The Van Dalens on the Hill

Miss Joie Faye :: 3 months

2011-07-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Such a happy girl! Photo shoot with mommy outside :)

Tummy time!!!
Picking raspberries with Brandi and Chelsea (friend)

Make sure to scroll down, other crabbing post!

Crabbing!!

2011-07-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness I have a sister to email me pictures of life in Lynden! Last week they took out the boat and put pots out to catch some crab :)

Miss Joie did awesome!

Life jacket from Auntie tasha :)
Auntie Shannon and Brock ready to go!

Papa, Brock and Uncle Dave!

Papa showing Brock the catch up close

Already has pot with his name on it!

Little unsure.... ;)

Success!

Another post coming!

:: Miss Joie Faye ::

2011-06-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Few random shots of Joie from when I was home

Playing dress up with all her headbands :)

Sounders Game

2011-06-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

Sounders game at Quest field :)
Me and Caitlin (former Starbucks barista :)

Final week as a college student

2011-06-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sitting in Q Cafe, getting ready to open up the powerpoints and study notes for the LAST time as a college student! 3:30 today I will take my last final and turn in my final paperwork. few words to describe what Im thinking/feeling: nervous, excited, in awe, in denial, are just a few. This all seems so crazy! Everyone told me these 4 years would go by fast, and now Im truly realizing how true thaty statement was! I don't know where they went! Senior year especially! I barely had time to breathe and enjoy it before it was over! And as of right now I have my summer plans somewhat planned out, nannying and studying in seattle for the summer, then going to Africa and after that who knows! I sure hope God has planned figured out, Im still waiting on him and trying to figure out the next season in my life.

One of my really good friends and housemates is moving home after graduation, another is moving to Africa for a year and another is leaving in mid July. There are so many changes and so much going on, I am continually asking for peace, grace, and reassurance.

I took out my cap and gown last night and had a minor freak out, I am going to be graduating! Ive been in school or studying for as long as I can remember! School has been my thing, and now its coming to a close. Good thing I still have the NCLEX to study for ;) But really, it'll be stressful, but good transition for my probably.

Cannot wait for Friday! Get to see some much needed faces of family and cousins and friends :) Get to spend the weekend with my parents and Graduation Sunday with more family! Feeling so blessed and so loved.

Pray I can finish strong with this last final and getting paperwork all sorted out. Wearing thin but continue to push through.

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and support!

Joie Faye: 1 week old

2011-05-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Getting in some much needed Auntie time on my Saturday home :)

sound asleep...
Time to dress up!

and take pictures!

trying on headbands :)

and snuggle with mommy :)

Alki Beach!

2011-04-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

It was a win-win situation, my clinical instructor gets to go to a conference in Hawaii, and we get a day off of clinical! It was wonderful! Much needed and well spent! Went to lunch for sushi then out to Alki Beach! Me - Natalie - Alexa. (Sorry for the awkward HUGE spacing b/n pictures, can't seem to make it go away!)

sooo sunny!
Me and curtis :)
Gorgeous view!

Love her!

Pictures of sara's baby shower below!

Nursing Baby Shower!

2011-04-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday a few of us put on a baby shower for Sara with nursing and non nursing friends with food, games, presents, AND....onsie decorating!

Stacey - sara - me :) Justin and Sara - 1 more month to go! Due May 16
Some of the onesies :)

She's having a girl and has named Leila picked out :)

opening the blanket Shannon made for her :)

LOTS of pink!

I <3 Mommy

last weekend of spring break

2011-04-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

Had the best weekend before going back to school, listened to dad preach at the CHCC and got to sit next to Great Grandma Van Dalen during the service :)

Love her!

Such an amazing woman! So strong and still so cheerful when I see her :)

Check below for another post! little late, but 36 week pictures are up!

::36 weeks::

2011-04-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

After the baby shower :)LOVE little baby Heutink <3 gorgeous mama!

boy or girl...???

Sisters :) love her!

38 week pictures soon to come!

Commissioning

2011-02-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well week 5 has finally arrived! We finished our last final this morning and get 3 days to sleep, pack, and get ready to go! We had a Commissioning (farewell, send off) thing yesterday which was simple but still really good! It was open to students, professors, etc and we just said a little about our team, MEDRIX, and they said prayers for us :)

:: Team 2011 ::

Bethany Green and I :)

We survived the 4 week marathon of lecture and finals this week and now get to celebrate :)

Thanks for all your support and prayers! I'll be updating my Vietnam blog:

www.chelseagoestovietnam.blogspot.com so you can check that one :)

So excited to see my mama and daddy and sister on Friday, then we get to board a plane at 2am, yay us and sleep!

28 weeks

2011-02-07T10:24:00.001-08:00

Mommy to be at 28 weeks!!! So little technical difficulties, don't know why the first picture is small but it still gets point across :) Baby Heutink is growing!! and will make his appearance soon! I am so thankful I get to see her in few days because next time (in March) she is going to much farther along and so much closer to 40 weeks!

I think she has that glow... ;)

Love you sister!!! cannot wait to meet the newest Heutink!!

25 Weeks

2011-01-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

Here you go! Mommy to be at 25 weeks!

Being pregnant she forgot to take just a belly shot but hey at least she took some!

Baby bump is definitely there!

15 weeks to go!

God is good!

2011-01-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

These are just a few of the gorgeous sunsets I witnessed while I was home on break. These pictures are from Hampton Rd, I pulled over to take a few pics because I couldn't believe the colors! Brock was with me and loved them too! His words, "look at all the pretty colors! Pink, purple, and orangish!"

I also did another post so be sure to scroll down and see the Bouncy House post :)

Bouncy House

2011-01-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

When I was watching the boys one day they convinced me to set up the Bouncy House! It was my first time, but Brock assured me he was an expert and knew how to set it up and where to turn it on! I have to admit it was quite the process but we got it up and going and they loved it! It terrified me watching them fly out the door but least they had fun before anybody got hurt!

CHEESE!
Mr. Bryce!

And a video to capture it all!

Where's the baby?!?

2010-12-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

Bryce has finally realized where the baby is and we caught it on film :)

20 weeks

2010-12-28T21:10:00.001-08:00

Here's a few pictures of mommy to be at 20 weeks! Half way there, and I think she's got the glow! I love seeing her belly grow and calling her "preggo", can't wait for our little mystery to arrive in April!!

:: Love that lil baby bump ::

Brock's swimming lessons

2010-12-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late on pictures from Thanksgiving break but finally getting chance to put them up since finals are done! I got to catch Brock's swimming lessons at the YMCA and it brought back to many memories! he's so brave too!

ready to jump in!

Vietnam Team 2011

2010-12-02T19:23:00.001-08:00

Here's our first team photo!!! We had our last class today and finalized our mission statement, talked more about our covenant and all of the work that we will be doing over Christmas break (so much for a break!) to get ready for our classes in January and our departure in February! the 12th to be exact :)

Our mission statement in case you're curious:

"We seek to reflect Christ as we learn with integrity in a cross-cultural contex by strengthening relationships and demonstrating compassion while caring for the Vietnamese people."

Front row: Barbara (our professor going with us), Emily (my current housemate), Bethany, Leah

Back row: Michael, Courtney, Maggie, Jocelyn, Spencer and me!

We just finished reading "Last night I dreamed of Peace" The diary of Dang Thuy Tram if you need a good book to read :) my dad already finished it over thanksgiving break, and I finished it yesterday!

I'm done with classes for 2010 and only have 5 (yes 5!) finals to go next week then I'll be home for Christmas break! Praise the Lord! So ready for a break.

Housemates!

2010-11-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

This week was my housemate Brittany's birthday and we tired out Palamino's in Bellvue Square :)

Me and Natalie

Lauren & Alexa (who live upstairs)
All of my lovely housemates plus some friends :)

Truman's Football game

2010-11-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I found out Truman had a game in Kirkland, and Friday night my parents were at my door :) We headed out over 520, got some dinner, and got dressed to prepare for the rain! The school we played was amazing and parents even brought hot chocolate as a thank you :)

Guela me and mom :)

The dedicated fans!

The guys and Amy behind us

Me and my not so little cousin Truman :)

Shane and Truman

Under Water...

2010-10-24T17:25:00.001-07:00

Prayer request: no more rain....

I don't know how well Seattle is going to comply with this but hopefully the rain holds off this week and we don't have torrential downpour like its predicted. Last year we learned one downside of our beautiful 100 year old house: when it rains it flows into my room. This year is no different, except that its already starting in October.

Waking up and getting your socks wet isn't the bed in the morning, so hopefully between my landlord and my dad we can figure something out :)

For now, the laundry and humidifier keep going....

Psych Clinicals

2010-10-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

This quarter I have been doing my Psych clinicals at Navos Health Solutions in West Seattle. There are 5 students in our group and we are divided on 2 floors each with about 34 patients. We are so blessed to have such a great clinical instructor, he is actually a psych nurse and teaches our Psych theory. I have one more day left this Tuesday, and next week we will switch locations with the other half of our group. We have been doing psych for 5 weeks, and next we will do 5 weeks of OB at Valley Medical Center :)

Last week they had a coffee cart for the nurses and as student nurses we got to reap the benefits! Such a treat after long 8 hr shift :)

Our clinical group (left to right)

Ruth, Jenni, me, Krista, and Jocelyn (who is going to Vietnam as well!)
Attempt at a group picture....

All I can say about psych is wow, what a learning experience! I was terrified for this clinical rotation and definitely lost sleep the night before our first day. It all turned out well, I have plenty of stories and had multiple great conversations with patients! We got to lead community meetings and we did a "Grooming group/Spa day" for the patients once a week which they loved! They were so thankful to have someone paint their nails or help them with make up. One week we even brought in a parafin hand wax and did those :)

I don't think my calling is psych, but it is definitley a population that has a negative stigma and deserves just as much care as any other population. The nurses and staff we worked with were amazing and taught us a ton!

roadtrip to pullman

2010-10-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Few weekends ago, Rachel DeZeeuw and Amy Grambo drove to Seattle and spent the night at my house. 5:00am our alarms were going off and we were out of the house by 5:30. After getting coffee and gas we were off!

Destination: Pullman!

We went to visit friends from Lynden and were able to see other guys from Spokane as well :)

Rachel, Hannah (Charlie's housemate), me and Amy ready to go out

Saturday was Game day! WSU vs Oregon Ducks
we had sun, clouds, rain, the whole mix!

the girls!

So much RED!

HUSKIES GAME!!!

2010-10-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got to go to the UW game with Stacey and my housemate Natalie got to come with :) It was a gorgeous day and an Ah-mazing game! They played Univseristy of Oregon and went into double OT!

Tailgating before the game :)

Stacey, Natalie and I
The flag!!!

we were very excited :)

helmet car...

Final score!

Oh Jake Locker....

Took 4 years of living in Seattle to finally get to go to a Huskies game, but was definitely worth it!

Baby Heutink!!!

2010-10-03T15:58:00.001-07:00

Here's the first pictures of the newest addition to the family! Shannon's due April 27, 2011!

Another April birthday :)

She's feeling great, no morning sickness which is a huge blessing!

More pics to come!

Part of how they told my parents, Guela, Tasha and lots of cousins!

Congrats Dave and Shannon! We love you and couldn't be happier!

Plus I get to be an aunt again!

park and king reunion

2010-09-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

I think I said this at the start of my last post, but this is the first of 5 or 6 so make sure to scroll down and see them all! Shannon requested that I update the blog since I have failed to do so...so here it goes! (kind of in backward order....)

Met Tasha and the boys at the park one morning to let them run out some of their energy :)

Brock was collecting leaves....
and he was very proud of his collection!

Crashed out in my car after running errands with me :)

All the siblings :) take 1...

take 2...

and 3...

riding the gator

COUSINS!!!

me and tay :)

Taiji and Taylor

how can you not love him?!? he's cute and strong!

Well after an amazing long summer or work, online class and spending time with friends and family I'm back in Seattle and getting ready for classes to start on monday....hello Senior year! I don't know where the last 3 years went, but come June 2011....GRADUATION!

Watch for updates!

cousins!

2010-09-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

While I was off for a few days I got to babysit some of the cousins :)

Mr Grady:

the boys very excited about their suckers!
weston

me and westy :)

Bree was trying to get Grady's attention and take the picture....very entertaining, but looks more like an awkward family picture to me ;)

me and grady :)

and breester

Love them :)

bryce and auntie chelsea day!

2010-09-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

So after months of working and feeling like I hadn't seen much of my nephews, when I was got off work and my mom had bryce I was ready! (with camera in tow!)

happy guy after his nap :)

Playing outside while grandma was mowing lawn
I think he was happy to be outside :)

close up thanks to my mom!

he was distracted (or annoyed) by something...

Seriously, mountains, hay bales & blue skies, couldn't have been better!

But then we found the tractor! Or "kika" according to bryce :)

farm boy? I think yes! I can't get enough of those blue eyes!

who knew a kid could get so excited about a lawn mower?!?

Lets just say it was a good (and much needed) afternoon for both of us :)

2 of my boys :)

2010-09-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if you've already seen these on facebook, but Shannon thought I should update the blog, so here's a little start to our summer in review!

So this if for you Shannon and Lacey :)

A little photo shoot with my man Brock:

And my other little man Bryce:

Bathtime is almost always a guarantee time for smiles

hmmm....

bahaha I LOVE my bath!

Summer weddings

2010-09-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

This summer was the summer for weddings! Justin Brann and Andrea Hodgins had a gorgeous outdoor wedding in the Brann back yard.

The bridesmaids :)

Amy Longstreth, Mel Flemming, Rachel Burton, Ashley and Alena

And the groomsmen
Walking down the aisle

Shannon and Brandi

Dave and Shannon :)

Sisters! :)

Love them!

Dad got to MC

Congrats Justina and Andrea, love you guys!

Nate & Lacey's Wedding

2010-07-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

These are a little out of order...but you'll get the idea! They got married on June 20, and I was able to be one of her bridesmaids! :)

The bridesmaids and groomsmen

Hanging out in trailer (after pictures) before the ceremony trying to stay warm :) Before Nate and Lacey left (in her cocktail dress!) we had to get a shot of the girls!
Katie, Stacey, Lacey, me, Rachel and Kelsie
More friends!

Chas Kok and Jenni Maakad

Andy Olson and Kelsie Van Beek

Michael Hagerty and Katie Murphy

Me and Jordan Head

Flower girls and ring bearer

Lacey and her daddy

Mr. and Mrs. Libolt!

Reception with friends :)

Moving and touring seattle

2010-06-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

I know this is way overdue but I promised Shannon I would, so since I had a few hours before work I'll try and get caught up! The weekend after finals my parents were in Alaska, so Dave, Shannon and Brock came to help me move out :) Since I was all packed, the actual moving everything to the cars took about 10 minutes! (Literally) Dave and Brock hauled it out, shannon arranged it all and we were ready!

But before this, we went to lunch at Red Mill Burgers and went to the Troll and Gasworks Park

Dave checking out the sign....I just show people places, still don't have all the facts ;)

Brock and his two aunties :)
Me and my little man at Gasworks

Family photo! (with space needle in background!)

Brock loved the guys on the lake

Such a nice day!

This was our first stop of the day: The TROLL!!! Brock was stoked and talked about it all afternoon! Dave hadn't been there either so it was a good stop

Thanks guys for helping me move back home!!!

Seattle Sounders

2010-06-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

What a better way to end finals than a soccer game?!? The Seattle Sounders played DC United. This year SPU sold all inclusive tickets that were in the upper section. I went with 3 of my housemates and besides a little wind and few sprinkles it was a clear night. Final score 3-2

First time at Quest :)

Natalie and I

Flags, dancers, and Steven Newby leading the national anthem

Me and Brittany Harwell

A little stormy looking...

Me and some of my housemates :)

Brittany - Me - Natalie

Soon to be Senior...

2010-06-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well, no new pictures to post right now....but I am officially done with week 10 of the quarter and just have 2 more finals to take before I'm done with my Junior year! I seriously don't know where the year went, but its becoming more of a reality because professors are calling us Seniors already since the current Seniors will be graduating next week! In addition, after registuring for classes next year, I realized I'm half way done with the nursing program already! Crazy!

Today 2 housemates are starting to pack up, 1 is moving out today :( And the other will be here for another week. I wish I could start thinking about packing but that won't be happening till Thursday! about 10 am to be specific :)

Hope your weekend goes good!

Little Si

2010-04-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago my housemates and I decided to go on a hike so we could make the most of the sunshine and get in a work out! We drive to Snoqualmie and found the trail for Little Si. It had been awhile since I've been hiking but with these girls there's no time to slow down lol

This is the view fromt the summit

Me and Natalie

Emily, me, Brittany and Brittany at a view point almost to the summit

The whole gang

It was gorgeous! Couldn't have asked for a better day!

Love these girls!

Spring break with the boys!

2010-04-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

These pics are definitely late, but once Spring Quarter got started it hasn't really slowed down so now that I'm catching my breath after first round of exams I can update :) While Tasha and Trevor were enjoying the beaches of Hawaii I got to spend the end of my spring break with my boys! Thankfully my mom was able to watch them when I had a dentist and hair appt.

Still in their matching pajamas, trying on papa's shoes

Getting a smile out of this guy isn't always easy, little squinty eyes but at least we know how old he is in this picture!
Trying to walk with them on...not so easy turns out

One happy dude

Climbing on the stools :) Again lol

And on the chairs...

But at least he's happy doing it!

We also got to visit cousin Stacey! And found out Kali was there too! Brock and her played outside, had cheese and crackers, and a movie to top it off :)

Then I took the boys and met up with Tony and Joyce for dinner. No pics from that but the boys had a blast!

Me and my man!

Think thats finally all my Spring Break pictures! It was a busy, but amazing break! Can't wait for summer now!!! I'll be back working at Maberry's and home for 3 months :)

last but not least

2010-04-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Some more dress up with her white dress and ALL of her jewelry :)

I just love Caitlin's smile :) Looking sharp in our star glasses ;)
Love him :)

Putting on lots of rings :)

"I just want to hold my brother's hand" ~Caitlin

So precious :)

Time to color some pics for papa and auntie shannon!

1 happy boy!

Mark's delicious meal! Homemade salmon and halibut chips - Delicious!!!

Final product! Thank you chef Mark! Best meal by far!

Such a great trip! Can't wait to go back!!!

part 4

2010-04-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

Governor's mansion before I ran across the street.... ;)

Had to take a picture by the totem pole :)
Sisters! Love her!

The State Office Building where Lacey works :)

Miss Caitlin :)

Love being an aunt - giving Andrew his bath :)

part 3

2010-04-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Mommy and caitlin making s'mores by the fire

Tummy time! I just can't get over his cheeks :)
A very happy boy chillin with his auntie after our bike ride :)

hmmm....why does she keep taking pictures of me...??

Playing with her ponies and barbies

so excited to go to church! She had her tutu on for awhile, but don't worry she was done with it before we went to church :)

And...she had her doll all ready to go!

Juneau part 2

2010-04-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

All bundled up for our BBQ on the beach :) with the wind off the water, it was pretty chilly!

Feeling what its like to carry around a 17 lb baby :)
Mark made us some stuffed peppers - which were really quite good! The aluminum didn't quite make it thru the heat of his fire...

Me and caitlin making smores :)

Bath time :) Such a happy baby!

Spring Break: Juneau, AK

2010-03-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

So these are out of order from when they happened but least you'll get to see some other pics we took while I was in Juneau on my spring break :) Lacey's blog has a bunch of other great pics so be sure to check her's out too!

Momma and Andrew at Bull Winkles for lunch Me and Caitlin at the glacier

And the waterfall

Snuggling with Andrew at the beach :)

On the walk to the glacier Well its time to give bryce lunch then go pick up Brock from preschool! Will post more later :)

Lasagna disaster

2010-03-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Where to start....well last week I thought I was being so on top of it. Took out one of my frozen lasagnas (I made at home with mom) and let it thaw all weekend so it'd be ready to cook on Monday and I wouldn't have to do any preparation or buy groceries!

Sure enough, it was my lucky night - went to take my delicious lasagna out of the oven and felt a piece of the glass pan break off, trying from a different angle confirmed that the pan had broke more! I grabbed a cookie sheet so I could try and rescue some of it, but found huge chunk of glass in my dinner as well as a mess in the bottom of our stove :)

Here was the end product after I tried to save some to eat. Such a bummer! But I think it was just another item to add to the list of things that have been breaking in our house.

But...1 thing has been checked off! We now have a kitchen faucet with hot AND cold water WITHOUT and leaks! It was a long 2 1/2 weeks with out water, then without cold water but it finally got fixed! Now tomorrow our stove is getting looked at by the professionals, and a new seal for our washing machine has been ordered!

Auntie Shannon's house!

2010-03-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Ok well obviously these didn't come from me, but the boys got to spend time at Auntie Shannon's and Uncle Dave's and do what boys do best: play in the mud and make mud pies!

I apologize that they aren't in the right order, was having issues there, but here they are!

Someone taught him well....spraying off his boots after playing :)

Very busy at work

2 very happy boys!

Brotherly teamwork :)

Valentines Day

2010-02-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was able to come home and enjoy the 3 day weekend with my friends and family :) We celebrated Valentine's Day and my parent's 23rd anniversary with lunch at our house with the kids and grandkids!

My favorite little man cheesing for the camera :)

Tasha and her two boys. Both of them needed some cuddle time with mommy, which calls for a photo but Bryce didn't quite get the memo (he just got up from his nap) and Brock well....when you want him to smile, he definitely can't smile and look at the camera ;)

surgeries

2010-02-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

This week I had the chance to observe in the OR and I got to watch the scrub techs set up the room, bring in and position the patient, and bring the patient to the recovery room! It was amazing! I got to see 2 different surgeries and the end of a 3rd one :) The OR nurses were amazing and so helpful! Plus they were all trying to recruite me to think about being an OR nurse which seems pretty interesting :)

It was a long day of standing in a cold OR room but being a few feet away from a spinal and neck surgery was pretty awesome!

thursdays

2010-02-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

I think Thursdays are my days to catch up, relax, lounge in my bed and de-stress from the week. Which is exactly what I've been doing so far :) But this week I got a break (which actually was much more needed than I realized) from going to clinicals and had skills lab for 2 days on campus. I learned and got checked off for trach care and suctioning, wound care, chest tubes, and monitoring IV's :) also got the joy of filming my DVD of me inserting a catheter and all the steps that go along with that! but our new skills lab prof is so great! she even made us homemade cookies yesterday!

I'm done with 1 more midterm, had my philosophy one yesterday, which we all agree was "very well written."

But thursdays are house dinner! so tonight I will hopefully get to see all my housemates (some which I literally haven't seen all week) and we get to enjoy homemade pizzas :)

I can't say how thankful I am that I haven't gotten the Strep throat that has been going through our nursing class! Which reminds me that not only was Brock sick this weekend, but Caitlin got sick last night :( So hopefully her's doesn't last very long and she'll be back to her regular self!

The little things in life

2010-01-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

After a crazy week of class, clinical and care plans by today I was exhausted even though I still have 2 more days in the week. The lack of sleep, stress and a paper we have coming was definitely wearing on me this morning. Having a 3 hr lecture where the prof skimmed through powerpoints explaining what we didn't need to know for the test didn't really help either. But this afternoon I remembered there is a new break room on campus for nursing students. Since I planned on spending the day on campus I figured I'd go check it out. Sure enough, I think I found my new favorite place on campus :) It has chairs, a table, tea, stress balls, snacks, and other "soothing" things but my favorite is the massaging chair cover :) I've been working on my paper for about an hour now and my back feels looser already! So I'm happy to say my thursday has gotten much better!

Its definitely the little things in life that can make your day a whole lot brighter :)

week 4

2010-01-25T14:31:00.001-08:00

Finished my first midterm of the quarter this morning! Only 3 more to go :) And a paper to write, but still its a relief! It was sunny and gorgeous in seattle today but unfortunately I was in lecture and then came home to work on my medications for clinical this week :) after 4 1/2 hrs of me, my computer, my drug book I think I got them all done :) hopefully in a few weeks they will start overlapping and I won't have as many new ones. But for now I am LOVING having my car at school! (in case you didn't hear the good news!) the saturn is doing very well on the hills :)

clinicals

2010-01-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

This quarter I am doing my clinicals at Swedish at the Cherry Hill campus on the neurosciences floor! I am stoked for what this quarter has in store but nervous at the same time. Last week was our first week meeting our patient and following a RN around and getting familiar with the electronic charting system, the floor, and the staff. I will be going downtown twice a week, tuesdays 7-3:30 and wednesdays 7-12. Anyways, tomorrow will be my first 8 1/2 hr day on the floor and I am praying it goes well! This week has a lot of "firsts" in it and I hope I survive it all lol

As you are keeping Haiti in your prayers if you could also send prayers to seattle it would be much appreciated. Even after a 3 day weekend the stress and craziness of nursing is just getting started. Plus I have a new family I am nannying for so pray the first meeting goes good tomorrow :)

Thanks! Love you all!
Chelsea

I have the best mom

2010-01-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

One thing I cannot complain about this quarter is not seeing my mom enough. And this is only because she has taken on the project of trimming our trees at my house in seattle! She had driven to seattle with her truck, tools, a ladder and whatever else she needs in order to trim down our apple and plum trees.

I'm sure you don't have to use your imagination too much when I say the weather isn't always accomodatig when she comes down either ;) she always has her rain gear handy and hasn't once complained because, "its not cold" or because "I've been wanting to do this since the day we moved you in" ~eileen

Needless to say it has been so great seeing my mom so much this quarter :) even though I am usually doing homework while she's outside, we eat lunch together and usually end up getting groceries (which is another plus of course!) while she's here. It's so random coming back from class and seeing the white truck parked in front of my house but I love it!

Anyways, can't thank you enough mom! Love you so much!

VanDalen christmas

2010-01-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

I think Van Dalen Christmas could refer to many different parties this year but for now this is the one with my parents, siblings, and their kids :)

Took Bryce 11 months, but he got his Daisy!

Dad got a new sweatshirt from Trevor

Mom got some new black bear decorations from Shannon

Dave's mystery gift from my dad....

A new bumper for his truck!

Me and shannon got some new vests :)

For the most part, Bryce was more interested in the ornaments on the tree

Brock with his new hunting gear

And even though Mark and Lacey were in Juneau this year we still got to see them by skyping with them online :) Its a little more challenging with 10+ people lol but it works good :)

My mom took pictures while we skyped too, us hovering around the computer

Mark, Lacey, Caitlin and Andrew :)

Baby Andrew - Up close and personal!

not such a good one of him, but you can see Caitlin's smiling!

After that, Tasha, me and my mom tried to set up the tents & tubes thing from Andrew for Bryce

Took us a little bit...but we got it! (with brock in the background saying, "mom do you need to read the directions? Here's the papers"

All the while the men sat back, surfed the internet and laughed at us trying to get it assembled

Dad by the way was thorooughly enjoying this!

This is the first of 2 or 3 posts (I forget how many already...so read on!)

More birthday pictures

2010-01-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry these are a little late, life was busy as usual over break, but better late than never! Especially for anyone who wasn't able to make it, here's the rest of them :)

The chocolate fountain with was a hit (especially with the growing teenagers and kids... :)

My mom and Bryce with her flowers

more food...

mis padres

She even got a Birthday sash, wand and crown (that she wore all night! :)

Me and my mom :)

And shannon with the birthday girl :)

with Brock

The hostesses :) Thanks again Tasha for letting us use your house! and Shannon for doing the invitations :) and all the other planning that took place while I was still at school finishing up the quarter and taking finals!

My mom and Grandpa & Grandma Scholten

It was a fun night with lots of friends, food and family! Good thing we got a few years till my dad's 50th, but he's already started planning....lol

State

2010-01-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

So I'll admit I'm massively behind on my blog posts, so here's some kinda old ones that my mom took but they're still good :) so I figured before classes and homework get too overwhelming I better try and do some catch up!

The Lynden football players at the Lighted Christmas parade two time state Champs!

If you haven't seen my dad's collection...the first football is from my senior year :) oh how that already seems so long ago some times!

I got a little break from studying and got to enjoy the game with the family, including the Millers, my parents, and Brock! He really was happy to see me, this picture just doesn't show it lol

Papa Scott and Brock at the Tacoma Dome

Final score

Lots of words could describe this: Brothers, best friends, coach & #1 fan....the options are endless

Cousins and future football players :)

Future linebacker ;)

crashed out on the way home after quick stop at Dick's drive in

Birthday Celebration

2009-12-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my mom's 50th birthday at Tasha's house this weekend and had a great turn out of friends and family! Pictures of the Birthday girl are on a different camera so those will be on a later post, but here's part of the night :)

The kids had a blast playing upstairs - Grady chilling upstairs

Getting a lift from Truman

Jake showing off his piano skills ;) with Brock nearby

Brock, me and Bree Erin

Cousins! Brock showin Taiji some love!

me and kali faith

Weston and his buddy Truman

Some of the ladies :)

a few of the guests...

And Brock after his cat nap playing by the tree

Gorgeous day on the mountain

2009-12-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving wouldn't have been complete if we didn't go check out the snow...so on Friday my dad, shannon, Jeff Vander Yacht and I headed up to Mt Baker for some skiing! With the dry roads our amazing driver got us there at 8 am sharp :) Of course the chair lifts don't start running till 9 am...so we chilled in the lodge, got some much needed lattes, and took our time getting dressed. We were quite entertained by the cats that roamed the lodge which Shannon had never seen before ;)

We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day! We had sun, clear blue skies, no wind and amazing views! I wish I would've had my camera when we were on the lifts but wasn't that on top of it lol This is from the parking lot (by our front row parking spot)
Definitely still early (even for me even tho I've been getting up at 6 all quarter...it was still rough getting up before 6 on my "break" lol)
Me and shannon getting ready to go :) I'm glad she's still able to come with her dad and sister even though she's off and married :)

Except for a litte icy snow and some fog near the end of the day it was an amazing day! The sore muscles the next morning were totally worth it :)

Thanksgiving weekend

2009-11-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

This year it was Shannon's turn to cook the turkey!

The before picture...

Table decorations ~ cranberries are so festive :) I love them! Appetizers

So much delicious food!

The after picture :) I think she did very well for it being her first one!

mom getting the turkey all sliced up

Dad (aka Papa)

Guela :)

The group #1

And #2 from the other side

Not quite sure what Brock was doing (or saying....)

Time to go outside and take pics!

Me and my little man Brock (love his smile in this one!)

Brock was pretty fond of Grizz

Best buddies :) Brock is still trying to figure out why Grizz is at Dave and Shannon's but not Tucker...Brock is convinced they are cousins and should BOTH be at Auntie Shannon's house ;)

This started out being one of just shannon and I but Brock and Grizz joined in and it's one of my favorites!

Sisters :)

Or daughters #3 and #4 as dad would put it ;)

Tasha was inside with the baby...but 2 out of 4 isn't bad lol

After hanging out at Shane and Amy's, Guela and Becky took all of us cousins (I think there was 11 of us total!) to go see The Christmas Carol in 3D at Bellis Fair, and it was definitely an adventure! Going with those 2 are quite entertaining :) I think Truman, Taylor, Stacey, Jake and I quite enjoyed watching the craziness of our family :)

hopefully someone who had their camera will put some of those up!

we've got a performer on our hands...

2009-11-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

Ok so in case you didn't already know, Brock has CD's that he loves to sing and dance to, well at least when I've over I'm pretty sure it happens every time I visit :) I'm bummed the video is sideways but you'll get the point of it I'm sure!

Brock's dance moves to "Life is a Highway"

2009-11-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

So I totally forgot about these videos I took when I was home for Halloween, and thought if I have one niece on the blog I should have my nephew on here too :) plus his dancing is pretty entertaining :)

song #2 starring Caitlin

2009-11-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

So the pictures are kinda blurry but I took them from our skype date with the web cam so I can't complain lol but the next song she was singing with guela and her enthusiasm was so precious! I just can't get over it!

Nephew #3!
The singer and cheeser! how can you not love that smile!

Skype date!

2009-11-15T21:31:00.000-08:00

Well ever since little Andrew made his arrival I have been skyping with the whole gang up in juneau and this last skype date Caitlin was singing me all sorts of songs :) I really hope the sound works on it, it was so cute! She was singing me the ABC's and then asked me to join in, but ignore that part, not nearly as cute lol

consecration part 2

2009-11-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we had our nursing consecration ceremony with all our parents, family, professors and friends. It was a great ceremony that recognized our calling to be a nurse :)

Love these girls! We've been through it all :)
Me and sara
One of the prayers that a student read was passed down from her grandma:

Prayer for a Nurse – Severena Skreen

Oh, my God: I am about to begin the day’s work.
Teach me to receive the sick in Thy name.
Give to my efforts success, sweet Jesus, for the glory of Thy holy Name.
It is Thy work: Without Thee I cannot succeed.
Grant that the sick Thou hast placed in my care, may be abundantly blessed, and not one of them be lost, because of anything that is lacking in me.
Help Thou me, to overcome every temporal weakness, and strengthen in me, whatever may enable me, to bring the sunshine of joy, to the lives that are gathered round me day by day.
Make me beautiful within for the sake of Thy sick ones and those lives, which will be influenced by them. Amen.

Charis read a few verses about "Holy Ground" from Exodus 3:1-6

I was able to read 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and Crystal read a prayer that she wrote for our class. It was such a blessing and meant so much to all of us!
The whole group singing, "Speak, O Lord"

Me and Crystal afterwards - so glad we made it through our parts :)

Stacey DeJong came to support us :)

and...one more with the parents

My fan club :)

Thanks guela for coming and for the new devotional book, I know it'll come in use

Part of the ceremony was also receiving a white Gideon's Bible - I know grandpa scholten would be proud!

consecration weekend part 1

2009-11-07T20:38:00.001-08:00

Well the first official stop of the day was at the Bodies Exhibit downtown, which was a huge success! With dad's driving and Guela's navigating we found parking right across the street from the exhibit. I think I can speak for all of us, that we loved it and now look at people in another way! (well I admit I started doing that while taking A&P but now guela and dad do it too ;)

By the end Guela starting naming the pieces, "A nerve-ous wreck", and "Out of body experience" were some of the best ones

So...the second stop of the day was Kerry Park :) I didn't realize that they have never been there or seen the view! (my bad... lol) so now they have :) and we were so blessed that the weather held off all afternoon and were able to see the city

me and my wonderful parents with the space needle in the background

me and guela :)

me and mom :)

the parents

inside a little piece of art

They had a flag on top of the space needle in honor of the police officer

And then....the Troll! Mom and dad had never been here either! We realized we've never really gone sight seeing while they've been here, its always been picking up or dropping off :)

Then we went to dinner at Ivars on the water and had a delicious dinner while watching the ferries coming in and going out

me and guela with our salmon caesear salad - soo good!

This is what Aunties are for.

2009-11-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

So when I got to Tasha's last weekend, one of the first things she told me was that Brock really wanted to make Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. And of course, being the auntie I am once Bryce was down for his nap, off to baking we went :)

Brock was a huge help! counting out the eggs we needed...

Peeling the bananas...
And breaking them in pieces to go in the mixer - many, many little pieces I might add ;)

First, pointing at which hole he wanted me to fill, then telling me which ones needed more :)

Well I didn't get an after picture but they were delicious! We had a good bonding time, he was so talkative (shocker huh!) and so helpful! When Bryce was still talking in his bed he told me, "I'll go check on Brcye. Just to make sure he's ok. Cause thats what brothers do." (as he was ready to jump off the counter to go take care of little Bryce!) Amazing how brothers can love eachother so much at such a young age :)

Home for Halloween

2009-11-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

This was my first Halloween home since I've been at school in Seattle so as you can imagine I was pretty stoked to be able to take my newhews trick-or-treating to all the friends and family. Early in the afternoon they were already dressed and we got pictures by their pumpkins - they have their names carved in them (in case you can't read them :)

Our #1 Lynden football player (notice the green and gold ;) and our little monkey!

Standing up on his own!

Our first stop of the day: Auntie Shannon's house!

After 5 hrs of knocking on doors, visiting grandparents, friends, and aunties we made it to the Butcher's neighbor's house....Auntie Beck had a great "touch and feel" area set up, the other cousins knew what to expect but it was my first time :)

I was glad to see that Taylor isn't too old to dress up and go out with her family :)

Grady in his horse costume :)

Jake and Weston

Brock found the little chair that was just his size! (the same chair stacey and I used to sit it, play barbies on, way back in the day lol)

Taiji and his little buddy Bryce

love these guys

the little guys playin

And the last stop of the night: Papa and Grandma's house! We finally made it about 9:30 to their house, Brock was on a sugar high at this time and Bryce had been up since 4! What troopers :) Both were crashed out by the time we made it back home

We had lunch sunday before I had to come back to seattle to study for my exam, nothing beats a Sunday lunch outside on the patio with the sun shining in November!

Lesson Learned

2009-11-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

So found out this week that I'm allergic to Costco's Ecos scented laundry soap :) I couldn't figure it out for a day or so, but then my housemate figured it out, we washed our scrubs together using her laundry soap one day and the next day this is what I woke up with:

pictures aren't the greatest, kinda hard to see with the flash/no flash but you get the idea

Yea so thats been part of the excitement this week, my neck is still SUPER itchy, but hopefully the majority of the redness will be gone by tomorrow, because I have my Nursing Consecration tomorrow night. My parents and Guela are coming down too, so I'm excited to see them and have them see em all dressed up in my scrubs and lab coat :)

Plus, we're making an afternoon out of it and going to see the Bodies Exhibit which is in Seattle right now. I saw it my senior year of high school but after all my pre-requisite courses I'm sure it'll be from a whole new perspective!

family photo!

2009-10-25T21:23:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY got one of all 7 of us :) with a little help from a self timer of course!

left to right:

Melissa, Jayme, Emily popping her head in, Brittany Allen, me, Natalie & Brittany Harwell, phew! that is a mouthful!

we were bored lol
Jayme, Melissa and Emily

There you go! Now you can make a face to the names of all the girls I talk about :)

A new house calls for a party

2009-10-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well last night was a success! We had a house warming party last night with lots of food, friends, and flowers! We had an assortment of good from pumpkin bars to homemade cookies, vegetables to chips and guacamole! We also had hot cider from Trader Joe's which everybody loved!

Natalie's delicious pumpkins bars :) perfect for a fall party

Our bright orange sunflowers :) which everybody seemed to be amazed by

Me and Natalie :]

The 3 basement dwellers~me, brittany harwell & natalie

seriously LOVE these girls!

we didn't plan the tights or the moccasins...we just have cold feet in our house

(no shoes allowed lol)

me and emily, my roomate from last year :)

our first guests! Me, Ashley Stockman (from Lynden) and Julia (was on my floor freshman yr)

More girls from 1st west :)

I promise I will out up a house picture, but its on another girl's camera, so it'll have to wait for now. But it was so great to get the house good and clean, cook lots of food, and see all our friends from the dorms who we clearly do not see enough of :( Living all off campus in our houses with dfferent schedules makes it quite difficult. Thank goodness for parties to bring everybody back together! My PA from freshman year even came, along with a ton of all of our friends :)

Just a side note, I'm sure everybody at home is not very happy about the UW game, but since half of the girls in my house are from Oregon, they were quite stoked this afternoon lol

Can't wait for Thanksgiving to see you all! Love you!

Pepsi Health Fair

2009-10-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our nursing class got to help at the Pepsi Health Fair, downtown on Alaksa Highway. We were split into 2 shifts and we were there to take the worker's blood pressure and talk to them about their BMI, lifestyle, activity level, etc. They had a delicious lunch ready for us, and after they finished their presentations we got to mingle with the workers to see if we could convince anybody to get checked :) Of course the majority was macho men who, "just had it checked" or whole BP "was perfect" or simply turned in the other direction when they saw someone in a white coat coming towards them :) But I did get to check a few peoples, and now I believe in the White Coat Syndrome - when their BP goes up when getting checked by a Dr. but no where else...

But we did get to meet the Vice President of Pepsi and got our picture taken with him

A mini photo shoot on the balcony lol we were stoked to be in our "Professional attire"

Krista is the PA on 5th East, the floor I lived on last year :) We sat at the same table at the fair and now have lots of stories to tell!

We are having our house warming party tonight so our friends can see where we live - pics to come of that later :)

Blessings

2009-10-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

I cannot express how thankful I am for strangers, friends, and family! First, our landlord's friend came yesterday to look at a "funny" smell that was coming from under our sink, little did we know it was a dead creature in a trap...so thankfully he removed and disposed of it for us :) Second, one of my housemates let me borrow her car so I could go to church this morning - I was asked to do childcare on short notice so it was a little stressful figuring out how I was going to get to Capitol Hill with a LOT of people gone this weekend. Anyways, made it over there and had a great first day of Sunday school! Currently the only kids we have are our pastor's 2 kids (3 and 5 months-I think). This morning I was with their little girl Sophie in the preschool section and I came away with more than I expected! We worshiped to Hillsong Kids, and she loved it! Jumping and dancing around saying, "Thank you Jesus!" and then we did the story about how God created light and dark and did a craft with it. After doing the craft she came and whispered, "chelsea, did you know God made the day?!? AND the night?!?" She was so enthusiastic, we were so glad something had stuck with her from the lesson :) But then as we were praying before we left she said, " Jesus told me to let the little children come to me." The other teacher and I both looked at each other and couldn't believe what we heard! This was the verse we had prayed about last week because we are hoping for more families and kids to come to church. We asked her mom if she had heard this verse somewhere but she didn't think so. Its amazing how God can use little kids to remind us of the important things in life :)

Prayer requests

2009-10-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people are getting sick this fall, and that doesn't exclude students at SPU...one of the girls in our nursing program has missed a few days of class because she wasn't feeling well and today she left class to get checked out at the hospital. I don't know any of the details but we're all hoping she will be able to return soon. It's stressful enough trying to keep up with the reading load, assignments, lack of sleep, and not feeling well definitely help. If you just keep her in your prayers that would be so appreciated! Thanks! Love you all!

Shannon's scarecrow

2009-10-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well if you're downtown this week you might see some scarecrows - and Shannon was the brains behind Reichhardt & Ebe Engineering's "nerd scarecrow"

And I think she went above & beyond with the plans, computer, pocket protector, textbooks, etc

Curly hair, glasses, and a button nose :)

Finally moved in

2009-10-08T18:55:00.001-07:00

Well I survived week 2 of nursing school, getting up at 4:45 for clinicals, and I have my first exam on monday, but I thought I should put up some pics on my room and the house!

First, the lovely desk my dad put together :)

My room :)

I neededa book case to hold all of my nursing book, 30 and counting....

The basement bathroom

Granny Momo came back! (the couch from my dorm room last year)

more of the basement (very coloful ;)

Living room

Our FRIENDS kitchen table - notice the chairs?

and the kitchen!

Pantry...

In our entry way

The Zoo!!!

2009-10-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

My first weekend in Seattle and I got to see Tasha, Brock, and the zoo! I think its becoming a new pattern for when, "Chelsea goes to seattle" as Brock puts it :) And I'm ok with that! When we first got to the zoo Brock and Cooper both were so excited about the squirrels and crows, not even thinking about all the exotic animals lol and of course Brock had to look through the fence at the excavator :) But the boys had fun, saw LOTS of animals, played in the playroom (I think thats what it was called, with a tree house slide and a foam egg that Brock hatched out of! His words, not mine :) But by the end, Brock was trying to convince Tasha he should carry him, "because it was a very long way to the car..."

It was a great little break and I'm so glad Tasha's friend Jessica could be tasha's navigator and Cooper could join in on the fun! Can't wait to see you all!

This is how a 3 yr old drives!

2009-09-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

So this is used, but new to Brock, and he loves driving it! He had to show me before I left, and Tasha and I both agree it goes way to fast for a 3 year old lol

Sisters, Candyland, and 4-wheelers!

2009-09-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Shannon's friend Marie from Woods got married at the Fremont Abbey in Fremont, Seattle so Shannon and I got to spend the day together and make the most of my last days home

After picking up the boys from Linda's, while Bryce was taking a nap Brock and I played a very unique game of Candyland ;)

With apples as a snack... CHEESE!!! Man do I miss this little guy!

Brock: "Chelsea! Take a picture of my yellow guy. Can I see it???"

And then...before I left for college Brock had to show how he can ride his new 4 wheeler which trevor got from a guy at work

He was smiling so hard his eyes are shut! ;)

Riding out by the potatoe field

I have a video of him riding too :) Make sure to read the next 4 posts too! I finally got updated on my pics, next will be pictures of my new room at my house in Seattle!

Backyard baseball!

2009-09-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was so precious hearing Brock tell Trevor, "Um dad, I think its been a while since I've played with my bat and ball, can we go play baseball?"

He was one very happy boy!

He made sure I was outside watching lol
Dad helping with his stance :)

Brock: "Ok dad I'm ready."

Taiji and Jake's football game

2009-09-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

These are all pictures from my mom; unfortunately I haven't been able to see Jake abd Taiji play but hopefully I will soon!

Taiji's #2 and Jake is #12

Wow, talk about a very serious game face! Don't see this from Taiji too much lol

And Jake...doing something, just not sure what...

Football!

2009-09-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

My parents were going to take Brock to Lynden's football game, and then Shannon and I ended up going too :)

The group, minus my mom since she was taking the picture~

Brock was wide awake at the beginning - I think he was more interested in the band than taking a picture lol

And then 3rd quarter came along...and he was sacked out! So cute though! One of the only times he snuggled and let me hold him this summer :)

What a crazy flashback to high school, and even crazier was seeing my cousin Taylor in the cheering section as a Freshman! Still can't over the fact that her and Truman are in high school!

Papa's Birthday BBQ

2009-09-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog I've done while being moved into my new house :) crazy and exciting! I'm a little late on updating pictures but I have the internet and time to catch up :)

We had a BBQ at Tasha and Trevor's new house for my dad's birthday:

Brock and Auntie Shannon
Shannon made amazing kabobs!

Which her and Trevor grilled :)

Brock and grandma :)

And his Auntie Chelsea :)

I am SO thankful for these 2 people!

Brock colored on Papa's card and drew a picture of papa! And it actually looks like a person with arms, legs, shoes, a head, etc...

Bryce when he still had his curls :)

Grandma and Bryce

Bryce's new "Lynden" Sweatshirt lol with Lankhaar and 3 on the back (for grandchild #3)

me and guela!

It was a miracle; Dave, Trevor, and I were all off work that night too!

Sisters :) And Dave ;)

The hosts!

It was a great night complete with smores around the fire :)

Smiles from Grady!

2009-09-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of my new cousin Grady Asamenew!

Trying to get him to smile and look at the camera was quite interesting... ;)

Brock driving the John Deere in papa's field

2009-08-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here's proof of it: Brock driving the John Deere in the field behind my parent's house. Trevor pointed where to go and Brock did it! Its not a small steering wheel either!

On the move!

2009-08-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well there's no sound, but I had to try uploading a video, and it worked! This is for you Lacey so you can see the little man on the move! I'll have to get one of him pulling himself up (on everything) for you next!

no work = time with my nephews

2009-08-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Can you say thunder thighs?!?!?

Bryce's new favorite place to pull himself up is the glass double doors that look out onto the patio and the back yard

A very happy boy with cRaZy hair and a massive smile :)

Complete with 2 front teeth :]

Attempting to get him to look at the camera and smile...

you're crazy auntie chelsea - Bryce

Chillin outside with Toby and dad

Oh and Tasha found some new pajamas for Brock, introducing: SPIDERMAN!

This was right before he ran outside to show dad his cool new pjs

We barbequed terriyaki chicken Friday night, but before we ate Trevor took out the John Deere and...let Brock steer!

He did so great! No power steering and an open field is great for any 3 year old ;)

Trying to get a family picture...Brock not so much into looking at me and smiling

Welcome home Grady Asamanew!

2009-08-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night we met Blake, Liss, Taylor and Grady at the Bellingham airport to welcome them home!

Grady and Lissa :) Check out that smile!

Dad trying to teach Grady patty cake
We just can't get enough of this precious baby boy!
He was taking it all in and checking everything out! Including the luggage coming out :)

Getting ready to with mom and dad - new crocs and all!

First time in a carseat...

He was a little unsure at first but he did great

Lissa and Taylor ready to take Grady home!

We are all so thankful everyone is home safe and sound! Guela and Nana flew into Bellingham yesterday and came home to roses and American food :) Of course Guela and Nana were on a completely different schedule and were wide awake while we were all headed to bed. I think Blake's email says it best : PTL (Praise the Lord) His plan is best!

Weddings, Boulevard Park, the derby and more!

2009-08-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a first for me, one of my friends tying the know and getting married! Sara (Timmer) now Sara Kasch got married in Arlington and Katie, Amy, and I road tripped down together :)

Waiting for the ceremony to start!

Me and Katie
2 of the bridesmaids: Charlie Clark and Rachel DeZeeuw

The cakes that Rachel and Charlie made (looked gorgeous and tasted amazing!)

The gorgeous bride

The girls and the newlyweds

Since the wedding got out super early Katie, Amy and I went to Boulevard to walk around and take pictures of the sunset!

Love these girls!

And after the derby...a very proud Taiji sporting his dad's tshirt

Ready to drive....

Miss Kali Faith

Boating at Samish

2009-08-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance for the length of the blog there were just too many good pictures to choose from! Shannon and Brock ready to go!

Some Auntie love!

Brock getting ready to go, but, "I'm not going to water ski" - Brock

Mi hermana (and her new hair cut :)

The driver:

aka Papa and dad!

Danelle is up for a visit so she came along too :)

Trevor manning the flag

Dad: "Whose going first?"

ALL: "Shannon."

One happy boy!

While I was in the water getting my ski on Brock told me, "You can do it Chelsea, its your turn!"

Brock swimming with mom :)

He wasn't quite ready for the kneeboard, but he was excited to use his "kickers" as Shannon put it

Trevor had to jump in and join too

One tired boy.

We got Danelle up on doubles!

So Trevor had to try too...

Dad skiing

Daughters 1, 3 and 4

KNEEBOARDING!

I got the banana board... ;)

Danelle learned how to kneeboard too :)

Well hope ya made it to the end of this one, it was a great night and we were definitley ALL sore the next day!

Bonding time with the Bedlingtons

2009-08-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

I had a few days off work before I started the blueberries so I got to spend time with Jeff, Di, Jake and Clara :)

Clara and I hanging outside on the tractor :) It was such a nice night!
Riding bikes thru Bertranda and the Threshing Bee

Jeff and Jake taking the tractor for a ride

Love these kids :)

we painted our toes...

...and hung with the baby

SO big!

life in the berries :)

2009-07-25T14:11:00.001-07:00

Well today I've actually had a chance to breath a little before rushing off to work. I know you all hear about my long days at work at Maberries this summer but here's some proof of it :) One of the girls brought her camera to work so we've captured the craziness of life in the berries!

Me and Raquel!

Hard at work ;)

the moon....

The guys we get to work with...

Packing for Smuckers :)

The lovely line ladies :)

Me and Maria Garcia!

Gorgeous sunset at work

Love these girls

Sisters and lab girls :)

Me and Sonia

Some from strawberries....

~STRAWBERRIES~

Well the raspberries will be ending for the IQF which means we'll be getting lots of berries in the bluk plant! This also means the blueberries will be starting soon :)

Bryce Alvin

2009-06-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

So besides working at Maberrys this summer I've been able to hang with Tasha and the boys a few nights which I always love! Well Brock is at that age were doesn't want to smile for the camera but his little brother still smiles for me :)

This is one of my favorites of Bryce so far - sitting in Grandpa King's high chair

I just can't get enough of my little man :)
So I know its a super short post but thats all for now :) I'm still shocked to be home 2 nights in a row before midnight, it seriously just doesn't happen!

Life lately :)

2009-06-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've only been home for 2 full days but its definitely been busy! I was done with finals on Thursday afternoon, started packing at 3 and was done by 7:15 pm just in time for my 7:30 check out and was able to show my mom our house for next year :)

Well the newest addition to Dave and Shannon's house is Jim the Cat! It was a barn cat at Dave's parent's house and he brought it home to Shannon as a little surprise :)

Brock was more than happy to dig in the dirt with his "wheelbarrow" but he asked for some gloves, but didn't mind that they went halfway up his forearm ;)

How many VanDalens does it take to hang a curtain rod??

Well this was 1 of Shannon's projects for the day & it was quite entertaining to watch take place!

Apparently it take 2 Van Dalens, 1 Heutink, and 1 Lankhaar to make it happen ;)

The finished product, with the next in hand (her new clock) which was hung before we left too!

Dad took Brock on a long 4-wheeler ride through the blueberries around the yard :)

And...this was before I got home, but I guess Tasha got Brock a slip-n-slide so they decided to try it out -Brock was a little hesitant at first...

I think he was content to just watch :)

I don't know if he's smiling or not very happy...hopefully the first!

Tasha helping him figure this thing out :)

Dad and mom had the kids (who are in Lynden ;) over for Alaska King fish and Alaska Dungenous crab their first night home

Dave and Brock

Grandma and Bryce :) Gotta love his smile!

Well its been a great start to the summer and I cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest :) I'll be working at Maberry's again this summer and I might be starting on Monday already! But as one Van Dalen finishes the new shop, 2 more come :) Blake will be in the IQF again, and I'll be managing the Bulk plant for the first time this summer. I know my dad cannot wait for me to get working but lets hope it starts off slow!

Chelsea's house for the fall!

2009-06-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

So part of becoming a Junior is getting to move out of the dorms! Its going to be sad not being on the same floor as 45 girls but now I get to live with 6 other amazing girls! We found a house super close to campus that we LOVE which fits all of us perfectly!

Here's the front of our house :)

Our front yard!

We have a porch swing!

Close up of the front

Back of the house

Stairs going down to the basement, where my room is :)

The blue and white floor is our kitchen, which was hand painted!

The dining room

Living room, with fireplace for those cold Seattle winter months

We even have a pantry! There are still girls living in the house when we went to take pictures so thats why there's food and dishes

Stairs that go to second floor

And our kitchen! Its painted green! And has this gorgeous white sink, which I can't seem to find the picture of...

My futre bathroom :)

It even comes with a washer and dryer!

Our lease starts Sept 1, so we're all excited to move it and finally be in a house! 3 of the girls I'm living with are from my floor last year (and this year), one was my roommate this year, and the 2 are from my dorm now :)

If anyone has any furniture or house decorations (rugs... :) they want to get rid of let me know because we have a whole house to furnish :)

view from the top

2009-05-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

So even in the craziness of school, we had Ashton Ball this week at one of the coolest locations! How many people can say they've had a dance at the Space Needle?? Well now I can say I have! The actual dance was at the Skyline level, but you could go up to the top as many times as you wanted :) So after lab, with my goggle marks and all I got to wear my bridesmaid dress again with am amazing view of Seattle!

Getting ready to go (Emily, Kristina, and me)

and Brittany...one of the planners :)
It was SUCH a gorgeous night! Outside by the EMP

The extent of my artistic skills lol

B-E-A-utiful!

Trying to get the Space Needle in a picture with us

It was kinda windy outside...

The AMAZING view!

Roommates :)

And...just because, here are the 2 girls I babysit in Ballard for, Della and Adia! So precious! I still haven't gotten to watch their little sister (Clover Bleu) but maybe in the fall!

Memorial Day weekend at home!

2009-05-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

So this post is a little random but it was a little glimpse of summer for me :) I was able to come home with Stacey DeJong over Memorial Day Weekend and got a nice break from school before the last few weeks of finals. I found out that Dean and LD have been working on the field behind our house and I got a few pictures of them bailing the hay before they were done

I don't think he was enjoying this at all ;)

just kidding! Because he definitley was! Flashing back to, "When I was a teenager I did this every day!" - Dad

Heading back in...

Going for a little joy ride! (with my dad of course, still can't believe he let me drive! I must REALLY be growing up ;)

Our cousin Jared Crabtree got married this weekend in Fairhaven

It was a gorgeous wedding with a short ceremony, so Bryce made it through :)

Taking pictures at the Midboes :)

And Bryce was cheesing it up for us!

Now just a week more of classes, finals and I'm done! What a year it has been! I'll have pictures of Ashton Ball coming soon!

2009-05-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

This last Wednesday was my Grandpa and Grandma Scholten's 60th Wedding Anniversary, they celebrated on Saturday at my aunt's house and took the opportunity to take come family pictures :)

Wow. 60 years! I'm impressed :)

The grandkids and great grand kids (minus me, Lacey, Dave, & Tim)

The Kids

with spouses

Everybody!