The Talens' Tales

M(om): Hi Joash! I haven't seem much of you this week, since I have been busy at VBS and you have been spending your mornings at the farm. How are you doing? J(oash): I am doing great Mom! I really like to go to Opa's house, but I am still a bit sad when you leave. But, we have lots of fun M: I am glad Joash. What can you do now that you are 21 months? J:Well, I can say even more words and I like to string two word phrases together. Today I said, "Joash nap" at nap time, which really seem to surprise you, mom.  M: It was surprising. Not everyone goes down for a nap so well. Anything else? J: I also like to repeat things that people say to me. I learn so many new words this way and people always seem to smile when I do it. M: That is because it is so nice to hear you say such nice things. What do you like to play with now? The concentration face.  J: I still really like my books, tractors and trucks. I have a new loader. My new favorite thing to do...

Finally, some more pictures of the wedding, including pictures of the most important person of the day, the bride. Well, the groom is an important person too, but everyone knows the bride is really the most important. We had to park in a field and then they took us up to the wedding site on wagons. I am the person on the right side of the wagon, wearing a blue dress and backpack. Karisa is next to me and we are frantically trying to get Joash's shoes on. His feet grew or his socks were too thick. It took some persuasion to get those shoes on. We also happened to pick the wagon that broke down. The bearing went out on the back left side and the wheel almost fell off. Thankfully, someone was walking down the road and noticed, so it didn't fall off. But, then we had to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully, some nice guests helped carry all of Joash's stuff. Joash did a fine job, as I said. Here he is not paying attention as he starts down the aisle. Good thing the ...

With the Olympic fever in the air, much of the world attention is focused on the athletes and their accomplishments. Running for My Life is a the story of one of those athletes before he found himself a part of the Olympic games. Lopez Lomong is a US Olympic Athlete competing in long distance track events. (And he make the team for 2012! Congratulations). But, before he found his life in the US, he was one of the thousands of Lost Boys from Sudan. Kidnapped from his mother’s arms when he was only six years old, Lomong did a lot of running. He ran from the soldiers who kidnapped him to the refugee camp in Kenya. In the camp he ran to play soccer and to survive. Eventually he was selected as one of the boys to be placed with a foster family in the United States. Lomong reminds his reader time and again that the life he lives now is truly a gift from God. And he is now on a mission to give back to his homeland and the people there. I really enjoyed reading the story of Lomong...

The groomsman at Jander and Tiffany's wedding had a nice little song they wrote to the tune of "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Wilbert is sad they got off on the rhythm a bit, but as you can tell, the people there loved it. And they loved it so much that you really can't hear the sweet harmony the guys made up for the last chorus. Oh well. If you need a bit of background for the song to make sense, Jander went to Dordt and Tiffany to Calvin College, so the rivalry played out all night. All of the groomsmen went to Dordt as well, so you know where our loyalties rise. The location they got married at is called "The Peak" by Tiffany's family. And the time in band class...well, if you ever see Jander you will have to ask him about yourself. Enjoy!

Joash was one of the ring bearers in the wedding this weekend. And his uncle and aunt did a great job picking out a gift for him. He got the loader in the pictured above and a matching dump truck. His face lit up when he pulled them from the bag. The other ring bearer also got a large dump truck that looked similar. A lack of sleep caused Joash to have a major melt down when he thought the other ring bearer was taking his dump truck. When we got home after the crazy weekend, Joash was a bit out of sorts. I had to convince him that his dump truck and loader needed a bath in order to get him in the tub. And then after the bath, he would not let them go. It is not easy to carry a 20 month old who is clutching a loader and dump truck. This also meant the loader and dump truck joined Joash in his crib for the first part of the night in order for him to fall asleep without a melt down. I took them out later while he was sleeping. So, it really doesn't take much to make this boy ha...

Well, the first of our two wedding this summer is over. Now that we are home and looking over our pictures, we quickly realized that having a 20 month old does not really help you to get a large amount of quality pictures. So, sorry for all of you just waiting to see the bride, you will have to wait a little longer because I currently do not have a single picture of her. It was a fantastic weekend though. A bit crazy and full of things to do, but fun. Thursday the adults went river rafting which was a lot of fun. We were able to witness first hand the amazing strength of the tides in the Bay of Fundy. our boat was the only boat where almost everyone fell out. We proved that it is possible for the boat to be too full of water. Friday was rehearsal and trying to get Joash to take a nap and get some sleep so he would be ready for the big show on Saturday. And Saturday was the wedding.   Here are some of the boys looking good in their outfits.  The wedding loca...

Joash likes to do many different things, but these two things are probably two of his favorite. And they both involve a special seat. Joash loves to ride in the tractor. Opa made this a little easier and safer for everyone by making Joash a bucket seat.  Yep, that is a seat made out of a 5 gallon bucket with some nice foam padding around the sides for comfort. Joash could sit in there all day I think. Oma enjoys biking and she installed the child bike seat back on her bike. Joash also really likes going for bike rides with Oma. As soon as he see his helmet, you cannot distract him from the thought of taking a bike ride.

I needed to a see a picture like this of Joash today. We started off with a rather rough morning. I was thankful I had a meeting and Joash was already going to visit Oma and Opa. We both needed a break from each other I think. When we came back home, it went better, but he has a cough, which didn't help him to nap well. So, we went to the beach. And that made everything better. Happy Canada Day a day late. We did have a crazy weekend which probably contributed to the crabbiness. Saturday was the church picnic. So much fun and such wonderful weather! We went to the beach afterwards and there was a nice little pool of water caught by a sand bar that Joash and all of his little friends just loved playing in. He splashed and put things in his bucket and just had a great time in general. He was pretty wiped by the end of it. Sunday was a nice day as well, though we decided not to go to the fireworks. And today was beautiful weather as well. You know the heat wave that is hitting eve...