Gather Round While We Enjoy Her for One More Day

And the roses...

Worship on the Waterfront

But first...Happy Birthday Sister Marianna!!!

Every summer, we move our church outdoors for a few weeks and have a worship service on the Grand River which is right across the street. These are always so memorable and yesterday was the perfect day for it!

Practice Leaving

Grabbing every last shot I can... Maria leaves Wednesday

How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~Dr. Seuss

Flash Back Friday 171

2002, Hike to Crater Lake near Maroon Bells

Climbing Roses, Late Summer

“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

That Strange Feeling is Back

I get it when one of my kids (Edward) leaves for college and it's bedtime and it feels like there are still kids of mine out who are still out and not safely tucked in! It's unsettling. Do you get this too?

Times They are A-Changin'

This past weekend, Edward moved into the apartments where he is going to live near Calvin. The apartment complex where he is living is referred to as the "Alliance" - Calvin bought these a few years ago and rents them to athletes or very athletic-minded guys. Since he already cooked for himself in the Netherlands last semester, he will be used to that part of apartment living. John went with him Friday night with his stuff and Bridget & I met them over there, but he didn't need our help unloading. We did get to look at the apartment which appeared to have a fresh coat of paint, so I approve.

I noticed that Maria had done a cool photoshop technique using "smoke" brushes to the above photo I had taken of her at prom, so I asked her if I could post them side by side on the blog. She will be moving into a dorm at Calvin on September 1 and we will be left with our dear Bridget!!!

Flash Back Friday 170

Grand Canyon, 1998
Edward, Maria & Bridget

I know I did this one before, but today, it's for Andy!

Love Thursday

Leo LOVES to lie in one of his favorite spots. So much so that he does not enjoy my disturbance.

It's Gonna Be Okay

In just a few short weeks, Bridget will be our only kid left at home!

Wedding Bells

It was an honor for me to meet Oralean this past spring and to be able to call her my friend. In July, she married Ron. I got to take their photos at the little courthouse wedding and they even invited me to their house for dinner.

She hugs her best friend after the ceremony. These two 73 year olds were born just weeks apart and have been friends for many years.

The Split Second Before He Puts His Cape On

Clark Kent on his cell phone

Ok, lame, but we saw this cool phone booth and Edward obliged!

Flash Back Friday 169

Mother-Daughter self-portrait on Maria's 18th birthday

Love Thursday

Nurses praying together before the day begins.

The Smilde Family Baseball Team

Smilde's from Michigan and Venezuela/Athens,GA

Yes, we are posing together like a baseball team.

Canons and Waterfalls and Old Friends

Another amazing thing that happened last week in Vermont was meeting up with a friend, Linda Lee, I hadn't seen since 2nd grade. That's like almost 40 years ago! Gasp!

Of all things, we found each other on Facebook. I found out she was getting married and moving to Vermont and since John and I were going, it made perfect sense to get together!! She came up to Burlington with her new hubby Sam and youngest daughter, Katherine . We hiked to this waterfall and had a wonderful picnic/photoshoot...

And wouldn't you know it, we picked up right where we left off in 2nd grade!

Facebook is kinda cool for that.

Edward's Annual Dune Climb Challenge

This past weekend, we went up to Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan where John's sister's family has a cottage. We went to the steep, steep 450 foot dune of the Pierce Stocking drive of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Edward set out to break his record from the previous year - 7:39 was his time to beat!

Edward and cousin Brian run down the dune.

The rest of us go over to the overlook to watch them far below.

They look like ants down in Lake Michigan.

The scenery is amazing!

And Edward made it in 7 minutes, 15 seconds this year!

The sunset was more like a bright glow on the water and by the time it got down there, it was behind the clouds. Still so beautiful!

Flash Back Friday 168

Dad, 1939

I wasn't home last week to wish Dad a happy birthday on the blog... celebrating him today on Flash Back Friday though!

Love Thursday

One evening last week, we went on a 3 hour cruise on Lake Champlain. It was a perfect evening aboard the "Spirit of Ethan Allen" and we dressed rather nautically quite by accident. We met people from all over who came to the conference John attended... the people who were at our table were from Barbados and Bermuda.

It looks like we found a couple of different people to take our picture with my camera. They all said I won the biggest camera award. Maybe they were really thinking I won the "one who is nuts enough to lug a big camera aboard a ship" award.

But see,,, I had it just in time for another fantastic sunset over the Green Mts.

Amen.

And the Moon Rose Up Over the Green Mts.

We left Church street after a good supper and good music, feeling pretty good. We went down to the harbor on Lake Champlain and saw the sun set...

And then, to add to the good times, the moon rose up over those Green Mountains as we headed back...

What a good day!

Evening on Church Street

He was singing Time of Your Life by Green Day which to me has always been such a feel good song. I couldn't take my eyes off this scene and captured the memory with my lens. This was the first evening we were in Burlington and the good night continued...

Old Roomie

On our way last week to John's conference in Burlington, VT, we took a detour through Albany, NY so we could see my old college roommate Linda and her husband Joe. A few years ago, they bought a house that was built in 1857 on the Hudson River in a little town called Coeymans and are in the process of restoring it into a B & B. We began our evening by going to a restaurant down the river. I took this one with a tripod and we tried to act natural.

Here is what the house looks like from their backyard.

Most of the house has been completely gutted. The bedrooms upstairs though were "sleepable" and the bathroom was usable. Joe did construction for 25 years before his current job as a nurse so he is very capable! Linda has been working on the garden.

I got a kick out of the hydrangeas in a vase in the midst of it all.

We stood for another tripod shot before we left the next morning. What was really awesome is we were able to see it in this stage so we'll have something to compare it to when we come again.

We also needed to have a roomie shot. You can see the Hudson River out back where huge ships often go by.