Apple for Mom

Micah and Stephanie got engaged!!! They are planning an August wedding. They came here for a weekend so we could share their joy with an engagement party.  All the local family came, along with the Bijkerks, Schuttes, John DeRoo, Joop and Grace, and I can’t remember who else. Stacy skipped a VanOort lunch to help me set up❤️ as I was feeling overwhelmed.  I served a soup and bun dinner party, with Aunty Dar and Grandma each bringing a pan of soup to help out. Oma and Opa were on an Alberta road trip, so they missed out.  Marlise Bijkerk came early to help and Grace and Stacy spearheaded the cleanup. It was wonderful to have this help when I was really missing Val, Tonisha, Nelly-Jayne and Oma.  Also super nice- we got to watch Valerie sing and play violin in a beautiful concert in Winnipeg. ❤️    

A mere day after arriving home, we hosted Dan and Rochelle Wierenga and their six kids, Miriam and five boys. It was very busy! It was fun to have them though. They had to attend a Span family wedding with no family out here able to host them. They all slept in the playroom as we had Braedan and Stacy in the guestroom. Dan grows bison for other people and was happy to share meat with us. Yum! Tender, low fat- we all enjoyed it.  The boys liked Dennis, Caleb and Luke. Elise liked having a girl around to play with. I’m not sure who was saddest to say goodbye.  Rochelle was pregnant, due in July. However, she had little Wyatt only a few days after leaving here. Her next month was spent in Calgary, hours from Lacombe and her family.   

While we were gone for week, Jared and Tonisha bought a  place set with a slide for their deck. Elise barely fit, but had fun playing with Hazel on it. Hazel was absolutely thrilled to have us back, with a definite preference for being carried around by “Uncle Kuke” who was very proud to oblige her.  We went out for dinner to Montana’s. Elise had her first pork ribs ever (it was on the kids menu!) and just loved them. It was such a good evening for all of us. The kids and Hazel sure enjoyed nearly two weeks of regular visits and didn’t want to say goodbye. But Spring Break was ending and normal life needed to begin again. Sigh. Our month of holidays was over.   

The kids and I went to visit Uncle Randy’s family, and after lunch there, we left Elise playing with her cousins while Luke and I went to the airport to get Dad.  Happy reunion!  We went back to Randy’s for wonderful chats and fun.  We had dinner there as well. Uncle Harold’s family left for Opa and Oma’s place for a Spring Break holiday, but we were allowed to stay in their house. Then in the morning, we went to see Uncle Rick, Aunt Jaclyn and their beautiful baby, Nathaniel. There was so much joy in seeing them parenting their adopted son. ❤️ After a delicious lunch, we said goodbye and drove back to our fifth wheel trailer (our second trip with it😊) in Prince George.   

It was quite fascinating to visit this family. They have adopted two kids and foster three, in addition to babysitting several grandchildren. They milk a cow and have many other animals to care for and eat. Elise was grumpy and didn’t try to join in, but once I handed her over to Uncle Ted, she melted into a snuggly sweetheart. She absolutely loved him.  Carol showed me her kombucha and fed us all dinner of soup and buns. We watched her and Ted milk the cow. Most of the animals and the gardens are hers; she loves homesteading. She’s amazing!   

We were getting new chicks, so Dad had to drive home from PG to set up. I took the truck and the kids to Smithers, where we stayed with Uncle Harold’s family. I got Rebecca’s room, she got Hannah’s room, Hannah and Elise got the playroom and Luke got the freezer room. We each had a place to sleep.  We were able to go to Ebenezer School on their last day before holidays (we started a week earlier) and watch the exciting basketball games, especially Grade 12 vs the staff. My brothers played fiercely and the staff won!  Harold’s family can walk to school. This is amazing. I may be jealous.  Lots of good memories! We really get along well and appreciated being able to visit.   

Jared had to work some of the days we were visiting. Luke got to try out his coyote tractor which made him very happy.  Tonisha took us for a walk on a local park trail. It was absolutely great to be outside.  Jared showed us around his new job site at Babine Truck.  Luke and Elise hauled firewood and started a fire for us. Well, for me. I’m always the cold one.  We even went to church to watch Tonisha run a music practice. The kids helped with babysitting and even got to know some of the kids around their age, like the Schoutens and Voorhorsts. Even Rev Tim Schouten was there. I told him Luke was pretty great kid except when he teased his little sister. Rev Schouten replied that teasing is the job of big brothers. Wow.  Anyhow, they were great at helping that day, even putting Hazel’s shoes back on.   

This is a great perk for volunteer firefighters- Jared got to show us his fire station and let us choose which truck to take for a spin around the neighborhood. Way better than a regular field trip! This was super cool, and we even got to try the helmets with microphones do we could talk to each other through them.