Thanksgiving Picnic

We wanted to take advantage of the fabulous weather on Thanksgiving so we went on a picnic at Estrella Mountain Park. Our Thanksgiving "dinner" consisted of turkey sandwiches, chips, salads and a vegetable tray, shared with our friends, Clara and Roger Bontrager.

Life is Good t-shirts were popular.

Later we took a little hike in the park.

Although it was a non-traditional way to spend the day, we were thankful to be able to enjoy nature.

Bruinooge Reunion

We enjoyed another great Bruinooge reunion in Steamboat Springs, Colorado (Aug 20 - 29).

Highlights of our reunion:

• Getting stuck for over 1/2 hour in the gondola ride
• Picnic of brats and burgers at Emerald Park
• Hikes - Fish Creek Falls and Mad Creek
• Celebrating Amy's birthday with sushi, cake and singing our family songs
• Horseback riding
• Tubing down the Yampa river
• Good eating: curry, sushi, take-out Chinese, enchiladas & tamales, Vietnamese
• Shopping in town
• Pool time for all and tennis for some
• Plein air painting (Joe and Phil)
• Playing Settlers of Catan

Phil, Lauren and Miriam, at the free outdoor concert (The Avett Brothers)

Aaron, serving at our beer tasting (all Boulder brews)

Emily

Laura
Amy and Steve

Sarah, Steve, Anne and Mike
Ellen and Joe
Audra, Kyle and Elise

Heather and Abigail

Cousins

Siblings and Spouses

Brothers

Sisters

The Gang

Our neighbor, Jane (4)

Jane fell again. Another neighbor, Cecelia, didn’t get a response to knocking on her door when she brought over some supper. She looked in the window and saw Jane’s leg. The paramedics had to break a window to get in.

Stubborn as ever, Jane refused to go the hospital. She had been lying on the floor for 36 hours, but thought she was perfectly fine. The paramedics finally convinced her that she needed to be checked over and explained that she was dehydrated.

After her last fall, Jane’s niece got a medical alert button for her to wear around her neck. I wondered why Jane didn’t use the button this time. When asked about it, Jane said, “If I pushed the button, the paramedics would come. And I didn’t want them to come.”

Jane is in a nursing home now. They say she needs to regain her strength before she can go back home. I’m hoping she’ll come home soon. But I worry about her.

The Depression Revisited

I read this somewhere, but I don't remember where. Anyway, I decided to try it and it works just great.

I save leftovers in a container in the freezer. When one container fills up, I start another one. Then one day, when I don't feel like making supper, I cut up some onion, carrots, celery and cook them in a big pot. Then I add all the leftovers from the freezer into the pot and add a box of chicken broth. Voila! Soup for supper!

Tonight I made soup from leftover Russian Fluff, broccoli, teriyaki chicken, cabbage, fried rice, asparagus, and stir fry pork and green beans (with lots of garlic and ginger). It was delish!

34th Anniversary

It's our 34th anniversary today. I love being married to someone who has known me since childhood.
In this old picture taken in Kofu, Phil is sitting between his mom and my mom, and I am sitting on the end, next to my mom.

4th of July in GR

It was just a quick trip to Grand Rapids, mainly to see Mom and Dad Sytsma. We went over the 4th of July weekend. The weather was perfect - 70 degrees, partly cloudy. And it was so green!

Dad was gearing up to act the part of Albertus van Raalte.

We planned our visit to coincide with Dale and Carolyn's visit.

Rich and Sandy hosted a cookout on the 4th. It was great to see so much family in so short a time.

Sisters

My mom died on December 28, 2002. I miss my mom, especially on Mother's Day. We used to talk on the phone every week and, of course, on Mother's Day.

I have two sisters. Mom used to dress us alike. Here we are dressed for a costume party on the ship, returning to the States on furlough.

Sometimes we just dressed up.
As sisters, we have similarities:

• We love all things Asian, especially food.
• We like to organize (from Dad) and make lists (from Mom).
• We like nature and hiking.
• We are mothers of two children.

Here we are, three mothers, at the Bruinooge reunion in 2006.

We no longer dress alike, but we still like to talk to each other on the phone. Think I'll call my sisters and wish them a Happy Mother's Day.

another relaxing weekend in Tucson

A year ago we went to Tucson with Joe and Ellen and stayed at the Westin La Paloma Resort. It was so nice that we decided to go again. Phil's feet have been bothering him, so hiking was out of the question. The resort is a great place to swim; an activity that's good for feet problems. Unfortunately it rained all day Saturday. We still managed to swim several times and work out in the fitness center. Just a great relaxing weekend.

Ah, life in Arizona!

Real and Unreal Garden

This morning we decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and visit the Desert Botanical Garden. Anthony and Sara are visiting for a few days on their Spring Break and the gardens are a great place to see the Sonoran desert plant life.

The wildflowers were out in bloom.
Interspersed throughout the garden was the glass artwork of Dale Chihuly. Sometimes the glass are looked like alien plants from a sci-fi movie. But it was really quite impressive how art can imitate life.

blossoms and vermin

One morning I walked outside and decided that Spring has arrived in Phoenix. I know, because our dwarf peach tree had blossomed.

Now to await patiently for the peaches to grow.

Then another morning I walked out the back door to be greeted by . . . a dead roof rat.
Although I'm not too fond of our cat, Noel, she is a great mouser. She just calmly leaves her catch for us, as if to say, "Look what I did!"

I'm just thankful it doesn't happen too often.

Paz Obama

It's a new day - a new era - a new president!

We happened upon this sign on a back road during our trip to New Mexico in November.

Ramble On

Sometimes you just need a special night out with friends. On Saturday, we met at Jamie's place, which is just off Central Avenue, to park our cars. Then we walked to Wild Thaiger and enjoyed a great Thai dinner. Afterwards, we caught Phoenix's new light rail, the Metro, and rode it downtown. What a great addition to our city. So easy, convenient, and you don't need to worry about finding parking. It was only a few blocks to the Dodge Theatre, where we thoroughly enjoyed a concert of the Phoenix Symphony playing the music of Led Zeppelin. The band that played with the symphony was great, especially the vocalist, Randy Jackson. It was the next best thing to a real Led Zeppelin concert.

This is a clip of a concert with another symphony, playing Ramble On.