Thanksgiving

It feels like Thanksgiving was ages ago already, but I would like to write a quick post about our holiday with Mark's Aunt Debbe and Uncle Mike in Michigan.

We left BG on Wednesday morning, and drove first to Zeeland, MI, where Mark did his internship last summer, to have lunch with the guys he worked with. Since it was out of the way to drop me off with his family first, I went along. We ate at a place called Salt and Pepper, and the food was excellent! It was really great for Mark to have another chance to connect with this group, too.

Then we drove over to the Grand Rapids area and spent the afternoon hanging out with our Aunt and Uncle, then one of Mark's cousins stopped by to chat for a while and another cousin and his wife came over for a while after dinner.

Thanksgiving Day was really relaxing, especially because we were invited to have the big meal at Aunt Debbe's brother's house, and we were only responsible for bringing the salad! I haven't done so little cooking on Thanksgiving since...well, I don't remember when! Also, it snowed all day, and there was already snow on the ground from earlier in the week, so by the end of the day, it was looking like a winter wonderland.

On Friday, I spent the morning with Aunt Debbe making a wreath using greens from their huge yard. We did this two years ago, also. See the finished product below! We drove home after lunch, so we had some time on Friday to unpack and settle back in, then we had a whole weekend left to relax at home. Overall, it was a really nice weekend. Now, we're looking forward to Christmas right around the corner!

Visitors!

Last weekend, we had a lovely visit from my Mom and Dad. This was only their second time in BG (the first was when they helped us move here in 2010). So this time, we did a lot less working and a lot more playing and eating!

They arrived on Friday afternoon, and our first adventure was sampling the tasty treats at the Shatila Bakery in Dearborn, MI. It's a Middle-Eastern bakery that also serves French-style pastries, and from the first time I went, I've always thought Mom would like it. Since it's only about 15 minutes from the airport, it was fairly easy to stop there before heading home. That evening, we continued our international theme with dinner from South Side 6, some of the best food in BG. Since it had been a long travel day for my parents, we wrapped things up pretty early.

On Saturday, we continued our tour of I-75 by heading down to Findlay for proper tea at the Swan House. Dad and Mark were good sports and joined us so we could spend the time all together. Again, this is something I've been looking forward to doing with Mom since I first discovered it. We enjoyed sampling many different teas, and Mom and Dad bought me a bag of my favorite flavor as well as a beautiful necklace/earring set (on sale!). That afternoon, Mark had a recital to attend, so Mom, Dad, and I spent a couple of hours touring the historic area around downtown, then checking out the shops on Main Street. I think Mom's favorite shop was For Keeps, a gift store with a rather large home furnishings area upstairs (I'd never even seen the upstairs before!). They also enjoyed seeing the different style of architecture in the old buildings (like the courthouse) and homes (along Wooster). When we finished exploring downtown, we met up with Mark on campus and took a brief walk around campus. That night, we had a quiet dinner at The China, then played some James Bond Scene It before calling it a night.

On Sunday, Mark got to spend some time sharing what he's been working on at this stage in his degree. He played a few pieces from the recital he's planning for January, and showed some clips from his last recital in March. We had lunch at Reverend's, then walked around the Simpson Garden Park. We also had some tea and caramel apples at home in the afternoon. For dinner, we went to the Stone's Throw.

On Monday, Mom and Dad came to one of my classes, then we had lunch together (with Mark) at the pub on campus. After that, it was time to head back to the airport. It was really fun for us to have Mom and Dad here--we're so glad they came.

*I did take a couple of pictures during the weekend, but Mom did most of the photo-taking, and I didn't get copies of her pics before they left. If she's able to email some to me, I'll add a few photo highlights later!

Caramel Apples

I've been wanting to try this recipe from Our Best Bites for a while, and I finally decided to do it this week for a potluck dinner with some friends. I'm not going to lie--these apples were a lot of work. After I finished making them, I thought they'd probably be a one-time deal. Then I tasted one...they were worth all the trouble (just maybe not on a weeknight!). They were a hit at the potluck, too.

Fall Break

We had Thursday and Friday off this week for Fall Break, which also means that we're essentially halfway through the semester. I can't believe how quickly it's gone by, but we sure have been busy! For me, it's been the kind of semester where it seems the grading never ends; while Mark is preparing for his recital and working on other major projects toward the completion of his degree.

With all this going on, we decided not to go anywhere for the break, but we wanted to make sure we took a little time to relax and have some fun. Besides reading, going out to eat, and watching some extra TV on Netflix, we also went out to the Corn Maze in town, which we've talked about doing every year but never actually done.

We ended up getting there a bit later than planned, so it was totally dark. Thankfully, we'd brought flashlights (and Mark was smart enough to put new batteries in his). Never having been to a corn maze before, neither of us was quite sure what to expect. It turned out that they gave each of us a map with 10 different locations to find within the maze. At each location, we were supposed to punch our card, and if we found all 10, we could enter our cards in a prize drawing. So after getting the rules (and the phone number to call if we got lost and needed to be rescued), we were off.

At first, we could easily follow the map to a couple of the check points, but then we got into the harder part of the maze, and lost our bearings a bit. It took us about an hour, but we did find all the locations. Mark did a great job of leading us through--without his good sense of direction, I think I could have wandered around in there forever! It turned out, though, that he didn't really enjoy the maze, so it won't become a regular thing for us. Still, it was fun to have a night out together doing something totally different! Here's some pictures from the last station we found and us together at the end.

 Tomorrow it's back to school!

Fog

I realize it's been a while since I posted. Clearly, the fall semester has been very busy so far! This week, I had my most up-close-and-personal experience with fog. We've had plenty of foggy mornings since moving to BG, and the fog has often been heavy enough to delay the public schools, but I've never been up and out early enough to see it when it's been really thick still. Friday morning changed all that. I walked to school, as usual, but walking in that heavy fog just felt so surreal! I took a couple of pics on my phone when I got to the office. I've posted them below, next to photos on a clear (winter) day...pretty amazing, isn't it?

Bunker Hill (June)

Here's another long overdue post about our trip to Missouri in June. As most readers know, Mark's mom's side of the family gathers each year at a place called Bunker Hill for a few days. While a lot of the cousins aren't able to be there regularly anymore (because of jobs, travel costs, etc.), we've been blessed to go for the last few years in a row (this year, our plans changed quite last minute after I knew I'd have a job in the fall). My family doesn't have anything like this annual reunion, and I've really come to love our time at Bunker Hill.

The place itself seems almost magical to me--there's a sign in the dining room that says something like "time stands still at Bunker Hill"--and it's really true! Of course, there have been changes and updates; in fact, they are doing lovely renovations to the cabins (just a couple a year), and the office has wifi, but something about the setting just encourages the most pleasant sense of disconnection from the high-tech, high-stress life in the real world. Especially with my niece and nephew there, I feel like I can just run wild like a kid again! Plus, it's so great to have a chance to connect with all the aunts and uncles, not to mention our immediate family.

We play games (including the traditional game of bingo with everyone), eat meals together at the cafeteria (we got ribs again this year!), and play in the water (swimming, canoeing, etc.). This year, we also had a bonfire with s'mores! There are trips into town for shopping (ladies) and golf (usually the guys). One of my favorite things this year was a long canoe ride up the river and back with Hannah and Zach. The water was high, and we went further than we've ever gone before! (Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because there's not a good way to protect my camera from the water...).

Here are a few moments captured on camera, though, courtesy of Mom.

A few end-of-summer reflections

As summer's end approaches, it's funny to think that back at the beginning of this summer, we were dealing with a lot of uncertainty--I was looking for a new job, we had no travel plans (other than Katie's graduation in May), and we were in a holding pattern as far as making any major decisions while we waited to see if I found a new job. Miraculously, by the end of May, I had a new job offer, my previous job had been renewed unexpectedly, and we were able to move on with things, almost as though the previous two or three months of worrying hadn't even happened. Now, I'm one week away from going back to work in the job I've had since we've lived in BG (and I even made some extra money working part time for another language school over the summer!). Whenever I look back at my life with Mark, I'm amazed at God's provision. Things don't always work out the way we hope or expected, but we are also often pleasantly surprised (as was the case with my job situation recently.). When we look ahead to next year, expecting Mark's graduation and praying for him to find a good job, it's important for me to keep everything in perspective! I'm also determined to make the most of what could be our last year in this area. I hope to enjoy my job, my friends, and our small-town life to the fullest!

St. Louis (June)

Back in June, we joined Mark's family in Missouri for the annual visit at Bunker Hill (followed by a couple of days in Arkansas). On our way, we stopped for the night in St. Louis. Since I had expressed interest in seeing the arch up close, Mark planned for us to ride up in the arch and take a river cruise while we were there this year. It was a bit stressful because we arranged to do these things on the same day that we drove in, and our timing was not perfect. We also had serious difficulties finding the right parking structure and navigating the streets downtown, which were under construction. In the end, though, we had time to do both of our pre-scheduled (and pre-paid) activities, and I had a blast. First, we went into the arch visitor center, waited in line for a bit, walked through a display area about the history and design of the arch, then lined up to get in the little elevator system that takes people up to the top.

Our elevator door.

The elevators are like little oval pods that go up. They cram up to five people inside! Notice how Mark's head is tucked right against the side...things were a bit tight in there.

Us inside the elevator pod.

 At the top, it was a zoo of people in another pretty tiny area. It could have been worse, but it definitely wasn't a place we wanted to just hang around forever. So we looked out the windows on both sides, took a few pics, and rode back down (plus, we didn't want to miss our departure for the river cruise).

Various views of St. Louis from the top of the arch.

A bit blurry, but that's us at the top.

Next, it was off to the boats! Mark had taken a similar cruise as a kid, but it was all brand new to me. It was really interesting hearing about the landmarks on either side and a bit of history of the area.  

To take a break from the heat, we moved to the air-conditioned inside area.

Since we had been so rushed on our way to the arch, we took our time (and a few pics) as we walked back to the car. There's really no way for these photos to capture just how big that arch looks when you're standing right there next to it!

I'm not sure if we'll ever do it again, but I'm so glad that we finally made the time to explore this area a bit more closely. It's certainly a different experience than just driving by!

Pittsburgh Trip

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, one of our recent trips was to Pittsburgh, PA to connect with my Grandma and sister who were there with my Great Uncle Jim to visit Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Grace (and their family). Julie and Grandma started their adventure in New Jersey, to see my cousin Nikki graduate from high school. (If you read Julie's blog, she's already written about the trip there...incidentally, I forgot to pack my camera, so all the pics here are Julie's--thanks, sis!).

Mark and I were only there for two nights, but we packed in a few adventures in that time.

Before dinner at Uncle Bill and Aunt Grace's country club. 

After dinner, with more of Uncle Bill & Aunt Grace's family.

Overlooking downtown and the rivers. It was a beautiful day!

The street opposite that great view.

Uncle Bill, Aunt Grace, Uncle Jim, and Grandma. What a great pic!

The guys chatting on the river cruise--my first dinner cruise!

The ladies.

Another view from the cruise.

In addition to the meals and sight seeing, Julie, Mark, Grandma, and I did some shopping at the outlet mall, and various groups of us played Five Crowns to pass some time. It was a good opportunity for Mark and I to connect with part of the family that we don't get to see very often, and Pittsburgh was a beautiful city!