Love this weather!!

So the past couple weeks have been absolutely lovely - warm and sunny each day.  What a welcome relief after many dull and rainy days.  Last week we enjoyed Lorelle's company - she came home for her Spring Break after being away since August.  It was a relaxing and fun time - we went to Birch Bay to walk the ocean, visited Dad's work, went out for Thai lunch with him and enjoyed just sitting in the sun on the deck.  Another day we went for pedicures with the girls, shopping for second hand books, to the teacher store and out for Goji lunch.  Thursday evening we used our Family Fun Fund and all went out for Mexican food at El Ranchito - well worth saving our change for.   Friday was the beginning of our school's Spring Break so we all went to Boulevard Park to enjoy the ocean and boardwalk (and Woods Coffee).  This week the weather has been decent and we're enjoying some down time as well.  Here's a few photos from last week...

I'm back!!

I cannot believe I am typing into my blog - I was ready to abandon it and start another but that too seemed like a lot of work.  For some reason the google platform my blog uses was no longer compatible with my clearwire account and I needed to change my account email and password.  Now that doesn't sound too difficult - but believe me it WAS!  Hopefully I can spend some time adding photos from the last couple months to update you on the happenings around here.

Maybe it's not so bad I haven't posted - because I'm looking at Jan & Feb calendar pages and it doesn't look like there's a lot of excitement to blog about.  Both Alec & Hannah were busy with basketball schedules and Henry was busy with hockey playoffs.  Henry & I both took a class to be re-certified in CPR/First Aid.  On a bigger note - we've decided to put our house for sale in the hopes we will be able to buy something with less property and a smaller house - we'll see where that takes us.

December 2012

So here's a little update of what's been going on in December.   We've been enjoying the regular Christmas season activities and end of year celebrations.  We attended a Messiah concert put on by the Lynden Choral Society - a very beautiful evening of song and praise.  It made me want to join up for next season - hopefully I will find the time to do so.

Since the last blog post - we hosted a few of our church family for Thanksgiving dinner and games afterwards - had lots of fun.  We had a wonderful gift exchange evening with Lorelle and Jake over Skype - with a great game of CatchPhrase over the miles...  Lots of fun - almost felt like we spent Christmas together.  We had dear friends over for a fondue dinner - and ended a delicious evening with a rousing game of CatchPhrase.  We had cousins and their extended family over for Christmas dinner and ended that day with CatchPhrase as well - do you sense a pattern??

Yesterday we went up Mt. Baker with the family and had an amazing day of skiing - it was 27 degrees, no wind, powder snow and the sun was shining for most of the day.  What an amazing day!   Today we started out with a delicious brunch at 10:30 am (which some family members found difficult to get up for...) including waffles from our new waffle maker (thanks Jake!!!), Oma pancakes, eggs and bacon, strawberries and whipped cream - it was well worth getting up for!!!!  After that we played walleyball at the Y with some of Jan's family and after a yummy pizza dinner we went ice skating with everyone.  Even Vinny skated - it was soooooo cute.  I think we have another hockey player in the family.  All in all we had a very nice time - so grateful for God's blessings and care in our lives!

Misc. photos

Here's just a few misc. photos - it's definitely fall around here!!  The last one shows Vinny acting like a real pro around Dad's computer.  He's VERY comfortable around anything tech - cell phones, ipads, computers, whatever he can get his hands on!!

Parents Weekend at Dordt

So a few weeks ago I flew to Sioux Falls SD so I could be at Dordt for Parent's Weekend.  I had a very nice time - attending the many events that were planned for visitors and just getting to know the area that Lorelle has called home the past three years.  I stayed with the Bulk's and thoroughly enjoyed their family's hospitality.  I also signed up for a 5K Run to benefit Dordt's running team - at least Iowa is flat!!!  During some downtown we made a turkey with enough feathers to count down until Lorelle goes to Winnipeg for US Thanksgiving break - she just can't wait.  

Vinny turns 2!

Here's a few photos of Vinny opening some gifts and enjoying his birthday cupcakes.  It was so fun to see him with his new boots - even after his bath or going for a nap he needed to wear his new boots!!

Check it off the bucket list!!!

So here's a few snaps from this past weekend.  I've been running since 2010 when Jocelyn's senior project was to organized a 6K Run and to prepare for a half marathon.  She inspired me to get off the couch & join her in running & ever since then I've tried to get out and run at least once a week.  This past year I've tried to up it from my usual 1 mile run - and prepare for a half marathon (13.1 mile).  I must admit that was a lofty goal.  As I figured would happen I did not have enough time to properly prepare - running 6 miles sounded very impressive until I realized that it was under half of what I'd signed up to do when I registered for "Run Like A Girl" earlier in the year.  Regardless, I ran the course and it's checked off my bucket list.  I'm taking it pretty easy these last few days - not by choice either....

More summer photos...

Here's a few more photos I found - did I say we're not that organized when it comes to digital photos?   Here we are boating at Lake Whatcom; everyone had the chance to try the Stand Up Paddleboard.

Summer 2012 in Review

So I was really hoping I would post something before September ended but before you know it it's already October.  I can probably blame it on our fabulous weather - it's been sunny and warm since the 4th of July and it's hard to get indoor things done when it's so gorgeous outside.  So I'm looking back at photos to see what's happened since our trip to Peru.  Here are a few snaps of everyday life.  We enjoyed Jake's company  twice during the summer - even went on a mini camping trip to a nice park near Stanwood but somehow didn't take many photos.  The top photo is of Vinny sitting on Jan's motorbike - every little boy's dream...  Another of Jocelyn's work of art - making hamburger cupcakes for Jan's birthday, another of Jocelyn and her friend at a food drive they organized for the Food Bank in town, a few of Vinny enjoying food (of any kind, but especially "nanas") and the last of Lorelle cuddling with him when he's ready for bed.

Trip to Peru - July 16-28, 2012

So I can't believe it's already August - looks like I skipped an entire month of blogging.  Summer weather came slowly and really didn't start until after the 4th of July.  Since then we've had a lot of nice warm weather.  The big highlight this summer was our trip to Peru.  It was a trip of a lifetime - so blessed in getting to know Matt and Fio and celebrate their marriage all the way in Peru.  We went with quite a group - including lots of Matt's family, Jocelyn, and Tish and her parents from Australia.  Here's a bunch of photos that hopefully represents our time in Peru.