Yesterday THIS Happened!

Oldest Grandson, Jonge, GRADUATED from the 8th grade! 
It's sad to think of all the exciting things he was looking forward to that he has had to miss.
No 8th grade camping trip to Mackinac Island with his class.
No baseball.
So many unwanted losses.
Yet on the bright side, yesterday he also learned that he has been accepted to the Grand Rapids Aviation Academy! 
So PROUD of him, and his parents!
Also very thankful for the SEVEN teachers and staff who are showing up at students homes to offer their congratulations! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Quarantine Mother's Day was different.  Over here we are adjusting to "different".
Staying snug at home isn't difficult for me at all.  No businesses are suffering because I am not out and about.  But what I DO miss is hugging my grandchildren.  The younger three, still in the single digits, are still great huggers and cuddlers and I miss that more than words can tell. 
But even though this is hard, we can do this!  I hope you can too. 
I've never been more thankful for the technology that keeps me connected to them, and for those visits through the window!  I shall be leaving the hand prints on the glass.

Well Now

 Quarantine.  It's something weird that I'd hope we'd never have to experience anymore.
Not leaving home is not difficult for me, as I love being  home, and even if I didn't I really cannot go out much at all due to something beyond my control.
So because of that (Do you know anything about IBS? Because I certainly do.) I have an abundance of things to keep me busy at home.
By the way, I'm not all that interested in cooking or cleaning, so I'm only doing as much of that as is necessary for survival.

What DO I do?  A lot of things.  Mostly, I read.
In January I became very concerned about what I was reading about the corona virus.
I even tried to persuade Oldest Son to wear a mask on the plane when he traveled to California on business.  He did not.  Of course, now we know that wouldn't have helped much, but still.  Children should listen to their concerned mothers, should they not?
Please say yes.
One thing I have done over the years is to collect piano music as I find it at thrift stores, consignment shops, and antique malls.
Earlier this year I sorted through all that I had, and donated nearly half of it back to a thrift store, or to my sister who probably didn't even want it, but I was rather pushy that she take some.
This still left me with plenty.

Today I've been working my way through hymn books and this collection of Reader's Digest song books.  I LOVE them, and they STAY OPENED.
I do best with what can only be described as "easy" so these are great for me.
THGGM doesn't mind my playing, which is a good thing since we are now together 24/7.
I don't know how he can stand it though, I would be complaining about how horribly off my timing is.
Timing is math.  I hate math.

Anyway..,
That's what I did today.
And I'll probably do that again tomorrow, but will add something else too, just to keep it interesting.
Well, interesting to a boring person like me!

Family Pictures Part 3

For many years running now, Son-in-law takes two pictures of all of us with the use of a timer.
This is the very first one.
I'm pleased and amazed at how it came out.

The two of us! 

With the grand kids!

Oldest Son and Daughter-in-law!

Daughter, Son-in-law, and family!

These two!

These two siblings have the most incredible bond!

But this shot is staged.  Ha ha.

They've all gotten taller this year, but that is rarely noticable in pictures of the four of them!

 Just the grand kids.

Another dad and daughter shot!

Someone is taller than their dad now!

And this?  This is probably THE most real shot of most of us, EVER.

There!  It took almost a month, but the Annual Fall Family Photos are in the books! 

We Had a Last Day of Summer Vacation Party!

On the last Thursday before school starts for everyone, Kado requested that we have our annual Last Day of Summer Vacation Party!

I hadn't even realized it was a "thing", but I'm always happy to host these guys!

Kado remembered EVERYTHING we had done at past LDoSVPs, and put in his request a month early.

I checked back on past blog posts, and he was RIGHT!

TRADITION!  TRADITION!

The day was PERFECT!

It was cooler than usual, but that meant there was also bike riding, baseball playing, and of course, when rest was required they watched some weird Mine Craft videos.

I had to ask Feintje what was going on here, and he said he was just shaking all the water out of his ear!

They were playing some sort of game I couldn't quite understand.

It involved screaming "DESTROY!"

I was duly assured that they were NOT trying to drown each other.

It did take some convincing, but everyone seemed to think that my fears were totally unfounded.

The water was warmer than the air, so when I asked them to jump out for a minute while I took their picture, they worked very hard to persuade me that the edge of the pool would be good enough.

But, as I told Kado, you have YOUR traditions, and I have MINE.

So they got out, dear sweet obedient children that they are.

Wow.  They have all certainly gotten taller.

I took two pictures, and back in the pool they went.

Jonge had been here earlier, but had to leave for baseball practice.

Famke was spending the day with a friend.

I wonder how much longer these guys will let me line them up against the back of my garage?

Aren't they handsome and beautiful?

Last Day of Vaca

All good things must come to an end.

This was four weeks ago today.

I miss this peaceful view.

But, truly there is no place like home.

I still have breakfast on the porch with this guy.

Just a different porch with a different view.

This tree lined shore IS lovely.

But here on THIS porch at home I also can watch birds, just not a lovely red Summer Tanager.

No.  Mostly cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, and that pesky flock of pigeons my neighbor feeds.

Oh.  And our pool duck.  Yes.  We do have a duck who has taken possession of our pool.

Having breakfast with family is a pleasant part of vacation.

But, no one lives so far from us that we can't just call and meet them somewhere. 

We don't do that much anymore, but we COULD.

This guy hauled out tons of stuff for everyone.

This guy helped too.

A crew of GOOD men, for sure.

We've done this 'moving out' stuff for a few years now, so it doesn't take too long anymore.

Always nice to leave time at the end for recapping the week..,

.., and snuggling.

By all accounts, it was a GREAT week!

Is everyone out?

Yup!

Now down to the deck for pictures!

Aren't these two the cutest?

That's us!

All but Youngest Son, Hertsje, and Broeder who left last night after ice cream at The General Store in Holland (i forgot my camera!).

Good bye leaning trees!

Hope you are still standing nest year!

Aren't these two the cutest?

Nobody really WANTED to go, but it was time.

See you next year.

Oh, look!  We got out EARLY!

On the road to home.

That place where there is no place like. 

Thursday of Our Vacation Week

Early mornings on the porch are quiet affairs.

Thursday morning was a bit too cold for coffee and breakfast on the deck.

No one complained about that.

Actually, for how many of us there were, I don't recall there being any complaining about anything! 

Every night was incredible weather for sleeping - which isn't always how it is here in the summer.

This view. 

Sigh...

As the sun got higher, it warmed up nicely!

See?

Already there are morning beach readers.

 Sadly, for the family staying in the cottage next to us (same family for the past three years) their beach did not return.

More game playing.

These guys are phenomenally good Corn Hole players.

Feintje has a throwing arm like a pro.

I took MANY videos, but they seem to be too long to post here.

Somewhere between the last picture and this one, I'm sure I was asked "Where's mom?"

Because, look!

How else could they have found her?

Walking the plank, it would appear.

They all spent a lot of time trying to get to the end of it without falling into the still very cold lake.

One must have a good sense of balance, especially on a slippery slimy hunk of wet wood while working against the ever-coming waves.

 This one.

He does NOT give up!

Five helicopters flying along the beach.

Kado found this very old bottle on the beach.

No message inside.

Just sand and a shell.

 The afternoon was perfect for swimming, if you do not mind less than warm water.

There they are again!

Pake and Daughter.

Oldest Son brought along another new game.

This one was hysterical! 

If you do not own it already, I highly recommend Sketch It! 

This clue was "couch potato".

I believe this one made it through correctly until the end.

The ones that didn't?  The clue "party pooper" ended up being "clown on a toilet", and  "key lime pie" was somehow interpreted as "key chain football". 

Ah!  The MEMORIES! 

Another night with a breathtaking sunset.

Good-bye Thursday, we all had a great time.