Niagara Falls (part 1)

Last week we enjoyed a great family vacation to Niagara Falls. It's a little overwhelming to sort through over 150 pictures and try to capture our vacation in a blog post, but I will try. Here is the first half of our vacation to Niagara Falls.

We left Monday afternoon and drove part way to my brother's house near Chicago. We had a good visit with them and Rebecca had fun running around with her cousin Josh. On Tuesday, we drove the rest of the way to Niagara Falls (about 9 hours). The kids did really well in the car and it was a pretty easy drive. We stayed on the Canadian side of the falls and checking into a Days Inn for the first two nights. After settling into our hotel, we took a walk down Victoria street and Clifton Hill. We had a fun supper at Rainforest Cafe.

Rebecca with the Rainforest Cafe frog.

The next day we walked down to the falls and went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. Decked out in blue ponchos, we enjoyed the beautiful views and felt the powerful mist of the falls. We all got a little wet, some more than others. Although, on a hot sunny day, no one complained about it.

Maid of the Mist boat ride.

Rebecca sporting her blue poncho.

View of the falls from the boat and the seagulls having breakfast.

All wet, but happy :)

View of the falls from the Maid of the Mist store patio.

Later in the day we did some more walking down to Table Rock, which has a large visitor center and the Journey Behind the Falls experience. We took an elevator down a few levels and walked through tunnels to see out of portals drilled behind the falls. We took some pictures but it's hard to imagine from a picture what it was like. The water is pounding powerfully in front of the portal and if the wind blows the water would pour in like a rain storm. It was a neat experience. There was also a lot of facts posted along the portals explaining more about the history of the falls.

Walking around Niagara Falls.

Getting closer to the falls. Journey Behind the Falls is in the lower right.

Dan and Rebecca in one of the portals. The falls are thundering right behind them.

Blake and I trying to stay dry in the mist of the falls.

View of the Maid of the Mist from the deck of Journey Behind the Falls.

View from the boardwalk. Rainbow bridge is in the distance connecting Canada and the US.

Family photo in front of the falls.

This is one of my favorite pictures! Just taking in God's beautiful creation!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our vacation - coming soon!

Happy 4th!

This last week has been full of fun summer activities. Despite the hot, hot weather, we have had a lot of fun. Here are the high lights in pictures.

We got to go out on the lake for the first time last Saturday. Our friend Scott took us out. Don't pay attention to the look on Rebecca's face in this picture, she loved the boat! Dan and I both skied and Rebecca and I also had a ride on the tube together. She is still not ready to try the tube on her own.

Every time the boat stopped Rebecca wanted to jump off and swim!

She also enjoyed a noodle fight with Scott.

On the 4th we had lunch with some friends near Brooklyn. The Caddens are a great family and have a large hog confinement with a bunch of new piglets. Brian, who is the same age as Rebecca, was very excited to show her the pigs. 

Rebecca had no problem jumping in and holding the pigs too!

Is a hog barn in our future too?

In the evening, we got together with a bunch of families from church and enjoyed a BBQ, water balloons, a dunk tank, sparklers, and fireworks in Pella.  

Here are the girls getting ready to hit the boys with water balloons.

We all enjoyed the fireworks, including Blake who watched them very intently. 

And just for kicks, here is a picture of our very healthy, happy, and well fed baby boy. 

Blake is almost 6 months old now.

Almond Bars

How long has it been since I posted a Tuesday recipe? I'm guessing it's been at least a year or more. Well, here is a good one for you if you've been waiting...

Almond Bars

3 sticks of margarine
3 cups sugar 
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons almond extract
3 cups flour


Blend margarine and sugar. Add in eggs. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Spread batter into a greased 10x15 pan. Sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. 

These bars are delicious! They are moist and have a great almond flavor. I got this recipe from my mom, who helped make them every year for Orange City's Tulip Festival. The Christian school sold these yummy Dutch treats at their food stand. I'm guessing they still sell them, but I haven't been back home for Tulip Festival in a few years.

Try them yourself. They are so easy and so good!

Catching up

Can't believe June is almost over! I have been in total summer mode and that means only getting to things if I am really motivated. So that means updating the blog has been on the back burner. I just went through a bunch of pictures from the month of June so I thought I would share a little of what we have been up to.

Rebecca played another season of Bam Bam Ball and this year and was on the Purple Team. It's always a little awkward watching 3-5 year olds play an organized sport, but she improved over last year and had fun.

Blake is as happy as ever and growing fast. He is starting to sit up and eat baby cereal. The last 5 months have flown by, but we rejoice in every day with our precious baby boy!

Rebecca is fascinated with the frogs we find on our deck. They love to hid under the grill cover. Although Rebecca will not touch them with her hands, she likes to play with them and let them swim in her pool.

My parents (Grandma and Grandpa Pontier) came for a 3 day visit last week. My dad got to meet Blake for the first time and Rebecca loved spending time with her grandparents. 

I always try and find a little sewing project for my mom when she is here and this time we made pillow covers for our living room pillows. My mom created the pattern for the pillow covers and sewed the tan ones. I followed her instructions and made the dot pillow covers - which include gussets and zippers!

In between all those activities, we are just enjoying the mostly slow summer days as a family!

Branding

This spring I decided to freeze brand my cows.  After having several cows loose their tags over the years I wanted to have a permanent number on them.  Freezing branding will cause the hair to grow back white.  Cow #43 below is a cow born on Rebecca's birthday.  So it is 4 1/2 going to 5 years old this Aug. 31.   I know, I know, this is a boring post to most but I am pumped that they turned out well.  I give credit to my friend Scott and my neighbor Marv for helping me.  

 These cows below are just a second and third example of how they look.  I anticipate the only challenge to this could be at sorting time when the cows are crowded together and their hindquarters are hidden from view.  I choose to leave the number tags in to help with this but they can be ripped or pulled out anytime.

Farm life updates

This past spring I had to install a creek crossing on one of our farms.  Here is the excavator doing some dirt work to finish installation.

 And after much shopping my bro and I bought a dozer.  We used it to clear some trees on my farm and will use it extensively to shape waterways and land repairs in the years to come.

 Rebecca came along to help do some dozing and after getting a thorn in her foot went to wash her feet in the creek.  The creek is quite the oasis even on a hot day.

On this occasion this spring Rebecca helped fill the planter and had the job of putting the lids on.

This past week I was spraying soybeans and tried my best to take a picture of Rebecca driving.  She is excited at the thought of helping but low on attention span once she is in the tractor.  She has the idea that the other parent is always having more fun and insists on going home to be with Mom or going to see Dad and help me.

And finally, we were out this afternoon checking the cattle and took a picture of how tall the corn is.  The corn is officially head high on a 4 1/2 year old.

P.S. If there are farm questions or requests for blogs about anything farm related let me know.  

Preschool Wrap-up

Rebecca finished preschool last week! She did a great job this year and grew a lot in all areas. We agree with her teacher in that she will be ready for kindergarten in the fall. Here are a few pictures from her last day of preschool - Beach Day, and also from her final program for the parents.

Playing in the water table.

Playing with the ducks with Nash and Tanner.

Final program for parents, Rebecca is in the back row under the calendar.

The kids sang a lot of the songs they learned throughout the year.

Rebecca and her teacher, Mrs. Albert.

Rebecca with her classroom helper, Ms. Brianna.