SEPTEMBER 2024 Edition

Well, a lot has been happening since my last write up. I’ll hit on a few of the highlights and then share some general “news.”

Wedding in Parksville 

In early July, Cindy and I, along with the rest of the family, headed to Parksville. My oldest nephew Jacob was getting married to Hannah, and we were looking forward to a fun Vancouver Island wedding. We caught the Friday ferry and got to the island just in time to drive to Qualicum Beach to join some extended family for dinner. It was great fun as Team Canada was playing in the Copa America soccer tournament up on the big screen TV’s. Saturday morning Cindy and I ran in Parkville’s Rathtrevor Provincial Park – what scenery! After a wonderful outdoor breakfast with Andy and Naldo at the Beach Club Resort, we began to get ready for the outdoor wedding at the Tigh-Na-Mara Resort. The wedding was so much fun with all the extended family there. The food was great, the kids enjoyed the DJ, and I’m proud to say I didn’t pull a hamstring or pop my shoulder out showing the youngsters some of my “bustin’” moves on the dance floor. I was quite touched by the fact that with their concern for my age, and due to the complexity and difficulty rating of my dance moves, they insisted that I don’t use those moves again.

Osoyoos

Another family trip to Osoyoos! Cindy and I reserved a fairly large hotel room on the beach so that we could accommodate as many of our kids that were able to come. With work schedules and busy plans, we never know how many of our kids will be able to make it for holidays, even if for a few days. Fortunately, all of the kids were able to make it, at lease for a few days. And it was great that my sister Rita, and my Mom and Dad, were able to stay for a few days at the same hotel. Andy and Naldo were with me and Cindy the whole trip, and Nicole, Mireya, Jared, Adrianna, and Jude and Morgan each were able to stay as long as their schedules permitted. Some of our favourite memories were: dinner at  both the Diamond and the Spirit Beach Cantina, ice cream at the Windmill and D.Q., mini golf and go-carts at Rattlesnake Canyon, renting Sea-Doos, beach time, walks into town, and some great runs with Cindy. Unfortunately for me, my win streak at mini golf came to a crashing end as Cindy beat me this year. However, I’ve hired a full time mini golf coach and hope to regain my title next year!

Naldo’s Birthday

Naldo joined our family in September of last year, and so when his August birthday rolled around this year, it was his first birthday with our family and his first birthday in Canada. Cindy organized a family birthday party for Naldo, and it was fun to seem him blow out his candles and enjoy the party. Cindy got him a kick scooter for his birthday, and he quite liked that. I love birthdays and Christmas as I’m as surprised as the kids with what “Cindy and I” give them as presents. It was also fun going out to Jollibee in Surrey on Naldo’s actual birthday to get some great Filipino fast food. If you haven’t been yet, make sure to try the Filipino spaghetti and the mango pie!

Klassen Business News

The Team has been fairly busy over the summer with some good sales and fun summer meetings. At least I think summer meetings are fun; Jude and Adrianna may not be as enthusiastic.

JUNE 2024 Edition

Well, a lot has been happening since my last write up. I’ll hit on a few of the highlights and then share some general “news.”

Cindy’s Birthday

Cindy’s birthday is always a big event around the Klassen household. And it’s extra exciting because we get to celebrate for Cindy’s twin sister Tracy as well! I took Cindy to a local Filipino store/lunch counter for lunch where we enjoyed some delicious Pancit. I offered to take her to any restaurant, but Cindy likes to support small businesses, and we obviously love the Filipino culture.

The kids went all out decorating the house for the family dinner later that day. They posted a bunch of pictures of Cindy from different eras of her life; it was so much fun going back in time with a number of those photos. Adrianna, with some help from her siblings, took care of the cooking, and I put a second mortgage on the house in order to afford the freshly baked cake from a local bakery.

After dinner, the kids and Cindy enjoyed a backyard badminton tournament while I cleaned the kitchen. The kids urged me to come out and play, but I insisted that I wanted to exercise my “gift of service” and clean the kitchen. What the kids don’t know is that I’ll to anything to avoid playing badminton with Cindy. She’s very competitive and there’s only so much humiliation a man can take, especially when it comes to losing at badminton time and time again. I don’t know if it’s more bothersome to lose every time to Cindy, or the fact that she keeps reminding not only me, but all the kids, about her past badminton glory days while in high school.

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day was a busy day! Cindy and I, along with the kids that were around, started the day at church and posed there for photos in a photo booth. With Cindy looking forward to an afternoon rest, I drove out to meet my sister Rita and my Mom and Dad for a Mother’s Day brunch at the Boathouse. It was fun to have lunch with  the “original 4” and reminisce about all the nice dinners we  used to go to when Rita and I were growing up. Places like Hy’s Mansion, The Brock House, The Old Country Inn, and the Ladner Marina Restaurant.

Later that day, Cindy and I hosted the extended family from both sides over to our house for a Mother’s Day dinner.

Naldo’s Introduction To Track & Field

To say it’s been a big adjustment for Naldo, who as a 13-yearold joined our family back in September, is an understatement. Cindy and I have worked with Naldo to find out what activities he enjoys. We know he played a lot of basketball back in the Philippines, so he enjoys that as well as riding his bike, skateboarding, and  badminton. However, at his new school, Naldo had the opportunity to participate in Track and Field, a sport well known to the other Klassen kids. Naldo tested his ability in shot put, the 100 meter sprint, the 400 meter, and the 4x100m relay. Cindy and I have enjoyed watching Naldo compete, and he tells us he’d like to join the Langley Mustangs Track and Field club next season.

Go Canucks

Our family really enjoyed cheering on our team during the Stanley Cup playoff run. We had a lot of group watching parties at our house, and a number of our kids were either able to go to a game or join a watch party at Rogers Arena. Let’s hope for a deeper run next year as I’m still waiting for the boys to bring home Lord Stanley’s trophy!

APRIL 2024 Edition

Some highlights from the past few months:

Easter

Yes, it gets a bit loud when we have 29 people gathered in the house to celebrate Easter and enjoy a wonderful Easter dinner. Cindy, her siblings, and her mom and dad are each responsible for preparing one special dish. So we have turkey, mashed potatoes, a yam dish, a cauliflower dish, cranberries, stuffing, and of course the Mennonite traditional Easter bread called “Paska”. I love my extended family but have to admit sometimes I need to escape to my den for a few minutes of recovery and quiet. So glad Cindy’s parents and my parents can be at these family events.

The Girls in Europe

One of the things I told my daughter Adrianna when she got her real estate license and joined the Klassen Real Estate Group is that she should work hard, and then travel. And since her sister Nicole was finishing up her time at a Capenwray in Germany, it was the perfect opportunity for Adrianna to travel to Europe, meet up with Nicole, and share some travel experiences before coming back home. Just because Adrianna is 25 years old doesn’t mean I can’t still be the overprotective father. I poured all of my travel wisdom into Adrianna including the pearls of wisdom including how to not be a pickpocket target, how to do early online check in for flights, how to ensure the money won’t run out, and in my words, how to have fun, but not “too much fun”. I’m so proud of the kids and how they’re learning about the world through travel.

83 and Counting

The extended family got the invite from Oma for birthday cake and snacks at Oma and Opa’s house on Opa’s 83rd birthday. Because Oma and Opa live in a townhouse complex that flanks Hazelmere Golf Course, Opa has taught the kids how to “hack and whack” through the back bushes and find stray golf balls. So during the visit for Opa’s birthday, a few of the kids went golf ball hunting and with great success! Opa impressed the kids with his “log book” and was sure to let everyone who would listen that on one day he had found over 90 golf balls!

FEBRUARY 2024 Edition

CHRISTMAS SEASON MEMORIES

This past holiday season was eventful for sure. Cindy and I celebrated 30 years of  marriage on November 27th, celebrated 3 kids birthdays on December 3rd (Jared), 4th (Andy), and 5th (Adrianna), hosted our Annual RE/MAX Client Appreciation Christmas Event (which was a huge success) and many memories were made at home.

Naldo Sees Snow

Naldo, who recently joined our family from the Philippines, has had a bit of an adjustment with the colder temperatures of the Great White North. He’s used to playing basketball outside year-round, and not really having to wear a jacket. But life in Langley requires a bit more in the way of “outerwear”. Naldo was quite thrilled to see snow for the first time, and actually enjoyed shovelling the walks and driveway. He and Andy even made a huge snow fort! Recently, after a few very cold days, Cindy and I took Naldo and Andy to a nearby pond for some outdoor skating. The boys loved it. The boys have been to a number of public skates, and I’m surprised they haven’t been asked to leave the ice yet with all of their on-ice horsing around.

Best of the Christmas Memories

Christmas 2023 involved a lot of noise, fun, food, games, and laughter. Thanks to Jared for supplying our traditional “real” Christmas Tree; I’m pretty sure the reason it was such a good price at Superstore was because the needles were already starting to drop out when the tree got set up. 

•  Christmas Eve service at Church.                                                                                                                                                                         •  Watching Elf with the family once again.                                                                                                                                                               •  Cindy delivering my yearly Terry’s Chocolate Orange.                                                                                                                                         •  Toblerone chocolate.                                                                                                                                                                                             •  Puzzles.                                                                                                                                                                                                                •  Games.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 •  Christmas lights.                                                                                                                                                                                                   •  Lots of great food!

Nicole Comes Home

After high school graduation and a summer of working, Nicole headed off to “Capernwray” in Germany, a combination Bible School and cultural experience. It was great that she could come home at Christmas and make us all jealous with her stories of hiking and skiing in the Alps, travelling throughout various European countries, exploring the German countryside, and of course meeting great people from all different parts of the world. Nicole is back in Germany now, and we look forward to seeing her back home in April. Nicole and sisters Mireya and Adrianna are all looking forward to being back together for some great Spring and Summer bonding time.

So that’s the update from the K-team! If you have any thoughts or funny memories, shoot me a text at 604-312-8920, email me at steve@klassenrealestategroup.com, or message me on Facebook!

DECEMBER 2023 Edition

The real estate market has, for another year, really been all over the place. The “roller coaster” ride that began awhile back has continued; I’ve noticed prices decreasing in some segments of the market while remaining steady in others. As I point out every year, now more than ever it’s important to get solid, expert advice as you consider your real estate options. Our Team is here for you, or anyone you care about, if the thought of a move has come up.

The Klassen Update

Jude and Adrianna, who are both part of the Team, will be including their own submissions to this newsletter, so I won’t be writing about them.

Cindy: Cindy was working with her sister Tracy as a “staging team” tandem, staging our listings. However, Cindy has had to back off, for reasons you’ll read about later in this update. Cindy has still maintained her running passion and enjoys taking Adrianna’s dog Princess Leia out for the occasional evening walk. Cindy really is the grease that keeps the Klassen family machine running.

Jared: J graduated from Trinity Western University this past year. He’s continuing with his summer job of lawn and garden irrigation while he assesses his options for the future. He enjoys hanging out with his buddies, playing guitar, hiking, and playing recreational hockey. Jared is getting pretty good at guitar although I tell him real guitarists play electric guitar turned up to 10, kick over their amps to create feedback, light their guitars on fire, and jump off the drum platform. He tells me these things are frowned upon when playing on the church worship team.

Mireya: Beya is in her 3rd year at TWU and living back at home after her dorm experience last year. She’s in the education program and has started working a bit with students with special needs. Mireya was quite the traveller this past summer with trips to Osoyoos, Newfoundland, and the Philippines (more on that later). Mireya and I enjoy our weekly late night hot tub after her late class.

Nicole: Colie graduated from Langley Christian this past year and is now in Germany at “Capenwray”; a Bible school that also affords travel and cultural experiences. She seems to be enjoying it so much that she doesn’t have a lot of time to check back in with her Dad. Nicole had a great grade 12 year of school soccer, with her team coming 3rd place in the BC High School Provincials. Her Langley United team did very well too!

Andy: Duke is in grade 10 at Langley Christian School and still plays soccer and basketball. He’s been spending more time on his bike. Andy travelled with me, Cindy, and Mireya to the Philippines in late August/early September to meet his new brother Naldo. Andy and Naldo like to ride bikes together, play Roblox together, and see who can annoy the other the most.

Naldo: 13-year old Naldo is the newest addition to our family. The 3 year adoption process finally resulted in a trip to the Philippines to bring Naldo back to Canada to join us as his “forever family.” Cindy and I are so blessed to be a part of Naldo’s life, and we’re glad that he now has a family with siblings, a dog, and a cat. Naldo (13) and Andy (15) share a lot of common interests, and it’s been great to see them solidify the bonds of their brotherhood. Cindy is working at getting Naldo into school, and I’m working at getting him into his favourite sport, basketball.

So, with 7 kids now, and me now turning 55, I’ve had to delay my “Freedom 55” retirement plans. I’ve re-run my “numbers” to include getting kids through school, sports, braces, clothing, food, and the occasional family trip. My tally confirms that I’ll now be ready to retire when I’m 108!