Great Fun at the Cottage!

We had another great time as a family at the Brummel cottage on Big Whitefish Lake. I headed up on Friday, July 13 with Ty, Deven, Tori, and Laiya, who spent the weekend with us. Bill and Steve joined us that evening and Lynn came up on the 18th after attending a convention in California. Laura and Ben arrived on the 20th with Tom and Anna and their kids and we had four wonderful days with all of our family together! Doesn't get any better than that! We thank God for our incredible family, for the gift of beautiful weather, and the enjoyment of the cottage.

Ty was the champion fisherman with this 32 1/2 inch Northern Pike - quite a trophy!

John and Jo, Matt & Deb and Grace joined us on
Monday, the 23rd. This is a picture of Grace (on the left) and the trips
enjoying supper together.

A daily trip to the candy store is a must!

Tori and neighbors friends, Emily and Mason

One of our kids' favorite childhood memories is of Grandpa
Brummel making homemade ice cream. Steve is making sure the
tradition continues.

Deven, Sophie and Noah get to clean off the 'beater bars'
from the ice-cream makers. Sitting on the back steps of the cottage
is the ONLY place this can be done - it's exactly where my Dad used to
sit with a couple of grandkids enjoying the extra ice cream.

We celebrated birthdays for Anna.....

....Tyler (14)......
....and Deven (12).

Love this picture of Zac - ready for the water with his work uniform on.....

Deven was the champion high-diver!



This slide show will give you a glimpse of MANY enjoyable moments.....



If any of you who are reading this have special memories of the cottage, please leave a comment and share them with us!

I leave Sunday for a visit with my friends in Germany so I won't be posting for a while. Guten Tag and viel Spass to each of you - Gott segnen du!

Wednesday, July 25

Koinonia is a Greek word meaning 'fellowship' or 'that which is shared in common'. That's what we enjoyed this evening with friends at the cottage of Ron and Arlene. It was a time of great laughs, fond memories, and special bonds.

Love this picture - just one of many hearty laughs during the evening

Bill and Carl

Clare

The sky was beautiful as we enjoyed
a leisurely boat ride after a nice rain.

Most of our friendships go back to high school in the 60's. Bill, Bob, Clare, Ron and Carl have been friends since kindergarten, over fifty years ago! Koinonia at its best.

Friends are friends forever
if the Lord's the Lord of them.
And a friend will not say 'never'
'cause the welcome will not end.
A lifetime's not too long to live as friends.
(lyrics by Michael W. Smith)

p.s. Hope to post pictures of our family's time at the cottage soon.....stay tuned.

South Christian High - Class of 1968

Thirty-nine years ago, the 1968 graduates walked across the stage of Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids and received our high school diplomas. Tonight some of those classmates gathered at the home of Kent and Kathy and it was a wonderful night full of memories, laughter, and great food.

Ours gracious hosts, Kent and Kathy

My best friends in high school!

Chuck

Ron

Still buddies after all these years!

Chuck and his wife Gayle

Ron and me

Not a great shot, but these are Jan,
Chris (in background) Mary,
Jan, Cherie, and Betty


Posting this one for Tori -
this is Buttons or Freddie....can't remember which

Betty and Judy -
astounded by a neighbor's record collection.
An estimated 500,000 45s and LPs plus
and unbelievable amount of memorabilia!

Mary -
still a 'sister' and friend

Ron - our class president looking scholarly and presidential

Thanks to Kent and Kathy for their hospitality - it was great fun!


Last night we had dinner with my mom and step-dad, as well as Rick and Beckie. It's been a rough stretch!! And now it's off to the cottage for a couple of weeks....life is good!

This photo was taken when we had some friends from church over for a Super Bowl party a couple of years ago. I love the picture because it has 'friendship' written all over it. Can't beat shoes at your door! Hope all of you reading this enjoy the company of family and friends!

Tuesday, July 10

Just posting some pictures taken in the last few days.....special days with special people.

Lynn and Deven love to wrestle

Ty is working for Grandpa at the Co-op this summer. These pictures were taken at Byron Christian School where he helped unload over one ton of paper!

Bill and I celebrated our anniversary today - 38 years! This picture was taken Monday night at Alpen Rose in Holland.


I spent Tuesday with Deven and Tori, which included our usual stops at.......

...the Dollar Store

and Houseman's for ice cream before biking back home.

Then it was off to church where Deven and Tori helped me set up for Bible study on Wednesday morning.

Another hot and beautiful day here in West Michigan, so we headed over to Dave and Marva's for another swim in their pool.

Deven

Tori

Tori took this picture of Deven, me, and Laiya

Dave and Laiya at their garden - she promised to share
some peppers and beans with us :)

Back at Steve and Lynn's -
Steve is on the mower, Deven on the quad

Tonight we celebrated our anniversary with Gary and Shirley Kok. Easy conversation, memorable stories, great friends!

We are thankful for our many years together, for our wonderful family, and dear friends. God is good!

GREAT WEEK!

It's been a wonderful few days! Steve and Lynn are back in their house as of Tuesday night, we spent the Fourth of July at the cottage with extended family, Thursday was a day of fun with Abby, Sophie, and Noah and Friday was a great day with Ty, Deven, and Tori.

Tori is excited about having her bedroom back!

Still work to do - Steve is painting Zac's room downstairs

Not a great picture, but just had to have a shot of their family's first meal back in their house after three months.

LOTS of stuff needed to be carried in and put away - Tori was getting tired of it after a while.....

Tori had fun with her friends Ruby and Esther

Thank you, God, for the good ol' USA!

Leisurely boat ride - Marva, Joan, Katie

Sweet Lidia

Amy and Stella are here from D.C. :)

Nicholas

Anna is in L.A. to see her new niece for the first time and so I got to spend the day with the triplets on Thursday :)

Sophie was in her "I love everybody and everything" mood - not just her brother, but her swing, the glider, picnic table, etc., etc. What fun!

Buying sand for the sandbox

Abby prays before lunch

Noah LOVES to climb!

Bill drove out to Holland about supper time
and Tom grilled us a wonderful dinner of
burgers, sweet corn, and zucchini - yum!

Abby, Grandpa, and Sophie

"Keep your eye on the ball, Noah - not on Grandpa!"

Abby and Grandpa

Tom and Sophie

And, of course, a trip to Captain Sundae's before baths and bed.

Thanks, Dave and Marva, for a great time at your pool!

Deven enjoying the beautiful weather

Tori

We had a nice lunch with Laiya and some of her school friends

Water war!

Deven

Ty impresses the girls :)

This unexpected guest was inside our garage, right by the step into the house. I shuffled behind him and beside him to guide him into the wood chips - hopefully he found his way back to the pond. I'm thankful for all those who shuffle behind me and beside me through this journey called life. Blessings to all of you!