Just a quick set of photos: a massive pile of leaves, 11 bags of those leaves and then 18" of snow fall throughout the course of 2 days. Take a look.
our front yard




our backyard

Autumnal Outing

Yesterday the De Vries' and Malefyt's decided to have a fall outing. We picked up Joel and Gina at their home at 11am. We went to Breakfast on Broadway and then to Rock Creek Farms. We went to a petting zoo, picked pumpkins, and went through a corn maze!

After that, we went to J & G's house, carved pumpkins, made acorn squash and steak, made carmel apples and Apple Cider Bourbon drinks, and watched 2 scary movies! It was the perfect fall day too with the sun shining and the air was a bit nippy. Here are the photos.

boo hoo hoo

A ticket. My worst nightmare since moving to Denver. I got another ticket today. I was picking up Drew from the airport and, after doing 3 loop-dee-loops, I decided to pull off to the side of the road and wait 5 minutes for Drew to get outside. Sure enough...around the corner comes a police. Don't ask me how, but I got a $30 fine for not having a front liscense plate and another $50 for a "parking violation". He told me that I was lucky I didn't get a "moving violation ticket"...LUCKY! Riiiiiiight. ugh. Another $80 just thrown at the State. boo-hoo. Needless to say the chipper, loving greeting I was going to give my husband turned out to be a slew of obsenities. And yes, there were 2 more in the past 2 months, but I won't get into that.

fall is here.

Drew went to Portland this weekend to go fishing with John, our cousin. We left yesterday at 6:30 am to bring him to the airport. He was so excited, so I hope he comes home with some good stories!

Maupin and I have had some good bonding time. ha. Yesterday after we dropped Drew off, we went to my co-worker's son's football game (he's 8 yrs old). We found out through conversation that we both love taking photos. She has been looking into cameras, and I told her she should try mine out for the weekend. So, I met her at the game to show her some stuff and hang out. I had been so cold all week, so I prepared myself with jeans, a sweatshirt and a scarf. By the end of the game, the sun was high and my sweat was running down my back (too graphic I know).

At night we went to hang out with Gina and Becky. I made some stuffed mushrooms and brought a bottle of wine. Maups must have got into something because she had a terrible stomachache in the night...not a good smell to wake up to. Needless to say, after church this morning, we have both just been lounging. We took a little walk around the block and I think I might get myself up to go buy some mums as it seems to be the thing to do. I love Sundays! I love fall! (sigh).

visitors and jobs

First and foremost, Drew got a new job! We are very excited. Drew will begin his new career with Shamrock Foods Co on October 1st! He had a meeting with Jane, his supervisor today and she made the official offer. This means Drew will be home at a reasonable hour vs 9pm! Again, we can't wait to see what this job brings.

Secondly, we had many visitors this month (and the end of last) and LOVED every minute! Brandon and Brooke, friends from Unity Christian, came out to visit us for 2 nights. Drew took them on a hike Friday as I had to work. By the time I got home, they were all so sore and tired, but we got enough energy to go out and grab a bite to eat.

Drew brought B&B to the airport at 4am and I went to work a half day. I picked mom and dad In't Hout up from the airport that Friday at noon. We checked out where I work, then brought them to our lovely abode. That night we headed downtown on the lightrail and went to an Irish Pub...mmm...

Saturday I asked Dad, Mom and Drew if they wanted to take a "little walk just a couple blocks to the Farmer's Market". Although Drew advised against it, we went. The "little walk" turned into a 4.5 mile loop. oops! When we got home, we all cashed out for an hour. When we worked up enough energy, we headed to Boulder to watch street performers and look in shops. fun fun. We got home and Russ, our brother, was in town as well. We were super excited to be able to hang out with him as well for a couple hours. Blue Collar Comedy provided us with hours of entertainment that night :)

Sunday we went to church and then had a lovely lunch. Mom and I then went shopping for Drew's interview. Man, did he look sharp!! We had a blast. Drew and Dad hung out all afternoon.
on our way downtown to get some grub

mmm...so good. We listened to live music...hardly able to hear eachother, but you know we had a good time!

Next, Nicole, my friend from CA and her boyfriend Greg, came over to stay with us for 1 week. It was so nice to have them both. It's always great to have a friend that you can pick right backup again from where you left off! Greg and Nicole worked at a dude ranch in Deckers, CO for a couple years and one of their ranch friends was getting married. We took them to the Coors brewery and toured around a bit. Greg left Sunday afternoon and so on Monday (Labor Day), Nicole, Joel M, Drew and I went to Deckers to do a day hike. We had a blast just horsing around all day!

had to fit her in...OF COURSE right mom?!

the guys and me.

my little buddy Nicole!!

after a long hike, all you crave is Hooters...the restaurant that is!

Thanks again to our visitors. We are more than happy to have family and friends come hang out anytime!!

whats new with the De Vries Family??

oh my goodness!!!! Again, I have waited FAR TOO LONG to post...if anyone is even checking it anymore, I apologize! Things have been pretty hectic starting my new job and all. A week after I got home from my trip to GR, I started my job. I am Patient Advocate for a non-for-profit healthcare company called Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN). What does that entail or even mean, you say? Well, basically I deal with our patient complaints whether face-to-face or over the phone. If a certain clinic has an issue, I will be present to be the voice of the patient. This is a brand new program for the company so there is a little lack of direction; however, I like it because I am able to create a program from the ground up. I can't get yelled at for not doing enough, because there are not super high expectations. Sometimes I don't like that because I am not very good at doing nothing! I like my supervisor, Kristine, alot and my co-workers. Of course, I am the "new girl" so that's always a trip, but it seems everyone is fairly receptive to new people. I have been learning ALOT about healthcare which is very interesting and COMPLEX! So, yeah all is well there.

Drew, oh Drew...he is doing great! He, of course, is getting frustrated with selling milk and dealing with awful people 75% of his working day. He spends his free time fly fishing, tying flies, hiking to a stream to fly fish, and watching his beautiful wife and kick butt dog from the river as they sit on the bank and watch him fly fish!! haha. yeah. no joke.

Maupin, oh Maupin...she is the best puppy ever! We are pretty sure she gave Drew tennis elbow by pulling so hard on her walks, so we have been trying to see what would be best for her. We tried the regular collar, a gentle leader, and a harness. They all failed. I finally gave in to getting her a pinch collar (OH SO INHUMANE you say), and she has not been better on her walks.

We are getting really excited for the next few weeks because we have 2 friends coming from MI
for 2 days on Wednesday, Mom and Dad coming out Friday to Monday, Russ Iwema is in town this Saturday, and then the 2nd of Sept thru the 8th, Nicole Flietstra is coming out!!! yay for visitors!

Here are some pictures of random adventures: City Park Jazz & Steamboat Springs with Joel and Gina:

joe, keri, rachel, johnny, johnny's bro and cousin, keri's bro and his girlfriend, drew, me, maupin, willow, and kinley (3 doggies)

the fam.

keri and willow

Drew and Joel on the way up to head down the Alpine Slide.

Drew racing down the alpine slide (a 1 mile "boblsed" concrete track) at Steamboat

the view of the track from the lift

Gina and I pulled over by this field...so pretty.

oh...the cowboys. We went to a rodeo the night we were at Steamboat.

what do you think...fly fishing...Joel caught a 15" Rainbow Trout.

The past 2 weeks I was home in grand rapids hanging out with family and friends. What a blast! I was there from the 22nd to the 7th of july.

I got to go up to Charlevoix and hang out with family for a week. Although the weather was a bit cruddy, we made the best of it. We took some of the kids to Avalanche Bay Indoor Water Park for the day. I am not sure who had more fun on the slides, Taylor or me. We had church on the beach (complete with a kids program and all).

Drew and I spent the weekend at the Devries Home. Family is such a blessing. We celebrated Father's Day by hanging out at the pool. The men also got to go golfing. As you see in the pictures above, Sam is growing so much! Drew and I both were able to hold him. He is so precious.

We spent the 4th of July at the Huizinga Cottage with our friends. Friends are also such a blessing! We had an absolute blast on the pontoon boat, swimming in the lake, and having fun conversations.

All in all, a wonderful trip home!