Furlough (2)--Colorado, Iowa, and Michigan

We arrived in Colorado on a Friday evening, and early Monday morning my dad and my husband left for Synod in Iowa.  The kids and I stayed with my mom and had a few days of fun in Colorado.

Addressing the Synod on behalf of their sister church in Singapore

At the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park

Another great place for the kids to climb!

My mom and the kids by Sprague Lake

At Boyd Lake with some of the Poortinga family on Tuesday

Megan, Bailey Tolsma, and Emily at a park in Loveland on Wednesday

On Thursday we drove to Iowa and stayed overnight with Rev. & Lael Griess's family while we waited for Synod to finish.  Thank you to the Griesses for their hospitality!

JohnOwen Griess and Megan

Lena Griess and Jason

Salem, Megan, JohnOwen, Simeon

We left Hull early Friday afternoon and drove to Michigan, where we spent the next few days reuniting with family and friends!

My husband's side of the family, including his grandma, 

two aunts, and a cousin from out of state

My side of the family

With my sisters

Eric playing some baseball with his Great-grandpa Key

With our friend Ruth Kaptein

 

With the Elzinga family

Megan and Graham Koole

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1)

Furlough (1)--Out West

Our second furlough since moving to Singapore began on June 6.  A few of our friends from church came to see us off at the airport.

 

Tian Loong and Eric

 

Watching us go

 

Our plan had been to spend a couple of days with my brother-in-law's family in Redlands, then drive to my parents' house in Loveland.  However, the plans changed because of sickness in Redlands, so we started our road trip a day early.  Our first big stop was the Hoover Dam, which we enjoyed in spite of 110+ degree heat and losing each other (half of the family and the other half) for 45 minutes. :-)

 

 

On Wednesday we saw the amazing beauty of God's creation at the Grand Canyon.  We rented bikes for a while and saw three elk along the path, and spent some time just looking out over the amazing views.

 

 

The next day was a big day.  First on the list was Mesa Verde National Park.

 

 

Cliff dwellings

 

Next we back-tracked to Four Corners National Monument, after getting there six minutes after closing time the previous night!

 

 

In four states at once!

 

We ran out of time to see Canyonlands National Park as planned, but the best was yet to come anyway:  Arches National Park.  The kids had the time of their lives climbing on the rocks there.  As one of them said, "There are no words to express how fun this is." :-)

 

 

Balanced Rock

 

 

 

On Friday evening we met my parents in Grand Lake, Colorado, and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park with them.

 

 

Grand Lake

 

We saw three moose on our drive through the park.

 

There were many deer and elk as well.

 

"Praise ye the LORD...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for he commanded, and they were created...Mountains, and all hills...Beasts, and all cattle...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven" (Psalm 148).