Tag Archives: Lydia

The Latest: Summer 2022

October 18, 2022 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

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.

Sunday Summary

The Latest 08-02-2015

August 2, 2015 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Weeks come and go, but this past week held special significance:

Wendy reading her Charles Martin book in Starbucks as we waited out Taylor's 3 hour flight delay. — Wendy reading her Charles Martin book in Starbucks as we waited out Taylor’s 3 hour flight delay.

On Tuesday night Wendy and I picked up Taylor at the Des Moines airport as she moved back from her year in graduate school at the University of Edinburgh. Her flight was supposed to be in at 8:30, but strong storms in the Des Moines area delayed her flight until just before midnight. Wendy and I holed up at the Starbucks on Fluer until they closed at 10:00. It was a late night and had been a long day of travel for Taylor. She fell into our arms and cried. We got home just before 1:00 a.m. to give her a tour of the house and show her to her new room.

You know it's been a long day on the road when you watch the sunset in your rear view mirror! — You know it’s been a long day on the road when you watch the sunset in your rear view mirror!

Busy week work-wise for me. Road trip to Sioux Center on Wednesday. Hopefully it will result in a new client. End of the month always means deadlines, so the end of the week had me chained to the desk.

It was the second weekend of USP’s Fiddler on the Roof which means we’ve seen very little of Suzanna. Wendy and I have been helping with ticket sales.

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Madison flew in on Friday. We tried in vain to remember the last time that the four of us last had a meal together at home. It’s been years. We boiled up some Iowa sweet corn, had Italian chicken in the crock-pot with salad and a nice bottle of wine. It was so wonderful to spend the evening together. After dinner we enjoyed wine and chocolate as the girls played videos and we all laughed.
After the girls headed to bed Wendy and I buzzed down the road to our friend Cyndi’s where we enjoyed an after show drink and conversation with she, Megan, and the McQuades. Lovely evening chatting about Fiddler and theatre. We were up much later than we’d planned on [shocking].

On Saturday morning we were up early to get ready for our nephew, Sam Keithley’s, wedding to Lydia Yoder. We had to be on the road for Des Moines at 8:30. It was so fun for me hearing Taylor and Madison getting ready together, hearing them laughing and singing. Made this papa’s heart extra joyful. We arrived at Westkirk Presbyterian at 9:30 for a quick Vander Well family photo. The wedding was at 10:30 with a brunch reception after. The bride and groom zoomed off to their honeymoon about 2:00. We headed to the folks new apartment in Woodlands Creek to hang out with them. Tim, Kumi, Terry, Bonnie, and Ellie all joined us. They, along with Taylor and Madison, had not seen Grandpa and Grandma’s new apartment. Madison took her leave to spend the night with Nancy. Taylor, Wendy and I made a stop at Baskin Robbins (Taylor’s request) before driving back to Pella.

Wayfarer's Journal

Fourth of July 2014

July 7, 2014 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

Wendy and I have enjoyed a gorgeous Fourth of July weekend at the lake. We’d been working from the lake last week, but took Friday off to enjoy getting out in the sun. There were a bunch of boats tied up in the cove with lots of people swimming, floating and sunning themselves. We blew up a couple of mats, threw on some music and floated in the sun for a few hours. Wendy forgot to put on sunscreen and got fried, but we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon nonetheless.

Wendy’s sister, Becky, and her husband Court, arrived around 7:00 p.m. They live in Denver and are headed to a visit back in Iowa, but stopped to spend the weekend with us. Becky is pregnant with their first, a girl, whom they’ve named Lydia. It was a lot of fun to see her pregnant and we’re excited to meet Lydia later this fall.

We cooked burgers on the grill Friday night and sat out on the deck to eat and chat. Captain Ron’s had their annual fireworks display planned for Saturday night but it seemed as if everyone in the cove had purchased their own at one of the 3,248,489 fireworks stands that dot Highway 5 every quarter mile or so. It was kind of fun to just sit on the deck and watch them going off all around us.

We got out for a boat ride on Saturday morning, though the traffic on the lake was already so heavy that the water seemed a bit more like being on the ocean. We slowly made our way around some of the nearby coves and let Becky and Court see the sights. In the afternoon we went down to the dock. Court and I got in the water while the ladies sat on the dock chatting.

Saturday evening was a wonderful dinner of grilled chicken and sweet corn on the cob. As it got dark was took the boat and anchored out in the cove to enjoy the fireworks. Becky and Court got up on Sunday and headed for Pella to spend some time with Suzanna. It was great to have them with us for a few days.