Good Bye 2010 Hello 2011

Happy New Year!  I had good intentions of a recap of 2010 before it ended and now the month of January is coming to an end.

2010 Review

January brought a time of change to our house. Dustin headed back to Michigan Tech to finish his Master's Degree.  We enjoyed weekends of sledding and family fun.

 

We purchased a new car in February for the weekly commute to Houghton. We attended Winter Carnival and battled a few rounds of a stomach viruses. 

We enjoyed an early Spring with all of the snow gone in the middle of March. The kids enjoyed being able to be outside without snow suits and being all bundled up. We created masterpieces, learned about science, and watched the earth come to life. 

April 

We had Easter dinner at our house with many friends and family. Dustin won 1st prize in the Michigan Tech Business Plan competition for Suburb Solar. Buzz Buzz. Miss. Jenna turns 3 and we have a bumble bee birthday party.  

May brought seeds and dirt with the planting of the garden. Happy 1st Birthday to Dylan. We celebrated with an underwater adventure. Dustin and Jill hiked at Sleeping Bear Dunes for a weekend getaway. 

June 

Family Reunions, Pow Wows, Soccer Camp, and Indian Lake Swimming. A quick month with so many fun activities.

July

Happy Birthday USA! We visited the waterfall in Munising. It was a fabulous year for picking blueberries. The kids took swim lesson at the Y in Escanaba. We celebrated our 8th anniversary as husband and wife.

Summer days of fun. Running in the sprinkler, going to the lake, and eating ice cream. Jill helped start a farmers market in Manistique. We enjoyed a family trip to Chicago. After attended the UP State Fair and the Corn Roast was now complete.

Derek's 1st Day of Kindergarten. Dustin played in a golf tournament and went back for his last semester at MTU. We took a beautiful hike up north.

Boo! Happy Halloween. Jill started a new moms group called Mom2Mom. We cut and stacks our firewood for winter- 5 cord. Derek turned 5. 

 

The leaves have been raked and the days are getting shorter. We had our first snow fall over Thanksgiving weekend. Dustin went to Hermansville for a guys weekend. We had a fun family night out of bowling and pizza. Julie, Jill's sister is having a baby in February so Jill helped host her baby shower, She's going to Pop theme.

December 

Dustin graduated from Michigan Tech with his Master's in Business Administration. Celebrated the holidays with our families. 

We had a great 2010. Here's to a better 2011. 

Happy New Year from the Denkins

Happy New Year! 

October Updates

We are sure enjoying fall at the Denkins. The weather has been unseasonable warm. We have had lots of sunshine and time outside.

Menu Plan Monday- September 20

I love fall. The start of fall brings out recipes I haven't used over the summer. Warm meals, apple pie, pumpkin, soups and harvest from the garden. Yum! 

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie
Monday: Lasagna
Tuesday:  Roast, Potatoes, and Carrots
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Kids Choice
Friday: Mexican

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."-   Stanley Horowitz

Back to School at the Denkins

The first part of September has flew by. We enjoyed one last swim in Lake Michigan over Labor Day weekend. The days now are getting shorter. It is hard to believe last month we were outside at this time. The weather has been about 60 degrees and very rainy. We had a frost on Wednesday morning, Sept. 15th. 

First Day of Kindergarten Big Bay de Noc 

The biggest news is Derek started Kindergarten. He woke up the first morning ready to go. Derek is adjusting well to school. He quickly found out why everyone enjoys  Saturday and Sunday so much.   Today, he had his first Spelling test! 

Life at home is very quiet with the two youngest. Jenna enjoys playing with her toys. We have been practicing writing her name.  Dylan loved to paint with pudding this week at playgroup. 

Dustin and I played golf on Sunday. This was the first time I had played this year. We started out the round great. Dustin had pared the first two holes. Then came the third hole and things took a "hit" for the worst. We were about 200 yards out and I hit the ball. The shot was horrible, I am still unsure how I even hit it "that bad". Needless to say Dustin was 6 feet in front of me on the cart and the ball hit into the side of his neck. It is very sore still. He is never going to let me live this one down. 

Happy September

Summer is winding down. The leaves are starting to turn colors and the days are getting shorter.
The biggest change is Dustin is back at MTU for his last semester of grad school. He will only be gone 2 days this semester.
Derek starts kindergarten in less than a week. He is very exciting and is starting to read. No more skipping pages or words in his books. Jenna loves to play dress up, talk and ride her bike. Dylan follows his siblings and feels he should be included too.
Today, the kids went to the dentist and got their teeth cleaned. It was Jenna's 1st visit.

Summer Boating Fun

We enjoyed an afternoon on the lake today on the boat. Derek and Jenna both road in the tube we pulled behind the boat. We were going maybe 4 miles per hour. They loved it. Dylan even caught a few cat naps in the boat. The weather was amazing.  After we spent some time in the boat we played in the water. Derek was swimming like a fish. He was using this really strange punching action with his arms but he got where he wanted to go. Days like this make me love living in the UP a little more.