For the last several years, I have attempted to post a recap of “The Latest” from our crew at least quarterly. Alas, I have been remiss since the end of summer last year. I’m happy to say that it had nothing to do with anything tragic or bad. In fact, the past nine months have been full of really good things, thank God (from whom all blessings flow).

So, here are the highlights from post-Labor Day 2023 through Pella Tulip Time 2024 complete with over 200 photos! Since I’m covering a lot of time, I’m going to arrange this edition of “The Latest” thematically.

Tay & Clay Move Back, and Move IN!

Taylor, Clayton, Milo, and Sylvie have made Edinburgh, Scotland home for the past five years. In 2023 it became clear that their visa would finally run out. It was time for them to return to the States. It was bittersweet for them. They will miss Scotland and all of their friends and colleagues. At the same time, they were grateful to move closer to family and friends back in Iowa. They wrapped up their lives in Scotland in the fall, enjoying Halloween parties, saying goodbye to friends, colleagues, and classmates, and packing up their lives for a move across the pond.

On December 19, 2023, the four of them moved into Papa and Yaya’s house here in Pella. They were with us through the first weekend of May 2024. Wendy and I are so grateful for the opportunity to be Papa and Yaya every day and live daily life with our kids and grandkids. We made so many great memories from the kids helping Yaya make smoothies in the morning to Milo and Papa’s video game adventures. We passed colds and flu around, suffered together, and survived to tell the tale. But, there were copious amounts of cuddling, stories, great meals, movies, running in circles, dancing in the kitchen, dress-up, and laughter.

The kids purchased a house in Des Moines in the Spring of 2024 and the four of them officially moved on the first Sunday of May. We’re excited to have them close and grateful for the memories we made living life together this past year.

MK, G, and MJ Make THREE!

Madison and Garrett continue doing life in Columbia, SC. They announced that grandbaby #3 was on the way last fall. I had the blessing of getting to visit on a business trip last fall. I got to go with Madison to her ultrasound and see our granddaughter making eyes at me via technology. Madison Jo (MJ) Anderson was born in February. She is her Daddy’s little girl, and SO CUTE! Papa and Yaya got to visit just a few weeks after she was born and enjoyed lots of cuddle time with both MJ and our grand pups, Bertha and Hazel. While in Columbia, Madison arranged for us to enjoy facials from Pout, the salon where she works. We also enjoyed some good food and an afternoon in the local bookstore (Yes! They still exist! And, this one actually served craft beer and wine while you look over the selection of books!).

Papa Dean in Pella

My parents moved to Pella in the autumn of 2022. Mom passed away in March of 2023. Dad continues to reside in independent living here in Pella where he continues to build community. At 87, he continues to battle the never-ending medical struggles that come with aging, but he remains active and independent. Dad has become well-known for his stained-glass work. He makes several small pieces to sell as ornaments but has also received some larger commissions that keep him busy on top of his personal projects for the State Fair. He joins our worship community every Sunday and we’re grateful to have him here in Pella.

Return to the “Mother Ship.” SKOL!!

Until the COVID pandemic, Wendy and I had established a tradition of an annual pilgrimage to Minneapolis each fall for a weekend of theatre, maybe baseball, and a Minnesota Vikings game. We hadn’t made the pilgrimage since 2019, but in 2023 the tradition recommenced! We combined the trip with some business we had in the Twin Cities and attended our first Monday Night Football game in which the Vikings hosted the to-be NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers with former ISU Cyclone Brock Purdy at the helm. It was a great night, and the Vikings prevailed. SKOL!

Holidays 2023

With Madison in the final trimester, we understandably didn’t get the SC crew back for the holidays. To be honest, we kept our holidays very low-key this year. My siblings all gathered for an evening together with Dad at our house, the first Christmas since Mom’s passing. We enjoyed a quiet family Christmas Day with the kids and grandkids, along with some evenings of cheer with friends as Wendy and I celebrated our 18th anniversary on New Year’s Eve. We even babysat our furry friend, Maria, as her family went skiing in Colorado.

The Medical Struggles Continue

Over the last couple of years, Wendy has endured a number of medical procedures. A rogue cut of an avocado led to surgery to repair an artery and tendons in her hand. She then had surgery to address some joint issues on the toes of each foot and a finger. Just when we thought she was through the woods, she took a bad step and broke her foot, leading to another surgery and months of rehab, walking with a scooter, and hobbling in a boot. Thankfully, we believe that’s all behind us now (God, please let that all be behind us now. Amen.).

Friends, Family, and Community

Wendy and I are so blessed with great families, an amazing community, and so many great friends with whom we get to share this life journey. We have had birthday dinners, concerts, trips to the lake, and evenings out. Our business hosted a table for Many Hands for Haiti’s annual business breakfast as Wendy and I hosted our friend and colleagues from Brooklyn, NY.

Also in the fall, Wendy and I were honored to be asked to introduce our local community theatre’s newest inductee to the Union Street Players Walk of Fame, Jana DeZwarte. We have not been involved with USP now for several years, but we continue to enjoy getting together with theatre friends. We hosted a gathering of our stage compatriots at the Vander Well Pub this Spring.

Wendy continues to watch out for her 97-year-old grandmother who lives in assisted living here in town. Her folks and our nephews and niece visit quite often as they come to town to see great-grandma.

Wendy and I also continued to serve our local Community with the annual Tulip Queen Announcement Party. Wendy is on the committee and directs the event. I get to be the Master of Ceremonies and “Tulip Court Dad” to the 12 candidates for a day. As usual, it was an amazing group of 12 ladies who all had the chops to be on the Tulip Court. We loved that his year the Tulip Queen was our dear friend, Mia, who we first met when Wendy cast her in the lead role of The Christmas Post. back in 2016.

Cruisin’ the Caribbean

Cruising has been our favorite form of vacation since our first cruise together back in 2014. This year we decided to take an 11-day cruise, our longest so far, with our friends Kev and Beck. We sailed out of Florida and cruised the Southern Caribbean on Holland America’s Eurodam. Holland America was celebrating its 150th Anniversary, and my great-grandfather sailed to America on Holland America when he emigrated back in the 1880s, though I’m certain his cruise was not as enjoyable as ours. Wendy and I had been on the Eurodam before, but this trip we were visiting ports of call we’d never been to before.

It was an enjoyable trip. Every evening of the cruise we held up at the Tamarind Bar for before-dinner cocktails and it suddenly felt like it was the place to be on the ship. We had so much fun with our bartenders Daniel and Amable, and met great friends like Alvin from Seattle.

I loved the 11 days, and it made me want to do even longer cruises in the future. A trans-ocean or round-the-world cruise is one of the few things on my bucket list. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but this trip only fueled my desire to make it happen.

Tulip Time

When you live in Pella, the years are marked by Tulip Time, the annual community festival that has made our little village a destination for hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. Celebrating our town’s Dutch heritage and unique history is truly a community effort. Almost everyone pitches in, and most of us volunteer in multiple capacities.

Two things made this Tulip Time special.

First, Wendy and I have been portraying our town’s founding couple, H.P. and Maria Scholte in stage productions for over 15 years. We’ve been portraying the historic couple during Tulip Time festivities for a decade. We announced this year that it would be our last. It’s been a great run, and I’ll probably still make appearances as “Dominie” (i.e. Dutch for “Pastor”) Scholte upon invitation from our local Historical Society. That said, it’s time to pass the baton to a young couple who can be the Dominie and Maria for the next generation of Tulip Time visitors.

Second, as the kids prepared for their move to Des Moines, this was the first (and perhaps last) opportunity for Milo to participate in Tulip Time parades with all of his classmates and for Taylor and the kids to put on their Dutch costumes, scrub the streets, march in the parades, and do all of the things that make Tulip Time special. We even had Milo and Sylvie ride in the horse-drawn carriage with us as the Dominie and Maria.

As my Grandma Golly used to say, “There you be.” We’re caught up on “The Latest” through May. I’ll fill you in on Summer 2024 in about eight weeks or so. Cheers!