July 19, 2019 - Sam and Keri's wedding

On July 19th, 2019 my second youngest brother Sam got married to his sweetheart Keri.   I did not want to miss the special event so flew out with just Seth and Marla for a few days to share in the big day.  It's not every day a brother gets married!  And we are so glad we could go.   It was a very hot and humid day, but on these pictures you only see the stunning smiles and decor from a very beautiful wedding.  It was gorgeous, everything about it.  💕  We pray God will bless their marriage.

On Saturday we spent some time with the Bijlsma clan on the shores of Lake Erie.  It was nice to be able to fit that in yet, Seth was thrilled to play with Haaye.

And then we were off again!  It was so much fun traveling with these two sweethearts.  They were great sports and it was special to have them along.

Mom and Dad visit - May 2019

Mom and Dad came "just for fun" in May, and we really appreciated they took the time to come and reconnect and enjoy the kiddos.  It's always fun having company and we try to make it special and memorable by doing a few extra outings.  First off was a trip to the Crownest Pass!  We had a little picnic at Lundbreck Falls in the beautiful sunshine.

 From there we went a bit further to the Frank Slide in Frank, Alberta. This is the location of Turtle mountain. The mountain that moves - and slid down and covered the village of Frank. It's always an interesting stop and fun to go to. Mom and Dad fully appreciate local and Canadian history which makes taking them places enjoyable even though we've been before.  The kids are also always up for showing family around!  💕

We also went to the Lietch Colleries, also in the Pass, which is an old coke refinery and mine site.  It's really well put together for tourists and free so it was also a lovely stop. 

 It has become a bit of a tradition when Opa and Oma are out to go bowling and then out for dinner.  The kids do not forget!  So we hit up the Taber bowling alley and threw some balls, before heading to BP's.  As it happened, it was also our 12th wedding anniversary and Opa treated us all, so it was a very special day.  For our anniversary Opa and Oma also insisted that Andy and I head out to shop in Calgary for a day while they had all the kids.  Having no family around it is normally very difficult for us to do anything without the kids so off we went for a full day while they took care of the kids at home.  I probably will never hear about all the things they heard. Ha. 

Seth got to spend some quality time with Opa learning about his music program and how he is making 4 part harmonies for the psalms.  When we came home everything was calm and quiet so I'm sure 5 kids for the day was really no big deal 😀 .  Thanks again, it was so generous of you.

 We decided to also head out to Waterton National Park as we had never gone there with Dad and Mom.  We hadn't been back since the forest fires and were quite shocked at the destruction and look of the park. Not much left to see, most of it was closed down and not really too much point to go back.  Oh well, still a nice drive.

Thanks for coming Opa and Oma!  

Lots of love to you,

God be with you 'till we meet again.

from the Bijlsmas

2018-2019 4H year

Caution: Photo overdose from last years 4h season!
Seth's second year and Tristan's first year with the Grassy Lake 4h multi club. This year was not only a steer for each boy but also a lamb.  We really enjoy being part of the 4h group and find it good for the kids.  It not only involves animal husbandry but book keeping, community involvement and public speaking.

Seth with his steer for the season - Mr. Beef

Tristan and Sir. Loin

The steers join the farm in November and the lambs come in March.  Peter and Paul were a fun addition.  It was really quite hilarious to watch the boys dragging their sheep around by halters, trying to get them to learn to walk. They became like dogs, following them around the yard.  I'd find them tied up at various stations with a little water bowl beside them.  If you ever want something funny to watch, I'd say try get some sheep halter trained!

Freshly washed and clipped

Getting ready for the show

They had to have pajamas to wear the night before the show to keep them clean.  I sewed these ones for them.  😆😍

Show and sale time!  

The first weekend in June marks the annual Taber 4h show and sale.  Big weekend for all involved. Piles of work but also piles of fun. 

Tristan came in 4th with his lamb. #119.

Seth won a ribbon for showmanship.

Selling the lamb in the ring.  Pleased as punch about it.

Tristan showing his lamb during the sale.

The steer show and sale!

Andy helped the boys to wash and dry their steers getting them ready for the show. 

And of course during it all, I got to hang out with the others.  Marla sat on the bleachers with me enjoying multiple snacks.  Abby and Rowan had friends there and were off playing most of the time. Rowan gave us a good laugh with his money and vending machine escapade.  He took $10 along and put it in the vending machine to get a bucket of candy out. He got not only a bucket of candy but also a pile of change which he thought was amazing so he kept throwing it back in till he ran out and ended up with 6 (!!) buckets of candy which he was extremely proud of.  And all this at 9:30am.  Of course his parents were quite horrified and after Andy snapped a picture with Rowan's wonderfully happy face, we removed most of it.   That is what memories and childhoods are made of.  Amazingly fun adventures which parents don't approve of ;))

All in all, the weekend was successful with good memories and great sales.  What a fun way to end the year.