You mean there's other Gervens' out there??

The definite highlight of the trip was meeting all of Dave’s family that I’ve heard so much about. Additionally (but not more importantly I promise) I enjoyed meeting all of the family’s animals! I didn’t realize until we got home that I have mostly pet pictures and hardly any of people! Sorry guys! I was missing my "babies."

Uncle Bill decided that today was the day to clean out the chimney. I think he got more help than he bargained for. What an ordeal! Poor Aunt Dawn spent all afternoon cleaning up soot after the guys used the shop vac incorrectly.

We had a great time staying with Brian, Stacey, and Midnight. True to his name, the little night owl saw us off to the airport at 4:00 A.M. hehe.

Brenna and I had fun making crafts out of whatever we could get our hands on. I still don't know exactly what this is, but it has legs, wings, a tail, and a tongue made out of a Tic-Tic dispenser.

Didn't catch Kim's guinea pig's name, but it sure was a squeaker!

Since Kim boards horses, I'm not sure which belong to Kim and Stacey and which ones are boarders.

I know these two Icelandic ponies belong to Kristen and Brenna. Mom and I watched Bo roll his beautiful white coat in the mud before snapping these pictures!

A horse is a horse of course of course...

Mom and Quesedilla. I don't think I got any pictures of Cheyenne, the German Shepard. She is a gorgeous big girl who LOVES to play fetch.

Municipalities, Municipalities, everywhere and not a subdivision to be found

Of the many things that baffled me about New Jersey the presence of so many tiny municipalities had to be the most unusual. One can go from borough to borough to township (why they are called that and what the difference is I have no idea) in a matter of minutes. Each area has its own schools, police force, and post office even though the town itself seems to be about 3 miles big! Now we know why taxes are so outrageous up there. Kinnelon, Wayne, Butler, Newfoundland, West Milford, East Rutherford, Riverdale, Bloomingdale. Morristown, Pequannock, Pompton Lakes……I’m probably missing several….we traveled through all of these destinations within a matter of 15 minutes. How in the world the local keep them straight I’ll never know. And the funniest thing is that those native to the area think it’s a big deal to travel “all the way from Riverdale to Newfoundland” when it’s only a matter of minutes from one to the other with a zillion little towns in between. Guess I’m just used to being 30 minutes from EVERYTHING.

This is the high school that Dad attended and where Uncle Bill allegedly painted his initials on the dome! Boys will be boys.

Right across the street we have the post office where Dad worked for....a really long time. ;)

Dave's high school in Butler

Uncle Bill's business. It's so nice to see "Gervens" out and about.

John the barber in Riverdale. Do you know how many times I've heard about this man's haircuts? Dad availed himself of John's services, but Dave wasn't due yet. He'll have to let his hair grow out next time we are up.

Ahhh...the infamous Riverdale Baptist Church. Here she be!

The house where Dad grew up and where Grandma lived up until a few years ago.

Dave's Childhood Home

I finally got to see the house in Morse Lake and the setting of so many of Dave’s stories. The new owners are friends of Mom and Dad so they were happy to give us a tour. They’ve made many changes to the place, but it was still recognizable to everyone.

The famous wood burning stove that kept everyone warm during those brutal NJ winters. Brrrr!!

The backyard. Now I see why Dave is obsessed with walking through woods and finding good places to hunt!

More backyard

Morse lake where happy childhood days of ice skating were spent

Get ready to have your mind blown....

It's the same cabinet 22 years earlier!Dave and Kristie's bedroom is now a playroom

This was Kristie's side

And this was Dave's.

Capers at the Kaprs'

The Kaprs were kind enough to let us stay with them while Stacey and Brian were both out of town. I immediately fell in love with their Persian Cocoa who is a big baby. He loves to play with balloons and have his belly rubbed!Robin came down from Connecticut for a visit. It was so great to see her again, reminisce about our Bible school days, and meet her three children. I also got to meet the Kapr's daughter-in-law Shannon and her brood. :)

Alexandra was so sweet! Mr. Kapr was nice enough to entertain the kids while we girls chatted and Dave went out to dinner with his family.

When Robin, Shannon, and the kids first got to the Kapr's house, little Andrew ran straight for Dave and put his hands up the air to be held. He's never even met Dave! It was sooooo cute. Granted, he was just waking up which probably had a lot to do with it, but it was still adorable.

Dad did such a good job!

Grandma Gervens had asked Dad many years ago to perform her services when the time came. So many people attending the visitations and funeral and Dad was able to verbally witness to as well as get tracts in the hands of everyone from his brother's business acquaintances to the funeral directors. His message of salvation at the actual funeral was so clear that I wanted to raise my hand and get saved again! :) What a blessing that two people trusted Christ as Saviour as a result of Grandma Gervens' life, legacy. and testimony.

I was able to take some pictures of family headstones at the cemetery for our heritage album. I'm still fascinated with anything "Gervens" since you never hear of our family name.

In Memory of Marjorie Gervens 1914-2007

Dave’s grandmother passed away Sunday. We will be flying up to New Jersey Wednesday for the services. A special thanks to Joe at SCS for using his company skymiles to fly us up on short notice. It means the world to us! Please keep the Gervens family in your prayers.

Scavenger Hunt

The annual scavenger hunt this year was the best ever! Although I may be a little biased since my team won…Go team Jacob!!! The clues were actually decipherable this year. Thanks for dumbing it down for us Bro. Mac! :P

Trying to read via one spectable ala Sherlock Holmes
Me and Cindy being silly. Oooo How cool would it be to put the picture taken with her camera beside this one? Simple pleasures for simple minds. :p
You're going down!
The champions before we knew we were champions.
Aran hamming it up as usual. He is Dad's little protege! I don't think his own son could be more like him than Aran is.