Hello from Chicago!

Hello to everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I have posted anything. Upon our arrival in the Chicago area, we soon realized that our hosts had prepared everything that we would need for the summer. The only thing lacking was an internet connection at their home. Thanks to some generous neighbors, we are now connected. (Much to the relief of our internet starved teenage daughter!) I had some trouble figuring out some things on Scott's laptop, so some of the pictures are still tipped. Sorry!

Anyway, these are some of the pictures of activities that we have been filling our days with. We are in a beautiful place and have been enjoying learning about a new part of the country. The people here are great and the church work is going well. We'd love to hear from you all!

This is a road by our house. We are in a neighborhood with big beautiful tree-lined streets.
We have this fun tree swing right in our backyard.

Today Kamryn, Troy and I went to a story/ craft time at Trinity Christian College. We are very close and enjoy taking walks and bike rides around the campus.
Today we took advantage of some free passes we received to the Brookfield Zoo.





Ahh! A nice soak in the tub before bed after a busy day!

Katie's Graduated!

We had an awesome celebration of Katie's graduation from Ada Christian School last night! She has had a wonderful year there. Although only attending the school one year, she has made great friends and done well academically. Scott was invited to be the speaker and Katie got to introduce him. We had lots of grandparents and friends over afterwards.

Katie ready to go!
Trying to organize the class picture.
Katie introducing Scott.
A proud dad!
The gang.

We Heart Soccer!

Today the girls played their final AYSO spring season soccer games. I'm happy to report that they both ended with a win! Here are some highlights.

Katie with the, "Not another picture!" look.
Katie's U-14 team
The Ada Christian crew.
There was a minor cupcake fight!
Gross, Kate!

Kam's turn-a team huddle before the game.

I'm not sure why Kamryn seems to be checking her pulse here. Troy got to miss out on the soccer games today. He was invited to his first "real" birthday party! He was very excited and thankfully Grandma R. volunteered to go along with him.Troy and his friend Luke (birthday boy).

Pioneer Picnic

Wednesday evening was the night of the annual second grade Pioneer Picnic. Unfortunately the weather stunk. We have been under cloud cover for a couple of days here in Michigan now. (Can I just say that the weather here STINKS!) We all ate our dinner on the grass while the mist came down on us. After a long day of teaching this was not high on my list of fun activities. The second graders performed some square dances, but the games had to be cancelled. We then went inside to listen to presentations on the kids' projects. Kam did a great job!The kids square dancing. Kamryn refused to wear her cute pioneer dress again!

Kamryn making her presentation with her teacher.

Sunday Snapshots

I thought I would take some updated pictures of the kids before church this morning.

Troy William-4 years
Kamryn Elise-8 and a half
Katelyn Joy-13 (almost 14!)
These are some pictures from Meijer Garden today. These pools are in the shape of the Great Lakes. Kids can play with boats and get a bit wet in the process.
Troy and Kam like to dig in the sand and climb the rocks there too.

Week Number 2 Finished

Well, we survived another week without Scott. It actually went quite quickly because we are so busy. I continue to teach third grade and the kids are busy with school, soccer practice, graduation dinners at church, playing at Grandma's house, homework, etc. Here are some highlights of the week.

Kam and Troy enjoying afterschool popscicles on the deck.
Go, Go Speed Racer! Troy received a special birthday gift from the Denver cousins. (Aunt Sarah always gives the best gifts!!) This is right up Troy's alley and he is loving watching these cars shoot around the track. (Kamryn patiently read all of the instructions and pieced it all together for him. I was thankful I didn't have to do it!)
Kamryn's class spent Friday morning at a one room school house in the country by us. They had class there and a picnic lunch. Everyone dressed in "pioneer" clothing for the occasion. Thankfully the teachers had a donated supply of dresses to borrow. Here's Kam in the one she chose to wear. She actually enjoyed wearing it!
Her basket lunch completes the look.
Kamryn with her covered wagon project.

On Friday night we all went to see the movie, "Speed Racer." We ended up looking at the wrong time, so we had to go to the Imax version where the screen is 3 stories high! It was pretty cool.

Scott update: Scott continues to enjoy ministry in the Chicago area. He has been invited to dinner at church people's homes every night this week! His first sermon went well last week and he is all set for two more tomorrow. We are thankful things are going well, but are anxious to be all together as a family again!..One more week!!

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful weekend because Scott returned home after his first week in Chicago. (Everything there went great, by the way.) We hit a favorite ice cream spot with the Borsts Sunday evening. Monday was spent doing some things around the house, seeing a movie and a bit of shopping. We BBQed and were able to eat outside on the deck because it was finally warm enough!! After dinner Troy requested a family baseball game, so that's what happened.

Troy and Anna making a mess of themselves and everything around them!
We have a bunch of lilies (or whatever they are) behind our house.
Troy can even hit with his eyes closed! Yes, he is playing in his socks. Oh well!

Kam in action.