She caught the bouquet!

That is our little girl as Maid of Honor for her best friend Shannon's wedding. The last wedding she was in, I was the one zipping her into her flower girl dress. On this occasion all the girls were off together getting hair and nails done. After an emergency trip to get pantie hose she was off and ready. Now here is she walking up to get ready to watch her friend ,(only 2 years older) make a promise that will last a lifetime. We marveled at how beautiful she looked and then felt our stomach's tighten and a cold chill of panic grip us when she caught the brides bouquet. The possibility of OUR LITTLE GIRL getting married???? I DON"T THINK SO!!!!!!!

Shannon gets ready to throw the bouquet!

With a Smile like that...what's not to love.

I am perfectly okay with always the bridesmaid...okay for now!

A Trip to Summerville

Did you know that it takes 12 lbs. of milk to make just one gallon of ice cream. I can't help but wonder how they fit it all in one carton? The good old U.S. A. enjoys an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country. Maybe we should make ice cream the fifth food group!

Around here a trip to Sundae's at the Cottage or even the musical sounds of an ice cream truck can send one very contemplative 9 year old into an state of pure delight. Timmy loves Ice Cream! First he closely examines all the choices voicing the pros's and con's of each as the people who wait in line behind us suppress a couple of snickers. Next the choice is made and delivered to the individual behind the magic sliding window. At this point the anticipation of the creamy, smooth sweet delight is almost too hard to bare as he awaits the delivery of his chosen treat. His eyes seem to dance and his feet cannot be still as his body seems to be in a constant state of motion ,all the while he remains rooted in one place.

At last the window slides back and he is able to wrap his little hands around something totally lacking in any nutritional value, yet wonderful beyond words. The first bite is taken quickly , even before the rest of us order our own treats. After that ,to watch him you would know he savors every spoonful. To savor ice cream on a hot day .....and to be 9 years old. Can life get any better?

Back To School

Time for Grading Sheets and Spreadsheets

The three most dreaded words that any child could hear"Back to School"...and for a few moments before the faithful day I return to teaching ...they seem to hold the same sting for me. Don't get me wrong I love my job, enjoy the kids and still finding teaching a rewarding career in the intellectual sense if not the financial one. But..... in truth I shall miss:

...those mornings I could roll over and finish an especially good dream.

...floating in my shady pool just dipping my feet into the water every now and again to stay cool.

...reading entire chapters without interruption.

...catching fireflies with my Timmy.

...rowing down the Thornapple River and watching the deer swim.

...stopping a Sundae's at the Cottage for an icy.

...watching the garden butterflies and wondering about all the places they have been.

...sewing in the cool basement .

...making chalk drawings with my youngest.

...spraying my unsuspecting children with the garden hose on especially hot days.

...sitting outside and seeing the Whitecaps win.

...swimming in the pool with Miss Katie.

...wine coolers on the Patio with Cynda.

...dancing in the moonlite with the man I love.

...riding my bike down to the camel hump bridge.

Goodbye summer:)

Undiscovered Treasure

It amazes me how so much beauty and history can exist on an area surrounded by five great lakes. If you grow up in Michigan, visit here, and especially if you make your home here, you know how the lakes are a part of all of us. For most of my life trips to the beach meant a trip to Holland, Grand Haven, Ludington, Traverse City, or Muskegon. This year our family discovered a real jewel on the shores of Lake Michigan in the town of Montague. Whitehall and Montague are a couple of twin cities located just north of Muskegon, on White Lake which following the channel leads to lake Michigan.

What makes Montague so special? Half the tourists and twice the fun. Montague has a real live Soda Foundation at Lipka's Drug Store. The center of town features a working giant weather Vein, and following the road toward the beach you are treated by the view of an outstanding lighthouse, that you can see from the shores . The area boasts fresh water fishing, bed and breakfasts, and restaurents not part of national chains. Somehow the twin cities have managed to bring the past and present together in harmony. The general store has some of the best places to buy quilting fabric, and my favorite store in the area is called the Hokey Pokey.

I have neclosed their officl website in case anyone wants to see more of the area.

http://www.whitelake.org/

SISTERS
Aunt Klio and Aunt Jean get a soda at the Soda Fountain in Montague! I bet you wish you had come with us:)

Timmy's letter to his new teacher

Timmy has been taking lessons this summer to improve his writing skills. The following is his first attempt at an information letter. It was just so cute I had to share it.

Dear Mrs. Grimaldi,
My name is Timmy Deboer, I am 9 years old and was named after my father, grandfather and uncle. Also my favorite sport is soccer. No wonder I've played soccer for 4 years straight!

Soccer camp is what I went to this summer that made my day or week. Socceer camp proved that I'm ready for any game. Not only that but soccer camp lifted my spirits.Soccer camp showed me the true meeaning of will power.

I do not know how my summer was possibly bad! My summer was like a quest. My summer had no boring parts. I went to Rocket Camp, took swimming lessons and more! Not anything was the least bit bad.

Anyway I had the time of my life! Summer is the best season ever. Summer, soccer, satisfaction and swimming=best time ever.
From,
Timmy

What I did on my summer vacation:

Bible Camp Moosefeather Falls

Swimming lesons at Orchard Hills and riding the big WaterSlide

http://www.ehac.com/orchardhills

Mad Science Rocket Camp at Forest HIlls Northern Trails where he built his very own rockets! He experiment with different kinds of propulsion systems and used his new knowledge to blast off, track, and recover different kinds of rockets. He had a “Rockin” good time at Rockin’

Backyard Bugs Camp with Ms. Wendy at Ada Park!

Rockford Festival-hanging with my Sissy!

See posts below for the low down on soccer camp and our coaches!!!

Hey if you like hearing about our activities leave us a comment:)

Goodbye Kyle and Jason

Our family was honored to have Jason Wallace and Kyle Madogn stay with us during the U.K. A.Y.S.O. Soccer Camp held at the very brown Cascade Soccer Fields. The boys taught camp in the morning from 8:30-12:30 , and then had to be back at camp from 4:30-8:30. They were tired boys. On Saturday they got a well deserved day off so we took them to the Celtic Festival in Rockford. There we enjoyed music Celtic arts and dinner at the famous Corner Bar.

After a hearty breakfast we bid the boys a fond farewell . Kyle is off to teach a camp in Farmington Hills, and Jason is off to Chicago the Windy City. We wish them both well and enjoyed having a bit of Europe stay with us for a week.

Timmy is now a real fan of Liverpool Soccer and the boys showed him how he can watch the games over the Internet.

I am taking a few days off from cooking duty as I have enough leftovers for a couple of days. Long live Scotland and England...and God Bless the USA

Skills ans Thrills...definitely no chills

The boys from the U.K. found out that Michigan can be hot...hot...hot. U.K. International Soccer camp was held at the Cascade Park, or rather Cascade brown fields this past week. Lack of rain this summer had dried the fields to a state that was not recognizable. High humidity, rain (that we had all prayed about) for 2 out of the 5 days and and temperatures in the 90's did not seem to dampen the fun of the 110 kids who attended. The coaches were all good mates to each other and more than a few little girls and Mom's were taken by their charming English and Scottish accents.

Coaches Jason and Kyle were our guest and we can tell you they worked very hard to make the camp fun for the kids. They were at the field around 8:00 each morning for a camp that started at 9:00. Came home around 12:30 ate lunch and took a quick nap because they had to depart again around 4:00 to teach the 5:00-8:00 skills camp. We waited dinner for them and enjoyed learning more about England and Ireland. On a couple of days the boys even managed a quick dip in the swimming pool.

Timmy thought having the coaches at his house was the best thing since french fries---wait I mean chips. He pronounced himself a real soccer player and is asking to play this fall. Maybe just maybe the boy has found something he is interested in doing.