Relaxing with the ferrets

I have been thinking of the ferrets even more than usual lately, since we are trying to arrange for a ferret sitter over our vacation in March. I think we have something worked out now, which is good. Also, we finally got tickets for the trip. It should be pretty awesome--I am really starting to get excited about it.

Here are a few ferret-related pictures from the last week. This first shot features a cow I got from Christmas that the ferrets are starting to cozy up to. Here Rex is snuggled next to the cow while relaxing in a hammock.

Chewbacca really likes to start his playtimes by getting some rubbing , especially on his head. Brian is sympathetic to this and will usually spend about 5 minutes snuggling with Rex and getting him to wake up every evening.

Brussels and I play with many objects. One that has been popular this month is a bag. Here I captured Brussels in the bag and gave him to Brian as a gift. While Brussels is a great gift, an extra-hyper ferret in a bag can be a tricky thing to handle!

Winter Baking

Winter is a great time for baking, since it warms up the house. Last week, I used my new pie plate for the first time. It worked really well. Here is the apple pie (which is now gone).

I also baked a chicken, since it is pretty easy and oranges were on sale. When I chop up potatoes and vegis to put under the chicken, the whole meal cooks together and there is very little for me to do once the dish goes in the oven. That is another great thing about baking!

New Year, Same Ferrets

It always seems to take us a while to get past Christmas pictures here on the blog, but I think we are finally ready to start posting January pictures. After taking so many pictures on visits, I need a break from it for the first couple weeks of the year. But now, I am back! Here are some lovely ferret photos to start you off.

Rex:

Chewbacca:

Brussels & Eve:

Eve and me:

We are a week into the semester, and it is pretty busy for Brian and I already. He is getting accustomed to his new classes and schedule, while I am trying to keep track of the multitude of forms needed to graduate this spring.

Christmas in Holland, Part 3

All of these pictures were taken at the Grand Rapids Museum. We went there for our holiday outing. It was nice to get out and look at some of the interesting displays in the museum.

Many people rode the carousel, although it went pretty fast and some felt a little quesey afterwards. In this picture, you can see Eli, Peter, and Anne.
The special exhibit we visited was about Michaelangelo. Several minature machines were constructed, based on his designs. Here Brian and Dad view one of these machines:

Brian and Dad again--Brian, I hope that is not a cannon you are looking in to!

Brian with an early tank design:

Josiah and Eli enjoyed some of the hands on areas a bit more than just looking at stuff. Here they are building their own models, with David and Rachel:

Christmas in Holland, Part 2

I have been getting into writing again, and my break is definitely over. So I am just going to post a whole bunch of pictures, as I don't want to keep you, our readers, waiting too long. Brian starts classes tomorrow, so he is going to be getting busy with new semester things as well.

Making olliebollen & appelflappen:
The guys playing Gang of Four:

Eli and Simon, petting Chewbacca:

Happy Simon with a special Simon cookie, hanging out with Rachel (aka mom):

More present opening--books for all!

Josiah, helping me open a gift:

Brian hiding (unsuccessfully) from my camera, with Dad laughing at him:

Boys with trucks:

Brian and I got Dominion, a fun game we played several times during this visit:

Mom opens birthday gifts while everyone else watches:

Anne and Peter find a quiet moment to read:

Mom and Rachel playing Upwords (nice new sweater Mom!):

Appelflappen=good (how do you spell lekker?):

Eli can hardly wait for the truck to be freed from its cardboard backing before trying it out:

Brian checks out the books Josiah received:

Christmas in Holland, Part 1

Since David posted several of the pictures I took over break, I will add some pictures that my dad took here. This first group is from my mom's birthday. Since Brian and I were not in town for Eli's birthday, we gave him his birthday gift on the same day. Josiah was frustrated by this, but he dealt with it.

Mom holding the gift Brian chose for her:

Getting some assistance while opening presents:

Eli with his gift (great expression!):

My parents with the cake Dad baked:

Playing some Dominion:

Christmas in Columbus: Part 3

Merry Christmas! It was great to give and receive so many nice things.

After giving gifts to each other, we ate a delicious meal. As you can see, Brian was famished and had his fork ready to dig in.

We also had the chance to see Grandma Sites and Aunt Vicki at the Amish restaurant north of Columbus. It was very nice to catch up with both of them.