A Day Spent With Just The Two Of Us

June 3 is Christi and my anniversary and we will be celebrating 33 years.  We decided to spend the weekend in Grand Haven.  I, being a true Hollander had gotten a free nights stay at the Holiday Inn in Spring Lake right on the water for all the surveys I take on my computer and had a coupon for $25.00 off from a restaurant, the restaurant was great by the way if you ever get out that way.  It is called Arboreal Inn and is a very small but romantic restaurant with great food and a live quiet guitar player.

We first went to Ottawa Beach in Holland and took a walk on the pier and took some fun pictures as we were scoping out this area as we are going to have our family go out there in a couple of weeks and have our family pictures taken by a gal from church.

 

                         

Then it was off to Grand Haven where we just had a great time being together.  The weather was great, and the water temperature still cool enough to bring a nice cool breeze off the water while you were walking.  We then took some pictures out on the Grand Haven pier at Sunset. 

 

 

We even got an unexpected pleasure of the musical fountain as we were walking back on the boardwalk.

         

And I even got to see a BRIDGE as we were coming from our hotel.  Those who know me well would understand why I had to take this picture.  The rest of you will just have to wonder or ask.  Overall it was a great spent with the one I love and that God has chosen for me to be my life mate.

                                     

Moving Day

Today was the big move for Joey and Jeff.  Dale and I helped them move – Joey, from the apartment to his new house in Holland and we also moved Jeff back in with us (for a time).  We are very proud of how Joey diligently saved and planned for his first home. His goal was to be able to access the tax credit for new home owners before the offer ran out.

So our day begins with…DONUTS! A must-have to keep your energy up on a busy day – right!

Moving out…  

Believe me, the slates from the pool table were VERY HEAVY! so… I carried the TV instead! OK, so it’s not a wide screen TV! (smile) Joey’s new house

               and his barn

Kitchen – anyone want to donate to the “Joey needs a little table, fund?”       

The upstairs is a bit reminiscent of Dale’s Grandma Bolhuis’ house – up the stairs and around a corner – tight fitting sooooo….

luckily Joey’s house has a handy dandy door that leads to the roof of his garage or we would have had to dismantle his box mattress to get it to the upstairs. Dale shovels the roof so he doesn’t slip off.  This picture is a little dark, but this shows the inside by the door that is at the top of the stairs that leads to the roof of the garage. And this is a small room off the master bedroom that the other couple used for a nursery.  Joey is going to make it his “office.”Joey’s couch had to go around the front and through the front door in order to fit in.  It was a tight squeeze.

Notice how the boys are always watching their dad do the work!! (smile)

This is a perfect little “starter” house for Joey.  The yard is actually quite large and he is anxious for Spring to see how his yard looks without all the snow.  The people who lived there were great organizers and left Joey detailed instructions about the underground sprinkling and the landscaping – when to trim each item and what to do each season.  It was so neat how they left the keys for everything all tagged, and the instructions for everything imaginable. He worked in the deal for them to leave the washer and dryer so I imagine he will need to do some laundry tonight.

Good Night Everyone!! Hope you enjoyed the tour!!

Christi and Dale

PS – go ahead – I dare you – ask Dale about his shin!!!

Florida – Day 5 & 6

MAGIC KINGDOM!!! NEED I SAY ANYTHING MORE??!! This is my

(Christi) FAVORITE park!!

 

   Gracie loves the Characters if you haven’t learned that by now.                                              Wish I could have got Jeremy’s picture by Captain Jack Sparrow which is his favorite movie character from Pirate’s of the Caribbean.     Dale’s one and only purchase was this giant Caramel, Chocolate and Pecan Apple. It was like a massive turtle candy wrapped around a giant apple.  It took him a long time to eat it all.

  One of the fun things we did in 1995 was to ride Alice’s Tea Cup Ride.  Back then all five of us fit in but now we were still able to fit the four of us in. The guys just said “hang on Mom, we are going to make this tea cup spin”  And they sure did, just look at Dale in fast motion.                                                                 Gracie was still so unsure of going on any rides and oh, the carrying on and crying when Julie wanted to take her on It’s a Small World ride.  Julie knew she would like it once she got on it that she very patiently talked her through it.  Once Gracie heard the music she quieted right down and started singing along with the words.  By the end of the ride she wanted to go on again.                                                       There are so many things to do and see at Magic Kingdom. Here, Tyler is trying to pull Excaliber’s sword from the stone. Gracie wasn’t sure about the carousel.  Sometimes she is fine with the one at the mall and other times not, but she finally decided she wanted to go on the horses.                                               Playing at the 100 Acre Woods and at Mickey and Minnie’s houses was a treat for the kids.  They really got into that.  We didn’t stay for the fireworks at night as we have had so many late nights and it was hard for the kids to endure, but it was dark by the time we left the park so we got to see Cinderella’s Castle all lit up. Julie and Jeremy took the kids back to the condo/resort while Jeff, Joey, Dale and I went back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to watch Fantasmic – a laser show featuring Mickey Mouse and MANY of the Disney characters.  That certainly was most certainly worth the wait.

Friday was spent leisurely again, but we did visit Downtown Disney and saw this dragon made out of LEGOS – quite amazing!                         

Our flight home on Saturday was early – up at 5:00 AM and out the door by 6:15.  I think by now we were all ready to get back to home life even though regretful that it all had to end. 

Jeff entertains Gracie as we wait to board the plane.  The boys were such a huge help with the kids so that Jeremy and Julie could have some time alone, but after all – they really love their only niece and nephew.  What a blessing it was for Dale and I to spend a week with our adult children and our grandchildren.  It is a trip that we will cherish forever.