Family Birthdays, Family Breakfast, and TUSCANY!

Happy Birthday, Katie (celebrating a few days late)

The kids are all home this weekend to celebrate Katie's birthday (a few days late)...

Rachel and her best pal, Ally...

Fun in the snow with bumpers and my "cousin" Bella...

Family breakast at DeBoer's - a nice waitress took a picture of all of us.


Dad enjoying his blueberry pancakes...


Having fun.....how old are you again, Brenda? (inside joke)


Family birthday party for Scott's Dad -his 82nd. Time for cake!


Scott's brother Mark and his wife, Julie.

Grandpa got a new game from his granddaughter Amanda (Mark and Julie's daughter)

The host and hostess with the mostest....

Nice shot of Mom and Dad Hamberg...

Scott's sister Shelley and husband Mike.

The ice cream man....

Hold the presses! Alert! Carol Nykerk, Rachel Nykerk, Jean Hoffman and Jean Hamberg will be traveling to Tuscany from September 2-9, 2010! In a brave move, the four ladies decided to fling caution to the wind and take off on the adventure of a lifetime!

We can't wait! On a whim I sent an email to Carol last week about a great deal that had come through my "TravelZoo" weekly email - 6 nights in a Tuscan villa, airfare and car rental - the trick was that we needed four people in order to get the good price. Well, Carol was on board immediately. We checked with Rachel, who of course was getting ready to go on a cruise (have fun!), but when she found out we could go in the Fall, she was excited to go, too. I then called Bill, and asked him if he thought Jean might be interested. I told him to give her a couple of days to think about it - no pressure - we just needed to book by Friday (of this week). Well, an hour later, guess who calls me? Jean has been wanting to visit Tuscany for a long time, so needless to say, we had our fourth person! We are all looking forward to it - this will give us plenty of time to get our passports, and to do some checking on what we want to see. We will be staying in a villa in the area known as "Reggello" - it looks to be a couple of hours north of Rome. The villa is called the Frattoria Degli Usignoli. Here's the link: http://www.usignoli.it/en/info.htm

The kids are home this weekend for two reasons: To celebrate Katie's 28th birthday, and Dave/Rachel are dropping off Ally - we'll be having her here while they go to Florida next week for a wedding, which they're also making into a vacation. They'll be staying in Naples, on the gulf side of the state. Hopefully it will be warmer there than what it has been. I'll be making a birthday dinner for Katie here in a little while, followed by a few hands of canasta, unless we're too busy watching the Olympics.

Since I haven't posted in awhile, I'm also including a few pictures of Scott's dad's birthday celebration at our house a couple of weeks ago, and then some of one of our family breakfasts. The waitress was nice enough to take a group shot, which turned out nicely.

Scott has suffered from a chest cold all week, but is on the mend. He's got a REALLY deep voice - you know that commercial where the mucus guys get kicked out by Mucinex? Seems to be working for him.

Hope all of you are safe and cozy in your warm houses, and that Jen and Jason's family is over the flu. Stay well, everyone - just a few more weeks till Spring! Lots of love being sent your way - Happy Valentine's Day, too!

Back Home Again...

Sorry, no pictures to post, just a quick update. Scott and I were in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, for the main purpose of bringing Bella back to Katie, who is now in her apartment. But, of course we always enjoy any reason to visit with Katie, Rachel and Dave, too. We were able to have dinner all together on Friday night at the Adobo Grill, and met up again for a late lunch on Saturday at Moonshine before Scott and I left town. Rachel N. - I think you ate there with Dave & Rachel once. It's close to where they live.

Katie has done a great job getting her apartment ready for her return. She painted her bedroom, the bathroom, and just last night (after we left) she painted one of her kitchen walls a deep red, which picks up the red accents she has in the room. Wish we would have still been around to see it, but spoke to her today and she says she likes it, so that's good. She is very happy to have Bella back, and of course that's where she belongs, but I have to say, I miss that little pup! She is definitely a "keeper" and is welcome to visit Grammy and Grampy anytime - as is Ally, oh, and you kids, too of course - ha ha.

This will be a busy week at work, and of course that makes time fly. Now that I'm in the Staffing Dept. at Hawoth, one of my jobs is to call to get references for people who apply for jobs. I'm one of those annoying people who call you when someone lists you as a reference on their resume. Actually, most people are very nice. I'm glad I do some other different things in my job, too, though - I don't like talking on the phone all day unless it's with my friends or family!

Scott and I have been attending a 4-session retirement planning workshop that Herman Miller is sponsoring on Tuesday evenings. We have two sessions left. Learning a lot, so hopefully we'll have all the money we need in retirement - I've always considered money just a means to an end, but of course we at least would like to have enough to be comfortable. What I'm really looking forward to is having the time to do what I WANT TO DO, like volunteering, traveling (especially anxious to visit Tuscany), and maybe even starting my own little business. I can't believe we're this close - we both hope to retire at age 62, so only a few years to go....

Well, loved ones, have a good week. I just commented on Brenda's blog that it's probably time for another family breakfast, maybe not this coming Saturday, but maybe the next? That would be January 30. I love DeBoer's, or maybe we could try the "new" Jackie's Place? Let me know what you think.....

That Silly Bella

We've enjoyed having Bella at our house recently. She's quite a character, and has been giving us lots of laughs. Now that she's getting older, she sleeps through the night, and is usually very good, and quite the cuddler. But most every evening she still usually behaves like a "whirling dervish" for a few minutes before she settles down for the night. She also has a bit of a tendancy to leave the yard occasionally when we throw bumpers for her to retrieve. (Chessies are known for having a stubborn streak, even though they make great family pets.)

So, for her protection and to train her not to leave the yard, Scott bought a shock collar that he puts on her when she goes outside. Let's just say that she is a quick learner. Just hearing the beap that signifies a (harmless) shock might be coming is usually enough to get her to behave, so Scott rarely has to actually push the shock button. Well, ordinarily we don't use the shock collar when she's in the house, but last night she happened to be extra feisty and we decided we were tired of telling her to leave my resin angel alone (she likes to put things in her mouth). So, we put the shock collar on her and when she went for that angel one too many times, she got a nice little poke, followed by a yelp on her part. I was sitting on the couch and she ran straight for my lap and there she sat, as if to say, "I'm sorry." Then, she headed Scott's way. He was sitting in his chair. Not only did she want to get on his lap for comfort, she wanted to crawl on his head, and actually lay around his neck like a fur collar! She sat that way for about 20 minutes. It was too funny.

I've also added a pic of her when she was younger - look how much she's grown!

I KNOW - It's Been Forever.....

Decorating Christmas cookies....

Good morning loved ones. Scott and I are enjoying a week off (both our companies are shut down) to enjoy taking our time to clean up from the holidays, start some projects and get a few things done around the house that we haven't been able to get to.

We really enjoyed the relaxing couple of days with Dave & Rachel, which we spent mostly at home, except for a visit to Scott's mom and dad's prior to the Nykerk family party. Scott's dad is doing quite well from his chemo & radiation treatments, but of course is very tired. A feeding tube has been inserted so that he can get some nourishment, and so he is beginning to look and feel better. His surgery (cancerous growth near his esophagus) is scheduled for Feb. sometime.

As per normal, the Nykerk family Chistmas party was a blast - I think Pictionary needs to be an annual tradition - Jim and Bill cracked me up the most. Also so good to see Jen, Jason and the girls - they are too cute for words, and so polite! I was happy that Macey remembered me. Dad will be all set for awhile, now that he has four word search books to work on. (He'll probably call me in about two weeks asking for more.....)

We spent about 1-1/2 days in Chicago, leaving late Saturday morning and returning late evening on Sunday. Had a wonderful time seeing Katie - we spent most of the time at Dave and Rachel's, where we enjoyed playing canasta in the evening and just being together. Katie has such great taste, just like her sister, Rachel - they both got me the same beautiful sweater that I love, but in 2 different colors (neither knew about the other), so now I can wear what I love twice as often! We went to Woodfield Mall for part of Sunday and found a few bargains there, too.

Well, laundry is calling my name, so time to go. I have posted some pictures from Christmas below. I'll try to do better with keeping up with my blog (ahhhhh, Carol?)....

"God Bless Us Every One!"

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When I visited Minnesota recently, I stayed in this charming B&B. The house and the women who run it (81 y.o. mother and 53 y.o. dauther, Lois and Sally,) reminded me so much of Grandma Millard and Mom.


They were Swedish, and so I found out all about their customs, including Saint Lucia Day, for which they made me a special breakfast (below).




Here they are, the lovely Lois and Sally.

Back in Holland - decorating Christmas cookies....

Not too shabby.....

Bella and Uncle Dave....

Christmas Day breakfast...

Don't worry Ally, there are presents for you, too!

It just wouldn't be Christmas if Dave wasn't working on a puzzle...

Thanks!


A new drill, perhaps?

The Nykerk Christmas party at "bumpa's" house....

Kelsey - what a darling!

Just plain fun all around....

I know Jen - that pencil could be dangerous! Sorry about that - Mace - please don't poke anybody in the eye!

"Thanks, daddy, for helping me with my new sticker picture book."

And in Chicago.......Love those MAC cosmetics....

Doesn't she look adorable with bangs? Gotta love bingo - we can stock up on lotions and gels for the whole year, right Kate?

Helping dad with a computer question.....

What a guy - Dave offered to watch both of the dogs while the rest of us went shopping - thanks, Dave!

"Don't Put All Your Nykerk's in One Basket" (+ the Nykerk Reunion)

You have to admit, this is pretty cute. Longaberger Baskets had a display at the Country Living Fair last weekend, and our new friend (Carol, was it Marcelle?) took our picture. He is one of the basket weavers.

My two sisters looking fab in front of one of several Fall displays throughout the grounds....

Just to give you an idea of the historic village where the fair was held...

We COUNT NOT stay away from the delicious desserts at the Columbus Fish Market restaurant! That cheesecake was enough for all three of us to enjoy back at the hotel. I'm holding a creme brulee, with a burnt sugar topping...yum!

Carol - "hotel concierge extraordinaire." Let me just say that we received hot chocolate chip cookies and many extra bottles of shampoo, shower gel, etc. thanks to her "due diligence" after we had called down for towels on more than one occasion and never received them....as "per normal", Carol was on the case.....

We had had beautiful weather, and outside of a blown tire, everything went smoothly. Thanks for the great time, Rach and Carol!

NYKERK FAMILY REUNION

We also had the reunion at Cousin Dave & Mary's cottage last Monday. A few shots are below. Other than Scott and myself, everyone else seems to have aged a bit? I don't get it. Anyway, had a nice time, lots of laughs over old memories, and even Jack behaved himself for the most part (at least he recognized me). He and Dave had lots of old pictures of the Nykerks from way before our time that I had not seen before, and the one I scanned below is my favorite:

Uncle Chet, Aunt Lu and Dad: This was taken on Griggs Street in Grand Rapids - no date, but I would guess around 1932.

Dave and Mary are really pleased with the painting of their cottage that Scott did for them...

All of the "first cousins" that were there....

Most of Harry's kids - missed you Carol and Rachel! Just so you know, Scott was there, but he must have been getting seconds on dessert....

And, of course Uncle Chet's girls and spouses...


And last but not least, Aunt Lu's boys and spouses - am I the only one who thinks Loren looks just like Aunt Lu? No one else thought so....

We talked about everything from the Minnow ponds to how Carol and I used to collect the money for Jim and Bill's paper route. Lots of laughs.

Katie Works for Habitat for Humanity...

Katie's finance group at Thomson Reuter's spent a day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity a few weeks ago, and they published this nice picture and story on their website. (Click on picture to enlarge). Thought you might enjoy - it was hard, but satisfying work! (Stay tuned for update soon on the Country Living Fair weekend in Columbus Ohio that Carol, Rachel N. and I took last weekend, and a few pics from the Nykerk Reunion at Cousin Dave's......)