Family Reunion

 Pretty dry in between, but south LA and Sask are both pretty green this summer

 Is that miles or kilometers?

 A walk in the park with a few cousins

 These guys are a bit brassy (Saskatoon along the river)

 Shekinah - glory of God - a stunning wood beam structure.

 Plenty of room for the 100+ relatives of the Van clan

 Nice bunks

 A morning walk with Oma

 Crafty - painting wooden klompen can  bring people together

 Some of these folks are real climbers

 That princess has some muscles!

 This one managed to ring the bell at the top.  Good job G!

 Fly!

 Ziplining was a breeze for the kids, a bit more interesting with some of the big ones!

 Hi flying B

 Oma Mina is still knitting!  This little lady is responsible for this whole crew, amazing!

 Worship and prayer for Oma Mina by the ten kids

 Brothers having fun

 Cousin P with his sun hat

 Red runs in the family as demonstrated by this cousin.

First cousins back in SD where we had a "smaller" family reunion and quite a party with Oma and Opa.  Thanks and blessings to all.

Rocky Mountains

 The water was cold coming off the snowmelt

 Beautiful foreground and background

 Tent camping

 View from the campsite

 Neighborhood deer

 Hail at 12,000 feet looked a bit like snow

 Morning light from the tentsite

 Enjoy the cold while it lasts!

 Sisters enjoying God's good creation

 Nice view kids!

Family time.  Note beetle damage to pines in background.

Summer 2012 in Louisiana

 

Summer went by quickly but we did get in a couple of fun trips including New York, midwest and Canada.  Thanks to all who hosted us.  We also had some more nearby activities including a bit of hiking at the local trails and waterfalls in the MS hills, plus some in-town events such as VBS, and other activities right here at home: games, house projects and other family activities have been a blessing as well.

 The crew at the falls - pretty dry when we were there, but a great outing with the family

 Some local crawfish for our young naturalist

 No need to emulate the older kids!  Results of a previous storm are actually fun to work through

 A sad day with a fire in the neighborhood.  We are thankful no one was hurt.

 Sharing news from recent mission trips was a blessing to host.

 VBS was "market" driven but still had a biblical flavor.

 The new patio was a fun project adn a way to both display some lovely Mexican tiles and enjoy an outdoor space with a few s'mores...

Visits from friends are always a blessing.  Y'all come again!

Always happy to have visitors - come see us!

N. America Tour Summer 12

We had a nice family outing of a bit over 2 weeks touring North America.  States glimpsed included Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas.  We enjoyed the visit with family (small gathering of 100+ at the lovely Shekinah ("glory of God") retreat center on the Sask River north of Saskatoon).  All of the people were relatives of B's lovely grandmother Oma.  It was great to see (and meet) many relatives, as well as to visit cousins on each side across the country (thanks to all who hosted us - from Colorado to S. Dakota to Sask to Iowa - blessings to all!)

We enjoyed the trip but also were happy to come home...

Below, Opa and "sugar and spice" accompanied us to Mt. Rushmore.  Interesting discussion of broken Black Hills treaties, gold mines, native rights, National parks and more.  Also had a nice visit to Black Hills Univ where B teaches (many native students there as well).  Beautiful area, one of the few places we experienced rain (and even a bit of hail!) during a dry tour of the country.

 There are more Bison now than when I was a boy...  They are beautiful but just a bit scary.

 Opa says it smells just like Bison dung...

 "Wild" burros were pretty "tame" in Custer State Park, SD.

 Aunt M's anniversary dinner  and cake were works of art  and a wonder to behold and enjoy!

 Happy Anniversary!  Oma and Opa and little J.

 H enjoyed cousin J, a pleasant girl cousin!

 D enjoyed some more "twin cousins" (actually 2 and 4 years older but there seems to be a family resemblance).  Thanks to A's for hosting us in Iowa.

 You get home faster if you just sleep through the ride
Diddle diddle dumpling my son Jon, one shoe off and one shoe on...
The kids were happy to be approaching home (translate "wet and green") territory.

After witnessing drought across most of the country, somewhere in South-central Louisiana things became a bit greener...  And by the time we were approaching the capitol in BR, there were several inches of rain in the road and the usual homecoming "jungle" feel was apparent. We enjoyed the smell of rain after two weeks of mostly dry and dusty weather.