Gracie turns two

Friday was Gracie's birthday. She turned two.

After receiving her gift from us before Daddy went to work, we dropped Joost off at school and then went out for a girls' morning of birthday fun which revolved around shopping, of course.
You may think that I was the main force behind that decision, but you'd be surprised to know how much Grace already enjoys shopping. You should see her pick through a rack of clothing. Her choice that morning was a beret (the crescents that she had for her birthday breakfast may have helped her get in the mood for such a hat.)

The big celebration came on Sunday, however, when all the family came over to our house for a party--that included her 7 cousins (all of them 4 years old or younger).
We were glad that everyone could make it--especially Jeff's family since it's a two hour drive for them. We all had a fun time and enjoyed celebrating another year of Gracie's life.


As Jeff and I look towards the next year of her life, we pray that God will draw her to Himself, protect her and give her a quiet and gentle spirit. We love Grace so much and feel truly privileged to be her parents. We pray that we will be wise as we train and raise her.

Andrew & Rachel's visit

Andrew and Rachel were able to stay on the east coast for a few days after returning from Rehoboth with us. Their time here fell over Andrew's birthday and we were able to celebrate with him. Rachel threw him a family party (at Mom and Dad's house) that both of their families came to. It was a very nice evening. A good time was had by all.

This is Rachel's family, the Schucks. Daphyn (the 2nd female from the left) has been one of my dear, life long friends and I grew up knowing the entire Schuck clan from church, so you can imagine how fun it is now that they are almost my family.

Joost and Grace played some tunes on the harmonica in an ode to their Uncle.

My cousin Julie's kids (Cassidy and Rylan) were at the party as well. All the kids were put in their pajamas for their rides home.

We were glad to have Andrew and Rachel back for their visit and will miss them a lot until we can see them again.

Sweet Gracie

This is a cute picture of Grace that I wanted to share. Sometimes I'm astounded at how quickly she's become a little girl in the past few months. She'll be two next Friday and it seems like she's come to this point faster than I expected. I guess that's one of the aspects of being a second child--you're exposed to more things sooner and so you grow up just a little bit quicker than your older sibling. (She's always immitating Joost and will try things out on her own sooner than I thought to introduce them to Joost when he was her age.) Anyway, she's a cutie and she keeps us smiling.

Paper Joost, by Joost Jonathan van Bastelaar

Today, Joost proudly brought home his creation of himself from preschool. We fondly call this work of art "Paper Joost"--otherwise we might be confused by who is who (the resemblence is so striking. :) This project will not easily fit in any scrap book, so we display it proudly here. Bids on this masterpiece are already starting to come in.

A late summer vacation

"How much longer is this trip?" grumpy Joost asked for the 18th time in less than an hour. "We're not even close," I answered, without blinking an eye. It's amazing how easy it is to fit a 3 and a half hour trip into five hours of driving time when you have two children along for the ride. But, at long last, we arrived in Rehoboth Beach in Deleware last Saturday! The kids and I traveled down with my parents. Jeff followed the next day since he was offered an irresistable offer of a ticket to the Penn State v. Notre Dame game from his brother, Sean. Later in the week, we were thrilled that Andrew and Rachel were able to join us from Arizona for a few days.

We thought we might have inclement weather since there was a very nice tropical storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean, but we had none of it. We had warm days on the beach with plenty of sand castle building, sea shell hunting and mindless gazing at the ocean.


Joost was very creative in the sand and didn't mind being covered from head to toe in it.






Gracie didn't enjoy the waves very much, so we brought the water to her.






Jeff's kayak took her maiden voyage on our vacation. He rode the sea and was able to explore canals that ran along the bay side.


We spent many nights on the board walk. The kids enjoyed the rides and we all enjoyed the food options.







It was great to be able to spend time with my parents and brother and Rachel. It is a sweet age to be vacationing with Joost and Grace. We had a lovely family vacation.

First day of preschool

Today was the beginning of Joost's academic endeavors. It was his first day in preschool. He is attending Paxton Presbyterian Nursery School, which is located only 3 blocks from our home. Joost was a little hesitant about starting preschool, but after putting on his new backpack and being reminded of God's command to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous...", he left the house with a positive attitude.



Grace was a little unsure herself whether or not she wanted Joost to go. The entire walk home, she asked where Joost was. For most of our time at home, she was anxious to begin the walk back to the church to pick him up.





At school, his teacher's name is Mrs. Green, and he has his own cubby hole where he can store his backpack and jacket. Mrs. Green left a "parent's survival" bag for all the first time drop offs and it contained a pack of kleenex and chocolate--fortunately neither Joost nor I needed those tissues! Joost reports that he had a fun time playing, singing and hearing a funny story. Today's class only lasted an hour to help the kids get used to being there. Friday will be his first full morning. We're off to a good start...

Joosty goes camping.

Over Labor Day weekend, Joost went on his first camping trip. Jeff took him. (Are you surprised that Grace and I weren't a part of this adventure? Don't be...camping isn't my thing. I really enjoy indoor plumbing, electricity and mattresses. Plus, girls hinder male bonding in the out of doors.) Anyway, the vB boys met up with Jeff's brother-in-law, JD, and his son, Joshua.
It was Joshy's first time camping, too. So, you can only imagine the fun. The camping spot was in JD's woods behind his house (about a five minute walk, but a safe distance in case the night became too long and the boys prefered a mattress--which didn't end up happening.) Carolyn (Jeff's sister) watched the four guys as they left... She reports that the dads were weighed down with a ton of supplies and equipment. Joost and Joshua were each given one light-weight thing to carry to the site (a pillow for Joost and a backpack for Joshua). Carolyn said that within 100 feet of the house, both of the boys had given up their "weighty" burdens and were walking without anything while the dads carried it all.

It was a good time for everyone. They made a camp fire in the fire pit where hotdogs and s'mores were roasted. The boys (and Jeff and JD, too) slept all night long in the tent; and, the next morning, they all enjoyed a feast of strawberry pancakes made over the open fire by none other than Jeff van Bastelaar himself! The planning of another camping trip is in the works...