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.

Coming Home

What an adventure we had that summer. We often look back with fond memories. We never posted anything regarding the return home. Eric and I took our time... it took us a full two weeks to get home. We spent several days exploring more in depth Yellowstone national park. During our time there we did day hikes, ate at the Roosevelt Lodge, and saw many of the things we missed on our trip to Yellowstone at the beginning of the summer. Some of the high points were The Old Faithful Inn, seeing two bears, and staying at a neat campsite on the east side of the park. The low points were having an over weight squirrel raid our food bin, almost hitting a very large moose in the middle of the night (actually, this also a high point), and a car camping site that packed us in like sardines. One memory I often think about on our trip from Hailey to Yellowstone was a little plane spraying fields. I have seen farmers doing this before, but the area was so hilly that as it rose up from the field and toward the road, it flew right over the top of the car. It was so neat. I felt like it just barely missed me, though I am sure the pilot was quite sure of his clearance.


Room with a view


Day hike in Yellowstone



A bear!



Old Faithful Inn, super cool!


Morning mist rising off the Yellowstone River








After our time in Yellowstone we left early to Jackson Hole. We picked the car up from the hotel who had so generously allowed us to park one of our vehicles in their lot during our time in the park. We walked around town and then headed through Wyoming to Steam Boat, CO to spend the night. We met up with Tom and Aaronica Healy and continued our journey stopping for a night at Lake Dillon, two nights at Keystone (and did lift assisted mt biking), then headed to Ft. Collins for breakfast at lucille's, our 2nd New Belgium tour, beau joe's pizza, and some shopping. It was an epic end to the best summer of our lives.

by holly