PARTY TIME

Lizzie celebrated her birthday at Balanced Rock park in Castleford.


Sofia celebrated her birthday with Juanita's Tacos, a strawberry pinata, and many friends and relatives!

BIRTHDAY GIRLS

ELEVEN IN 2011

You are our oldest grandchild, and you are eleven years old today!

We love you very much,

and we hope that you have an awesome day.

May the year ahead be G-R-E-A-T!

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Grandpa Harry and Grandma Flora

A DAD MEMORY

This afternoon I was making ham and cheese buns.  Jake was having a cup of coffee at the table with me, and I explained to him that making the buns reminded me of parties of long ago.  When I was a kid, my parents would have all their friends over for each of their birthdays.  A pretty typical offering at Dutch parties is a ham or cheese bun.   The task of making six dozen potato buns, purchased at Patty's Pastries in Chino, fell to me and my two sisters.  We usually worked in assembly-line fashion, dumping the huge mountain of buns onto the middle of the kitchen table.  Then one of us started the process by splitting the bun open with a sharp knife, the next in line applied the butter, and the third would lay on the ham or cheese.  It was kind of a fun and festive job.  I told Jake that if my dad were observing us, he would be quick to say - 

Lay the butter on thicker!

The butter has to be on both sides! 

Make sure the butter covers everything!

You need to use more ham!

Slice the cheese thicker!

When Jake heard this, he said that he thought my dad, the grandpa he never knew, sounded like a very picky man. But being picky was not what Dad's "criticisms" were about.  Rather this story illustrates my dad's big-hearted and generous hospitality.  When Dad was the host, he wanted everything to be royale.  He did not do this with extravagance, but with simple things...  

...like lots of butter.  

Joey and Opa

1971

Adriana, Opa, and Joey

1974

Opa, Elly, and Joey

1975

Dad died of a brain tumor on April 8, 1977 at the age of 59.
I am sad that he died so young.
I am sad that Joey, Adriana and Elly hardly got to know him.
I am sad that Peter and Jake never even got to meet him.
 Honoring you this Father's Day,
I want to say, "I love you still, Dad."

BROWN-EYED GIRL

KIDS IN TRANSITION

Pete and Jenn  are in the process of getting divorced.

We are praying for God's guidance as they work through this tough transition, 

and we are praying that Karis and Liam and Waylon will be able to adjust to the changes that lie ahead.

CRUISE TO ALASKA

After the long drive from Castleford, 

 we finally arrived at the cruise terminal in Seattle.

Gracie and Lizzie are excited to get on board the Oosterdam!

This will be their very first time on a cruise ship.

Lizzie, Elly, and Gracie take in the views of the city from the deck of Oosterdam.

Sunday May 29, 2011, we sail away at 4:00pm.

All dressed up for the first dinner on the ship.

The next day is a relaxing sea-day..a good day

for breakfast to be sent to staterooms 8047 and 8051.

Lizzie on the verandah of stateroom #8047 which she shared with Grandma.

While the ship presses on toward Glacier Bay, we have time for...

a little whale watching... 

 a little refreshment...

 a little hot-tub time...

a little bingo!

We almost won a free cruise as you can see.
Both Elly and I only needed one more number to take the prize!


We entered beautiful Glacier Bay on Tuesday May 31.
Not only is the bay beautiful, but we also enjoyed beautiful weather!

We arrived in Juneau on the first of June.

 Mount Robert's Tram
When we arrived in Juneau we rode the tram to the top of Mount Roberts.
One of the first things that we saw from the tram was a bear!

Downtown Juneau
The rest of the morning we explored the port town of Juneau,
walking the streets, touring the legislative building,
and grabbing a snack at the famous "Red Dog Saloon."

Bike and Brew Tour

In the afternoon we went on a bicycling tour that took in the sights of Auke Lake,

Alaska's rain forest, and the Mendenhall Glacier.

Before heading back to the ship we were given the opportunity to sample the beers that are made in Alaska.
(The kids got ginger ale and root beer)  Our favorite beer was the Alakan White...the one with the polar bear on the bottle.

Sitka - June 2

Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest

We arrived in Sitka on Thursday, June 2.  

Our tour of the day was the "Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest".

We saw sea otters, harbor seals, eagles, and,

 the most exciting sight of the day, the whales!

Elly and Gracie say that the whales were so close that they could smell their breath!

No photos of the whale sightings, however. My camera battery died. Sigh.

We ate lunch in this peaceful little town and went to Saint Michael's Cathedral, which shows the influence of the early Russian settlers.  When Russia owned Alaska, Sitka was the capital city.  We also went to a beautiful park with trails through the rain forest and lots of totem poles.

Formal Night on Oosterdam
June 2, 2011

The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show

June 3, 2011

Exploring historic Creek Street in Ketchikan

 Walking through the park with umbrellas that were never needed.
We were ready though.  Did you know that it rains in Ketchikan nearly 300 days per year?

When we were back onboard the ship it was time for some wine-tasting,

followed by a cupcake tea party.  Yummy!

Sailing away from the port of Ketchikan.

 Stateroom #8047
Our last day on the ship we have to prepare to say goodbye to our lovely accomodations for this cruise.
We did not arrive in the port of Victoria till after dinner, so all of our packing had to be done early in the day.

We arrived in Victoria around 7:00pm.

We were able to do some sightseeing close to the port before meeting for our scheduled tour.

 Horse Drawn Trolley Tour
Victoria Canada
This turned out to be one of our favorite tours!
A great guide, interesting comments along the way, and fantastic weather!

When we finished the tour it was already quite dark.
Days are long in that part of the world...it was nearly 11:00pm.
Time to head back to the ship for our last night's sleep.

It was a great trip!!
(except for the $287 speeding ticket.)