2 Flames kids now

Have I mentioned the whee little fact that Quinn has now decided that he wants to play on the U10-boys Flames team? Yah, that's right. Kind of a long story in his decision-making process so I'll spare you the details and just say, he's playing too. So now we offically have 4 soccer teams going on... yes, four. Yes, that is craziness. I've decided I need a calendar with much bigger boxes to write things down. And for those you who don't like soccer... you may want to stop reading for awhile because that's pretty much all we do.

Having said that, Quinn had Flames practice last night so he went with Nate to that. I had a meeting at church (that lasted way too long!). Tony and Madison stayed home. Tonight Madison's Flames team (U11...which means girls 11 and Under play on it) are scrimmaging the U10 girls team. Madison is more than ready to get the games started with the Flames. I'm posting early tonight for a change. I'm sure Quinn will try to get out of going to the scrimmage and Tony will be working.

Love ya, Leah

CYS game 3-2

Madison's team won their CYS game tonight during a nail biter of a game. Unfortunately it was one of those games with a horrible referee. I can handle losing if it's fair and square but I get really upset when a ref loses the game for you. We so easily could have lost tonight because of him. It's so hard to keep my mouth shut at a game like this. Madison was mad about it after we got home. I tried to stand up for him a little (after all he is an adult whom kids should respect) by saying, "I'm sure he is the nicest guy in the world... he just doesn't understand the game of soccer very well." HA!

Birthday Blessings

Yup, today was my birthday. I've decided this is the last one I'm going to count. I'm 39 and holding now.... I had a very nice day. After church we went out to eat at Carrabbas with Beppe & Pakka. My family loaded me down with gifts. Tony took the kids shopping so that always make the gifts that the kids pick out extra special. I love the handmade cards too. Quinn couldn't wait for me to open up his "Massaging Toggle Slippers" complete with a hand held little vibrating back-rub thingy which he then proceeded to use on my arms and back... right in the restaurant. I'll let you know how the slippers work out. He told me he was especially glad to have found pink ones for me. Madison picked out a pretty silver locket that says "Mom" on it. It's really nice and something that definitely represents her tastes too. Tony got me a gift card to the Family Christian Bookstore and B & P gave me a gift card to Kohl's. Really I felt like I had a "birthday week"...my friends brought me gifts and just spoiled me throughout the week. My friends at work gave me gifts; Addi made this really special cake just for me (see picture below). I got birthday cards, phone calls and emails.... On second thought, I'll think about celebrating next year after all! Thanks everyone. I felt very loved this week.


We browsed around after lunch. We need a new video camera. Ours is totally broken. We used it a ton and have had it for like 10 years or something. It was time for a new one I guess. We didn't buy one yet. It takes us forever to do the research etc... because it will be another 10 year commitment. : )

Today I can't help to be reminded of my dear college friend, Michelle. Two years ago today she tragically passed away from complications of childbirth. That means her second daughter is now 2. I've thought of her husband Brian, daughters, sister Tracy, Dan and the rest of her family today. Pause for a moment, will you, to say a prayer for them. A day that has been happy for me has been hard for them I'm sure. Michelle wouldn't want me to be sad and missing her on my birthday... I sure would love to talk to her again.

OK, well... Tony ran to the video store to rent "Wild Hogs" for us to watch after the kids go to bed. After all he told me that today, "my life is all for you" so he promptly ran to the video store after my suggestion. Ha!

Yep, I've decided. I'm having another birthday next year!

Love, Leah

"Assignment Honey" completed

I'll sound like her elementary school teacher when I say that Madison demonstrated the lifeskill of responsibility while dog watching for "Honey" for 5 days. She did a great job! She rode her bike each day in the morning (except for the first rainy day) and the evening. She stayed for as long as she could so that he could have some company and played with him. He chewed up some wooden figurines (yikes, sorry Darren!) so she took him a raw hide. She even turned on a radio so the house wouldn't be so quiet during the day. Thanks for your voting feedback! Loved it!

Quinn's soccer game, 1-2

Today was another rainy day. We've set a record I guess... we've had 12 1/2 inches of rain, more than the previous record set in 1979... and the month isn't over yet. It rained during Quinn's entire game, which started at 8am. It was another 6:30am morning for me. yuck. The rain puts a different "spin" on things as the ball gets wet and is much harder to control etc... His team lost again, 1-2. He scored our only goal. That brings their record to 0-3-1. I really hope they can win a game this season! Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures. I don't know if you'll be able to see the rain in them...

Madison didn't have a game today but she had team pictures for CYS and then they practiced for 1 1/2 hours in the rain. Tony took off his shoes and let a stream flow out of them. She also had Flames practice this afternoon for 2 1/2 hours. Thankfully the sun was out by then. She was one tired pup when I picked her up. Not too tired to be done outside playing though. She was promptly outside playing with the neighborhood kids for a few hours.

Tonight I made homemade pizza for supper and the kids + Nate are watching the movie, Flushed Away. Well, Madison is asking for hot cocoa and I'm sure they would eat some popcorn.

Love, Leah

Dog Watching Poll

I love the new Poll option that Blogger offers. Thanks for your votes and your comments. So, are you wondering what I did this morning? Well, when I woke up around 6:30 I began to wonder if it would even be light enough for her to be safe on a bike. I haven't been paying that close attention to know when it gets light enough to be on a bike. But as 7am got closer I decided it would probably be light enough. However, it was RAINING and not even I am strict enough to make her ride over in the rain before school so I drove her this morning. Right now it's raining cats and dogs but if it clears off by morning I'm taking your advice and having her ride her bike as planned. (Sorry Amy & Addi).

Her Flames team tried to have practice tonight. I usually stay at the fields because it's about a 15-18 minute drive over there and it feels like a waste of gas to be driving round-trip to drop-off, leave, and then drive round-trip to pick up. Really there isn't anyone to car pool with without making them go out of their way... occasionally Raeann and Darren when it works out. Anyway... Quinn didn't want to stay out there and watch them practice and convinced me to come back home for an hour and half. It was bright, sunny and clear blue skies when I dropped Madison and Peyton off. I came home and was home for like 90 seconds when Madison was calling, sounding alarmed saying, "Come get us! It's pouring, thundering and lightning!" How bizarre is that? So I left right away from my sunny, blue skies and drove there in 15 minutes and into the storm long enough to pick the girls up and then back to our little sunny area of the world. Did I pick the wrong night not to stay or what? VERY bizarre. So, Marcus told the girls to be ready to practice for 3 hours on Saturday. I don't think he was very happy but I really hope he isn't serious about that!

Other than that I made some lasagna to eat another time and cut some corn off the cobs to freeze or eat (haven't decided), helped with homework and that was pretty much my evening.

Love, Leah

Family Pictures

Tonight we had our family picture taken at church for the new directory. I was so hoping that they would turn out well because it's been about 5 years since our last formal picture. I was quite disappointed. The Olan Mills camera woman (who was wearing a skirt with black tennis shoes) wanted us to say something before she snapped the picture... like "whee!!" and "money" and OK, I WAS SO NOT IMPRESSED! So, I'm refusing to say anything because I am not a 3 year old but my mental telepathy wasn't reaching the other 3 members of my family and so in all our pictures one of them either has their mouth half open, mid-word, or this silly look on their face like, "where did she get that from?" She snapped 2 of the kids by themselves which turned out pretty good so I forked over the $20 for an 8x10 of them at least. Bummer. Seriously, I could have shot better pictures with my own camera... however, to ask them to sit that close together and actually physically touch each other while striking a pose was in itself quite the amazing feat. sigh.

Tony then had a meeting at church and when he was done I had a meeting at church... a Constitution Review Committee... that's right... all those by-laws and rules/regulations. Yuck. It was truly a gift from God that I even had a good attitude about it. Probably only 3 meetings will be needed so that's good. I got home after 9... expecting the kids to be tucked in and snoring. Nope. They just got home themselves. They were out shopping and who knows what all they were doing.

Madison is dog-sitting for a dog in the next sub-division over and it took her 20 minutes after school to ride her bike over and do her chores (or whatever you call those tasks). She needs to be up by 7am so she can get that accomplished in the morning before she goes to school. She asked if I could drive her over there... am I really mean to say no?... I mean, it takes her like 3 minutes to ride her bike and it's teaching her responsibility. I found this new "poll-taker-thing" on blogger so just head to my side bar on the left and let's just cast a vote about it.

OK, gotta run.

Love, Leah

CYS 6-1

Madison played tonight and our team won, 6-1. Thankfully it didn't rain but it sure got humid by the end of the evening. This was only their 4th game and already I can see improvement. Our record is now 2-2.

I love these pictures. The one with Madison with her arm around Alexa was taken while they walked with Raeann back to their defensive positions. In the bottom picture, Madison had just taken the ball away from both girls. I know I'm prejudiced but she's got some fast feet!

Wish you all could come to some games!
Love, Leah

Rain, Rain Go Away

I love rainy days... seriously, I really do. It's OK if you think I'm weird. I find listening to the rain relaxing and when it's raining it makes it easier to be inside. But, we've had enough rain to last us awhile. I know, I know... nothing like poor Texas and other states in the south. We've had about 3 inches in the last 2 days the newspaper said. Quinn and I prayed tonight that, "That's good now God... you can make the rain stop." Day after day of rainy days gets a little long. I remember one particular stretch of days last summer when it rained parts of like 10 days straight. We sleep with our window open if possible and one morning a loud bird was singing right outside our window at like 5 o'clock and of course I could hear the rain too. I thought, "What on earth?... what kind of a bird actually SINGS during a gloomy rainy morning?!" I was actually kind of ticked off because it woke me up but I "fixed her" by closing the window and making her fly away. I laid back down in bed to try and go back to sleep and these thoughts came to me.

That singing bird...isn't that how Christians are supposed to act?... aren't we the ones who have been given a joy from the Lord that allows us to "sing" through "rainy" times?... Is it possible to be like that bird and feel cheerful even when the circumstances around us are anything but?

I'm the first to admit, I don't usually feel cheerful amidst the rainy times in life. I'm human. But as a Christian I know that it's at least possible when I accept the joy of the Lord as my strength. I need to practice that some more.

Madison didn't mind the rain tonight... the boy's soccer practice was cancelled but the tough girls still practiced for 2 hours. It rained the entire time. It wasn't possible to be any more wet I don't think. Only 5 more practices until their opening season tournament.

Love, Leah

Happy Birthday Beppe!

A very special "Happy Birthday" to Beppe today. Now it's not very polite to broadcast a lady's age so I won't tell you but I will just say that she is now at a usual retirement age. B & P came over late this afternoon to play dominoes. It was a chilly, rainy day today so I made apple crisp for her birthday instead of cake. That's a good fall dessert and that's what it felt like today. Their small group from church had a picnic after church today and they had a cake for her there.

Unfortunately our kids were on the grumpy and not listening side of things tonight. Madison's tears later on told the story that I was expecting... she doesn't want to go to school tomorrow. Change isn't easy and she's having a hard time with the big changes in structure they made this year. All the 5th graders are switching back and forth between 2 classrooms and 2 teachers this year. In the am she has math/science in one classroom and in the pm she has social studies/reading with another. They can't leave supplies in a desk... just in their lockers. It has a little bit of the junior high flavor to it but I personally think it's a bit young. This is the first year for the school to try this so we'll see how it goes. The school also has a new late homework policy that she is worried about. If you have ANY late homework days you have to stay after school (no warnings etc...). So, she's all worried about that. Even though she doesn't hand homework in late, she's worried about it. Change is usually not easy but it's pretty much a guaranteed part of life isn't it?

Well I hope you all have a good week this week. Today in Sunday School we talked about how we spend our time... so I'm going to try and make a conscious effort to analyze my time this week. May be I'll write more about that later.

Love, Leah

Saturday's Soccer

Quinn's team soccer pictures were at 7:10 this morning! OK People... don't you think that's just not right to do that to a parent on a Saturday morning?! (Sigh) So, Quinn and I headed out to the fields, admiring the sunrise this morning, which was beautiful by the way. His team lost today, 1-2. The good news is that he scored his team's only goal. The bad news is that he was also the goalie when they scored their 2 goals. : ( There wasn't much he could do about either of them... just one of those things. His goal was pretty sweet though. : ) This makes their record for the season 0-2-1 (for you non-soccer folks, that's 0 wins-2 losses-1 tie).

Madison didn't have a game today. It was a really nice cool day today so too bad she didn't play. She did have Flames practice though. Her team met at the Concord High School game and after the game they went and practiced for 2 1/2 hours. That pretty much took up her day. She stayed overnight with Holyn last night so she was tired tonight and is already heading to bed.

I ran quite a few errands, the usual loads of laundry, did all the soccer mom stuff and am glad to be at home tonight. Tony grilled steaks for supper and we also made fresh green beans and boiled potatoes to go with it. We rented a movie, "Pride" to watch after the kids are in bed.

Hope you are having a good weekend. We are.

Love, Leah

First Day of School

Today was the big day! My kiddos went off to 5th and 3rd grade this year. How they've gotten this old I do not know. Not too long ago that I was crying after sending Madison to school on that big yellow bus off to kindergarten! There are 7 kids getting on at our bus stop this year... which is usually at Heather's house, or our house. The bus stops wherever the pack of kids is. :) There was quite the pack of parents at the bus stop this morning too. Gabby, in the green shirt, is a kindergartner this year. It was very neat though because ALL of the moms and all but one dad were there this morning to watch their children go off to school. I like the picture of Madison and Heather... sharing a few words while waiting on the bus.

My co-workers were exceptional to help me get out of work early so that I could get them off the bus today. We have been SOOOO busy this week. It's not been funny. I've had lunch once I think. Madison and Quinn said they had good days today at school. Well... Quinn changed his to a "bad" day later because he doesn't want us to think he's having any fun being away from home. That's Quinn. He also is concerned about a new boy, Jacob. He is sitting next to him and he is worried "that he won't be a successful student"... because he sat with his head down and didn't do his work very well and "I think he missed his mom and dad." He is going to work at being Jacob's friend. On the other side of Quinn is another new boy whose "name starts with an L" and who "has loads of energy"... and so now I'll be praying for his teacher as she corals "L" and also for Quinn who has to sit next to him. Ha!

Madison's 5th grade class is functioning a little like a junior high school set-up. She has to keep all of her supplies in her locker and then she trades classrooms between 2 teachers for her subjects. She's not sure she is going to like this. It sounds like she and Peyton have the same home room teacher but are actually not in the same room very much. So... she has some adjusting to do. She had Flames practice tonight and it went longer than usual because of a scrimmage... 2 1/2 hours long! It amazes me that she can say "I enjoy practices." She doesn't like the blocks of endurance running though. That's pretty tough and her muscles have been sore since she took almost 10 days off when we were in Iowa and then in MO.

I'm working tomorrow which starts out with a meeting at 7am so I better try and get to bed at a decent time tonight.

The weather was cooler today and tonight so that was a blessing for sure... especially for soccer practice.

Love, Leah

CYS Soccer Game

Tonight Madison had her third Concord Youth Soccer (CYS) soccer game. The very first game we lost, 2-10. Over the weekend we were gone but our team lost, 3-10. I'm happy to report that we are now 1-2 because we won tonight, 6-4. It was a great, close game. Madison had a great assist for a goal... a kick from clear back in the back field. She was happy about that. ...Remember she plays defense. May be this is a sign that our team will gel together and perhaps not have a losing season as I predicted (in my head only). Afterwards we went out to eat at Beef O'Brady's with Beppe, Pakka and Nate. They have free kids meals on Tuesday nights.

No more games this week until Quinn's soccer game on Saturday morning. He has to be at the fields by 7:10am for pictures. He had the first picture appointment for his baseball team too!!! Oh well. It gets the day started early I guess.

Love, Leah

Reunion at Lake Doniphan

Our annual Vander Werf reunion was held at Lake Doniphan in Excelsior Springs, MO which is just East of Kansas City. It's always a fast weekend but one that we've tried to make a priority. We've been to 7 out of the last 9 reunions. This is Tony's mom's family... her mother and her 6 children and all their families. Not everyone can make it but those that do have a great time. No one lives in this area but it's a great place to get together!

We are about 11 hours away but the Colorado family is about 16 hours away! Some of the grandchildren had been to school only for 1-2 days before taking a few days off to come to the reunion.

Here are just a few of the snapshots taken. We enjoyed fishing, swimming, the usual talent show that gives the kids the spot light to be goofy. We enjoyed the Dutch version of "Who wants to be a guild-anaire"... (I know I didn't spell that right!). We also enjoyed watching slide shows of photos that family submitted to let us see a glimpse into their last year.

Tony's Beppe (the Dutch word for grandma) is 95 years old so every time we see her it is extra special. She is such a sweet lady with a heavy Dutch accent. The kids enjoy the wisdom that comes from her. She's always filled with compliments and kisses. So SWEET!

Quinn, Great Beppe and Madison

The bread in the picture collage is significant because this is Tony's Pakka's (grandpa's) recipe. It is for Koeke (koo-ka) which is a Frisian honey cake that he developed. This is a staple at all the Vander Werf get-togethers. Our kids really like it. Quinn even counted out all of these pieces... I guess to see if there would be enough to go around for him to have seconds! Great Beppe lives in Kansas, in her own home still. Each Wednesday evening she hosts "Coffee" at 5:30 for the Kansas families (2 daughters, their families and grandchildren). She has done this for over 30 years now! As Allison (Tony's cousin) put it... "We just know not to plan anything on Wednesday nights until after 7pm." I think that is such a neat tradition.

Well, I have LOTS to get done today so I really need to get off the computer. I got smart several years ago and starting taking the Monday off after the reunion. The kids have dentist appointments today as well as soccer practices this evening. I need to start unpacking and get the laundry started.

Love to all, Leah

PS... I added a few pictures onto previous posts so scroll down if you want to see them. Our kids saw both of their great-grandmothers this last week. I think that is an awesome treat!

Some more Iowa pictures

Here are some snapshots from Iowa that I wanted to make sure to include on my blog. This is a picture of my mom and dad's house... and the home where I did most of my growing up in. When I was in 2nd grade my dad built this house amidst 20 acres of timber. It is in such a beautiful setting. Even as an adult I can say "There is no place like home" and that it is still possible to be homesick! I'll admit that I told Tony, just yesterday, that if I could have things my way, I would live in Iowa. That will always be my favorite place to be. Anyway, I tried to include some far-away pictures to give you a taste of what it's like. Grandpa is giving pony rides in some of these snapshots.

Home again

Hi All,

After an 11 hour trip, we are safely home... and got home at 11pm (EST) tonight. I'll update tomorrow with pictures... too tired now and need to get to bed!

Love, Leah

Quinn's Quips

Here is Quinn's theory on how people get deer farms started...

"One hunter drives a pick-up truck and the other hunter rides in the back with a dart gun. They drive around and when they see a deer the hunter in the back shoots it with the dart gun. This makes it go to sleep just for a little while, until they can get it back to their farm."

Last Day in Iowa

Today was our last day in Iowa (sniff-sniff). I watched 3 of the 5 kids in the morning so Jeff could go to work, while Amy, Jenna and Madison went to volleyball camp. We went to my mom and dad's in the afternoon and also went to see my grandma in Wellman. The above is a picture of Quinn giving his great-grandma a picture that he drew for her of an airplane (what else?). See below for more pictures. One is of my great aunt Lydia coming down for a visit. My grandma lives in assisted living and aunt Lydia lives in the dependent side of the nursing home. They don't get to see each other much. Aunt Lydia is like another grandma to me. My grandpa passed away when I was a baby. She moved in with my grandma and so I've pretty much had 2 grandma's on that side of the family. My grandma told Amy and I that she misses being able to read. She has Parkinson's and holding a book up and getting the pages turned is a task that we all take for granted. Amy had a great idea. She will be reading to her class every day in school for 15 minutes. She is going to tape the books being read out loud at that time and then send them to Grandma. Isn't that a good idea? We could do that at home too. Grandma said she didn't care if they were 4th grade level books. Ha! : )

Grandma and me

Great Grandma, Mikayla, Haley, Madison, Quinn and Jenna

My mom is on the far left, my Great Aunt Lydia (97) and

my Grandma Dortha (92)

Tonight it was more 4-wheeler rides and pony rides. Mom made funnel cakes with apple pie filling as a special treat and we had another Cubs party. This time they are winning! FINALLY! Tomorrow we are leaving here at 9:30am to head to Kansas City, MO to the airport to pick up Tony in the afternoon. It's a 5 hour drive. We all can't wait to see him. He sent me an email from work at 10:15pm tonight. I think all he did this week was work, work and more work.

I'm not sure if I'll have access to easy Internet use at Lake Doniphan so I may not get to update as often. Tomorrow we're on to the Vander Werf family reunion!

Shopping and Happy Anniversary!

I rarely ever go shopping at home but when I come to Iowa I always make a point to go! It helps that I have a shopping loving mom and sister and one of Iowa's largest malls only minutes away. Mom, Madison and I went to the Tanger Outlets for only about 1 1/2 hours in the morning and then we headed to the Coral Ridge Mall... 7 hours later we limped out of the mall! Ha! The kids picked out their school supplies. Grandpa and Quinn ran around together... they went to watch the sheep sell at the Sale Barn etc... and then he took Quinn, Mikayla and Haley to the Children's Museum for about 3 1/2 hours. It's also in the mall and a kid-loving place to be! Now that 7 hours for us wasn't shopping the whole time...! We ate lunch at the food court and then we had supper with everyone. Good news for Tony... a Chick-Fillet has come into the food court. Sonic is coming to 2 locations outside the mall. All 10 of us went to Bennigans for supper (which is attached to the mall). We celebrated Amy & Jeff's 15th wedding anniversary with them. It probably wasn't their first choice for a romantic evening but hey, Grandpa had 5 FREE kids meals that expired at the end of this month. Who can beat that? After that, G'ma and G'pa went home and the kids and I went to Amy & Jeff's for the "Cubs Party" which has now become an inside joke. Too bad the Cubs have not realized that they are ruining the Cubs Party with each and every loss we've seen this week. Jeff made us allowed us to watch their wedding VHS tape. There were quite a few laughs and some begging for it to continue stop by both Amy and me. You would think the former bride would be interested but Come On... the whole thing??? I thought it was a Cubs Party!

It thundered/lightning/stormed/poured so badly when it was past time to leave so they convinced us to stay overnight at their house. It's a 25-30 minute drive back to Mom and Dad's in good weather. Jeff carried his (sleeping 4 year old) bride over the threshold tonight. Mikayla and Haley pretended to have a wedding... Jeff was the minister. So cute!

Since it is Amy & Jeff's anniversary... this also means it's Jenny & Troy's anniversary too. So Happy 15th to them too! 15 years ago we had two family weddings in one day. Jenny and Tony are 1st cousins and Amy & Jenny were good friends but it just worked out that they needed the same day so they didn't get to go to each other's weddings. We'll be seeing Jenny & Troy at the reunion this weekend.

PS... Today at the mall we ran into Sherry Libby and her 3 kids and also Betty Buckwalter.

Tuesday in Iowa

Today was much like yesterday... as far as the hot/humid/horrible weather. Madison stayed overnight with Jenna last night and went to her volleyball camp with her this morning. She had no intentions of playing because she said, "I will look like a dork out there"... never having really played before. Amy offered to sign her up for camp but I said no way... she doesn't need another sport to play! Well... she had a great time and actually did get to play a little bit and low and behold did not feel like a dork either! ha! And NO... I don't want her to pick up another sport, even though I played volleyball all 4 years in high school!

My mom, Quinn and I ran a couple of errands and then met up with the rest of the girls at McDonald's for lunch. Original huh? ...I know, it was a split second decision. According to Madison, "our McDonald's is lame" compared to this decorated one! The kids are sitting on motorcycle-like seats!

We also went in to Amy's classroom with intentions of helping her get her bulletin boards up and ready etc... With 5 kids along, it didn't quite turn out as planned. We basically got the bulletin boards measured and that's it! She has the supplies that we all punched out on Sunday afternoon... they just didn't make it up on the wall. Later on we put together some worksheets in 3-ring folders for 2 different subjects and that's about it. She has much more to do.

Later this afternoon there were more pony rides and 4-wheeler rides at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa, Amy, Jeff and I got this wild hair that we would stop by the auction place in Frytown since it's so close and fairly new. We were only there about 1 hour because none of us could stand the humidity! We ran into Theresa (Bushart) Yoder and Angie Bushart (I can't remember her married last name!) while we were there... childhood friends. That was fun to visit with them. We knew they were probably around because her family always gets together for the Iowa State Fair. She said they are planning on spending 8 days at the fair. They even camp at the same exact spot. I remember going up with them one summer as a kid. I bet they've gone every year for 30 years or more! Angie lives in Dallas now.

That's about it for today. It's storming outside now and the kids were scared when they went to bed. My mom and dad live amongst 20 acres of trees. They are scared of a tree falling on the house or getting struck by lightening. They finally have fallen asleep.

I feel bad for my dear sweet husband. The kids tracked him down at work tonight at 10:30 Indiana time to tell him good-night. We miss you Daddy and wish you were here! xo

I'll post pictures another time.

Love, Leah

Taffy, the new pony

Hello Everyone from HOT and HUMID Iowa! Here are the highlights from today...
Earlier in the summer my dad borrowed a horse, "Lucky," from a farmer so that the grandchildren would have a horse to ride when they come out to the country for a visit. Well, the short version of Lucky's story is that he would not walk because he led a pretty "unlucky" life and his hooves had gotten too long. My dad had them shorn and he still wouldn't allow himself to be led... or rode. He only would walk if you were behind him giving him a swat on the behind. He was like 25 years old or something and a little on the big side which scared the little girls some. SOoooo.... he had to go. SOoooo my dad arranged to borrow a pony this week and was to pick him up today. He hadn't seen this pony but the Amish man said that his kids rode her all the time and she was so kind and gentle that they just rode her bare back. "Alright!" is what my dad was thinking. Madison was so excited for today to come, she could hardly contain herself. She and Quinn went with Grandpa to pick Taffy up. Well when they came driving back in with the pony in the huge trailer, I could hardly contain myself. Scroll down for your first look at Taffy!











"Look Mom, no hands!"

Isn't she the cutest LITTLE pony you've ever seen? I mean, she is darling but not exactly what Grandpa had in mind! Madison looks like she could squash her any second. The Amish man was right... she is very gentle and tame and doesn't even need a saddle to be rode!!! It actually has turned out fine because the kids can be outside with her, riding her all around, and no adult is even needed! Mikayla and Hailey have done really well with her. I don't' know how old she is but she just had a foal this summer and the foal was just recently weaned. That foal must be the size of a small dog I'm thinking.


I teased the kids that they looked like Mary and Joseph... in reverse, since Quinn is riding. Madison said, "Well since I'm going to have a baby, I'm going to be healthy and walk!" Ha!

Grandpa had planned all along to go to the horse sale in Kalona which is the first Monday of the month. He's been thinking about buying a pony/horse instead of borrowing. (He's borrowed several times over the past years for the grandkids). We all traipsed along even though you needed gills to breathe today because it was so humid and jungle-like! Here is a picture of the horse auction... The funny story from this hour was me catching Quinn out of the corner of my eye... wildly waving his arm at the auctioneer... trying to BID!!! I pulled his arm down and asked him what he was doing(!!)... and he said, "Well, I want that horse!" and yes, he thought I would just pay for it later!! Later tonight I was teasing him about almost buying himself a horse for $500 and he said, "Well, I thought that was a really good deal!!" OH MY STARS!




We ate at JW's for lunch (a tradition) and then we headed back to Grandma & Grandpa's house. Of course you can't be in Kalona without running into several people you know! Today we ran into Tony's Aunt Margaret at the Sale Barn (she was working in the office I think!). We also saw his Aunt Barb and cousin Carmen and her girls, Olivia and Mary at the sale barn. I took a picture of Barb, Carmen and the girls but she has forbidden me to post it on my blog. Let's just say we were all sweating just a tad. I honestly can't remember the last time it was this humid!
At J-Dubbs we ran into some people from Mom and Dad's church and also Linda Schweitzer's mom, Dot. SOooo, we got all those people visited after just being in town for 2 hours.

Addi- I actually run into people I know all the time in Iowa! Now you can say "Of course you know them!" like we say to you constantly! (She knows just about EVERYONE in Goshen somehow).

The kids spent the rest of their day riding the 4-wheeler that Jeff brought out to the country and riding the pony. Pretty much they rode something all the time. We also played some Monopoly and cards too. (Don't worry, Quinn had to have an adult with him for his driving!)

OK, well, that's the news from Monday! Hope you are all having a good week. WE ARE!!!! I can post some more pictures later. Amy helped get these on my blog from her house. We are staying with my parents this trip... so thanks Amy!

Love, Leah

Sunday in Iowa

Today was our first day in Iowa. We went to Amy & Jeff's after church and grilled hamburgers for lunch. We checked out their pictures from their 2 week vacation out West. It looks like the scenery is amazing!! It sounds like their trip was pretty awesome. This afternoon was filled with fun for the kids. They had a ball sliding down their huge water slide. Quinn is still outside on that slide... at least 2 hours later. They drove their 4-wheeler around their large yard and felt (and looked) so big. Jenna entertained us with her guitar and singing. She has a beautiful voice... especially for a 10 year old! She takes guitar lessons and is very good at that too! Hailey told Amy she needed "to relax" and requested cucumbers to soothe her eyes. Ha! How much relaxation could a 4 year old need? Actually she fell asleep for a cat nap soon after that.

Tonight we are ordering pizza for supper and watching the Cubs game. A whole house filled of Cubs fans... wow. No jeers from Tony tonight! Ha!

Opening Day for Soccer

Today was the opening day for Concord Youth Soccer (CYS). Madison's team lost 2-10. ouch. This year it is 5th and 6th grade girls. Boy is there ever a height difference! We have a very short team compared to several of the other teams we've played. She played against Peyton's team. They don't like playing against each other. Tim and Tonya told me that Peyton told them before the game that "Madison knows all my moves!" and that she doesn't like to play against her. I agree. It's much better being on the same team. It's going to be a long season for Madison's team unless we set some realistic goals. Madison plays defense and the ball was down by our goal for about 90% of the game. May be that could be one of our goals... to get the ball down towards our goal more often! They are playing on a larger field this year and there were no subs so they were all dragging by the end of the game.

Peyton and Madison play it tight.


Quinn's team played against Nate's team. They tied, 0-0. That was a lot of work for no score! He played very well and played offense, defense and goalie. He said he was "so nervous in the goal. I thought they might score on me and then I would lose the game." Goalies bear too much weight on their shoulders. I'll be happier if he's not in the box either! He held Nate off from scoring during a fast break. Let's just say Nate was NOT happy about it and wouldn't even really talk to Quinn after the game! He even looked the other way while shaking his hand. Ha! I think Quinn's team will be decent this year.

The kids and I travelled to Iowa tonight. We got here at 9:45pm and had a good trip. I'll try and update regularly about our Iowa adventures.

Love, Leah

Silver Beach

Today was our last summer Friday to spend together at home before school starts. Next Friday we'll be on the road to the Vander Werf reunion. We decided to go to Silver Beach today. It's in St. Joseph, MI and is such a beautiful beach with a long pier and lighthouse. We didn't get there until 2:30 because I HAD to get some things done at home first... like bake 2 loaves of banana bread, do 5 loads of laundry, the kids had to clean/vacuum the van, start packing for a week long trip... you get the idea. We stayed for 3 fast hours and then came home again. We invited Beppe & Pakka to go with us so that was fun. It was a beautiful summer day in the mid 80's and little humidity.

The kids and I leave tomorrow afternoon for Iowa and we have a busy day before that... 2 soccer games and the Rollpak summer picnic. Poor Tony has to stay behind and work until next Friday. I feel bad for him but am thankful that he encourages us to at least have some fun without him and doesn't has a problem with us running off... like to Iowa or somewhere! : ) He is a hard working guy who gives up a lot for his family... and yet is always there when it really counts. I'm very thankful for a husband with perseverance like him.

I'm not done packing yet so I need to get off the computer and get something else done. Here are a few pictures for you from today.


Madison is bringing water up to her trench to fill it up... only to have it quickly disappear.


I buried Madison in the sand. Quinn tempted the seagulls with laying bread on her stomach. They were sooo curious but not brave enough to come that close. Look at all of them watching.


Quinn dives into Lake Michigan like a fish. : )


Quinn spent 1/2 his time trying to catch a seagull with this net. It was amusing to watch his different tactics.

The count down!

Only 29 days until the first Iowa football game. I knew you would be excited too!

Banana Bread

So far I've delivered 3 of the 5 loaves of banana bread. Lisa, Cheryl and Addi have all gotten their loaves. Nancy, I'm bringing yours to Iowa this next week (after I make it first!). Michelle, we'll have to come up with a plan for delivery to hot Tennessee or you may have to wait until you come back to IN this Fall.

The first 2 loaves of bread were cooling on my cooling rack. I had my back turned and was talking with Quinn. He was telling me how much he loved my banana bread etc.... I turned around JUST IN TIME to see him on the down-stroke with a knife... just ready to cut into one of my fresh piping hot loaves! "STOP!!!!"... "What?" (as in "What did I do wrong?"). I explained that these weren't for our family. I would make one later. He was so disappointed... his day will come. : ) Whew... that was a close one. I would have had some explaining to do if there was a jagged piece sawed off the end!

Several of you have asked for the recipe. If you have the new Silverwood cookbook, it is on page 25. For those of you who don't. Here goes...

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened at room temp
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 large mashed overly ripe bananas
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Use a mixer to cream sugar and butter; add eggs. Mix in flour and soda. Add bananas and mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake in a greased loaf pan for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean in the middle. ENJOY!

Wednesday evening

Hey Gang,

Not much to report here. I had a board mtg tonight at church from 6:30-9:30. Quinn swam at the neighbors. Madison roamed outside with Heather and a walkie-talkie. Tony did... whatever it is that he does when I'm not here. : )

I'm just learning about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis tonight. How sad. Those people, their families and the health care workers who had to put their Disaster Plan into place are in my thoughts and prayers already. This kind of thing isn't good for me to hear about before I go to bed at night. All I have to hear about is that one child was injured/killed and my night is pretty much sleepless. ...I think I better stop watching and go pray instead...

Love to all, Leah