Lloyd and Vicki

I just realized we haven’t posted anything on vanderkwaak.com for almost 3 months.  Yikes! Time flies.

 I see too, that others in the family are in the same pattern of ”no posting on vdk.com” that we’ve been in. In a strange way, I’m comforted to know we’re not the only ones. 

 So what have we been up to since early August?  A quick sketch would include at least the following:

# We are enjoying the process of co-creating with Eddye, what it means to be family. All three of us are new at this, so we’re learning together. 

# I  finished my fifth and final coaching class in Minneapolis in early August, and started CTI’s 6 month certification process on October 5th.  The certification process is rigorous/helpful. I’m learning alot about coaching as well as technology, since the process involves things like making/sending audio files for supervision,  and setting up triad calls with people from various states/countrys, who are part of  the 9-member pod I’ve been assigned learn with.  I do have a free conference number from www.freeconferencecalling.com, so if the whole family (or a sub-group), ever wants to do a conference call together, I can set it up and it won’t cost us a cent to talk as long as we would like.

# Reuben & Heidi, Eden and Harper came to Des Moines for a five-day visit in late August shortly after they, the pedal-powered family, went multi-modal. We had a nice time relaxing with them, and went to several fun events including the Iowa State Fair and a downtown ”Chalkflood” that Eddye helped to organize through her summer Americorp job at Community Youth Concepts.

# We attended Dordt’s Convocation in Sioux Center,IA, at the end of August.  As the new board chair, Lloyd participated in the ceremony.  It was very moving for both of us to be in Dordt’s chapel, singing the alma mater again. So many memories in that place!

# I spent the second week of September in Grand Rapids, MI, to spend time with Kristin&Curt, Kim&Paul and their very precious little ones. Lloyd was able to join me at the end of the week. In a quick 1 1/2 days, we had the priviledge of watching Kristin run the Oktoberfest Marathon in Spring Lake, MI, and of helping with a ”demo” project at Curt & Kristin’s new house.  

# On October 1st, we both ran the St. George Marathon in St. George, Utah. We flew to Vegas with some fellow-runners from Des Moines, and took ground transportation 2 hours further to St. George. On marathon day, we were bussed into the mountains to start the race in the wee hours of the morning.  By the time we finished many miles downhill and into the desert of St. George, it was HOT! 93 degrees to be exact.  We had envisioned a crisp fall marathon out West, without realizing that St. George was located in the desert. If you’re interested in reading a few of our race reports, you can check the wannarun site.

# We were in Seattle, WA, and then in Southern BC from October 8-16. Lloyd had a conference in Seattle which coincided with a different conference that Kristin had in Seattle during some of the same days. It was really fun to hook up with her for a few meals in Seattle, and to enjoy Pike Place Market and the downtown Seattle REI together. When the conference was over, Lloyd and I drove 3 hours further north to visit fellow-Vanderkwaaks in southern BC. We spent some good time with Lloyd’s parents and siblings. We had an opportunity to meet Lisa, the new fiance of Lloyd’s brother, Dave. And we had the very pleasant surprise discovery that Reuben & Heidi, Eden and Harper were still in southern BC! They had led us to believe that they had already continued on their bike trip to Vancouver Island and down the coast. It was wonderful to see them again for a few days as well.

# We’ve been in Des Moines the past 2 weekends, and it has been great to catch up with life around here. This past weekend, we had an outdoor “work-day” at our place. Michael helped to scrape/paint a few areas on the exterior of our house, Amanda and little Mikey kept everyone company, and Amanda’s brother, Jake, helped Lloyd and I with several hours of yard-work, since we had an entire fall’s worth of leaves to clean up.

At the end of a long out-door day, Lloyd and I made our annual Autumn Garden Soup. This soup involves at least two people willing to chop lots of fresh seasonal veggies, including turnips and parsnips. We make a huge batch of this hearty soup and have a tradition of giving most of it away. We still have a few containers to deliver to lucky recipients in the next few days.

 Hopefully, we’ll post more often from now on!