Meet Charlie

Charlie is the newest recruit to the Eenigenburg dog sitting world. Charlie's parents were gone for three weeks. Jessica has decided she is going to own a Sheltie some day. She also says she is never going to get married and just have dogs... a great dane and a sheltie. Time will tell.

Charlie is very easy to have around. He hates fireworks and thunderstorms. He likes to sleep on a bed with the kids. Charlie sheds... therefore the kid's beds are no longer hair free. Lovely. Charlie also gets very upset when I leave the house - as in barks, tries to bite me and runs in circles.  Not sure what that means.

Labor Day Weekend

No major plans for Labor Day Weekend, but we did manage to have all kinds of fun.

On Saturday, we traveled a bit to my cousin and her husband's cabin - almost 3 hours from our home - but so much fun. Aunt Kathy came along and the kiddos all had fun playing together and tubing. We took a tour of the lake on the pontoon towards the end of the evening. It was a great couple of hours!

The Nina and the Pinta sailed into town - literally. These are exact replicas of the actual ships, made by descendants of the actual ship builders.  They were cool to look at but as a Y member we got to tour them for free, which was a good thing. There wasn't much to see once you got on board and I would have been very disappointed if we had actually spent money on the tickets. The dock was not far from the YMCA, so the crew showered at the Y which gave all of us free passage onto the boat.

Then on Monday we were off to the Dutch Village. I hadn't been there since I was a very small child and it is such a fun place. The weather did not cooperate which made me very sad, but I noticed on our tickets that the free passes the kids got from the library are good all through 2015 so we can hit it again in the spring. That made the day much better. If you look at the picture, you can see how hard it was raining and how drenched the kids were. They had fun ... ferris wheel, flying swings, videos of Holland, wooden shoes, Delft, carousel, farm, zipline..... and the candle shop.

Brandon's Birthday(s)

Guess who turned 12?

Best quote from Brandon: 'I'm finally a teenager.'  You should have seen his face when I explained to him that you actually have to have the word 'teen' in your number to be a teenager.

Brandon is growing up. He still would choose to spend time in front of the TV or computer over just about anything. His mind is quick and he remembers everything. He loves to play sports and this fall moved up a level in soccer - which we all are enjoying. He loves to tease, taunt, scare and generally bother his sisters, but he also is the first one to protect them and worry about them. He loves to make people laugh. He gets great pleasure out of making up a joke that is actually funny. He has silly faces and antics. 

We were in MN on Brandon's birthday so we had Snickers Ice cream bars for his birthday treat at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Once we got home we had birthday 24 hours. When its December, I declare it my birthday month. Brandon really has almost a whole birthday month and we haven't even done his special event yet.  One night we had the scavenger hunt for presents and baked potatoes for supper followed by a special chocolate cake warmed up with ice cream. The next morning we had donuts for breakfast and streamers were hung on his door. In a few weeks, we hope to take him and a few friends to an indoor club called 3 Mile Project. Its a hangout with all kinds of games and things. Parents are not allowed in. It is supervised by a group of volunteers and Brandon LOVES it. 

Welcome to almost team little man. We love you and can't wait to see what the next years bring.

First Day of School

End of summer is always bittersweet to me. I love fall - the weather, the colors, the return to a routine....  But fall also means no more lazy Sunday evenings, no more sleeping in, no more free Saturdays.  I often feel like I haven't done enough with my kids over the summer. We made a list of things to do over the summer, and we didn't do so well.  Granted, some of their wishes were rather unrealistic, but none the less, we didn't accomplish as many memories as I had hoped.
I also lose my slave labor that hangs out the laundry and empties the dishwasher.
But, back to the things I love about fall - the house looks the same when I come home as when I left, I no longer have four children turning into zombies in front of the TV and computer, soccer season, and of course, the sunsets.
So here's to 8th grade, 6th grade, 4th grade, and 2nd grade.

Gigi lives

At least we think she did.  This little gal came to live with us when she was less than a pinky nail long. SUPER tiny. She ate LOTS of milkweed, made her lovely chrysallis while traveling to IA and MN with us, and emerged a beautiful monarch for us to set free.  Unfortunately we left her on the table, on the edge of her bucket and went to the library. For those of you who don't know, it takes up to 4 hours for their wings to dry before they can take flight.

Well, it seems she tried to take flight while we were gone, and ended up on the floor, only to be attacked by the dog we are dog sitting. We rescued her when we got home, but we're not sure she is healthy enough to make it all the way to Mexico.  Fly free Gigi. Here's to trying another caterpillar or callerpittar as our kids call them - next year.

Parade

I say Y you say M I say C you say A.

Yes, that is what we chanted down the streets of Rosevelt Park to support the Y.  Good thing I have kids willing to help out - they like that they get to write down the service hours. Plus, Brandon, Maria and I went to the beginning of the parade, they collected a TON of candy, and then we hopped on the road to join the Y float as it went by.

It was a good time and maybe we'll do it again next year.  But, we have to make plans to not run out of handouts half way through the parade. No matter how much you say it, they dump tons of candy at the beginning of the parade. Good grief!

From MI to IA to MN back to MI

Once again, we traveled around the midwest for 10 days. We often question our sanity throughout this trip, but in the end, we all make so many memories that we are ready for it again next summer.

We began our trip late this year - late in August and late in the day. We didn't leave MI until 2 pm - so with the time change we got to IA about 1:45 AM - which was 2:45 AM to our bodies - BLECH!  The last hour, Matt's reaction time was questionable to say the least, but we made it safely.

Around 5 hours down the road we stopped at a gas station. Before hopping out, both Anika and Maria announced they didn't have any shoes...... SERIOUSLY!  I had even asked when I got in the van, 'Does everyone have something on their feet?' and I got four 'yes'es. Sioux Center had no flip flops, but Albert Lea did, so they went a few days with wearing mine and Brandon's until we could get them new ones on clearance!

We spent Monday and Tuesday in Sioux Center. I forgot to take my grandparent/kid picture this year so you'll have to imagine it! Anika and Maria played dress up, Brandon played pool, we went to the big wooden playground in Orange City, we walked to Dordt's campus, we ate supper with two of my brothers, and another supper with my Dordt family, and of course a rousing game of kickball, we walked to the railroad and flattened pennies-  and we did look up if it was safe and/or against the law - but we did that AFTER we had flattened the pennies!

Next stop, Hollandale, MN. A childhood friend of mine stopped by and so did some of my parent's friends, so the first night was spent catching up and playing baseball corn bag style - quite the fun game actually. The next day we moved a pile of gravel. Everyone got into the act and my dad's chicken house and barn now have a nice gravel base to them! The highlight was driving the lawn tractor. We celebrated Brandon's birthday with Snickers ice cream bars.

Next Stop, Brainerd, MN - to my favorite place on earth. Fishing, skiing, surfing (yes, you read that correctly - behind the boat in the wake - quite fun -but I only watched), knee boarding, jet ski, tubing, smiles, and fun. I'm not sure the kids even said 'Hello'. They just instantly went into play mode. I love that they are outside from 9 am - 9 pm and rarely fight. I love that they are getting older and that I don't have to be on high alert because we are by water. I love that they love to be here. I love that they get to do things here they don't have the opportunity to do anywhere else. I love that three of my kids can ski and take care of their own fish, poles, and find their own bait. I love that they have friends that they just jump right back into loving time side by side.

I actually didn't feel all that well most of the time we were there, so I hung out on the deck with my book. It was beautiful. I could hear their squeals and cheers and voices (Jessica doesn't need the aid of water for her voice to travel). When someone got up on skis, the whole boat would cheer. So I sat on the deck and watched them go back and forth across the lake.  I didn't get to see any loons, but they all saw lots - so that was my bummer.

Paul Bunyan has been moved from Bemidji to Paul Bunyan land about 15 minutes from the cabin, so we had to go check him and Babe out as well.

We got two afternoons out on the lake - Sunday it rained, so we headed out.

Next stop - Minneapolis, MN.

More friends, food and fun. We had a pool party by some gracious hosts that have opened up their back yard pool to our family for a LONG time. We couldn't remember if Maria was even born yet the first time we swam in their pool. My girls love their playhouse and they all love the fun. As you can see, we invited quite the crew over with us. It was indeed a party.

Yes, they have their own popcorn machine and snow cone machine - help yourself.... kid heaven.

Anika and Brandon each spent two nights at different houses than the rest of us. The little girls and their buds went to a beach day with us and we mainly just hung out. On the way out of town we stopped at one of our little grocery stores and bought a lug of peaches - 50 peaches - our favorite peaches. Oh so yummy.  They were gone by Monday morning.  CRAZY!

Everyone spent time with dear friends, which is why we keep coming back. Those relationships are important to all of us. We talked about how much longer we are going to be able to keep this up - both physically and emotionally, but for now, we just take it one step at a time.