we have come and gone from the winter wonderland known as western mi, and have begrudgingly made it through another work week!
before we began our journey to western michigan we celebrated christmas CA style with tri-tip on the grill and sunshine. we enjoyed some games and gifts!
the food!
the fam!
the games!
let's just say justin is a bit too creative when it comes to his gift wrapping skills.
the boys with their matching haircuts and books (i figured it was a better idea than the matching christmas sweaters)
and now...here are some pictures to document our journey.
day one...much to our dismay, we arrived at the southwest baggage check area only to find that the line did a few curves in the airport and out into the parking lot. say hello to our new friend that we met in line :)
what did i learn through this experience? once again i was reminded that God answers prayers in a variety of ways-and even if our luggage didn't make it with us right away, we did end up making it to chicago to stay with jenn and dan.
day two...adventures in demotte and beyond!
we headed to dan's school and then to jennifer's school with a stop in between at yesteryears. it is this sweet butcher shop/really good lunch spot in demotte. sorry but the pictures from day two are a bit "teacher-ish"...i'll admit i was wandering the hallways for some good ideas :)
after stopping by the two schools we headed into merriville to do a bit of shopping with the $50 a piece that southwest had given us instead of our luggage :)
day three...the journey to the great white north!
on christmas eve we headed up to mi with jenn and dan to see family. we arrived at my parent's house safe and sound, and about 1 1/2 hours later so did our luggage!
day four-christmas!
we enjoyed church at beckwith and then headed to the extended snow family party at uncle jim's house. food+family+twister, what more can you ask for? so cousin allison was a big fan of attacking hannah...it was pretty funny.
noel likes to follow the rules...what a good student
ok so about this picture...i made the little cousins new hooded bath towels because their towels were in shreads...they aren't part of a msu cult or anything :)
day five...klaver kristmas (i can't stand when people do that kind of cheesy stuff...do you know what i'm talking about?)
we had a good time eating pizza and other delicious foods, opening gifts, meeting brad's girlfriend michelle and hearing jen and philip's good news that will make aunt kim and uncle dan grandparents in august!
day six...beckwith babes/moms reunion as well as the denouden christmas party
everybody minus kelly :(
some of the moms along with the vanderveen's dog
uncle ben's white elephant gift of many random items
jennifer got the orange pumpkin decoration we brought-that will look nice in indiana don't you think?
beth with the huge jawbreaker she opened
aunt von dressed me up while everyone was opening gifts
jeremy with the symbols from the belly dancing kit he opened.
travis and uncle doug, natural trouble makers.
day seven-vandermeer christmas party
we had a good time playing games and seeing family members during the afternoon.
tara you better hold on to your gifts...i have an easy bake oven too
hot wheels...enough said
grandma lois and grandpa are pretty excited about their gift
day eight-visiting baker book house and visiting g&g klaver's new place
we had a good time going to baker book house and seeing everybody that jeremy worked with. we also got to experience shopping during a power outage which added to the excitement. jeremy was able to get lots of new books with christmas/birthday money which brought much happiness to my bookworm husband.
we also got to see the new place where my grandparents live. it's very nice and there is so much to do there!
day nine-visiting grandma denouden and hanging out with the vandermeulen's at night
we got to visit grandma denouden at her new place as well. here are a few pictures from our visit.
after stopping by sunset manor we headed out to holland for dinner and a game of bohnanza. we had a good time playing and ross is a very ruthless bean trader.
day ten-visiting the "lake house," lunch at g&g snow's, and celebrating new year's eve with friends.
we headed up to the lake to check out my family's latest project. for those of you who don't know my dad and brother, they like to keep busy and enjoy restoring old tractors and fixing things up. these are some pictures from the inside of their latest project, re-drywalling our new cottage up at the lake.
this is the jacuzzi tub...a little dusty right now.
main room-kitchen, dining room, and living room
my siblings in two of the three bedrooms...this place is bigger than our place in CA...maybe we should move in here :)
new year's eve festivities downtown gr with paul, lou & hannah, and dave & laura.
we braved the cold weather to see the ball drop. there were many laughs and good times as we tried to hold our spots in the midst of the swarms of people trying to join in the festivities.
lou, hannah, and laura
lou and jeremy
can you see the crane that is holding it up there?
happy new year!
day eleven-new year's day. we relaxed today enjoying a steak dinner at home and then packed up and headed back down to indiana in preparation for jeremy's birthday and our trip to the farm.
day twelve-happy 26th birthday jeremy! and our trip to fair oaks farm
we celebrated jeremy's day of birth by going to the farm. while there we took a bus tour, watched a cow being birthed in the birthing room (i'll spare you the details), and enjoyed delicious cheese, milk, and ice cream.
down on the farm!
this little guy shares a birthday with jeremy!
the dairy go round
after a good time at the farm we headed home and then went to red robin to celebrate with a birthday dinner for the birthday boy.
day thirteen-we headed home for warmer weather and our own bed to sleep in. when we got there we headed out for another birthday dinner at armadillo willy's with justin and mom and dad denouden.
that brings me to the end of this ridiculously long blog post. i hope you enjoyed it :) happy new year everybody!
