September 2016

 A road trip was planted by car to go through the States and back through Canada. So the suitcase had to be packed and choices had to be made.

What to take and what to leave home.

So early in the morning on Sept 7, Janet, Corina and myself  we left Lynden in Janet's car.

It was raining.

This was our lunch stop and we had beautiful sunshine once we were on the eastside of the mountains

We made it the first day to Caldwell in Idaho.

The next day we made it to Salt Lake City. Some dear friends gave me some socks for the trip and I showed them off when we entered the State of Utah.

In Salt Lake City we visited the Mormon's domain.

Was great to see all that.

This is where the Mormon Tabernacle choir is practicing and sings always.

This is the Tabernacle. If you are not a Mormon you are not allowed to go in this building.

In another building was a replica of the tabernacle and we could see all the rooms in there.

Another church on the grounds we went in.

On Saturday we arrived in Iowa and on Tuesday it was a great day for Bryce, He was chosen to be the Homecoming King.

Here he is with his Queen.

If you go in Sioux Center for a walk you might end up in the prairie.

It is beautiful there. Even Harrison likes it.

You see there a lot of butterflies flying around.

My 'goofy' VanGinkel girls.

And this boy is a delight to be with as well. Next time I think he will be taller then his Grandma.

I will have to stretch I think.

This dear friend was a good sport by wearing Bryce his crown. sweet.

Lunch stop in Minnesota.

We came by the biggest candy store in the State. A delight to visit there. There are at least well a thousand jigsaw puzzles for sale in that store beside all the other things.

Coffee by Caribou in Coon Rapids.

Name sakes of Oma Hovius.

Monday morning. The Three Diva's leaving the Kuik's  place.

Mother and daughter.

Scenic places.

Waiting for the ferry in Canada.

Finely the end punt of our destination to see our family in Canada.

The day before we had lunch with some dear nieces and nephew in Listowel.

We had a few beautiful days together, Just talk and eat.

It was a delight to walk through Derk en Anita's gardens .

This is a Rose of Sharon in the garden by their son.

He has everything there.

A great hobby farm.

Precious.

Some sights on the road what has seen it good  days before.

Looking at a waterfall.

Lake Superior on the Canadian side.

A night stay in a motel where the town had some different birds showing their feathers.

This is one of them.

Corina did find some money on a beach where we ate lunch.

We found there geese and mushrooms.

Terry Fox memorial. Very impressive and well done.

Most of the wildlife we saw was this way, Just on the sign's.

We did see a black bear. He decided not to wait until we had our camera's out.

Sioux Center prairie. Picture in the wrong spot.

This one too. Jacob at his hobby farm.

Then we visited our niece Kay in Thunderbay and her brother Kenny had flown in for our visit as well. What a great time and a great meal we had by them.

This was quite often the scenery of the day.

Trucks and more trucks.

Entering Saskatchewan.

Many of this big giant windmills in the States and in Canada we saw.

On the road from Sioux Center to Minneapolis I know all the quilting stores and there are several but we did not have time to stop. We might have come home a week later, but in this town was one to and my fellow travelers granted me to take a peek inside. this was a neat town. We needed gas there as well and we had full service. The lady pumped the gas and cleaned the car windows

There were a few nice old looking churches. This is one of them. We ate lunch in a little park there.

Outside of town was this flower and the Indian head.

In Medicine Head, Alberta is this teepee.

Gorgeous scenery coming to the mountains.

All the way through Canada you see this hand build statures.

They are called Inukshuk.

It means: Save Travels.

Park in Banff.

Banff

A magpie in the same park.

By Lake Louise

Lake Moraine.

This was very interesting. In order for the train's to make the steep grade here through the mountains they are making  all these loops and go through tunnels to slowly increase or decrease.

We saw a train doing all that going in one tunnel and coming out another one to go in another one. Quite an engineering thing to figure that out and building it.

It is called the Spiral Eight.

We could not get on the picture really the height of this falls.

On the way to a waterfall and this water was so blue.

Here come the Fraser and Thompson rivers together. The Fraser is dirty looking (silt) and the other one is blue.

I am wearing my sister's top for the picture. The sad thing was that she could not continue from of Banff the trip with us and had to fly home. This way she was still with us and we missed her.

The good thing is that she is doing good again.

We did see some gorgeous fall colors.

Climbing.

Fall colors.

Picture in Thunderbay.

We did have an awesome trip and came home with very thankful hearts.

JULY AND AUG.  2016     

In the month of July and August  there were a lot of memories made.

This picture is of one of the flowerpots on my patio. This is still a flowerpot of a tire what Opa and Dad made one year when they were here.

 I could take pictures from flowers or other things in nature everyday. Does any one of you remember The VanPolen pictures? I always thought that man had the best job in the world. I would have loved to go with him.

 

Nicholas came and spend three weeks here for his Pharmacy internship by working at Saveway.

He looks so professional I think, but he has a few more years of knowledge to gather in his head before he can call himself a pharmacist.

It was great to have him here.

The next pictures are random ones from the days we spent at the beach

This was the view from our condo in Birch Bay.

Two of the boys are playing a game on the lawn

Nick and Derek.

 

 

Hauling a log into the water

 

 Bryce could sit all day just throwing rocks in the water.

He made several bare spots on the beach. When the rocks were gone at his spot then he moved over to another one with plenty of rocks again.

 

Derek, Riley, Shannon, Jordyn and Emery looking at the ski.

Either a bird or a plane or a kite.

 

Precious grandkids

Champion rock thrower?

A glorious sunset.

I was told by one of the kids that I was allowed to take three sunset picture a night.

I tried, but it was hard. Some nights it was okay but some others not so good.

I sure am thankful for a delete button on my camera.

We went a day to the Birch Bay waterslides. That was a lot of fun.

Another sunset. What a great God we have to put all that beauty together. I am always in awe of His color combinations

There was a lot of game playing going on. by kids and grownups alike.

Either on land of in the water.

Having so many grandkids together felt so good. We did miss the ones who were not able to come. But God is good and brought a bunch this way and it was great.

And this sweet man came just for the evening from Seattle to join us.

I am so thankful that next year in August we may add him to all the grandsons we have,

Love him already.

 

 

One night we had a fire on the beach and the cops came, because there was a burn ban going on.

They looked at it and said it was legal the way the kids had done it.

All what they had done was laying a ring of rocks around it and we had water close by.

So that was good.

Our condo is in the background. Second floor.

 

Lets finish this month with another sunset.

We can look back on such fond memories and can be so thankful that God gave us all this to enjoy.

Thank you Lord.

 

 

JUNE, 2016

 One of the highlights this month was that Marissa graduated from high school in Minnesota. Here in this picture are preparations for the evening.

 She was the valedictorian of the class and she needed to do a speech. Her speech was awesome. At one point  she had her classmates and former graduates of the school singing.

Some proud and very thankful grandma's

Matthew, her big brother came to surprise her from Miami.

Cousins from Iowa

 Then a week later another big event. Brooke graduated from SPU in Seattle. Very impressive and also a very happy girl.

 Every one is happy for their sister.

 Happy and thankful grandparents. It is so nice to witness the accomplishment of your grandkids

MAY -2016

Grand-daughter miss J turned eight this month. I call her my bumblebee.

I never can get enough of the beauty of the roses.

 Mount Baker on a clear day is looking always very majestic.

This robin was singing it's heart out or calling for a companion. I had to take a picture.

One morning a surprise phone-call from a former neighbor boy I had gone to school with in the Netherlands. So we met him and his spouse at the Bakery in town and had coffee together. It was great to get acquainted again. They live in Ontario, Canada.

Finished a scrap-quilt for church.

 This lap quilt is for my daughter. She loves black , white and red. The red gave me some trouble with bleeding.  Got some solution from the quilting store in town and after 6 washings it was out and not bleeding anymore.

Some more of our rose pictures.

This is a lap-quilt for another daughter. Who also likes black, grey and white with another accent color.