Friday, July 30, 2010

Seminary Gathering

Last night we spent the evening at the beautiful home of some friends. Sheri has been the classmate of Scott at Seminary for the past three years. She is an amazing woman who is attending seminary to become a chaplain, but also keeps up with her four children and many other activities. We had a wonderful time at their home catching up with two other seminary couple friends, too. Thanks for your hospitality, Sheri and Ross!

The kids enjoying their meal in the yard.

Troy and Anna on the tire swing.

Kam hangin' out.

Chatting on the porch.

Kamryn and Anna had a blast with the kitten.

At the end of the evening we enjoyed a time around the campfire in their backyard. Each person went around and shared their "highs" and "lows" of seminary. Wonderful memories!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Summer Continues...

Well, the summer continues. We have met our goal of selling our house in Michigan! It was a long process with showings, negotiations, inspections, appraisals, etc. Through the process we continue to see how God is in control and works out details! We have also been blessed with a great home in Redlands which we are anxious to get into (and start working on!). Here are some pictures from last week. Troy finished up swimming lessons with a jump off the diving board on the last day. I also have been doing a little reward system with the kids this summer. They are rewarded with marbles for helping out with things around the house and yard. When the jar is full they receive a monetary reward. Kamryn was the "go-getter" this time and really worked hard to fill her jar. The motivator was earning money for the i-pod that she wanted. Great job, Kam!



Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Elgerbroeks

Throughout our "travels" these past few years with having to move around the country, we have been blessed with continued friendships. Our friendship with the Elsenbroeks began several years ago in Visalia. We spent many evenings by their pool or in our air conditioning. We also have many wonderful memories of our times of sharing a cabin in Mt. Hermon. During our time in GR we have been able to re-connect each summer since they come out to visit family here. We are so thankful for you guys!

(Great picture, Bert!)

A Night At The Ballpark

What summer would be complete without a trip to the ballpark? Last night we enjoyed watching the Whitecaps play on a beautiful evening with the Elsenbroeks. Lots of laughter, snacks, people-watching, singing, dancing and, oh yeah, baseball!






Pottery Pals

In honor of Sadie's birthday (which was in May) we took the girls to a pottery place the other afternoon. They had a great time and ended up with some very creative pieces. So fun to have some time with the Elsenbroek's while we're still in Grand Rapids.



Friday, July 16, 2010

Ice Cream

We celebrated a great day today with a treat at Jersey Junction tonight. That's become a favorite spot for our family during our time in GR. We'll have to find a new place to hang out in Redlands!



Kamryn Plays Soccer

Kamryn chose to participate in a soccer camp at Calvin this summer. Although it's been hot, humid weather this week, she's had a blast. The Calvin's men head soccer coach is running it with student assistants. This head coach played at Calvin with Scott and his brother, Jonathan. So, the coach has taken to just referring to Kamryn as "Elgersma". (She loves that!) The camp ended today with a huge water fight. Fun times!



Swim Lessons

While riding the roller coaster that is our lives this summer, I've tried to keep our kids going in a semi-normal routine. For Troy that involved taking some swimming lessons at Calvin. (He does know how to swim already, but could use some pointers on the strokes.) It's been a neat experience for him to learn in the beautiful new aquatic center there. During the first week he's learned some new things although every time I ask him what he has learned he replies, "I forgot." Anyway, the kids are super cute at this age and fun to watch in the water.




World Cup

We had a great time watching the final World Cup game with some friends. Kamryn and her friend, Sadie, got into the spirit by making some flags. Can you tell by the color we are wearing which team we were cheering for?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Summer Fun At The Lake

Wednesday Scott's mom invited us out to their camping spot in Holland State Park. It was one of those wonderfully, muggy, hot days that we get in Michigan once in awhile. After our walk out to the beach, we were all ready to jump in the lake. The water temperature was perfect and we had a nice day with family.
The kids enjoyed playing cards.
Grandma, Hank and Kendra watching the game.
Scott "manning" the grill.

After dinner s'mores were a hit!

Troy being Troy.
Caught ya, Kam!

Apparently I was finding s'mores funny.
CousinsRelaxing by the trailer.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fireworks Extravaganza

On Monday we completed our fourth celebration with a fireworks display on our driveway. Scott does enjoy lighting off fireworks and no worries- no one was injured during the show.





Monday, July 5, 2010

And The Answer Is...


We have had SO many people ask us over the last months where we are going to be after Seminary. We are very thankful and honored to say we are moving in the next few weeks to Redlands, CA to be a part of the ministry at The River Christian Reformed Church! Although the process has been long and at times confusing, we are thankful to God for leading us and guiding us in discerning his place for us. We covet your prayers as we hope to sell our home in Grand Rapids and make a smooth transition back to California.

A Weekend of Celebrating

It was kind of fun this year with Fourth celebrations being a bit drawn out over the weekend. We kicked off our weekend at the parade in Cascade on Saturday morning. The kids enjoyed seeing some friends and collecting much candy, of course. The rest of the day was low-key. We were blessed to have our friends, Geoff and Ashley stay with us for a night. We had a BBQ and then watched the Ada fireworks with them.