Blogging? What's that? I seem to have forgotten!

After reading some blogs lately, I realized that I really do miss my tiny little blog :) So, once again, I think I'll try my hand at blogging. We'll see how long it lasts this time!

These are some pictures from our April trip to the Poconos. We went with one other family and did a ton of kayaking. We did most of our trips down the Delaware Water Gap. We dropped all the kayaks & people off at the starting point, and then David & Mark drove the cars down to another launching area (our ending point) 8 miles away. Then they drove one of the cars back up to join us. Then we'd spend the day kayaking on the river (the river was really moving and we hit 10 miles an hour on our second trip!) We had a great lunch on a little desserted island. Paddled some more and eventually got to the drop off car. It worked out great. No paddling back up the river! David and Mark drove back up to where the other car was, and drove it back down to the ending spot. Piece of cake!

We're planning on doing another trip like that again this summer :)

60 Things About Me...

1. My native language is Dutch
2. My parents used to speak Indonesian when they didn't want us to know what they were
talking about. It irritated the heck out of me.
3. I have 3 older sisters & had one older brother
4. My brother died 10 years ago
5. I had a rabbit named 'Cotton Tail" when I was 8
6. I bought a rabbit for my oldest daughter when she was 8.
7. The dog next door ate her rabbit :(
8. I love seafood
9. I have given birth to 6 kids
10. I love to knit
11. I love to scrap
12. I love to read
13. I never have enough time to do what I 'love' to do.
14. I want to move to N.H.
15. My best friend is David
16. I used to work at the Netherlands Embassy
17. I was a 'daddy's girl' through & through.
18. I play the piano
19. I finally found a church that feels like home
20. I am a Christian
21. I love the music at our church
22. I am very proud of my kids
23. When I was 8, I told my mom that I wanted 6 kids
24. I always wanted to have twins
25. I love to camp... in a motorhome
26. Skiing is my favorite outdoor activity
27. I prefer a small group of friends to a large group
28. I'm not a phone person
29. I like email
30. I became a US citizen just a few years ago, but have lived here for 45 years
31. I am part of a knitting group that meets once a week. The ladies in the group are the best!!!
32. I don't like the summer
33. I love the winter
34. I had my first child when I was 19
35. My car is a 2006 Honda Pilot
36. I like my coffee with cream and just a small, tiny, tiny bit of sugar
37. My husband brings me coffee in bed every morning and gets that 'tiny bit of sugar' right
every time.
38. My inlaws are the best!
39. My niece is only 2 years younger than me.
40. I hate to fly
41. I love the movie "Diary of a Mad Housewife"
42. I love the mountains
43. I've never lived on my own
44. I pay my credit cards in full every month
45. I just had a credit card fraud transaction happen on one of my cards :(
46. The movie 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' still makes me laugh after 20 viewings
47. I can't stand loud gum-chewing - or gum chewing in general :)
48. I'm not a chocolate lover
49. I don't like dessert
50. My husband buys me a bushel of crabs - overnighted from Maryland, every year for my
b-day
51. My son plays the guitar with a group of friends. They sent a demo tape to Reliant K
52. I got an email from Jodi Picoult and saved it
53. My dad was the most amazing man.
54. My mom is the strongest woman I've ever met
55. I am a purse freak
56. We used to have 2 piranhas
57. I am not a t.v. watcher
58. I am very opinionated
59. My faith has grown so much over the years
60. I wish that my mom lived close by so that we could just chat, hang out and have a cup of coffee together.

What exactly is a used cow???

We came across this while driving to Foss Mountain. So how much do you think a 'used' cow goes for? I wonder if it's a substantial discount from a 'new' cow?

Telling it like it is!

Ashley is a natural in so many sports and she's very competitive to boot. She is a fantastic downhill skier, water skier, softball player, she's a strong swimmer, mountain biker, just to name a few. While we were in Maine I found this shirt for her.






It just seemed to fit :)

Goodbye sweet Hailey

Today is Hailey's birthday. She is 14. She's been very sick for the past week and everyday we thought it would be her last. But true to her personality, she hung in there. She was *always* a trooper.

Actually, about a month ago, was when she first got sick, but somehow she pulled through and went from really sick, to almost her old self. The camping dog that she was, we think that she really just wanted to go to Acadia with us. Her last big trip - which she did. She spent a full week in Maine and I think she loved every minute of it.

When we got home from Acadia, she took a huge turn for the worse.
A few days ago, Shauna begged Hailey to hang in there. Just till her birthday. I told Shauna that there was no way that she could do that. It just wasn't possible. Shauna said that she knew in her heart that Hailey could do it. I kept telling her not to get her hopes up. And yet every morning we'd wake to find Hailey hanging on.
Last night at midnight, when everyone had gone to bed, I went over to Hailey's bed and told her that she was amazing. She did it. She made it to her birthday. I then told her it was time to rest.
I must have checked on Hail 20 times between midnight and 6:00 a.m. She wasn't ready to let go.
When Shauna got up this morning the first thing she did was go over to Hailey and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. She said "Happy Birthday Hail, you did it. I knew you would" Shauna's faith was stronger than mine.

Hailey died in my arms at 11:00 this morning. She will always be remembered as the feisty, territorial, sweet, stubborn little Hail-bop-camping dog that she was.

We love you Hailey. Rest in peace and thank you for 14 wonderful years. You will be missed more than you know.

This was Hailey on the day that we brought her home


This was Hailey when we brought Sophie home. She took over as 'mom' to Sophie.











Hailey enjoying a visit with Kristin and Em

Gotta love those stops on the way home!

Last night on his way home from work, David stopped and picked me up 3 pounds of jumbo Alaskan crab legs - just because :)

While we were at Scusset, I got 2, not just one, 3lb lobsters to enjoy all by myself (not on the same night of course!) Again a 'stop & picked it up on his way home from work to the campground'

and while we were in Maine I got another 2 pounder. The icing on the cake is going to be the Maryland crabs that are coming next week. One bushel of the BEST crabs overnighted from Maryland. It's a annual b-day tradition.

He loves me :)

Back from Acadia

Acadia, in a nutshell is just beautiful. Plain & simple, no frills - beautiful. We had (purely by accident) the best campsite in the entire campground. It was spacious, and had a view to die for. There is nothing like waking up in the morning, grabbing a great cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over the water. Or getting back from a long day of hiking, kayaking or biking and grabbing an iced cold beverage and watching the sun set.
Prior to this vacation, David had worked some super long hours 12+ hours a day for 51 days straight) and he was so ready for a break.
The drive was much easier than we expected. We made it to Acadia in just over 6 hours - not bad considering I was thinking it would be at least a 8 hour drive.

this was the view from our front door



It was challenging leaving the shop in other people's hands for an entire week, but our worries were unfounded - we are very lucky that we had some wonderful people stepping in for us.
So, here's what I don't completely get... We had wireless Internet service, but no cell phone service?!? Ok, so I'm technically challenged, but it just didn't make sense to me (yes, I know about cell towers, etc., but it still doesn't make sense)








We'll go back again soon. There was so much we didn't have time to do, that how could we not???