Summer 2026 updates

Brooksy is almost three months old and all the time more alert. Hereby a recent pic showing him as a real cool little dude with his reverse baseball cap. Coming weekend Brooks will make his first plane ride for a few weeks stay with us in Fonthill.

At the Welland Tennis Club we hosted last week a tournament for Boys Under 16 who are ranked with the Ontario Tennis Association. I helped out during four days to keep the clay courts in good shape. The tennis of these young guys was impressive, so much faster from when I was their age 50 years ago...

Elsewhere in the world my dear old friend Ineke stays fit by doing kiting (at age 72!). One of her three daughters lives and works in the small Caribbean island State of Bonaire, and Ineke makes regular visits. About 10 years ago her daughter convinced her to try this boarding sport and she seems to be a real agile sports woman still. Good for her! 

In other news from Holland the oldest grand daughter of my sister Ger got married last weekend. Maud made her parents and grandparents glow on that day...

From left to right: Bert (82), Ger (80), Sascha (52) and Joost (53). My sister also send me updated photos taken from her other daughter Monique (55) and family, as well as Berry (50) and his family.

The bride and her husband had a wonderful day. Just for fun a photo of last year during the wedding weekend of Mark & Carly when sister-in-law Sue and I were making dancing moves...

At this moment Sue & Ralph are in Holland taking part in an organized 10 day biking trip. Today they are staying overnight in the city of Delft, where I lived and studied at the University of Technology (1974-1981). The cycling started in the province of Zeeland in the small harbor city of Vlissingen. They will go all the way up north to the port of Den Helder every day doing a distance of 35-65 kilometers. To give you an idea the routes they received for the first two days...

The route follows mostly the coastal regions along the Noordzee (part of the Atlantic Ocean) where there are dedicated cycling paths past small towns and some of the old bunkers build by the German occupying forces during the 1940-1945 period...

In one of the towns they noticed this building with an interesting name..... Wonder what the story of that name is. I think it is related to dunes....

Happy Canada Day

Canada's birthday today and it is a very hot and humid one. Even for me too much to sit outside. The FIFA World Cup tournament continues with Canada still in it and Holland sent home by Morocco! By the way, the national team of Morocco ranks higher (6th) than Holland (7th) at the moment. They have been on a great run since reaching the semi-finals in the 2022 tournament. Mark and Macy came over a few times to watch games with us...

Too hot to hit some balls at the newly painted practice wall at the tennis club these days. My favorite work-out during the past weeks: on the e-bike to the club (about 20 minutes) as a warm-up, 20-30 minutes at the wall and then on the bike back as cool-down. On cooler days combined with some grass-cutting at the club or weed removal around the clay courts.

Another grandchild of my sisters going into adulthood after her Grade 12 graduation: Pleun, the oldest of Berry, who is the youngest of Ger. In Holland they still hang out the flag + schoolbag upon leaving high school. Berry took the other two kids this week to see his parents. Bert is looking better again....

And then a few pics of little Brooks who is becoming more aware of things in his 3rd month. He seems to be most content without clothes in this warm weather, even though he looks darn cute in some of the outfits made by Hilary. He grows out of his clothes quickly.....

Shayd's mother Sharon is a few weeks over from New Zealand and enjoying getting to know Brooksy a bit. A nice photo here with her son and grandson....

Football mania FIFA 2026

We are waiving the Dutch flag (next to the Canadian) during these five weeks of soccer madness. So far I have watched all but two matches; love these games, especially when smaller nations hold off the mighty football nations. Little Brooks in the meantime has a visit from his Oma from New Zealand. Sharon is over again for a few weeks in Penticton to meet her grandson (she has a granddaughter from her daughter with whom she shares a house with in the south island of New Zealand).

Hilary has many talents and hobbies. She makes most of Brooks outfits which of course make him look even cuter than he already is. Almost two months old now....

More visitors for Brooks

After Carly and Mark left, Mary and I still had a week in Penticton, but also to our stay came an end. On the day of departure we had a nice breakfast along the lake on our way to the airport in Kelowna. But now Grannie Mary is every day on Facetime with Hilary & Brooks....

Yesterday Uncle Parker visited Brooks. He worked a few years with CN Rail in BC on the freight trains and was based in Kamloops, about three hours north of Penticton. The past eight months Parker has been travelling through Australia and South East Asia. He now picked up his car in Kamloops, swung by Hilary & Shayd to see his little cousin before going to Calgary where he plans to stay a while, train to become a barber and see what the future can bring him there. He met Canadians while travelling and some of them live in Calgary. On goes his exploration. Oh to be young (23-24). Joe and Marcy had all three boys home in Sarnia for a few weeks, because Spencer also returned from his world travels, and Wil is doing a landscaping job this summer in between his ongoing college training years.

Kettle Creek Railway

During the visit of a week of Carly and Mark we made a fun day in the old steam train of the Kettle Creek Railway. The ride started in an old station turned museum and ended on a bridge; both ways about 30 minutes. Halfway the locomotive changed sides; a moment for photos....

The KVR trail on the other side of the lake is where we went cycling. The trail is made on the route of the old steam train of the Kettle Creek Railways (KVR). 

So many photos of little Brooks

Sleep, drink mother's milk, poop. Rinse and repeat. The first weeks of a new little human being are needed to get all the amazing bodily systems working. This fellow is of course the cutest baby in the world (no bias there!). Little by little the eye-brain connections are formed and Brooks becomes more aware of faces, sounds, etc. In the next photo he looks thoughtful, but he did not really recognize things yet. Now - six weeks after birth - he starts to recognize more and gives his parents big smiles....

Poncho is getting used to being a bit of "number two" but he continues to be a funny little dog. He loves to cuddle and wants to be close to Hilary and Brooks...