (bronchitis, ear-ache etc.).

Our car has been returned to us in patched up shape (with us a tad poorer), the kids have started their antibiotics, we have decided to squeeze a nice 4 day / 3 night trip into a longer driving 3 day / 2 night trip and, Lord willing, we will arrive in Hudsonville, Michigan at Chuck and Diane's on the same day and time that we expected to all along. All the more reason to drive away at 6:00am tomorrow.

So ... knock on wood - we'll be on our way in the morning.

The Preparation Stage

The anticipation leading up to the trip is not everyone's favorite. Heidi is meticulous with lists and has scoured the internet to be sure she has an exhausitive list that allows us to be fully prepared. Doing the packing is a separate thing in itself that takes time and energy. Since we will gone for a full month - there is much to set up at our home in our absence. We have plants to water, animals to feed, mail to collect, etc. Heidi has done an excellent job in securing coverage of these things with our circle of friends. Our friends are great and are really helping us when we need them. Grandma Monsma joined us here for a week with the sole purpose of helping us prepare for the trip (and seeing her grandkids). Seeing that Julius has a fellowship to attend at Calvin - Jeri was wonderful in her work with her ironing ... now just to keep the clothes looking ironed when we arrive.

We have also reserved hotels for our trip with the expectation that we will make it certain distances each day. A key to the trip will be being able to get out early enough on the first morning - July 7. Our goal is to be on the road at 6am - we'll see how we do ...

The picture above is from Grandma's last night with us.