It has been a whole year

I have no idea how to sum up a whole year.
Maybe I'll make month by month updates and post them all at the same time.
It was fun for me to look back at a year ago and see how much has changed and how much is still the same.
One project I have been working on for the whole year is organizing pictures. I can happily say I am completely caught up. All the pictures are divided into folders, uploaded to Google photos, backed up to flash drives and an external hard drive. This was no small task as I hadn't kept up with that since we moved - which by the way will be 8 years in a few months, which is crazy to us in so many ways.

I guess I will start with fall of 2018.
I have a senior in high school..... we took senior pictures with family pictures, and we had a separate shoot out at the track. She loves hurdles and is always ready for track season.

I'm not a huge fan of social media, so I rarely post, but here are the first day of school pics.

Anika 12th

Brandon 10th

Jessica 8th

all attending Western Michigan Christian

Maria 6th at Muskegon Christian School

Matt's niece, Emily, was married to Case DeJong in October. Matt performed the ceremony and we were all able to make it.

The Eenigenburg family minus Ben (Jen's husband) and Tammy (Mark's wife)

Matt also performed a wedding for a former student of mine in Minneapolis in October. It was a quick weekend trip back and Jessica and Maria came along to hang out with friends.

Fall sports brought a new adventure for Anika. She has talked about joining the swim team for years, but decided her senior year was the one to make it happen. A few weeks into the season, the team was losing points because they didn't have a diver, so she volunteered for that, too. She learned 14 different dives in 7 weeks and made huge improvements from the first week to the final week. She learned enough dives to make it to regionals. She had a great year, and made some wonderful friends. She even had a college recruiting her to come and dive for them!

Brandon spent the season on the JV soccer team and was the center back for defense. He was moved up to varsity for the last few games and got to play for them a few minutes as well.

Jessica played 8th grade volleyball and ran middle school cross country. She really enjoyed both, primarily due to friends and great coaches. She never quite completely mastered the over hand serve but did a great job at the positions she was asked to play.

Maria continued to play Storm soccer but once again for another new team, with different players and a new coach. She fully enjoyed the coaches and enjoyed soccer again - after last year, she wasn't sure she wanted to continue to play.

 

We spent most of August and September telling Brandon he needed to share Blueberry (Anika's loving term for the CRV she drives) and would not be getting his own car. Within a few weeks, my boss's mom asked that her sons take her keys away before she got too dangerous on the road. She owned a black CRV and within a few short days, Matt was the proud driver of a much newer vehicle, and Brandon was the driver (but not really so proud) of the little green civic, lovingly named Avacado.

And so it begins again

That original goal of weekly updates, even monthly updates, clearly, I'm falling short.
But, I have downloaded the pictures, created web versions of them, and am ready to recap the last two months. Buckle up.
July started with a great visit from MN friends. It was wonderful to spend time with them including pick cherries, go for walks, watch fireworks,  get together with mutual friends, paddle board, and just hang out.

Anika and Brandon were interns at the local SERVE project home team.  The project leader has a bunch of the high school youth group kids organize part of the project. This is Anika's third year and Brandon's first. They both had a great time.
During that same week, Jessica went off to Bible camp at Cranhill Ranch. She enjoyed her time, but isn't sure she wants to go back. She was supposed to go to Dordt Discovery Days again this summer, but it sold out before I even logged on. So Cranhill and horse camp it was!
During that week, Maria was home alone, so she got a motorcycle date with dad.

Next, we trekked down to Sturgis, MI for our biennial (every two years) reunion with the Verbrugge cousins. Although not all the cousins were able to make it, we had a great time with those who came. A few of the third generation are talking tattoos next year.......








We did archery, atladl, tie dye, canoe trips, the every Amazing Amigo Competition in which we discovered we know nothing about our ancestors, or at least not nearly as much as the first generation thought we did! What was the name of the boat? The river by the farm? the town in Holland they came from? The weather changed up a few things including the cookout and popcorn hollow, but its all about making memories, and the ice cream is always good!

One of the things we love about Michigan is the fresh fruit. We go from strawberry, to cherry, to blueberry, to raspberry to peach. We pick our own, or we get them from the farmer's market. Fresh fruit is amazing.
Generally, we don't get many blueberries picked because they are too busy eating. However, the bushes were so full this year, they ate and picked 7 lbs in about 20 minutes. They were gone in a few days.

The next weekend we began our journey to MN. We love going back to MN every summer. I often wonder when will be the last time because of schedules, time, graduations, etc. It was interesting to think about how Anika is the age Evan was when I met him, one of my first trips to the cabin. Our kids are almost who we were at that time. In MN, these kids only see each other each year for these few days. And all the people we meet up with, its as though time never passes. It was a wonderful trip once again. We decided to drive through the UP which adds about 8 hours to the trip, but it is just beautiful. Sadly, our children are no longer captivated by the beauty of lake Michigan. It saddens me that something so vast is so ordinary to them, but it is also cool they get to enjoy it at a moments notice. We started by climbing Castle Rock and saying hi to Paul and Babe. Next on the list was Kitch-iti-kipi. Yes, it is that beautiful, yes, it is that clear, yes, the water is that blue. Check it out


Next, we drove through a crazy hail storm to the Pine Mountain Ski Jump and climbed to the top. Perfect phrases along the way:

Why is this fun for you?  (I LOVE heights, I LOVE hikes, if there is a top of something with a good view, I want to go)

I hate you for this? (after climbing 500 stairs to a parking lot we could have driven to.... he hehe -did I mention I love hikes???)

The climb down wasn't as amazing - a little more scary hanging on to every plank, but still totally worth it!

we parked at the bottom, where the skiers land, the parking
lot was at the base of the ski jump!

We stopped at my parents for the evening where bee bee guns, remote control cars, and swings were all a good time.

Next Stop - the cabin in Brainerd - one of my most favorite places on earth. Not just because its beautiful, but for many reasons: the stars, the loons, the opportunity to play in the water in just about every way imaginable... canoe, paddle boat, tube, ski, wake board, surf, fish, trampoline, sail... I love the water... this place is paradise, these people are like family.  Once again the weather didn't cooperate, but we always have fun.

Final stop: Minneapolis.. again, friends without end...framily and traditions we didn't even know we started. If you haven't checked out Central Park in Maple Grove, you really need to!

We spent a quick evening in Indiana/Illinois to see Matt's brother and wife (Mark & Tammy) and sister and husband (Jen & Ben) as well as many cousins, uncles, aunts ...... We always enjoy a good night with Eenigenburg cousins and our kids got to reacquaint which is always nice!

Jessica decided long hair wasn't for her any longer. She donated 12 inches.  Here is the before.... notice the after in the school pic below.

Somehow, Brandon turned 16. In a matter of years, we will have four teenagers in the house, heaven help us. His favorites continue to be Snickers Ice Cream Bars, long john donuts, and for supper we had steak, potatoes, and green beans.  He wanted Sanuk shoes which came a few days later, and of course, he got his license. 

And just like that we are back into school, sports and all things crazy including trying to arrange rides home around work, reffing, one car at school ....

Anika decided to join the swim team this year and is getting an incredible work out. Brandon is playing soccer once again as is Maria. Jessica has joined the middle school cross country and volleyball teams.  Never a dull moment.

And so we begin the first year of lasts.... Anika is a senior.

Brandon is 10th, Jessica 8th, and Maria 6th.

And today, we ran a 5K all together, in the rain. Jessica's cross country team was running a fun run and the families could join them, so we did. A local dairy, (Country Dairy in New Era) - their kids go to school with our kids. Plus, there was free chocolate milk and it is quite possibly the best chocolate milk ever.

And finally, we end with one of our favorite past times..... sunsets, beaches, books, slow, quiet.....

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Baby its hot outside

We had the discussion today if 10 degrees and wind chill is better than 95 degrees and dew points in the 70s.  There's a reason I live in Michigan and not the amazon. I love all the seasons, but you can take humidity any day - I don't want it. So, we sit in our AC house and watch World Cup soccer. Not a bad trade off. We may hit the beach for a sunset later. Its a favorite past time of ours.

School ended, and with it all spring sports. There was actually a week or two where no one had any games or practices. We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves. But have no fear, it didn't last long.

Maria said goodbye to her 5th grade teacher with a slushie from Wesco; summer here means slushies. We get them often. This started when the kids were little. I would buy one 44 oz and split it into four sippy cups in the car. They are now a bit more expensive in that they each get their own.

Anika's track team won the regionals again this year - two years in a row - and this year the boys team won as well. Anika loves to do the hurdles and desperately wants to three step, but between her speed and the length of her legs she hasn't been able to make it happen yet.

 















Exciting news from Brandon - his mouth is worth several thousand dollars more than it used to be, but you can't see it anymore. His lateral teeth, the two upper teeth next to the two front teeth, were called peg laterals. It means they looked like a peg leg instead of a full tooth. After having his braces removed, he needed those shaved down to a point so a cap could be put on. Two weeks later, he got the caps. He is finished and his mouth is worth more than my van.

with braces

without braces

lateral teeth shaved for caps

caps on and he's finally finished!

Maria ran a 5K with me through an organization called Girls on the Run. Its her last year being the correct age so she thought she would do it one last time. Everyone joined me in a 5K run organized by someone on the YMCA board. Anika had to take her ACT so she wasn't able to run. The best thing about this run is the pancake breakfast and chocolate milk!!! Brandon, Jessica, Maria and I all got medals for our age group but Matt was the first one to cross the finish line from the five of us.

Maria is also playing on a summer basketball team and she and Jessica both attended a summer split basketball/volleyball camp. They are both on the left side as you look at the picture. Maria is #15 in orange. She is tough little defender. I tell her not to worry about winning the game but to get better as a player. How many steals can she get? How many times can she make the other team turn the ball over? She loves to run up and press when the other team isn't expecting it and either steal it or make them throw it away, call a timeout or get a five second call. She is the only 5th grader on the team, the others are all younger, so she does get frustrated, but she is still playing hard.

Jessica and Maria helped me pick some strawberries again this year. The crop wasn't amazing, but it is always fun to have fresh pie and angel food cake and jam and all the yumminess of strawberries.

Brandon and Anika spent 10 days in St Thomas on a SERVE project helping with hurricane relief. Maria spent a week at Camp Geneva in Holland, and Jessica spent the week in the van with me.... I drove her to or picked her up from a different place each evening. She was with a friend at another volleyball camp, to Michigan Adventures amusement park, and a swim meet. Yes, all three girls are trying a new sport this summer.  Competitive swimming here we come.

Through our years here we have met many people, one of which is the owner of the local Harley Davidson franchise. Needless to say, Matt has taken advantage of this relationship. Jessica has received her first ever motorcycle ride.

And just to keep it real, when I go through the months of pictures  to remind me of everything we have done, I find 20-30 selfies... Jessica has entirely too much fun seeing herself in pictures.

We also were the family VonTrap at church. Whenever the praise leader needs a break, here we come. This time we had one of Anika's friends help with singing, Brandon was on keyboard, a friend of his was on drums, and one of Jessica's friends played bass. Maria was in the nursery! It took some doing but we accomplished it.


I had a few goals while the kiddos were
gone, one of which was to clean the house - this was greatly interrupted by the taxing of Jessica. Still working on this one. BUT I did manage to get caught up on laundry - I even got the room so empty I could mop the floor. But do not fear... they all came home with dirty laundry. This is the present state of the laundry room. The gift that keeps on giving.

Have a great week!