Beyond Summer

I have finally caught up with posting pictures from various things we have done this summer (at least for the moment!). All the big events are over with and we just have a few more small things before September hits and our lives change for a while. Some of you may know what is in store for us next, but for those of you who don't or want a bit more information, here it goes.

Brian found out earlier this summer that he is needed at his company's headquarters in Freidrichshafen, Germany for 6 weeks this fall. The company is coming out with a new engine and Brian is going for some training/meetings along with a co-worker from Singapore. The two of them will stay in a two bedroom apartment that MTU has set up for them. Brian will be gone from September 6 until October 17.

When I found out this news, there was no way that I wanted to be left out or stay in Belleville by myself for 6 weeks! I spoke with the director at the library and am able to take 3 weeks off to join Brian in Germany. I'll stay in the same apartment and be gone from September 16 until October 6.

We are very excited about this short chapter in our lives and are looking forward to the experiences that we will have. Neither of us know any German, so our travels will be interesting, but we are hoping that many people will be able to speak some English with us or that we will catch on to German very quickly!

While we are there, Brian will continue working his normal hours and I will be taking three master's classes online. This should keep me busy during the day while Brian is at work. If not, I'll read/listen to lots of books on my iPod Touch! We hope to spend the evenings and weekends exploring Germany and experiencing some of Oktoberfest. We're still planning out what we hope to do on the weekends, but it looks like we will go to a concentration camp, a science museum, and the Disney castle in addition to other things!

Since this trip takes a large chunk out of our fall, we have decided to postpose the house hunt for 6 months. At the end of July, we signed another 6 month lease on our apartment that will take us to the end of January. At that point, we will see what God has in store for us and where he takes us next.

We are very excited about this trip, but also a bit anxious too! Please keep us in your prayers as we take this journey. I will continue to update the blog while we are there so that you can see what we are experiencing along with us.

MTU Tiger's Game

Last night we went to a Tiger's game with Brian's work, MTU Detroit Diesel. They are sponsors of Cornerstone School in Detroit and last night's game was in honor of the school. As part of our donation to the school (which MTU matched), we received t-shirts, tickets to a tailgate party, and Tiger's tickets. My parents and Nick and Kelly Monsma drove from GR to join us for the game and we had a great time!

We took a bus from MTU to Ford Field, where we joined in the tailgate party in the parking lot. They had dinner for everyone, live entertainment, and fun activities for the kids. We then walked over to Comerica Park where we had tickets in left field behind the bullpen. We could see the game very well and really enjoyed ourselves.

Thanks Mom and Dad and Nick and Kelly for joining us! Enjoy the pictures everyone!

Frankenmuth

Last week Saturday, Brian and I decided to go to Frankenmuth for the day and experience a bit of German culture. We had lunch at the Bavarian Inn, walked around downtown a bit, went to Bronner's, and stopped at Birch Run on our way out. It was a gorgeous, but very hot! We were glad to be inside Bronner's and Birch Run instead of walking outside. We purchase our first ever Christmas stockings which I am very excited about! Below are a few pictures that Brian took during our time there.

Stephanie's Wedding

On August 8, my roomMate from college got married! Brian and I were able to attend the wedding and thoroughly enjoyed being able to attend a wedding without having to do anything in it! It was a nice break from the last few weddings and was our last wedding until Brian's sister, Jill's, in December. Stephanie and Scott looked wonderful and it was great to be able to witness their wedding. We hope they have a great marriage and can't wait to see their house someday soon!

The bride and groom

One of Stephanie's notorious funny faces :)
The roomMate hug!

East Side County Fairs

A few weeks ago, Brian and I decided to see how the fairs on the east side of the state compared to the fairs on the west side of the state. There were two fairs over here the same week, so we decided to check out both of them.

On Monday, we went to the Wayne County Fair which is only about 5 minutes away from our apartment. We were rather disappointed by this fair to say the least. There were only about 10 cars there when we arrived and very few people in general. The rides were still being put together and there was no food available. I was hoping to get an elephant ear, but it was very obvious that wasn't going to happen! We walked through the barns and saw the animals, but were again disappointed by them. There were only 4 dairy cows and only one was a Holstein. We only stayed about 20 minutes before we had seen everything and decided to go home.

On Thursday, by the recommendation of one of Brian's coworkers, we went to the Monroe County Fair. This one was about 30 minutes from our apartment, but worth every minute of the drive! The fair was huge and exactly what we had pictured as a fair! They had lots of animals (including guinea pigs!) and lots of different things to check out. We spent a few hours at this fair and were very impressed! I got my elephant ear and Brian had a really good chocolate shake. Below are pictures from the Monroe Fair since it was actually worth taking pictures of! Enjoy!

Trent's Baptism

On July 26, our first nephew, Trent, was baptized. We were in town for Katie's wedding, so we were able to attend the baptism the next morning and celebrate with the family at lunch after the service. Trent is the son of Brian's brother, Joe, and his wife, Kristin, and has a sister, Ashleigh. It is wonderful to be able to witness the baptisms of our nieces and nephews! Enjoy the pictures below!

The Ponstein family up front in church.

Trent, Dad, and Grandpa talking after the service.
A four generation picture:
Great-Grandpa Harvey Ponstein, Grandpa Ray Ponstein, Dad Joe Ponstein, and Trent Ponstein.
The Ponstein family: Ashleigh, Kristin, Joe, and Trent.

Ragtime Street Fair 2009

Brian and I wanted to check out the latest rotating exhibit in the Henry Ford Museum before it was switched out this fall, so we decided to head over there. We didn't know that it was also the weekend for the Ragtime Street Fair, but when we discovered that, we went over to Greenfield Village and watched a bit of a baseball game and saw the different things they had set up in the Village. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures of the Rock Starts Cars & Guitars exhibit, but we did take some pictures of the airplane exhibit that we have totally missed every time we've been to the museum and the happenings at the Village. Enjoy!

Eric and Katie's Wedding

The end of June brought us our second wedding for the year. I know we've been to a lot since then, but I wanted to put some pictures up of Eric and Katie's wedding so no one got left out! It was a gorgeous day at the end of June for an outdoor wedding at Spring Grove Park in Jamestown and a great reception at the Bluff complete with the amazing pasta bar! Brian and I were both immediately excited when we discovered that the pasta bar was part of the menu. We had a great time with our friends and wish the best for Eric and Katie since they now live in Florida.

The bride and groom

The bride and groom with their getaway car!Our tablemates, the Feyen family - Jon, Suzy, & JuliannaWe needed a picture with the gorgeous Julianna!
(Don't get any ideas though!)The whole gang minus one - Katie & Eric, Brian and I, Jon & Suzy with Julianna, Joel, & Nick minus Kelly.

Botanical Gardens

Just before the 4th of July, my parents came for a visit. They came on a Tuesday night to watch Brian play softball. Wednesday morning we made a trip to IKEA to buy my sister and her now husband, Kyle, a bed and a few other things. In the afternoon we went to the U of M Botanical Gardens. That evening we were supposed to watch the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play at Greenfield Village, but it rained pretty good and we decided to leave and dry off at our apartment with a movie.

The botanical gardens were quite interesting. We showed up during their free hours (which was an extra bonus!) and saw their three greenhouses - tropical, temperate, and arid. We then walked outside where they had different types of gardens and a solar house. It was a gorgeous afternoon and I hope to go back again someday and check out their walking trails. My dad's favorite pastime is taking pictures of flowers, so I've included a slide show of pictures that he took at the botanical gardens. My favorites are the venus flytrap and the pitcher plant.

Church Softball

This summer Brian has been playing softball for the church that we attend, Dearborn Christian Fellowship. The regular season just ended this past Tuesday and tournaments start next week. It's been a fun season to watch even though they haven't won every game. My parents came to one game and below are some pictures that my dad took of Brian batting and playing catcher. Enjoy!

Gone Fishin'

Last weekend Brian and I decided to take advantage of a weekend that we were actually in Belleville and went north to the Kensington Metropark to do some fishing. We rented a rowboat for 3 hours and went fishing on Kent Lake. The first couple hours only brought us seaweed monsters to catch, but eventually we found some fish...even if they were only the size of my hand. :) Enjoy the pictures!

My first catch!My second catch!A close-up of my second catch. Rather small, but still rewarding!This is Brian's first catch. Notice that my hand is the one holding the fish. It's also the hand that took the fish off the hook since Brian doesn't like doing it. ;)Here is Brian's second catch. He's actually holding this one, but I still took it off the hook. He did put his own worm on for a change though!

Brian's third catch was a squirmy one and Brian wasn't holding on well enough to hold it long enough to get a picture. He did take it off the hook by himself, but the hook was barely stuck on the fish.

His second two catches came from just dropping his worm over the side of the boat and yanking up the fish that were swimming around our boat. Not real fishing in my opinion!

We had a great time and our fishing licenses have been put to good use!

25th Birthday

Somewhere in the midst of July, I turned 25! My birthday was 2 days before my sister's wedding and the same day as her bachelorette party, but we still managed to celebrate my birthday a bit. My family (minus Brian and Kyle) went out for lunch at Applebee's and I got my free chocolate mousse shooter. My mom, sister, and I then went to get our manicures for the wedding. It was nice to do something relaxing for a few hours! In the evening was Katie's bachelorette party, but we managed to get dinner from Steak 'N Shake (which I miss a lot!). After the bachelorette party, I got to see my husband for the first time that week and he had a surprise for me! The flowers pictured below were on the kitchen table along with a card that had a squirrel eating birthday cake and saying "Mhmappy Murfday!" and a package of Rolos. We also decided to purchase iPod Touches for each of us for our birthdays this year. Since I knew Brian would be using mine more than I would if he didn't get his until his birthday, I told him that he could get his right away. Even though it was a different birthday this year, I still had a lot of fun and enjoyed the wishes I got from family and friends.