Michigan!

We made it!  Both to Michigan - and finally to a location with internet connection!  Don't get an iPhone if you live in Casnovia.

I've gotta be quick - we're having way too much fun to sit here and write too much.  But, thought you might enjoy some highlights.  And, first among the highlights is getting to see Ryan again!  Oh yeah.  And everyone else!  Hahaha.  Here's two of my favorite people together again.

Joel seems to be having a good time.  He was pretty happy when I took this picture.

Oh my.  Ryan has had quite an adventure so far.  He even got to get into a life jacket and take a ride with Mom on the pontoon boat.  I think he was a little confused by the life jacket.. and it was a little much for the little guy to be riding around with so much wind blowing in his face.  But, he did pretty good for his first ride.  And the lake was beautiful at sunset.

Grandma Elsie made the 'bloggin' again!  Way to go grandma.  We love you.. and it looks like you enjoyed the boat ride as well.

Loved this glamor shot.  She sure is game to play along.

Here's one of my very cool nephews, Troy.  He's gotten so much bigger and more mature in the last year.  And, he seems to love the jetski.

And here's a quintessential Joel picture.  He cracks me up - and I'm so glad he's here and has a chance to play.  We missed him last summer!  

I can't end this without a picture together with Ryan.  It's rewarding to be around family on vacation.  No place I'd rather be!  More when I'm able...

Fam...

Miscellaneous family pictures I found while looking for other pictures....

Sisters..



















More sisters...





























Sibs... at the beach.

THE 2008 BLOGGIES

January is traditionally a month in which major media organizations within the USA and abroad celebrate achievements from the previous year. The Team Henderson blog is pleased to join the chorus by announcing its excellence in blogging awards.

Welcome to the Team HEnderson 2008 BLOG Greatest Items Ever Seen - or simply, THE 2008 BLOGGIES! 2008 was an outstanding year and the competition was fierce. However, voting was simplified by our lead writer making unencumbered, unilateral decisions in each category ;)

Congratulations to all our winners! And now, without further ado, on to the awards!

FOREIGN ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

BEST FOREIGN BLOG
Buckner’s Buzz http://bucknersbuzz.blogspot.com/
The inspiration for the Team Henderson blog – this blog epitomizes excellent in blogging. Written and (hardly ever) edited by Joanne Buckner – this blog presents a wide ranging array of subjects – featuring, in recurring roles, her three amazing children, husband, and dog Jaci.

BEST FOREIGN BLOG ENTRY - WRITING
August 28: The Proposal

by Joel Henderson and Carissa Schutter (not yet Henderson)
This story in dual voices exemplifies the art of encapsulating a moment in time using language. Critics heralded the piece as an instant classic.

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE
Nov 23: Sweet Victory!
Hannah Henderson and her friend Emily are captured at the moment of Big Game victory. This image is particularly effective when considering the photographer was also the subject. This picture – tastefully cropped by the editor - evokes the excitement and exhilaration only possible by dominating Stanford!

ACHIEVEMENTS IN WRITING

BEST BLOG TITLE
Dec 16: Oh No.. Jo.. b’fo Ho Ho Ho.. it’s Snow!
"A rhyming tour-de-force" chimes Times magazine! "I love it like a fat kid loves cake" says 50-cent!

BEST BLOG ENTRY - FICTION
June 6: Elsie: Harley Babe
In this entry – legendary figure - (then) 82 year old Elsie Ness - explores her physical, emotion and sensual connection to the Hog. Not since Jack Nicholson bared his backside in the movie Something's Gotta Give have we seen a more honest portrayal of octogenarian romance. Yet, this selection reigns as one of our most controversial BLOGGIES given the growing rank of pundits that debate its status as fiction.

BEST BLOG ENTRY - NON-FICTION (ALL)

April 22: It’s a (Very) Small World

This epic, chronicalling the early Joel and Carissa days, spans 3 generations and thousands of miles to clearly present the evidence of God's unseen hand in the events of man.

BEST BLOG ENTRY - NON-FICTION (GUEST)

Feb 20: Cow Palace Dog Show

A touching story by Julie, mirroring human and canine friendship forged in the journey of life.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION – BEST BANNED BLOG ENTRY
June 8: Harley Babe in Training – Janice Griffioen.
This story – eventually banned from the blog by our executive editor, Julie – highlighted the life of Janice Griffioen as she took her first baby steps in becoming a full-fledged Harley babe. Revered by early reviewers as a triumph in bad taste.. this entry, alas, was removed before it could find widespread acceptance and acclaim.


ACHIEVEMENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

BEST USE OF PICTURES IN STORY TELLING
April 22: It’s a (Very) Small World
An 8 Act story spanning many locations and thousands of miles – this blog entry recounts the story of inbreeding in small towns.

BEST PICTURE – SCENIC

December 2: Holland 2
If only the photographer could have captured this image in spring! Still, the beautiful colors and contrasts make this our editor’s selection for 2008!

BEST PICTURE - JUMPING
Dec 27: Jumping Pictures and More
This highly competitive genre was dominated this year by one picture. Congratulations to the winners.

BEST PICTURE - SENIOR DIVISION
June 11: Nephew’s Rule
Unknown newcomer Martha comes out of nowhere to grasp victory from perennial winner Elsie in this beautiful portrait of beloved neighbors. Special thanks to Lurinda Shrauger for the use of her Nikon to capture this award winner.

BEST PICTURE - SIBLINGS
Dec 24: This Really Happened!
In a staggering upset– Joel Henderson is shut out of this category for the first time ever! Yes, this picture of Rachel and Hannah, siblings, tops 2008! Congrats.

BEST PICTURE – CROSS GENERATIONAL
June 10: Oh What Fun it is to Ride…
A rare combination of athletic prowess and emotional joy combine to bring us this best picture spanning generations. This was truly one of blog managements all time 2008 favorites! Enjoy!

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Our only tie - this award is shared between..

June 6: Elsie: Harley Babe
John Griffioen is the subject of the distinguished picture of the year award winner. The simplicity of the picture, which captures the subject in his element is both technically pleasing and esthetically satisfying. A 2008 best of!

Oct 5: The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch

Rachel Massey highlights this artistic rendering of life through the pumpkin colored looking glass - a triumph of color, composition and craftsmanship!

ACHIEVEMENTS IN COMMENTING

MOST COMMENTS – INDIVIDUAL BLOG ENTRY
July 14: HJ-112 Rest in Peace
This poignant, insightful, commentary on the loss of a fallen comrade received 15 comments; more than any other 2008 blog entry. Demonstrating that blog readers will rally support to the fallen – this award jointly goes to all who made this entry the winner.

BEST BLOG COMMENT
Dec 23: Admissions of a Fiction Writer
Succinct, flattering, evocative! That’s what it takes to win in this category – as Joel Henderson did in 2008!

His comment:
"Another golden nugget coated in chocolate sarcasm! Ummmmmm, tastes good!"

MOST HIGH-BROW COMMENT
April 15: Get a Job
Being long on big words, flattering, and intellectually stimulating are the keys to success in this category. This entry represents an astounding degree of sophistication and flair; as Joel quite easily distanced himself from the crowd with this award winning effort!

His comment:
You're just a regular Flannery O'Connor aren't you :D Nicely done. The pictures add an appropriate amount of verisimilitude to keep people wondering. The ending is particularly well-crafted, bringing the story back full-circle with a ring-composition and using indirect imagery to close the denouement, allowing the readers' own experiences of the "calm after the storm" to inform their unique visuals of mom asleep on the couch. Again, nicely done.

BEST COMEBACK BY BLOG MANAGEMENT TO COMMENT
April 15: Get a Job
Demonstrating a dogged determination and willingness to dig into the back story surrounding a comment in order to respond with unique and appealing prose, this category highlights the quick mind, internet search, and cut and paste skills of our management staff. Touche!
Our comment:
Joel.. as most of our readers will know.. Flannery O'Connor is really Mary Flannery O'Connor. When O'Connor was five she taught a chicken to walk backwards, and it was this that led to her first experience of being a celebrity.

2008 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Elsie Ness – 83 and loving being on the ‘bloggin’.
This multiple 2008 THE BLOGGIES nominee and award winner exemplifies what it means to be alive and thrive at 83. We are proud to award this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Elsie Ness!

Random Acts To Share

It's been a challenge to keep up with sharing on the blog with so many fun things going on... so here's some relatively random pictures of events... just to catch up!

Here's a couple pictures I took of Jon and Rachel one day when we were out and about. I think they turned out really good. The trick I used here is to 'fill flash' the subject... meaning that I used the flash even though there was a lot of light outside.. because the light was behind them. In this way, their faces are completely exposed with light (thanks Tim for the reminder)!



















Here's another picture of them ... with Jon about to 'Yreka' me ;) To understand that you have to know that once Julie got a ticket in Yreka, CA during a trip to visit Joel in Salem. Now, you know that the Hendersons are definitely a family of traditions. Some of them more obscure and odd than others! Well, as you might be able to guess at this point.. there is a certain tradition we do when we drive by Yreka (we NEVER go into their city anymore!) now. If you can't guess what it is... good for you ;)



















Now, thinking about imaginative poses.. here's an interesting pose for Hannah. I'm not flexible enough to do this.. so I was impressed ;) You know, when I asked her to look at the camera..I kind of expected her to turn at the waist instead of bending over and looking through their legs. Obviously, my bad for not thinking outside the box!



















Oh, and speaking of flexible.. ever seen Elsie pole-dance? How about playing horse-shoes? Now you have! We had sooooo much fun with Elsie while she was here! And I think she loved hanging with all our friends and family! We love you Grandma! And, yes, you are on the 'log' again ;)



















Well, since we're talking about horse-shoes... this is a good time to share with you that Hannah, Julie and a bunch of their friends went horseback riding the other morning over in Half Moon Bay at the Sea Horse Ranch. They went at 8:00 am and the weather was fantastic. Here's a few highlights of their 2 hour ride!










































































And while we're on the subject of horses... here's a couple pictures of Tim and Grandma Elsie trying to keep up. Shhhh... nobody tell them that the horses aren't real!





























Finally, here's a great picture of Auntie and her favorite horse! How's that for chaining a bunch of seemingly unrelated events together Joel? ;)



















BTW... it's 70 degrees and sunny this afternoon. So, it's off for a run for me!

With much love!

P.S. I was thinking fondly of Julie's mom, Sharon, as I re-read this entry. I used to laugh at how she could 'chain' together a bunch of un-related events into one big long story at times. I guess some of her skills rubbed off on me. I know they did on Joanne! She was a lot of fun and I miss her!

Mt. Shasta

We made it home! Whew!! We laughed soooo hard on the way home. It was so fun to carpool with Jon and Rachel. And, we are so grateful to God who provided two perfect days (up and down) for our travels. He certainly was merciful to us!

It's been a long ride and we need to get a good night sleep after many days of fun and celebration. So, let me just leave you tonight with a quick picture that Grandma Elsie wanted us to take on the way home of her and Mt. Shasta. She really loved driving around the mountain on our way and way back and we had a gorgeous day for a picture. So, here it is!

More to follow. We love you all.

Grandma's Fashion Milestone

Okay - so did you know that Grandma Elsie has NEVER worn blue jeans? Seriously?

Well, she finally bought a pair and here is her first photo shoot wearing jeans. She wanted you all to get a chance to see. So, Enjoy!

Elsie's Glam Shot and More

During our Christmas celebration Elsie requested a photo session in front of the fireplace (at the Logans). How cute is that! Check out the results!















Here's a good mother daughter picture!

This Really Happened!

I know there has recently been some reason to believe that not everything that is posted on this blog is true. So, I want to say right off that the events described in this post really did occur. I haven't even changed the names to protect the innocent.

One of our traditions on Christmas Eve is to have chili at the Logan's. Grandma G. (GG) makes it every year and it is a total hit. This year was no different. It was totally yummy!



















After dinner we played a game of prediction (a card game). I think I mentioned that Grandma Elsie (GE) made it into town this afternoon and started with a bang at Safeway (see previous post). Well GE stepped up her game - leaving quite the impression during the card game tonight by dropping the 'L' word!













Yes, during the game Rachel and Hannah were at one of the table sitting next to each other. They were having a great time talking and laughing with each other.














When, all of a sudden, with absolutely no warning... GE turns to the two girls and says 'Lesbians'!



















According to GE "it just slipped out!". Apparently, when they were laughing they had their two heads close together and that's the word that popped into her head! Hmmm....

Immediately - Jon Logan pushed his chair back and started laughing! Rachel and Hannah were dumbfounded at first and then started laughing so hard. And GE didn't know what to do so she joined in the raucous laughter. It took several minutes of belly laughs and worries that certain individuals would wet their pants before things calmed down and we were able to finish the game.

Too funny. And she's only been here 7 hours!

You'll be glad to hear that there were no hard feelings between GE and Hannah afterwards. How cute!

Hey Young Man!

Grandma Elsie flew into town this morning! She's visiting with us and will accompany us to Oregon and the wedding.

Julie took her over the Safeway to pick up some additional groceries for the next few days. The parking lot in the strip mall that Safeway resides in was completely PACKED with cars. So, they had to park quite a ways away from the store.

Well, after checking out they roll the shopping cart over to the car and load the groceries into the back. Then Elsie tried to figure out where to put the cart. Of course the cart corrals are quite a ways away; certainly a bit of a hike.

So Elsie sees a guy walking on the sidewalk in the direction of Safeway and yells to him "Hey Young Man!". Julie immediately tried to tell her that the man wasn't an employee. But, Grandma wasn't deterred! She told the guy that the store was pretty far away and she was just visiting from Florida... so would the young man take the cart back for her. Too funny. And he did!

And that was in her first couple hours here! More to come!

Congrats Arie

Congratulations Arie (Griffioen, our nephew) on your graduation from high school.

It was fun to be able to travel to Waldron High to visit you and your family and to share of bit of this experience with you. We had a great time.

We are amazed at all your incredible academic (5th in class!) and other accomplishments (Arie is also an Eagle Scout - which is no small feat). It was great to see you among your friends having a great time.

We also congratulate your parents, Janice and John, for getting you to this point in life. They are to be commended for your excellent job.

It was also a treat to see Mary (grandma) again. We were truly impressed with the imaginative quilt that she made you using many of your old, special, t-shirts. What a great way to be surrounded by some fond memories and your grandma's love. That was really cool.

Have a great summer and enjoy your transition to Rose-hulman in late August!

We look forward to hearing about your continuing adventures.

Team Henderson