VanTol Family Snapshots

Weekend Family Get-Away

2012-02-10T14:47:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad VanTol treated us all to a night's stay at Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankenmuth for lots of fun.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of our suite until the morning we were packing up to leave.

Our suite was at the corner of the hotel. Here were our views.

Happy 6th Birthday, Nathan!

2012-02-09T12:51:00.000-05:00

Making Apple Pies - 162 To be Exact

2012-02-09T09:13:00.004-05:00

The Grandpa's

Making the Crumble Top

2nd Grade Bake Sale - Other Classmates Helping, Too

2012-02-08T09:04:00.003-05:00

2nd Grade Bake Sale - Puppy Chow

2012-02-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Frosty's Cousin, Bob

2012-02-06T09:14:00.002-05:00

Mommy's Helper

2012-02-03T08:44:00.002-05:00

Heavy, Wet, Beautiful Snow

2012-02-02T10:13:00.001-05:00

In Cognito

2012-02-01T10:36:00.002-05:00

Snow Powder Fight

2012-01-31T17:16:00.003-05:00

Go Number 7!

2012-01-30T11:59:00.001-05:00

Birthday Cake

2012-01-27T12:02:00.004-05:00

Waiting

Out for a Drive

2012-01-26T08:40:00.005-05:00

Thor and Captain America

2012-01-25T09:19:00.003-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Leah!

2012-01-24T12:53:00.003-05:00

Goofball

2012-01-24T12:26:00.000-05:00

Visit to Crown Point

2012-01-23T10:59:00.004-05:00

We went to Crown Point this past weekend to celebrate Jacob's 7th birthday. Emma and Claire had Friday off so we decided to make the trek down.

Here Hannah had just finished helping Aunt Christine stir the birthday rice. She was so pleased with herself.

Jacob with his birthday plate and ready to eat!

Ta-Da

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Going for a New Look

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

After Nighttime Baths

Playing in the Snow is a Messy Business

2012-01-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

If you want to get buried in the recycling bin...

...expect to get some snow in the face.

(Partially) Watching this All Unfold

Family Treasures

2012-01-17T08:48:00.003-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to go visit Jeremy's Aunt Jolene, who recently acquired a treasure trove of family pictures and documents from Jeremy's Grandma Laetz. If anyone truly knows me, they know that family genealogy is a passion for me and I'd spend almost every waking minute on it if I could.

The couple below are Jeremy's Great-Grandparents, Carl Laetz and Helena Batzer, on their wedding day in 1920. One of their wedding gifts was a Dining Room set, including a china hutch and buffet. All those pieces now sit and are used in my home.

Here is Carl Laetz as an Army Sergeant in 1935. There are pictures of him in 1918 as a Private. He would later work his way up to being Major.

After leaving the military Carl became a Postman in Bay City.

This is Jeremy's Grandpa Laetz during WWII. He was an army clerk stationed in the Philippines.

These family treasures, to me, are priceless.

Basketball

2012-01-16T12:55:00.002-05:00

A Reason to Wake up with the Sun

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happiness Is...

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

Drinking my morning coffee,

In my new Green, M & M Mug given to me by Elizabeth,

That is half the size of my head.

Mmmm. Happiness!

I'm Watching You

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

With War Paint On

Hannah's Lego Project

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Claire's Lego Project - Complete with Daddy's Help

2012-01-09T08:28:00.001-05:00

Emma's Lego Project - Complete

2012-01-06T11:51:00.001-05:00

VanTol Christmas

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Full of Elmo

Sparkly Shirts

Sparkly Earrings from Great-Grandma

and Hugs

Just to Name a Few

Hand Tracing

2012-01-04T07:24:00.002-05:00

Fun with Hexbugs

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

So Proud of What He Has Learned in Such a Short Time!

2012-01-02T21:04:00.000-05:00

Train

2011-12-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

Reed Christmas

2011-12-29T16:13:00.001-05:00

Let the Present Opening Begin

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

A Lego Christmas - From Daddy to His Girls

2011-12-27T12:44:00.000-05:00

Santa, The Mrs., and Three Elves

2011-12-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

Reindeer

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

School Christmas Party

2011-12-22T10:23:00.001-05:00

Skating around the North Pole

Oops. Lost Your Skates.

Rudolph Relay

School Christmas Program

2011-12-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

Old Habits Die Hard

Oh, Claire. What are we going to do with you?

Emma Playing the Boomwhacker

Whistling

2011-12-20T08:34:00.002-05:00

Reindeer Cupcakes

2011-12-19T11:24:00.001-05:00

(Some Pictures Taken by Emma)

"Happy Mother's Day"

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Given with those exact words by Hannah on 12/12/11

2011-12-15T08:20:00.002-05:00

The Tree is Up

2011-12-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

This is Claire's new ornament. Her favorite vegetable is broccoli.

Hannah loves to sing "I am Jesus' Little Lamb" before going to bed.

Emma wanted this for her new ornament just because it was pretty.

Our Christmas Enthusiast

2011-12-13T08:28:00.000-05:00

Christmas Blessings

2011-12-12T10:27:00.001-05:00

Lego Competition

2011-12-09T09:02:00.001-05:00

Some of our CTK students participate in a Lego competition during the school year at Delta College. Here are the parents and "Lego Knights" cheering on their teammates.

Jeremy has loved Legos since being a kid and he is very interested in helping out the group next year. Among many other things, these students have to build a Lego machine and program it to perform tasks on its own.

"Yes"

Even the announcer got in on the excitement of the day by donning a Lego Knights Helmet.

The students then confer with the judges and sign a piece of paper saying they understand the rulings and agree to them.

Being that these students are primarily 4th and 5th graders, they didn't do so bad. They placed 3rd in the Lego Matches, but placed below the top 10 overall.

Some of our girls played with Kayla during the long morning. Kayla and Claire are 5th Cousins on the Trinklein side, and classmates, too.

Back to Church to Decorate the Tree

2011-12-08T08:39:00.001-05:00

The man in this picture is Dan. He is one of the sweetest, most kind men I know. He always has a smile, is always in a good mood, and you can find him helping out in any capacity needed. What a treasure!

The two ladies are Carol (in front) and Janet. They are on LWML with me and they are hard workers as well. Every church has at least one woman who seems to be on every committee and head special projects because no one else steps up to do it. That would be Carol. Janet also helps out a lot, especially heading large LWML projects. Janet will always have a special place in our hearts. When Emma was little, she would sit with Janet in Bible class. Every Sunday Janet would bring a different purse with toys and treats for Emma to find inside. To this day, Janet will drop by our house with treats (goldfish crackers many of the times) for the girls or will slip them pre-packaged sandwich bags at church.

The VanTol family is certainly blessed with our church family.

Enjoying the First Snow

2011-12-07T07:12:00.001-05:00

Hannah's Favorite Phrase

2011-12-06T14:55:00.001-05:00

"Aarrgh, I'm a Pirate!"

To Put You in the Christmas Spirit

2011-12-05T09:42:00.001-05:00

Counting Down the Days

2011-12-02T13:16:00.001-05:00

Decorating Church for Christmas

2011-12-01T08:54:00.001-05:00

Winter Has Arrived

2011-11-30T09:24:00.001-05:00

The Mantle is Up!

2011-11-29T08:24:00.001-05:00

Fun with Family

2011-11-28T08:26:00.001-05:00

To the Hospital

2011-11-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

Claire went on a field trip to one of our local hospitals. This trip was made more exciting because Daddy got to go along as her special guest.

Sebewaing Lighted Christmas Parade

2011-11-23T08:55:00.001-05:00

One of Daddy's Dreams Come True

2011-11-22T08:44:00.001-05:00

The First Thanksgiving

2011-11-21T08:58:00.001-05:00

Native American

Tee-pee

Fish Roasting Over an Open Fire

Pilgrim

Lunch of Nuts and Berries, Corn and Fish; Eaten out of a Woven Basket

Giving Thanks

From Old to New

2011-11-18T08:34:00.001-05:00

What do you do with gobs of crayon stubs? Make new swirly crayons, of course!

She Loves to Dress Up

2011-11-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

A Christian and Military Burial

2011-11-16T10:47:00.001-05:00

"...Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight"

2011-11-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, our Grandpa VanTol died in the Lord on November 1. This was the evening sky the night of his visitation. Grandpa was a Navy Seaman in WWII and I couldn't help but think of him as I snapped this shot.

Sebewaing Campus Has a New Playground, Too!

2011-11-14T18:32:00.000-05:00

Another Fun Project for Jeremy at Our Unionville Campus

2011-11-11T08:41:00.001-05:00

A Different Perspective

2011-11-10T08:08:00.002-05:00

The girls were allowed to have a piece of Halloween candy one day. Hannah came running to me to show me her chocolate baby. "Isn't it cute?" she said. "Awww!"

(Sorry for the bad quality of the picture. My camera was acting up that day. Sometimes it has a mind of its own.)

Too Little, Too Much

2011-11-09T08:31:00.003-05:00

Safetyville

2011-11-08T09:54:00.003-05:00

The New Breakfast Cereal Fruit

2011-11-07T07:26:00.000-05:00

Today the Porch Furniture is Packed Away for Winter

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

I always hate to see it go.

2nd Grade Class Party

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

The "Sew Yourself Together" Game

Corn-Dart Game

Ring Toss

Making Monster Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 8th Birthday, Emma!

2011-11-01T08:53:00.002-04:00

Emma loves to help me in the kitchen, so for this birthday I let her make most of the cake by herself. The cake was not a box mix and I have to admit that I think she did a better job at it than I do. She even frosted it by herself. She was so proud.

What are These Two Up To Now?

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

Making "Cheese" Tortillas with Leaves and Sawdust, of Course!

Growing Up

2011-10-28T07:38:00.002-04:00

Pumpkins

2011-10-27T08:40:00.003-04:00

Teepees and Roosters, Windmills and Fire Engines...What a Combination!

2011-10-26T10:17:00.001-04:00

Straw Creatures

2011-10-25T07:17:00.001-04:00

5 Year Old Humor

2011-10-24T09:22:00.001-04:00

Claire recently went on a field trip. Here she is with three of her classmates while riding to their intended destination. They thought they were hilarious and were singing a little song about wearing their coats backwards. The mother driving and I were unaware of what they were doing, but luckily I turned around before they stopped and got a picture of their fun little game.

Bay City State Park, Halloween Nature Trail

2011-10-21T08:55:00.000-04:00

We recently went to the Bay City State Park dressed in our Halloween Best, and layers, to keep us warm. Local volunteers and park staff had a tour led nature trail from dusk to dark to teach children about night-time woodland creatures. Local high school students dressed up as bears, spiders, snakes, wolves, foxes, bats, vultures and much more and told us about the benefits of these creepy, scary beasts. Most of the event was too dark to capture any pictures, but I was able to get a few shots of the girls working on a bat craft while we waited in line.

Playground Fun

2011-10-20T08:13:00.000-04:00

Going on a Barrel Ride

2011-10-19T08:34:00.004-04:00

Fall Family Day, Bay Shore Camp - Bounce House

2011-10-18T10:15:00.001-04:00

Fall Family Day at Bay Shore Camp

2011-10-17T08:56:00.002-04:00

Warm Night - Hot Dog Roast in the Yard

2011-10-14T09:49:00.003-04:00

Present Time

2011-10-13T08:22:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

2011-10-12T08:08:00.002-04:00

Progress on Downstairs Bathroom

2011-10-11T09:01:00.005-04:00

Pre-Birthday Lunch Out

2011-10-10T06:49:00.005-04:00

Taking Silly Pictures on the Laptop Camera

2011-10-07T09:44:00.003-04:00

Family

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Hannah and Aunt Sarah - Twins a Generation Apart

2011-10-05T14:06:00.003-04:00

How Can You Pick a Favorite?

2011-10-04T07:13:00.003-04:00

Class Learns about Seeds, Flowers, and Gourds

2011-10-03T11:00:00.003-04:00

Homecoming Parade

2011-09-30T08:06:00.000-04:00

The local high school in our area had their homecoming parade through town. I wondered how they would pull it off in the rain.

"They're coming!"

All the players and the court hunkered under umbrellas or toughed it out in the rain. The band, however, stayed where it was dry. Smart thinking! The drummer was resourceful and used the side of the bus to keep the beat.

Catching Raindrops and Wearing "Nachos, Banjo's, and Panchos"

2011-09-29T09:01:00.005-04:00

Breakfast with Style

2011-09-28T06:30:00.002-04:00

Picking Up

2011-09-27T07:12:00.000-04:00

I cannot seem to train my children to put their things away in its intended location. I found a Sunday dress hidden between a dresser and wall yesterday and school papers stuffed in a sock drawer. Sometimes things aren't even hidden, but placed in an open location because I guess the child finds its new home more convenient. Hannah is guilty of the latter. Take her shoes for instance. She thinks having them in the bathroom makes more sense.

I suppose storing paper play money in your shoe is also the way to go.