THE SCOOP

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

The Nykerk Family Christmas 2011

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!!!

2011-12-11T07:38:00.007-05:00

He's looking pretty good for being 60, isn't he? Says he feels the same as when he was 40 :)

Keith had fun playing with the girls. So wished they lived closer so we could have them over more often!!!

This is often how Remi and Dolly are left in the morning when we leave for work. Snuggle bugs!

This picture was taken last week at the girl's Christmas party at my office. I'm lucky to work with a fun group!

Thanksgiving weekend 2011

2011-12-02T06:26:00.003-05:00

Keith enjoying some of his deep fried turkey. Check out that hair and beard! He hasn't shaved in a loooong time (a beard trimmer is on his Christmas list)

Uncle Scott and Katie cutting the turkey

Waiting outside of Younkers at midnight waiting for the doors to open! We decided to shop in Grandville this year which was a nice change. No waiting out in the cold. Overall we did pretty good. I got home around 6am and took a 2 hour nap and then headed back out to shop around in Holland.

Keith and I went to Blue Star Tree Farm last week sunday to cut down our Christmas tree. So far Remi has not broken any ornament or knocked over the tree.

Park 2 Park, a new neighbor, Remi, Chicago...

2011-11-13T18:04:00.001-05:00

On September 24 I ran my first 5K with a group from my office. I loved everything about it! I am going to try and continue to run (even though that is getting tricky with the colder weather) and would love to do more races next year. Maybe a 10K?

Look whose back in town (for good!) Aunt Carol moved into a cute little house just a couple of blocks away from me last month. Good to have her back in town :)

Keith has been working with Remi most nights training him with a "shock collar" which we recently purchased. Since we are not able to take him to the dog park for exercise every night we needed to do something because he continues to run off from our house if we are not careful. We had thought about getting an electric fence but this looked like a cheaper option and Keith likes working with him. It's going OK so far...will be nice we we can just open the back door and let both dogs do their thing without having to worry about Remi running loose. Thanks Aunt Carol for letting Remi use Sheba's old jacket!

And this was a costume I found marked 90% off at Target a few days after Halloween. Not sure what it is supposed to be but it seems to suit him :)

Jen and the girls and I met up in Michigan City yesterday and took the train into Chicago to meet up with Katie and Aunt Jean. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then to visit with Rachel, Dave, and baby Charlotte. Wish we could have stayed longer! Here are a few pictures...

still slacking on the blog

2011-09-17T07:27:00.015-04:00

So summer has pretty much come and gone and I have neglected to keep my blog updated. Sorry. All in all this summer has treated us well. I'm not exagerating when I say I probably had 20+ days at the beach (love it there!) So per Aunt Jean's request here is a new post....

This was taken at Hidden Ridge Campground on forth of July weekend. It was a perfect pool day and I had fun with Jen and the girls. I miss my purple feather!This was the weekend of Rachel's baby shower (can't wait to get the call/text when she goes into labor...should be soon!). It was a really warm day so Jen, the girls, and I took advantage of the pool at MVP (thanks to the free passes from Dave). Later that evening with had Taylie's 1st birthday party at my dad's house. The water balloons Jason brought were a big hit.

We had out annual camping trip up at Big Beal Lake the weekend of Aug 12-14. This was year #13 for me already. Keith went up early on Wednesday with Remi boy and I headed up friday with Dolly. I was amazed to see that Remi was calm and off he leash when I got there! He was such a good boy the whole weekend. This was probably the worst year of weather we have had up there. Luckily we had lots of tarps packed along and the guys created a "tarp village" so we could still be outside and not get soaked.

The guys spent a lot of time shooting bee bee guns at cans hanging in the trees. I even gave it a try and really liked it! And my aim is pretty good. Not ready for a shotgun yet though... Dolly and Remi both got loved and snuggled on real good

reliving his college days

We stayed pretty comfy inside our tent. All 4 of us slept on the air mattress

We managed to make it down to the beach for just a short time when the sun came out for a short time. Yes, that is the keg in the raft Our book club is almost a year old now and we've read a lot of good ones. We take turns meeting every 6 weeks. Below is at Amanda's house where we discussed Water for Elephants. I thought she did a cute job with the circus theme (we had mini corn dogs to eat too) :) Took in the Kid Rock concert last weekend at the Allegan County fair. Lots of fun.

And last but certainly not least...how about them Tigers?!! Would love to get tickets to a playoff or World Series (!!) game....

I know I haven't posted in a long time but my laptop broke but now it is fixed and I don't feel like writing at the moment but here are a couple pics

2011-07-06T19:59:00.018-04:00

I will try and do a better update soon! :) Happy summer...

Loon's Landing

2011-05-14T10:35:00.004-04:00

A few pictures from our weekend up at Clam Lake. This is the first time we stayed at Loon's Landing (just up the road from Northaire where we normally stay). The cottages are smaller but very nice, clean, and had everything we needed

Dave won big at the casino (him and Jeff made several visits) so he treated us to some fancy drinks
Keith spent lots of time on the dock but unfortunately not many fish were caught Like I said this dog really fit in...miss you Remi!
We were listening to the Tiger game Saturday afternoon outside. When it got to the 8th inning and Verlander was still perfect we needed to make a quick ride to the Dockside so we could see history being made. I get really worked up and nervous when it comes to these situations in baseball. Dave and I took a shot of tequila to take the edge off (sorry the picture quality is not that good). JV wasn't quite perfect this time around but pretty darn close....

Remi

2011-05-14T09:54:00.002-04:00

Last week Thursday we had a very nice dog show up in our yard. Collar but no tag. Usually Dolly gets a little fiesty and riled up when other dogs come around but for some reason with this guy she was calm. We played with him for a bit before he went running off. We figured he was going back home. 20 minutes later he was back at our door. Again we played, gave him some water and food before he was off again. This routine happened several more times (one time he was gone for over an hour) until we decided we better let him spend the night with us. I called animal control to report that we had found a dog and gave a detailed description. He is such a good boy. Hopped right up in bed with us and wiggled his way in between Keith and I. Slept that way all night.

He really took a liking to Keith. Dolly didn't really seem to get too jealous. Friday morning we were planning to leave for Clam Lake. I called the Humane Society and Animal Control again and no one had called looking for him yet. We didn't really want to drop him off at the shelter so decided to bring him up north with us. I quick went out and bought a dog cable so that he could be outside with us and not run off. (He got out loose 1 more time friday morning but came back after 20 minutes. I started to call him "Boomer" because he was like a boomerang).

Him and Dolly became quick friends and snuggle buddies. He did great up north (got loose only once after he saw a group of deer and went chasing after them). After the weekend we became quickly attached. He seemed to fit into our family so well! The one thing that he needs a lot of is exercise. This guy needs to RUN. We took him to the dog park which was fun. I was worried how he might act when Keith and I both left for work on monday. We came home to all of Dolly's toys out of the baskket and a few couch pillows on the floor but nothing was destroyed. The week went on and still no calls from anyone looking for him. A this point we were really hoping no one would call and kind of considered him ours.

Then on Wednesday afternoon the neighbor behind me told me she thought she knew whose dog he was. She was "friends" with the owner's boyfriend on Facebook. She said she would message him and let him know the dog was here. "OK" I said knowing it was the right thing to do. No more than 5 minutes had passed when my neighbor shouted over the fence that he was coming over to get "Remi". I didn't know it would happen so fast! I regretted telling her to message him. I started crying and hugging Remi. I had to quick take off his bandana because I had already started dressing him :) When this "boyfriend" of the owner came he wasn't mean but he sure wasn't very appreciative or happy to see Remi. It also bothered me that he didn't come with a leash but a rope to take him away. And just like that he was gone :( Keith was devestated when he came home from work. We are still debating about contacting the owner. We have heard that she is a single lady with lots of young kids (and I'm assuming not giving this dog a lot of attention). We would even offer her money if she would let us have Remi! I'm crossing my fingers he will just run back to us...

overdue

2011-04-30T09:34:00.003-04:00

I know it's been almost 2 months since I've posted so I thought I better get something up! Sorry, nothing too terribly exciting...the above picture is Dolly and her friend Emma. She is a 2 year old Mountain dog. She got to spend the night with us so her babysitter (Hannah was dog sitting) could go out for to GR for a birthday party. Emma was a very good girl and even Dolly seemed to enjoy having her around.
This was probably one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. Keith discovered a place called Morning Star when he was working in Grand Haven and said I NEEDED to try it. Really laid back atmosphere and really fresh food (and some of the best coffee ever). The french toast I ordered was made with cinnamon swirl bread, stuffed with sweet cream cheese and had homemade raspberry and vanilla sauce on top. I need to go back there soon!

One of Keith's newest purchases. He and Travis spent a weekend camping in the woods and this is all he took along to sleep in (no tent). I would never dare I don't think. He loves it. I told him I would feel suffocated. I think he looks like a big pea in a pod.

Over the Rainbow cake

2011-03-06T08:26:00.001-05:00

This was so much fun to make! Even funner when I know I am making it for these 2

Holy snow!

2011-02-02T14:29:00.004-05:00

I was supposed to work this morning but couldn't even make it out the driveway. Only 6 of the 20 or so employees that should have been there made it in (luckily 2 were doctors). A couple of the other offices in our complex closed for the day so I thought ours would too. From what I hear several patients did end up coming in. I was happy staying home :) It's hard to get a good picture to really show how much snow is on the ground but it's quite a bit... Our grill peeking through giving us a small reminder of summer and eating outside
The plows have still not come down our street and the snow is at least knee level. Dolly and I weaved in and out of tire tracks.

I like summer better

2011-01-22T10:09:00.004-05:00

But we are still "surviving" winter and having fun doing so (but sometimes I daydream about being at the Laketown beach in July...)

Dolly keeping warm. She's our little heater on the couch and in bed :)

I like it that many people have kept their Christmas light up during January. It's especially pretty down South Shore Dr. This is near Eldean Shipyard.

Ice carving on 8th St. Amazing the stuff they can create

I always find a butterfly!

Keith has been WAY into ice fishing this year. He goes just about every day and usually brings several fish home which we've been enjoying. He talked me into going with him once. I'm not gonna lie..it was fun but COLD. I like fishing in my flip flops and tank top way better.

My little bottle of wine did make the experience a little nicer :) And it is actually pretty warm inside the ice shanty. There's just not much room.

Keith is his glory

I had to throw in this picture of my dad's latest creation. Pretty cool, eh?

It had been almost 3 months since I had been to Colon so I made a much needed and overdue trip down there this past week. The time always goes by so fast when I'm there!

Stay warm!

I love old pictures!

2010-12-30T07:19:00.008-05:00

I had fun at my dad's house yesterday playing with his new scanner. This is just a small taste of the thousands of old pictures he has. I didn't even get to the slides....

doggie sleep over

2010-12-22T19:48:00.004-05:00

My good friend Amanda had a family emergency so Keith and I had the privlege of babysitting Tilly (6 months) and Gus (5 years) for a couple of days. Dolly didn't know what to make of the extra kids in the house.

Tilly LOVED Dolly
Dolly finally started to get sick of it and told Tilly who was boss (in as nice a way as possible...)

Jingle Jangle...

2010-12-21T05:10:00.009-05:00

Keith and I went to the Parade of Lights earlier this month. It gets a little bigger (and brighter!) each year. I wish I had some better pictures but my hands were freezing :)A few pictures from the "girls" Christmas party at the office. This year we all wore ugly sweaters. Remember that great sweatshirt I found at a garage sale 2 summers ago with the plastic baby and Coke bottles puffy painted in a Christmas tree? There she is..
Playing Catch Phrase
Some of the girls I work with. 5 of the sweaters in this picture are mine :)

Love walks in the snow with Dolly at night. SO QUIET compared to our summer time walks. And there are so many cool Christmas lights out...

This past weekend we went to the east side of the state for Christmas with Keith's family.

Just like us Nykerks have our own traditions, they have theirs as well. Santa always pays a visit.Karaoke is sungWe gather in the basement for our $20 gift exchange. This year we had to bring a "As Seen on TV" gift. We went home with a Slap Chop and a gaget that peels hard boiled eggs with 1 push (haven't tried it out yet)And there is always lots of craziness (that would be underwear on her head)

Facebook 2010

2010-12-09T20:44:00.004-05:00

Facebook is a crazy thing. I remember when my brother first told me about it when he was still in high school. "Brenda you would love this new Facebook thing. You can see pictures, who people are friends with, and what they are doing". At the time it was only students who were allowed to create an account. 7 years later just about everyone and their sister has an account. Technology can be good and bad at the same time. I am thankful for it because I feel closer to family and friends. Almost hard to imagine life without cell phones, email, or Facebook. Anyway... I saw an "app" on Facebook today that lets you wrap up your year in status updates. Not sure how which ones are picked but it is kinda fun to look back...

Thanksgiving 2010 and a few extras

2010-11-26T16:31:00.005-05:00

Taylie you are a trooper. 10:00 PM Thanksgiving night in a Wal-mart shopping cart surrounded by a bunch a crazy shoppers. You trucked on with us till 6am. You are awesome. Got Macey her Legos! (I had to get down on my knees and sneak in from underneath the crowd)7 motorized Jeeps. We were number 4 in line :)
Make a wish

"drawing" with Bumpa on the computer

Great Grandpa getting a good look at his newest Great Granddaughter

Dolly laying in the cold wet leaves while dad deep fries the turkey.

He dressed for the ocassion

A long overdue martini night with my girls from work :)

Lisa treated me to dinner at Wick's Bar and Grill in Saugatuck last week. She introduced me to fish tacos and Asian chicken wraps, YUM!

Her wedding day is 2 weeks away. Here were are making the centerpieces.

Autumfest at New Holland Brewing Co. Hard work but fun peddling that bike!

It's coming...

2010-11-11T18:45:00.002-05:00

www.blackfriday.info

for a good laugh

2010-11-06T07:01:00.002-04:00

We had talked about having a Disney theme at our office this year for Halloween. Elizabeth mentioned to me that her Aunt had a Daisy Duck costume. Her Aunt was nice enough to drop it off at my dad's house. I picked it up last week and tried it on. Oh boy, I thought it was a little too embarrassing to wear to work. Plus it would have been tricky seeing patients with that big beak in my face! (only a couple of people ended up dressing up anyway). I did put it on for the girls so Jen could snap a few pictures. Dolly is a hotdog :)

wind storm

2010-11-06T06:32:00.003-04:00

Last week tuesday Keith and I ventured out to the State Park to see the big waves and wind. I wouldn't believe how many people were out there. The line was back up to the General Store. It was something to see though that's for sure. It was really tricky to take pictures as it was hard to stand still in the strong wind (not to mention that sand and water blowing around). My dad got some really really cool ones though when he went out earlier in the day. And would you believe I lost my cell phone while we were here? I'm LOST without my phone. So Keith ordered me a new one that night. My old one was almost 3 years old so I was due for a new one. For the heck of it I decided to drive back out to the State Park on Wednesday morning. As soon as I stepped out of my car I saw something green laying in the parking lot,my phone! Still in working order. Just a little sandy. I couldn't believe it didn't get run over. I must be some kind of lucky girl when it comes to finding important things back...rememebr the sunflowers?

fall 2010

2010-10-23T20:10:00.004-04:00

Haven't we been lucky with awesome weather this summer/fall? It seems like every weekend has been just about perfect. Keith's mom came to stay with us last weekend. She brought Dolly some special treats from a farm and feed store. She said they were made from cow "privates". Lovely. Dolly sure did enjoy them. Although she did get stuck in the doorway a couple of times...Keith grilled up some Venison for his mom. She had never had it before. Not sure if she was just being polite but she ate it all. I've tried it twice now and just can't stomach it. Not sure if it is a mental thing or what. Keith LOVES it. We have a freezer full. So again I say...if anyone wants some you are more than welcome!While his mom was here we went to visit his Aunt Sylvia in Kalamazoo. She took us to a stream where we could watch the salmon "run". She also took us to a fish hatchery. 2 things I had never done before. Pretty cool. Keith found out about a secret disc golf course from a friend. It's located in the Saugatuck/Douglas area right on Lake Michigan. He took me there a couple of weeks ago and it is our new favorite spot to go. It must be part of the Presbyterian Camp (which I didn't know existed until now). We call it the secret spot because you would never know this place exsisted unless you were given special directions. The camp is huge and has all kinds of walkways and cottages. Everytime we have gone we have been the only ones there. We have seen deer, a red fox, an owl, and a piliated woodpecker. The only bad thing is Dolly ended up with 2 ticks :(
And I went to Colon this past wednesday and had the priviledge of going along to play group (is that what it's called Jen?) at Nottowa Fruit Farm. Hayride, games, animals, etc. Fun day :)

Can you believe it? Seriously they grow up fast...She was so cute when she came off the bus all excited "Here I am!" Lots of giggles..

Tilly

2010-10-05T08:13:00.002-04:00

Isn't she a cutie? Short for "Matilda". No, she's not ours but we are thinking about getting one of her sisters in the Spring. We brought Dolly to meet Tilly last night and she completely ignored her.

Keith's deer

2010-10-05T08:07:00.002-04:00

I'm proud of him because he was so excited to get a deer opening day of bow season (it's been 5 years since he's gotten a deer and he can't stop talking about it). It's just not my favorite to see a dead deer. Especially with the eyes open and tongue hanging out. He's getting it made into jerky, burgers, and steaks. I wish I liked venison more. If anyone wants some of the meat let me know!

Artprize

2010-10-05T07:15:00.008-04:00

We missed out on Artprize last year so made sure we got downtown GR to check it out this year. So glad we did. SO MUCH to look at (art and people!). I feel like we only saw a fraction of the art and would like to get down there one more time and check out some of the other stuff. This was the speaker that was part of our "chair" we were sitting in. The whole thing vibrated and and changed colors while blasting out loud music. Looked really cool at night as we walked by later.Made from TV dinner trays
This one was one of my favorites. Remember those little yellow toy shopping carts? (see on the very bottom)

They made me laugh

I think the guy on the bench was made of bird seed. The little gnomes were all over.

Made from 1000 Neutrogena soap bars. It smelled so good.

Creepy!

A didgeriddo

This is the winner in my opinion. Amazing. A picture doesn't do it justice. There is so much detail.

made from toothpicks

made from crayons

The bottom part of the boat was made of wood and even had little butterflies in it!

Saving Addiction

2010-09-04T09:32:00.002-04:00

I know most of you guys like a good deal like me. Here is a great site my friend Amanda told me about.

www.savingaddiction.com

girls know how to have fun

2010-08-31T08:54:00.007-04:00

FUN weekend in Saugatuck this past weekend for Lisa's shower and bachelorette party. Her wedding is not until December but there are lots more fun things to do around here in August :)

We rented an old cottage right downtown Saugatuck. 140 + years old. Very nice!

She was really REALLY happy she got her pots and pans

Even Taylie joined in on the girly fun :) She was asked 20 questions about Chris. She has to put a piece of bubbalicious gum in her mouth for each question she got wrong. Ended up with 7.
Dune rides. We requested a crazy driver and he was!Penis pinata!

my sunflower story

2010-08-05T21:38:00.004-04:00

My friend Amanda had a terrible terrible case of poison ivy. She came to work on Wednesday wearing sunglasses because her face was so swollen and red. One of her eyes was swollen shut. She didn't even look like herself. I can't believe she came to work. Anyways....I was out driving on Lakeshore drive Wednesday night because it was so pretty out and I wanted to watch the sunset and take Dolly to Riley Beach. A stand on the side of the road caught my eye. Sunflowers. Perfect. I could get a bouquet for Amanda and bring them into work tomorrow (hoping she felt good enough to come in). There was just a lock box to put money in so I slipped in $10 grabbed 2 bunches and was off....everything was fine and dandy. Fast forward to Thursday morning. I put the flowers in their 2 liter "vase" and was off to work. Like many morning I was in the mood for a caramel latte. As I am digging through my purse I can not find my wallet. Panic sets in. I never lose things. The sunflower stand. Did I set my wallet on top of my car as I was putting the flowers inside my car and then drive off? I punch in at work, give Amanda her flowers. She loves them. I tell a few people that I think my wallet is on Lakeshore Drive somewhere and they tell me to just leave and find it. I get in my car and the gas light comes on. Doh! How am I going to get gas with no money? I call my dad. I stop at the lab and quickly tell them what happen. Thanks for the gas money dad (I owe ya $20) :) I drive down Lakeshore thinking there is NO WAY I am going to find my wallet. I start thinking about what the next step is. Do I call the police? I see the sunflower stand and park in the exact same spot as I did the night before. I walk around for about 15 minutes not really knowing where to look. About ready to get back in my car and then I see a butterfly. It was flying up by one of the houses and it was unusual. Black and bright blue. From where the sunflower stand was it wasn't real obvious as to what house was selling the flowers. I figured it wouldn't hurt to just knock on the front door. Soon after I knocked a guy comes to the door. "Brenda?" he says. Woah. I am close to tears. He brings me my wallet. "That's really weird" he says. "2 minutes before you knocked on the door I was just sending you an email to let you know I had your wallet. I found it out by the sunflowers this morning". I can not BELIEVE it sat there all night and no one took it. Part luck and part miracle if you ask me. I'll be keeping close tabs on my wallet from now on...:)

enjoying summer

2010-08-05T18:43:00.007-04:00

RED DOCK! A bit faded but the dock really is red...A good drink with good music with fun people after a day at the beach=my happy placeMy friends Dan and Amanda had a BBQ at their house last Saturday. She went "all out" and gave everyone goodie bags. The boys got pirate gear.I discovered the "secret path" to the lighthouse earlier this spring (remember when I hurt my feet running....) We've made several trips out there this summer. I think it's so cool. You get to walk by all of these neat cottages along the channel and you kinda feel like you are somewhere that you are not supposed to be. Like only the fancy smancy people are allowed. But we are allowed and so are dogs! Big Red is really big up close! Lake Michigan is so warm right now! Dolly found some friends to play with

And of course Captain Sundae afterwards. (green poops for Dolly the next day!)IN HIS GLORY
She looks so small (and comfortable!) with Great GrandpaNot getting any attention.... So some reason they love playing with Bumpa's fishing worms.

(AND I DON'T EVEN FEEL LIKE TALKING ABOUT THE TIGERS RIGHT NOW)

things that make me happy

2010-07-24T21:37:00.006-04:00

My newest niece. Isn't she pretty? Dolly girl.

Don't mess with my little sister...love you Macey.

Kelsey Lynn. Such a little mommy. Laketown beach

stairs and all

dogs at the beach

Chasing summer thunderstorms. Last Thursday's was a good one!

2010-07-13T09:27:00.002-04:00

I feel like summer is slipping by so fast and I am getting behind on blogging. Here are just a couple of recent pictures...

I had a fun trip to Colon this past Satrday. Went to a little Farmer's Market. Not quite like the one in Holland but it was their first one. Hopefully it grows a little bit. I got some raspberry jam and homemade granola. We went to the great Kuntry Korner Amish Store, the beach in Nottawwa, and then for ice cream and this GREAT little parlor in the back of a Marathon gas station. I wish I took a picture of how big their cones our. The first time ever I have not been able to finish my ice cream cone. And it was a "baby" size. No lie!
Keith, Dan, Amanda, and I took a party bus to the Tiger game this past Sunday. It was fun but a little more rowdy than I had planned on. There were 36 of us on the bus. Many of them were drinking from 8:30am to 8:30pm. I can't keep up with that! Thank goodness there was a bathroom on the bus. It's a miracle that no one puked. The ride there was more fun than the way back. It was a loooooong ride home. Here Amanda and I are trying to fit in with the young kids by taking a shot (lol...ok it was a butter shot but still) at 9am.

Our 4th of July present from Ernie. I think she has a connection with someone in Indiana. Some of them look a little scary. We haven't shot any of them off yet. Maybe some night in the Nykerk compound? :) She always gets a little something for Dolly too..notice the red white and blue tennis balls.

So my bags are all packed and I am just waiting for Jen to call me when she starts to go into labor. Who wants a phone call once I get the call from her? (even if its 3am???) Can't wait to meet my new niece....

Under the table and dreaming

2010-06-26T17:22:00.008-04:00

I have been looking forward to this concert for a long time. I've always liked Dave Matthews Band but it wasn't until this past year that I really started loving their music. His lyrics are amazing. I bought the tickets in February and they have been stuck on our fridge waiting until June 23. Keith, Cousin Dan, and I left around noon on Wednesday. Our hotel was conveniently located in the parking lot of Greats Lakes Crossing mall. Since we had a little extra time on our hands we decided to get some food at the mall. I didn't even know Toby Keith had his own restaurant (not so much a country fan). But it was really cool. Huge with lots of TV's. And we happened to walk in during happy hour. Nice :)These crazy big nachos were only $6! Half of them are still in our fridge :) I know I take a lot of pictures of food which might be weird. But I like food and get excited about it. Especially when it is cheap. Our hotel was only 5 miles from the concert so I thought we were leaving plenty early. It took us an hour to drive those 5 miles! But it was entertaining...Wish we would have had a little more time to tailgate before the concert but we enjoyed it while we could.I had never been to DTE before and was impressed with how nice it was. I called it a little "village"
We had lawn seats which were the cheapest. I would have loved to have been closer but I thought our seats were great. We could wander around and I experienced some of the best people watching ever. Everyone was very friendly...

Keith's good friend Eric was at the concert too. We haven't seen him in a long time. So lucky to run into him! It had been forever since I had been to a big concert. If I could afford it I would go way more often. The whole experience was awesome :) Right up there with a Tiger game...

Father's Day weekend

2010-06-20T21:34:00.008-04:00

It was a fun and busy weekend. Friday night we had planned to go see Ultraviolet Hippos play at Kollen's Park as part of the Free Summer Concert series but the storms cancelled those plans. So we hung out at home and watched the Tigers (win!) with some friends. We ended up venturing to the Park Theater later on as it was rumored that the Hippos would be playing there instead. We stayed until midnight and they still didn't come out but we did enjoy another cool band that was playing there. (Thank you cousin Jeff for being the driver that night...)

Keith worked for a good part of the day on Saturday. I went to Laketown Beach by myself and finished a good book that Aunt Carol lent to me "In Lieu of Flowers". The weather was awesome and there were waves to play in :) Keith and I decided to live it up and have steaks (which I never buy) and portabello mushrooms on the grill.

Went to church on Sunday and then to my dad's where were spent most of the day. Had more yummy food (see below)
Macey wanted to play photographer (wonder where she gets that from??). I was impressed with how well she takes pictures. Especially on the one she took of herself!

Later in the day we went over to Jim and Rachel's for even more food and some fun outside. Macey absolutely LOVED riding the moped with Bumpa. And we had fun watching :) Wish I would have gotten a better action shot of them..

Here were our gifts from Ernie last week...you just never know what you are going to find on your doorstep. The food was really good. She makes so much so we give half away to neighbors. The t-shirts on the other hand....
Does anyone else have a ton of mushrooms in their yard? We never usually have them but this year for some reason they are all over and are HUGE!

South Washington summer party

2010-06-13T20:43:00.008-04:00

Last year our summer work party was scheduled on the same night the floods hit Holland. We were afraid we were going to have to cancel again this year the way things started out Friday morning. Weather turned out OK (really hot and humid actually!) and we had lot of fun. Chicken and burgers on the grill. 7-layer salad, cheesy potatoes, and steamed veggies from Beechwood Inn (Amanda also works there part time). Several people brought appetizers and desserts. No shortage of food!

Dr. B also made a huge batch of a concoction he calls "high quality H2O" (his kids taught him how to make it). UV blue vodka, passion fruit Parrot Bay, and lemonade. DANGEROUSLY good. Didn't take us long to polish off a few gallons...(there were a lot of us there :) We played games taken from the show Minute to Win It. I haven't laughed this hard in a while. They are trying to get the ping pong balls out of the box strapped around their waist as fast as they can.

The object of this game was to get the cookie in your mouth without using anything but your face muscles. (Keith ended up getting 2nd place) So funny seeing the people you work with in the office everyday out of their element :)

My DREAM is to have a house on the big lake (or any lake for that matter) someday....can you image how awesome it would be?

Treasures from Texas

2010-06-09T22:18:00.005-04:00

Our friend Ernie recently returned from Texas ( remember the Tiger "blanket"). She is always leaving random gifts on our front stoop. This is what I found today when I got home from work... The middle hat (fitted) is too small for Keith. Anyone out there who has a small head...it's yours! And unfortunately the fancy cowbay hat ( it has a lot of rhinestones on top) is way too small for my big head so that is up for the taking too (Macey? With the cowboy boots it would be quite the look). Keith didn't realize the peppers were going to be SO HOT. He popped a few in his mouth and was then "screaming" for help. Drank a lot of mlik...
And apparently this Tequila is different that the El Torro that you can buy at the store. Who wants to come over for some Margaritas this weekend? :)

start of summer

2010-06-05T16:25:00.009-04:00

Woah, almost a month since I have blogged! Welcome sweet summer time... Dolly may be almost 10 years old but she still has a lot of spunk in her. Enjoying herself at Laketown Beach (we ignore the signs that say "no dogs allowed"...we always see lots of other dogs there anyway :)

Food always tastes better outside! At Silver Lake condos on Memorial day weekend

Look at those studs. What's in your mug Keith?

Running through the sprinklers

Tea Parties on the back patio...

Rain will not spoil our fun at a Tiger game

THANK YOU Uncle Jim and Aunt Rachel for the amazing seats! We eat on the deck as often as we can (ok so this picture is little bit "staged". I don't always hve fresh frui floating in my drink....:)
Flowers make me happy. I can not leave the Farmer's Market without getting any. And I usually go twice a week :)

tip toeing through the tulips

2010-05-10T21:16:00.009-04:00

Hard to believe Tulip Time 2010 has come and gone already. I had big fun dutch dancing, eating junk food, people watching, and taking in the Volksparade with my most bests. Bummer about the balloon wrangling being cancelled on Saturday. I hope to give it another shot next year if the opportunity is there....

The girl were good sports for all of the pictures that Mom and Bumpa wanted to take of them.The junk food stands are one of the things I love most about Tulip Time. I tried deep fried Oreos for the first time this year. Woah, so good! dangerously good. Good thing the Carnies only roll in once a year. I am trying to be dedicated to Medifast this week....(I'm trying the deep fried cheesecake next year)

The doctors decided to host a "dutch dance tailgate" at Skile's Pizza on friday night since a good part of our group in from SWFM. I knew pizza was being bought for us. I did not know drinks were also on the docs. I swear they make them stronger than normal at Skile's, yikes! Let's just says it was a FUN last dance. I'm lucky to work at such a fun place :) Thank you to everyone who came out to watch me dance this year. I plan to keep dancing until I am unable :)
I've never met the man but his voice brings me back to my childhood and the time I first fell in love with Detroit baseball. I'd like to think he and my mom are cheering on the Tigers together from heaven.

good finds and fun times

2010-05-02T20:27:00.010-04:00

I decided to venture out to the Bluff Lake garage sales in Zeeland last Wednesday. I consider myself a pretty experienced garage saler but have never seen anything like this! I got there 10 minutes before the sales were supposed to start and could hardly find a place to park my car ( I later had trouble finding my car as I got lost in the maze...lol). I couldn't resist taking a picture of some of the food stands they had set up in some of the driveways. Port-o-potties too. I had to go so bad but didn't want to spend 30 minutes waiting in line.

After 4 hours (some of this time was spent trying to find my car) this is just SOME of the stuff I walked away with. Also got a bed rail and a couple of folding chairs for the girls.Lisa has booked a couple of Tastefully Simple parties with some of the girls I work with. I attend them all. Why pass up free food and slushy drink buckets? Here we are at Jen's house last weekend. Watermelon margaritas in hand.

This weekend was the kick off of Tulip Time (more pics to come later). The art fair took place in Centennial Park on Saturday and Sunday. I went both days :) Here are some of my finds.

these wooden bracelets were only $1 each.

I could not pass up these cute overalls with the princess apron sewed on for Kelsey. I picked out a more "grown up" jean jacket for Macey.

This dragon fly is made out of kitchen utensils and tool pieces

"bar fly"

My peace sign from Tennesse

This is called jewelry for your foot. Keith makes fun of me ('dental floss for your toes") but I thought it was cool.

Keith picked out this bird feeder for our front yard. So far it has not had any visitors. Hope the birds find it soon :)

And here is a picture of Amanda and I at the Groove Walk last Saturday night. Fun!

I've been having fun dutch dancing. We had a huge crowd watch us on Saturday. There were many people from out of town and I was asked to pose for many pictures (felt like a celebrity!). Jen and girls are on their way into town today (yay!) . We'll be going to the parade tomorrow, can't wait! If you are going to the big parade on Saturday be looking for me. I got talked into being a "balloon wrangler" and will be helping carry along the big dragon. Should be a good time :)

Honky Tonkin'

2010-04-20T14:33:00.017-04:00

Keith and I spent a few days in Brentwood Tennessee (just outside of Nashville) visiting his sister Marybeth and family. We left late on friday night from our house and picked up his mom in Troy around 1:00am (this is the time she wanted to leave...another story). We drove through the night and got to Brentwood around noon. Here are a couple of cool pictures I snapped along the way during some of our rest stops.Keith had fun playing with his nephews (Garrett 11 and Griffen 8). He only gets to see them once a year if that. They love rough housing with him.
Saturday night Keith's mom stayed home with the boys while Keith and I went downtown Nashville with Marybeth and Brian. What a cool town! Much different than I thought. I was thinking all country music and cowboy hats (which there were several of) but it was very diverse. Lots of different music and people of the streets. All of the bars were very open and had out door decks and seating. Lots of lights and bright colors and the stores were all open late which was fun. BTW, I had not slept since Thursday night when we went out. For the life of me I can NOT sleep in the car and I tried taking a nap when we got there on saturday but couldn't sleep (Keith, no problem). I got past that point of being tired and just felt a little extra silly.

Looking for the perfect hat. We found one that we could share :)

Lots of action on the streets. GREAT people watching!
We layed low on sunday ( I slept like a log saturday night!). Keith and I took their bikes out for a ride. I about died. Thinking we were going to take a casual ride...there are so many hills! They don't look that steep but when riding a bike up it...I was dripping sweat! Another this about the area that they live in is that ALL of the houses are made of brick (and are huge). The houses in this picture are actually "small" compared to many in the area. Crazy. Not sure why someone would need/want such a giant house. Not my style...Brian had to work and the boys had school on Monday so us girls and Keith (he was a trooper) went shopping in the nearby town of Franklin. Lots of fun unique stores. I could have bought a LOT more but decided on a ceramic hand forming the "peace" sign. Sounds weird but it looks cool. Keith insists I have an inner hippie (and I wouldn't disagree) which is probably why I liked the restaurant we ate at so much. It was called the Mellow Mushroom.This fun drink was called Alien's Nectar. Vodka, melon liquor, and pineapple juice. YUM! Gloria and Marybeth in front of the "Magical Mystery" pizza that Keith and I shared. Fabulous! Not sure if this beats out the chicken pesto pizza at New Holland or not but it's close.
Both of the boys had baseball games last night so we went to those. Brought me back to when Dave played. Drove again through the night as Keith had to get back to work this afternoon. It's about a 13 our drive each way for us so it was a lot of time in the car for us. We had a fun visit but both agreed is felt good to be back home. Go ahead and laugh but we miss Dolly like crazy when we are apart from her for more than a day (LOL...we were only gone for 4 days!) I love visiting other places but it always makes me appreciate HOME a little more... :)

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T19:02:00.007-04:00

Dolly and Kelsey on Easter morning. Kelsey has become a huge fan of Dolly. A year ago...not so much.
Breakfast at church. We sat with Uncle Jim and Granda.

The Burgess Family. Next year there will be 1 more little princess in the picture :)

Aunt Rachel made some cute animal cupcakes. I think I remember these from when the boys were little.

Macey was thrilled when she found the blue wooden shoes that Bumpa gave her for Easter (he hid them in the backyard)

Bet she will be the only one is Holland with blue wooden shoes
And Kelsey happy with her PINK shoes :)

school, spring, and sore feet

2010-03-27T10:02:00.005-04:00

Keith has traded in his brush for a couple of weeks and is hitting the books instead. He has decided to take the Builder's License Training course so he can apply for a builder's license. He's been thinking about doing this for awhile and found a class that was offered right here in Holland. Decided now would be the time to do it before things start to (hopefully) get really busy in spring/summer. The 60 hour course is required before he can actually apply for the license. After they accept his application he will then need to take a big test. He says it's a ton of information to take in but he's learning a lot. Hopefully the time, work, and money (the class cost $800!) will pay off in the long run and put him a step above the other painters out there.

Obviously everyone has seen the priceless video on Jen's Blog revealing baby girl #3. Here is a quick picture I snapped before the sex was revealed. (Mace looks thrilled). The party was so fun and EXCITING. It was almost like being in the room (seriously!) when Kelsey opened up that package...

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to take a jog. I work out on a pretty regular basis but am not a huge runner. But the weather was nice, I had on a new pair of tennis shoes, had my ipod blasting, and was feeling really good so I kept going. All of the way until I got to Big Red.I was so proud of myself. Decided I might as well run back home too (I took a couple of breaks to walk for a few minutes). By the time I got home my legs and feet were pretty sore but I didn't think much of it. Until Sunday morning when I couldn't even get out of bed! Ugh...terrible. My feet had NEVER hurt like this before. I actually cried. I still don't know what exactly I did to myself but for the past 2 weeks I have been putting ice packs on my feet when I wake up and when I come home from work and popping Ibuprofen like candy, (and walking around like an old lady!) I think they are slowly starting to get better but I learned my lesson and will take it a little easier on my next romp...

Here is Dolly decked out for St. Patty's day in "her" chair with her puppy :)

A few Sundays ago (before my run) Keith and I went out to the Saugatuck Dunes to walk the trails and check out the Lake. Pretty!

We've already had 2 dutch dance practices (not so nice for the feet!) and will be dancing for the first time on May 1 already! Our group is the same as it was last year and we have a lot of fun together. Can't wait for the dancing, parades, and FOOD that comes along with Tulip Time :)

And who needs to go south for Spring Break when you've got a forecast like this for the week ahead?!

fun friday

2010-03-05T18:20:00.003-05:00

Dr. Stid decided to make this Friday "Go Blue" day. It was fun wearing something different besides scrubs to work and the patients got a kick out of it. We are going to start doing a "casual" Friday once a month. I suggested wearing Detroit Tigers stuff next time. Thanks Dave for letting us borrow some of your gear. Half of the ladies in the picture are wearing your stuff :)

Another fun thing about today is that we got 40 shakes from Steak-n-Shake delivered to our office from a drug rep. It is SO HARD to not gain weight working here!Last week we bought tickets for Dave Matthews Band who will be playing at DTE Energy Music Theater in June. I can't wait. His music and lyrics are awesome. The last BIG outdoor concert that I can remember going to was Woodstock 94!!!

And tomorrow I find out if I will be getting a new NIECE or NEPHEW is July!!!!!!

Princesses

2010-03-03T07:21:00.007-05:00

Sis showing off her beautiful new ring. Congrats to her an Chris!

Bumpa having fun handing out presents

Dolly liked Kelsey's Hello Kitty towel
Even Uncle Jim got a hug :)

I can't believe I forgot to take an up close picture of the Cinderella cake I made! This is the best shot I have.

SPRING....come quickly.

2010-02-22T17:19:00.006-05:00

I am not sure why this winter has been worse than others but I ache for the smells, sounds, and sights of spring! I can not even wait for the Farmer's Market, Tulip Time, and Opening Day....Until then, weekly visits to the tanning booth, "just because" flowers from my husband (he surprised me!), and my coconut lime lotion are going to have to get me through the next month or so.

The new eye candy for the Tiger's doesn't hurt matters either....:) Is Johnny Damon worth 8 million? I'm not complaining....

Magglio says he is in the best shape of his life. I can tell he has been working out over the winter!

And our boy Frank is turning 90 this week. We (Dolly especially) miss him lving next door. Looking pretty good for 90!

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/announcements/x1468647247/Frank-Lupo-celebrates-90th-birthday

Can you believe it?

2010-02-18T07:16:00.002-05:00

Michigan Town One of the Happiest Places in America - ABC News

The good ol' Tulip City is a happier place than Hawaii?! (click above link)

another year older in Chicago

2010-02-07T18:47:00.004-05:00

I've always wished my birthday was at a different time of year. Christmas has just passed, Valentine's Day is a week off, and it's overall just a "yucky" time of year. This year I told Keith I wanted to go to Chicago for the weekend for a little getaway. I found a room at the Hard Rock Hotel for $99 online. It was right on Michigan Ave in the middle of everything. Fun! We took the South Shore Train from Michigan City into Chicago. Man, this is the way to go! Only costs $8 and dropped us off steps from our hotel. Don't have to worry about driving and parking in the city. The train ride was quicker than I thought. Plus it is great for people watching :)

It was a neat hotel. Lots of rock-n-roll memorabilia throughout. We had the Beatles in our bathroom :)

Deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's. So good
We did a lot of walking around (a couple of times it was because we got lost). There were lots of cool statues around the city. Kind of like Artprize that was in Grand Rapids this past fall.

The cute cake Keith had delivered to work for me last week :)

catching up

2010-01-17T18:33:00.008-05:00

It seems like a blog post is long over due. Hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and here it is 2010. Can't imagine that it was 10 years ago everyone was freaking out about the new millennium and we were taking shots down that ice luge at that frat house in Ann Arbor (remember guys?) :)

Here are a couple of pictures from the Nykerk Christmas party at my dad's house

Pictionary has become a new tradition. Here is Kelsey getting in on the action

We had some good laughs when Uncle Jim (and dad) were at the drawing board
Uncle Jim's version of "duck soup"

We went down 8th street to check out the ice sculptures this past week. Amazing

We went to New Holland Brewing Company on Friday to watch a really cool band (Ultraviolet Hippopotamus perform). Lots of hippies in the crowd. FUN!

Me and some of the girls I work with at our Christmas party at Beechwood last Saturday. I'm lucky to work with some really fun people :)

My good friend Lisa has recently become a consultant for Tastefully Simple. I'm hosting a party at my house on Thursday January 28 at 7:00. Come and bring friends!

If you haven't seen Avatar yet, GO! It's awesome

I went down to Colon yesterday to visit with Jen, Elizabeth and the kids. Always a treat. We spent the day chatting, taking a trip to the Amish store (LOVE it!!!), and lunch at McDonald's. Thanks Jason for watching the kids and letting us have some (adult) girl time.

This is always Keith's slow time of year but work has continued to trickle in and he has at least something going on everyday. He has several big jobs lined up for spring which we are thankful for. Here is is on his way ice fishing. See our Christmas tree on top of his truck? He put it on top of the ice so when it melts the tree will sink to the bottom and make a nice home for the fishes.

I recently joined Ultimate Fitness (I get a good deal since our office in now "under" Holland Hospital). It has been a while since I have been in the gym but it feels good. Dave gave me a couple of free passes to MVP (for those who don't know he recently got a job there). That place is NICE. They even have a big water slide at their outdoor pool. It's expensive but I think I might consider paying the extra $$ for a membership later this spring when my membership at Ultimate runs out.

I talked to Keith's mom tonight and we are hoping to plan a trip to Tennessee this April (just her and I ) to visit Keith's sister Marybeth. Keith went down for a visit 2 years ago but I wasn't able to get off work. We would probably drive down and go from a Saturday through a Wednesday.

Making it Merry

2009-12-21T19:44:00.002-05:00

I've been slacking on my blog postings lately so here are a few pics from the past week...

Poor Dolly being tortured as I dress her up in order to create our Christmas card

The Fresh Coats crew (minus Brendan) all decked out in their finest Christmas gear

Dolly joined in on the fun too

Keith's cousin Amber just got a "D" tatoo

look at those beautiful Snow White princesses!

EAT EM UP TIGERS EAT EM UP! Thanks Dave!

It's quite the get up she has on isn't it?
Keith's new shirt has the same picture as my coffee cup. Kels checking him out... :)

There should be more pictures coming later...Nykerk Christmas party at my dad's tonight!

Wishing all of you Peace, Love, and Joy today and always!!!!

That time of year

2009-12-06T13:32:00.007-05:00

And just like that Christmas seems to be in full swing. I'm feeling pretty good about my shopping as I have about 75% of it done. I've made a couple of batches of cut out Christmas cookies already and have been stashing them in the freezer. Cards are in the process of being made. House decorated and tree up.

I had the "girl's" Christmas party at my office last week. We have the big party in January where we bring our spouses. Here are all of the presents we collected for Toys for Tots.

The sangria is always a highlight of the party. Lots of laughing at this party...2 of my favorite girls from work Tamara and Jill I just threw this picture in because Dolly looks like she is smoking a pipe :)

We have been babysitting Bella this weekend. It's different having 2 dogs in the house. Keith has been bugging and bugging me me to get another dog and I think we may seriously consider it this spring. So it's been good practice having Bella around. She has been keeping us on our toes! Keith has been trying to keep her in line...:)
Dolly isn't very good with sharing her toys...

Friday night I went out to dinner with some friends at Gringo's Grill. SO SO good. We had table side guacamole made for us. We could pick the ingredients and how "hot" we wanted it to be. Very good food AND there is a $25 gift certificate on RESTAURANTS.COM. Great deal...I will also mention that happy hour is 3-6pm everyday (we got there at 5:30!). $2 BIG margaritas and $3 Mojitos (the good kind with fresh mint!) After dinner we went to go see Disney's Christmas Carol is 3D. I had never seen a movie in 3D before and it was so very cool. It felt like the snowflakes were floating right in front of my face. (see how excited I was?)
As tradition would have it, Keith and I went to Blue Star Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. We got a 7 foot Fraser Fir. It's a good one smells so good.

At the recommendation of the check out lady at the grocery store (seriously) we made a batch of warm apple cider, spiced rum, and cinnamon sticks. This made decorating the tree even more fun :) Our tree is *bright*. I think we might have put a few too many strands on this year. We put our tree in front of our window this year (normally it went in the corner) and I wanted to make sure it looked really nice from the outside. We really don't need any extra lights on at night with the tree plugged in..

die hards

2009-11-28T15:17:00.003-05:00

My car radio as I pulled into the IHOP parking lot (I didn't even go to sleep on thursday night) fueling up

Getting in line at Old Navy (opening at 3am). Of course it decided to snow for the first time of the season right then

We ran into Erin at the Kohl's parking lot!

Walmart was the craziest!

We all made out with some great deals...

GOBBLE

2009-11-26T19:57:00.007-05:00

getting ready

2009-11-08T15:34:00.002-05:00

Along with Christmas Eve, the wednesday of Tulip Time week, and Opening Day, the day after Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. Some of the Black Friday ads are already available online. Here's a link bfads.net Old Navy is opening at 3am this year. Why even bother going to bed? Jen and I are already talking about our game plan for the day. Here's a reminder from last year of how much fun it it...:)

too cute not to post

2009-11-08T15:27:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from my dad's camera from a couple of weeks ago. Way too cute.

quickie picture post

2009-10-28T21:51:00.006-04:00

new kitchen...kind of

2009-10-12T19:19:00.002-04:00

We recently got new counter tops (now I actually need to start using a cutting board), back splash, and sink in our kitchen. I'm happy with how it turned out. Of course now we want to get a new stove and dishwasher (both of ours are pretty old) to match the rest of the "new" kitchen. It never ends! Here's a peek :)

what I've been up to

2009-09-26T16:01:00.010-04:00

Picking Honeycrisp apples at Crane's Orchard with my friend Amanda and her little girl IzzyJust about 100 lbs!Had to stop at the restaurant for a caramel apple sundaeHelping Lisa celebrate her 31st birthday. Jen and Jason even made it. What a treat!Visiting Colon. I got to sit in on Jen's photo shot of the Vandenberg kids. The pictures turned out so good! Check out her blog to see if you haven't already. In this picture Macey is telling jokes to make Bennett and Annabelle laugh
Some more shots from the day...

giving LOTS of flu shots!

Still being dedicated to P90X. We are on Phase 2 now. Keith has lost 13 lbs so far. I have gained 2. What is up with that? Must be the added muscle (smirk).

Apparently not taking good care of my teeth. Started having a pretty bad toothache last week. I'll admit that I've gone a couple of years without going to the dentist (not my favorite and no insurance) and I guess I'll have to pay the price. Literally. Have to get a root canal. $950! Big "doh"!

Hoping and praying the Tigers make it to the playoffs!!!

stretching out summer...

2009-09-13T20:12:00.003-04:00

So the past week was great. 2 days of work (could get used to this!) and another trip up to Clam Lake this weekend. Jen and girls came in thursday night and we had ice cream on dad's deck with family. Here is Macey giving Aunt Carol a pedicure. She wanted different colors for each individual hand and foot. We left for up north on friday morning. There was a dridge out on US 131 so the trip was a long one...but we made it! Made a few pit stops including Big Boy :) I love my nieces
goofy!

Teaching them some of the moves from P90X

love this one

Couldn't come home without getting Dolly some gourmet cherry biscuits from the Cherry Stop is Traverse City.

A great "end" to summer

2009-09-08T19:56:00.004-04:00

We were able to cram in a lot of fun this past weekend. We left early saturday morning for Softball World in Muskegon to watch the boys (Dan, Dave, Dustin, and Jeff) play in the state softball tournament. They played well and had a good cheering section. Aunt Rachel treated us all to lunch at The Dog Pound (was that what it was called...?). From there Keith and I headed up to Silver Lake. We went out to the dunes. Had to wait 45 minutes in line to get in but it was worth it. Man did we get a workout climbing those hills. The lake felt good! Keith was in his glory watching all of the big trucks. Here's a picture of Keith and my dad fishing saturday night. I couldn't take my eyes off the sky...
Pictures don't really do the dunes any justice. If you look real hard you can see Keith standing on the bottom.

The fishermen

Sunday morning (after a walk for the sunday paper and cappuccino:) Keith and I drove up to Ludington State Park. Neither of us had ever been there. The drive out there is so pretty! Spent some time laying in the sand before many people got there. Stopped in Pentwater on our way back to Silver Lake. Went in some shops (I would have gone in more if Keith wasn't along) and ate lunch a The Brown Bear. They are famous for their burgers and for good reason. We ate outside on the upper level and had fun people watching from above :)

We met up with some old friends in Muskegon on our way back home sunday night. The meeting spot was at Captain Jack's right on the beach. Very fun place. Kinda like Red Dock but bigger :)

"Mooch" (college friend) recently bought a 48 foot sailboat so we went for ride in that. Lots of fun.

We ended the long weekend by being somewhat lazy on monday and then going to Aunt Rachel's house for pizza. Thanks Grandpa!

Time for an update

2009-09-03T20:03:00.003-04:00

Thought I better update my blog since it has been a while. Nothing too exciting to report. Enjoying this last little stretch of summer. Loving this weather!

Aunt Carol, Rachel, Lisa, and I drove down to Colon this past wednesday (after a delicious breakfast at the Wooden Shoe). Aunt Carol found some cute costumes for the girls at some garage sales. Had to try those on right away :) Aren't they cute?
We made a stop at a new "scratch and dent" store in Colon called Kuntry Cupboard (or Corner?). It is run by an Amish family in their barn. LOVED IT. They have slightly expired and damaged (who cares?) products for super cheap. We all loaded up are baskets. I want to go to this place every time I visit Colon! From there we were on to Shipshewana. We all founds something (some of us more than others). The girls did great. It was a long day of shopping in the sun!

Keith and I are 10 days in P90X. I had never heard of this workout until a couple of weeks ago when all of his friends were talking about it during our camping trip. It is pretty intense! You work out for at least an hour 6 days a week. Each day is something totally different. The idea is to "trick" your muscles so your body never plateaus. We do our workouts in the garage ("ghetto" as Dan would say) but it's the only place we have room! We leave the garage door open so who knows what the neighbors think :) It's been fun (but tough!) so far. Nice doing it together because if one of s doesn't feel like it we push the other to do it. Come Thanksgiving we should be looking "ripped"...(we'll see!)Thankfully Keith has continued to stay busy and is booked out for about 2 months. He has a new ad on QJQ (99.3) starting this week, listen up!

We are pumped that the Tigers are in the Pennant race this year. I still want to get to 1 more regular season game. Of course I will be trying for playoffs tickets as well....

more summer fun

2009-08-19T21:59:00.005-04:00

Clam Lake (mostly pics!)

2009-08-17T21:10:00.008-04:00

It's just about my bedtime but I wanted to quick get these pictures up from our weekend at Clam Lake (especially for you Aunt Carol!)

Lots of time was spent on the dock!

We had a crazy bunny lady in the cottage next door (she was very nice...just REALLY liked her rabbits) Macey made sure Bumpa did not go fast!

Kels was a different story....:)
Thanks Burgess family for letting us use the Fun Island. It was a big hit!

living the good life

nice form Jason

bathing beauty

Mmmmmm

hitting golf balls off end of dock

checking out worms

Good old Dockside!

the fish were biting!
campfires...

Dolly's buddy

summer slipping by

2009-08-05T19:17:00.004-04:00

Not sure if it's because we haven't had many days over 80 degrees or the fact that time just goes by faster and faster the older I get but it just doesn't seem like it should be August 5 already. Today was a perfect summer day...Since it's wednesday I had the day off. Went to the Farmer's Market and then had coffee and breakfast on the deck while reading the Holland Sentinel "online". I then headed out to Hidden Ridge RV park in Shelbyville to spend the day with Jen and Jason and girls who were camping with Jason's family. We spent most of our time by the pool. Came home and had supper outside using many of the goodies I got at the Farmer's Market. Went to the 1st Church softball game who were playing in the 2nd round of playoffs. NOT a good game. They lost 15-0 in 4 innings. Even Uncle Jim played :) It was a good effort....had fun watching them this summer and visiting with Aunt Jean and Rachel in the bleachers. Looking forward to next year. Maybe we can convince Keith to play...? He's asleep on the couch now already (it's not even 9:00! long day I guess....) I was hoping to take a drive out to the beach for the sunset and some ice cream. Maybe I will try and wake him up....

Kelsey helping feed Merek

tuckered out after playing in the pool!

popsicles :)

this pictures makes me smile (I love "Gram" reading Oh David in the background) Oh Macey those legs... )

typical Kels

So proud of Macey for jumping in the deep end! Big improvement from last summer!

Went to White House Bistro last friday. One of our favorite Saugatuck spots. I snapped the picture a little too early here. We ordered Sagnaki for an appetizer. They pour bourbon over cheese and light it on fire "Opa!" So good...

A pretty hot air balloon flew over our house earlier this week. Id LOVE to ride in one.

Eatin up those White Sox!

2009-07-26T17:14:00.004-04:00

We met up with our friends Dan and Amanda (I work with Amanda) at a place called Nemo's in Detroit on Saturday. I forget where I first heard about Nemo's but I'm so glad we checked it out! It is right across the street from the old Tiger Stadium (which looks really sad right now...) Nemo's is kind of a mom and pop type of sports bar. Lots of cool old sports stuff on the walls. No menu. Food and drinks are written on a chalk board on the wall. REALLY good burgers. The bar tenders know a lot about Detroit sports and have fun stories to share. The best part about Nemo's is that for $3 round trip they offer shuttles rides (they have about 10 school buses) to and from Commerica park. This way you don't have to worry about parking near the park (and spending $20 to do so). They even let you take drinks onto the bus. Fun! They ride back was really fun...

We made sure we got on the first bus to Commerica! It was GREEN weekend at Commerica Park this weekend. The first 10,000 fans got these tote bags. Of course I made sure we got ours. Nice!
Innings 1-8 were pretty uneventful but the 9th and 10th made up for it!! I was clapping so hard my hands hurt. It really is electifying being with 40,000 plus people who are all so pumped up for the Tigers. Probably the 2nd best game I've been to (next to Oct 14, 2006 when Maggs sent them to the World Series).

Detour

2009-07-26T16:57:00.003-04:00

We were about an hour and a half from Keith's mom's house on friday evening when my car started making a weird noise. It kind of sounded like we were riding on rumble strips. We were on interstate 75 just north of Saginaw. Most of you know that when we take long road trips I do the driving. I have to say I did pretty good. After a few seconds we realized we had blown a tire. The car started to shake and slow down and chunks of the tire started to fly off. It was stinky! Luckily we were near an exit! I was able to make it to a parking lot (of a work out center). This is what we found when we got out (front driver's side)We had to unload all of our stuff from vacation out of the trunk in order to get to the spare. Of course I found the time to dig out my camera and snap a few pictures. Wouldn't you know it started to rain (pretty heavy!) about 2 minutes after I took this picture.

We knew it probaby wasn't the best idea to drive all the way back with just the spare. Luckily there happened to be a tire shop just down the road. We pulled in 10 minutes before they closed! 30 minutes and $220 later we were back on the road with 2 new front tires (decided we might as we get the other one replaced since it was pretty old). A small inconvienience...it could have been way worse!

Paradise Lake

2009-07-26T16:34:00.003-04:00

Keith and I spent last tuesday through friday up at Paradise Lake with his family. We stayed at the Silver Fox Resort. Since we weren't able to stay the entire week, we just brought along our tent and slept in that while everyone else stayed in cabins. The weather wasn't great (cloudy and rainy...) but we still managed to have fun.

Here is most of our group minus the kids (Keith "stole" the silver fox for the picture)

Funny thing...on the way up Keith talked about how cool it would be to have a belt buckle with a bottle opener on it (only he would think of this). Guess what his mom finds at one of the shops in Mackinaw City?

We ate A LOT...I really need to restart Medifast next week!!

Keith did some fishing. I had to help him get this pike in the boat.

Dolly sporting her new life jacket

Ferry ride over to the island

I was surprised at how dog friendly Mackinac Island was. Dolly rode the ferry and was allowed in almost all of the stores. Fun!

We rented a pontoon boat one day

Keith and his sisters Marybeth and Pam

Me and Dolly taking a kayak ride

Boat party, beach, Bella, BBQ, (and martini night)

2009-07-12T16:54:00.004-04:00

We were invited by one of the members of Keith's BNI group to a boat party last week Thursday. It was lots of fun and we really felt like we were living the high life :) I was excited that the boat even had a bathroom on it.

Keith was the only one brave enough to take a dip in Lake Michigan. No swim suit along so in his undies :)

We were overdue for a girl's night out to 84 East. Here we are friday night. I'm really starting to have quite the collection of these posed pictures with our martini glasses...:)

we had the pleasure and babysitting Cousin Katie's little girl Bella on saturday. She's a honey and full of it! We've never had the experience of raising a puppy so this was a new experience for us. She sure likes to chew...:) We'll take her again anytime Kate!Went to my friend Amanda house last night for a BBQ. Bella came too. Amanda's little girl Izzabella loves dogs and just giggled away watching the dogs play together all night.

We picked up subs and spent the afternoon at the beach today. We sat by the channel and watched the boats go by. Man some of them are huge. How do people afford them?!

Camping at Matson's

2009-07-06T07:20:00.004-04:00

Keith, Dolly, and I had a very relaxing weekend at Matson's Campground in Manistee. We got up there on friday around 2:00 e drove by Rothbury on the way. I could not BELIEVE all of the tents. Thousands of them. I tried to get my camera out but not in time to get a good picture. To me, Rothbury seems like so much fun. We're thinking about doing it next year.

Here is our campsite. Right on the Big Manistee River

Keith fishedI did a lot of reading (this is how I read by the campfire)We took a 2 1/2 hour tube ride down the river. Even Dolly made it! We were a little worried about how this would work but she did really good and seemed to really enjoy herself. She spent half the time on her dad's lap and half the time on mine :)
This was our tent's "maiden voyage" and it worked great! We used our credit cards points to buy it last fall. It's huge (compared to what we had been using). It even has a "doggy door" :)

Keith swimming with the kids

The river looked so pretty in the morning

We also bought a new camping grill. It worked great and we used it for several times over the weekend. Here I am making eggs for breakfast.

Dolly met a friend "Sophie"

Sis came to visit and went tubing with us :)

Probably the only bad thing about this campgrond is that the sites are very close together. Which would be fine if you went with a group and had a couple of sites in a row. We had really nice people on either side of us but we felt like we were on top of each other! We hope to get out camping a couple more times yet this summer!

July already?!

2009-07-01T19:21:00.004-04:00

Woah is this summer going by fast or what? Can't believe the long 4th of July weekend is almost here ...June came and went to quick! Keith, Dolly, and I plan to head up to Matson's Campground (http://www.matsonscampground.com/) on friday (I have off) and stay through the weekend. We had never heard of this campground before but Cousin Dan recommended it to us. Our campsite it right on the river which will be nice. We plan to go tubing on saturday. We are hoping to get Dolly on a tube as well :) We'd love to have visitors if anyone is up for it!!!

I've been staying up past 1:00am the past 2 nights watching those Tigers on the west coast. I just can't go to bed knowing that they are still playing! Before the Tiger's game started last night Keith and I watch Revolutionary Road. Very good!

Went to the Farmer's Market this morning. I bought strawberries, blueberries,raspberries (my most best!), asparagus, tomatoes, Musli bread from DeBoer Bros. Bakery (so very good), and a 9 grain pizza crust from Bova Bakery (http://www.bovabakery.com/). Here is the pizza I made with the crust tonight.
Lisa and I were hoping for a beach day today but since the weather has been cool and drizzly we went to Grandville instead. Did a little shopping, had lunch at the Olive Garden (all you can eat salad, soup, and breadsticks for $6.99!), and watched the movie The Proposal which was very cute and funny.

I also wanted to tell you about some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. Star Bucks came out with their own ice cream line earlier this spring. I had a coupon for $2 off so decided to try the Caramel Macchiato (which is one of my favorite drinks from Starbucks). It is dangerously good!

Shrimp boil and pool party

2009-06-28T20:14:00.002-04:00

We took off for Lombard, Illinois on saturday morning for Bill and Kati's house. Bill has family is South Alabama and shrimp boils are really popular down there. He's always wanted to do one at his house. He recently turned 30 and his wife Kati just completed her Master's in nursing so decided to have a pool party/shrimp boil to celebrate both occasions. It was lots of fun. It helped that the weather was PERFECT all weekend. I definitely got my share of sun. sun +good food+ plenty of beer = a very happy Keith

The dogs kept getting drinks from the keg :) ice cold...

huskin cornBill took a LOT of time preparing all of the food (and did most all of it himself). Impressive!

big fun in Colon today

2009-06-24T20:45:00.005-04:00

Macey proud of her new Ariel swim suit (for doing so good with lessons so far) and the new rain boots I picked up for her at a grage sale. Kelsey is a natural Macey wasn't too thrilled about the idea of getting in the water at first but was all smiles by the end of the lesson

Free lunch for the kids during the summer, nice!

enjoying summer in the back yard

look out!
fun in the kiddie pool

Special treat :)

Monday Night Crew

2009-06-23T07:04:00.003-04:00

Here's our cheering section (minus my dad, Uncle Jim, and Scott) on monday nights cheering on the Nykerk boys and the rest of the First Ref. Church team. They're 6-0 so far!

feeling lucky

2009-06-22T07:56:00.010-04:00

The more people I talk to, the luckier I feel after getting through friday night without water in our basement, trees down, or power outages. We didn't realize how bad the storm was and how much damage had been done until we were out and about saturday morning.

Here is 32nd Street just past Old Orchard Rd

104th Ave

On the north side of town near the lake

Here we are celebrating Father's Day a few day early at Goog's with Jen, Jason, and the girls on friday night. The storms rolled in shortly after we finished up with dinner....

Kels "smiling" pretty Stopped at Matt Urban Park so the girls could place for a bit. Macey has on one of the princess outfits I bought at a garage sale.
After we left the park I mentioned to Keith that it might be fun to take a ride out to the beach to watch the storm roll in. Good thing we didn't because we may not have made it back! We just stayed in, watched the storm and the Tigers. I lit a few candles just in case but we never lost power.

Saturday morning Keith and an estimate out in Saugatuck so I rode along. We stopped at the 64th Street Bakery and Cafe for breakfast after he was done. Cute little place with good food. We couldn't believe all of the trees down, water over the road, roads that were completely collapsed, and all of the people with either carpet cleaners, water removal equipment, or tree service people at their house. We decided to go to the Holland State Park. It took us over 3o minutes to get out there with downed power lines, trees, and water over the road. We sat by the channel. Keith fished and we watched some of the (brave) boats head out into Lake Michigan. At night we went to Old Navy because we heard they had tank tops for $2. Too bad they were sold out by the time we got there :(

We took my dad and Grandpa out to brunch at Alpen Rose after church on sunday. This is such a treat for me. Sooo much really good food. Dad have never been before and really liked it. Grandpa only got 1 plate full and was stuffed. (Keith made up for what Grandpa didn't eat...). We lounged around outside yesterday afternoon while listening to the Tiger game (hey, they've been playing good lately!). Had burgers on the grill and went fishing later on at night (not in the boat though). Didn't catch anything but nice to be outside.

Dave and I plan to make a trip to Colon this wednesday. He hasn't seen their house yet. I plan to go to swimming lessons with Jen and the girls in the morning and Dave will golf with Jason. It's goona be hot so we might need to get that sprinkler out....

I'm also happy to report that my poison ivy is MUCH better. I started taking Prednisone last thursday which has worked wonders! No more itching :)

garage sale, trips to Saugatuck, and poison ivy where?!

2009-06-14T20:28:00.005-04:00

We had a family garage sale at Aunt Jean and Uncle Scott's on friday and saturday. I stopped by on my lunch hour on friday. Great weather and sales were pretty decent. Saturday was a different story....Cold, drizzly, and slow sales :( I did enjoy drinking coffee and visiting with Rachel and Aunt Jean inside the garage though :) All in all I think it was worth it and everyone walked away with a little extra spending money. We went to dinner at White House Bistro on friday night. I'm telling you the $25 gift certificates from RESTAURANT.COM are the ticket! I paid $4 for the $25 certificate. We got so much for our money and we got to eat outside and people watch! After dinner and some walking around in Saugatuck, we met up with Erin and her sisters at 84 East. Keith enjoyed being the only boy. Even though he is drinking a beer in the picture we did talk him into ordering a martini (although he did make the waitress pour it into a "manly" glass).

Grilled out and watched movies last night. Church and chinese buffett this morning. We layed out (in our anti gravity chairs) and listened to part of the Tiger game (what is up with Dontrel Willis??? Yikes...) We decided we might as well make another trip into Saugatuck. Out waiter at The White House on friday told us about this place called The Red Dock. He says it is especially fun on sunday's because they have bands playing. I'm so glad we decided to go! Such a cool place....right up our ally. Right on the water. Very layed back with a Key West kind of feel. You feel a long way from home! No shirt or showes are definitely NOT a problem at this place. The people watching was GREAT this weekend with the film festival going on (we didn't make it to see any of the films though)

You can pull your boat right up! (we liked the dog in this boat)

I got a kick out of the bathrooms
And they have cool things on the wall. This is our new favorite summertime spot!
One not so nice thing would be the fact that I'm pretty certain I have poison ivy on my butt! I noticed it about a week ago and thought it was bug bites. Not going away and itching like crazy! Keith has to keep telling me to stop scratching my butt in public. Don't ask me how I got it on my butt. I didn't do any squatting and peeing in the woods (anytime recently at least...)

First trip to the ball park

2009-06-07T20:23:00.002-04:00

We returned about an hour ago from Detroit and our first Tiger game of the year. We were hesitant about going because the forecast didn't look great, but it ended up being perfect. Not too hot and just a little overcast. We had a great time and thanks to a Grand Slam from Clete Thomas we watched the Tigers win :) (Thanks Aunt Rachel for babysitting Dolly!)

Keith and I went out to dinner to 84 East on Saturday night. Guess who walks in about 15 minutes after we sat down? Jean and Scott :) We scooted over and made room for them in our booth and had a nice dinner together. We couldn't resist the "World's Smallest Sundae" for dessert. (We both admitted that we eat pretty healthy during the week so we are allowed to cheat a little on the weekends....:)
Our view from $12 bleacher seats. It's actually a much better view than what the picture makes it seem. Lots of kids there today. Every Sunday is Kid's Day. Everyone 12 and under got a Verlander hat. We tried sweet talking a couple of the attendants into giving us 2 to bring home for Macey and Kelsey without any luck. We'll just have to take them there with us sometime! I think they would love running the bases after the game....

Gotta get the Muchos Nachos from the Big Cat Court! I decided to follow up the nachos with a vanilla shake from Big Boy. Not the best idea. Let's just say I spent a good amount of the 4th inning in the bathroom (laugh).

I couldn't resist getting my picture with Lady Liberty sporting the Detroit pride.

Gotta love Detroit...

a weekend of this and that...

2009-05-31T18:12:00.005-04:00

Friday night Keith and I babysat my friend Amanda's little girl Izzabelle. Dolly helped. I was up bright at early (5:30am) Saturday morning. I was so excited that Jen was coming in for a morning of garage sales :) We had breakfast at DeBoer Bros for first. Big neighborhood sale in Olde Hunter's Crossing. Ran into several people that we knew including my dad and Uncle Jim. I didn't know they liked to go garage saling! We didn't buy too much at the sales in that sub. So busy and a bit overwhelming. Jen however made a BIG purchase at another garage sale that we kind of stumbled upon...I'm guessing she will have a blog about her big find in the next day or so :)

Went to watch the West Ottawa baseball team play in Districts yesterday afternoon. Dave is the pitching coach. WO ended up winning and will move on to Regionals (as will the Colon baseball team!). Brings back memories from when Dave played. We went to so many of his games...fun times.

I made these protien pancakes for breakfast this morning. Elizabeth gave me the recipe and it was so good and EASY. 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup oatmeal, 7 egg whites. Put in blender and pour onto griddle. It makes quite a few. I put a little PB, bananas, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on some and freash strawberries on the others. BTW, Meijer has really good tasting strawberries right now...
I was laying out this afternoon and needed to go inside for something. I came back out and found that my spot had been taken :)

The rest of the weekend was spent grilling out, fixing up the yard, reading on the deck (got a new book at garage sale yesterday), and watching the Tigers :)

Silver Lake

2009-05-25T16:24:00.006-04:00

We spent the majority of Memorial Day weekend up at Silver Lake. This was my first time up there and it was a lot of fun! I knew they were known for their dunes and the big trucks that drove up and down them but I couldn't believe how MANY trucks there were. I felt totally out of place driving around in my Honda Accord!
This picture doesn't really do justice to how big and steep the dunes really were. I didn't think we were going to make it up!

Dave and Keith grilling burgers

Macey and I on the Jumping Pillow at Lewis Farms. She wasn't too sure about it at first but she saw me jumping around and decided to join me.

On Jean's family's dune buggy. So fun!

Macey was so proud to go on the train at Lewis Farms all by herself :)

The fishing was good! Keith's new waders were a hit
I scream you screambath time!

this is the good life :)

Little Sable lighthouse. All brick. very cool.

St. Joe....South Haven...Saugatuck...

2009-05-20T21:41:00.003-04:00

I started my morning with a trip to Holland's Farmer's Market. Got some tomatoes, lettuce, and a pretty planter for my mom's gravestone. From there Lisa and I headed to St. Joseph to visit our friend Rachel and her 1 month old little boy Ethan. Jen and the girls pulled into her driveway shortly after we did. We had a fun visit and Ethan is a honey! I think he looks like his grandpa Gary (for real!).

Kelsey giving Ethan kisses on his feet

We turn around and see that Kelsey made herself comfy in Ethan's bouncy
Lunch outside at a cute little cafe downtown St. Joe

goof ball

had to make a stop for ice cream

still likes her blue ice cream
sis and I had some fun shopping downtown St. Joe. We also made stops at South Haven and Saugatuck on our way back to Holland. Summer sure feels like it has arrived!

Trip to the zoo and IKEA

2009-05-13T21:29:00.005-04:00

Jen and I had originally planned to visit our friend Megan in Illinois this week but because the work on their basement wasn't finished yet our visit needed to be postponed (hope to make it there soon Megan!). Since I still had both tuesday and wednesday off from work, I headed down to Jen's on tuesday morning. We took the girls to Binder Park Zoo during the day and went to Jason's baseball game later in the afternoon. Macey was nice enough to let me sleep in her bed and I slept great :) We thought it would be fun to go to Shipshewana during the day today but the forecast didn't look good so we made a very last minute decision to drive out to IKEA in Canton. Spur of the moment things are so much fun and I'm glad we went. This was only my second trip to an IKEA. The place is amazing and overwhelming at the same time. We spent 5 hours there and made out pretty good. The girls were real troopers!

I've always had a thing for goats! Macey got tired of walking so she got to ride on my back for a little while
Weiners at the baseball game! (inside joke to those who were there...see Elizabeth's blog for those who were not)Mace watching her daddy (first base coach)

enjoying their suckers

Kelsey checking out some fun lights at IKEA

Tulip Time Pictures

2009-05-08T23:43:00.009-04:00

I really feel like I embraced Tulip Time to the fullest this year. Keith would call me a dork for saying this but it's true. Partly because I was part of an alumni dutch dance group this year. This was so much fun and I'm definitely doing it again next year (unless I am pregnant of course). I had many visitors. Thank you everyone for coming to watch me! I went to the Volksparade and Kinderparade and have a spot reserved for tomorrow's Parade of Bands. Went to the Arts and Craft show both days, took Keith's mom to Veldher's Tulip Farm and DeBoer's for breakfast, and have eaten more than enough junk food to last me until next May (back to eating healthy next week....). I've posted a lot of pictures on Facebook but here are some for those of you who don't Facebook (everyone should have a Facebook!)

Our group at one of our practices at Civic Center

The girls from South Washington Family Medicine
These tourists made us feel like celebrities! They couldn't get enough pictures.

Sis and I make a pretty cute couple

Some of the yummy food I splurged on...

Dolly needs to get a costume like this for next year!

Dolly got a special treat for being so good downtown
Hammin it up for the camera

Believe it or not this was my first trip to Veldher's Tulip farm. I was amazed at how many tulips were out there. Very pretty.
Keith's mom LOVED it
Our crew for the VolksparadeSis and her Snack Mule

Dave got to ride through the parade again this year

Kels loved the parade and had fun getting dirty in the street

That's a good corn dog!
Aww...:)
Keith's mom treated us to dinner at Boatwerks. So nice being able to eat outside!

Some of my best deals yet!

2009-05-03T16:51:00.002-04:00

My friends and I have been getting more and more into coupons, sales, thrift stores, etc. Man, did I hit the jackpot today at K-mart. Keith and I stopped there lasst night to buy a new mini blind set for our bathroom. Don't ask me why we decided to go to K-mart because I rarely go there. As I was checking out the cashier told me they were having double coupons again this week AND there was a missprint in the sunday ad. It was written for coupons up to 75 cents but it SHOULD have read up to $2. So I really felt like she had let me in on a super secret. I was very disappointed with the double coupon deals at K-mart 2 weeks ago because by the time I got there (tuesday) everything was off their shelves. I made sure I was there when they opened at 8:00 this morning. Above is everything I bought. If I would have paid full price for everything my total would have been $114. Crazy right? I would never pay that much (yes, I AM dutch). I pain $44 so I saved $70. K-mart didn't have too many great sales going but I had several coupons that were over $1 (and then that was doubled). These were some of the best deals:

Vaseline lotion: normally $3.50. On sale for $2.50. Coupon for $1.25 (2.50) --->FREE!
Secret Flawless deodorant: normally $4.49. Coupon for $2.00 (4.00)----> 49 cents!
Dove deodorant: normally $2.69. On sale for $2.50. Coupon for $1.00 (2.00)----> 50 cents!
Bic Soleil Bella razors: normally $5.99. Coupon for $2.00 (4.00) ---> 1.99
Special K cereal: Normally $3.89. On sale for $2.75. Coupon for $1.00 (2.00)---> 75 cents!
Purina Beggin Strips: Normally $2.39. Coupon for $1.00 (2.00) ---> 39 cents!
Quilted Northern TP (6 mega rolls): Normally $5.29 on sale for $4.99. Coupon for $1.00(2.00)----> $3.00. I had several of these coupons so decided to stock up!

Kick off to Tulip Time

2009-05-03T16:13:00.004-04:00

Friday marked the start of Tulip Time and the fireworks show at Kollen's Park. Our plan was to have dinner at Boatowerks and stay to watch the fireworks from their deck. After hearing there was an hour and 45 min wait to be seated we decided to head to City Vu. I had a gift card so we only had to pay $2. Gotta love it! I got stuffed chicken and Keith got the New Orleans Flatbread. Our appetizer was cold when they brought it to us (we didn't complain) so the waiter had the kitchen make us a new one and we got to bring the cold appetizer home :) Instead of fighting the crowds at Kollen's Park we decided to take in the show from 8th street (with a martini) :)

If you are reading this blog yet today, you can see by the current conditions to the right that the weather here has been awesome. Perfect for the Art and Craft show at Centennial park. After going to some garage sales on saturday morning (I got just a few things including a princess dress with butterfly wings for Macey) I had fun walking around the park. It wasn't super busy yet so I was able to get a good look at everything without other people in the way. Here are Aunt Jean and Uncle Scott and their booth.

One of my purchases

Me and sis before our dance yesterday (I'm not crazy about my hat...)Our dancing spot was conveniently located right in front of Jean and Scott's booth on the corner of 12th and Central. We had a big crowd and since we were on the end it seemed like there was an especially big crowd around us. I was surprised at how nervous I felt! I think we did pretty good and it really was so much fun. Lots of tourists wanted to take pictures with us (meaning be IN the picture with us). We felt like celebrities for a minute there. I was asked by one tourist if all of us dancers were really dutch. And I had several come up and ask if the shoes were uncomfortable. They seem to be awe of the fact that we dance in them. Growing up in Holland you don't think twice about walking around in wooden shoes but I guess it it a little crazy.
We need to get someone make a costume for Dolly next year

I worked up an appetite after dancing so we walked down to 8th street for some deep fried goodness...

I decided to try a funnel cake this year which is something I've never had. It was more crispy than doughy. Not bad but I think I will stick with the elephant ear from now on.

Wish I could have stayed a bit longer

2009-04-29T22:26:00.003-04:00

Time always goes by too fast when I visit with Colon. I try and get there as early as I can in the morning but it always seems like I have to leave way early than I want to! (Had to get back to Holland for a Take Shae For Life meeting at work tonight) Some pictures from today's visit.

"making" cookies :) That raw cookie dough tastes so good...

WOW! Look at that hip mom on the go :)

Had a few friends over for lunch!

Light Bright (garage sale find)

Love Jacob's and Macey's face (just up from nap)And a trip to Chevelle's for some ice cream :)

Feelin Groovy

2009-04-26T17:23:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from last night's Groove Walk downtown Holland. A $7 wristband got you in at 12 different bars/restaurants with different bands playing at each. They had a couple of buses making continuous circuits throughout downtown all night which was nice especially since it was pouring! I was surprised at how busy it was despite the very wet weather. We made it to 4 of the locations. Wish we could have made it to a few more but some of the places were almost too crowded and we had to wait a while to get a drink. Definitely want to go again when they do it in the fall.

They even had live music on the bus

New Holland Brewing Company

The cool kids sit in the back of the bus

Hang on sis!

Drinking Groove Juice at Boatwerks

Garage sale finds

2009-04-25T15:44:00.005-04:00

I've really been hitting up the garage sales lately. I've gotten myself quite a lot of clothes and just a *few* things for my nieces and my friend's kids :) It's such a good feeling to get so much for so cheap!

girl's clothing

for the feet

boy's stuff

just like Christmas all over again!

only $5 for this fun thing. Even lights up. Some little one (hopefully MINE will enjoy it)

I'm hoping to win the Ugliest Christmas sweater contest with this gem I found for a quarter. My favorite part is that it has a baby and diaper pins glued onto the tree.

Dolly's friend Sierra rode in with her dad Bill (Old Boy Rugby game at GVSU this weekend) from Chicago to hang with Dolly.

I enjoyed a night out with the boys in Saugatuck yesterday. So warm out it felt like summer!

sorry no pictures this time

2009-04-20T20:51:00.002-04:00

I know it's not as much fun to read a blog without pictures but I just haven't taken any in the past week or so (I think that's a record). But I hate to go more than a week without a new post so here are a few tid bits from what's new...

Keith and I went to the east side of the state this past weekend for the baptism of his cousin Michelle's daughter Nora. It was nice to see his family as we hadn't seen them since Christmas. We stayed overnight at his mom's house on Saturday. Anyone know how to fly fish? Keith was given a TON of fly fishing gear from his mom's friend Sharron. Her husband passed away last year and she wanted Keith to have all of his fly fishing stuff. He's pretty excited about it. He sure .loves finding new hobbies.

Since the weather has been nicer Dolly and I have taken up jogging. We're up to 3 miles now. Not bad for 2 old gals. I know this doesn't sound like a lot but a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to finish a mile. There are so many nice places to run/walk around here ( I love going down South Shore as the sun is coming up or just going down).

Only 1 more dutch dance practice before we start dancing in costume downtown! Not sure where we will be lined up on 8th street just yet but I'll let you know when I find out.

Keith had been doing a LOT of estimates lately. He did one for the airport on Ottawa Beach Road and another for 2 West Ottawa elementary schools. If he could land just one of these jobs he will stay busy for a good chunk of the summer! He's looking forward to having Dan come back to work :)

Thanks Elizabeth for telling me about double coupon days at K-mart this week (up to and including coupons for $2!). It's on my agenda for Wednesday. I'm looking forward to saving lots of money :)

Speaking of saving money....garage sale season is in full swing. I hit some great ones this past Saturday. Many of the ones I went to were donating all of the money to cool things like juvenile arthritis and an adoption fund. I could have spent WAY more time at them but we needed to get on the road to Troy. I plan on going out again this weekend!

That's all I can think of for now. I'm going to do the Groovewalk this weekend so I should have some fun pictures to post after that!

Hipitty Hopitty

2009-04-12T17:36:00.006-04:00

A fun Easter weekend! Family, food, sun, and lots and lots of Easter eggs!

Keith and I went to Googs Friday night for dinner. A special treat was that we ran into Gary and Karen Collings there and got to sit in a booth right next to them! Keith was hungry (what's new?) and went with the Big Macatawa burger (1 lb. of beef). He finished it off in 5 minutes. He is determined to eat that 4 lb. burger that they have the the White Caps stadium. I'm confident he can do it. The Big Mac was just a warm up.....

Something else exciting was that since friday was opening day at Tiger Stadium they had these glasses for sale for only $4 (with beer). Since I got Diet Coke mine was only$2 :) Nice!

Aunt Jean and Rachel were nice enough to host a Easter egg hunt for Macey and Kelsey on saturday afternoon. Dolly had fun playing with her cousin Ally. Super cute haircut Rach!

Kelsey was always determined to hold her own basket!
More egg hunting at Aunt Brenda's (in her PJs after a bath)
It was a treat to have Jason, Jen, and the girls spend the night at our house on saturday. Mace came along for my morning walk with Dolly at 6:45 am today. We didn't quite make it to the end of the road. "Can we turn around now Aunt Brenda?" It was pretty chilly out! :) Snuggling on the couch afterwards.

And even more Easter goodie hunting at Bumpba's after dinner today. It was good to see Kayle too!
And how about those Tigers and Brandon Inge this weekend??

weekend update

2009-04-04T18:00:00.002-04:00

Had a nice breakfast at DeBoer Bros. this morning with Uncle Jim and Aunt Rachel, Uncle Scott and Aunt Jean (who is looking fab 23 lbs. lighter!), Dad, Grandpa, and Keith. Keith and I both got the Oma omelet. It had asparagus, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and some fancy cheese that I can't remember the name of. Very delicious! I forgot to take out my camera but I know Aunt Jean snapped a few which I'm sure she'll post later :)

Keith went mountain biking with his friend Travis after breakfast. Thanks dad for letting him use your bike. He had fun and came home in 1 piece. While he was biking I hit up some 2nd hand stores. As good as it feels to fit into smaller clothes, it's expensive! I can't believe all of the great things I found at thrift stores. Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Express, etc. I didn't pay more than $3.99 for anything today!

I needed to pick up a few things from Meijers after my bargain shopping. I was so thrilled to find the same Firefly sweet tea vodka I had at Phil's Bar is Saugatuck! It wasn't even on the shelf yet. I turned the corner and there it was in a box in front of me. Funny because we were just talking about it today at breakfast too. I think I'll enjoy some with the new Diet Sunkist sparkling lemonade I also found at Meijers.

I made these cupcake last week. The recipe is from the back of the Easter M&M bag. The recipe is supposed to be butterflies. I didn't have the black licorice so I couldn't make the antennas. They didn't look much like butterflies so I decided to make flowers instead. I brought them in to work the next day and a couple of people asked me if I was "making an announcement" (in our office when anyone is pregnant they announce it by bringing in pink and blue cupcakes or cookies). It annoyed me that they would even ask me this question. I told them I will wear a sign when my time comes. My announcement will definitely be loud and clear. BTW, we are still trying "naturally" on our own for the time being. So far no luck but we keep at it....

The game is tied at 14 as I finish this up. It would be so cool to see MSU go on and win (even if that means I won't win the bracket) :)

A great new find, a clean house, and more martinis....

2009-03-28T21:13:00.004-04:00

Keith is out of town this weekend in Indiana for the GVSU rugby championship game. Before he left he gave Dolly a good short shave. It took him about 2 hours and I'll admit she looks a little goofy (he left her a lion's take again) but it will be soooo nice to not have any shedding for a couple of months. I decided it would be a good time to start in on spring cleaning with Keith out of the house and no more dog hair coming off Dolly. I rented a Rug Doctor to clean the carpets, rugs, and couches. On the way I decided to stop at Cato (by Wal-Mart) because a girl from work said they have really cute stuff for cheap. She was right! They did have cute clothes but I was especially impressed with the shoes, jewelry, and purses they have. They get new shipments in every monday so their stuff is always changing. Really good prices I thought. If you're out that way it's worth a stop!

I could have bought a lot more but decided to go with these earrings ($3.99)

and this necklace ($7.99) Just can't stay away from those martinis at 84 East! As of this weekend they did go up to $3.50 per martini or 4 (of the same flavor) served in a shaker with 4 glasses for $12. If you go to their website (84eastpasta.com) and click on "sign up here for special offers" they will instantly send a coupon to your email for buy 1 dinner, get one free. You can even use it on weekends. Some of the girls I work with (and also dutch dance with!)

shaved

2009-03-26T22:50:00.003-04:00

To my dismay Keith decided it was time to get out the clippers tonight because he thought his hair was "too out of control". I love it when his hair is longer. The urge to shave may have also been triggered by Dave's comment about Keith looking "preppy" this past weekend at the bar (thanks Dave). Not everyone can pull off the shaved head look but I think Keith does a pretty good job. The mohawk look however suited Cousin Dan better than it does Keith....This past weekend pre-shave Group walk in Colon yesterday :)
Can you beieve I failed my costume inspection tonight?! (not because my shoes were too big). Apparently my hat has 3 pieces to it instead of the 2 that I showed up in tonight. I'm hoping I'll get lucky and find the third piece in the back of the closet at my dad's.

A little get-a-way for the day

2009-03-18T16:35:00.003-04:00

With a couple of doctors out of the office, I was given yesterday off from work. Keith was able to take the afternoon off so we decided to head down to Saugatuck. It kind of felt like we were among the lucky few who get to escape Michigan for a week of warm weather and spring break fun. Yeah it was only for a few hours but we only had to drive 10 minutes from home :) We started at Wally's for their perch dinner. Warm enough to eat on the patio. They had quite the crowd hanging out there celebrating St. Patty's Day (some even dressed in kilts) so that made things fun! Did a little shopping after that and then decided to go inside Phil's.

Phil's doesn't look like much from the outside but I was surprised at how nice it was inside. Being 3:00 in the afternoon it wasn't very busy with just a handful of people inside. The owner was bar tending and when I told him I wasn't sure what I felt like drinking he brought out a bottle of Firefly sweet tea flavored vodka. It's made in South Carolina and is only available in the south (unless you special order). He says it's hard to keep on the shelves down there. People love it. He mixed it with Lemonade and 7-Up for me. Wow, very good!Next we headed over to the White House Bistro. I had a $25 gift certificate which I bought on restaurant.com for $8. When I looked at the menu online I was picturing this place to be upscale and fancy. Not so much the case at all. It's actually in an old white house built in 1863. Very unique inside. They also had a patio where I enjoyed a F.A.B martini. Not sure what that stands for but it had banana, coconut, and chocolate and was delicious. Dressing the patio up for St. Patrick's Day....looks like Einstein doesn't he?

Moved inside for dinner. We got this cool appetizer of cheese that they lit of fire and yelled "O-pa!" We dipped pita trianlges in the melted cheese. I had a really good chicken wrap for dinner. Their menu had lots of good stuff on it and we definitely will be coming back here again. Keith looks thrilled that I have to take a picture of everything...

It was a fun day and I'm glad we tried a couple of new places. Makes me crave summer even more...

Celebrating St. Patty's a few days early

2009-03-15T20:23:00.004-04:00

We took advantage of the nice weather yesterday and headed to 8th Street for the St. Patrick Day's parade. It's a fun parade. Lots of goodies are thrown out. I got a green fortune cookie, a shamrock tatoo, candy, and a necklace but was disappointed I wasn't handed a box of Lucky Charms. Lots of dogs were out and most were decked out in green. Dolly was no exception and got lots of attention from the kiddos.

I'm always jealous of the people who get to ride down the parade route on this

Later in the afternoon friends gathered at our house drinks and snacks. Always fun when we get together. Poor Jen was feeling very good (and by the end of the night hardly had a voice left) but still partook in the fun :)

Erin and I decided to try an Irish Car Bomb (Baileys and Guiness). Not too bad.

They were throwing out goodies from the stage at the Curragh. Jen went home with this prize. Lisa was jealous.

Hungry?

2009-03-10T22:19:00.005-04:00

Check out some of these concoctions! Don't know how people come up with some of these ideas and actually EAT them!

This is a 15 inch deep fried hot dog loaded with cole slaw and a bunch of other stuff

hot dogs inside a Twinkie bun

meat cake with mashed potato frosting and ketchup frosting
Deep fried Oreos with chocolate (OK this one I would totally try)

candy pizza (and maybe this one too...)

deep fried White Castle sandwiches

McNugget-tini (McDonald's shake w/ vanilla vodka, BBQ rimmed glasss w/nugget for garnish)

These were just a few I thought were funny. Check out more pictures at the below link. Don't ask me where I come accross these crazy blogs.... :)

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

It's Digger time!

2009-03-08T14:10:00.003-04:00

As is Grave Digger time (I just learned this lingo last night). Keith and I were given free tickets to the Thunder Nationals at VanAndel Arena last night. When Keith asked if I wanted to go, I wasn't too crazy about the idea but we didn't have anything else going on so I thought "why not?". I have to admit I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I can remember going to see the monster trucks at the Ottawa County Fair years ago. David was a big fan of Big Foot (I think that was the name?) I didn't remember the trucks being so LOUD! I had to plug my ears a couple of times last night. Along with the exciting show the trucks put on there was some great people watching....you can imagine the crowd that was there. All kinds... :)

Here is a taste of what we saw. (this should play as a video clip...hope I did it right)

And since we were in the area we couldn't pass up stopping at Vito's Pizza on the way home. Vito's was our favorite spot to go when Keith lived downtown GR at Sechia Hall. It was so much fun when he lived down there. So close to everything! Nice to see that not much had changed at Vito's :)

Surprise party

2009-03-07T17:21:00.003-05:00

Looks like Aunt Jean already did a good job talking about Aunt Rachel's party last night. Here are some pictures :)

Thanks for the Snuggies Aunt Carol!

2009-03-06T17:30:00.003-05:00

4 mint green snuggies and 4 little book lights arrived on my doorstep this afternoon. The Snuggie is just ass nice as the commercial makes it look. Jen, Katie, and Rachel you are in for a treat!

Dora Party

2009-03-04T21:15:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures from the girl's birthday party at dad's tonight (Aunt Carol I know you're waiting). Gotta go watch Lost now! :) Notice the placement of the candles (by Macey)
Making bracelets with Aunt Jean and Uncle Keith

Glad to see Kels getting into some cake and frosting action

blowing our the candles

Kelsey wanted to try out her new clothes right away

Happt that Macey liked her Dora cake I made :)

Kelsey taking a step or 2

Kelsey with Aunt Sis

take-n-bake pizza from 84 East

2009-03-03T18:14:00.004-05:00

So I know this doesn't really go along with my post from yesterday but I couldn't resist letting you know about this great deal at 84 East. Along with their fabulous martinis they now have take-n-bake pizzas. Each week they run a special on the pizzas. This week you can get a 12'' pizza for $4.00. That's better than Litte Ceasers Hot-N-ready! The crust is fairly thin and you can choose from 3 different sauces (tomato basil, basil pesto, or alfredo). It comes with 3 different cheeses and you can pick from a bunch of toppings, many which you can't get just anywhere (artichokes, brocolli, gorgonzola cheese, red peppers, etc). Most of the toppings are only $1 extra. You order online, choose your pick up time (has to be before 6:00 pm), and pay online or in the store. I grabbed my Alfredo and bacon on my way home from work and it's in the over set to be ready for Keith when he gets home. Gotta love easy and cheap!

here is the link www.84eastpasta.com click on "order online now"

One "Roo" lighter!

2009-03-02T19:13:00.002-05:00

I figure Kelsey weighs pretty close to 20 lbs. and that is exactly how much weight I have lost since Jan. 5. I feel really good about it! Being on the Medifast meals for the first few weeks definitely helped me get a good jump start on things. For the past few weeks I have been using 3 Medifast meals and day along with 3 other healthy "mini meals". I just make sure to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, try and stay under 100 grams of carbs, drink lots of water, and exercise as least 20-30 minutes most days. Easy! And I do sneak small bites of cookies, frosting, and other goodies once in a while too :)

A little of this and that....

2009-03-01T11:42:00.004-05:00

I enjoyed a night out with a few of the girls I work with this past friday. 84 East is one of our favorite spots to go. Mostly because of the $3.25 martinis but the food is really good too. I tried something new for dinner, mahi mahi (a white fish). Boy was is good! And healthy too...I decided to go easy on the alcohol since I felt so sick after indulging on my birthday! I got the "butterfly" martini and then split a chocolate mint martini with my friend. Tastes like dessert.

And of course a HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MISS KELS today!! I remember going to Captain Sundae with Jen for lunch the day before. She called me shortly after she got home to tell me her water had broke! Kels took her time and arrived when the sun came up on saturday morning (she didn't want to be a "leap year" baby). Looking forward to the birthday party on wednesday. The Dora cake is underway as I type this :)