in the world of dan and jenn

Our Trip to Yosemite

2009-07-14T13:55:00.001-04:00

These are pictures of our trip to Yosemite. There are many on here that might be repeats but I just felt like putting them all on anyways.

View Full Album

May Day!

2009-05-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the beautiful month of MAY!! Many things have been going on in the life of Dan and Jenn since our last post in March. Our lives have been very busy with Spring Break, school programs and life in general.

School is rapidly coming to an end; meaning Dan and I will have successfully completed our first year teaching. Both Dan and I have signed our contracts for next year and are excited to begin our second year hopefully knowing more than we knew last year. Dan is going to have the same teaching assignment as he did this year...me on the other hand...I am going to be a 2 day computer 3 day Kindergarten teacher. I am SUPER excited to be a Kindergarten teacher!

In other news, Dan and I are ready for summer vacation to come. We will be heading out to CA for about 3 weeks. It will be nice to get out of Demotte for some time and enjoy the city life again. Apparently, we do not like to be "lazy" during the summer becuase we are already pretty much all booked up. School ends, Dan leaves for DC while I am in my last week of school, Dan comes back from DC only to take a class at a local college, my parents come, we move to our duplex, we head up to MI for my cousin's wedding, celebrate our 1 year anniversary, leave for CA, stay there for 3 weeks, head to Mackinac Island with the Broersma's, return to Demotte, I take a class for a week, then school planning begins again.
Maybe next year we'll take it slow...maybe...

God Bless!!

What to do during spring break…

2009-03-24T18:40:00.001-04:00

So I’m sitting here on spring break with not much to do. Jennifer still has school this week and then spring break next week. Plus, she has the car each day so I really don’t have anything to do nor can I really go anywhere. Which had led me to try out knew things…one of these things is this activity called twitter. Let me explain.

Twittering is basically blogging on the go in short spurts. I never thought it would be something I would get into, but after just a short afternoon of it, it is really a lot of fun. Of course, no one is reading my twitters right now, but that hasn’t slowed me down. If you’re interested, this is a link to it. http://www.twitter.com/djb6.

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got right now. I will probably rent a video game or something for the remainder of spring break. I had great plans to do school work but don’t really feel like it. We will see if I get to it early in the week, or later.

Potential New Home

2009-02-28T21:53:00.001-05:00

This blog is for the soul purpose of putting the pictures up that we took today of the potential new home Jennifer and I might have next year. We will see.

View Full Album

A TRUE heat wave...

2009-02-07T18:03:00.004-05:00

As I sit here updating our post, our windows are open and I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt!! Why you might ask? It is 53 degrees outside!!!!! Yes my friends, a true heat wave has come through. Anywho, I am really posting because last weekend Dan and I went up to MI unbeknownst to his family. The only person that knew was my younger brother, Justin. Dan and I walked into the Broersma's house around 2am EST. Mike, Dan's younger brother, was visiting as well and was still up. All the the doors were locked at thier house and we don't have a key, so Mike thought we were trying to break-in or something. Tara, on the other hand, was already asleep until she saw the light on in the adjacent room. Half asleep, Tara opened our door said "there's people in there" and went back to bed. Dan's parents had NO CLUE!! We surprised them in the morning. First Dad Broersma in the kitchen, then Mom Broersma as she was coming down the stairs.

It's always fun surprising people. I think it's even better when it is your family. It was good to see the Broersma family again. Our main objective that weekend was to hang out with Justin because hadn't seen him since the beginning of December. So, we saw Justin A LOT! Which was a good thing. Of course, he told me that I was not allowed to come up the following weekend because that would just be too much :) Gotta love Justin.

Justin took us to see the house he is living in next year with some of his guy friends. It looks like a pretty nice house! The pictures make it look kinda small, but Justin assures me it is much bigger on the inside.

Now a couple pictures of Justin-an update on what he looks like with all his hair chopped off.

Before

After

He refused to look at the camera, so that's the best I have :)

I'm off to enjoy the nice weather...and clean more of the apartment :)

The Frozen Tundra we call home

2009-01-16T16:06:00.004-05:00

Before Dan and I moved down here, I was reassured that Indiana winters were no where in comparison as bad is Michigan winters...until Dan and I moved down here...Apparently, this year Indiana is experiencing a winter that surpasses all others. Let me illustrate for you...our high yesterday was -2 degrees.... NEGATIVE TWO DEGREES!!!!!!!!!! That does not even include wind chill which was -35 degrees...yes you saw that correctly NEGATIVE THIRTY FIVE!!! At least Dan didn't have school yesterday. Of course, I didn't have it today and he did-but his school is to the point where they would have to add days at the end of the school year.

I like to describe our city as the frozen tundra...flat, windy, and FRIGID. The weatherman even described the temperature as BRUTAL today- BRUTAL!!! It was SO cold this morning that our car didn't start. I guess that's what happens in -17 degree temperatures...If any of you have a spare $500 PLEASE send me to the wonderful California. I need to thaw out!

The only redeeming fact is that the sun is shinning. Needless to say, this does NOTHING for the temperature--but it sure makes Jennifer a little easier to deal with :)

Here's some pictures of my schools playground yesterday:
Beautiful, I know...Rumor has it a heat wave is coming through and we might reach 20 degrees on Saturday-then 35 degrees next week!!! Let's pray that heat wave comes.

Until next time,

God Bless

January?

2009-01-14T23:14:00.001-05:00

So we’re working our way through January now. It has been one of those months where nothing exciting seems to be happening. It has been extremely snowy and very cold. Tomorrow, our high is –2. Hopefully Jennifer will be able to add some pictures of what it looks like outside.

I don’t really have anything else to say. To be honest, I’m trying out a new blogging program right now so this is sort of like a test. Hopefully it goes well.

Our 6 Month Anniversary

2008-12-22T09:15:00.008-05:00

Well, we just celebrated our six month anniversary and we took a few pictures. I thought I would put them here so you can all see it. First we stopped at Jennifer's school to print a coupon for a free appetizer (it was a good deal), and then we realized as we walked into the school there was water ALL OVER THE PLACE...Apparently, an air conditioner in the library broke and was pouring water out for quite a while, since it was a snow day on Friday. Here are those pictures:

This is what we first saw as we walked in.

This is the door to the library.

Here is the water actually falling out of the ceiling. The doors were shut in the library for an entire day of this so when we walked in, it was very humid!

Here is the floor in the computer room, which is right next door to the library. It wasn't a pretty site.
That's all the pictures we have the leaky school...it was an adventure. But after that, we did end up going out to eat at a place called Houlihans. Here are a few pictures of that:

These were the coasters we thought were pretty funny.

Here are the plates, they were cool.

That's all from our trip.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-14T19:00:00.005-05:00

The other day, Dan and I went out and bought ourselves a Christmas tree! We even have presents to go underneath! Super exciting. Here is a wonderful picture of our quaint tree:
Now a little more up close to see the beautiful angel Dan made when he was just a little tyke ;)
One week until Jeremy and Jackie arrive!!!! 5 days of school left for me and 6.5 left for Dan. We'll see if it works out!

God Bless!

Only in Michigan...

2008-11-23T18:24:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Dan and I ventured up to Michigan. I don't really feel like doing a whole post on that weekend. But, I did want to post these pictures.
This is something that you will only see in Michigan:

Only in Michigan would you see a deer strapped to the top of a car...

Here's a picture of me and Dan in the place we got married 5 months ago:

ok that's all. bye bye!

Our Trip to St. Louis, MO

2008-11-05T14:34:00.009-05:00

This past weekend Dan and I joined his parents and Tara on a trip to St. Louis for Tara's soccer tournament. Neither Dan nor I had actually visited St. Louis before. In between soccer games on Saturday we were able to visit the famous Arch of St. Louis. Now, I have seen this thing before but I had never ventured up it. Needless to say, it was a very interesting experience. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the weekend. It was great to be able to relax a little outside of Demotte for a while.

Now for some pictures to highlight the trip:

that's Tara in the center
our attempt to take a picture with the arch...that's a tough feat!
some of the soccer girls (Tara on the far left)
yep that's how high it is

a view of the car from the very top-it's the green van in the center of the photo
the itty-bitty windows we got to look through...or at least Dan looked through :)
I wasn't into the whole leaning over thing...but Dan found something he liked...
A baseball field
to get to the top of the arch you had to ride in these ridiculously small pods that hold 5 people...as you can tell...Tara enjoyed it more than me :)
It was beautiful there. Fabulous fall colors and seventy five degree sun shining weather! We could not have asked for a better weekend.

Now it is back to the swing of things. I have parent teacher conferences Thursday and Friday. I am anxious to see what these will be like. Not having my own class makes it hard for me to plan ahead for these. Jr. High conferences are a free for all. The parents show up and go to whatever teacher they want to talk to. We'll see if any talk to me :) Dan is still busy at school, working hard. The soccer season is over so he can refocus on his classes.
But of course, we are counting the days until our next relaxing weekend. Thanksgiving can not come soon enough. Then there is Christmas when we finally get to see Jeremy and Jackie again. It will be nice to see my family for a change :)

Happy October!

2008-10-06T10:47:00.003-04:00

So this might be a little late...but...

HAPPY OCTOBER!!

The weather is beginning to cool and the leaves are beginning to change. Fall is in the air :) Now if we could only find an apple orchard to pick some apples and drink some awesome apple cider everything would be perfect! Oh and some pumpkin spice donuts would be nice too ;) If only Demotte had a Robinettes.

Well, I must be off to 6th grade art now. Until later!

A Chicago Weekend

2008-09-24T09:13:00.018-04:00

This past weekend Dan's family came down to celebrate his birthday on the 18th of September. Since we live so close to Chicago and had not visited since our moving to Indiana, we decided to head up to the windy city and see some sites...

Here's a few pictures to highlight our adventures:

The wonderful Shedd Aquarium...fyi teachers get in FREE!!!

Do you think he knows there's something sticking out of his head?
They feed the eels by attaching a plastic fork to a pvc pipe with duct tape...greatest invention EVER!
Lovely Sea Stars
A view of the city
Millennium Park

A shot in the bean :)

And now for the wedding parade...let's count how many weddings were at Millennium Park...
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
probably the best pizza place I've been to in the Midwest!!

Another thing I found to be interesting:
This-
was on the corner of-
(Wabash)

and (Wacker)
am I the only one that finds that funny??

oh well...Here's a closing picture of the sunset

Not much else is going on in our lives here in Demotte, IN. Dan is mid season in being the assistant soccer coach at Demotte Christian School. Meanwhile I am keeping rather busy at Crown Point Christian school trying to figure out how to be a Pre-K-8th grade computer teacher,5th-8th grade art teacher, a 6th grade reading and writing teacher and a network administrator...Life has truly been an adventurous journey that only God knows the plans for.

humble beginnings

2008-08-11T21:08:00.009-04:00

Dan has been at DMC everyday since Aug. 1st preparing for his first day of school on Aug. 18th. He has had meetings with the principal, time to connect with the other jr. high teachers, and time to figure out exactly what he is doing. In the past 2 weeks or so, Dan created probably his first ever bulletin boards!

The constant...this board will only display necessary school/class information

These boards are also in the front of the classroom, he's not quite sure what to do with them yet...that's ok he still has a week :)

also, that's Dan's desk computer...unfortunately, his desk is in the back of the classroom and the computer is in the front. The only way to get the computer in the back is to have cords running the length of the room under the students desks...guess it's going to stay there for now :D
Here are some classroom and storage room shots Dan took today:

...notice the computer and desk positions above...
the nicely stocked storage room.

Today was the first day for me at CPCS. I only stayed about 3 hours due to lack of clue of what to do. While I was there I was able to make a bulletin board behind my desk:

it says Mrs. Broersma's with Computers coming from the M in Broersma-in case you couldn't read it ;)
The following is the nice computer lab I was supplied with...I'm still trying to figure out arrangement and workability...it's difficult considering everything is bolted into place

Those are the latest on the picture front. On our lives, neither of our schools provide dental insurance so we are now beginning to figure out if/what insurance we should get. If you have any suggestions, please let us know! I've always found insurance to be something of an annoyance, too many deductibles, co-pays, limited benefits, etc. Some how life has caught up with us and we really weren't planning on having it come to visit anytime soon. Justin really is right, once you get married you turn "old." Thanks a lot Justin...way to be right...again

I think it's time for a fun picture from our trip to Mackinac Island. Let's see if you get it...

it made me laugh :) hope it makes your day, too!

a very relaxing Saturday

2008-08-09T21:17:00.011-04:00

Today was a nice and relaxing day. Dan and I slept in (until 8:30!!), leisurely watched the Olympic, then walked down to Town and Country Day down the street (too bad I forgot my camera!). Saturdays have pretty much become "clean up" day for me in the apartment. I like to do a quick vacuum and wipe everything down. It's surprising how many messes can be made by two people in one week.

Anywho, I figured out that my parents and California siblings have never seen the finished product of our wedding guest platter...so I took a picture :)

It turned out really well! Right now it is chilling in the middle of our IKEA coffee table...it might move...who knows. I was also able to take a couple more pictures of our place...

our kitchen

Our water softener in our laundry room
My Pantry!! :)
The Living Room
our very unorganized linen closet ;)
behind the door in the bathroom
and now our deck!
the sliding door back into the apartment

well that's more of our apartment. Hopefully you can get the gist of it from those. Maybe once we figure out what we are hang on our walls I'll take more pictures. As for tomorrow, Dan and I were invited to a member of Community CRC's house for lunch-their daughter is also in 8th grade at DMC. It's nice living here in Demotte because the people from the church and school really take care of you. Starting on Monday, I will be going to CPCS more regularly...yes, I am nervous :)

Until then! GOD BLESS and have a wonderful weekend

I found more pictures!

2008-08-08T11:47:00.009-04:00

Here are more pictures I found of our apartment and the surroundings of Crown Point Christian School (CPCS)...

This is the water tower right outside CPCS-technically CPCS is in St. John, IN

The road to CPCS-oh I should let you know that Dan was taking all these pictures while I was interviewing for the position. He's such a trooper ;)
the "heart" of Crown Point, IN-which reminds me and Dan of Stars Hollow for Gilmore Girls
And now some more apartment pictures...these are as I am trying to pack for Mackinac Island...Dan is such a great help :D
Our guest room...don't worry it will be beautifully clean if you decide to visit
Love the bathroom with the fabulous IKEA shower curtain!!!
last but not least...a sneak peak at our bedroom...remember I am packing!
There are more to come-I promise. Next week I will have pictures of CPCS! Until then, Dan began "new teacher orientation" at school on Monday while I sit here at home. That's ok-I have been able to clean everyday, study up on Indiana state standards for Computer and Art, relax, and be a wonderful wife.
In other news, I am VERY excited that I might (if Justin decides he loves me) get to see JUSTIN!! It has been a month since I have seen my family and I can't wait until I get to possibly see my favorite younger brother as he travels back to Calvin College.
I love my brothers!
(Jeremy's 24th birthday-I just found these in my email!)

Our first adventure in Indiana

2008-08-07T12:04:00.007-04:00

Even before we moved to Demotte, IN we were told about Fair Oaks Farms. The first time we heard about it was on the Discovery Channels Dirty Jobs, then we found out that Dan's mom's students is related to the Fair Oaks Farms family. Needless to say, we had to visit this place-plus it's actually close to our place-15 min! Unfortunately, we did not have a working camera at the time so we had to borrow one from DMC and then the batteries died shortly after we began taking pictures. We did manage to get a few shots though. Hope you enjoy...

The entrance...

It was so much fun!

Dan trying to beat the clock in attaching the milker

The birthing barn...my favorite :)

And now a pictures of our apartment...please look past the mess...we're in the "moving in" process still
the living room to the kitchen

yep...definitely messy...once I take more pictures/figure out where everything goes I will be sure to post them.

Time for an update...

2008-06-09T09:06:00.005-04:00

Hello, hello! It has been quite some time since this ol' blog was last updated. Anywho, in about 11 days Dan and I are going to be officially hitched! Everything is happening so quickly. On May 17, I graduated from Calvin College. Right before that Dan accepted a job as the middle school science teacher at DeMotte Christian School in DeMotte, IN. As for me, I have been trying to get myself organized with wedding details and moving to IN things.
Thankfully, a few days ago, Dan and I found a BRAND NEW apartment to move into Mid-July. It is beautiful! Unfortunately, my camera is broken so I was not able to take any pictures. Never fear-we are returning there next week and I will be sure to have a camera this time!

I do, on the other hand, have pictures of DeMotte Christian for everyone...so enjoy!

Dan's classroom :)

Begonia St. on which resides DMC
The proud owner of a teaching contract
Oh and here are some pictures from my final day at Ada Christian:

My class 4-P and now all of 4th grade (all of which I had the pleasure of teaching)
Well, once I get some pictures of our apartment I will be sure to put them up.

Until then...

GOD BLESS

The first week of subbing...and other thoughts

2008-02-16T12:34:00.002-05:00

So this is Dan, and this is my first time posting on this blog. I felt as though I should tell about my first week of subbing. In all, it was a promising week. A few things I learned about during this week is as follow:
1) It can be frustrating trying make students stop talking when I've got no idea how the normal classroom teacher does it.
2) All students believe that every teacher in the world teaches the exact same way as their regular teacher.
3) Middlevilled smells really bad.

After reflecting on those three key lessons I had this week, I realize that I really do enjoy this sort of thing, except for number 3 on the list; that was a terrible smell.

As for Jennifer and I, we're just plugging along with all that we have to do. Jennifer is keeping busy now that she has finally had some consistencey with her student teaching and actually going there. We've had more snow days this month and more snow than I can ever remember. Actually, I measured the snow in the backyard, and there was about 15 inches of snow.

That is really all that is going on. Thanks for reading this and I'm sorry there are no pictures to go along with it.

back in business

2008-01-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

Needless to say...we are back in Michigan...unfortunately, the weather in Michigan is not quite what I would call enjoyable. Yesterday it went from being 47 degrees to 17 degrees in a span of 3 hours. When I was driving home it was POURING rain. The roads were completely flooded. Well, once I got home it was POURING SNOW!!! All the water that had gathered on the roads has turned into ICE!! Complete ICE!! The good news is the snow day we got as a result. The bad news is the FRIGIDNESS that has come from the arctic "breeze."
Oh how I wish I was back in California...out where the sun is shining and my car isn't covered with snow and ice.

On the other hand...I started student teaching and absolutely LOVE my class!! My teacher is also amazing! So far, going to student teach is what is keeping me going. That and the fact that in about 140 days I am getting married to Dan, the most spectacular man ever!

In the end,

God is good, life is good, until tomorrow :)

fun and fancy free

2008-01-18T15:44:00.000-05:00

Our time here in California is almost to an end. Times have been so extremely busy and exciting we have not been able to update this wonderful blog :) Basically since the last time I posted we have come into a new year, traveled to my dad's apartment in San Jose, celebrated Jeremy's 25th birthday, helped Jackie at school, went to IKEA, visited San Francisco, and Monterey, shopped in various malls and slept to our heart's content.
In all this we were also able to nail down a few more wedding details!! YAY!! ALL of my bridesmaids have their dresses, the caterers have been paid, the centerpieces have been designed, and rumor has it the honeymoon has been booked!!! Hopefully, things will go this smoothly when we return to Michigan.
And now it's time for a picture parade...

Happy 2008!

The birthday boy and his wife...
hahah love ya Jeremy and Jackie :)
Here's a better one:
We got lucky in this picture :)
the diver was right behind us!!

can you find the fish??
I think Jackie did!! Make sure you look closely at Jeremy's face
oh look! she's taller than an otter :)
God's beauty...

oh how I love the California coast

Jeremy and Jackie with the Lone Cypress
awww kissing by the cypress...That's my mom and dad for ya :)
In the end, we have had a most excellent time. Being in California has been so relaxing and incredibly fun! As much fun as this has been we must leave for snowy white Michigan on Monday where we get back to "real life." Dan will begin working as a substitute around the greater Grand Rapids while searching for a permanent teaching job. As for me, I begin student teaching in the 4th grade at Ada Christian Elementary. Life from here on out will be complete and utter chaos! But I am positive that through all this chaos we will find time to relax ;) HA!
Until next time...

Yosemite and more

2007-12-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

Following Christmas, Dan and I traveled to Yosemite, CA with my parents and Justin. Dan had never been there and I hadn't been there during the winter in quite some time. For those of you who don't know, Yosemite is in the mountains which means that during the winter there is snow...and I thought I left that stuff in Michigan. Oh well it was still fun :)
Here are a few pictures that highlight the adventure...
me and Dan at the Valley overlook...I obviously was not paying attention...I kinda had to use the restroom and it was chilly :-D
Standing in front of the frozen Bridal Veil falls...notice the thick layer of ice on the path and how I am NOT standing on it
Bridal Veil...or at least what was left of Bridal Veil
This is what I like to refer to as Justin Falls :) rather ironic, I know...needless to say, his tush was pretty sore after
pretty, I know :) not only is Justin good at falling, he is also good at taking pictures
To end, here is the little snowman my dad made while everyone else was packing up the hotel room. It lasted until the lobby of the hotel, then the poor thing flew off the back. It was cute while it lasted :)

For New Years Eve, we will be hanging out with some of the coolest people I know-the Branderhorsts :) Then the next day Jeremy and Jackie return and Justin heads back to MI. After Justin leaves, our journey continues in San Jose and its various surrounding cities.

Until then-have a great rest of 2007
God Bless

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T00:40:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, I decided that I would start a blog with Dan to keep friends and family up-to-date on what is going on in our lives. So, here we are celebrating Christmas with my family in California-far from the frigidness of the Michigan snow :) Everything has been great! Just the other day, Justin convinced my dad to play our Wii!! Let me tell you, that was a very entertaining sight! Now, my dad plays with Justin all the time. Right now, he sticks to bowling; although, I think he tried baseball out earlier today as well. Come tomorrow, we will venture out to the beauty of Yosemite National Park. Dan has never been, so this should be quite an experience.

Here are a few pictures of our Wii adventures:
He takes position...
STRIKE!! on his first try at the Wii EVER!!!
Unfortunately, Justin was beaten by my dad...AND he lost his previous PRO status :( sorry bro ;)
and yes, you are seeing this correctly...my MOM even tried her hand at Wii bowling...she's really a closet pro bowler ;)

life at the DenOuden household has been oh so fun these past few days...we'll see what the next month entails...