Monday, March 31, 2008

Colorado seems so far






Katie landed safe and sound in Steamboat Springs, Colorado last night. She posted some of these pictures on her myspace page. If you can't tell, she is having a wonderful time! ~ how lucky!! I don't know about Bill, based on the above picture I wonder if he's having 2nd thoughts about traveling with two 14 year old girls :) ????????

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Remembering.....

Remembering Punta Cana - Maybe again someday......

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Pele - Watch Out..........




We're officially back outside! Tyler had his first OUTDOOR soccer tournament today - luckily God gave us SUNSHINE! His 5 vs 5 team took first place in the MUDDY KLOMPEN SOCCER TOURNEY in Holland, MI. He continues to amazes us in his soccer ability, which he must get from his mom's side. :) - Dan probably contributed a tad......... Dan took Tyler by himself, as the girls and I were getting all of Katie's stuff to fit in one suitcase for her big trip. Tyler starts OUTDOOR soccer practice next week. I'm hoping that Spring is finally here. I heard 7 Harley's drive by my house today - how come we're not on ours? Someone keeps forgetting to call and get the insurance bumped up to full coverage..................

Leaving on a JET PLANE.......


Wow - how do you know when it's time to let them fly out of the nest? We were given an incredible BLESSING 2 weeks ago when the parents of Katie's good friend, CARINA, called and asked if Katie could join them for a SPRING BREAK trip. Realizing that we could never afford a trip to STEAMBOAT SPRINGS Colorado, we thanked the HOYER family and agreed to let Katie go with Carina and her dad, Bill. Although the immediate thought was "NO WAY" - How do you let your 14 year old go on an airplane for the first time?? But, after some prayer and conversation, we realized that God was providing us with a BLESSING. How exciting for Katie to have this opportunity! We will drop her off tonight at Carina's house and she leaves on a jet plane tomorrow from Chicago. Dan is very jealous, as his new found LOVE of snowboarding is pretty much over for the season here in MICHIGAN (unless we get ANOTHER snow storm). Dan has spent the last 2 weeks trying to figure out how he can hop in the suitcase. Your prayers are appreciated, as my oldest starts to fly.........

My little COOK.....




How do you know when your youngest isn't young anymore? Maybe when she's traded 'Polly Pockets' for BAKING TINS and COOKIE CUTTERS. Maybe when she'd rather watch The Food Network instead of HANNAH MONTANA. Maybe when her favorite thing to do is BAKE with Grandma Robin. Eyliana has yet another CLASSROOM PROJECT - Can you believe it? - Ya, for real - but, luckily, this one is right up our alley ! She had to develop a GOOD/SERVICE to sell in the '3rd GRADE Marketplace' - FUN! Of course, we realized that she would BAKE her 'GOOD'. She will be making "COOKIES SUNNY CUPCAKES". This project is operating AHEAD OF SCHEDULE - as Grandma Robin has taken charge of it. The girls already baked a PRACTICE batch to figure out their PROFIT/LOSS margins. Realizing that they would have a better PROFIT - Grandpa will be donating the CANDY CORN - for a small price of a couple cupcakes (Im sure). The 3rd GRADE Marketplace will be held at WMAAA on April 18th. Eyli is planning to bring 100 cupcakes, with the hopes of making a $63 profit. WOW, I can't believe she is getting so old...........

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Good Friends.....














We spent Friday Afternoon with our very good friends Elias and AnnClaire for her birthday. She wanted to go to Fredrick Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit. I had never seen it, and we had a great time! We are so thankful to have found such great friends, and we plan to experience many other FUN adventures with them! We missed our friends Jeff and Kim, though, as they did not make the TRIP to GR - we of course were in the middle of a SNOWSTORM~ Once again! - Will this ever stop??? Dan and Elias went SNOWBOARDING again yesterday!! I am so sick of snow! 1 more week till SPRING BREAK! - Yeah! We will sit home and watch the snow fall, Im sure................

Sunday, March 16, 2008

WMAAAA 5th Annual 'Festival of the Arts'










WOW! What an exhausting week! West Michigan Academy hosted it's 5th annual 'Festival of the Arts' week. This is a week when the kids get to see that ART is all around them - out in the REAL WORLD. We bring in artists from all around the state to work with or present to the kids - so they can see how ART impacts everyday life. The pictures above show a couple of the "ARTISTS" that came in - including AUNT JAMIE teaching Hip-Hop - and our favorite friend ANNCLAIRE who came to paint watercolor with the 3rd graders. Katie also did her Career Pathways project this week, where she took a test to determine which "CAREER" would be a good fit for her. Looks like 'Choreographer' would be a great one! Dan also usually makes an appearance this week, as he loves to take pictures and interact with the kids. We both LOVE to see 'Keith Hall Jazz Musician' - he comes every year.

Not to get really MUSHY, but because Katie will graduate this year from WMAAA - I realize that Dan and I made the right choice 9 years ago. WMAAA has been a God-send to our kids, building them up to be the natural born leaders that God intended them to be. For those of you that haven't figured it out yet - it's gonna be an emotional SPRING...........

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Skunked







We took the kids snowboarding again this weekend, and had the most unusual experience as a family. We rented a small "condo" at Crystal Mountain for Friday Night. We expected a CONDO. We got a HOTEL ROOM, with a microwave. Just imagine a HOTEL ROOM........ok....now imagine a microwave in it - yep, that's pretty much the CONDO I am talking about. So, anyway, we made the best of it - Ty slept on the floor, the "whirlpool tub" did not WHIRLPOOL. But, it's ok, we made the best of it - and took the kids to the pool, excited about a FULL day of snowboarding. At approximately 4:00 am - I awoke to a very YUCKY smell. I thought I was just dreaming, but come to find out, a SKUNK decided to "spray" directly under our "CONDO". Seriously, we all woke up and could NOT breathe!! They quickly found us (and 4 other families) another "CONDO" in the next building - so THE COOKS relocated in the middle of the night to another CONDO. Unfortunately, this CONDO did not have a microwave, and it was MUCH smaller. Don't worry, Ty still slept on the floor, but, there was a COFFEE POT - thank GOD!
We just got home tonight, and we will spend the rest of the weekend WASHING our CLOTHES - as they all smell like a skunk. For those of you that have known us for a while the PHRASE ~"I pell a tinky kunck" ~ came in handy last night. If you see us at church tomorrow, don't sit too close.......

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Eyliana Donates her hair to Locks of Love......

Eyliana finally got her wish and donated her hair to LOCKS OF LOVE this weekend!
Aunt Tiff cut 10 inches off - which will be enough for a whole wig for a child with cancer. Congratulations, Eyli!