Night in Rochester

Zach and I left for a surprise getaway trip to Rochester, New York. Zach knew where we were going, but he had no idea why we were going there. I had a surprise up my sleeve for Zach which I could hardly contain! We left Friday afternoon and took a nice scenic drive to the city.

We arrived at the hotel and my surprise was almost busted because the event we were going to see was posted right next to the elevator on an events board. Thankfully, Zach didn't notice. Here are some pics of Rochester from our hotel room.


We had a nice dinner...

And then we walked to the arena...

Zach was making all sorts of guesses as to what the big surprise was. He didn't even come close. Once inside I gave him his ticket to see....The Trans Siberian Orchestra!!!

It was an awesome show that lasted 3 hours! We listened to one drum solo that literally had me staring with my jaw open in awe- what talent! We had a great time visiting Rochester and the surprise was a big hit- Merry early Christmas Zach!

We have a visitor!

My mom came to visit for a few days which was WONDERFUL! We had a lot of laughs, played some games and just enjoyed lounging around together. It was so great to spend time with her. The first night Zach had pre-marital counseling in our family room so Mom and I hung out in the bedroom and worked on a wedding video she had to finish. We finished all the editing and it turned out awesome. She is super talented.

She took us out for dinner two nights in a row which was a real treat.

My little cousin is doing a Flat Stanley project at school and he asked me to take a picture of Flat Stanley in Jarvis so his class can learn about where we live. Mom was kind enough to take the picture for us.

Thanks so much for coming Marm- it was so special to have you here for a few days. We miss you already!

Fall Fun!

Fall is my favorite time of year! Zach and I were in GR and got to enjoy a beautiful, fall Sunday with the family. We ate a delicious dinner (Thanks Marm!) and then spent the afternoon outside making the biggest pile of leaves ever (according to Pieter).

Jayne is a fabulous photographer and she caught some fantastic shots of the little kids playing with the big kids.

Blake having a ball.

Sandbox fun!



Zach and me with Bryson, our newest nephew.

Lookout Auntie Mari...Pieter's after you!!



Where's Daniel?!

Pieter got Auntie Kasey!

After the leaves excitement faded, we "painted" on the driveway.
By the way, this is a great idea for those who have young kids. A brush + a driveway + water = hours of painting entertainment!


After an afternoon of playing, Sarah was pretty tuckered out...as were the rest of us.

Broccoli anyone...?!

The other night while I was preparing dinner Zach came into the house wearing a proud smile and carrying a big head of broccoli. After months of waiting, our broccoli had ripened and was finally ready to be eaten!
So we excitedly steamed the broccoli in a strainer above some boiling water. We were both super excited to eat our first home grown bite. After the broccoli was ready, Zach scooped up some pieces to put on our plates and there underneath our beautiful broccoli pieces were a bunch of nasty maggot-like worms!! Apparently these little guys wanted to try our broccoli too! We both busted out laughing, completely grossed out. I think our appetite for broccoli won't be the same for a while.

Yuck!

KC to KC

I had the opportunity to visit my long time friend who lives near Kansas City, Missouri. So KC headed to KC! I arrived and was warmly greeted by Adri and her beautiful little girl, Siena.

It was great having some time to get to know Siena- what a fun, sweet personality she has.
I spent two days in Adri's classroom helping out which was so much fun! I just love being in a classroom with the kiddos.
On Friday night we went to the biggest football game of the season. Two rival schools battled it out on the field and the team we were rooting for won in double overtime- talk about exciting- Go Wildcats!


Thanks for a fun visit Aud!

Cook Kids and Chicks...

Some friends of ours went out of town so their three youngest kids, Aaron, David, and Valerie Cook moved in with us for the week. We had fun playing many games, going to Mc Donalds play worlds, exploring and walking around the pond near our home, weeding, playing Lego Star Wars, and much more. I quickly became familiar with all the parks in the area and spent many hours watching the kids play. One day it was raining so we took a field trip to some friends of ours who are chicken farmers. They had just gotten in a new batch of 8,000 chicks so we spent some time in the 90 degree barn marveling at the baby chicks. It was awesome! Here's Aaron with a chick on his head.

Look at them all!


Here they are getting a drink.


Here are a couple videos of the chicks.


Val was very proud to pick green peppers from our garden for omelettes. Whenever I would make a meal they all wanted to be in the kitchen where the action was so we made the joke that there were too many "Cooks" in the kitchen.

Here is Zach taking out Val's hair bands after church. He ended up just cutting them out with a scissors. :-)

Goodnight kiddos!

Short and Sweet

Sondra, Zach's cousin, got married so we were able to travel to G.R. and attend the wedding. Friday we enjoyed the day by bringing Cal and Hannah lunch at school, celebrating Dad Olson's birthday, and just hanging out. In the evening we enjoyed a Mallekoote family dinner at the fabulous Kobe Grill folllowed by dessert at Cold Stone- what a treat! On Saturday we got to celebrate Mom and Dad M's anniversary, and then we headed to the wedding and reception. We drove back home to Jarvis after dinner. We didn't make it back until about 2:00 a.m. We hit the pillows and were out! Even though it was super quick, it was a fun visit with family and friends- short and sweet.
Below is Zach at Cal and Hannah's school, reading the Star Wars information on the Happy Meal.

Sisters...I love my Sheesh

Grandpa M and Bryce at the wedding

Me, Mom and Zach at the wedding reception.

Under Construction

There is a three-phase plan to remodel our church. The first phase passed so we are currently under construction. A new wing is being built that will provide an office for Zach and our co-pastor (who recently accepted the call- Yeah!), a larger nursery, more classrooms, and craft rooms. It is really exciting to see the progress, and we are looking forward to Zach having an office at church. The construction should be done sometime in November.

Wrapping up the Summer

It's hard to believe that summer is on its way out for the year. This past week Zach and his team wrapped up their summer softball league by playing, and winning, an all day tournament. While we were watching a game I heard some kids playing Jackpot (that game where you toss a football and yell out an amount of money and a group of kids fight to catch the ball). I sat there reminiscing about my childhood days playing games like that, smiling as I listened to sweet, young voices. My sentimental moment was interrupted when I heard a familiar voice that was about an octave lower than all the others hooting and hollering. I turned to see Zach joining in the fun. I have to say he had quite the height advantage, but the kids had a ball with him. (Get it...a "ball!")

Zach and I both continue to golf in our leagues which will both wrap up in the end of September. With the way I've been shooting this year, I don't expect any prizes at the banquet... unless there's some kind of enthusiasm trophy. I had a hard time following the golf etiquette of containing my shouts and screams of joy when one of my teammates had a great shot. Or maybe there's a prize for getting hit by a golf ball...we'll see.
We visited our good friends Jerry and Frieda. Jerry is a volunteer grill master at the retirement home in the area so we came to show our support. Jerry and Frieda "adopted" us as their grand children when we moved to Jarvis. Their hospitality and hugs have been such a comfort. They are a wonderful, wise couple we have come to love. Here is a picture of Jerry and me.

So long old friend

I felt I needed to have some closure after the loss of a long time companion. I got my first Nalgene from Dordt College my sophmore year. That Nalgene has been my faithful companion every day since. Some of our more memorable adventures involved traveling to Nicaragua, China, St. Martin, Jamaica, Cancun and Canada. But after a melting accident in the dishwasher, and the fact that it recently developed a funny odor that I just couldn't get rid of, it was time to say goodbye. (Some family members will be very happy to know that my nasty Nalgene is no more.) :-)

It's time to let go.

Now I have a new Nalgene to enjoy. (Thanks Mom!)

Wet Wild and Crazy Kids

This has been our Wednesday theme the last few weeks. (We stole it from that Nickelodeon show from back in the day.) Zach and I have had a blast hosting the middle-schoolers from church for some fun in the sun. It's been a great way to get to know these kids and have fun at the same time. Throughout the month we've played soccer, baseball and Capture the Flag. We've also had relay races, water balloon tosses and several water fights. Throw in about 35 teenagers, some popsicles, and a guessing game where the prize is a container of candy and you've got some good times.
While we were waiting for the final kids to show up Zach and I decided to have a little fun of our own. We had the kids pose for a group picture. While I was arranging the kids, Zach snuck up to the roof with a bucket of water. (Notice the feet on the roof.) Well....you can guess what happened...

Say Cheese!

There is a park about a five-minute walk from our home so we played our games there. Here is some footage from one of the the water fights.

We ended with a big water fest at our house. Everyone got absolutely soaked...willingly (except for me- I was bamboozled).