Spring Break Fun!

This is one of the reasons that I love living in Washington! What a blessing to have this to look at. God's imagination and creativity is very evident here!
My friend Amy O and I decided that we would take the boys up to Mt. Baker to go sledding. (Sorry LP, we had to go find snow on our Spring Break) We drove for an hour and a half and found a great hill and the boys had a great time.
Taiji
Truman
Jake

If you know me, you know that this was not on the top of my list. I don't enjoy snow and I enjoy sledding even less. However, I do enjoy my friend and spending time with her and I love my kids and making them happy so this was a win, win! Thanks Amy for making me step out of my box!! You rock!

VanDalen April Birthday's & Easter Egg Hunt

Yeah baby!!
Kissing cousins!! Kali and Weston!
Jump, Jump, Jump!
April Birthday's...Jake, Taiji, Bree, Chelsea, Stac, Kali & Emily(march)
Kali is pretty excited!! She loves her books...especially if Elmo is involved!!

Annual Easter Scavenger Hunt!

Every year Shane puts together a fun little hunt for the boys to find the Easter basket.
The adventure usually takes them inside and out and across the yard.
This year Kali was even able to get in on the action.
They found the basket and were very excited about all the goodies.
Baseball cards-$9.99

Elmo Video-$7.99

Candy- $3.99

The promise of eternal life with our Lord in heaven- Priceless!

May we never forget why we truly celebrate Easter!

Remembering a Friend!

Trisha Ann (Bosman) Zylstra, age 31, and her infant son, Fletcher Paul Zylstra, died suddenly Monday, April 2, 2007 at St. Joseph Hospital. Born Aug. 29, 1975, as a twin with Trent, to Terry and Norma (Bos) Bosman in Bellingham, Trisha was a 1994 Lynden High School graduate. She married Tim Zylstra Oct. 6, 2001 in Lynden. Her greatest love was for her family and home as she joyfully anticipated Fletcher’s birth and cherished the thought of his joining twins, Dexter and Ruby, in their home. Trisha’s free-spirited heart was evidenced by her appreciation for flowers, music and the simple things in life. She loved flowers and worked side-by-side with her mom, Norma, at Cottage Flowers for five years. Trisha attended Third Christian Reformed Church in Lynden. Her loving heart will be missed by all who knew her.

Trisha and Fletcher are survived by: husband/father, Tim Zylstra; twins, Dexter Lee and Ruby Ann of the family home; Trisha’s parents, Terry and Norma Bosman; father and mother-in-law, Doc and Joyce Zylstra, all of Lynden; Trisha’s siblings, Troy (Melanie) Bosman of Everson; Vonda (John) Vande Hoef of Lynden; Karma (Jody) St. John of Lakeland, FL; Gina (Ty) Mathers; twin brother, Trent Bosman; Tad (Shannon) Bosman all of Everson; Trisha’s sisters-in-law, Doreen (Lauren) Meenderinck and Karrin Haan; brother-in-law, Tom (Bridget) Zylstra all of Lynden; Trisha’s grandparents, Nell Bos of Manhattan, MT and Shorty (Jean) Bosman of Lynden; grandfather-in-law, Andrew Mellema, Sr; 21 nieces and nephews and numerous other relatives. Trisha was preceded in death by grandmother, Ruthie Bosman; grandfather, Henry Bos; uncle, Todd Bosman and uncle, Nelson Van Dyke.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 7, 2:00 pm at Word of Life Church, 1986 Main St., in Lynden preceded by private family graveside services at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorials be directed to the T. Zylstra Family Fund at Bank of the Pacific, 1800 Front St., Lynden, WA 98264. You may share your memories and condolences in the on line guest book at www.gilliesfuneralhome.com.

Please continue to keep this family in your prayers.

Jake turns 9!!

It truly is amazing...life that is. I remember giving birth to this boy like it was yesterday. Time just keeps going even when you think it should stop. Even as we sit here grieving the loss of a life, we still are compelled by God's grace to take time to celebrate life. So today was our day to celebrate Jake's life. The handsome birthday boy!
All the kids getting in on the fun!
Kali didn't think it was fair that only Jake was getting the presents today, kinda cute how he sits patiently smiling in the background.
Playing away with his new life sabor? life saver? Whatever!!
Birthday dinner at the Nuthouse!! Seriously, that is where he wanted to go, I figured he had spent countless other birthday's there why not #9!!

So Happy Birthday Jake!! We Love You!!

In memory of my dear friend Trisha

Dexter & Trisha

Tonight I sit at the computer with a very heavy heart. Early this evening I received a phone call that my dear friend Trisha and her baby died today while undergoing an emergency c-section. All of the details are still really hazy but all the explanations in the world aren't going to bring her or her little baby boy back to her 2year old twins or her husband. Tonight and for a long time this family will need to be lifted up in your prayers. This was not how any of them had envisioned their lives to be and will need some time to find their new normal. Please pray for them. As Christians we have the wonderful comfort of knowing that Trisha and her baby are safe in the arms of the Lord, yet those of us left here on earth struggle to pick up the broken pieces and wonder how we will ever get through this. Please, please pray for them!

Fun with the VandeHoef's!

What a view!! Jake and Taiji aren't bad either!
Marty and Geri had a great little hot tub/pool. Kali couldn't get enough of it!
Like Father, like Daugher
Thank you Marty and Geri for the wonderful afternoon. We really had a great time catching up and enjoying the wonderful view and weather!!

Amazing Jake's!!

Amazing Jake's was exactly what it says....Amazing. It was like a Chucky Cheese on steroids. They had a bowling alley, laser tag maze, bumper cars, go carts, climbing wall and arcade. The boys had fun running from one thing to the next, collecting tickets as they went. The nice thing for the parents is that they actually had decent food. Salad Bar, Soup Bar, Baked Potato Bar, and wine bar!! Yeah!! Where ever there is a climbing wall, Jake is there!!
Here the boys are showing off their bumper car tickets!!
Look at those smiles!!
Kali loved all the action and noises.

Had to get a picture of the logo...not every day you see your name up in lights!!

Spring Training!!

Spring Training was a very big part of our time down in Arizona. We didn't really care who we saw, we just wanted to visit different Stadiums and see different teams. This first set of pictures was taken and the Giants Stadium. They played the Chicago White Sox. This was a really fun experience. One of Shane's good friends got us seats in the Charro Club. This is a fun area that is in the outfield, with all the food and drinks and snacks that you can eat!! The other nice thing was that the weather was awesome!!

These next pictures were taken at the Mariners Stadium in Peoria. The weather was a little overcast, but it was fun to sit out in the grass and just hang out. Kali loved running around, and not being confined to a stadium seat.

The boys camped out near the bullpen hoping to catch a glimpse of one of their favorite players.

Guela and her tribe!
Just way too cute!!

I digress!!

I'm so grateful that Guela had her camera the first couple of days. It's always nice to be able to chronicle the trip from beginning to end!!Seattle has recently done some remodeling in the airport. Here is a very fun, colorful and spongy little play area that all the kids really enjoyed


The trip went really well. Kali of course thought that she needed her own seat and on a very full plane that can get challenging. She finally settled for my lap and an elmo video! The boys did homework all the way down, hoping to knock it out early!

We're Back!!

Now so as not to overwhelm you with pictures of our vacation, I will ease you into it with a few a day!! We had so much fun. Other then the trip starting with the realization that I had forgotten my camera!! I know, not like me since I try to capture every boring moment of our lives you'd think that when I actually have something fun to shoot I would remember it! Oh well, thanks to a quick phone call to a fellow team mate that would be coming down the next day we managed to get it picked up and we got it by the 3rd day!! So....here are a few pictures of Truman's first day of games....

Batter up!! Truman rocked, he had several hits and his fielding was impeccable!!
Taiji landed the job of bat boy...he did great staying very focused! Jake is my wanderer! I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but he has a hard time staying focused on anyone thing. Here he is playing the big brother role!! He does have that down pat!!
After the game Kali suggested that we go out for Mexican food! Here she is ordering for us all.
Guela was a God send!! She was my right arm and bible teacher.