School begins again

Where does the time go? The days are long and the years are short!  Here they are - ready for 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grades..... here we go!

Brandon turns 13

We have another teenager in this house!
Brandon loves to tell jokes, play a variety of sports, and loves anything to do with screens - especially video games! He loves to play board games, read and is always ready to laugh! Just a few hours after this picture, he had braces on that smile!

The very hungry caterpillar

Every year, we go out looking for caterpillars.... monarch ones.
Some years we are successful, others not so much. Last year we only found four and they success rate was not good.
We've learned lots through the years.
-In the wild, only 10% of the caterpillars make it to butterfly
-this is a female, females have thick lines and not dots on the bottom of the wings

This year, the kids found 16 caterpillars.... SIXTEEN!!!!  Every time they went out to get a leaf to feed a current caterpillar, they had another caterpillar on the leaf.  And the caterpillars are SO tiny. Smaller then your pinky finger nail.

Then they eat and eat and eat, make a chrysallis, and turn into this. Amazing!

I couldn't help but compare it to parenting. We spend time feeding and nurturing and then we let them fly away. We can only hold on to them for so long.

It is so exciting to watch these butterflies take off into the wind. I only pray I have that much excitement and amazement when I send Anika off in four short year!

And, for the record, we had two caterpillars die making their chrysallis, and two butterflies whose wings just didn't form and unfold quite right, so in total, 12 butterflies made it back into the wild, heading to Mexico for the winter.  Much better odds then the wild!

VACATION

Brandon was invited to visit the Upper Peninsula with a friend. He had a great time, they visited pictured rock, shot off fireworks and enjoyed a nice weekend! It was a great experience for him and we were so grateful!

I had the opportunity to visit my cousin's family in Alaska. It was an amazing trip. I stood on the top of the mountain, all I could see was mountains. I hiked on a glacier, saw whales, ate fresh salmon, biked by a moose, and learned how to net a salmon. I made some amazing memories with my aunts and cousins. Thanks for an amazing time, something to never forget.





We have so much fun every time we go to the cabin in Brainerd. I always say it is one of my favorite places on earth. To see the smiles on my kids' faces, to watch them play with friends they see once a year, to experience skiing and kneeboarding, to hear a loon call. Its value is priceless.








From the cabin we headed to Minneapolis to meet up with friends. Its always amazing to renew those bonds, but also to see that life has kept moving. We love our MN memories.



And then there's Iowa.  Grandpa Mike and Grandpa Nancy are amazing hosts with amazing dress up clothes. The entertainment factor goes a long way. We play at the park, we eat at Pizza Ranch, we play Uno Attack, and we take goofy pictures!



Many family members came to visit and to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great time celebrating their life, love, and legacy.

Camp Geneva

Both Brandon and Anika had another great year at Camp Geneva this year. We love the life this camp has breathed into our kids. We love having others positively influence them. We love the friends they make, the fun they have and the way their faith grows, not to mention all the adventures they take!

Blueberry picking

We have some friends who own a blueberry field and they offered it up to us to have some time picking!  We love fresh blueberries - so yummy.  And we always freeze some to use in coffee cake throughout the year!

Family Adventures

We had a great time spending a few hours at Nelis' Dutch Village. The oversized shoes, the wooden shoes attached to skis, the farm animals, the ferris wheel, the zip line..... Somehow we keep missing the candle dipping, which is my favorite thing to watch!

We also went to a semi professional soccer game. The Muskegon Risers are a newly formed soccer team here in town. It was good soccer but the fans were not fun to hang around.