Distance teaches us to appreciate the days that we are able to spend together and distance teaches us the definition of patience. It is a reminder that every moment together is special, and every second together should be cherished.
Being a military family, we are moving here, there and everywhere. We have been very fortunate that much of our family has been able to visit us in our new hometowns, in different areas of the U.S.
But, there is nothing better then going back to where it all began, to see our family. Holland is familiar for us and it will always be called home for Courtney and I, but we are also enjoying being able to see all there is to see, in the different states that we have lived in.
Going back to Holland, it's always a struggle to be able to see everything and everybody that we want too. Truthfully, I get stressed out trying to figure out how we are going to see everyone, while still trying to visit areas we want to visit.
It all worked out this trip, by having brunch with my grandma Kuipers, having my grandma Holtgeerts come visit us at my parents house on Father's Day, and spending some time at the farmer's market with Courtney's mom and some of our friends.
When you plan a trip, you have ideas in your head of where you want to visit and see. We weren't able to visit all the places on the list, but we did check off most of them. We got to visit Centennial Park and see the new Wizard of Oz creations at the park.
(it is believed that part of the book was written in Holland)
How amazing is it that the Maplewood sign is still there?!? Maplewood is where I attended elementary school, so it was a pretty special moment to have the kids sit on the sign for a picture, just like I'm sure I did on the first day of school.
To be able to attend the Farmer's Market downtown and see the new civic center was pretty surreal. I spent lots of time in the civic center watching my dad play basketball, cheerleading for HHS, and father/daughter dances, so it was pretty crazy seeing how it looks now. It looks amazing, but so glad that they kept some of the old bleachers for memories.
Also, my parents were nice enough to add the Polnicky's and Amber to a brick in front of the civic center. The kids had a fun time trying to find our last name and they succeeded.
It's not all about where I want to visit, it's also about the restaurants that I want to eat at. Russ' was a must go to and after we did family pictures, we got to enjoy a Russ' dinner, along with some of Russ' French dressing to go. And it couldn't get any better when they still had their dutch boy and girl sign out front. We had to take pictures by it of course.
The last of our family to see was Courtney's grandma. Her name is Rose and that's how we got McKaila's middle name. The kids had such a fun time visiting her 'cuz she let the kids throw out peanuts to the chipmunks, squirrels, and birds. They got a kick out of watching the chipmunks gather the peanuts into their mouths and run away. They also got to see a bunch of deer running by. They were loving it.
It was a great visit with all our loved ones. It never seems long enough, but we just have to cherish the time we do have together!
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