Independence Day 2015

I'll let these photos be the recap of our 4th of July Independence Day weekend festivities. In short, it was non-stop fun. My Uncle Bob coined the phrase "nowhere else" and it's certainly true. Independence Day is not celebrated like this anywhere else. #NowhereElse

The festivities started off with my Dad's birthday on July 1 (he is known as Grandpa Z nowadays).

To celebrate his birthday, my sister and I and our boys (Kya was at art camp), and my mom and dad walked from their house to Terra Nomad, the new urban coffee bar in downtown Bismarck. We highly recommend the mocha and quiche. Happy Birthday Dad!

July 3 is the official kickoff for Mandan's Independence Day events. We have a tradition of the participating in the Doll and Pet Parade so we piled all three kiddos in Corey's pickup (with Corey, me, and Caitlyn in the front seats) and the decorated wagon in the back, and headed downtown for the parade.

Caitlyn and Mason

Mason in the wagon and gavin on the motorcycle.

The Hager-Zundel kids.

Gavin and Mason in the wagon, and Kya and I pulling it.

More Mandan fun!

After the parade, we went to my uncle Bob's house to have potluck dinner and watch fireworks in the bay. Gavin and I weren't too sure about the loud booms.

This neighborhood puts on an amazing show! Nowhere else have I seen families buy fireworks by the pallet full. #NowhereElse

Kya and Grandpa Z watching fireworks from the pontoon (at the dock).

Bob's beach!

Corey and Gavin, watching the fireworks.

Kya and I made some delicious recipes for the weekend. I had tons of recipe requests, so here they are. As it turns out, Kya is a great lime zester for the grown-up's Mango Margaritas. We made this recipe as shown, but froze the mix in a large sealed plastic container. I served the frozen slush mixed with 7Up.

And she's an excellent salad mixer for this Asian Noodle Salad. We made the salad as written, but left off the cashews in consideration for those with nut allergies.

And Cherry Clafoutis. Delicious dessert that isn't too sweet.

Then comes July 4!
We head to downtown Mandan (with what seems like the entire population of ND). #NowhereElse have I seen an entire community celebrate together like this.

Waiting for the parade to start

Gavin and Ronda

Lauryn (my cousin) and Kya are inseperable

Mason (my nephew) and Gavin

Mason got a little jealous when we gave Gavin one of his graham crackers. It was hilarious.

Hot hot summer day.

After the parade, we went to the Hager celebration at Corey's cousin's house. The kids loved playing on their sandy river beach.

Since we totally forgot swimsuits or an extra change of clothes, and it was impossible to keep the kids out of the water ... Gavin got to skinny dip.

Then we headed to my family's celebration at our family river cabin. Again, Gavin got to show some skin. Is it any wonder that today (a week later) I'm having a hard time convincing him to put clothes on?

Playing at the river cabin

This perfectly shows the emotions after a long weekend of fun. Too much fun.

The week of July 6 officially kicked off the unofficial "Ditch Flower Bouquet Season" - we are very excited!

Grandpa Darwin

Last week we said goodbye to Papa Darwin. Saying goodbye is never easy but saying goodbye to my grandpa was especially difficult.




My Dutch grandpa - Darwin Vander Vorst, along with my Grandma, were the reason I moved to North Dakota 14 years ago. An incredibly hard worker, a lover of surprises, and a philanthropist at heart, my grandpa volunteered his time to projects for the Elks Club, Camp Grassick, and his church, and he donated blood regularly. We were infinitely blessed to be his family and be his favorite pastime. His cooking was the best and I'll miss him at his cooking post, steaming crab and frying tacos at the family cabin this summer. 

During his cancer fight, he and my grandma were always optimistic, strong, and ALWAYS by each others side. I hope we can all know love like that in our lifetime. 

I was blessed to call this great man my grandpa and will never forget him. I love you grandpa!



I've learned that it unfortunately sometimes takes a death to fully understand what you've got. Ive always loved my family and I knew they were a special bunch. But now I know that I've got an unusually close, amazingly special family. We are tight. Like glue. We spend a lot of time together (so much so that I think our in-laws sometimes wonder). We almost always vacation together. We are each others best friends. I'd do anything for them and I know they'd do anything for me. This is difficult to explain, but because of this family, Grandpas death has been easier to handle. We have each other.

Halloween 2014

flashback: Halloween 2014 + our Frozen babes

Gavin as Kristoff (I made his vest), Kya as Anna (grandma Katy made her adorable cape and dress), Mason as Olaf (I made his puffy jumper)






Grandma Z greeted the neighborhood trick-or-treaters as Elsa


Grandma and Grandpa Z's house is so much fun at Halloween!

Florida 2015

Thanks to some gentle encouragement harassment from my sweet husband, I'm making an effort to bring life back to my blog. So, hello! Hi! Guten tag! The next thousand or so posts will be in a somewhat random order as I recap the last few months of our lives.

In very recent news: Corey and I took 5 days off from all responsibilities and traveled to Florida. Yup. We were beach bums for 5 days.

It was perfect and wonderful and I am already dreaming of our next getaway. I need to extend an infinite amount of thanks to my parents for taking such great care of Kya and Gavin while we were away. We missed the kiddos like crazy but ma and pa just need a break once in a while.


We adore the St. Pete Beach area and just can't say enough great things about it. For one, it's easy to travel to from North Dakota (direct from Fargo to St. Pete on Allegiant Air or from Bismarck to Tampa on American Air with one layover).


Florida.


The St. Pete area is very cost-friendly — from hotels to food. With many local conveniences like a  full grocery store, CVS, Chic-Fil-A, and a liquor store all right across the street, St. Pete is an easy DIY vacation spot. St. Pete is just a 90 minute drive to Disney (if that's your thing) but it seems like a world away from the the crowded mouse land.


Corey and I stayed at the Dolphin Beach Resort (don't let the name fool you, it's more retro beach hotel than resort).

But they have amazing beachfront rooms and a perfect location on the St. Pete Beach. The is the view from our second-floor balcony.


The panoramic view of our hotel from our favorite spot on the beach.






We went a little delirious after being in the sun for 5 days.


Collecting shells on the beach they day after a storm.








Corey and I played a few games of shuffleboard at the hotel. Corey found he has a natural talent for it. I do not have a natural talent for it.


We walked 7 miles round-trip to Pass-A-Grille (south tip of St. Pete) and had a drink at a rooftop bar ... and then walked back to our beach. I love days like that with absolutely no agenda.


Lots of shells!

After we arrived home I realized I took more photos of food than of us. The food was amazing. And I realized the prices of food in North Dakota are quite high. Or maybe St. Pete is just a bargain? Either way, it was delicious and priced right.

Lobster Risotto at Seared 1200 Chophouse (also across the street from the Dolphin Beach Resort)


Our favorite beach bar, Sandbar Bill's, has delicious frozen drinks, huge yummy burgers and chicken sandwiches ... and humongous salads (for only $4). Sandbar Bill's is an easy short walk on the beach from our hotel.


Agave Mexican restaurant is one of my favorites.


Spicy salsa and margaritas at Agave!


Corey's favorite dessert pair — port wine and chocolate cake (at Madfish)


Our meals (super yummy) at Madfish


Delivery pizza is a huge treat for Corey and me. Living in the country, it's just not an option. So when we are on vacation we scout out the best pizza place and have it delivered. Having awesome pizza with a beach view from our balcony was perfection. Pizza from Bones Pizza.


Our first full day at St. Pete Beach happened to be the local St. Petersburg and Tampa Corporate Sportsfest. It's a huge party event with over 200 sponsored teams that compete in events like sand volleyball, dodgeball, tug-of-war, and water relay (shown here). We have grand plans to have a Bison Booties team next in the event next year.


Our last full day in Florida was rainy torrential downpour rain. So Corey and I headed into St. Petersburg for breakfast at a local diner, and then drove into Tampa to the Aquarium.


Nether of us had ever been to an aquarium, so we both thought it was really fascinating. We learned a thing or two too! It was quite odd being there without our kids — they would have loved it.


EEEk! Shark!
After the aquarium we walked to the Tampa History Center  and toured the museum.

. . .

Just in case my post wasn't clear — if you're planning a vacation: go to St. Pete Beach!!!