Art Prize 2012

The past few years we enjoyed an afternoon checking out ArtPrize in downtown GR.  Usually there are entries lining the streets, filling parking lots, in hotels and museums, even hanging in the air.  Some of the art is very cool to see, other pieces are interesting and some are plain dumb . . . here are a few that caught our eye:

 This was an entire arctic gathering of animals made of junk . . . bowling pins, spatulas, car parts spoons, etc.  Kind of interesting.

The kids thought it was fun to hide behind this one and take pictures . . . although I'm not sure how I feel about Briella the mermaid?!?

 This seal is made out of wood, the artist said he used wood burning to make it look and feel like fur, pretty cool.

 I thought this one was going to be Stephan's favorites, but the next one was his top pick.

The artist was working while everyone watched and they had buckets of sand for kids to play with. Her assistant was spraying the sculpture down with a mist of water to keep it from blowing away.  She also told Stephan they add glue to the water for the final spray.  Gideon just asked me, "When are they going to bonk it down?"  I think he wants to volunteer to help.

 This party of horses is made from sticks and quite impressive (it got votes from the jurors and the public).

Last year there was a family a bears catching fish in the fountain at the Ford Museum, this year the penguins took over.  There were even a few swimming at the top. It is fun to see and I found myself waiting for one of them to jump in!

We aren't really artsy people, but this is a mostly free, mostly family friendly event and we don't get downtown GR too often.  It is fun to see/hear which entries make the top 10 and then the winner . . . We even voted this year for the first time! (Mostly because Stephan did not want the guy with a teepee set up that had a black curtain inside of it to win--yes seriously! People were in line to see inside this thing and I was watching reactions and one kid says "What is that in there?" after he had been in there . . . the artist says "art" then two ladies walked out and whispered to me "It's nothing. Nothing!"  The kids wanted to see so Stephan went in with them and found out it was nothing!)

I think that it is quite interesting that many of the top entries are animals . . . humans are creative, but God is ultimately The Creator and we just can't do much better than the animals He has created!

Entry Way Bench/Lockers!

A long time ago Stephan and I started talking about a bench with hooks that he would make for our entry way area . . . I pinned a bunch of ideas and we sketched out our ideal entry bench!  Stephan took it from there and built this beauty!!

 I need to find baskets and maybe make a cute pillow, but we are loving this lovely addition to our home!  So glad to have such a handy man :)

ROFL

Stephan was playing with Asher the other night, bouncing a ball off the wall. Asher was cracking up so much, we had to take a video.  Enjoy :)

Happy Father's Day

 So we usually try to take a picture of us with the kids on "our" day of the year . . . we totally missed Father's Day . . . well we celebrated with cinnamon rolls for breakfast, new socks, etc. but did not get the picture taken as planned.  So, the next Sunday we remembered!!  After a few turned heads, I got them all looking at me at the same time--while smiling!!


Below are the pictures I took for a gift for Stephan.  Asher wasn't very cooperative but he has "ad" on his feet; together they say "We <3 Dad"  It was not easy to get them to sit still and face me with their feet upright, so the best two are not completely clear.  The bottom two are just reminders that some times we don't see the effort behind the results.

 

They do love their dad :) He is celebrated each day when he comes home from work with cheers and hugs.  They love to have him read to them, play with them outside, show them videos on his ipod, and wrestle with him (among other things).  We are blessed with a godly husband/DAD!

Briella-isms

Briella is learning a lot of new things and it is so fun to watch her catch on to things and stumble in her understanding.  Here are a few of my recent favorite quotes.

**She was sitting (on the toilet) and smashing her thighs together--it takes a bit of effort to get them to touch. She said, "My legs are getting chubby just like yours Mom! Isn't that cool?!?" My response: "Very cool Briella" WHATEVER???

**Today in the van, "Do you know how high I can count?" "How high Briella?"  "To eleventy"  Hope you are impressed because I do not know anyone else who can count to eleventy!!

**At Dinner: "Dad, you are getting gray hairs here."  (pointing to the temple area where there are in fact several gray hairs)  "You look like you are going to be a grandpa."  (Lots of giggling)

**During lunch, telling stories to Gideon . . . "I was sleeping with my kids' daddy . . ."  (UM, not sure we are ready for any boy talk and she is talking about marriage!?!?)

**During dinner awhile back:  Briella says, "We need to wash the windows again, Mom." I looked at her?!? "They're dirty." I made her help me wash them the other day :)

**In the Aldi parking lot: "Mom, an eagle!" as she points to a seagull.  Just not the same, dear. 

**Playing at the park: "Mom, Gideon is crying" (Standing right there it is clear he is not crying) "Right here" (pointing at sweat running down the side of his face).  lovely :)

On the Road

 I'm debating the details to share . . . I'm not sure if more details will make more sense or be more surprising . . . We took a family road trip to Sioux Falls, SD in this sleeper cab pulling 44,000 pounds . . . and then returned 30 hours later.  Crazy, right?  We look relatively happy and clean and decently rested, right? Because the previous picture was taken at the end of our journey!!

 We left Michigan at 2 pm on Tuesday.  The above picture is at about 7:30 Thursday morning while we wait for Stephan to get the paper work taken care of and trailer hooked up.  Briella and Gideon enjoyed watching out the window as we drove across MN, IA, and IL.  We got to see lots of wind turbines and tractor parts being hauled, we even saw a couple of airplanes, one landing while we passed the airport.

 We laid on the bed in the back reading books or just playing for most of the trip.  Briella and Gideon took turns sitting up front, too.

It was fun to stay with my sister and we got to see my parents and other siblings, too.  It was an adventure for sure!!  I'm not sure if we will be able to do it again . . . but it was worth it this time and I'm glad we took the opportunity to go!

Monster Trucks

 A good friend of Stephan's got tickets to the monster truck show and invited Stephan and Gideon along.  Gideon was a little concerned when I told him it might be noisy (he is actually quite sensitive to noise!?!?!), but he ended up having a blast.  He was so excited to tell me how they crashed and smashed cars.  He also said at least three times that he did not like the teeth one . . . must have been on the side of a truck, Stephan wasn't even sure what he was talking about.  Gideon really liked the bus one :)  He told me that at least three times when he got home, too.
Speaking of three . . . Gideon is very excited to turn free on March twenty free.  I should teach him to show three fingers, but he only has singers on his hands and I'm not sure if he can put free singers up, we'll see :)  He often talks about going in the ban to various places and I realize now why he calls the van a ban, he sings the alphabet ABC  (yada yada) T U B W X Y and Z.  He has no V which leads to much confusion.  We'll keep working on the correct pronunciation of Finger, THRee, and Van . . .

  

Jump Around

I'm not sure how this little 'game' even started . . . but I'm pretty sure it was Gideon's idea.  He loves jumping and finds new and dangerous ways to test his 'skills.'  Briella is often in the background telling him it is dangerous or to be careful. So they were using the balls as stairs to reach the top of the couch and then jumping onto the couch.  Anyway, you'll notice the supportive parent in the background trying to keep things safer.  After said safety-conscious parent suggested trying to land on their butts rather than just jumping to land on feet or knees, it took Gideon two seconds to figure out the new and improved jump with gusto.  Briella on the other hand needed lessons and hand holding (literally) to get her to attempt such feats. I do think the real safety police captured some great air shots :)

 Here is a picture of Asher's TWO teeth!

 

Grandparents . . .

We always appreciate the time we spend with our parents and siblings, since most of them are out of state.  The kids had a blast playing with aunts and uncles and grandparents.  Gideon enjoyed the wrestling, cars, and throwing of balls.  Briella enjoyed the sitting on various laps, playing dress up, and extra books being read to her.

 The best gift opening this year was not any of the kids, it was my Mom  . . . when she saw we (as in the siblings) got her and Dad a Kindle Fire and a few books for their trip to Alaska in August.  priceless.

 Briella loves to visit Great Grandma Miersma and play with all her dolls.  While Grandma was holding Asher and Gideon was playing on the floor, Asher started giggling--it was so cute!

 Evidently our kids were the most excited to help Great Grandma VM open her gifts.  She didn't seem to mind ;)


I have to include this one because I'm sure Brynn wants to see how it turned out:

 Here is our section of the VM party crowd.  It was a fun party, even though I am sure we maxed out the capacity in that place.
Later in the night, Asher was cracking up while Great Grandma was holding him.  So fun to see him enjoying his big happy family :)

Our trip to Iowa also included seeing Stephan's parents and sister, but we missed getting pictures of them.  We had a wonderful time in Iowa, including our first ever Chili Bash at Casey's Bakery (highly recommended!!), the typical stop at the candy store, and lots of food, games, and books at G & G Buys' house!

Happy 4th Birthday Briella

My mom, Stephan, Briella, Gideon and I all worked on this special purse cake.  Briella was so proud of it, later I caught her sitting and staring at it :)  She got training wheels from G&G Buys and Monday she tried them out.  She is a little chicken, so it took some coaxing and practice pedaling on the smaller bike, but she is getting the hang of it. 

The first picture I successfully posted was Briella at 7 months!  Wow, it seems like a long time ago and yet it seems like yesterday.  We gave her a new dress which came with a dress for her doll, she was so excited!

Asher Dale Postma

 On August 29 we were blessed with the birth of a healthy baby boy--Asher Dale arrived at 1:50 pm weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 20 inches.  He is doing well, we came home Wednesday.  Gideon and Briella are loving their little brother.

We chose the name Asher because it means "Filled with Happiness" and we feel truly blessed to be given another covenant child.  We chose Dale after my dad, Roger Dale (we each have a brother with the middle name Dale, too).