Haying...

This afternoon after the hay was hayed...

We got to stack it!!!!

Noah, Joel and I did one trailer earlier...

and then Nathan, Noah and Seth went over later (and are still there) to unload and stack some more!

While we were waiting for the hay...we said hi to the horses....

and looked at all of our pretty Hollyhocks

They are beautiful!!!

so perfect...

It’s a Picnic!!!~~~~`

This afternoon Hannah and I along with a few friends went for a picnic!

It was a lovely picnic!!!!

We will miss you Camille!!!

And of course Hannah managed to get wet, on her favorite water slide!!

WET!!!!

It was fun to see you girls!

We Went Canoeing!!!

On Saturday evening Nathan, Hannah, Joel and I went canoeing with a bunch of friends…

We had supper on a muddy sand bar…

And we played on the rope swing….pull, pull, splash they all fell in!!!

That was all of us girls except Leith…where did you go??

Then some of us went and climbed up on the pretty bridge over the river...

It was a lovely evening!!

but, we did not have quite enough canoeing, so on Sunday we went out again as a family!

This time we went up river…and the wind was not helpful!

We managed to get wet…

And Sylvia took her nap in the canoe… another wonderful afternoon...

A Lovely Evening…

A beautiful evening, with a cute little Asher who is very happy to have Mom back home! I could not count how many times he said, "I miss Mommy" or "Mommy Home?" or "I love Mommy" while she was gone...

This evening, next door, at the Overlook a couple of guys played a bunch of Simon and Garfunkel’s music. They did a really good job!! I enjoyed it!

The nice part about it was that we went out and sat in our back yard and could see and hear very well!

Dad and Mom decided to make dinner here rather than go on a date…so we had deep fried halibut and zucchini, onion rings, a bunch of vegetables and chips and cheese…. It was very good! Although I think I may have had enough deep fried food for a while. :)

Mom's Trip to Florida...

Mom just got home from Florida…she spent a couple of days with her sister and her family! It sounds like they had a fun time together!

Sylvia and her new friend and 2^nd cousin, Adam…

Aaron and Madeline and their little boy Adam…

Andrew, Benjamin and Ethan you guys have grown a LOT!!!

Thank you Uncle Rod and Aunt Kim for letting Mom and Sylvia come and visit!!!

Day #2 Without Mom...

Dad took us to the park and we watched a Zoomobile...

First we learned about Jake, the Red Tailed Hawk....

after the Tarantula from South America....we learned about the Possum.

and after the Wood Turtle, we met the Royal Python Snake...

we enjoyed walking around Stillwater for a short time before coming home...

Then this evening Dad grilled some steaks for us... he had to try out his new grilling tools this week! :)

and we ate it! ;)


Mom, we did the laundry and are trying to make our way through the cases of broccoli, spinach and mushrooms....slowly. :) Hope you enjoyed your day in Florida, on the beach! We miss you and are looking forward to your return!

We Need Our Momma!!!

Once there was a large family... Dad and Mom and 14 kids... all of the kids were good at helping, yet Mom did so much! The Mom did the laundry, she did most of the cooking, she did most of the cleaning, and took care of her kids with loving care. But one day, the kids decided to send her on a vacation to Florida...BAD idea...guess what happens when the person who cooks, cleans, and cares for her family goes away.

Big messes!!!!!

She was gone for 8 hours before we knew we were in trouble... Whats for dinner? How do we make it? Who cleans up?

YIKES!!!!

Before we knew it there was a large mess and a pitiful dinner... :(

Tears, dirt, dishes, laundry....

MOM COME BACK HOME QUICK! WE NEED HELP!!!

~~*~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~*~~~*~~~*~

Okay, well it is not quite that bad... ;) we had a good day, but we missed you Mom! After breakfast Hannah did Science with the kids while I did a little Chemistry. Then Seth, Talia and I did some drawing and painting. For lunch we had salad and rolls. After Lunch we put the the little ones down for a nap and the other kids had "quiet time". The afternoon, between the raining, consisted of playing outside and straightening up the house. Dad made hamburgers for dinner, Hannah made the Hamburger buns, and I made some ranch fries. Dinner was good! Before the little ones went to bed Dad read to them from a missionary story.

We did survive(our first 12 hours)...even though it was hard. Hope you are enjoying your time in Florida, Mom! We love you!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!!

who has been a dad for 24 years and 5 days and has 14 children...

World’s Greatest Dad is My Dad!! :)

This morning's sermon was on how a Dad should be... The outline was:
1. The Dad who leaves a legacy of a Dad
2. The Dad who loves his wife
3. The Dad who encourages his children
4. The Dad who Protects his children
As I listened to Pastor Bob, I was a proud daughter!! Every thing that He said a father should be - is what my father is...and he is much more!

(Dad and Mom)
Dad loves Mom very much and shows it clearly every day, whether it is by holding her hand, kissing her, respecting her, and apologizing when necessary to her...

(Dad, Nathan, Abram, and Aaron)
My Dad is fun loving... he is always ready for a new adventure, or something that he can do with his kids...

(Dad, Nathan, Abram, and Aaron)
He encourages each of us continuously and criticizes when necessary...

(Dad, Eli, Joel, and Noah)
He wants his boys to learn to be men... who will lead their own families some day. He also teaches them to have fun!

(Dad and Hannah)
He always takes special time with each of his kids... I always enjoy the time I spend with him, whether it is a walk with him, a drive with him, or just sitting with him... He takes the time to get to know each one of us...

(Dad and Nathan)
When ever he joins in the fun with us, it makes it all the better!

(Dad and Sylvia)
My Dad is also protective...he is always looking out for our safety!


Thanks, Dad, for being such a great Dad!!! You are the very best imaginable Dad I could ever think of! I know that no Dad on earth can be perfect, but I think you are about as close to perfect as I have ever known! I will always remember your example...you are building your legacy...and the legacy you are building will be remembered forever, by me, by all of your children, and by your grandchildren(and great and great, great, and all the ones after that) to come!

The legacy you are building shows a man of integrity, a husband of everlasting commitment and love, a father of patience and encouragement, and a man of God. The most important thing in the legacy that you will leave for us is the commitment you have shown towards our heavenly father through struggles and through blessings.

Saturday, Afternoon With the Cousins....

Last night after our cousins spent the day with us, they left(yes, it was purposeful) Simon and Jewel with us! To start off the day in an exciting way, Seth and Simon caught a squirrel ....they wanted to skin it, but Dad suggested that since it was a mommy squirrel they would let him go.

Then, after breakfast I took Seth, Simon, Behn and Asher for an "adventure"... first we saw the pretty roses.

Then we went to the park and had lots of fun!

Then we went to see the little pond....

Then after we went and got some juice boxes from the grocery store we went to visit the Indian.

After visiting the Indian we went to Cascade Falls...

it was very warm...but we had fun!

we ran behind the water fall...and sometimes through, if we wanted to get wet! We all had a lot of fun!

Take three girl cousins, add cocoa- powdered and brown sugar- bananas- strawberries- oranges- lemons- water- milk- a few wheat berries by accident- and of course don't forget the pickles- Mix thoroughly... then sip slowly on warm sunny day and giggle for... Cheers!

~posted by Dad

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

Today was Nathan's 24th Birthday!!!
To celebrate, Nathan, Hannah, and Joel went to Valley Fair with some friends.

I think they had a lot of fun! They came home with plenty of sun burn and were tired out!

Abram came home!!!

This last weekend Abram came home for a couple of days... we had breakfast on the patio.

I am not sure if it was just eating on the patio, but I enjoyed the oatmeal more than I have before!! :) It was very tasty!

Then we went to the beach for the third time this weekend....

some of us spent the morning swimming...
and then we went home and had Reuben Sandwiches.

After lunch we went to Teddy Bear Park...

on the way to drop Abram off at the airport...

Sylvie and her teddy bear friend...

taking a boat ride...

and a train ride...

Abram and Hannah...

it was a very nice day(very nice and warm!)...thanks for coming home Abram!!!! We love you!

The Sylvia Post...

A couple of days ago Grandma got Sylvia a new dress!!!

I am pretty sure she really likes it - although I had a difficult time keeping her attention off eating grass... she seems to think it tastes good.

Thank you Grandma, from Sylvia, for the new dress!!!

Happy Birthday Joel!!!

Not today and not yesterday, but Tuesday was Joel's 14th Birthday!!!
Joel and Nathan are on the church softball league -- so for Joel's Birthday we got him a bat, a glove and a ball! :) He and his team won the game on his birthday...good job everyone!

This is Joel when we were in Virginia...in "Abram's and Aaron's" caboose.

Virginia and West Virginia Trip...

This last weekend Nathan, Hannah, Eli, Joel and I drove out to Virginia to visit Abram and Aaron and drop Eli off to work for the summer.

We spent the weekend camping in West Virginia...

we went rock climbing...

cliff jumping...

more cliff jumping...It was a lot of fun!!!

lots of swimming...

we all enjoyed the scenery...It was a beautiful place!

We got to meet Aaron's girl friend Jennifer...
notice the bridge behind them....it is the second highest bridge in the world...It was Beautiful!

We all had lots of fun!!! In the past five days we have driven 2500 miles and very little sleep...I think I am ready for bed!! :) It was a long drive!!

It was fun to see you Abram and Aaron!!! Thanks for the fun weekend!

Behn's first tooth
"I wiggled and wiggled till it came out- then I showed Dad"