April 2022

Ruth and Naomi talking to the toy birds

Birthday party at Urban Air

First birthday party!

Cake time

Girls from Lexi's class

8 years old

Still loves Batman

New watch

Grandparents Day

Andrew, Stephen, Graham, Patrick- school friends

Caleb, Jacob, Nathan, Ashton

Parents of Prom-goers having a dinner party

Prom 2022

 -Julia did some Holland Rec vball

-Isaac learned he is good at the high jump and also ran 70 m, 100m and 4x400 relay

-Caleb was cleared at the end of April to resume playing lacrosse!

-Isaac started driver's training 

-Lexi had her 8th birthday party and she chose Urban Air- indoor trampoline park, with the girls from her class. Lexi loves Batman, loves China, wore her red sweatshirt daily this past year, is tender-hearted, smart, and silly. We love you Lexi!

-Caleb had prom this year! Actually they call it banquet. Prom was at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and Caleb went with a group of friends. He looked so handsome in his first suit. 

Spring Break 2022

 

The little circle was our rental, the pink was the fire evacuation area

Caleb and friends on the band Disney trip

Our Kentucky rental

We didn't last long at the fire

View from the back of the property

Kayaking on the pond didn't last long either

Feeding the animals did last a long time

She was DONE walking and made sure everyone knew

Trail in Mammoth Cave park

Isaac on a Dollywood coaster

Hot tubbing at our Smoky Mtn rental

A couple of chilly, early morning hikes

Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner show

Rainbow Falls, I think

Getting our seafood on as requested by the kids

Downtown Pigeon Forge

Arcade in our rental basement

And a pool table

-Caleb went with the high school band to Disney World over spring break-finally! It was cancelled his freshman and sophomore years because of covid. Third time's a charm! At the end of the band trip, Caleb stayed some extra days with the DeWitts and enjoyed more time in the parks. 

-The rest of us went to the Smoky Mountains for spring break. It was odd to vacation without Caleb. 

-The day before we left, we heard about wildfire evacuations near Gatlinburg. As we were driving down the owner told us the current renters didn't have any issues, but it still felt a little stressful. The fire was contained within a couple of days and did not affect us in any way. 

-We stayed in a rental house in Sevierville, it was a crazy mountain road to our rental! 

-We got up early two mornings and did hikes. No one was excited about getting up early, but we did appreciate beating the crowds on the trails. 

-We went to Dollywood and did a lot of coasters. Stacy did two intense coasters with Isaac, got sick and was done for the day. Isaac and Nate did as many intense coasters as they could. 

-We went to Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner/horse show. It was an unique experience and the younger kids got a kick out of it. 

-We then spent two nights near Mammoth Cave. We stayed at a cute rental in the country with great amenities- kayaking pond, trails on the property to waterfalls, fire pit, farm animals to feed- however it was cold! The younger kids loved feeding the animals grass and a couple of times some baby goats escaped the enclosure and had to be chased. 

-We did the Mammoth Cave historical tour and it was fascinating! It was also a little creepy being so far under the ground. 

-Everyone had a fun spring break!

March 2022

 

3 on 3 tournament-Isaac just got his cast off (Jackson, Ryan, Hayden)

Lexi and Stephen doing some ski jumps

They dress the same

Julia's 13th Birthday party- Jill, Elianna, Leila

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Family pics at Olive Garden

Kids first time at Olive Garden

Hez made it to Julia's bday meal

Celebrating Julia!

-Caleb continued PT for his shoulder

-Isaac did set crew for the middle school play. He thought it would be sawing and building, it turned out to be alot of painting. But, he and his friend Hayden made the most of it and the set did look good.

-Julia turned 13 and had her friends over for a party. We had pizza and then bowled and did the arcade at Bam. 

-Julia wanted to eat at the Olive Garden for her bday supper, but we couldn't do it on her birthday. So we had calzone and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with family. She received a speaker, a new water bottle, laptop cover and some coloring materials. We then made it to Olive Garden on the weekend. Julia is smart, tech savvy, enjoys volleyball, loves to read, loves to sleep and now is a teenager! We love you Julia!

-Stephen, Lexi and Isaac played indoor soccer

-Stephen and Lexi enjoyed making cars for the church Pinewood Derby

-Isaac decided to try track this year

February 2022

 

Slightly warmer day, hike to the beach

We bought each other the same card!

These two yahoos...

Hamilton!

Third grade sled races

-Caleb visited Calvin in January. Nate took him to Trinity for an overnight visit with some friends. Caleb also visited GVSU and Valparaiso this month. 

-The 3rd graders made sleds out of cardboard and duct tape. They had to design a sled they thought would make it down the hill fastest while also not falling apart. Stephen's team did fairly well. Their sled wasn't the fastest, but it didn't fall apart!

-Nate arranged a Hamilton date night. This was our second time seeing it and the musical is amazing.

-Caleb went on Providence's youth group retreat.

-Isaac fell playing PE basketball and had a small buckle fracture on his arm. He had to wear a cast for about 6 weeks, so that put an end to his rec basketball season. Caleb had to do physical therapy for his shoulder twice a week until mid April. 

-Stephen started a Holland Rec Improv acting class

-Stacy accepted a full-time job at West Ottawa Public Schools. The position is Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) Specialist. It's essentially a social work-y job where I'm helping kids with behavior struggles at school. 

-The father of our good friend, Rebecca Peterson, died from covid. Stacy and a couple kids made a weekend trip to Sheboygan for the funeral and we also got to visit with Grandma in Wheaton. 

-Julia helped on the makeup team for the school play-The Wizard of Oz. 

January 2022

Band pictures

They chose to sit in the same room together..

A couple Bittersweet skiing trips

43rd Birthday

Mayan ruins

I got to be the co-pilot

Belize

-Nate visited Dr. Batts, his oncologist and was told as he is 5 years out from his stem cell transplant, he does not need to do any more PET scans. He will go in yearly for bloodwork. Yay!

-Nate coached Isaac's 7th/8th Holland Rec basketball team. 

-Stacy finished her internship at Fennville Public Schools

-Reuben was in MI for a farming conference and visited us for a night. It was good to catch up with him

-We celebrated Stacy's 43rd birthday

-The older boys went on a couple school ski club nights at Bittersweet. Nate took the younger two kids a couple of times as well.

-Isaac went on Providence church's Middle School retreat

-Nate and Stacy went to Belize for 5 days with Carl and Karin Gabrielse. It was a 20th anniversary celebration. We did a day trip to see Mayan ruins and then floating on tubes in an underground cave-creepy. We spent a morning exploring the local town. We did some kayaking/paddle boarding on the ocean and relaxing by the pool. We were required to do a covid test to re-enter the states and Nate tested positive! So the 3 of us flew home while he stayed behind, that was a little scary. Thankfully he did not have any symptoms and he got to stay in a unit right on the beach and use the paddleboards. If only we could all have symptom free covid in paradise with no responsibilities-ha! Nate tested negative after 5 days and was able to fly home.

-While Nate was stuck in Belize, Stacy got a phone call from Bittersweet that Caleb had fallen and I needed to meet them at the ER out there. Caleb had fallen and dislocated his shoulder. Thankfully they gave him some good pain meds so he didn't feel them putting the shoulder back, but it was difficult for Stacy to have to watch. Thankfully they got the shoulder in the first time and he was good to go.