Our baby is in Kindergarten!!

Today, we hit a new milestone.  Maddie officially started Kindergarten!!  We have all been anticipating this day with great excitement!  Maddie is attending La Verne Heights Elementary School, and her teacher's name is Miss Echevarria.  We are so pleased with the school and her teacher, and have heard nothing but stellar reviews from other parents and school alums.  This is another link in a long chain where we can see how blessed we are.

The morning went exceptionally smooth, with happy kids, compliant behavior, fresh school supplies ready to go and giddiness over this new adventure.  For my own record-keeping purposes, I wanted to jot down a few things that Maddie is doing right now, at the start of her school year.  Either skip past this, or enjoy. :)

~Maddie loves to read.  LOVES to read.  We can put anything in front of her, and she will read in full, complete sentences.  It's as if a few months ago, things just "clicked" and she was off and reading.  We can catch her curled up with books on her bed, in a chair, or on the floor reading to her brother.  We are thrilled that she is infatuated with reading, and are excited to see it only continue to flourish and grow this year.

~Maddie can write her name, sometimes in all uppercase, sometimes in all lowercase, and sometimes all mixed together. :)  She also enjoys writing small words, like mom, dad, love, and then letting us help her with spelling other things.  Writing has not taken as much of a priority in her life up until now, so we are looking forward watching this skill take off this year.

~Maddie has made it clear that she is looking forward to learning how to spell this year.  Okay!!

~Maddie is getting into coloring and drawing pictures.  I know many kids start this skill much younger, and up until about the past 6 months, Maddie hasn't shown much interest in taking the time to sit and create.  Much to my heart's content, this is beginning to evolve, and I am seeing a budding artist!

~Maddie is our dancer.  She can be caught anywhere, anytime, twirling around, leaping from one room to the next, hands in the air, and instructing others in the room to "watch."  She will dress up 10x's a day, if time allows for it, and will put on shows for us nearly everyday.  Often times, I have to reign her in when we are at the grocery store, and she is twirling her dress around with her arms and legs...we've had many near collisions.  Needless to say, she is enrolled in dance lessons this fall!

~Maddie continues to love people and is our social butterfly.  When she was in a foreign school as the new student, she made all kinds of new friends.  I'm excited to see what this year will bring for her in this department.

We had a little photo-shoot before we left for school this morning. What a cutie!! (And for those who have been following lately, no, she has not lost her tooth yet -- I was positive she would have a hole in her mouth for this picture!)

Maddie will start having lunch at school in another month.  But that didn't stop us from packing her small snack in her lunchbox for the first day!

Mr. Cheese wanted in on the action, too.

Proud Daddy, walking hand in hand with our not-so-baby-anymore Kindergartner!!

Officially a Kindergarten student at La Verne Heights Elementary School.

Waiting outside for the classroom door to open.  Somehow, this is the best shot we could get...it was awfully bright!

These two managed to get a nice one, though!  Love them.

Maddie with her teacher, Miss Echevarria.  We already know we are going to love her!

A quick shot at Maddie's desk.  Her eyes are already wandering from the camera.  I mean, really.  Who wants to take pictures when there are so many exciting things to internalize and take in! :)

Last one with my baby, before we gave her a big hug and kiss.  And in case you care to know, my typically emotional self did not shed a single tear - not even misty-eyed!  The truth of the matter is, I know in my heart of hearts, that she is ready.  Maddie is ready for Kindergarten.  Maddie is ready to be challenged at the next level.  Maddie is ready to tackle this next milestone, and I have the utmost confidence that she will do so with flying colors, and thrive.  My girl is an achiever and very determined to take on whatever life throws her way.   

A quick glance at her classroom, before it was overrun with more students and parents.  So excited to see how it evolves and transforms this year!

Geoffrey and I picked Maddie up at 11:20 (again, shorter days until mid-September, when she will stay through lunch).  No joke, this boy missed his big sister this morning.  He wasn't moping around, but he was asking about her every few minutes, wondering how long before we would be able to pick her up.  The moment she walked out the front gate, super loud, high-pitched shrieks could be heard.  It took me about 3 seconds to register that those shrieks were coming from my son's mouth!  He was shrieking her name, "MADDIE! MADDIE! MADDIE!"  It was so sweet, and we are unbelievably blessed to have two kids who love each other so much.

Maddie came out of school with a huge grin on her face, and incredible enthusiasm to return tomorrow!  She had a successful first day and will have a tremendous year in Kindergarten!!  Hip hip, hooray!!!

Reunion in Oregon, part 4

The kids and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend some more time in the Portland area after our Sunriver trip.  This allowed for more play time with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even great-grandparents.  We are so blessed to have such a large, loving group of family members.

We spent time over at Grandma Marty's and Grandpa Dale's house, which included some more special time with Auntie Amber and Great-grandpa Doug, too.  The kids were so happy to be able to play around the backyard, throwing balls, going down the bounce-house slide, and making play dough creations.

Check out this amazing collection of fun!

Maddie with her Great-Grandpa Doug.

Mr. Cheese, er, I mean Geoffrey and his Great-Grandpa Doug. 

Look at this cute bunch!  I love em all!

During some casual conversation, I was sharing with Amber and Martha about a special Dutch-pancake dinner I was co-hosting the following day for my extended family.  Amber brought up the name and location of a Dutch import store she had driven past, and on a whim, we all decided to hop in the car and take a peek.  Boy, was I so glad we did!  I found all kinds of goodies from my time in the Netherlands, and was able to buy some special additions to my dinner.  Maddie recognized a lot of items, and even broke out a few Dutch words to the owners!  Goed zo, Maddie! :)

Auntie Amber and Grandma Marty bought the kids special wooden shoe slippers!  We had seen these all over the Netherlands, but since we had bought the real-deal, we always turned away from the slippers.  So fun that they were able to each get a pair after all!  

As mentioned above, I co-hosted a Dutch-pancake dinner with my parents, for all of my extended Dutch family.  We all had such a great time, and it was so much fun for me to be able to showcase one of our favorite meals from the Netherlands, and a very traditional Dutch meal.  My Grammy and Pop-pop were able to join us, as well as several of my uncles and aunts, a few cousins, and their kids, too.  It was a nice turnout, and we only wished everyone would have been able to make it!

My Grammy made this outfit as my sister's Halloween costume one year.  It was fun for Maddie to showcase it, with her special new slippers.

He needed his turn in front of the camera, airplane in hand. (*side note - Geoffrey has to be holding a toy of some kind, no matter the texture or size, AT ALL TIMES.  I mean, ALL times.)

Grandpa Pat, wearing his wooden shoes, with his Dutch grandchildren!

Some of the goodies I found at the Dutch import store!

My little Dutch girl, who was growing with excitement to show-off all of these wonderful Dutch things.

Picture of family gathering...not everyone present, by a long shot!  I was terribly disappointed when it was all over, that I never got a picture taken with my Grammy and Pop-pop.  It was so wonderful to see them, especially after all of the support and love they sent me this past year, along with following me so closely on all of our Dutch adventures.

Cousins and second-cousins, having a dance party.  Because, well, why not?

Maddie and Ellie, on a final outing, to the local splash pad.  Like I said in the beginning, it was a very warm weather week in Oregon, and we spent a lot of time playing in water.  Lucky us!

We had, yet again, another marvelous and memorable trip up to Oregon.  Thank you, family one and all, for the time you spent with us, the love you poured out over us, the energy you exerted into us, and the bond you each share with each of us.  We love you and can't wait to see you so very soon!!

Reunion in Oregon, part 3

We enjoyed Sunriver for a few more days after Brant's departure, soaking in the sunshine, water play, lots of conversation, and family fun.

Lunch date with my sister.  The best!

We spent three days at the water park at Sunriver.  The kids, and adults, had a blast!  Brant was able to enjoy one day with us at the park, and we only wish it could have been more.

There are little slides, splash zones, floating lily-pads and all sorts of fun activities to play around with.

Slides for the big kids, and a lazy-river float. 

Grandpa and Geoffrey floated around this river over, and over, and over...

There is also an indoor area to the water park.  Grandpa and the boys loved the big red bucket!

And a mini water fight broke out.  Gotta love spontaneous water fun!

This is the best picture I could capture...getting four young kids in the middle of water park to be still and smiling for a picture = nearly impossible.  

For our last night, we walked to "Goody's," which is Sunriver's ice-cream/sweet shoppe, which is a must every time we visit.  Tradition.  You don't mess with it.

My parents, playing a game with the girls...I don't know the name, I just know we played it a lot as kids.

We arrived in the village square, to find some delightfully fun evening entertainment taking place.  Perfect!  There was singing, dancing and overall jubilation among the crowd -- and I'm including everyone in that statement...

This sweet one was lounging next to us in the crowd, taking in the merry scene.

Happiness with my little man.  It would only be better if my main man was able to be there with us!

She really was happy...she just puts up with me throwing the camera in front of her face possibly a little. too. much.

Maddie's face = blissful joy.

Happy cousins!

Check out Ben's wild dancing, and Geoffrey getting his groove on.

We all eventually got out there to dance, which meant nobody was around to document with the camera.  Bummer. ;)

We left Sunriver the following day, heading home via Eugene to visit my grandma.

First things first.  Geoffrey had to help Grandpa pack up the boat.  Such a good helper.

It was so wonderful to see my Grandma.  It's been well over a year since I last saw her, so this visit was much overdo (however, I do have the excuse of living overseas for a majority of that time frame!!).

Stay tuned for the final installment of our Oregon vacation, coming just as soon as I can get to it. ;)

Reunion in Oregon, part 2

During our visit, we made a trip with my side of the family out to Sunriver, which is located in Central Oregon.  Sunriver has been a vacation destination for my family since before I was born, often being visited multiple times in a single year, and each time manages to create new memories along with many old favorites.

Half of our crew, stopping for a picnic lunch along the route.

We all arrived in Sunriver on my sister's birthday.  It was the perfect way to kick off our family reunion, with a celebration!

Sarah, with her two kids, Ben and Ellie, and mine, Geoffrey and Maddie.  The boys are 3.5 months apart in age, and the girls are 9 months apart.  And yes.  It's awesome.

Sarah's anticipating the cue to blow out the candles from Maddie and Ellie, while Geoffrey's already going for it.

Sweet.  The cake and the kids.

We wasted no time that evening, and immediately following the birthday celebration, we hopped on our bikes.  It was fun to be back on bikes as a family.  Many times while we were in Kampen, we would refer to the similarities of riding a bike around town, the same way we do in Sunriver.  (Mind you, there are many significant differences between the two as well!)

Geoffrey did not have a bike his size to use, but he was a very content passenger in the bike trailer with Aunt Sarah.

Stop with the cuteness already.

Ready to ride!

Grandpa Pat, leading his troops.

Love for eternity. 

Thank you, God, for your breathtaking creation.

The peaceful river loop is our family's favorite route.  (This is the Deschutes River.)

Can you see why?

As I mentioned earlier, having cousins of the same gender and so close in age is awesome!  Our kids always have a blast together, making our reunions exciting and our departures bittersweet.

These two act like best friends and sisters, in all the right ways. :)

I made them stop and pose for me.  This was the fourth attempt.

Not surprisingly, this was the first attempt!

We made it out for a longer family bike ride, on our second morning in Sunriver.  The weather continued to be amazing, even hovering on the hot side, and we felt blessed to have hit the Oregon climate so perfectly!

Our crew - all 10 of us!  It made for quite the long train of riders.

Ellie with Uncle Brant

Ben ended up joining Geoffrey in the trailer after riding on his bike for the first little leg of the route.  It's hard work to keep up with all the "big kids" sometimes!  Geoffrey was happy to have some company!

However, it took us some time to find the best possible place to store Ben's bike.  This option worked for a few moments.  Geoffrey was quiet and compliant about it all, but I wasn't too sure about forcing him to remain like this for too long.  What a good sport he is! 

My dad and Brant, talking about the time we floated down the Little Deschutes river several years ago (pre-kids).  Aww. 

I show you this picture to prove that we didn't leave Ben's bike in Geoffrey's face the whole ride.

I love my family.  What a solid foundation I come from.

I said, "solid."  Not, "normal." 

Brant riding along with Maddie, the same way they would often ride in Kampen, when Maddie's legs would begin to get tired.  

Brant flew back to California that afternoon, a week before the kids and I did, for work.  Ironically enough, after the tickets had been purchased, we found out our move-in date for our new place was going to take place that same week.  My awesome husband moved in without us, bearing the hot temperatures and heavy boxes, while we continued on with our Oregon vacation.  Life's funny like that. ;)

Aunt Sarah baked cupcakes with the girls, while I took Brant to the airport.  Maddie missed her daddy, but this helped to ease the pain. ;)