Long overdue!

Sorry for the dry spell, folks. It's been a busy (yet not very photogenic) couple months. Lots going on, but most of it doesn't make for good stories or photos.

Late October we did our last pre-snow outing into the backcountry.


Kelsey and Will visited us over the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time showing them as much of our world as we could; it was a little tough as this is what we woke up to Tuesday of Thanksgiving week:


Yep, 14" of snow. I shoveled that path so that I could get to the Cruiser...


so that I could go take my CDL skills test in a bus with bald tires! No worries though, this western snow is so light and dry, it's pretty easy driving compared to the Midwest icy snow that we're all used to back home.


Bridger continues to grow and experiment... Here he's decided to get up and walk around when he decided he was done with his dinner.


Trying new beverages...


occasionally choosing his own wardrobe...


or lack thereof.


Playing with boxes and friends.


We're not sure where he gets that from.


He really isn't always just in a diaper... we just seem to always photograph him that way.


We came back to central Iowa to visit for the holidays; it was a wonderful time that we enjoyed greatly. We are SO blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! It was a time that we enjoyed immensely; saying goodbye was so hard! We got to spend time with both immediate and extended families, as well as dear friends that we won't soon forget. It was our first Christmas without Grandma (Grootveld) TerLouw, but her memories were with us strongly the day the Grootvelds gathered from Wisconsin and Southeast Iowa for a day together.

Bridger and Holly also ventured over to western Iowa to visit Holly's grandparents. They had a great afternoon chatting and spending quality time together.

Bridger got time with all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course grandparents! He colored with cousin Nora,



got spoiled by Grandma Grootveld and Grandma Happe,



and got some good truck time with cousin Justin.


So many great photos and memories from our time back in Iowa, but this post is probably too long already!

I love this place. This is a photo of the top of the trail that I can hop on the bike and be at in 5 minutes from my office.


Snow in the high country Saturday morning!


A few photos of Bridger...






Here's one from a couple of months ago. Bridger was playing super hard, and kept the pedal to the metal until he just completely ran out of gas.


Went for a hike Saturday. Dog had a great time, Bridger had a nice ride in the backpack.


Ribs for supper. Bridger LOVED it!


Sunday afternoon - 4WD time!




Little hike to stretch the legs and let Dog romp.


Another good weekend in the books!

Sorry, this should have been posted about a week ago... photos and trip were taken on Sunday the 3rd.

We got the flu. Ick. We got skis. Yay! We got out on Sunday for a loop over and up to Challis, then over to Stanley, back home. Route. Pictures from the day:

Looking back towards Ketchum, about 10 miles out of town.


Great colors this time of year!




Finally got to use the Cruiser a little closer to its full potential. I didn't get photos of the tougher sections, but let's just say I'm super happy with how it tackled some more challenging terrain!





Bridger did a lot of sleeping in the car. Then, after going to bed at 9:00 like usual, he decided that he was up and ready to start his day at 2:00 AM. It was a rough night, but we're back to a regular schedule now (in terms of sleep). We're all feeling quite a bit better, but this week has been brutal. I've been intending to put this post together all week, and just have not been able to get to it. We got a babysitter and got out for a mountain bike ride yesterday; temps in the mid 70's never happen in the second week of October here, but it has been awesome! Looks like we'll be seeing highs in the 50's and 60's now from here on out, like normal. It was great though to get one last day in the mountains with shorts and short sleeves! Trail conditions were perfect... I didn't bring the camera, but even if I had i would not have been able to bring myself to stop and take pictures. The descent was awesome... carving through a pine forest, trail covered in pine duff. It was so grippy and fast and fun!! Some rocks and roots to keep it interesting, but mostly wide open throttle! Mom, I promise we'll take some more Bridger photos and post them up soon... Catch you all later!
-Eric

So we have had more significant changes since our last post. In April we sold our house. The buyer requested a closing date within two weeks of their offer. We had basically settled in on the fact that we were going to be in the house for a few more years while we waited for the housing market to change, and so the offer was major surprise. Eric was still on the hunt for a job, so we decided to wait out the summer in Eric's parent's basement to see if something came about before the snow flew. At the end of August Eric received to requests for interviews. One with a bike company called QBP out of Minnesota, and the other in Ketchum, Id as a Bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. He accepted the position in Idaho and needed to be out in 10 days. We packed like crazy. Got Bridger and Peyton to their annual doctor check ups, and sent Eric off with his dad and a great guy from cornerstone church that offered help.



Here is a video of Bridger we took while we were packing. One his own he went through a grocery bag and discovered a box of graham crackers. He opened the box to find an open package of crackers and took a graham out. Then he nibbled on one and fed another to Peyton. It was funny to watch this all unfolding from a distance.

After Eric made it out, I finished things up in Ames for work and for Usborne book shows that I had left to finish. Bridger and I arrived last Sunday evening.

Bridger and I spent our week unpacking and interviewing potential babysitters for him while I work. We feel that we have a great candidate to start him with tomorrow when I go to my first day at BCRD. We currently do not have a washer and dryer so we spent two evenings at the laundromat. On those evenings we went to the Power house (sweet burger/beer/ bike shop in hailey) and to the wicked spud (our fav. burger joint).


This past weekend we spent finishing some cleanup work on the little cabin we are renting. Saturday we drove to Stanley, wheeled at Smiley creek, and then had a picnic supper at Galena Summit. We wheeled to the top so we had some amazing views.

The days and weeks following the summer of 2008 were a test of patience for us. Eric went back to work at Bike World and began his last semester at ISU to finish his degree in Community and Regional Planning and I began a job hunt. Luckily, I was blessed to find a job that have really enjoyed working for a physical therapy clinic in West Des Moines. I really enjoy the people I work with and really appreciate the ability to leave work at work. There are some challenges, mostly pertaining to the drive. This winter was especially challenging, as commuting through the storms was a bit nerve racking. The other challenge is that at least twice a week I need to be in West Des Moines by 6 am to open the clinic. This has made for many, many early mornings, but I have found that working early instead of late has been nice many ways.

After Eric graduated in December 2008, he started a job hunt. We were, and still are interested in moving back west, after have such a good experience. In December we also learned that we were expecting our first baby. This was a very exciting time for us, but as the months passed and Eric was not having luck with his job hunt it was certainly easy to become discouraged. We knew that we needed to be patient and persevere through by trusting in God's plan. My rule during pregnancy was that I would not stay home sick unless I was physically attached to the toilet and luckily I only missed two days of work. We placed our home on the market in August, in order to free up our ties to the area if a job came around.

On September 1st, we welcomed our son, Bridger Davis Grootveld, into our family. He was 7lbs. 11 oz., 21 in. long and had a full head of hair.

From Bridger 1st 12 hours

It was an amazing experience. There is nothing more in the world you take more pride in than your children.

The first bath was exciting. It was preformed at 4 am after being up all night... but we were still wide awake. We were amazed at how his hair color changed and how long the hair was after the first bath.

From Bridger 1st 12 hours

Bridger was welcomed by his family, including his Grandparents on both sides, 3 Aunts, 3 Uncles, a cousin Nora, a month later a cousin Justin, 4 Great Grandparents, and many Great Aunts uncles and 2nd cousins.


When we brought him home we enjoyed making a mohawk after his first bath. And Peyton learned that things were going to be different from here on out, but accepted the new addition to the new family with open paws. Eric would comment on how he felt Bridger looked like a Dr. Seuss character with a funny face he would make with his mouth.

From Bridger days 2-4

From Bridger week 3

From Bridger week 3

He was a bear for Halloween.


It was fun to enjoy the weather with Bridger this fall. We walked and biked. I really was glad to be able to move around again freely and by the time the snow fell was able to run a few miles with out trouble again.

From bikes bikes bikes

When November arrived we celebrated Grandpa Toyne's 80th birthday and then saw the family again at Thanksgiving and Christmas.


Before we knew it, it was Christmas time again. This year it was certainly a lot more fun with all the tots around. We had the joy of seeing Grandma Verniece with her Great Grand babies.

From Grootveld Christmas 2009

We also were able celebrate Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Happe, Grandma and Grandpa Grootveld, and as a new family.


Bridger got a friend named Pugsley.



Peyton and Bridger continue to become good friends.


Bridger has started on solid foods. So far we have had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, and apple sauce.


His hair just keeps getting more awesome all the time.


He loves to read, blow raspberries, and get passed around. He is becoming quite the ham.


He is very investigative and inquisitive.



He gets more and more fun all the time! We're going to try to start this blog up again with at least semi-regular updates and photos.

~Both of us.