Christmas Tree

We put up a Christmas tree for the fist time this year. Dave & I went out to a nearby tree farm, chose & cut it and brought it home to surprise the kids. We all had fun picking out ornaments and decorating it.

Reading 'Bookas' with Ben

November miscellaneous

The big excitement in November was having Uncle Daniel, Aunt MaryJo and cousins Samantha and Cameron stay with us for a week. We had such a good time playing and visiting that we seem to have forgotten to take any pictures! This is the only one on my camera.

"Hoping" (helping) Daddy

Dad's lap is the best place for a little girl to snuggle.

I drove the boys in Joseph's class for a recent class trip. One of the boys took this picture of Joseph.

No, this picture is not posed. Ben was sitting on the potty (sans clothing), and decided to get comfortable.

More October pix

October saw the end of Soccer season for Joseph. This was his first year of play and he really enjoyed it. He had his final tournament about an hour away, so the kids and I packed up chairs, blankets, and hot chocolate and spent much of the day cheering on the team. That's him in the red shirt, running to kick the ball.

And what would Fall be without leaf-piles to jump in?!?! Joseph was a huge help with the raking this year.


Here are some semi-formal pictures of the kids taken by our house.

Christmas Pictures in October

Most of you have seen our Christmas card by now. But for those who haven't, here's our family picture. Mom Overway usually gets roped into taking it for us when they visit us during Teacher's Convention, and this year was no different. Thanks, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Ben turned 2 in October! Of course, he tells everyone that he's 3 ("chree"), but that's another story...

Ben & his "Guck keek" (duck cake).

I'm not sure how many times we relit the candles on the cake for him. He kept asking, "'Gin!?! 'Gin!?!" (again, again)

Joe & Lena, helping Ben celebrate.

September

Well, the rest of September came and went without any of you hearing from us. We kept busy getting into the swing of school every day, growing up and growing older.

Grandma Vermeer's visit in early September was spent playing games, taking walks, playing ball outside and cooling off in the pool afterwards. The kids enjoyed it... and I think Grandma did too! :-)

Summer Sunday picture of the kids. Joe is 9 1/2; Lena is 6 1/2 and Ben is almost 2.

Dave & the kids worked hard to decorate a cake for Mom's birthday! Their hard work tasted great!

Peek... Peek...... Boo!

1st Day of School !

The 2009-2010 school year began on Tuesday, August 25. The kids were up bright and early and excited to begin. Joseph is in 4th grade this year and is in the Middle Room (grades 3-5) with Mrs. Brenda Regnerus as his teacher. Elena is beginning 1st grade and is in the Lower Room (grades 1,2). Her teacher is Mrs. Marlene VanDenTop. They've been in school for a week now, and both of them love their teachers and are really enjoying being back in school.

1st-day-of-school pictures: they know the ritual ;-)

Benjamin had to get in on the fun, too.
"What's a picture without me in it, right?"

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma Overway

Grandpa and Grandma Overway came to visit us in mid-July. On Thursday, we drove through a down-pour to meet them at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. We weren't sure that it was ideal zoo weather, but the storm passed just as we were arriving and we enjoyed a beautiful day together exploring the zoo.

One of the kids gave Ben their "zoo cup" after lunch. Judging from the smile, I'd say that was a good move!

The big cat house is our favorite; we are especially fascinated by the tigers. This picture was taken in between roars. She didn't like it when we made eye-contact.

It's been a long day, the kids are getting tired, so I decide it's time to take pictures! Yea, Mom!

Grandpa caught the first and only fish of the day (a bass) on his first cast!

While Grandpa, Dad and Joseph were fishing, we took Elena and Benjamin to the play area.

Priceless.

Playing "golf" with Grandma.

Trip to Michigan/Illinois

On July 1 we left for Michigan to attend Grandpa Haveman's funeral. We spent most of the week with our Michigan family, but we were able to spend a little time in Illinois too.

On the 4th of July we went to a parade in Grandville. The kids thorougly enjoyed the candy, the planes that started the parade, the candy, watching the bands, the candy... But they really loved spending time with their cousins.

Driving home from church. Grandma got to sit between Joe & Lena... There sure was a lot of giggling coming from the back seat!

Elena, Hanna and Samantha had so much fun playing with dolls together on Monday morning. Even though they seldom get a chance to see each other, they got along great!

This photo is now out-of-date, but at the time it was taken, this was a picture of all of the Vermeer grandkids.

The first picture was taken on the way to Michigan, the second on the way home. I've included them because they clearly show the change in energy level from the beginning to the end of the trip.

Summer Time Fun - Fishing, Swimming, and Playing in the Sand

These are photos of the kids at a local campground.

Minneapolis / St. Paul

We took a mini-vacation to Minneapolis/St. Paul in mid-June. After arriving at our hotel Tuesday evening we took the hotel shuttle bus to the Mall of America. Wednesday morning we headed out to Como Zoo, a free zoo in St. Paul. The kids decided that the rides in the mall looked better than the ones at the amusement park adjacent to the zoo. So, indulgent parents that we are, we headed back to the hotel to catch another shuttle. (It had nothing to do with the fact that we had not even begun to exhaust the possibilities at the mall the evening before!) Anyways, Joseph and Elena thoroughly enjoyed the rides. Joseph insisted on riding the biggest rollercoaster in the place. (We may have unleashed a monster, because a month later, he heard about a much bigger amusement park near Minneapolis that he really, really wants to go to.) Elena was content with much tamer rides and liked to have her brother go with her. Thursday we again drove into St. Paul to spend the day at the Minnesota Science Museum. The dinosaur exhibit was a big hit and there were some fascinating displays of the human body. The kids' favorite, though, was The Big Backyard, where they explored the wonders of water, sand and rock (especially water!). Here are a few snapshots.



The rides at Nickelodeon Universe

(in the Mall of America)






























The Science Museum of Minnesota

This climbing area in the dinosaur exhibit captured Benjamin's attention. He went from one end to the other and didn't want to leave!



Joseph studied,
Elena poured,
and Benjamin tried to catch the water.