Moving-In Day!

Saturday was a big day for us. With many helpers, we moved all of our stuff into our new house! We spent a day and a half doing some major cleaning and then yesterday a bunch of guys from church loaded our stuff from storage onto trailers and trucks and brought it over to our house. We had 40-50 people helping at different times. We had several people cleaning throughout the house and many people were out in the back and side yards tackling weeds and other debris. By dinnertime all of our stuff was inside, the yard was clear and all the junk was hauled away! Amazing!! We weren't quite ready to sleep there yet, but are hoping to be ready for that in the next couple of days.

We had a wonderful Sunday today. The blended Spanish/ English worship was great and Scott got to preach for the first time as Lead Pastor of The River CRC! (It went well and he even had one of his Seminary professors there!) We continue to feel very blessed!

Scott attacking a huge bush in the front yard.

The backyard (desert) complete with old patio furniture.

Kam rounding up a hose.

Katie mopping her room.

Ladies from the church cleaning the kitchen.

Guys tackling the back yard. By the end of the day, this was all cleared!

A crowd taking a break to watch the guys trying to pull out a bush with a suburban. (It didn't work!)

Katie and her friends who helped put her bed together and organize her room.

Looking much better!

Our stuff in a new place.

A New School Year

This week brought the start of a new school year. The kids all did well tackling the challenge of new schools. Thankfully they are all pretty flexible and make friends easily. Katie has a nice group of girls in her grade and is adjusting to new classes and being at a smaller school. Kamryn and Troy love their new teachers and have already made some friends. It's a lot of fun watching Troy begin first grade as I have taught that age for so long. I went to the opening chapel at RCS this morning and it was a blast. We have an awesome new music teacher who led the worship time. Besides the fact that the temperature was over 105, it couldn't have gone much better! I'm working in the library this week on my own and then will look forward to seeing kids next week.

Katie ready to start her junior year.

Kam and Troy.

Troy and his first grade teachers.

A scene from the morning line up and pledges.

Now He's Ready

Our Troy boy is now officially ready to begin first grade. He has lost his first two teeth and now has "the first grade look." Troy has been waiting for years for a tooth to fall out and we were all excited for him when he discovered his first wiggly tooth. He wouldn't let anyone touch it for a long time, but Kamryn asked him the other day if she could pull it out and he obliged. He then got brave and pulled the second one out tonight while Scott and I were at church. Here are some photos to commemorate the occasion.

Here he is with a full set of baby teeth.

Here's the toothless wonder.

Here's the "get the camera out of my face" look!

P.S. We have had a WONDERFUL first week in Redlands. People have been so friendly and welcoming. I'm excited about my new job as librarian at RCS. Scott loves his work at the church. And the kids have made great friends already. It looks like we can get into our house later this week. God is good!

Blessed

The staff at our new church, The River CRC, blessed us the other day at their first staff meeting with this scrapbook. They put together a book full of gift cards and directions to many of their favorite restaurants, stores and theaters in the area. We are overwhelmed with their generosity! What fun!

We Made It!

We finally made our way down to Redlands. We were greeted by some of the staff from church which was great. Since our house has not closed yet we are staying in the home of a member of the church (which has been wonderful!). Our days have been filled with finding our way around town, meeting lots of new (and very friendly) people and finding ways to stay cool in warm weather. These are some pictures of our first day here.

Our welcome basket.

Frisbee golf in the park with In't Houts.

Katie and her new friend Sophia.

Hanging out in the park.

Visalia Visit

We made a final stop in Visalia on our road trip. We had a wonderful time of seeing many friends and even celebrating Katie's birthday. (She was hoping to not have to be on the road on her actual day and it worked out.) We fit in as many friends as we could and had a blast catching up with people. That place will always be special for our family... Now on to Redlands!

A group of us went out to Valhalla's for Katie's birthday.

Kamryn and friends.

Troy and Nathan

Good Times in the Minivan

One worry we had about moving was whether or not our old van would be able to make the big drive from Michigan to California. Again we saw God's hand in our travels and enjoyed an uneventful, safe journey. We did not get too sick of each other either even in the close quarters. Katie was happy to get some driving time across Iowa. We even made it without the luxury of a DVD player as ours broke. Anyway, good memories!

Great Grandpa

Another highlight of visiting the midwest is getting to visit Great Grandpa R. in the vets' home. He is always glad to see us and it's special for Troy to get to know his namesake. Grandpa looked well and was very alert. Katie missed playing Bingo this time, though!

Time in Iowa

The first two evenings of our trek across country, we stayed with my cousins in Northwest Iowa. They have a beautiful home on a bluff overlooking some beautiful land. We had a great time with Joy and Dell and the boys and also enjoyed seeing one of my aunts and uncles. The kids had a great time running around getting rid of that energy from sitting in the van so long.

Troy getting a ride. He like to ride with dad better than mom because he drove faster.

A highlight of being at Joy and Dell's for the girls is riding the 4-wheelers.Scott contemplating life in a beautiful spot.

Dell pulled out his bow and arrows and target one evening and gave lessons. Kam shot like a pro.

Looking for lost arrows.Katie gives it a try.

Dell found a smaller bow for Troy to try.

We had a campfire in their firepit. It was a great way to end a great day!

First Stop

After setting out on our cross-country journey, we were able to cross paths with our Denver family as they were making their way to Michigan. We were sad we couldn't spend time at the cottage with them, but we did have a nice visit on the road.

Old Friends

Troy had such a blast playing with his neighborhood friends this summer. It was kind of sad to think that they would be missing a buddy after we moved. Here is some of the group.

Katie's Birthday-Part 1

Katie got to celebrate her 16th birthday a week early with family before we move. We assembled on our back deck for one last time. We enjoyed Scott's grilling skills for dinner and I tried my hand at my first layered b-day cake. The theme for gifts this year was Paris as Katie is planning her new room decor and hopes to visit this city one day. Anyway, we are proud of our oldest daughter. She has been flexible and handled our many moves with grace and maturity. We look forward to watching her continue to blossom, but not the fact that she will soon be driving those So. California freeways!

Stick Shift Lesson

To further her driver's education, Boppa gave Katie a lesson on his 1972 Toyota. This is also the car I learned to drive several years ago. On a quiet Saturday morning Katie tore up the roads of Calvin College (not really) and got lots of practice. After the lesson her left leg was quite sore. Let's just say if you learn to drive this car you can drive any car!

Home safe and sound.

Katie's Good-bye

Some of Katie's friends put together a farewell party for her the other night. Scott did a great job in supervising and helping with some organizational details. They hung out at a park and then had a campfire near the river to make s'mores. Here's the group.