Dutch Dancing--Holland Style

I decided to video tape some Dutch dancing this year. Yea, I know super touristy, but I had a purpose behind it. First, some of you have never been to Tulip Time in Holland, MI. So, here are a few clips from the dance that is done many many times over the two weeks of the Tulip Festival. Like I said--clips, I am sure if you Youtube it you may be able to find the whole thing--but make sure you put in Holland, MI. This brings me to my other reason. When we lived in IA, we went to Pella's tulip time and watched their dutch dancers. It was a different dance. So, I wanted to show my IA friends the MI dutch dance. :)

In Holland, MI the Dutch Dancers are not children like they are in Pella. You can choose to dance starting in High School. So, the clips below are of my niece's group. She is a sophomore in high school. After the high schoolers dance, the alumni dance downtown Holland. The costumes you see have been inspected and passed by a board of people...Holland costumes are super strict compared to Pella's.

And without further ado I present to you several videos of he MI dutch.



Stay tuned for stories from our recent camping trip.

Tulip Time 2010--Holland Edition

So, this year we went to Tulip Time in Holland, MI. Did you know that Holland's Tulip Time is he 3rd largest festival in the country. Both Joel and I grew up in/near Holland, so we got to experience it every year growing up. We decided that since it was only a two and half hour drive Kyper was going to experience a bit of Tulip Time too.

We got in on Friday morning and spent the afternoon at Joel's parents. We had dinner at good old Russ' with my parents and grandparents. After dinner, we headed downtown. The weather was pretty miserable, but we decided that Saturday was suppose to be even worse. So, we found where Mariah, my niece, was dancing and watched her dance. It was fun. Here are pictures:


Saturday, we went to breakfast with Joel's parents. Joel and I headed to my parents in the afternoon to take pictures of 6 of the 7 grandchildren in Dutch costumes. (Mariah was Dutch Dancing) Here are a few pictures of that event:

This is the best picture. We only had a short time to get everyone.

Sunday, we headed back to the east side of the state right after breakfast. I wanted to spend a relaxing day at our home on Mother's day. Joel ended up needing to study quite a bit, but it was a relaxing day. Joel let me take a long nap in the afternoon while watching Kyper. It was excellent. I am so blessed to be a mom. Mother's Day is a great day, but I thought a lot about friends (and women I don't know) who so badly want/wanted to be moms and it just isn't/hasn't happened or maybe they lost a child. If that is the case Mother's Day might be one of the hardest days of the year. I hope they know how special they are and that I am praying for them.

To end, here is a picture of Ky after our walk in the woods. I think he liked it. :)

Sharing

Kyper is learning how to share already. Let's hope he remembers this when it comes to a toy and another kid.

My Little Houdini

Kyper as Houdini:

6 months ago Kyper used to sleep in his car seat all the time. It was the only way that we could get a long stretch of time from him. Now, he can escape it and we know how. The other day he fell asleep in his car seat while in the car, so we figured we'd let him stay there. Joel put car seat with sleeping Kyper in the crib. About 20-30 minutes later I hear Kyper awake. Not crying, just talking to himself. He really had slept long enough counting the time in the car, so I went in to check on him. There he was sitting in the crib at the foot of his car seat. (Joel has unbuckled him.) We were trying to figure out how he did it, so the other day before we had to leave I just let Kyper sit in the car seat without buckling him in. Ta-da!

Kyper found a new Kyper Cave:

My Parenting Motto

After becoming a mom, I have a new motto for parenting.

Being a parent means missing the past stages, enjoying the present stage, and looking forward to the future stages.

I miss my cuddly newborn, his gummy smile, and the days he'd fall asleep in his bouncy seat. I am enjoying the crawling and the smile with two teeth. I am looking forward to the day he takes his first step and has missing teeth from that smile.

Some Ponderings

Here are three things I am pondering today. One that makes me sad. One that makes me wonder. One that makes me smile.

First, I have been thinking about my time at Anawim a lot lately. One of my former co-workers and friend died of cancer this past weekend. I wish I was there to go to the funeral and support my other former co-workers during this time. Randy will be missed. He played Santa at our Christmas party. He loved it. He was sick the second year I was there, but there would be no stopping him from being Santa! Sadly, I don't think I have a digital picture of him as Santa on my computer here. He also was one of two co-workers that visited Joel and I at the hospital when Kyper was born. He didn't stay too long, because he didn't like hospitals--who can blame him. But, I thought it was so nice that he and his wife got us flowers and that he visited us. I'm glad he came, because he wasn't in the office the day Joel, Kyper, and I came to say goodbye before moving to MI. It is hard to imagine Anawim without Randy. I don't know how old Randy was. I would probably guess in his 40's so he was young. He leaves behind a wife and three kids. He was a good worker and a good guy. I'm praying and asking you to pray for comfort for his family. I pray that they feel God's peace and comfort during this difficult time.

Second, my baby boy is turning into a toddler before my eyes. He is starting to pull himself up to his feet on furniture. Before long, I know he will be able to walk while supporting himself on the furniture. Soon after that he will be toddling all by himself! Where does time go? When did my 6lbs 8oz newborn baby become this big?! I also made a call today about a pediatric dentist--what!? My baby has two teeth and is cutting 4 more! Wow and ouch! (Other moms, when did you take your child to the dentist the first time?)

Third, golf carts when not on the golf course make me smile. I just saw a older guy on one riding down the road. No, we do not live by a golf course. Rather, there is a guy (older) who lives down the street from us. He rides this golf cart to another house on our road to visit his buddy. (I'm assuming they are buddies.) This golf cart also carries a bunch of stuffed animals. Whenever he drives by in his golf cart, I get a smile on my face. The thing that gets me is that we live in the city. Stephanie's grandpa would ride back and forth on a golf cart in the country--that always made me smile too. Another thing I think about when I think about golf carts is Sandy Pines. I actually don't know a lot about Sandy Pines, but it is a vacation spot in MI where people own trailers/cottages. I visited there with a friend once or twice and I remember that golf carts are the chosen mode of transportation at Sandy Pines. Golf carts make me smile when they are used in a place other than a golf course.

Awakened Images

(Make that 3 posts in one day!)

Joel and I had Kyper's 9 month pictures by Awakened Images. The photographers are friends of ours--Cara and David Williams. Cara graduated from high school with us. Also, Cara and Joel grew up going to the same church. They are awesome and I was so happy that we were able to get Kyper's pictures taken with them. Click on the link below to see the pictures on their blog.

Awakened Images--Kyper

Since Kyper has become slightly a mommy's boy to say the least. So, the pictures were a little challenging. But, they got some good ones.