The Green Breeze

I know...it really is a rather uninspiring name for a 4 and 5 year old soccer team. If they all lived in a retirement home, it might seem more appropriate. (Don't ask me why--it sounds like a team name that senior citizens would choose. And maybe they did. There was complaining in the soccer league because last season, they let the kids choose their own team name and teams were being called the Purple Sponge Bob and things like that. So this season, adults chose and came up with far superior names.)

Anyway...
Joost is playing soccer this spring and having a lot of fun doing so. There's 6 on his team and 3 play on the field at a time--which gives him a lot of opportunity to have contact with the ball if he wants. ("If he wants" being the subjective part of that sentence.) I don't think anyone really keeps track of points, either, so I can't give you their record for the season so far. But, he's having fun and burning energy. And we enjoy cheering him on. Go Green Breeze!

Spring time and the livin' is easy...

Spittin' Image

Last night, when I picked up Gracie from her Kids Club class at church, I was given a large piece of paper rolled up nicely and tied with a string. I was curious (and maybe slightly nervous) about being sent home with a piece of a two year old's art that I would need to find a place large enough to display. But, I carried the work home carefully and discouraged Joost from using it as a missile launcher. Once the piece was safely transported to our home, we were able to open it and see it for all its glory. What we found was a drawing, so like to the image of Grace, that I nearly thought there were two of her in the room.

Actually, in all seriousness, I am not trying to mock the efforts of the devoted Kids Club teachers that took the time to trace my daughter. That would be no easy task. I think it's a clever craft and I appreciate the time and effort you put into teaching the 2 & 3 year olds. I actually just wanted an excuse to post this picture because I think the real Gracie looks especially cute in it.

Oma's horse farm

This past Saturday was a busy one for us as we drove around the Philadelphia suburbs visiting family. Our first stop was at my brother's place. Andrew and Rachel have moved back from Phoenix and now, happily, they live a mere hour and a half from us. It was great to see them and spend some time catching up.

After that, we drove to Doylestown to meet Jeff's mom at her newly acquired horse farm. She would be quick to tell you that it's a work in progress. But, it is a charming farm even now without all the work and plans that are being made. Sean (Jeff's brother) and Kassie (Sean's daughter) also joined us during our time at the farm. Kassie and Joost had so much fun running around. Grace is not quite sure about horses, mud or tractors yet, but we're sure in time she'll enjoy it as much as her brother and cousins.

We also had the fun of seeing a brand new baby horse that was born the night before. I would like to be more eloquent about the day and go into more detail, but it is now Thursday and I am still working on posting this, so I think it's better to just get some pictures out than to never post this at all...which is likely to happen if I put it off much longer. Here are some other shots from Oma's farm (Oma is what little boys and girls in the Netherlands call their grandmothers.)

No, I don't drive a rig...

The kids and I (well, mostly the kids) decided that we should picnic for lunch in the backyard today. With weather as fine as it is, it really was a good idea. Of course, most of the lunch time conversation centered around gnats and a debate concerning their ability to harm, their ability to eat other living things, and their reason for existence. I did not realize, until today, how little I truly know about the gnat. I had little defense against Joost's presuppositions of how gnats (especially in great swarms) may be as dangerous as, say, a poisonous snake or a man-eating piranha.

I also took some pictures of my feminine Gracie looking a little more butch today. The sun was bright and the summer sun hats are packed away or outgrown, so I had to pull out the baseball hat that was gifted to her some time ago. She looks like she may have spent several days driving across the country in a tractor trailer truck or possibly milking a few cows in the backyard.

Friends from Philly (and South Jersey, too)

This past Saturday, we were thrilled to have a visit from some of our good friends from our Philly days. When people ask us how we like our move to Harrisburg, we are all enthusiasm, except for the loss of so many good friends we had in Philadelphia. Sara and Sebastien Demoiny and Jamin, Angie and Lily Ferner came to our neck of the woods and let us show off Harrisburg a bit. It was wonderful to see their faces and catch up with them for hours on end.

After lunch, we first took a tour of a local brewery called Troegs. Two local brothers own and started this brewery and they always give the tour themselves--which is kind of quaint (in a good way). The kids were pretty tired at this point in the afternoon, so they slept through most of the tour. It was a little too much hops and barley talk for me, too...but someone who enjoyed beer might appreciate the details a bit more. Someone who enjoys beer would also appreciate the samples given out more than I did. We then headed off to see more of Harrisburg.

Our next stop was at the capitol building. When we host out of town company, we plan our tours according to our guests' tastes, what we think they might enjoy most. But, no matter who it is, we always include the capitol building. It is just so awe inspiring...especially when you realize it was built in 1904, not 1504. The details and grandeur of the building remind me of places I have seen in cities in Europe. I love going to it every time we're there, so I'm always ready to assume that those who have never seen it will love it, too. Unfortunately, a slightly vain bride was about to be married in the rotunda section of the building, so we were unable to see most of the building. But, we did get to catch a quick glimpse in the main part of the rotunda, which is the best part to show.

After the capital, we couldn't resist taking our guests to Hershey and letting them visit Chocolate World. The kids, of course, could not contain their excitement over this leg of the journey. We are pretty sure that the anticipation of having that as the last stop was what gave them the ability to happily take part in the rest of the day.

We all came back to our house ready for dinner. Sadly, after a few hours, the Ferners and the Demoinys had to head home. It was great to see them and we hated to see the day come to an end. We are hoping that we can see them again soon. I have to note that I feel very blessed to have been able to see so many good, loyal friends over the past two weekends. We thank God that our friendships with the Ferners, Demoinys and the Wimberlys (and many others) have not been forgotten because of the distance between our homes.

(I should mention, too, that the pictures in this post are all from Jamin's camera. I had mine along, but he was snapping faster and better pictures than I, so I just decided to use his. Thanks, Jamin, for letting me have copies of them.)