Last Saturday we went and carved pumpkins with some of our friends. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that Henry and I carved. I have to admit, we both used templates so we can't take all of the credit. It was a beautiful and fun day!
Monday, October 26, 2009
October and Pumpkins
There hasn't been a whole lot new in the month of October. I'm finally finished coaching volleyball which is SO nice! The season definately could have gone better but it's in the past! :) Woo Hoo! About 1 more week of free afternoons and basketball starts. At least I'm a volunteer coach and don't have to be there every day! It's hard thinking about giving up afternoons until March but I do love it I suppose.
Last Saturday we went and carved pumpkins with some of our friends. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that Henry and I carved. I have to admit, we both used templates so we can't take all of the credit. It was a beautiful and fun day!
Last Saturday we went and carved pumpkins with some of our friends. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that Henry and I carved. I have to admit, we both used templates so we can't take all of the credit. It was a beautiful and fun day!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Recent Pictures
Henry and I on the water front in Bremerton
We bought a plane trip to Friday Harbor at the Seattle Christian Auction. We took the trip on the last Saturday in August. This is Henry inspecting the plane before we left. :)
Us with the plane after we had landed in Friday Harbor.
At the Friday Harbor Marina. It was a beautiful day.
On our way home again.
Seattle from the air. Beautiful!
Labor day at the Ballard Locks. I finally got a picture of a salmon jumping! Yay!
Cinnamon Rolls... baked fresh tonight. Yummm.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Don't be sorry, be better
I really don't have a reason for choosing the title that I did except that I want to work on doing a better job of updating my blog. It just popped into my head when I was thinking to myself, 'What would be a catchy title for my blog entry'. This is a phrase that our P.E. department at Seattle Christian uses on a pretty regular basis. So, I thought I'd inspire all 2 of you out there who read this. I feel a bit like Drew with his radio show that broadcasts with the power of a toaster. Is anyone out there? I know that mom, you read it. And I'm pretty sure Cebu reads in his very little spare time. That's good enough for me! :)
Friday the 18th, I think that was the night I picked Henry up from the airport after he was in California for work. I believe my last post was on that date so we'll go from there.
On Saturday the 19th Henry and I went with Steve and Harriet to Puyallup's biggest event of the year... The Puyallup Fair!! It was a beautiful fallish day and we had a great time! I had gotten a free ticket to the fair from school for being a teacher. I realized once we got to the fair that I had left the ticket at home. Shoot! Oh well... Shortly after entering the fair we stopped to enjoy some delicious scones. If I ever take any of you to the fair I will get scones for you! They are a must! Then, on the way to the 'Wierd Al's Brain' exhibit I was thirsty so I decided to get a pop. Now there's no sense getting the Medium when the large is only $.25 more and you'll be there all day! After we had waited in line the attendant told me I couldn't take drinks in the show. UGH! This is a fair people! Lighten up! Being too cheap to dump my $3.00 large soda, we got out of line. I was pretty annoyed that I was inconveniencing everyone else, but at that point not annoyed enough to get rid of the pop. We saw the petting zoo not too far away and went to go pet some goats and chickens and whatever else fairs typically have in petting zoos. As we were walking into the petting zoo, of course, another attendant stops us and tells me I can't take my pop in. AGH! The pop was forcefully thrown in the trash can with an annoyed sigh. What a waste. It wasn't worth making us all sit around outside while I tried to guzzle my 32oz pop. So that was that. We went and petted some chickens and rabbits and goats. As we were leaving the petting zoo Harriet alerted Steve that he had something on the butt of his pants (she can do that kind of thing now that she's his fiance :) ). He realized that the straw bale that he had sat on had chicken poo on it and now it was on his pants. GREAT start to our day! So, since Steve is somewhat of a germ-a-phobe we had to thoroughly scrub at his pants and then his hands. After that the day definately took a turn in the positive direction. We saw the Weird Al's Brain thing (which I wasn't that impressed with... I'll take the pop!) and then went to do a few rides and get lunch. It was 'private schools' day at the fair so I went to check out who was working the Seattle Christian booth. The first time I checked it was a family I didn't know. The second time I looked it was a family I didn't particularly like... no need to go visit! We walked around and saw vendors most of the afternoon until it was finally time to leave the fair. From there we went straight to the first night of the Tacoma Christian Reformed Community Church BOWLING LEAGUE! We had lots of fun but I was glad to finally be home and in bed that night.
The following week was pretty typical for us. My Middle School volleyball team had their first games. They didn't go as well as I would have liked but that gives us room to improve I suppose! Tuesday was a really long day. We had school all day and then an away volleyball game after school. The bus made it back just in time for me to make it to the 'back to school night' that was going on at school. I was there until 9:30 that night. Whew! Very glad that day is over! Thursday we had our first home game which went only slightly better than our first game. Oh well! This past Saturday we went back to the fair again! We finally used my free ticket. We also used 2 student tickets that the school had left over so Henry, Vip and I all got into the fair for free! Yay! It was a beautiful, very fun day at the fair followed by the second night of church bowling. It was another fun day.
This past Sunday we had our first day of Sunday School with our new curriculum. Henry and I were both really happy with how the study went and are looking forward to next weeks meeting. After curch we went over to Mom and Dad VP's house for a big turkey dinner! It was SO delicious. We stayed there for a while and watched some football. On the way home we stopped in and saw grandma VP. She looked pretty good and showed us how she can walk with her walker to the door of her room and back. But she sure does wish she could walk again without the walker and without pain. You've got to love Grandma! We came home and I made a nice, big batch of potato soup. Yum, yum!
Today was yet another Monday. School went well, we had Volleyball practice and then I went out to eat with Carla. We (Harriet, Carla, and I) have decided that Monday nights will be our 'girls night'. Henry has bowling league, Steve has city council meetings, and Eric usually has some friends that he wants to hang out with. So far it's been something that I've looked very much forward to on Monday nights!
Now Henry and I are home and watching a little TV on the couch before we head to bed. It's been a good week and a half!
We hope you all are doing well wherever you're at. We miss you and love you all and look forward to the next time we get to see you!
Love from Washington!
Henry, Lindsey, and Chief Walter Winston III
Friday the 18th, I think that was the night I picked Henry up from the airport after he was in California for work. I believe my last post was on that date so we'll go from there.
On Saturday the 19th Henry and I went with Steve and Harriet to Puyallup's biggest event of the year... The Puyallup Fair!! It was a beautiful fallish day and we had a great time! I had gotten a free ticket to the fair from school for being a teacher. I realized once we got to the fair that I had left the ticket at home. Shoot! Oh well... Shortly after entering the fair we stopped to enjoy some delicious scones. If I ever take any of you to the fair I will get scones for you! They are a must! Then, on the way to the 'Wierd Al's Brain' exhibit I was thirsty so I decided to get a pop. Now there's no sense getting the Medium when the large is only $.25 more and you'll be there all day! After we had waited in line the attendant told me I couldn't take drinks in the show. UGH! This is a fair people! Lighten up! Being too cheap to dump my $3.00 large soda, we got out of line. I was pretty annoyed that I was inconveniencing everyone else, but at that point not annoyed enough to get rid of the pop. We saw the petting zoo not too far away and went to go pet some goats and chickens and whatever else fairs typically have in petting zoos. As we were walking into the petting zoo, of course, another attendant stops us and tells me I can't take my pop in. AGH! The pop was forcefully thrown in the trash can with an annoyed sigh. What a waste. It wasn't worth making us all sit around outside while I tried to guzzle my 32oz pop. So that was that. We went and petted some chickens and rabbits and goats. As we were leaving the petting zoo Harriet alerted Steve that he had something on the butt of his pants (she can do that kind of thing now that she's his fiance :) ). He realized that the straw bale that he had sat on had chicken poo on it and now it was on his pants. GREAT start to our day! So, since Steve is somewhat of a germ-a-phobe we had to thoroughly scrub at his pants and then his hands. After that the day definately took a turn in the positive direction. We saw the Weird Al's Brain thing (which I wasn't that impressed with... I'll take the pop!) and then went to do a few rides and get lunch. It was 'private schools' day at the fair so I went to check out who was working the Seattle Christian booth. The first time I checked it was a family I didn't know. The second time I looked it was a family I didn't particularly like... no need to go visit! We walked around and saw vendors most of the afternoon until it was finally time to leave the fair. From there we went straight to the first night of the Tacoma Christian Reformed Community Church BOWLING LEAGUE! We had lots of fun but I was glad to finally be home and in bed that night.
The following week was pretty typical for us. My Middle School volleyball team had their first games. They didn't go as well as I would have liked but that gives us room to improve I suppose! Tuesday was a really long day. We had school all day and then an away volleyball game after school. The bus made it back just in time for me to make it to the 'back to school night' that was going on at school. I was there until 9:30 that night. Whew! Very glad that day is over! Thursday we had our first home game which went only slightly better than our first game. Oh well! This past Saturday we went back to the fair again! We finally used my free ticket. We also used 2 student tickets that the school had left over so Henry, Vip and I all got into the fair for free! Yay! It was a beautiful, very fun day at the fair followed by the second night of church bowling. It was another fun day.
This past Sunday we had our first day of Sunday School with our new curriculum. Henry and I were both really happy with how the study went and are looking forward to next weeks meeting. After curch we went over to Mom and Dad VP's house for a big turkey dinner! It was SO delicious. We stayed there for a while and watched some football. On the way home we stopped in and saw grandma VP. She looked pretty good and showed us how she can walk with her walker to the door of her room and back. But she sure does wish she could walk again without the walker and without pain. You've got to love Grandma! We came home and I made a nice, big batch of potato soup. Yum, yum!
Today was yet another Monday. School went well, we had Volleyball practice and then I went out to eat with Carla. We (Harriet, Carla, and I) have decided that Monday nights will be our 'girls night'. Henry has bowling league, Steve has city council meetings, and Eric usually has some friends that he wants to hang out with. So far it's been something that I've looked very much forward to on Monday nights!
Now Henry and I are home and watching a little TV on the couch before we head to bed. It's been a good week and a half!
We hope you all are doing well wherever you're at. We miss you and love you all and look forward to the next time we get to see you!
Love from Washington!
Henry, Lindsey, and Chief Walter Winston III
Friday, September 18, 2009
School Days are Here Again
So, school has started back up and we are more or less back in the swing of things. It was pretty tough getting used to getting up before 8 o'clock every day! But, I've survived. I know, rough life.
This school year is great because it's my second time around. Lesson plans are already finished for the most part and I don't need to work too hard to make sure I know how to teach the curriculum. Now I can focus more on improving what I'm already doing. I enjoy my classes but realy miss the 7th grade advanced math class from last year. The kids were super fun and kept me laughing all the time! They also cared about what they were doing and worked really hard. I loved that class! Because I don't teach 8th grade advanced math I don't get to see them anymore. :( At least I can say 'hi' to most of them in the hall.
I've definately found that each class or group of kids is its own beast. This years seventh grade class has some great kids but also some kids that I'm quite sure will drive me bonkers before the end of the year. The other day the kids were all quietly and a 7th grade boy came to my desk and asked what my four favorite colors were. WHAT?!?! Ummm... I'm trying to get things done, just like you should do. You shouldn't care what my favorite colors are! Don't bother me with pointless questions! Oh well, he's a nice kid, just a little annoying every now and then.
I had QUITE the crisis a few days ago. It all started when Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and told me I shouldn't drink so much pop! So, I've been trying to drink more water at school. There is a water machine in the office so I can just keep refilling my water bottle which works nicely. Last Tuesday I was doing great! I filled my water bottle first thing in the morning and had it all gone by the end of 2nd period. I filled it again and had about 1/2 of it gone by lunch time. At lunch someone came in and asked what had happened to the water machine. Then I found out that they had taken it out to clean it shortly after I had refilled my bottle because a bunch of ants had crawled into the water reseviour and everyone who got water that morning was getting ants in their water. WHAT?!?!? AGH!!! How many ants had I consumed! SO gross! I wanted to throw up. I ran back to my room to check my water bottle hoping that it would be ant-less. There were 3 dead ants in the bottom of my half consumed water bottle. GROSS!! So that was my Tuesday. Very anty. I got home from Volleyball practice and had to bring Henry to the airport right away. He flew down to Los Angeles for work. When I got home I made a BIG batch of Potato Soup! YUMMM!! I've been eating it all week.
Wednesday morning: Chapel Day. I put on my favorite brown dress pants that are wide leg with a cuff sewn into the bottom of the legs. I also wore my favorite brown heels. As I was coming in from taking Chief out right before leaving for school tragedy struck. Just before getting to the front door, my right heel got caught in my left pant cuff without me noticing. I tried to take a step and... splat. Down I went. Immediate pain. I looked at my hands that had kind of caught me and they were all scraped up and bleeding. I looked at my knee and there was definately a hole in my favorite pants. Chief's leash broke. Bad deals. I had to run upstairs and try to quickly find something else to wear. I had to clean out the cuts on my hands and knee. Ouch! After a couple of band-ades and a different outfit I was out the door a little late. R.I.P. pants, R.I.P.. Wednesday night I was home and getting ready for bed. Chief was laying on the bed and I went to go lay next to him. As I went to put my head next to his, he jerked his head up to look at me. BANG! He caught me right in the bridge of my nose. OUCH! I thought it might be broken. But, as Prof. Vander Berg taught me in First Aid and Athletic Injury, when a nose breaks, it bleeds. So I don't think it's broken. But is sure is sore! So far it hasn't bruised, which I'm very thankful for.
So, now it's Friday and I've averted disaster for almost 48 hours, hoping to keep that streak going. Henry comes home tonight, which is nice. Tomorrow we're going to 'Do the Puyallup'! It's the Puyallup Fair in Puyallup, WA. The fifth largest fair in the United States. It's always a lot of fun with plenty of good food! Henry loves the fair and this weekend is 'Christian Schools Days' so we will visit the Seattle Christian booth and hear the SCS jazz band play. Tomorrow night is the first night of the Tacoma Christian Reformed Community Church's BOWLING LEAGUE! It's Henry's favorite time of the year. College football and bowling leagues. It should be a lot of fun. This year Eric & Carla and Steve & Harriet are doing a 'Bowl-share' on our team. So Henry and I will be the regular bowlers and Eric & Carla and Steve & Harriet will take turns bowling with us.
I think that's all I've got for an update at this point. We're looking forward to a busy October and November and then Thanksgiving and Christmas! Pumkin carving! Volleyball games! Maybe Spokane to meet Mama H and Cebu Daddy? Henry's birthday! Lots of fun stuff on the horizon.
Hope you all are doing well! We miss you and love you lots!!
- Lindsey, Henry, and Chief Walter Winston III (who has a hard head)
This school year is great because it's my second time around. Lesson plans are already finished for the most part and I don't need to work too hard to make sure I know how to teach the curriculum. Now I can focus more on improving what I'm already doing. I enjoy my classes but realy miss the 7th grade advanced math class from last year. The kids were super fun and kept me laughing all the time! They also cared about what they were doing and worked really hard. I loved that class! Because I don't teach 8th grade advanced math I don't get to see them anymore. :( At least I can say 'hi' to most of them in the hall.
I've definately found that each class or group of kids is its own beast. This years seventh grade class has some great kids but also some kids that I'm quite sure will drive me bonkers before the end of the year. The other day the kids were all quietly and a 7th grade boy came to my desk and asked what my four favorite colors were. WHAT?!?! Ummm... I'm trying to get things done, just like you should do. You shouldn't care what my favorite colors are! Don't bother me with pointless questions! Oh well, he's a nice kid, just a little annoying every now and then.
I had QUITE the crisis a few days ago. It all started when Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and told me I shouldn't drink so much pop! So, I've been trying to drink more water at school. There is a water machine in the office so I can just keep refilling my water bottle which works nicely. Last Tuesday I was doing great! I filled my water bottle first thing in the morning and had it all gone by the end of 2nd period. I filled it again and had about 1/2 of it gone by lunch time. At lunch someone came in and asked what had happened to the water machine. Then I found out that they had taken it out to clean it shortly after I had refilled my bottle because a bunch of ants had crawled into the water reseviour and everyone who got water that morning was getting ants in their water. WHAT?!?!? AGH!!! How many ants had I consumed! SO gross! I wanted to throw up. I ran back to my room to check my water bottle hoping that it would be ant-less. There were 3 dead ants in the bottom of my half consumed water bottle. GROSS!! So that was my Tuesday. Very anty. I got home from Volleyball practice and had to bring Henry to the airport right away. He flew down to Los Angeles for work. When I got home I made a BIG batch of Potato Soup! YUMMM!! I've been eating it all week.
Wednesday morning: Chapel Day. I put on my favorite brown dress pants that are wide leg with a cuff sewn into the bottom of the legs. I also wore my favorite brown heels. As I was coming in from taking Chief out right before leaving for school tragedy struck. Just before getting to the front door, my right heel got caught in my left pant cuff without me noticing. I tried to take a step and... splat. Down I went. Immediate pain. I looked at my hands that had kind of caught me and they were all scraped up and bleeding. I looked at my knee and there was definately a hole in my favorite pants. Chief's leash broke. Bad deals. I had to run upstairs and try to quickly find something else to wear. I had to clean out the cuts on my hands and knee. Ouch! After a couple of band-ades and a different outfit I was out the door a little late. R.I.P. pants, R.I.P.. Wednesday night I was home and getting ready for bed. Chief was laying on the bed and I went to go lay next to him. As I went to put my head next to his, he jerked his head up to look at me. BANG! He caught me right in the bridge of my nose. OUCH! I thought it might be broken. But, as Prof. Vander Berg taught me in First Aid and Athletic Injury, when a nose breaks, it bleeds. So I don't think it's broken. But is sure is sore! So far it hasn't bruised, which I'm very thankful for.
So, now it's Friday and I've averted disaster for almost 48 hours, hoping to keep that streak going. Henry comes home tonight, which is nice. Tomorrow we're going to 'Do the Puyallup'! It's the Puyallup Fair in Puyallup, WA. The fifth largest fair in the United States. It's always a lot of fun with plenty of good food! Henry loves the fair and this weekend is 'Christian Schools Days' so we will visit the Seattle Christian booth and hear the SCS jazz band play. Tomorrow night is the first night of the Tacoma Christian Reformed Community Church's BOWLING LEAGUE! It's Henry's favorite time of the year. College football and bowling leagues. It should be a lot of fun. This year Eric & Carla and Steve & Harriet are doing a 'Bowl-share' on our team. So Henry and I will be the regular bowlers and Eric & Carla and Steve & Harriet will take turns bowling with us.
I think that's all I've got for an update at this point. We're looking forward to a busy October and November and then Thanksgiving and Christmas! Pumkin carving! Volleyball games! Maybe Spokane to meet Mama H and Cebu Daddy? Henry's birthday! Lots of fun stuff on the horizon.
Hope you all are doing well! We miss you and love you lots!!
- Lindsey, Henry, and Chief Walter Winston III (who has a hard head)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
An Extended Absence
Hello! I'm writing to let you know that I am alive after all! It's been almost 2 months and I have been less than motivated to make time to write my blog. Here's a run down of what has happened in the last month and a half.
Michelle was here and staying with us for a week and a half in mid-July. We (I?) had such a wonderful time! We spent hours floating around the near by lake. We cooked, we rode 'The Duck' in Seattle, we shopped. We had a marvelous time finding things to keep us busy. This will have to become a yearly tradition. :)
Michelle left on July 24th and I'm honestly not sure what all has happened between then and now. Henry has golfed a LOT... nearly every Saturday.
At the beginning of August we had a retirement celebration for Tacoma CRC's senior pastor, Pastor Rod. Pastor Rod has been the pastor at Tacoma CRC for 36 years. 36 YEARS! He is dearly loved and we're beginning the stressful process of trying to call a new pastor. I know that all of you in Montana know what that's like! We had a program and a picnic with games and the like. It was a fun time of fellowship.
Henry's brother John and his wife Larissa came out for a visit the first week of August. The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that they were here the whole family went up to Leavenworth, WA for a little trip. Henry actually worked that Monday and he and I went up after work so we missed out on the tour of the Applet and Cottlet factory. I honestly wasn't that disappointed. I don't even like Applets and Cottlets. We had dinner when we got there and then went back to the hotel (The Enzian of course! The Vander Pol tradition) and played a 'fun' game of peanuts. Some of you know my love **sarcasm** for peanuts.
We started Tuesday off by enjoying the wonderful breakfat that the Enzian Hotel is known for. Then, during breakfast, the little old man who has been doing this for years walks through the dinning room with his huge 'Ricola Horn', for the lack of a more official name, and stands on the outdoor deck railing to play some songs. He's decked out in his old fashioned Bavarian outfit and plays the part well. After breakfast we all went down to the 'Champion Putting Course' for a game of mini-golf. The four guys played together so that they could be as competitive as they liked, and the 4 girls played together so we could actually have fun. After golfing we went lazy river rafting on the Wenatchee river. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun rafting. The rest of the trip included other small activities and was an, overall, good time. Wait! I forgot. On the way home from Leavenworth Dad VP declared that there would be a hike. ... Really? Ugh... I survived.
Friday the bunch of us, minus Eric and Henry who had to work, went up to the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a fun day. Saturday we all went to a Mariner game. Another fun VP family event.
Whew! BUSY week!
I don't totally remember what I did the next week to stay busy. I painted some of my trim. I schemed about how to get Mom and Ashley out for a visit. I took Chief to the Vet. Ugh. Then, Saturday the 15th we had the annual Tacoma CRC golf tournament! Eric and Carla and Henry and I all played as our usual team. We were the defending champs going in. Second was the best we could do this year. Still fun though.
Last Tuesday, the 18th of August, at 9:00am I arrived at the SeaTac Int'l Airport and scooped up MOM AND CRASHO!!! We succeeded in arranging a trip for them to visit before I started the school year. Tuesday Mom and Ashely both slept most of the day... really exciting. We managed to do some cooking, some shopping, and some sight seeing. It was a REALLY wonderful week to have before school started. We saw Salmon running at the Ballard Locks. We saw people crab fishing off of the Des Moines pier. We had a great dinner at cousin Deanna's house with some of the Aunts and cousins that live around here. It was, all around, a great week. Thanks for coming, Mom and Crash!
Saturday Henry and I had the privilage of flying in a classic airplane to Friday Harbor, WA. It was a day trip that we had, more or less, ended up with at the Seattle Christian auction. We flew in a 1947 Stinson Taildragger. That probably doesn't mean much to many of you, but, oh well.
This week was the week. After I had been looking so forward to summer and summer had gone SO fast, school had to come. I still had Monday off, but had to report for duty yesterday. The day went pretty well, but I spent a lot of time in meetings. Today was the same. I'm starting to feel a little panic about whether or not I will get my room ready in time! It'll get done one way or another I suppose.
So, that's where we're at. Actually, we're on the couch watching the Mariner game. Henry's been sleeping on the couch for the last hour. He's becoming an old man in that was I suppose. Even so, he's a cute old man. :)Chief is curled up on his lap and they are snoozing away.
So, we hope you all are happy and healthy! Until we see you again, we love you!!
- Lindsey B. (now more commonly 'Mrs. Vander Pol'), Henry D., and Chief W.W.
Michelle was here and staying with us for a week and a half in mid-July. We (I?) had such a wonderful time! We spent hours floating around the near by lake. We cooked, we rode 'The Duck' in Seattle, we shopped. We had a marvelous time finding things to keep us busy. This will have to become a yearly tradition. :)
Michelle left on July 24th and I'm honestly not sure what all has happened between then and now. Henry has golfed a LOT... nearly every Saturday.
At the beginning of August we had a retirement celebration for Tacoma CRC's senior pastor, Pastor Rod. Pastor Rod has been the pastor at Tacoma CRC for 36 years. 36 YEARS! He is dearly loved and we're beginning the stressful process of trying to call a new pastor. I know that all of you in Montana know what that's like! We had a program and a picnic with games and the like. It was a fun time of fellowship.
Henry's brother John and his wife Larissa came out for a visit the first week of August. The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that they were here the whole family went up to Leavenworth, WA for a little trip. Henry actually worked that Monday and he and I went up after work so we missed out on the tour of the Applet and Cottlet factory. I honestly wasn't that disappointed. I don't even like Applets and Cottlets. We had dinner when we got there and then went back to the hotel (The Enzian of course! The Vander Pol tradition) and played a 'fun' game of peanuts. Some of you know my love **sarcasm** for peanuts.
We started Tuesday off by enjoying the wonderful breakfat that the Enzian Hotel is known for. Then, during breakfast, the little old man who has been doing this for years walks through the dinning room with his huge 'Ricola Horn', for the lack of a more official name, and stands on the outdoor deck railing to play some songs. He's decked out in his old fashioned Bavarian outfit and plays the part well. After breakfast we all went down to the 'Champion Putting Course' for a game of mini-golf. The four guys played together so that they could be as competitive as they liked, and the 4 girls played together so we could actually have fun. After golfing we went lazy river rafting on the Wenatchee river. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun rafting. The rest of the trip included other small activities and was an, overall, good time. Wait! I forgot. On the way home from Leavenworth Dad VP declared that there would be a hike. ... Really? Ugh... I survived.
Friday the bunch of us, minus Eric and Henry who had to work, went up to the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a fun day. Saturday we all went to a Mariner game. Another fun VP family event.
Whew! BUSY week!
I don't totally remember what I did the next week to stay busy. I painted some of my trim. I schemed about how to get Mom and Ashley out for a visit. I took Chief to the Vet. Ugh. Then, Saturday the 15th we had the annual Tacoma CRC golf tournament! Eric and Carla and Henry and I all played as our usual team. We were the defending champs going in. Second was the best we could do this year. Still fun though.
Last Tuesday, the 18th of August, at 9:00am I arrived at the SeaTac Int'l Airport and scooped up MOM AND CRASHO!!! We succeeded in arranging a trip for them to visit before I started the school year. Tuesday Mom and Ashely both slept most of the day... really exciting. We managed to do some cooking, some shopping, and some sight seeing. It was a REALLY wonderful week to have before school started. We saw Salmon running at the Ballard Locks. We saw people crab fishing off of the Des Moines pier. We had a great dinner at cousin Deanna's house with some of the Aunts and cousins that live around here. It was, all around, a great week. Thanks for coming, Mom and Crash!
Saturday Henry and I had the privilage of flying in a classic airplane to Friday Harbor, WA. It was a day trip that we had, more or less, ended up with at the Seattle Christian auction. We flew in a 1947 Stinson Taildragger. That probably doesn't mean much to many of you, but, oh well.
This week was the week. After I had been looking so forward to summer and summer had gone SO fast, school had to come. I still had Monday off, but had to report for duty yesterday. The day went pretty well, but I spent a lot of time in meetings. Today was the same. I'm starting to feel a little panic about whether or not I will get my room ready in time! It'll get done one way or another I suppose.
So, that's where we're at. Actually, we're on the couch watching the Mariner game. Henry's been sleeping on the couch for the last hour. He's becoming an old man in that was I suppose. Even so, he's a cute old man. :)Chief is curled up on his lap and they are snoozing away.
So, we hope you all are happy and healthy! Until we see you again, we love you!!
- Lindsey B. (now more commonly 'Mrs. Vander Pol'), Henry D., and Chief W.W.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mid-July is Upon Us
Another two weeks have flown by! It's been SO busy lately that, unless a task is shoved in my face, it's easily neglected.
On July first (Canada Day!) I flew to International Falls, MN. Michelle Veldhuisen, a good friend from Dordt, met me at the airport and drove me to her hometown of Emo, Ontario, Canada. We had a wonderful weekend there spending lots of time with her brothers and sisters-in-law and her beautiful neice Jordyn. We were at Michelle's parents farm most of the day on Thursday and had dinner with her family. Friday Michelle's brother Joel took us fishing at a nearby lake. We were quite successful and caught some Northern Pike, a Bass, and a Walleye. We only ended up keeping 3 of the Northerns. After getting home that night we prepared the fish and fried them for dinner. They were pretty good! :)
Saturday we went to a family friend's wedding. It was a fun experience. The weather was beautiful as well as the wedding. Sunday morning we left early (haha... 8am) for Minneapolis. We flew out at 5pm to Bozeman via Denver. We had a few delays, but, overall, had good flights, but a long day! We arrived in Bozeman at about midnight Sunday night.
We did so many fun things in Montana! We went fishing (unsuccessfully), attended a few wedding showers and spent a lot of quality time with the family. Some of the highlights were:
-Going out to dinner with Ashley, Amber, and Michelle for Ashley's 'bachelorette party'.
-Seeing extended family at the wedding showers.
-Doing flowers for the wedding with Ashley, Hannah, and Michelle.
-Meeting new friends from far away places.
-The wedding rehearsal, even though it got slightly rained out, and of course...
- THE WEDDING!
The wedding went so well. Ashley looked positively gorgeous. The weather was pretty much ideal. The food was good. The hair-do's looked great. They said 'I DO'.
Saturday morning we had a brunch of Zach and Ashley. They opened their gifts and we spent some time with them before they went on their honeymoon to a cabin in Utah.
Sunday Henry, Michelle and I drove home to Seattle. The trip went well despite the flat tire in Courdelaine (I know it isn't spelled right, but I'm too lazy to look it up. You know what I mean). It was 94 degrees outdside. Good thing Henry and Michelle had things under control! We were blessed by dad's good thinking when he put a full size spare tire under the van. We cruised right along.
Monday Michelle and I had to run the games at Tacoma CRC's Vacation Bible School. It went very well. This years theme is 'Outback Express', an Australian theme. We did laundry and watched some TV in the afternoon and had Pot Eten for dinner. We also watched the MLB homerun derby and took Chief for a walk. Quite the ambitious day! haha.
Today we slept in and ran errands most of the day. We got groceries, brought Chief to the vet (ugh), bought a rice cooker!, and came home to make dinner. We made some delicious meatballs using a recipe from the Kaemingh cookbook that Michelle brought from Canada. Henry and Vip had a rec league basketball game, so we went to that. Then we came home and watched Deadliest Catch. Henry and Vip ate more meatballs and now we're ready for bed.
What a fun couple of weeks! I look forward to spending the next couple of weeks here in Seattle with Michelle. It was so great to see so many of you!
We love you and hope God blesses you until we see you again.
- Henry, Lindsey, and Chief Walter Winston (the most expensive dog in the world)
On July first (Canada Day!) I flew to International Falls, MN. Michelle Veldhuisen, a good friend from Dordt, met me at the airport and drove me to her hometown of Emo, Ontario, Canada. We had a wonderful weekend there spending lots of time with her brothers and sisters-in-law and her beautiful neice Jordyn. We were at Michelle's parents farm most of the day on Thursday and had dinner with her family. Friday Michelle's brother Joel took us fishing at a nearby lake. We were quite successful and caught some Northern Pike, a Bass, and a Walleye. We only ended up keeping 3 of the Northerns. After getting home that night we prepared the fish and fried them for dinner. They were pretty good! :)
Saturday we went to a family friend's wedding. It was a fun experience. The weather was beautiful as well as the wedding. Sunday morning we left early (haha... 8am) for Minneapolis. We flew out at 5pm to Bozeman via Denver. We had a few delays, but, overall, had good flights, but a long day! We arrived in Bozeman at about midnight Sunday night.
We did so many fun things in Montana! We went fishing (unsuccessfully), attended a few wedding showers and spent a lot of quality time with the family. Some of the highlights were:
-Going out to dinner with Ashley, Amber, and Michelle for Ashley's 'bachelorette party'.
-Seeing extended family at the wedding showers.
-Doing flowers for the wedding with Ashley, Hannah, and Michelle.
-Meeting new friends from far away places.
-The wedding rehearsal, even though it got slightly rained out, and of course...
- THE WEDDING!
The wedding went so well. Ashley looked positively gorgeous. The weather was pretty much ideal. The food was good. The hair-do's looked great. They said 'I DO'.
Saturday morning we had a brunch of Zach and Ashley. They opened their gifts and we spent some time with them before they went on their honeymoon to a cabin in Utah.
Sunday Henry, Michelle and I drove home to Seattle. The trip went well despite the flat tire in Courdelaine (I know it isn't spelled right, but I'm too lazy to look it up. You know what I mean). It was 94 degrees outdside. Good thing Henry and Michelle had things under control! We were blessed by dad's good thinking when he put a full size spare tire under the van. We cruised right along.
Monday Michelle and I had to run the games at Tacoma CRC's Vacation Bible School. It went very well. This years theme is 'Outback Express', an Australian theme. We did laundry and watched some TV in the afternoon and had Pot Eten for dinner. We also watched the MLB homerun derby and took Chief for a walk. Quite the ambitious day! haha.
Today we slept in and ran errands most of the day. We got groceries, brought Chief to the vet (ugh), bought a rice cooker!, and came home to make dinner. We made some delicious meatballs using a recipe from the Kaemingh cookbook that Michelle brought from Canada. Henry and Vip had a rec league basketball game, so we went to that. Then we came home and watched Deadliest Catch. Henry and Vip ate more meatballs and now we're ready for bed.
What a fun couple of weeks! I look forward to spending the next couple of weeks here in Seattle with Michelle. It was so great to see so many of you!
We love you and hope God blesses you until we see you again.
- Henry, Lindsey, and Chief Walter Winston (the most expensive dog in the world)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Only two weeks later...
After a brief break from updating, I thought I should make a new post before I get TOO far behind.
We had a good trip back from Chicago. The following Tuesday, that being last Tuesday, Drew flew in from Montana to help us drive to Montana. We went to a Mariner's game that night, which was a lot of fun. After running some errands on Wednesday, we packed up the car and picked Henry up from work to leave for Montana. The trip went pretty quickly and we arrived safely in Montana.
The Montana weekend was wonderful! We got there early Thursday morning and got a few hours of sleep. Thursday we hung around the house. That night, dad cooked the fish that we had brought out from Seattle for dad for father's day. It was delicious. Friday morning started with Dad, Drew, and Henry teeing off at 6:30am at Cottonwood Hills. Ashley and I went and walked along with Henry after Dad and Drew left at the turn. Friday night we had a fabulous meal at Sir Scott's Oasis in Manhattan. Saturday morning Henry left early for breakfast at the Garden Cafe with Dad and Drew and Mom, Ashley, Karen, Sue and I went garage saling! We didn't really find much, but it was a lot of fun.
Side-note, Mama H made some fantastic cream of potato soup for us (me)! :)
Later on Saturday afternoon we went out to Martin Kimm's dad's lake and tried to do some fishing. The fish were NOT biting. After that we went out to Plunkett Lake and had a hotdog roast. Again, delicious! Drew, Henry,and I went back to the fishing lake to try again. Still no fish biting. :(
Sunday morning we did some packing and then went to Bethel CRC with the fam. It was good service and it was nice to be back at Bethel. After the service we came home and had a quick lunch and got on the road to head back to Seattle. We arrived there at about 10pm.
Monday and Tuesday were big time laundry days. Also, Henry's grandma was admitted to the hospital and wasn't doing well at all, so we spent some time there with her and other family members. Grandma had a sever infection in her blood and they weren't sure she was going to make it. However, she has improved a lot so we praise the Lord for that.
Wednesday monrning Henry brought me to SeaTac airport bright and early in the AM. My flight left at 7 on the dot. I flew Northwest/Delta from Seattle to Minneapolis and then from MSP to International Falls, MN. Michelle Veldhuisen met me there and took me over the border to her home in Emo, Ontario Canada. We've had a great time here! Thursday night we went to her parent's farm in the country. They have a beautiful farm house. Michelle's brothers were demolishing an old garage that they were replacing. It was quite entertaining to watch! Michelle's parents were out fishing, so we made waffles for dinner for us and her brothers. After dinner we ran some errands and then came home to fall asleep to a movie. Great day! Today we slept in and then went over to the farm again. We spent some time chatting with Mrs. Veldhuisen and watched the garage get torn completely down. Around noon, we went back to Michelle's cozy little house to eat some of what's left of her perishable food and to play some Nintendo Mario Kart! It was great fun. Tonight we went to the farm for dinner. We had excellent chicken and potatos (favorite!) and played with Michelle's little 4 month old niece. After dinner we went to a friend of Michelles house and visited with her. We watched her kids swim in their back yard pool and just chatted. It was pretty relaxing (as long as I wasn't the one watching the kids!). Now we're home and, again, playing Mario Kart.
It has been a wonderful few weeks since school has been out! I've enjoyed getting to visit family and friends. This is definately one thing I LOVE about being a teacher!
Hope you all are doing well! I will most likely be seeing most of you next week. Can't wait!
Love from Canada to all of you! Have a blessed 4th of July.
- Lindsey, 'eh?
We had a good trip back from Chicago. The following Tuesday, that being last Tuesday, Drew flew in from Montana to help us drive to Montana. We went to a Mariner's game that night, which was a lot of fun. After running some errands on Wednesday, we packed up the car and picked Henry up from work to leave for Montana. The trip went pretty quickly and we arrived safely in Montana.
The Montana weekend was wonderful! We got there early Thursday morning and got a few hours of sleep. Thursday we hung around the house. That night, dad cooked the fish that we had brought out from Seattle for dad for father's day. It was delicious. Friday morning started with Dad, Drew, and Henry teeing off at 6:30am at Cottonwood Hills. Ashley and I went and walked along with Henry after Dad and Drew left at the turn. Friday night we had a fabulous meal at Sir Scott's Oasis in Manhattan. Saturday morning Henry left early for breakfast at the Garden Cafe with Dad and Drew and Mom, Ashley, Karen, Sue and I went garage saling! We didn't really find much, but it was a lot of fun.
Side-note, Mama H made some fantastic cream of potato soup for us (me)! :)
Later on Saturday afternoon we went out to Martin Kimm's dad's lake and tried to do some fishing. The fish were NOT biting. After that we went out to Plunkett Lake and had a hotdog roast. Again, delicious! Drew, Henry,and I went back to the fishing lake to try again. Still no fish biting. :(
Sunday morning we did some packing and then went to Bethel CRC with the fam. It was good service and it was nice to be back at Bethel. After the service we came home and had a quick lunch and got on the road to head back to Seattle. We arrived there at about 10pm.
Monday and Tuesday were big time laundry days. Also, Henry's grandma was admitted to the hospital and wasn't doing well at all, so we spent some time there with her and other family members. Grandma had a sever infection in her blood and they weren't sure she was going to make it. However, she has improved a lot so we praise the Lord for that.
Wednesday monrning Henry brought me to SeaTac airport bright and early in the AM. My flight left at 7 on the dot. I flew Northwest/Delta from Seattle to Minneapolis and then from MSP to International Falls, MN. Michelle Veldhuisen met me there and took me over the border to her home in Emo, Ontario Canada. We've had a great time here! Thursday night we went to her parent's farm in the country. They have a beautiful farm house. Michelle's brothers were demolishing an old garage that they were replacing. It was quite entertaining to watch! Michelle's parents were out fishing, so we made waffles for dinner for us and her brothers. After dinner we ran some errands and then came home to fall asleep to a movie. Great day! Today we slept in and then went over to the farm again. We spent some time chatting with Mrs. Veldhuisen and watched the garage get torn completely down. Around noon, we went back to Michelle's cozy little house to eat some of what's left of her perishable food and to play some Nintendo Mario Kart! It was great fun. Tonight we went to the farm for dinner. We had excellent chicken and potatos (favorite!) and played with Michelle's little 4 month old niece. After dinner we went to a friend of Michelles house and visited with her. We watched her kids swim in their back yard pool and just chatted. It was pretty relaxing (as long as I wasn't the one watching the kids!). Now we're home and, again, playing Mario Kart.
It has been a wonderful few weeks since school has been out! I've enjoyed getting to visit family and friends. This is definately one thing I LOVE about being a teacher!
Hope you all are doing well! I will most likely be seeing most of you next week. Can't wait!
Love from Canada to all of you! Have a blessed 4th of July.
- Lindsey, 'eh?
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