Well, it's official. After a couple of months of speculation, Markus was awarded the South Kitsap Valedictorian Award at the Laurels Award Ceremony tonight. We are very proud of his commitment and hard work. Considering that his class is over 600, it was quite an accomplishment! Good job, Markus.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Bjorn's new workplace
After a week or so of emailing resume's to no avail, Bjorn took his mom's advice and showed his innocent face to a couple of job possibilities. Well, it worked; and he got a job at the second place he went. He started the next day, and has worked a week. It's an indefinite arrangement so far, but they seem to really like him. The company is called 'Masterworks', and it is a graphics/advertisement company that does contracts with different Christian ministries. Bjorn helps the IT person with all of the computer and software stuff. The graphic artists all use Macs, so Bjorn is kind of the 'go to guy' for the Macs. He loves that of course. The company is in Poulsbo, so he has a little of a commute, but the Rabbit diesel keeps the cost down. We are all very thankful for this job, since it will give him experience in his chosen career.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
What's this? another mac?
I've been waiting to upgrade for almost a year. My iBook is five years old and feeling a little slow and behind the times. When the MacBook Pro came out, I was really tempted, but Bjorn urged me to be patient. I'm glad I did. This seems to be just the ticket. I was tempted to buy the black one because I've had 'snow white' for the last five years. But being a true Dutchman, I couldn't dish out the extra $150 just for the color. I upgraded the RAM to 1 gig and the hard drive to 80, so the configuration is the same as the black one. Bjorn helped me transfer the data off from my old iBook, so I am up and running. It is lightning fast compared to my old one. I am getting acquainted with the larger screen and raised keys and enjoying the new features. I have found one negative so far and that is that it gets really hot on the lap compared to my old G3 iBook. It's a good thing my child producing days are over!
Monday, May 22, 2006
Neah Bay 2006
Every year Don and I take our fifth graders to Neah Bay. Once again we were very fortunate with the weather, even though it looked a little menacing. The Makah Reservation is such a beautiful place. We did our usual schedule of activities: hike to Shi Shi, museum, camp overnight and end with a hike to Cape Flattery. This year we had the added treat of having one of our families originally from Neah Bay. In fact, our student's grandfather is the president of the tribal council. They were able to arrange a great campsite that even topped our former situation. We also had a member of the tribe tell us Makah stories around our beach campfire. The presence of many parents made the work of feeding and transporting the students a lot easier. We ended up with 27 students and 15 adults. It takes some organized prep work to make this trip work, but we always feel that it is well worth it, realizing that it will be a lifelong memory for the kids. By the way, I am posting this blog with my new computer, but more about that tomorrow.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
In the water and ready to play
I had some time this week to get the boat ready for launching. Today, Bjorn and I slipped her in the drink and had a nice afternoon sail to Southworth from Manchester. It has been great having Bjorn home. He came on Monday from a week in Juneau, and will be staying home all summer. He is trying to get some kind of a summer job in computer programing. He may have to fall back on construction, but he will try for a little while to get something in his intended career field.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
A Visit From the Eides
This weekend Mike, Marti and Mikal came down from Lynden for a visit. Marika and her friend were at a horse camp at nearby Miracle Ranch, so M and M took the opportunity to visit us for the weekend. It was great hearing about their recent trip to Mexico. I also helped with the neighborhood beach clean up. Every spring, the Southworth neighborhood gets together and trims the trail to the beach and cleans up the garbage left by uninvited guests.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Finished Testing
For the last two weeks our students have been taking the WASL tests. Our fifth graders took the reading, math and science tests - Eight straight days of testing! Today we finished, much to the relief of both students and teacher. Now it's time to stay focused for the remaining forty days of school.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Fort Flagler Youth Retreat
Every spring for the last several years, Esther and I help out with the Harper Church youth retreat at Fort Flagler. We are usually very fortunate to have good weather. This year was no exception. The setting is one of the most spectacular in the Puget Sound, set on a bluff overlooking Admiralty Inlet and the Cascade Range. The well kept lawns and nearby bunkers provide a haven for young adult entertainment. The retreat was well attended with more than 50 youth. John discussed eastern religions and their contrast to Christian teaching. As usual, Dan and I slipped away during free time to look at boats in Port Townsend.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Mother's Music
There are few things that mom enjoys as much as playing hymns on the piano. She and Ellen stayed with us a couple of nights; and it wasn't long before mom was drawn to the antique piano of Esther's grandma that I begrudgingly hauled down to Southworth last summer. She played song after song, slowly working her way through a hymnal. I was amazed at how gracefully she played each song. At home, she has a small electric keyboard, so she relished the rich sound of a seasoned piano. Her enjoyment of the instrument made me appreciate the presence of 'the beast' a little more. It was great having my sister Ellen and mom over for a few days. With two trips to SeaTac and one to Marysville yesterday, we said goodbye to mom, Ellen and Corbin. We had a surprise meeting with Bjorn and friends in Marysville as they were on their way down to Tacoma for a concert. We are having a quiet Easter at home today.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
los tres amigos
This past week, Corbin has been staying with us. He lives in Arizona now, but is spending his spring break with us. He grew up next door to us and Markus and Calvin are the closest thing to brothers that he has. He has grown a lot in the last couple of years, and it is fun to see how much he has matured.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
sister sunday
This afternoon Esther and I drove down to Olympia to visit my sisters and mother. Ellen is on spring break and up from Sacramento, and Susan picked up mom from Lynden. We took a long walk around McClean Pond which is about a mile from Susan's house. Mom enjoyed her walk, though she had to maneuver through mud puddles and slippery boardwalks. It was great to spend time together and we are looking forward to Ellen and mom staying with us later this week.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Whistler at last!
After years of being envious of others, we finally got to experience Whistler snowboarding. We waited the first morning out because of cloudy conditons, but then had a day and a half of great weather. Though we certainly didn't hit every run on the two mountains, we at least hit all the highlights and got a good feel for what is there. Tuesday we did Blackcomb mountain, where my favorite was the seventh heaven area. Wednesday we explored Whistler mountain, of which the favorites were harmony ridge and the long 'peak to creek' run. The conditions were a lot nicer on top where it was still freezing, than near the bottom with its slush. We all had a good time and it was nice to have nephew Zach along.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
waiting it out in Whistler
It's Tuesday morning, and instead of snowboarding, we are sitting in the condo waiting for the sun to burn off the thick layer of clouds. The webcams from this morning showed very foggy slopes, but this aftenoon looks promising. We are saving our full-day passes for tomorrow, but the boys and I are doing the half-day today. Things aren't too busy around the village, but they are not dead either. Esther can do some shopping this afternoon while we are on the slopes. The condo is fairly convenient as it is on the edge of the village proper. There is a large grocery store right below us, and we can leave our van in the underground parking.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Vintage 242
On our way to Whistler, we stopped to visit Bjorn and Jenny, as well as attend their church. Bjorn has been involved in planning and setting up services. The church is a new church that might be labeled an 'emerging church.' They are loosely connected with Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Pastor Johnny presented a practical sermon from Romans, and worship included communion, meditation and singing. The atmosphere is contemplative with lots of candles and simple articles for focus in worship. '242' comes from Acts 2:42, and 'vintage' emphasizes identification with historical christianity. We were excited to experience the service and meet the people who are important in Bjorn's ministry life.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Those trees looks small from the house, but when you're working from a ladder with a sixteen inch chainsaw, they're pretty intimidating. Add the anxiety of them possibly falling the wrong way and landing on the ferry terminal generator, and you have a nervous lumberjack. Esther helped me by making sure the beach was clear and clipping blackberries. We tied a rope to a couple of them for a false sense of security. Despite fighting the wind, all five trees landed exactly as planned, except the last one, which went the opposite way. The weather was great. It feels like a successful day, with a much nicer view of Seattle from our living room.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Cybergrades
Just a couple of years ago, I remember sitting at a big table with grading sheets spread out and my pen carefully entering grades and writing comments. The white out bottle was handy and ready to come to the rescue. Today, I sit in my recliner with only my iBook. The report card is accessed online and all my grades are in another window. The comments can easily be changed and grades modified with a quick click. The time consumption is more than cut in half. Report cards were due today, but I actually had them in a day early!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
A Bulthuis Wrestler?
I grew up with the impression that wrestling was a 'pagan' sport. Neither Lynden Christian nor Calvin College ever had a wrestling program. The rationale was never explained to me, and I just presumed that it was an 'unChristian' thing to do. I later learned that such a spiritual giant as Jim Eliot was a wrestling standout for Wheaton, and wrestling certainly has a biblical precedence as a sport. I even married a high school 'mat maid.' However, a childhood moral conscience is hard to break and I never encouraged my sons to consider the sport. But a few years ago, while my guard was down, our youngest started softly expressing interest in the barbaric sport. I tried very hard to stuff my biases and instead supported any athletic ambition in my progeny. Going to matches, I felt like an incompetent supporter, as I didn't know the first thing to yell, beside "Go Calvin". These last three wrestling seasons have been a learning experince for me. It has been a good experience for Calvin as well. He ventured off into uncharted territory for a Bulthuis, developed lots of valuable friendships and learned a bunch of things about himself and the techniques of effective wrestling. The district tournament today was probably Calvin's final match as he does not plan to continue in high school. He pushed the Bulthuis' wrestling genetics to the limit and won one match and avoided pins in two others. Calvin, you did a wonderful job in wrestling and taught all of us a thing or two.
Suprise! Surprise! Surprise!
On our way up to an Eide Partner's stockholders meeting in Marysville, we decided to detour I-5 traffic and tour our old stomping grounds in Pinehurst. As we approached our familiar driveway, we noticed that something was very different. The cursed trees and the familar parsonage were gone. Cyclone fencing guarded the entire property. We thought maybe it was ground zero! We drove to the back of the JW church for a closer look. As we were surmising the fate of our once beloved abode, Esther spotted a familar ugly brown in the corner of her eye. Behold - the pathetic structure had been hoisted on steel beams and hauled over to a neighboring alley for a new lease on life. (Check out more pics by clicking the picture) We drove around to a new vantage point and reminisced of life in the fishbowl with three young boys.
College Preview - round 2
Friday we went to SPU for a tour and some appointments with admissions and financial aid. Markus has been accepted and is considering SPU. Esther and I needed to talk to financial aid to help us get over 'sticker shock' With Markus' academic scholarship and some 'need based' grant money, the out of pocket comes down a little, but is still pricey compared to other options. I was once again impressed with facilities and strong academic program at SPU. It's hard to imagine that I spent over a year in graduate studies at this school. One very 'coincidental' experience was that in my efforts to set up appointments I was helped one of Bjorn's friends - 'Boone'. After graduating from Trinity last year, he worked in Portland for several months before recently taking a job with SPU. It was good to touch basis with him as we share flickr photos.
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