A Birthday and A Goal

Well, I turned the age that no one really believes you are--29.  No really I am 29 this year and not 30.  That party will be next year.    I was able to spend the day at the cottage.  It was the one cool day, so we really didn't do a lot.  My in-laws did stop by on their way home from camping in Pentwater.  We went for ice cream at Jones in Baldwin, which is a great treat.  Later that week, my mom made sure I got my favorite dessert--strawberry shortcake.  Joel had to work, so he didn't get to be with me on my birthday.  But, he did get me a gift early--I absolutely love it.  I have been pestering him for this for awhile and I seriously didn't think he was going to get me it...

It's my mom necklace.   I love it!

My parents got me a fun apron and a gift card to Kohls.  My in-laws gave me some money.  I think I am going to save the gift card and money to do a little shopping for myself.

However, I don't want to get anything new right now--I first want to lose some weight. I'm saying this here, so I am more accountable.  I know I am not huge, but I also know I am not at a healthy weight for my height and body. After I get back from Seattle, in July, (I'm in a wedding and do not want any extra alterations done on the dress), my friend and I are going to join weight watchers.  I have done it in the past and it worked.  I feel motivated to do this and now a little more accountable since I am putting this on the blog.  Besides eating healthier, I want to start exercising more.  Any suggestions for exercise with 2 kiddos and a husband that is at work a lot?   Although, I really dislike running, I might be willing to give it a try...the thing holding me back besides the dislike is my asthma.  Any asthmatics out there that run?  Other things I would like to do, is start swimming laps and perhaps a Zumba class.  The things with those is cost at this point.  But, I know if I pay for something, I am more motivated to go and get my money's worth.  (Which is actually another pro to Weight Watchers, if I am paying for the program, I want to make it worth my money!)  There you have it, my goal for my 29 year old self is to lose some weight and get back to a healthier self by eating better and exercising more.

The Rest of the Cottage

Anja, Kyper and I got to stay a whole week at the cottage with my mom and dad.  It was a lot of fun.   We relaxed, ate too much junk food, and stayed up way too late.  The weather really was beautiful.  There was only one day that it was a bit chilly, so we stayed inside.  One morning we went to Pentwater.

Here are a few pictures of the week.

Anja "comfortably" asleep on Grandpa

Grandma and Kyper reading about birds

Bird Watching

Grandpa working, Kyper playing

Helping Grandpa fill the bird feeders

Cottage Week(end)

We got to go up to the cottage this weekend.  Julie is spending the whole week with Kyper and Anja, while was the lucky one who got to return to work in the ICU.  So, I decided I would share some cool video of this weekend.  There may be more postings to come as Julie returns with stories from the week.

While up there, I figured out how to attach my tripod to my kayak, so I could take my video camera with me on my adventures.  I took a ton of footage and am in the process of editing my sunset kayak...maybe someday I will post it, but I didn't want to bore anybody with 25 minutes of paddling just yet.  Trust me, the sunset was beautiful though.

So here is a video of my Saturday morning kayak.  I just downloaded some new software and was able to speed it up.  So, my 10 minute video is now only 2 minutes.  I hope nobody gets to sick by the rocking!  It was a pretty morning with water smooth as glass, and you can hear the ripples hitting the bow later on as the I came out of the wind shadow.

For years, Mom Koning has been putting out jelly in a bowl for the Orioles to feed on.  In the past, I have tried to get pictures of the birds, but to no avail.  This year, I got creative and put the video camera right next to the bowl and waited.  By waiting, I mean, played in the water, sipped on my coffee in the pontoon boat, and generally ignored the fact that the camera was running.  I captured 4 feedings after more than 2 hours of footage.  Most were the male birds, but I did see a female as well.  I posted the best video here.  The lighting on the Oriole was the best of the four, but the background is kinda boring.  Listen for his chirping and calling while he is eating.

Thanks to my new video software, I was also able to turn some of the video into still shots.  Here are are a few of my favorite images.

We also got to dip Anja's toes into Big Star lake.  So now, she officially has been in Lake Michigan and Big Star.

Lake Michigan in May

Big Star in June

We had lots of fun playing in the water too.  Our nephews Nate and Nick got to go tubing, and Nate brought a friend along.  Everybody enjoyed the water.  Kyper would dip his toes in, but he wouldn't go too deep because he was afraid the "big bass will get me".  Thank goodness he likes playing in the sand!

Look Mom, no hands!

Liz was the spotter for the boys

Hopefully Julie will come back with even more stories, and we'll see if Kyper ever did get enough courage to swim with those bass.

Memories and Thoughts about Grandma Koning

My Grandma Koning passed away on Monday, May 14.  One day shy of her 89th birthday.  What a great birthday gift for her though, she got to meet Jesus face to face and celebrate her birthday with  Him.

My Grandma is and always will be loved by all five of her children, their spouses, her 19 grandchildren and their spouses, and her 29 great-grand children.  I have a lot of my cousins as friends on Facebook and it has been neat to see the pictures and words that they have posted about her in the last few days.  We are sad that we don't get to be in her presence anymore but at the same time I am incredibly happy and comforted that she is praising God in heaven and that we will see her again.  I have a peace that passes all understanding about her death.  Thank God!

I wanted to post some of my memories of her here on the blog.

My grandparents lived very close to our elementary and middle school as well as to our church. (Their house is right in the middle).  I am sure I share this memory with many of my cousins, because all of us went to the same school and the majority of us grew up going to the same church.  Our church had a junior choir and practice was on Wednesdays after school.  We would walk from school to church, but we had a little time in between, so we would stop at Grandpa and Grandma's house and Grandma always had special treats for us.  We often took our friends there too on those days and she treated them just like her grandchildren.

I remember hanging out at with my Grandma and her making up her own songs.

One of my greatest memories, is going strawberry picking with her and my dad.  My mom was sick, so she didn't go.  We hit the jackpot and picked so many strawberries, we filled a car trunk basically.  My mom wasn't too happy that we had gotten so many, it meant a lot of cleaning, but this strawberry lover was in heaven. :)  We gave many away to other people.

When it was either my dad's or my mom's birthday week, we would get to have Sunday dinner at my grandparents.  Grandma would always make strawberry jello for me; she knew it was my favorite.

On one hand she knew strawberry jello was my favorite, but she always seemed to forgot I was allergic to nuts.  Almost every cookie she made had nuts and she always offered the red cookie tin to me on Sundays at church coffee.  I almost always had to decline due to the nuts.

I remember playing hours of Rumikub with her as well as helping her with her puzzles.





Unfortunately, we couldn't find a ton of pictures, but I do have two that will hold a special place in my heart.  One of her, me and Kyper as a newborn and one that was just taken a few short weeks ago with Anja as a newborn.  I am so glad she got to hold my two children and that they could experience her love.

Grandma holding Kyper

Grandma holding Anja

I hope and pray that I can live a life like my Grandma Koning.  She has taught me so much about being a wife, mother and grandmother.  I thank God for blessing me with her for a grandma.

Please remember my family, especially my grandpa as we grieve for my Grandma and celebrate her life.

Love you Grandma!  I am thrilled you are with Jesus but will miss your presence on earth.

Anja's Baptism

 Anja was baptized on May 13--Mother's day.  What a great day!  We had family come out for the service.  Both sets of parents and my two brothers and their families were able to make it.

Pastor Dan baptizing Anja

Our friends Josh and Angie had their daughter baptized too

Kyper showing his sister some brotherly love

Our family of four

We had a photo shoot at home with Grandpa Rog

A Clean Mess

We were eating dinner on Monday night.  Kyper decided he was done and we excused him from the table to go wash his hands.  He was taking a rather long time.  We had started potty training that day as well, so Joel decided to check if everything was okay or to see if he had an accident.   Joel happened upon a very clean mess.

The soap dispenser we had in the bathroom had gotten jammed and the pump hardly worked.  So, yesterday I just unscrewed the pump part and just poured a little soap out each time I used it.  Joel and I never really screwed it back on, so this clean mess was not just Kyper's doing. We keep the soap in his reach so he can do wash by himself.  We had quite a bit of soap left in this dispenser, so when he washed his hands he got quite a bit of soap and bubbles. He had a great time playing in the bathroom that night.  And all we could do was laugh.  Fortunately, it was an easy clean up job.

Our Own Plot of Earth

This spring, Kyper and I wanted to start a garden for the summer.  We decided it would be good to make raised gardens as our lawn has a history of grubs.  So, Kyper and I went to the lumber yard in our pick-up--oh wait, I mean our mini-van (it felt like a pick-up since it can haul.  I can fit 12 ft boards in it with only 8in hanging over the bumper. I've never been so impressed with a mini-van).  We got 2x6 pretreated boards and 2x4's for the studs.

When we got home, I got out my power saw (which honestly has not gotten as much use as I would like), and we cut the wood to size.  Kyper got to help me screw the frames together after I pre-drilled all the holes.  The frames came together quite nicely to make two 2x4 ft beds that are 1 ft deep (stacking the 2x6's on top of each other).

 

Putting the frames together

 

2 weeks ago, we added landscape fabric to the bottom, to contain the dirt and keep out weeds/grubs.  We added 12 cubic feet of soil to the beds.  Now I can proudly say I am a landowner...I own 16 sq feet of dirt.  Unfortunately, it is on top of the the lot I am renting.

Then we waited for the weather to warm up.

 

I had started seeds growing in pots in early March.  The plants were growing well in Anja's room, as she has a lot of morning sun come in.  But, then nesting kicked in, and my plants got kicked out.  They were relegated to the basement, so we could get the room ready for Anja.  Too bad for the plants, all but the pepper plants died, and they were stunted.  So, most of the garden was bought at Meijers as seedlings. 

On Saturday, Kyper and I planted the garden.  First we planted 4 tomato plants (one cherry tomato), the basil, and the cayenne pepper plant we bought from meijers.  As I proceeded to transplant my tiny bell pepper plants I had grown from seed, Kyper decided to plant the entire seed packet of cucumbers in 1 corner (marked off by bamboo in the picture).  We'll see how well those grow!  I was not sure if I was going to plant the cucumber in the beds or in its own pot as it has a propensity to grow wildly.  I guess Ky made the decision for me!  Also in the box, we have plenty of beans planted.  I wanted to plant some maize since it was Cinco de Mayo, but had not yet prepared that ground along the garage--so that happened on Tuesday.  I will have 1 row of corn, which I am growing kinda as an experiment; I'll let you know how that turns out too.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the event.

Preparing the soil

Kyper likes his basil

Planting beans

More beans

Its all planted!

Tomato plants

Basil and peppers, the bottom corner is filled with cucumber seeds

Well, now we wait....I will keep you posted.