A trip out of town

Friday morning after Christmas my parents, Lindsay & Drew, Daris & I headed up to Cadillac to find some snow. We got on the trail about noon and rode until 10:30 PM! We stayed at the Holiday Inn and planned to ride on Saturday but due to the weather being 50 degrees and hearing about flooding problems at home, we packed up and headed back home Saturday. It was a foggy ride home but we made it!

Draisma Party........or not.....

Due to the terrible weather on December 20 we had to cancel the extended Draisma family party. So of course Daris and I thought we better go out on sleds and see just HOW bad the weather was!

This is in our driverway! Winter wonderland!

Although we were looking forward to having the party it was kind of nice to have a Sunday to just relax and get ready for the upcoming crazy holiday week!

Brink Christmas Party

We started off the first Christmas party of the season on December 13 celebrating with the Brink family. We rented a gym in Hudsonville this year as the family keeps getting bigger and bigger.

We played many games that were quite entertaining. I think some of the adults were the most into it!

Good ole musical chairs..........

Some Volleyball.......................

And basketball.........

And of course Grandma needed a picture of all the cousins and their spouses.......

(Unfortunately it is very blurry, better luck next time mom!)

It's so great watching the family get bigger and bigger! Can't wait to see what next year will bring!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas........

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! Sure was nice to have a 3 day work week and some extra time to get some stuff done around the house and relax. We had a busy Thanksgiving day but it was nice catching up with family. We sure have SO MUCH to be thankful for this year! I struggled with the idea of getting up early to go shopping and get some deals but then soon realized I have so much already and there wasn't really anything I needed, just wanted. So many people are struggling right now meeting basic needs! I'll survive, although it does kill me to pass up good deals.........:)

Saturday we had our 2nd annual Christmas tree cutting out at KC Trees in Allegan. They offer donuts and cider and you walk in the field to find the "perfect tree." We also haul Christmas trees out of there for them so it's always nice giving business back. This year was extra fun as Daris and I were picking out a tree for OUR house this year! Here are a few pics!

Luckily a tree stand came with the house when we bought it so we got to put it up when we got home, after re-arranging the furniture. As for decorating, we are starting from scratch so I'm looking forward to getting to town and picking some stuff out! Trees sure are boring with NOTHING on them! Check back for "finished product" pictures! Hope everyone enjoys preparing for the holidays!

Long Lost Halloween.....

Sorry for the delay, here is our 2008 Halloween picture. We decided we didn't really wanna blow a bunch of loot on costumes we will never wear again so we headed into Party City and picked up some hats and masks for $10.00 total for the both of us! I threw in a wig I had from my last year's custome and we picked up some gloves and the Dollar Tree and away we went! If you can't tell me were going for the bank robber look, but most people thought we were mimes! Oh well! It sure was fun for a while because no one knew who we were!

ENJOY!

Color Tour!

Last Weekend we took advantage of the amazing summerlike weather by hiking up north on a color tour. We took off about 4 PM Friday afternoon and got to see lots and lots of color before the sun went down. It is so amazing and absoutely beautiful to see God's wonderful creation, especially this time of year! We were constantly ohhhing and ahhhhing about all the shades! The bright red trees are my favorite!

We arrived in Mackinaw City about 9 PM and found a really cool resturant called The Dixie Saloon to eat at. The restaurant was really neat!

After dinner we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge to St. Ignace and checked in to our hotel. It wasn't the Hilton by any means but the price was right! :)

Saturday morning we got up, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel, and drove about 45 minutes west to the GarLyn Zoo. My first impression was that it was kind of cheesy but after we started getting further into the outer zoo we got to see some pretty neat animals! Here are just a few of my favorites!

A Porcupine if you can't see.....

We stopped along side the highway to take a walk down to the lake.

Then we headed back to St. Ignace to catch a ride to the Island!

On the shuttle over......

Grand Hotel from the water......

There was a wedding taking place!

We took a hike up the hills to see some of the Island's "hot spots"

I really wanted to take a horse & buggy carriage ride but I figured I could use the excercise more and it was such a beautiful day!

The Fort

This is a picture out our window one morning. I got to give credit to the husband on this one! We had a room right on the main level so it was nice to be able to get right outside by the water!

Saturday night we met up with some friends of ours that were also up there for dinner. Sunday morning we packed up and started our trip home. We took many scenic routes home and tried to ride along the water as much as possible. It sure was amazing! We got to Charlevoix and they happened to be having a Apple Fest so we checked it out and grabbed some lunch for a little deli. We sure had a great weekend and couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Sure seems like the weather has decided to become "fall" since we got home which means many nights will be spent raking our yard so it was a nice time to get away before that all starts!

Hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather and gets a chance to take a ride and see the awesome colors we are so spoiled with in Michigan!

FIREPROOF your marriage today

Just thought I would let everyone know I recommend EVERYONE going to see the movie Fireproof. It's currently showing at the Star Theatre. Here's a link to the site that tells about the movie. http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/ It's just such a true picture of how selfish we are sometimes in a marriage and how our focus, time, and energy get put into the wrong things sometimes. I think everyone at any age can take something away from this movie.

FIREPROOF your marriage today!

Fall fun!

This past weekend we stayed very busy welcoming fall. Well I don't know if boating is considered welcoming fall but none-the-less......

Friday night we put in my dad's 2 dingy boats in at New Richmond boat launch and rode up the Kalamazoo River with my parents. It sure was beautiful to be on the water seeing some of the leaves changing already! Not often is the water level high enough to ride up the river so we thought we should take advantage of all this rain! It was so peaceful and relaxing! We rode all the way up to Silver Lake to Grandpa and Grandma Brink's cottage and parked them there and then walked back to our house by road.

Saturday was work for the both of us in the morning and then Saturday night we headed to the Kalamazoo Raceway to the "Night of Destruction." If any of you have been there you know it's a good time and a night full of laughs watching things be destroyed! My parents , my brother Michael, and Daris' parents Ken & Christy came along so it was a great night shared with family. Daris's 2 brothers were also out there as well so we sure did support the raceway but it was defintely worth it!

Sunday was church and then we had Daris's grandma over for lunch which was really nice to catch up with her. Then we went back to church at night to hear Pastor Paul's sermon on Hebrews. After church Daris' brother Kenny invited us over for brats on the grill and to see his house remodel he's got going on.

Monday night I started a new bible study group at Central which I am really excited about. It is about discovering your spiritual gifts and kind of a self evaluation class which of course can't hurt anybody so I'm looking forward to hopefully learning more about myself and personality and hopefully becoming a better Christian as well! Daris is also taking a class called Men's Fraternity which he is really enjoying as well. Sure is nice to be involved with such a fun caring group of people and getting to know new people has been great as well.

Summer's Last Days......

SO, needless to say like the last post says, we DIDN'T get to Silver Lake the weekend we planned as everyone will remember it rained ALL weekend long! We spent our time working around the house. Daris took on the project of painting the garage as it was left just drywalled so we still have a ways to go on that but got a good start. Then my parents + Matt & Lindsey and Daris' parents came over for lunch on Sunday so it was nice catching up with them as well. Can't do too much when it is constant rain!

This past weekend we celebrated Scott & Val's wedding Friday night. It was a great time and everything was PERFECT. Unfortunately I only took one picture, which didn't even include me but it's a cutie so here it is for ya.......

Saturday Daris thought he needed to do some yard work which included letting HUGE trees fall on my landscaping.(He says it's fall now and they will grow back next year, yeah right! He just wanted to cut them down! )

Saturday night after yardwork we headed up for Silver Lake to pack up the toys and bring them home. We grabbed dinner at Culver's and got up just in time to meet my parents plus my counsins Laurne & Meghan for icecream. Then enjoyed a little campfire and some stories and off to bed! Sunday morning we got up early, loaded up, and got back in town for church. Sunday we took a long moped ride out to Saugatuck and then had a neighborhood picnic which was a nice way to meet all of our neighbors. (Most of them anyway!:)

Last night we thought we would take advantage of on the last "summer" nights by riding the mopeds down to Crane's for dinner. For some reason we just can't let summer go!

On my way to my haircut this morning I had to take up the chance of catching the sunrise as we seldom get to see it being the woods. What a beautiful morning! We sure to have so much to be thankful for!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Before I get to the birthday details, I thought I'd update everyone on what we've been up to since the last post.



We spent an awesome Labor Day weekend up at Silver Lake with my parents. It was awesome weather and was a great way to celebrate the un-official end of summer! We came home on time on Monday and went out to Daris' mom's house to have a yummy steak dinner with her and Paul. He had heart surgery a few weeks ago so it was nice to catch up with them and see that Paul is recovering well.



This past Saturday was Val P.'s bachelorette party. It was fun to get all the girls together again and it was nice to see their (almost) completed house that they have working soo hard on all summer. Nice job guys, looks amazing! Especially since the last time I had seen it it was torn completely apart! Looking forward to the wedding September 19!



Yesterday was Daris' 23rd birthday so we chose to celebrate by going out to a nice dinner to Crazy Horse with a gift certificate his Grandma Dee Dee gave him for his birthday since she knows how much we love that place!(It almost felt like my birthday too b/c I didn't have to cook dinner or do dishes! :)) They were nice enough to give him a birthday sundae which he so graciously shared with me!



Then we decided we should take advantage of these last nice warm nights and went to Sundae Sundae Golf Golf where we had many laughs! I'll let the winner be a secret b/c I don't want to ruin the birthday boy's day.......:)



This weekend will be bittersweet as we go up to Silver Lake for the last time in 2008 and celebrate the Apple Festival and pack up everything and bring the toys home. Wow what a great summer it was! Hope for many more good memories next year!



LAST but certainly not least and the most exciting new of this whole blog.........we will be having a baby join our Draisma side of the family in March, 2009! My brother Michael and is wife Beth shared the awesome news of a baby on the way with our family a few weeks ago and we are just so thrilled for them!


Congratulations are also in order to our cousins Jeff & Ruthanne Huizenga who welcome their baby girl into the world at about 11 PM on September 9.(I guess Daris will keep his birthday to himself after all for now:)) Her name is Addisyn Ranae and she weighed in at 7lbs. 14 ozs. 21 in. long and the report is she has a little bit of hair, long legs, fingers, and toes, and has a wide face and is pretty like her mama. We are all so excited to meet the first great-grand-child on the Brink side! Can't wait to meet her, congratulations Jeff & Rudy!

Weekends go too fast!

We were thrilled to celebrate the wedding of Katie Helder and Nolan Wiersma this past Friday night. The wedding was at Niekerk CRC, Katie's home church and was just beautiful with all of Katie's personal touches. The reception was in Grand Haven above Portobello's Restaurant and was a great time of good food, fellowship, and even a little dancing! :)

Saturday we worked outside on our yard all day attempting to get our landscape finished up the way we want it. We made hobo pies in our new firepit (wedding gift) so that was kind of fun! I have always LOVED hobo's but hadn't made them since the old camping days so when I found the hobo makers at my shipshewanna trip a few weeks ago I just had to buy them! Daris loves it too, even though it requires a little more work on his end building a campfire...........

Sunday we had an awesome message at church and then visited Daris' grandma DeeDee who just recently returned from a trip to Alaska to see family. Then home for a great lunch and took a long walk down 62nd to explore our surroundings and all the new development out that way. Took a ride with my grandparents later on that night and ended the night sharing my first pumpkin pie with them! :)

Last night the whole family when out to eat to the Butler to celebrate Michael's 27th birthday.(Which was August 7) That was a great start to the week!

Please be in prayer for our friends Steve & Shelley's daughter Brooke who is in the hopsital with some blood anti-body issues.

Time for an update from the (Not so newly) Married!

So as you can see, I have s l o w l y attempted to figure this blog thing out but after getting addicted to keeping up on everyone else's thought I would join in!

We have had a very busy but amazing summer. We have had bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, weekends at Silver Lake, and time around the house getting settled. For the most part I would say we are finally there! There are few things left on the "honey-do" list, but from what I heard there will always be " a list" so I'm trying to pick my battles wisely.........

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are! Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures of SUMMER 2008 before it is over! :(

I'll give anything a try.......ONCE

There is so much going on on our lives right now that I thought this would be the easiest way for everybody to keep up on what is going on with us. I'm a little nervous as I have NO IDEA what I am doing but hopefully I will figure it out soon enough.......This is a start, much more to come!