We had a fun week with lots of relatives visiting. Here are some pictures of our get-togethers.

We took Troy and cousin Emma to Meijer Gardens. Emma decided she really liked hanging out with her cousin Troy.

We had everyone over to our house on Friday evening for dinner. Fun times!

Cousins

More relative shots.

Troy stuck between two Grandmas.

Kam had another soccer game on Saturday. She was eager to have a large audience with Uncle Dan, Aunt Nesha and Emma there to watch too. She stepped up and scored two goals and played her best game this season.

Dad's Retirement Party

Last night we were priveledged to celebrate my dad's retirement from Home Missions. There were many friends and family members at the gathering. It was a special time of remembrance set to the theme of "A Prairie Home Companion".

Katie and Kamryn were also a part of the celebration. Kamryn made us laugh on the way home (which was way past her bedtime). She said, "That was the fanciest dinner I've ever been to. There were a lot of glasses to drink from. I didn't really get all the jokes, but I laughed anyway!"

Mini Makeover

Since I have now completed my subbing job, I got to enjoy a day of getting things done around the house (between running kids back and forth from school). I decided I was going to freshen up the front door of our house. Today it went from a faded greenish to a nice chocolate brown (left over from the basement steps project!). I'm pleased with the outcome. :)

The Time Has Come

Kamryn has been complaining of poor vision for awhile now. Her assumption was confirmed by the eye doctor recently and she is now sporting some great new glasses! She takes wearing them very seriously even though she does not need them all the time.

We had a beautiful day for playing soccer today. The Stingrays pulled out a win 3-2. They are beginning to play together better and Scott is still enjoying coaching. He did yell out the word "tenacious" today while coaching from the sideline. I told him third and fourth graders probably did not understand what that meant, but he assured me they went over it in practice. :)

Scott is reliving his Youth Pastor life this weekend as he is up at a retreat as a parent chaperone with all the freshman from Katie's highschool. He says it is going well, but it is a bit unorganized. Hmmmm. I'm sure they will come back tired but having had a great time!

And He's Off!

Troy had a big day yesterday. He got to go to "Little Lambs" at church with mom in the morning and then had lunch with dad and many friends at the Seminary. He was then invited by a neighbor boy to go for supper to Chuck E. Cheese. The little boy had earned this reward for becoming completely potty trained. (Hilarious!) Troy was beyond excited as he had not yet been to Chuck E. Cheese. Anyway, while he was waiting he decided to try riding his bike without training wheels. (He had been practicing on a smaller bike with Grandma R.) Without us knowing, he enlisted the help of a neighbor lady to start him out. (Scott saw what was going on and quickly took over.) Before we knew it, Troy was zipping around. He continues to improve and is becoming quite steady on his bike. We still have to remind him to use the brakes more often though.

Small Group Outing

We are blessed to be involved in another wonderful small group with some couples from our church here. We had a "kick off" outing to one of the couple's place in Holland. It had been drizzling rain all day, but lightened up enough for us to take their boat out for a ride. We enjoyed dinner and then a thrilling ride out of the channel and onto Lake Michigan.

P.S. It's still raining as I post this three days later. Gotta love Michigan!

Congratulations, Katie!

We are proud to announce that Katie made the play at Christian High! She has been part of the tryouts for several days and was anxiously awaiting the posting today. (She is one of 8 Freshman out of a cast of 60.) They are going to be doing "The Music Man" in early November. She will be one of the singers/ dancers in the chorus.

Troy has been very ambitious lately in riding his bike and skateboarding on the driveway. These activities have resulted in various scrapes and bruises which are beginning to cover quite a bit of his body. This afternoon we added a bandage to his elbow after falling off his bike. You will notice the scab on his chin which was caused by a flying skateboard the other day. He is a very coordinated kid, but doesn't understand the dangers of going too fast. Good thing his preschool check up and school pictures are done!

We're Playing Soccer Again!

Today we had our first AYSO game for the fall season. Scott has decided he is now ready to coach Kamryn and her teammates in the Under 10 division. They had a rough start (game), but in the last quarter came back to score 4 goals and win! (I think the other team got tired!) Kamryn did pretty well. It was fun to be out at the soccer field again.

Kam had to take her turn in goal.

Coach Scott and Kamryn
Here's how Troy entertains himself-by throwing a ball up on the roof. Sometimes it comes down, and sometimes it doesn't...."MOM!"

First Day of School-Part 2

Today Katie is off to her first day of highschool! She had a great orientation yesterday and seemed ready to go this morning. Scott's advice was, "Don't trip and fall in the hallway and drop all your books in front of the Seniors." (Thanks, dad!)

Troy and I attended his first morning of 4 year old preschool together. It was only for an hour and one parent was required to attend with their child. It looks like a nice group. However, the poor teacher is going to have to deal with an interesting class make-up: 10 boys and 1 girl. (Poor girl!)

On a side note, it looks like I will be working three days a week beginning next week. This is a subbing position and should last for a few weeks.

First Day of School-Part 1

Today I send the first group of students off to school! Scott has his first day of Seminary classes and Kamryn begins third grade. They were both excited and ready to go!

Happy Birthday Scott!

Today we wish Scott a happy birthday! We had some presents for him to open this morning and then we went out to breakfast with his dad and his wife who have been visiting from Canada. Troy asked Scott how old he was and Scott told him 36. Troy said, "Wow dad! You're really getting tall!" ... Tonight we're going to have some people (family and Seminary friends) over for a BBQ. Should be fun!