Merry Christmas from the Vander Wells! It’s been a great year. Here’s the latest from our crew…
It was a big year of transition for me and Wendy at work this year. On April 1st I became the sole owner of our company Intelligentics as my long-time business partner began his journey in retirement. That brought a lot of transitions with work that have been both challenging and rewarding. I’ve been working on writing my first book, “This Call May Be Monitored (What Eavesdropping on Corporate America Taught Me About Business & Life),” which will be published early next year.
Outside of work we’ve remained busy with family, friends, and community. I continue to serve as a teaching leader at Church. I finished a one-year term as President of our local community theatre. I even returned to the stage for the first time in several years, performing in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. Wendy once again directed Pella’s annual Tulip Queen Announcement Party (her 7th year!) and I once again served as Master of Ceremonies. I still get the honor of officiating a wedding here-and-there and enjoy doing P.A. for Pella High baseball (State Champs this year!).
Between fun, family, friends, and work, we enjoyed several travel experiences in 2025. I forgot how much we traveled until I went back to look at all our photos. It began with a cruise out of New Orleans that departed the day before NOLA hosted the Super Bowl – so, you know, just a few crowds we had to navigate. Wendy and I also spent long weekends in Chicago and Minneapolis to see the Cubs play, then back to Minneapolis a few weeks ago for our annual pilgrimage to the Vikings’ mother ship. We made it to South Carolina twice this year to hang with the Madison, G, and MJ. We even got to take MJ to her first baseball game (Go Fireflies!). In the fall we headed to Park City, UT for a little R&R with friends.
And of course, family! We enjoyed hosting the whole family over fourth of July when the SC crew made it back to Iowa. We also got to host Thanksgiving, and the annual Vikings-Packers Smackdown with our nephew Sam and his family. Taylor, Clayton & kids are still in Des Moines and we love having them close. We love having Milo and Sylvie to keep us busy playing in the pool, playing dress-up, and having light saber duels. They love having Papa make them Shirley Temples at the Vander Well Pub. Milo even spent the week with us this summer attending USP Drama Camp. Madison, G, and MJ are doing great in Columbia and we’re looking forward to having them here for Christmas at New Year’s this year. MJ likes to FaceTime Papa Tom in the wee hours of the morning. Papa Dean continues to live independently here in Pella. He keeps busy in his stained-glass workshop and can’t keep up with demand for his ornaments and decorative pieces. He even got a commission to create a large stained-glass piece for the new wing at Pella Regional Hospital.
Wendy and I also continue to walk life’s journey with our close-knit cadre of dear friends. From graduations and baptisms to dinners and dates, our life is so full of goodness. We are so thankful and so blessed with such a community of loved ones. God is so good.
Merry Christmas to all! Praying for a blessed and peaceful 2026 for all of us.
It seems that my “Latest” posts have, of late, gone from being a quarterly/seasonal thing to a semi-annual thing. Yikes! So much to catch up on.
It was a momentous winter that began with the sale of our family’s “Playhouse” on Lake of the Ozarks. It became crystal clear to Wendy and me this past year that it was time. After 25 years in the family, and over 15 years as stewards of this thin place, we sold it to our friends Randy and Melissa from Pella. We know they will only make it better and continue to both be blessed and bless others with it as we have attempted to do these many years. Our friends Eric and Amy were gracious to drive down with us and help pack up the final load. So many memories got packed up in those boxes. We also took the opportunity to visit a couple of our favorite haunts: The Tavern at Trails End and The Branding Iron. Thank God Eric worked or United Van Lines back when he was working his way through school. I don’t know how we got it all in load!
Late fall and the holidays were special, as always. We got to enjoy football, friends, and family. We celebrated Milo’s 7th birthday with the VLs and Papa Dean. Milo especially loved having light saber fights with the VL boys, which meant that Papa enjoyed a respite from Milo’s incessant desire for “Jedi training.” Wendy and I had friends over for an en-joy-able dinner to celebrate her birthday. Our friends Matthew and Sarah treated us to dinner and an evening with C.S. Lewis in Des Moines.
We were sad that Madison, G, and MJ were unable to make the journey from South Carolina to join us for Christmas this year, but we had plenty of family including my dad, two siblings, niece Emma, as well as Taylor’s crew. I introduced Sylvie and Milo to the joy of bellying up to the bar at Vander Well Pub for a Shirley Temple. That’s become a highlight of any and every visit to Papa and Yaya’s house. We were also blessed to have a bunch of Wendy’s siblings home for Christmas at the Halls, including Suzanna and her two wee ones.
New Year’s Eve weekend began with the annual Vikings-Packers family smackdown with our nephew Sam and his burgeoning crew. So fun to have niece Emma join us again this year. It’s always fun when the Vikings win the big rivalry! 😉
New Year’s Eve itself was uneventful this year as Wendy and I delayed celebration of our 19th wedding anniversary for the early February cruise we’d been planning for almost two years.
Late last summer I was asked to step back into leadership at Union Street Players, Pella’s Community Theatre. This is my twelfth term as President. Wendy and I haven’t really been involved for the past 6-8 years. The organization is facing multiple challenges including the moving and setting up of our Costume Shop to a new location which has been a monumental task.
The challenges haven’t always been a lot of fun, but what was a lot of fun was getting back on stage in a show for the first time since 2016. I got to play Major Metcalf in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap which is one of the most legendary shows in stage history. It’s been running continuously on London’s West End for over 70 years and 70,000 performances, and Wendy and I got to see it in London the last time we were there. Rehearsals began in early January, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience with both cast and crew. It was fun to be back on stage with old theatre comrades as well as sharing the stage with some talented young actors.
When Wendy and I were engaged 20 years ago, we planned a honeymoon in New Orleans. Neither of us had been to NOLA and we were really looking forward to it. Then came hurricane Katrina which blew away our honeymoon plans along with everything else. We shifted our honeymoon to San Antonio and vowed that someday we’d make it to New Orleans.
A couple of years ago, Wendy found an incredible deal on a cruise leaving out of the Port of New Orleans. We figured it would be a fun way to celebrate our 20th Anniversary a little early. So, we planned a week in NOLA followed by a seven-day cruise to the southern Caribbean.
What we DIDN’T plan on when Wendy booked the trip almost two years before was that the SUPER BOWL would be in New Orleans the DAY AFTER our cruise pulled out of port. When our time share couldn’t guarantee us a room on the night before the ship left port we thought, “No problem! We’ll just get a hotel room that night.” We then found there was only ONE hotel with a room available in New Orleans that night and it was charging well-over $1000 a night. “WHAT?!” So, we ended up driving an hour outside of New Orleans for the final night of our week in NOLA and then got to fight the Super Bowl crowds and parade to get to our ship. Happy to say we made it.
We enjoyed NOLA, though both Wendy and I both agreed that we can check it off the bucket list. Neither of us feel a need to return. The highlights were the World War II museum which is a must-see for anyone who loves history. We breezed through it in one day, though I could have easily spent three days taking it all in. We also love, Love, LOVED Preservation Hall. We also enjoyed Schnitzel’s on Bourbon Street and felt compelled to stop at Lefitte’s Blacksmith Shop which is tabbed as the oldest pub in America, dating to the 1700s. That still can’t hold a candle to the Brazen Head in Dublin that was serving pints during Crusades, but still fun. Yes, the beignets at Cafe Du Monde were the bomb, and I got a selfie with the Oscar-Meyer wiener mobile which I can check off my bucket list, as well!
As we were walking down Bourbon Street early one afternoon we happened upon the Lombardi Trophy that was being photographed and videotaped for promotional purposes before the Super Bowl. Nabbed a selfie. Probably the closest I’ll ever get to it. It was also sobering to spend a few minutes at the impromptu street memorial for those killed by a terrorist in the wee hours this past New Year’s Day.
One of the unexpected surprises was finding out that the subject of one of Wendy’s favorite artworks (it hangs in our dining room) is actually in New Orleans. We didn’t know that until we saw some paintings of it inside a local artists’ venue. One of the only “weeping angel” monuments in the world is inside a private family mausoleum in one of NOLA’s famed above ground cemeteries. We found it, and while the mausoleum was locked, we were able to peer inside and take a photo.
The cruise was also the highlight of our vacay. Wendy and I absolutely love cruising, and we are content to simply enjoy being at sea, in our state room, and on our room’s verandah. The only time either of us got off the ship on the seven-day excursion was when I disembarked in Porto Costa Maya for a tour of some Mayan ruins, which had been a bucket list item for me since World History class in high school.
We returned home to enjoy the first Spring in 15+ years that we weren’t feeling the responsibility of getting down to the lake and getting the Playhouse ready and stocked for a busy summer season. We’ve enjoyed dinners with friends, time with family, having Milo and Sylvie spend weekends with us, and working on home projects at Vander Well Manor that we’ve been putting off for far too long. Our Sunday Evening “neighborhood” has enjoyed watching Bad Sisters together and is now enjoying Season 2 of 1923. I got to go flying a few weeks ago with our friend Eric and enjoy a gorgeous spring afternoon in Iowa which was a real treat.
The family is all doing well.
My dad celebrated his 88th birthday in March. Not bad for someone who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma over ten years ago and was told he might not make it more than another three or four years. His stained-glass work continues to be in demand and keeps him busy. He’s even taken some painting classes in his retirement community. We love having him in worship with us on Sundays and having him bring us some of his fresh baked goods.
Grandkids continue to grow like weeds and we enjoy every moment we get with them. We’re looking forward to enjoying Pella Tulip Time this year as we’ve handed-off our annual roles as Pella’s founding couple. We get to just enjoy the annual festival without responsibilities this year.
It has been quite a year on several fronts in 2024, which is why I’m sitting here on Christmas Eve to finally update the Latest from this past summer and fall.
My last update from Spring 2024 left off after Pella’s annual Tulip Time, and May always brings the beginning of Lake season. What Wendy and I didn’t know going in was that this would be our final summer at “The Playhouse,” our place on Lake of the Ozarks that has been a part of our family for over 25 years. By the end of the summer Wendy and I decided that this season of our lives was over. God provided a very clear and simple path in selling it to friends who we know will be blessed by it, and will pass that blessing forward.
So, it was a great final summer with annual trips with friends and family. Most memorable for me was the opportunity to meet at the lake with my dad and siblings. It was the first time we’d all been together at the lake, ever, and it was a great opportunity to share time together as a family. We tried to remember the last time we’d been together as a family for more than a couple of days and we couldn’t really come up with an answer!
Taylor, Clayton, Milo, and Sylvie had been living with us from December 2023 until Tulip Time in May. They bought a house in Des Moines, but having them in Des Moines has been a much better proximity than Edinburgh, Scotland! Clayton has been working for Lutheran Services of Iowa in their Refugee Settlement program and Taylor continues to work for Storii. It’s been fun to have them nearby where we can visit them when we’re in Des Moines, take the kids out for special times with Papa and/or Yaya, and have them visit. Milo has loved coming to church with Papa, Yaya, and Papa Dean. I continue to teach regularly and even had the blessing of being asked to baptize a dear friend this Spring. We even had a very rare treat when solar flares gave us a glimpse of the Northern Lights over our house!
My dad continues to live here in Pella in independent living. He stays busy making stained glass and won the blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair this year!
Madison, G, and MJ (Maddy Jo) continue to live in South Carolina, but we were blessed to have them home this summer. Madison continues to work at a boutique and spa in Columbia. She took a management position this year. Garrett continues in real estate, but he worked to get his teaching certificate so that he can both teach and coach football at the high school level. Late June and early July ended up being full of gatherings with family and friends as we celebrated Sylvie’s 2nd birthday and welcomed the SC crew back to Iowa for the Fourth of July weekend. The Pella VLs had us down to their pool for fun in the sun and water. Even Taylor and Maddy Kate’s Godfather Dave made an appearance! The summer also included my 40th High School Class reunion (Hoover High School Class of 1984). Wendy’s friends, “The Golden Girls” had a sleepover at our house, as well. I got to play bartender.
Of course, Wendy and I love spending time with friends over good food and good drinks. We enjoyed a couple of weekends together. In the summer, we headed to Kansas City to catch our Cubbies at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and had dinner with friends there. In the fall, we headed to Minneapolis for our annual pilgrimage to the Mother Ship (USBank Stadium) to watch the Vikings. We also took in a show at the Guthrie for the first time since COVID. In the fall, we headed to Park City, UT to visit friends, found our way to the top of Sundance Mountain, and enjoyed some spectacular views!
While we were in Park City, Wendy got word that her Grandma Vander Hart had passed away. As the only family member actually in Pella, Wendy has ceaselessly cared for her grandmother and her grandma’s needs for years. We returned from Utah to meet with Wendy’s family and lay Grandma to rest. I was blessed that she asked me to do her funeral.
No year is without its share of adversity. Torrential rains and drainage tiling that was blogged by tree roots combined to back up our sump pump and flood our basement twice this summer. The carpet was able to be salvaged, but the floods required us to pull up all of our carpets in the basement, tear out all of the carpet pads, and then have new carpet pads installed and the carpet re-laid. We used it as an opportunity to employ some local high school and college students. I’ll be very happy if we never have to do that again!
Wendy and I have not been involved in theatre for about six years. In the fall, I was recruited to once again run for President of our local Community Theatre. I was elected. So, we’re back in the mix of things, including presiding over Union Street Players’ annual Awards Dinner. Wendy is not on the Board but has been assisting with finances and the box office. She also helped organize the Awards Dinner. I might even make it back on stage this coming year!
We also enjoyed a visit from Wendy’s sister and her children from their home in Mazatlan this fall, as well as a wonderful picnic with our faith family from the Auditorium at Third Church.
Fall also brings Pella’s annual Tulip Queen Announcement Party. Wendy once again presided as Director of the evening’s festivities and I served once again as Master of Ceremonies. It’s always amazing to spend time with such talented young ladies who instill such hope for the future. Both Wendy and I are blessed every year to get to know these amazing women and be a part of our Community’s annual tradition.
Note: For my regular chapter-a-day subscribers, please note that Wendy and I are out for a few days and I’ll continue our trek through Amos when I return.
Where does the time go? Here it is, late October and I still haven’t posted about the summer that was summer 2023. As I went through photos and pondered the memories, there is a part of me that recognizes the familiar cadence our lives have become. That said, I embrace the cadence. Life always offers new events, new surprises, as well as moments we have tried long to avoid. When you are blessed to enjoy life that moves along with a cadence of love, good family, good friends, and well-established traditions and routines, those difficult moments melt into the love and goodness. So, here’s to the cadence.
Summer beings with Memorial Day weekend at the lake with the Pella VLs. When the cadence began, their oldest was a wee one. The Playhouse has always been a thin place for healing, life-changes, and rites of passage. That wee one whose first visit was in the single-wide, seventy-feet of Ozark glory, is catching fish and experiencing his first stogie with the boys. Of course, the cadence also includes scoring the Cubs game on the deck listening to the call by Pat and Ron. It includes good books you should have read years ago. It includes “the puddle effect” of the lake and movies together as shared experience.
In ways, the Playhouse is the cadence of the summer for Wendy and me. After Memorial Day there is the annual weekend with Kev & Beck. The cadence has almost always included family, though that was interrupted in recent years by my mother’s descent into the oblivion of Alzheimers and my father’s loving and dutiful care for her. With mom’s passing and memorial service on St. Patrick’s Day this year, my sister and I enjoyed taking dad to the lake for the first time in a few years.
Life’s cadence also requires maintenance (dang it!), and this summer it was replacement of the Playhouse patio door with a new Pella (of course) slider. A tear in the chill-mat also required me to channel my 8th grade Home Ec sewing skills (thank you, Mrs. Dykema!) to repair and keep us and our guests “chillin'” for another summer or two. And, life didn’t stop back in Pella where Wendy and enjoyed the annual Pella Opera House Gala and the Red Rock Balloon Fest which sent many hot air balloons right over our house.
For Wendy and me, the cadence of summer is always synonymous with America’s pastime. While we got to far too few baseball games (though I snuck in a Columbia, SC Fireflies game with MK & G!) we enjoyed cheering on our friend, Nathan, and the Pella baseball team. I even got to be the PA Announcer for a couple of games, which was a real treat!
Speaking of the South Carolina crew, they also joined us for Fourth of July at the Playhouse. Our Rottie “grand-pups,” Bertha and Hazel, brought news of our third grandchild, due in late January. Madison utilized G’s high school football team to help celebrate gender reveal. A wee granddaughter is on the way!
Speaking of wee ones, Milo and Sylvie have continued to flourish in Scotland. As I reviewed the summer photo cache, it was definitely the “Summer of Sylvie” as the second-born commanded the attention and refused to be overshadowed by her older brother. She took her first steps and her folks appear determined to celebrate child #2 with all the media vigor commanded by child #1. Milo has become a young math whiz. Papa and Yaya are ecstatic about having the crew back in Pella this Christmas.
The cadence of life is punctuated with significant life events. Mom’s passing was followed by the burial of her ashes this summer. My dad, my sibs, and a small gathering of family had a private and personal memorial. We shared memories, laughter, and tears. We then shared a meal together. It was a small affair, but I could feel mom smiling on the other side of the veil. Dad continues the transition to Pella, but his stained-glass work (another Iowa State Fair ribbon this year) has been celebrated. He was commissioned to do a window for a new house in Pella as well as being commissioned to replicate the prayer bench he made for me years ago. He was “Artist of the Month” at Pella Manor. My sister and I joined his presentation to the fellow residents.
Of course, it’s all about friends and family isn’t it? Wendy and loved hosting family and friends through the summer, as well as enjoying gatherings with Community and loved ones. That included visits of cousins from Colorado and the weekly cadence of Sunday nights with friends to watch classics both old and new. We enjoyed potluck with our local gathering of Jesus’ followers, including young Asher who has become a surrogate grandchild. We enoyed taking mom Hall to Butcher’s Brewhuis in Pella, where she and Wendy lived when it was an apartment, back in the day. In addition, the Pella VLs opened their pool this summer. This means that Wendy and I can increasingly be found down the street in the summer where the water is cool and the fellowship is warm.
August brought the realities of age to the cadence of summer. Wendy had surgery to address join issues in a pinky and joints on two toes. The cadence of summer then ended, as usual on Labor Day weekend for us. For many years, it has been an “adult weekend” with with JPs and Pella VLs. This year, we enjoyed adding the Lubachs to celebrate summer’s end. A boat-trip for dinner ended with being towed home by good Samaritans. A ten-year-old “what happened to the iPad?” mystery was finally solved when a casual tap on the bottom of a chair revealed that the iPad had slipped beneath the cushion and the springs, requiring a forensic cut from beneath the chair to rescue the (now obsolete) iPad. A mystery solved! A happy ending to summer! And now, the cadence of autumn calls.
I’m finally catching up on “The Latest” with this post. After the holidays, I made a quick trip to San Diego for a short business summit with one of my partners. It was a great way to kick off the new year. Not only did we get in some great strategy sessions, but we also got to enjoy some very good meals and some very fine cigars on the balcony of the local hooka lounge. When you live your entire life in Iowa, the opportunity to get 60 degrees and sun is a godsend. I laughed at all the Californians walking around La Jolla in their parkas.
My mother moved into Memory Care at the Wesley Life Cottages in Pella just before Thanksgiving. It was an emotionally tectonic shift for both my mom and my dad. Dad struggled with the daily conversation they had when he would get ready to leave and she would ask why she couldn’t go with him. The nurses quickly determined that mom showed all of the signs of giving up, and suggested that allow the Hospice team to take over her care, which we did. She slept more and more and ate less and less. Some days she would sleep all the way through my visits, so I would sit by her bed and read the Psalms to her. She would occasionally open her eyes, look at me, and smile.
Wendy and I enjoyed a getaway to Cabo San Lucas in February. We had never been there before and were planning on having Suzanna and her family join us from nearby Mazatlan, but they had to decline just before we left and it turned out to be a wonderful vacation for the the two of us. We had an absolutely gorgeous view from our room and spent most days watching whales, reading, lounging by the pool, and taking naps. It was glorious. We also had some fun with Milo, who left one of his toys, Paul, at our house after the holidays. We took Paul with us on our various travels and sent Milo photos to track his adventures.
We have been so blessed by the Wesley Life family since my parents moved in last fall. My dad has worked with stained-glass for many years, and they helped him convert an old, unused Computer Room into a shop for his stained-glass. Dad even received a commission for a stained-glass piece from dear friends who are building a new house and who also have a loved one in the same Memory Care unit that mom was in. It has been so good for him to have something to keep his hands and mind busy, as well as a sense of purpose. I’m glad to say he’s already getting interest and inquiries for more projects and commissions.
Mom continued to decline as February gave way to March. All of my siblings made trips to Pella as the amazing Hospice nurses communicated each phase that brought mom closer to the end of her earthly journey. In the final days we spent a lot of time by her bed. She had fewer and fewer lucid moments, but I was amazed how peaceful she was, and in her conscious moments she would make little facial gestures just to crack us up along with the nurses. She was joyful and playful to the end.
Mom left her earthly body behind and crossed over into eternity on March 13th about 9:45 a.m. Her final moment was so peaceful. It was me, my sister, and my dad by her side as she left the Alzheimer’s riddled prison of her brain and body. It was a holy moment. Mom wished to be cremated and didn’t really want people staring at the frail remnants of what was physically left after Alzheimer’s had done its thing. A quick visitation and memorial service was planned just a few days later. On St. Patrick’s Day we celebrated her life together in a day filled with joy, just as she would have wanted it.
Spring 2023 also included some quietly joyful moments. Wendy and I always enjoy having friends over to the Vander Well Pub for a bevy and some good conversation. We enjoyed a belated Valentine’s Day feast thanks to our friends Matthew and Sarah. I even had a couple of trips to the lake. One was with my friend Kev and the other with Matthew. Always good to have a few days of retreat and guy time together. Kev even arranged a Saturday afternoon stogie gathering at a local smoke lounge. Our grandkids have been totally immersed in the Star Wars universe this past year. “May the Fourth” is now a thing with our family.
Another interesting wrinkle in life this year has been the fact that Wendy and I have given our home over to the youth group from our local gathering of Jesus’ followers on Wednesday nights so that several small groups can enjoy gathering in our home.
Wendy and I have turned the Wednesday night invasion into an opportunity to have a date night. We eventually started making Liberty Street Kitchen, our favorite restaurant in Pella, our go-to spot. This led to us enjoying table 40 with our dear friends Eric and Amy and we have become big fans of the amazing people who serve there.
Easter this year was a very quiet affair. Wendy and I had her folks, her grandmother, her Uncle Brad and Aunt Barb, along with my dad over after church for a traditional turkey and ham feast followed by a quiet afternoon of visiting together.
I unexpectedly had the blessing of a quick trip to South Carolina. Our company gained a new client based in Columbia, where Madison and G live. It was so much fun to be with the two of them and the pups, as well as the prospect of future, regular business trips there. Even got to go to a Columbia Fireflies game!
My birthday was uneventful. Another trip around the sun: check. Wendy and I once again did our annual community service for Pella’s Tulip Time the first full weekend in May. We dressed as Pella’s founding couple, H.P and Maria Scholte and welcomed people to the Scholte House Museum. We always enjoy getting a ride in a horse-drawn carriage for the afternoon parades. Other than a few sprinkles and a short deluge on Friday night, it was a beautiful Tulip Time weather-wise and the town hosted huge crowds.
Wendy’s mother celebrated a big birthday with a zero on the end. For months, her seven children had been conspiring to surprise her by showing up for Mother’s Day weekend. She knew that Wendy’s sister Becky would be in town with her family, but she expected it to simply be Becky with Wendy and Lucas who both live nearby who would spend Saturday at the folks’ house. About 10 a.m. on Saturday morning the doorbell rang and she opened the door to find her other four children who had flown in from east coast, west coast, and Mexico to be there. It was a great day of love and laughter. It’s so rare that all seven sibs can be together in the same spot.
I’m still catching up on the Vander Well events of this past year. It’s time to revisit the holidays. I mentioned in the Autumn post that my folks moved into Wesley Life’s Pella Manor in October. One of the major reasons for the move to Pella and into the Wesley Life senior living community was so that my mother could move into Memory Care when a bed was available. She had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for many years. My dad had lovingly and dutifully cared for her despite his own major health issues, but it was time for her to get the round-the-clock care she needed.
God’s timing is always perfect. A Memory Care room at the Cottages came available and Mom moved in the day before Thanksgiving. I will always remember this Thanksgiving as the last holiday that Mom celebrated with us in our home. We didn’t realize at the time that this year would be the final holiday season we would celebrate with Mom here on earth.
With all the physical, mental, and emotional labor of moving Mom into Memory Care, Thanksgiving Day itself ended up being a very quiet affair this year. Dad picked Mom up from her room and brought her over to our house. I must confess that Wendy and I made the executive decision to buy a warm-and-serve Thanksgiving Dinner from our local Hy-Vee, and I am so glad we did. It was so easy and so delicious. After dinner, we settled into the living room to watch football. I will always remember sitting there next to Mom holding her hand as she faded in and out. It’s one of those precious memories that my brain stores in a special mental file. Wendy’s folks stopped by for a visit after having dinner with the Vander Hart crew.
The Scotland crew was with us for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year’s before they headed back to the UK. Milo celebrated his 5th birthday while they were here and it was Sylvie’s first visit to the USA. The season held lots of events. There were gatherings with friends, our niece Anya’s birthday party, Pella’s wonderful holiday Kerstmarket, and family visits to the Cottages to see Grandma Jeanne. We got Madison and Garrett home for just a couple of days but they were here on Christmas Day and we made the most of it. It was so much fun to wake up on Christmas morning with all the kids and grandkids in the house. Wendy made her famous Christmas breakfast with Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Dad, my brother Tim and his wife Kumi, and Wendy’s folks all paid a visit in the afternoon. Wendy put out her (now traditional) Christmas charcuterie spread for people to enjoy all afternoon. The Vander Well Pub hosted our 2nd Family Christmas Cocktail contest.
Since Papa Dean was now in Pella, our kids requested an old Vander Well family treat: eireflensjes, which is basically the Dutch version of a crepe. We made the most of having our grandkids that week. I took Milo to Smash Park for a little lunch and game of Connect Four. New Year’s Eve was our 17th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with having our friends over for an evening in the Vander Well pub. On New Year’s Day we capped off the holidays with another family tradition: the Vikings-Packers grudge match with my Packer-loving nephew Sam and his amazing Viking-loving wife Lydia. It turned into a whole family gathering which was fun. The Vikings lost, which was not fun.
Wow! How did I get so far behind in keeping everyone up-to-date on the seasonal happenings of the Vander Well clan? My apologies. It has been a very full season of life since I published The Latest: Summer 2022. While I’ve got Autumn 2022 and the Holidays 2022 still on the blogging task list, I wanted to start catching you up with the most fun event of the last seven months!
In October Wendy and I flew across the pond to visit our kids and grandkids in bonny Scotland. It was our first trip back since Christmas of 2019 when we celebrated with the kids in London. We were especially excited to meet our granddaughter Sylvie for the first time. She was born June 28 and it would be our first opportunity to get our loving arms around her. The timing of our trip was planned to coincide with Milo’s Fall break from primary school.
Wendy and I stayed at a VRBO flat across the street from the kids’ flat in Edinburgh. It was so convenient, and allowed us to get some work done during the day while we were there. We arrived on a Monday morning and spent the first few days simply enjoying the opportunity to be together. Papa and Ya-Ya had the joy of bed time reading. We took walks and enjoyed the fall colors. We enjoyed the kids’ favorite local pizza pub, One Canon Mills.
Taylor took us on a date that week. We started with cocktails and a small lunch at The Alchemist, where they make the most amazing craft cocktails. We then walked to the to see Girl From the North Country at the Edinburgh Playhouse. a thoroughly enjoyable musical based on the songs of Bob Dylan. It was so much fun. That evening Wendy and I had a little date ourselves at O’Connors Pub. I had the most amazing plate of bangers and mash! Wendy and I also enjoyed taking Milo on a lunch data with Ya-Ya and Papa which, of course, included a stop at the toy store! ☺️
On Thursday of that week, we rented a van and headed to the highlands! Taylor secured us a lovely VRBO in a caravan park on the River Tilt in Blair Atholl. From there we headed to an annual event in the picturesque town of Pitlochry called The Enchanted Forest. It was so cool to walk through the misty Scottish forest that was so beautifully lit as music played in the background the entire time. Gorgeous.
We also spent time enjoying being together, taking walks in the beauty of the Scottish landscape and hanging out together. Papa and Ya-Ya watched the wee ones one evening so that Tay and Clay could have a little dinner date. Most of all, we got as much fun with the grandkids as we could.
We spent a day driving into the Highlands, beginning with a stop in quaint Fort William for lunch at The Geographer. I should probably mention the adventure of driving a nine-passenger van into the Scottish Highlands. Driving from the right-side of the car on the left-side of the road is adventurous enough, but then to be on very narrow, windy roads that have no shoulder is kind of nerve wracking. Wendy spent much of the trip lying down in the back seat with her eyes closed. I will confess to filling out my first damage report on a rental car ever. I’m happy to say that no one was hurt, not counting my pride. The retaining wall suffered no damage, but the bumper of the van didn’t fare so well.
Our return trip to Blair Atholl in the afternoon took us to the breathtaking spot where Clayton and Taylor got married during the pandemic. It was so fun to be there and take family photos on the shore of Loch Achtriochtan outside of Glencoe. Our return trek took us by the remote road where the scenes of James Bond’s boyhood Skyfall estate were filmed. We also stopped at a really cute town called Killin where we had coffee and a snack.
We enjoyed our final morning in the Highlands window shopping in Pitlochry. Clayton and I spent some time checking out a Whisky shop and sampling a small batch single-malt Scotch, Daftmill, that has created a bit of a stir there.
Our final day in Edinburgh I got to help Taylor walk Milo to school where I met some of his friends as they queued up for class. Taylor and I then enjoyed a Daddy-Daughter coffee date (they never get old). We took a bus to the Royal Mile for lunch at The Devil’s Advocate. Clay took me to his favorite Scotch shop so I could buy a bottle for the Vander Well Pub. The kids then headed home to put Sylvie down while Wendy and I enjoyed shopping along Victoria Street and enjoying a pint at the White Hart Pub, which we fell in love with on our first trip to Scotland. I should also mention the Pub Trivia evening that Tay, Clay, and I enjoyed with a colleague of Clayton’s. I’m happy to report that we won a beautiful pub mat that now graces the bar of the Vander Well Pub for having the worst score of any team in the competition!
Wendy and I spent our final days in the UK with a train trip to London that took us through Leeds, where our friends James and Hannah live. We had promised to pay them a visit when we were in the UK. We also enjoyed an amazing dinner in Leeds at Riva Blu Italian Restaurant. We really enjoyed traveling by train. It prompted an enjoyable text conversation with Wendy’s dad back in the states with regard to Oreo cows and different sheep breeds. We found it relaxing and enjoyed watching the countryside fly by. Our final three days of this trip were spent in London. We saw the iconic The Mousetrap (the world’s longest running show) along with the musical Six. We had great dining experiences at El Camion, The Porcupine and The Breakfast Club. We can’t wait for our next UK trip!
It’s a gorgeous autumn day in Edinburg, Scotland. It has taken several weeks and a vacation across the Atlantic Ocean for me to make the time for this post. What a year 2022 has proven to be (and it’s not over yet).
This past summer was packed full of fun, both the usual and the non-usual. It began in what has become the usual way over the past twelve years, and that is at the lake with the JPs and VLs. Wendy and I arrived a little early and stayed a little late to enjoy time to ourselves and with friends Dave and Lola.
After returning to Pella, the social calendar included our support of the Pella Opera House at their annual gala.
We also enjoyed our friend, Shanae’s wedding in Des Moines. I was honored to be asked to pray a blessing over the wedding feast, and we had a lot of fun with friends. Wendy and I were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our granddaughter across the pond, which may (or may not) have prompted Wendy to offer to adopt dear little Audrey as an honorary grandchild for the evening.
We were ecstatic when, just days later, our 2nd grandchild, Sylvie Ruth, arrived. Taylor, Clayton, and Milo welcomed our new bundle of joy in Scotland on June 28th while Wendy and I were at the lake to celebrate a quiet July 4th (Taylor’s birthday, btw) holiday. I toasted Sylvie’s birth with a pint and a stogie on the deck while scoring the Chicago Cubs game. Other than having to spend a few extra days in the hospital to hit all of her health markers, everything went according to plan. So excited to have sweet Sylvie with us.
July ushered in another wedding. I was honored to officiate the joining of Megan and Tanner at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Megan has pretty much been another daughter and we’ve had so much fun getting to know Tanner. It was a fabulous wedding and an amazing reception.
Our friends Kevin and Linda were back in Pella for five weeks this summer and we tried to make the most of it by getting together several times over those weeks. We enjoyed a summer evening of drinks and stogies on the patio. Enjoyed another evening at the Atkins Oasis. The VLs joined us for a Cubs night at the Vander Well Pub, and the six of us helped celebrate Pella’s 175th birthday at a special Pella Soiree one evening.
We also enjoyed visits from a niece and nephew this summer. Our nephew Asher joined us for a night along with his dad, Wendy’s brother Josh. We actually got to host our niece Lydia for a few days while her folks, (Wendy’s sis) Becky and Court got a few nights off. We had fun taking Lydia and Miss Camille to Pella’s new SmashPark. Uncle Tom got to take Lydia to Adventureland. It was her first visit to an amusement park.
We actually had even more gatherings with the Hall and Vander Hart crews. Wendy’s Uncle Brad and Aunt Barb moved back to Pella from Dubuque and we had multiple gatherings at their place. Wendy’s brother Jesse also came to town with his girlfriend Ania, and we enjoyed a great lunch with them and Wendy’s folks. We also enjoyed our nephew Owen’s first birthday gala.
As far as the Vander Well crew goes, all is well. Grandson Milo graduated from Nursery School and started primary school. All is well for Madison, Garrett, and the Rotties down in South Carolina. Papa Dean won both a first-place blue ribbon and a third-place white ribbon for the two stained-glass pieces he entered in the Iowa State Fair. The folks began considering a move to Pella this summer. Mom’s Alzheimer’s continues to progress, but she still manages to be adorably cute. One day on FaceTime my father was telling a long story and was holding his phone so that mom and I were basically staring at each other while Dad talked. I started making faces at her and she started making faces back at me. She’s so funny.
The summer ended with a traditional adult weekend at the lake with the JPs and VLs. It’s always a wonderful weekend of feasting and sharing of life. We spent more time chilling out at the Playhouse this summer and less time out and about. We ended the weekend with me making a double batch of the Vander Well family’s favorite Dutch treat, eireflensjes. The perfect bookend to wrap up the season.
It’s been a while since I posted and caught friends and family up on the latest with Wendy and me. There are so many ups and downs on Life’s road. Some stretches of the journey are memorable for their intensity and/or for pinnacle events. Then there are stretches of the journey that are less than memorable. Life proceeds, the river continues to flow, and you simply surrender to the flow. That’s how the late winter and spring of 2022 feel to me. Relatively uneventful, but not necessarily unimportant. C’est la vie.
We continue to enjoy small moments of joy with loved ones like the night we went to the Des Moines’ nightclub, Noce, with friends to enjoy the Des Moines’ Big Band. “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life,” said Art Blakey. He was right. In the depths of an Iowa winter, some good jazz warms both heart and soul.
But it’s not just jazz. The arts, in general, allow the Creator to infuse life with the joy and Life of new creation. Wendy and I are so blessed to be part of a local gathering of Jesus’ followers who celebrate this. I was asked, once again, to be the Master of Ceremony for an “Original Works Night” that featured amazing talent and original works from poets, artists, songwriters, and photographers. It was so good. There’s even a video of the entire evening.
We continue to enjoy the blessing of great meals with good friends and the life-giving conversation that accompanies them. May this always be a regular part of our lives, as it certainly was this spring.
St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated this year with our friends, Kev and Beck, at the Hall in old West Des Moines. We thought we’d beat the rush and arrive early, but forgot that the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing in the Big Dance that afternoon. We went with the flow and enjoyed the afternoon and evening with good friends, good food, and a joyous time together with friends.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Speaking of friends, COVID robbed us of so many opportunities to be with friends and loved ones. Wendy and I took advantage of the waning pandemic to jet out to Palm Springs and spend time with dear friends in California. We enjoyed great meals, great conversation, and a jaunt out to Joshua Tree National Park. It was so good for our souls.
You never know when life will throw you a curveball. Wendy and I found ourselves at the lake this spring. We were preparing dinner. Wendy was slicing an avocado and ended up slicing her hand. An evening in the Emergency Room was followed by surgery and we continue in a season of rehab and recuperation. We’re at least enjoying the fact that she has a Harry Potter-worthy lightning-bolt scar on her palm. Trust me when I tell you that you’ve never truly experienced the breadth of humanity until you spend about six hours in an Emergency Room in the Ozarks.
We enjoyed a lovely visit from my parents. Dad continues to suffer the effects of cancer, bacterial infection, and the early symptoms of Parkinson’s. Mom’s Alzheimer’s continues to progress. Nevertheless, they continue to persevere in independent living in Des Moines as we plan for the next stages in their respective life journeys.
Wendy’s injury put a bit of a damper on our annual turn as the Dominie H.P. and Maria Scholte at Pella’s annual Tulip Time festivities. I spent some time each morning greeting visitors and tourists at the Scholte House Museum and we rode each afternoon in the Tulip Time parade. The three-day festival was a bit of a miracle this year. Right up until the day before the forecast was predicting rain for the first two days, but the first morning of the festival the rain stopped and the weather was perfect the rest of the time. The tulips were right at peak this year, as well. They looked spectacular.
The crew in Scotland is anxiously awaiting the arrival of our granddaughter. That didn’t stop them from making a vaca trip to Belgium this spring (yes, I’m jealous). Baby girl is scheduled for a summer solstice arrival on June 21. Big brother, Milo, has floated potential names for his sister ranging from “Julie” to “Harry Houdini.” We’ll trust mom and dad with making an apt choice.
We loved having Madison and Garrett (aka “G”) with us at the lake just a week or so ago. They flew into KC and we picked them up and transported them to the lake for a wonderful, long weekend. As always, the time was too short.
We also enjoyed dinner and a visit with our friends, the Burches, who were welcoming their daughter, Shanae, along with her husband and baby son back to the United States from their home in Cambodia. It was so fun to enjoy a Cambodian meal and spend an evening of love and laughter together. To watch my friend, Matthew, with his grandson was awesome.
We returned to Iowa, briefly. Wendy and I returned to KC the following weekend for an enjoyable getaway that included a visit with our friends, Matt and Tara. We then scooted back to the lake. Memorial Day weekend has finally arrived, which portends our annual VW, JP, and VL get-together. The official kick-off of summer has begun!
New Year’s Eve 2020 was our 15th wedding anniversary, and we had planned a cruise down the Mexican Riviera. Covid messed up those plans like so many other things in life, and we ended up pushing it back a year.
Wendy and I headed to San Diego on December 28 where we worked remotely and took the opportunity to visit two of our team members who live there. On the 31st, our friends Chad and Shay arrived to join us for our anniversary celebration and embark with us on the cruise.
We made a late afternoon jaunt to the Gaslamp District of San Diego. It was crazy busy already so we opted to grab a quick bite at a small burger joint and pick up some wine at Ralph’s to enjoy back at the hotel. It ended up being a quiet celebration and an early night.
On New Year’s day, we headed to a great breakfast joint and did some shopping along the harbor. Chad and I found a bar to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes choke away their bowl game in the last eight minutes. We then walked up to the U.S.S. Midway museum. The decommissioned aircraft carrier was fascinating to tour. Even the ladies enjoyed it more than they thought they would. We had a ball.
The next day we boarded Holland America’s Koningsdam and headed down the Pacific coast of Mexico. After a day at sea, we made ports of call in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Wendy and I chose to stay on the ship in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. We really desired to enjoy the quiet on this trip. Other than a mid-day trip to the pool to enjoy a stogie while I read, Wendy and I spent a lot of time in our cabin and on our verandah. It was awesome.
A lot of people have been curious about how Covid affected the trip. The cruise required all passengers to be vaccinated and we had to produce a negative Covid test that was taken no more than 48 hours before embarkation. Masks were required in hallways, elevators, and interior public spaces when you weren’t eating or drinking. The ship seemed to be about half-full, so it never really seemed very crowded. The two things we really noticed were that the ship seemed to have a smaller staff so we sometimes had to wait longer than expected for someone to take a drink order around the pool, and we only got to hear the B.B. King All-Stars perform once. We assume that one of them must have gotten sick because all of their subsequent performances were canceled.
Wendy and I did get off the ship in Mazatlan to see Wendy’s sister, Suzanna, her husband, Chino, and our new nephew, Ian. Suzanna and Chino live in Mazatlan where they serve on the base of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). It was fun to see their apartment, get a tour of the YWAM base, and have lunch together right on the beach. The day flew by before we knew it and we had to depart. It was so much fun to see them!
Wendy and Shay enjoyed time in the Ship’s spa during the week, and we all enjoyed our evening dinners together. The final two days of the cruise were days at sea as we journeyed from Puerto Vallarta all the way back up the Mexican coast to San Diego. It was a great week. After the winter storm that we just experienced yesterday, we all agreed that we’d rather be back on the ship!
