Fall in Michigan this year has been out of this world fantastic. Ottawa Hills is an older neighborhood which means we are surrounded by many mature trees and get to enjoy ALL the fall colors. With the warmer Fall weather the trees have held onto their leaves a bit longer than usual and it’s made my power walks pretty picture perfect.
Halloween was no exception to the great Fall weather trend with temps in the 50s and sunshine. We took family photos that morning which was a total risk in timing because we’ve had plenty of years when we’ve had snow on Halloween. We hosted my family for the day, watched the Lions lose and enjoyed chili and spiked cider. Jeff and Grandpa Smith (my Dad) helped the kids carve their pumpkins that we put out on display for trick or treating later that evening. Come 6p we had hoards of trick or treaters and handed out more than 500 pieces of candy - but still ran out before 8p!
Good weather continued at the Annual Smith Family Bonfire. Our friends Charlie and Brittany DeWitte and their two girls returned with us again this year and the guys participated in the beer pong tournament. This years champions was the father-son duo: Terry and Casey Young. Our kids had a blast running around with their friends only stopping for treats and to catch their breath. It’s always fun to catch up with hometown friends and family.
Jeff and I took an adult only trip to Asheville, North Carolina last month for friend Chelsea Lassen’s wedding. We had a blast celebrating her marriage to long time boyfriend Daryl Liscomb - an event that was long overdue after the common 2020 Covid delay. Their wedding theme was ‘extra’ which was an absolute riot! Everyone wore bright colors and sequins. She had all the bridesmaids wear a different color of the rainbow (I wore red) and we partied the night away in style!
We took advantage of the trip for the wedding to visit The Biltmore Estate also located in Asheville. Speaking of ‘extra’… holy moly was it incredible. We were blown away! The Biltmore is the former ‘home’ of the Vanderbilt Family and is the largest residence in America - 35 bedrooms (33 of those being guest rooms), 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. There’s both a swimming pool and a bowling alley in the basement. The Vanderbilt Family still owns the property today that hosts more than one million visitors each year. Jeff and I are huge fans of historical tours and we both agree this tour was one of the best. The property also has a farm and a winery on site, as well as green houses and gardens. We loved it.
In other news, our souls were crushed when U of M got whooped by MSU in the rivalry match up a few weeks back. We watched the game with neighbors who hosted a fun backyard party snacking our way through the brutal 3 hours. It was a split crowd with the hosts being Sparties - so I guess we can consider that the sliver lining. This year Thomas dressed as a U of M football player and I was his super fan… our costumes would have been way better had the Wolverines won (Halloween was the day after the big game) but we had fun joking about dressing as ‘losers’ this year.
Natalie’s class took their first field trip of the year to the Grand Rapids Public Museum where they visited the planetarium. They just finished a unit on space so the visit was well timed for Stars Presentation showing in the planetarium. The class got to ride on the school bus - something special for the kids because GRCS doesn’t have a bus system outside of the transfer route between our schools. The kids also enjoyed walking through the ‘old Grand Rapids’ exhibit and checking out the nature galleries on the 3rd floor.
The kids wrapped up soccer last month and we’ve been enjoying our free Saturday mornings back at home - there’s nothing like leisurely sipping coffee in the front room watching all the dog walkers. And, more time for making pancakes and getting those house chores done. Glorious!
Natalie started piano lessons two weeks ago and is loving it. We were gifted an electric piano by my Grandma DeKoekkoek who’s an expert pianist and organist. She and my Grandpa live in Grand Haven and if it weren’t for the 50 minute drive we’d gladly have her teach Natalie. We’ll be sending her photos and updates often as Natalie progresses.
Work’s been steady at Steelcase after a busy summer season post NeoCon, the Karman launch and the first weeks of our new CEO. My team’s been following a hybrid work model which means split time between working from the office and working from home. We’ve done ‘hybrid’ really well since the beginning of Covid and it’s felt good to get into a new rhythm together over this past year. My core team pre-covid remains intact (and we even added one new headcount) and that feels pretty good. The biggest news is that Steelcase recently announced its mandate for all employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8th - a hot topic for lots. I do not anticipate this causing any changes for my direct team and again, that feels good. Despite all the changes over the last year and a half I’m still feeling solid at Steelcase and am looking forward to the time when all the dust finally settles. That, and, not having to wear a mask at the office ever again.
Below are a few pics from my work scene… the first couple are from a photo shoot - Steelcase employees are used as models in most of our shoots - we wear many hats! The next two are from a video shoot where I was presenting on some of our task seating for gaming. And the last is just a cool shot of one of my morning walks between buildings last week. Love how you work! < Steelcase tagline.
Jeff and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary last week with a night out on the town. The last 8 years has been incredibly fruitful and we look forward to all the memories yet to come.
The holidays are right around the corner and we are very, very excited. Bring on all the parties, the food and the holiday traditions! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! See you in December.