25th Anniversary Trip to Cancun

We celebrated our 25th anniversary with a trip to Cancun - without the kids.

School Photos

Paul in Europe

I went to Stuttgart for a conference and then to Vienna for the weekend.

September

September (and late August) included peach canning, Lizz's reception, fishing on the big lake, and soccer.

Maria's Class Campout

Maria's 5th grade class went on a campout to Camp Tall Turf. They had to build their own shelter to sleep out in the rain!

Summer 2009

Random events from July and August include the Tatums' departure, a day at the big lake, camping at Nascar, and biking at Lake Leelanau.

Beth and Bryant's Trip to Vienna

In July, Beth and Bryant spent two weeks in Vienna visiting our old friends and stomping grounds. No captions yet.

Maria's Minnesota Adventure

Maria went to Wolf Ridge in Finland, Minnesota, with her grandparents.

(click here to see all the photos)

Bryant in Jersey

Bryant spent five days in New Jersey visiting Misty and Chance.

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4th of July

We spent 4th of July at Sandy Pines. Beth's brother Bruce and family were in town from Atlanta. The rest of the local extended family joined in the fun. Parade, beach, games, campfires and lots of great food.

 (click here to see all the photos)

Andrew's West Coast Junket

Andrew took a trip to Portland, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

While in LA, Andrew went surfing at Manhattan Beach. Aunt Sue reports, "Andrew was up on a wave on the first try and never slowed down! He is a natural. Eight dolphins also joined the event. Very Cool!"

(click here to see all the photos)

Kentucky Family Reunion

We went to our triennial Dragt Family Reunion in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, again this year.

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Visiting the Russos

On our way to the family reunion in Kentucky, we stopped overnight in Louisville and visited Lulu and Mike Russo and their kids Ryan and Sydney. Lulu is Nenetta's sister, so Ryan and Sidney are Andrew's cousins. What a great time.

(click here to see all the photos)

Maria's Soccer Tournament

Maria was invited to play in an AYSO tournament in Kalamazoo. Her team swept all four games and won the tournament!

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Bryant's 8th Grade Graduation

High school, here he comes!

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Beth in California

Beth visited her sister Sue in Manhattan Beach in May.

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Maria's 10th Birthday

Maria turned ten on May 1. She took some friends to the Holland Aquatic Center and to the Pizza Ranch in Hudsonville on the way home.

(click here to see all the photos)

Spring

Springtime means Easter, flowers, girls in fancy dresses, Keeton's visit, and the year's first visit to Sandy Pines.

(click here to see all the photos)

Made it back!

We left Patrick's house on Friday morning and stopped at Manassas, VA, to visit the Bull Run battlefield. We stayed overnight in Somerset, PA, before driving the last 500 miles on Saturday. You can see our route here and our full photo set here.

More Lake Gaston fun and a bit o' history

We had another great day of fun at Lake Gaston on Tuesday. We boated around and even got to go trap shooting. Wednesday Bryant and I went to Appomattox Courthouse to see the place where the Civil War ended. You can see the photos in the album here. And of course we're still tracking our route everywhere here.

Fresh from Virginia

We arrived at Patrick's house in Virginia last night after a couple pop-ins to visit some friends in Raleigh. We're still updating the map of our adventures here, and I added some photos from today to the Spring Break album here.

Update and First Photos

We finally arrived in Myrtle Beach today. The ride was long, but we enjoyed it. Andrew drove about half of the 900 miles. Today the boys got to meet my brother Ken (aka Red). We went to Alligator Adventure and toured around the area. We had watched Michigan State beat UConn during dinner. We're spending the night here.

You can see today's photos here. I'll keep adding to that album as we go.

Follow Us on Spring Break

I'm taking Andrew and Bryant on a road trip for Spring Break this year. We're leaving this afternoon. We're driving to Myrtle Beach, SC, to pay a visit to my brother. Then we're heading to Bracey, Virginia, to spend the week at my friend Patrick's place on Lake Gaston.

I'll be posting photos and commentary along the way. In the meantime, you can follow along as we drive the 1800+ miles there and back. Just bookmark this page. Each time you refresh it, you'll see the little pins moving across the map as we progress. Or you can keep this link open and check the auto-refresh box.

I expect breaks in the trail when we get out of cellphone range and also when I need to use my iPhone for something else. Otherwise, it should track us in more or less real time.

Andrew 16th

Andrew turns 16; a trip to the auto show. Date: Mar 14, 2009 Number of Photos in Album: 10 View Album Play Slideshow

Winter

New Year's Day, Josie's 7th birthday, skiing. March 4, 2009 Number of Photos in Album: 18 View Album Play Slideshow

Chicago with Kev

Maria, Bryant and I took Kev to Chicago and Wheaton. Date: Dec 30, 2008 Number of Photos in Album: 18 View Album Play Slideshow