Archived News
October 21 2003
Well it's been awhile since our last check in so I thought I'd better get something out to the masses! We have had a fantastic summer and as of today it still feels like summer here! We've had a few flurries and one pretty good snow storm already but that's all forgotten in the warmth of a late fall day.
Things are pretty quiet which usually means that nothing bad is happenning! I've added a 'web log' to our website. This is essentially an internet messaging tool that allows members of the BLOG to communicate. You should all have recieved an email with the invitation to the dewit blog and feel free to use it whenever you wish to communicate either with us or with eachother. I have the ability to create more then one blog so if people start using it a lot, I'll make one for different subjects. For example there could be one blog for weddings and another for jokes are something to that effect.
I know that the main reason anyone visits our site is to see updated pictures so I'll try not to disapoint!
Love,
Vern, Hanneke, KC and Niko
UPDATE - August 29 2003
Well there are a few new events - 3 houses burnt down on our street when Hanneke was in Vernon and Hanneke and Janice went on a nice hike with me after work one day. Check it out.
UPDATE - August 21 2003
Hello again! Listen to our 'personal' message (may take a while to download) - cool eh? We just came back from our annual camping trip and have some news from that experience! We went with Bart and Colleen Ludwig and had a really good time. Several interesting things happened this year. First off the weather was fantastic again. Around 30 degrees and sunny for 11 out of 12 days. Other than a wildfire and an accident and a moose we had a really relaxing time! :0)
So we started off at Chain Lakes for a couple of days and spent them playing at a massive playground and a tiny beach. The kids quickly got into camping and were soon covered in dust and local grime! We then moved on to Surveyor Lake for 10 more days of sun sand and water.
On Wednesday we were at the beach when a wildfire started about 5km away. The rest of the time was spent in smoke and ashes were falling on us by Friday! They aren't exaggerating when they say that BC is dry! On Saturday night we were sitting up reading at about 10 at night when we heard a tremendous crash. Some lady ran a stop sign and crashed into a water truck at 70km/h with two kids in the car. I'll never forget the sound! Lucky for her there were lots of doctors and EMT personel camping and she and one kid were flown to Calgary and apparently just made it alive. Then on the way home I was concentrating on keeping my eyes open when I noticed a moose step onto the yellow line just ahead of me!! The moose actually turned around and walked slowly back into the ditch! My heart is permanently damaged.
Anyway - check out the pictures and we'll have more news in about 2 weeks. In the next 2 weeks Hanneke is going to Vernon BC for my cousins wedding. She is going with Mom and Janice and taking KC and Niko with her. I'm playing a leader at the Calgary Study Weekend. Then Jon and Kevin Dewit are coming out for a week and Hanneke is going with us on a backpacking trip in Jasper. I'll keep you posted, TTYL!
July 30 2003
Hello all! Hope that this latest from the Calgary dewits finds everyone happy and healthy! We are doing really good. This summer is shaping up to be a real hot and dry one and this works well for beach days and hiking and fishing and camping... The farmers are all going bankrupt but heh! At least we're having a good summer eh? ;-)
We have been pretty busy this year. Lets see. We did the canoe trip thing in late May. Hanneke went to BC for a week - I had a blast with the kids. We have gone to the zoo a lot - probably at least 4 times already. We have gone to the lake quite a bit and Niko is finally getting brave in the water. We also went camping for the weekend at Spray Lakes and went on a hike with them to get into shape for this fall. I also led a school group on a great backpacking trip at the end of June.
Camping was a lot of fun. We headed out on Friday afternoon and almost didn't get a campsite. I
spotted one that was kind of hidden in the trees and we quickly took it. It was a really good site
within walking distance of the lake and close to the outhouse and the pump. (Not a really advanced
campground - but beautiful).
On Saturday morning I did a scramble of 'nearby' Mt. Nestor and when I got back we spent some time
at the lake and relaxing with our books while the kids got really really dirty!
On Sunday we headed up to Chester Lake to do a fantastic hike. We had the kids in packs on our backs
and they did really well. Considering it was over a 300 meter height-gain, Hanneke did really
good too. She will be able to do Assiniboine this fall no problem. We spent over an hour by this
little lake high in the mountains - surrounded by wildflowers and peaks. It was a really good day
and a really good trip.
I have also been pretty active with my scrambling - I've bagged four peaks already this year. They are Squaw's Tit, Big Sister, Mount Nestor and Mount Rae. I haven't had much time for fishing but recently went out and caught some massive Bull Trout - I'll post pictures soon.
So now we're waiting eagerly for our Surveyor Lake camping trip in a few weeks. We are going with Bart and Colleen Ludwig and their 4 kids so it will be a good time. KC and Niko are growing like weeds and acting like they're smoking it sometimes! They are good kids and a lot of fun. After the camping trip Mom Dewit and Auntie Jan are coming over and Hanneke and the kids are joining them on their way to a wedding in Vernon, B.C. I will be councilling at the Calgary Study Weekend so I won't even be able to take advantage of having the house to myself... ;-(
Well that's about all I can think of for now! When I read over my posting I realize how busy we sound - but we don't feel to busy! I guess it's better than doing nothing all day eh? Here's wishing everyone God's blessing this summer and take care!
UPDATE - May 10 2003
Hello again! Mariet complained about no pictures so here are some from this spring. Scroll down to see the snowy pictures from a week ago!
Here are some pictures from this past Christmas. There. Are you happy now Mar? ;-)
May 01 2003
Well! I guess Spring is over in Alberta! Darn it - the weather was getting so nice and warm! We just went through a record-breaking snowfall here in Calgary. Some parts of the city received up to 60cm of snow and in the mountains there was over 100. 5 people were hospitalized for heart attacks and two of them died just from clearing snow off the old driveway. Seems like a really dumpy way to go doesn't it? ;-(
On a more positive note, we are all still alive. Hanneke is busy trying to get me to clean out the garage and I am busy thinking up ways to avoid cleaning out the garage. In between our domestic disturbances we are tending our children and watching as much play-off hockey as possible.
KC and Niko are becoming more and more fun as they get older. We took them to the zoo on the Easter long weekend and rather than wait in line for over 2 hours just to get into the zoo we bought season passes. We only have to go 1 more time to pay them off so it seemed like a good idea. KC was fine with the zoo as long as I didn't push the stroller too close to the cages. "Not to close Dad! NOT TO CLOSE!!!" Niko, of course, didn't really take anything too seriously and was eager to go in the cage with any creature that would take him.
We went to the zoo with Bart and Colleen which is always a bit of an adventure. They have 4 kids and are always telling one of them to calm down or behave or "STOP THAT LOGAN!". Hanneke is actually really good friends with Colleen and I get along with Bart so we are actually going camping in BC together this summer. We hope to go in the second week of August so if anyone wants to join us you better speak up soon! Campsites aren't cheap but it's worth it. You have to reserve 3 months in advance so time's a tickin'...
I know most of you have had enough of my adventures, but in case you're bored you can check out my new site, Burny's Adventure Repository. I had to create this site because I didn't want to reference the family site on the Internet and several other sites want to reference mine (i.e. www.canoestories.com).
We may 'lose' our minister - he has a call to Australia. After this latest dump of snow I'm sure he'll make it out of here like a rabbit in a fox den! The bad part is that the school is going to get pretty small again because there are another few families that may be leaving. Then next year there's a huge influx of kids in grade 1 again! Why should I care? I may end up on the school board - stay tuned for more information.
Well, if you're in Manitoba I guess we'll see you very soon (3 short weeks). If you're in BC you'll see the best looking one of us at the end of June and if you're in Holland or Ontario I guess we'll just have to put up with pictures and emails for now eh?
Love,
Vern, Hanneke, KC and Niko
March 05 2003
So the wedding is over and all the excitement that goes with it. Time just keeps on marching and speaking of 'march' we're in March already! I trust that Sheila and Josh are doing well and I'm sure they are enjoying finally being married. No more having to say "good bye" all the time and then spending a day or a few days on your own.
We had a very good time over Christmas. Lynda, Wietse, Emmy and Tys all stayed at our house for
about 2 weeks. We got along very well and had a nice relaxing visit. I think KC still misses Em!
We all headed up to Edmonton for 5 days to celebrate the wedding and visit with family. That was
also a really good time. It always amazes me how often the Nap clan still manages to get together
with everyone. It's busy but it's also a ton of fun. The trip ended with Josh and Henri coming
down for a day at Lake Louise. Other than Wietse almost killing himself the day was quite uneventful!
Our family is doing very well. We are so blessed and we try to remember this each and every day. There seems to be so many people in this world with absolutely nothing and here we are with our health and our beautiful kids and our house and the list goes on and on. KC and Niko are really good kids (honestly - no bias here!) and seem to play nicer together every day. Yesterday evening they were watching Treehouse together on TV and I watched as Niko stretched out his arm and held KC's hand. They sat like that for almost an hour!
Hanneke is busy sewing her first 'commercial' wedding dress! She is actually getting paid to sew!
We always have a hard time deciding whether she should charge or not for the tons of work she
does for everyone and decided that other than family she is going to charge for the work she does.
She is always sewing up hems and curtains for people who can easily afford their own machines but
just like getting it all done for free! We are trying to have a Christian attitude about it but
sometimes she feels a little used.
Hann is going to find out what a 'professional' alterations person charges and she will double the
rates ;-). Actually she will just tell people that she can no longer do sewing for free. We had
a rude awakening why she has to start charging when her machine broke down this week and cost a $100 to
fix! The wedding dress she is making is for Gus Rus's fiance from Edmonton - Gwen. You may know
Gus and Gwen from the wedding in December or you may 'know' him from my trip to Bryant Creek last
winter.
We are still praying for Tante Ina. She is apparently very weak and we wish her all the best in the twilight of her life with us down here. I hear from Mom that she is ready to go to a better place and this is very comforting to know. We also hear that Suzie Vandersluis only has a few more months to live. She was a heavy smoker her whole life and now has lung cancer and cancer all over her body. Smokers among us - take note!! I am so glad that Hanneke convinced me to quit.
I am enjoying my new job at the Faculty of Medicine at the Foothills hospital in Calgary. We are developing a portal (think Yahoo) for the faculty and since we are using all the latest technology I am learning something new every day.
The canoe trip is already being planned. Chances are that the next time you hear from us I'll have pictures and an exciting update! Our September trip is already being planned as well. Steve and Jon are going with Hanneke and I to Mount Assiniboine in British Columbia. We are probably going to be sleeping in tents and Hanneke is getting a little nervous! We had thought about staying in cabins but this will cost too much.
If anyone wants to come to BC to go camping with us this summer - speak up soon! I will have to reserve the sites within the next month or so. We are planning to go to Surveyor's again but this time we will 'only' go for 11 days. Seriously, if you want to come along you're more than welcome!
I think that's about all the news from here. We hope this email finds you all in good health and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Here's wishing you all God's blessing!
Love,
Vern, Hanneke, KC and Niko
December 06 2002
Take note folks! I'm actually updating this thing on time for once! It's only been a month but believe it or not there is actually some news!
To make up for the really crappy weather this summer we've been having an absolutely fantastic
fall! The weather is stunning with highs up to 14 degrees under brilliantly sunny blue skies.
The highlights for me over the past month were two fantastic hikes that I've done. The best part was
that one of them was with Hanneke! Yes, Hann and I managed to get away from the kids for a Saturday
and Hanneke summitted her first major peak. She scrambled through cliffs and through a strong wind up
over 3000 vertical feet!
The weather was so warm (November 30) that we came down the mountain in shirt sleeves and were still
quite warm! There isn't much snow in the hills and this is already causing concern at the ski hills and
for the farmers. Check out some pictures at Rimwall Summit
The other hike was a two-part hike. On November 11 I went with a few guys to try Mount Lawrence Grassi.
We
made it up past tree line and then were turned back in high winds and snow. 12 days later I came back with
a few of the boys and we actually made it under blue skies and were the first in two months to summit. It's really
incredible that we're still summitting mountains at the end of November.
We were shocked to hear that Tante Ina had a heart attack a few weeks ago. She is getting older but we still remember her every day in our prayers.
We are very much looking forward to Lynda and Wietse's arrival from the Netherlands next week Saturday and of course seeing everyone else in Edmonton shortly thereafter at Sheila's wedding. We just can't get over how fast everything goes. It seems like yesterday that Hanneke and I were getting married and now all the Naps are hitched but two!!
KC and Niko have both been a little bit sick over the last few weeks. We've all been fighting colds and are really
trying to get rid of the annoying sniffles and coughs. KC is growing up so fast. She sounds like a little teenage
attitude child already!
You should be getting our Christmas card soon. In case you're wondering we took the picture ourselves again and were
very surprised when it actually turned out!
Love,
Vern (Hanneke, KC and Niko)
November 02 2002
Boy does time ever fly by! Every time again I'm amazed how out-of-date this thing is! Oh well, I know that Hanneke is online every week with the Nap family and I try to phone about once a month! Ok, I'm pathetic! Lillian keeps phoning here every night so we definitely hear enough from her! ;-) Then there's Addie and her boyfriends and Dale who's graduating already!! I can't believe my little bro' is already going to be done school. I'm sure Mom and Dad are happy though. For the first time in over 30 years they'll have the house to themselves once in a while! Mom is going to have to start golfing and fishing and Dad's going to have to start sewing.
We really had quite a crappy summer here in Calgary. It started late and ended very early. We've had snow on the ground
for the last 3 weeks already. Normally there's no snow till January or February and the temperatures go above zero almost
every day but now it's only highs of -2 and lows around -15 or even -20. Maybe by the time Lynda and Wietse visit the
weather will improve a bit.
The family is doing great. KC and Niko are finally starting to get along and play together. Hanneke is doing really well and
is busy working out every morning. It's hilarious to watch the kids trying to do stomach crunches beside her! I'm impressed
with how long she's stuck with it though - keep it up Hann! Right now we are almost ready to go to the library with the kids
and then Hann and I are going for a movie while a couple from the church babysit our kids. We have a deal with them that we
get a day a month and then the next month we babysit their kids for a day.
Halloween was pretty uneventful. I'm still against kids walking around begging for candy (think about it: Canada has the fattest
kids on the planet!) but I do think that the little kids in
custumes are pretty cute! Maybe next year we'll dress the kids up and go to the shopping mall. This is getting more and more popular
and it's warm and safe in the mall.
So what's happened to me in the last few months? Well I've been busy updating my part of the website. I realized that
I've done a lot of stuff in the last 4 years so I started to organize things a little better. Check it out at
Vern's Album Page.
I went on a fantastic trip to Yoho this year with Steve and John. We hiked into an alpine hut and stayed there
for two nights while we tried to climb some of the surrounding peaks. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate very
well and we suffered through rain and snow. We still had an excellent time and met some pretty cool people. You'll be
able to read all about it soon - I'm composing a little tale! In the meantime you can look at some pictures:
The hike into the cabin.
Check out the hut.
Whaleback Mountain
Kiwetinok Pass
Mount Kerr
The Iceline Trail
We also finally conquered
Sparrowhawk Mountain. That one only took 4 attempts and 3 years!! Finally we also went for a very interesting 30km
bikeride in the rain! Quirk Creek Trail
If you're still interested you can read all about a solo scramble I did up 'the lady'
this summer.
The last trip I did was a few weeks ago when I went up to the Elk River in BC with a guy from work to go flyfishing. We drove
about 4 hours to get to the river and had to negotiate some very muddy logging roads to get to this little river in the middle
of nowhere. It was a fanastic day with brilliant blue skies and the colors of autum. We saw bear tracks, wolf tracks, moose and
dear. I'm going to miss summer but winter has it's own beauty I guess! I'll be posting pictures from this trip soon.
Oh yeah! Some of you have been inquiring about the canoe. Well we're still working on the first one - hope to start mine in the next month
or so. The building slowed down through the summer but will pick up again now. I'm almost done my first hand-carved paddle and have to
carve the second and third one yet. Also I've started carving the yoke. I'll post some pictures soon - it actually looks like a canoe now with
the hull all filled in and the stem bands on.
Love,
Vern (Hanneke, KC and Niko)
August 06 2002
Holy cow! This thing is way out of date! Oh well at least you know that we're keeping fairly busy!
The only reason I actually found time to update this thing is because it's 8 degrees and raining today,
not a very nice way to spend the long weekend heh? Oh well! Areas to the west of us got up to 10cm of
fresh white snow a few days ago so I guess we're not that bad off!
Since I last updated this thing we've gone on a canoe trip, and Carman trip, a week in a luxury hotel while
Vern took a course, 2 weeks of camping in BC and various other things - holidays are soooooo nice!
First the canoe trip. Hanneke had fun visiting while Vern once again got rained out of a canoe trip! Actually this
time we got smart and did an easier trip because the weather was so dismal. Besides trees nearly collapsing on us and
dad almost igniting the island with a nice propane leak everything went off without a hitch. We caught lots of fish
and had a great time. When I have more time I'll write up a nice little tale. For now
you can view some pictures here.
While I was off catching and smelling like fish Hanneke was enjoying the company of many family members. She visited
everyone and the kids had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I think they got a little bit spoiled but that's
ok!
We enjoyed visiting Marj and Dave before they go back to Florida and also loved seeing Derik - Lillian and Mike's little
guy (I think we even have some pictures of him). The week after the canoe trip we stayed in a nice
hotel in Winnipeg while I took a course from our Winnipeg office. While I enjoyed my course (barf) Hanneke visited
the Winnipeg relatives.
Finally just before we left I had to get in a game of golf with the Dewit boys. You can tell the Dad's looking forward to
retirement because his golf game keeps improving! ;-)
Here's some pictures of the Carman trip.
We also went camping in BC for a couple of weeks. This was
the first time that Hann and I really took a couple of weeks back-to-back and just relaxed with nothing to do and nowhere
to be. We'll be doing this again!!
Every day was sunny and warm (up to 35) without a cloud in the sky. On the two cloudy days we went to Fort Steele and the
Kooteney fish hatchery. (I think Hann is destined to compete with trout for my time!!) (Don't worry I still think she's more
beautiful than most of the fish I've caught...) (She certainly smells better - hee hee)
Our neighbors stopped liking us once Niko decided to contract Chicken Pox - he was the world's biggest grump. We solved that
little problem by locking him in the truck at night so that his screams couldn't be heard. I hope nobody reports us as bad
parents, we did solve the problem. KC and Niko really enjoyed camping in the big tent and since there were no bugs we didn't
mind either. We just had to relax and let the kids play in the rocks and dirt around camp, we took them in the showers at
night.
The only thing we missed was our roller blades but we'll bring them next year. Just to show you how much Hanneke loves me,
she let me go fishing for a day when Niko had chicken pox and it was our anniversary! I think I owe her big time, just
don't tell her I said that ok?!
In between all the excitement niko celebrated his birthday.
On the August long weekend Addie babysat for us and Hanneke and I enjoyed a beautiful day in the mountains. Hanneke did her first real scramble and kicked butt! See her in action!.
Finally if you're not bored yet you can check out some of my most recent adventures.
Well I think that pretty much gets us all caught up doesn't it? We'll try to keep you up to date a little more often but you know
how things are! I've got a promotion of sorts at work. This means I get paid the same to do a harder job! It's keeping me very busy
though and gets me one step closer to project management so I won't complain. I'm still and Enmax but now I'm team lead and senior
business analyst for our project. Hanneke is keeping busy doing the summer thing - shopping and the beach! Actually she is her usual
great self keeping the household from total loss of control and doing a wonderful job as a mother and wife. She's certainly a
blessing in this family!
Here's wishing you all God's blessing and till next time - Goodbye!
Love,
Vern (Hanneke, KC and Niko)
May 11 2002
The snow if finally melting on a beautiful Saturday morning here in Calgary Alberta! The birds
are chirping and spring is FINALLY in the air. (We hope! :-))
Hanneke is participating in the cleaning of the church / school and I have the dubious honor of
babysitting 3 kids. My solution to whiney kids? Put them upstairs, put the gate up so they have to
stay up there. Now put the dishwasher on and sit downstairs. Bingo! I can't hear anything - can
you?!
Two bits of exciting news for this week.
1. We have a new nephew!! Congratulations to Mike and Lillian on the birth of a healthy baby
boy! We are so happy for you two and wish you God's blessings in the years ahead. Having kids
is the most scary and the most wonderful thing that has happened to Hanneke and I. As long
as you remember who's really in control you will find it the most rewarding task imaginable.
2. I'm building a cedar strip canoe. This will be about 200 hours of labour and when I'm finally
done I will have a beautiful handmade canoe. It will be 16' long and is based on the most popular
model for the fur traders 100 years ago - the Chestnut Prospector. For those of you who actually
care it's Bill Mason's own design. I'm really excited and kind of scared because this is a huge
task. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance so I couldn't pass it up. I'm building it with another guy
from our church who is building his own too. He has the garage and the tools and I have the contacts
to get cheap material. I will have a new page up soon so you can track my progress.
Hanneke and I went snowshoeing a couple of weekend ago, Here's some pictures of that event.
May 4 2002
Well here it is! Finally after a few months of off and on preparation the Calgary dewit
family is officially online 24/7!
I tried my hardest to be cheap and get a free hosting service to host our website, but between
the lack of access, space and the adds for Britney Spears I got sick of that whole process and
am forking over the incredible amount of 6 bucks a month for a no-add website that seems to
actually work.
I decided that since I have about 500 pictures in the basement from the last few year alone I
might as well share the best ones with you!
We will be updating the news page once in a while with the latest from our household and the latest
on the site - that way you don't have to browse all over the site all the time to find the latest
pictures.
If you're wondering what the pictures are about or if there's a story behind the picture you're
viewing just hold the mouse over the picture and a description will pop up. WARNING: I did get
lazy in some sections and there is no description!
Here's KC's albums (make sure you find the different links on the page to different year's albums). Here's Niko's.
Check out our visit to Frank Slide in February!
If you're in the mood for some real adventure check out Vern's recent trip to Bryant Creek Shelter also in February.