J and L Farm

House Update

2009-12-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

12-15-09, Today the Siding guy came to work on our house! Yeh! His trailer is in our yard, so hopefully he will finish, this week, the 40% needed to be done so we can try to re-finance.

In July he worked on our house and I did not post pictures then, they did the top on the west side of the house, second story right outside of my bedroom.

Today they did some soffit work and put some ladder boards under the overhangs of the roof so that the roof will be supported.

See the white part on the right side of the last picture that is new soffit!

Our house update 6-09

2009-09-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

1st days of school

2009-09-02T01:57:00.001-07:00

Kristen and Will on her bed in her dorm room.

Kristen and Will outside the van we rented, it was full.

Will and Hurkey ready for his 1st day of school

Will and Maggie

State park trips this summer 2009

2009-09-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

Will and Friend Scott

Will and Jason, hiking the rugged trail with ladders, that was fun.

Will and I

Will and Jason

Will at 4H - July 2009

2009-09-02T01:26:00.000-07:00

Will receiving an award for Hippology Team members, from his wonderful instructor, Mrs. Brown.

Will and I doing the diaper race.

Will riding Bella.

Will and his half shelf

Will and his Rocket

Will and his pony.

Will riding english on Bella

Will and Keith with Bella

Will Showing english halter with Bella

Will having fun

Bella having fun

Will showing western halter

Will resting before the show

Will getting ready to show with Bella

Kristen's Graduation - Catch up from 6-2-09

2009-09-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

Will and Kristen

Brynn, Kristen and Lynn

Karla and Kristen

Our Family

Kristen, Nikki and Devin

Our Family

The whole class went barefoot for graduation to make awareness to a needy country that they donated shoes to, they were even on the news for this.

Brynn, Lynn, Jason, Will, Sharon, and Monty

Great Grandma and Pop Pops

Family After Kristen's Graduation Party

2009-06-01T00:50:00.000-07:00

The whole family together.

Myuki and Kristen.

Joseph riding Kaiser.

Kaiser and Bella enjoying Beer from Joseph.

Grandma and Jason.

Our house and barns from down the street.

Maggie.

The dessert table at Kristen's party.

Maggie and Myuki.

Myuki, Rhea and Kaiser.

Kaiser and Myuki.

Joseph and Kaiser.

I will eventually put up posts with Kristen's graduation and her party. I just received these pictures from my sister-in-law, so I wanted to put these up for everyone to see. She loves the animals, so most of the pictures are of the animals.

Will's 4 H Rocket

2009-05-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Will made and launched this rocket. He had a lot of fun with this project.

Will

2009-05-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Will plays for the Marlins this year for baseball.

Will and his friend helped with this picture of LeBron, one of our new kittens.

Kristen's senior prom

2009-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Easter at my sister's house

2009-04-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

Kristen was lucky, she was in England, so she did not have to eat with these boys. They had a great weekend togethor. Congratulations to Lincoln on his Baptism!!

March of Dimes Walk

2009-04-20T01:11:00.000-07:00

I am walking with a bunch of people from work, to raise money for the March of Dimes. If anyone is interested in more information or if you would like to donate, please go to their website.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=668068

Thank you so much!

House and kittens

2009-04-20T01:05:00.001-07:00

The kittens are so cute and are getting bigger every day. We try to feed them soft kitten food and they are not interested yet, they are about 4 weeks old. The all black kitten is going to go to our friend's Jake, Wade and Jessica's house. There are still two girl calico kittens left and available if anyone is interested.

4 Windows are framed and 4 long pieces of siding are installed. Wow 4 is a lucky number. I am so excited, to see this house finished. The roof is still the same, our friend the roofer was busy this weekend, so hopefully by next weekend it will be mostly finished.

Will and the new kittens

2009-04-07T00:25:00.001-07:00

Will has wanted a Russian hat for about a month. We finally purchased it from Amazon. com and it came in the mail from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is so excited. We saved the shipping package. He loves his new hat. He was glad it was cold these past few days so he could wear it without sweating. The first day he wore it in the car, he asked me to put the airconditioning on, to keep him cool, because his head was getting hot.

The kittens are a little over 2 weeks old, they are really growing.

Some progress on our house

2009-04-07T00:14:00.000-07:00

The new roof is being put on.

A work in progress, but it is slowly coming along.

More on Chickens

2009-03-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure (right from Day One!) that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of road?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need more black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that this chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so badly. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No bird gave me any insider information about crossing.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why a chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it had experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens crossing roads together.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will integrate with those that lay eggs. Henhouse Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable than previous versions.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road pass beneath the chicken?

The Chickens are here

2009-03-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family, again.
Thank you Shannon, and your family for sharing and delivering the chickens.
We love them. I hope they lay eggs soon.

Kristen

2009-02-24T21:04:00.001-08:00

Kristen had a winter concert. It was in the form of "Blast", like "Stomp" but with instruments other than drums. It was very cute. Most of it was dark, but the music is nice to listen to. (She is in the center of the photo above, her head is near the end of the flute, she plays the clarinet. )

House update

2009-02-24T21:02:00.001-08:00

The addition and fixing of the front porch is almost complete, by next week, the soffit and trim will be going up. I am so happy and excited.

Name that Cat

2009-02-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

(The last two pictures, she is standing on my roof shingles. They are supposed to be on my roof!!)

Last week we got a new cat, to keep our other cat - Memphis - company. I wasn't sure if she was going to stay our cat, because she kept hiding in our wall space and basement. She went outside yesterday with this nice weather and let us pet her, so I think she will turn out to be a good cat. We at first started thinking of naming her after a capital, but we haven't thought of one. Then when she was sneaking around and hiding, we thought of names that meant ninja, or houdini, so we even considered naming her Necko which means cat in Japanese, but we just can't decide.

Can you please help us? Any ideas on girl names?

Thanks

We still do not have a name for her. We were naming our cats after capitals

Tribute Tuesday

2009-02-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Tribute Tuesday. This Blog-Carnival was created by Wayne at Wayne's Window to the World.

This is a tribute to my wonderful husband Jason. He is very caring, and always put me ahead of him. He looks at me everyday, like when we were first dating. He compliments me daily. He is not only my husband, but my best friend.

Thank You, Jason.

I love you

Not Me Monday

2009-02-02T00:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not enjoy being obsessed with Not Me Monday last week. I was not excited being #20, but I did not wish I could closer to #1 this time. I did not compete with my fellow co-workers, at work to try to get to #1. I did not enjoy it.

I have not posted anything on my blog between this Monday and last Monday.......

I do not have many obsessions this week.....like my new facebook account.

I am not trying to decrease my obsession with the Twilight series and vampires and I am moving on to possibly going to see and read the book, Confessions of a Shopaholic.

I was not late to get home from work the other day, while my child was home alone. He did not have a two hour delay and was not playing playstation in his pajamas when I got home. I did not drive frantically knowing he was not by himself for not even 1 hour, to walk in the door, and he did not even realize. He did not miss the bus that morning and I did not have to drive him to school. I did not feel really bad about that one.

I did not get stuck in the snow, in my driveway twice in one night, and my husband did not so graciously pull me out, with his truck and chain.

My daughter did not win a gold in her clarinet ensemble, and she is not going to state. She definitely did get her musical talents from her mother, (not).

Not me Monday

2009-01-31T23:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not spend 6 hours on Friday, my day off, working on my facebook account.

I did not on Saturday give myself a pedicure and a face mask, and my 9 year old son did not want to use the pedicure soap and soak his feet also. He did not enjoy it, and he did not soak his feet, by himself two other times that day.

I did not have my husband pick up a cat, 2 days after we lost our cat, due to the fact the one cat left we had left, would be lonely. We did not loose the new cat several times over the past few days because she does not like to hide. We have not named the new cat because we are worried so she be lost and never come back.

I did not try to help my friend out by flagging down a truck with a plow, and while I was flagging him down, he did not keep driving by with his tires only 6 inches from my feet. Then I did not make phone calls to find her someone to plow her driveway, and I did not find her someone to clear her driveway with a little tractor and a shovel on a very cold and windy evening. Her driveway is not over 250 feet long.

Some new pics

2009-01-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

Kristen playing for pep band, at a basketball game.

Our nephew Graham, he is 18 months old.

Celebrating Will's 9th birthday.

Rock Band Party, notice the missing window in the background, we are under construction.

Will got a pool/ping pong/ air hockey/ fooseball table for his birthday, along with many other items. Happy Birthday Will!

This photo is at my sister's house with Will's cousins - Holden and Lincoln. they were all playing their DS games.

In Memory of Tally, our cat

2009-01-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

Our adorable outdoor cat Tally was hit by a car last night and died instantly. We have so many fond memories of her and we will miss her so much. We pray that she was not uncomfortable and that she is resting in peace.

Go Cart

2009-01-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

Will got a go-cart that didn't work for his 1st communion present from Jason back in May last year. We finally got it fixed in Oct. and then the first time we tried to start it the pull start broke. We got it fixed right around christmas and here he is driving it. He had so much fun, he drove it til he ran out of gas. He went thru puddles and got his clothes wet, he also found a little hill to jump over and did get completely off the ground a few times. He is awaiting nice weather, and is already talking to his dad about getting more gas for it.

Catch up post

2009-01-15T22:51:00.000-08:00

Updates on the house the front entry way is getting closer to being done, but it is very cold and drafty in our house. Today is supposed to be record cold temps here, school has been cancelled.

Here is a New Year's Eve pic of Will. Hope everyone will have a great New Year!!!

update on house

2009-01-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

There has been some updating on the house. The front porch is getting closer to completion.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Happy Birthday Jesus!!! We spent time with family and friends, and had a great week. We are still relaxing on our break.

Update on Siding Project

2008-12-23T21:58:00.000-08:00

The weather has been really nasty for three weeks, of course the three weeks we wanted to get our siding done. We took off some siding and then put up some insulation (blue 8 foot sheets) because our house had so many drafts, and it was very cold inside during the -15 degree days. Hopefully there will be a good week or two of nice weather, so that we can get our new siding put up. The new entry way is 1/4 of the way done.

Kristen

2008-12-17T01:17:00.001-08:00

Here are some great pictures of Kristen.

A new project

2008-12-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we finally decided to go ahead with remodeling the outside of our house. It had been so nice outside, then the day we decide we need to get to work it snows about 2 inches and the next several days to weeks are supposed to be very cold. We will be taking off all of the wood siding, which we have started to do and where the wood is not peeling paint and rotting, the wood is actually very nice cedar, I feel bad taking it all off. Then we are putting up 1 inch foam insulation, that has a 6.2 R value, it will be taped up with tyvec tape, then the aluminum siding that is sprayed with vinyl will be going up, the house will be tan with white trim when we are done. It will never have to be painted again, so I hope we like tan!

Two thirds of the front porch is going to be enclosed, I wanted an entry way with a front hall closet, and a front door to face the north. We are taking out 3 windows in our living room and moving them to the entry way. We are doing this so that we will not have to side the outside again, if we were to wait on this expansion, we would have a greater expense re-siding the outside. Then when we come up with more money (probably 5 years from now), we will finish the front entry way, and take out the original front door and make a nice opening to the entry way.

The center two windows will be removed, the window on the left is the den and that is where the front porch will remain. We will eventually make concrete stairs entering from the north side of the porch.

In the above picture is where the front entry will be.

This is the side of the porch that will be enclosed in. The two windows where the satellite dish are will be gone. That is where our TV is.

This is the back of the house, Jason put in new windows, and a new door, a few weeks ago, to get ready for new siding.

The overhang will be gone above the back door, because there is no way to repair it, it hang sideways. We will have to think of what to do for the back entry later. The dog and cats love to follow anyone around, they were curious at me taking pictures.

Happy Anniversary Jason!

2008-11-25T03:02:00.000-08:00

It is Jason and I's 10th Wedding Anniversary. It feels like yesterday. Time flies by so quickly. Our wedding and reception was so much fun, with all our family and friends. We had a great photographer. We then had our honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii. Jason's brother was married in Hawaii while we were there and he and his wife stayed longer in Hawaii - Happy Anniversary Jon and Kelly. Then for our first anniversary we re-newed our vows at our Catholic church, and had a small reception after that. I was pregnant with Will during our first anniversary.

You are the love of my life, Jason, it is have been a busy 10 years, but I wouldn't change anything. I am so glad we are settled in our new, lovely house with our two wonderful children and all our animals. I look forward to our next 50-60 years!! Happy Thanksgiving! Love Lynn

Jason and I on a cruise sometime in 1997.

Our engagement photos were taken at Jason's parent's house.

Honeymoon pictures.

Blog Award

2008-11-24T21:46:00.001-08:00

I just received my first ever blog award!! Thanks Kim for giving it to me, and Thanks Kim for doing my banner for me, my husband and I love it!!

Twilight Premiere

2008-11-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

A group of 9 people, from my work, went to the Twilight movie premiere last night. It was so much fun. We first met at Chili's, then we went to the theatre about 90 minutes early to get a good seat. And we had the best seats. The movie was great, I LOVED IT, and I will still be obsessed. Kristen is going Saturday with friends and I want to take Will next week, he is excited to see it.

Our friend Cole

2008-11-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

Cole is doing much better. Here he is with his mom and grandma. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

More misc. pictures

2008-11-18T20:01:00.001-08:00

My football star:

Will and Mamaw

Will and team after a game:

We went to an apple orchard with my sister, her husband and their two boys in Oct.

Catch up photos

2008-11-16T01:42:00.001-08:00

Kristen band photos:

Kristen was called forward because she was the clarinet section leader for marching band.

Will Halloween- He is the one in the center, he is The Predator - After going to 1 house he took off his gloves, then by the second house he took off his mask, he was sweaty, and too hot to wear them, so basically he had a black turtleneck on and black sweat pants for trick or treating:

Congratulations to Kristen

2008-11-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

Kristen only applied to one college, she wants to have a specific degree and there was only one university that had that degree that she wanted to go to. So we took a chance, and only did one early admission application. I knew she would be accepted, but I was praying for scholarships, this school is fairly expensive and I am sure we probably won't get any financial assistance. Well she got an acceptance letter and the top scholarship they offer - the Presidential Scholarship. It will still only cover about 1/3 of her expenses, but it makes it more affordable. We are so excited and pleased for her!!! Way to go Kristen, keep up the great work! (Now we just need to find her a job.)

Here are some quotes on the letter: Congratulations! I am pleased to informed you that you have been admitted. Your admission was based on your academic achievements, extracurricular activities and strong recommendations. Your academic achievements have earned you a presidential scholarship.

End of football season party

2008-11-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

I will soon have Kristen's Homecoming and band pics, it is difficult to get her pictures, I am working on them.

Will's team wound up being undefeated even thru the championships, 9 games. The final game's score was 12-6, it was intense. The week after the final game, we hosted a party for all the players, the cheerleaders and their families, we had about 100 people over to our house, thank god for the wonderful weather, we had a high temperature of 75 degrees that day, November 1st. Thank you to my mom for coming to visit for the week, we couldn't of hosted the party without her, hopefully she enjoyed herself. We had lots of food, pony rides, a football game, a bonfire and a great end of the year ceremony. Thank you to Will's coaches and team moms, and to all the kids and their parents, it was a great season. Thanks to Devin and Bella for the pony rides!

updates

2008-10-06T03:05:00.001-07:00

Will's team finished his season 5-0. They start their tournament this Tuesday, it is single elimination and can go on another 4-5 games, so lets pray they win them all.

Kristen's band made it pass their district level and will be going to regionals. She also went to homecoming, and had a great time with her friends.

Pictures will be coming soon.

Will's first tackle game

2008-09-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of Will with his MaMaw, and two of his "great" Aunts.

Will had so much fun playing football. The whole team did wonderful. They beat the Rams 20-7

He is number 12 and he did play quarterback and defensive linebacker.

Jason's horse Rhea

2008-08-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Jason bought a new horse for himself, she is very sweet, about 5 years old (we think). When the vet comes out, we will find out her exact age.

Labor Day fireworks

2008-08-31T21:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Labor Day to Everyone, Enjoy!!!!

Kristen's car

2008-08-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Kristen got a car and her license about a month ago. She also got a job last week at a local pizza restaurant, and seems to be enjoying it. She is keeping very busy.

Lindsay

2008-08-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

We were able to visit with our friends again. Lindsay is one of the Quads I used to babysit for. We saw her brother Connor, and her mom Phyllis. Lindsay had a soccer game close to us, so we went to watch her play. It was very fun. (Sorry we forgot to get Connor and Phyllis' pictures also)

1st watermelon

2008-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

We picked our first watermelon, it was good.

Will Kaleidoscope

2008-08-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Jason took Will's picture thru a kaleidoscope.

Youngest player to play for a college football team

2008-08-27T11:27:00.001-07:00

Will is leaving elementary school. Notre Dame recruited him.

Well actually he loves his school and is doing very well, he knows how important elementary school is, so he has decided to turn down the college offer. When we are doing homework after school and he becomes disinterested, I have been using the line, do you want to play football? And the answer is always yes and he gets right back on track with his homework - it is amazing.

His actual football games will start after Labor Day and his coach told him last night he will be the 1st string quarter back, we are not sure what defensive position he might play - if he does play defense consistantly. He is very excited.

Here are some practice videos (he is wearing a red jersey and white pants):

Visiting the new stadium

2008-08-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jason and Will went to a high school football game at our new stadium. It looks really nice!!

Football

2008-08-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Will started tackle football. He loves it, today was his first day of practice with all pads and his helmet on.

1st day of school

2008-08-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Both kids enjoyed their first day of school. Kristen drove herself to school in her new car, and I drove Will to and from school.

Will's vacation

2008-08-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Will and Pop Pops at the game.

Will and Nana cooking.

My brother grilling.

Will continues his fun. He bought a canteen at a hot air balloon show. They cooked lobster. (Don't look if you are against cruelty to animals) And they went to a baseball game.

Congratulations Kristen!

2008-08-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Kristen passed her driver's test, she now has her driver's license!! She was the first person that day to pass, the three people before her failed. She also made only one mistake. Now we are car shopping, so she will have a car to drive to school, and hopefully to a place of employment.

Kristen is back

2008-07-25T19:00:00.001-07:00

Kristen came back from her dad's house. Welcome home!!

Will's new pet

2008-07-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

My mother is an avid photographer, she sent me these pictures. Will found a new pet frog.

Will relaxing on vacation.

Will arriving at Nana's

2008-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Thrilled to have his picture taken again.

Will going to visit Nana and Pop Pops

2008-07-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

Will got on a plane this morning to visit my parents. He will have lots of fun for 12 days. My brother and sister -in-law will also be there, and they will probably go visit other relatives also. They are going to go to a baseball game, fishing, and swimming. We will miss him, bye Will - Love you! I will probably work overtime, everyday he is gone, so that will keep me busy.

(He wasn't thrilled for me to take his picture, and put it up on the blog!)

Summer swimming fun

2008-07-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are trying to go to a different pool each week. Here is a photo of Will with friend Logan, swimming.

Kelvin Hayden Football Camp

2008-07-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Will went to Kelvin Hayden Football Camp this week and had a great time. Kelvin worked with the kids every afternoon, and on the last day he brought two friends Gary Brackett, and Ramon Guzman.

Slip and Slide Fun

2008-07-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

Friends came over for dinner tonight and the adults played Euchre, while Aiden and Will played outside.

Sean and Will

2008-07-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Will's friend Sean came over one afternoon, here he is on Kaiser.

Memphis out and about

2008-07-09T22:45:00.001-07:00

Memphis went with Will to the library today. They had a program where you could bring your pet for a parade in the library. They had a great time. Memphis was very good for a cat that stays outside. After the library we went to run errands, and Memphis got to go to Petsmart. On the car ride back, Memphis fell asleep, I think he had a busy morning.

Friends came over

2008-07-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day today. We had two families come over for a cookout in the evening. So we cleaned, a lot, and went shopping prior to them coming over. We ate, talked, rode horses, had a small fire outside, listened to music, and lit off some small fireworks. Caitlin, Caleb and Will rode bareback on Bella with just a halter and a lead rope, they were very brave. Olivia and Alana sat on Bella. Wendy, Elwin, Zach, and Caitlin actually rode Kaiser, and had a short lesson from me, on riding, they all did very well.

4th of July

2008-07-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

I worked the night of the 3rd, and Jason and Will stayed up late (as they have been doing all summer, playing video games or watching movies). We all slept in til 12noon and then got ready to go to the town parade. The parade was nice, thankfully the weather was wonderful also. Then we went back home to rest again, and in the evening we went to Olivia and Alana's grandpa's house. (Thank you Scott family for inviting us over!) It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. We at lots of good food and desserts. Will went on a paddle boat twice. We watched a lot of boys in the family light off their own fireworks. And then we sat on the dock and watched the fireworks.

Olivia and Alana's open house

2008-07-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

Jason, Will and I went to Olivia and Alana's open house(6-28-08). It was so nice. It was great to see them and their family. They were dressed up so pretty, and their mom had everything so nice and organized. There were posters that had their birth pictures, their first diapers, and their footprints on them, they had a power point with a lot of pictures running to music, and they had M&M's with their names on them.

Carnival

2008-07-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I took Will and his friend Scott to a small carnival in our town for the 4th holiday.

Holiday World

2008-07-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jason took the day off of work (6-27-08), and we went to holiday world. We had a nice time, and really liked the water park, and slides.

Will keeps busy with camps

2008-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Will went to football camp one week(He is the child in the top left). He went to mini 4H camp for three days ( I think he is hiding in this video, behind the kids somewhere). He is taking swim lessons and next week he will be going to a Kelving Hayden football camp, he is looking forward to that.

Some good friends visit

2008-07-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Our friends Phyllis and Brynn came to visit us overnight (I am a little behind on my posts they visited towards the end of June). We have known them, too many years to say. Brynn is a quadruplet, and she has 3 older brothers, and I was their nanny. Brynn is going to graduate college in 2009 and will be a teacher! I missed not seeing her dad, sister and brothers, but we were glad her and her mom could come and visit! She is also a natural at horseback riding, she did great riding Kaiser.

We went to a Creamery for lunch and we saw some cows.

Hurkaleez and our new turtle

2008-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Will put a bandanna on Hurkey, and he has been wearing it ever since. Will took this picture of him.

Jason found a turtle, and brought it home, we put it in our backyard, where we occasionally have some water.

Hurkaleez and Jake

2008-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

We are dog sitting for the summer for a friend. Our dog is the doberman, he is 9 1/2 years old, and his friend is Jake, he is a 14 year old mutt. Our friends moved and needed someone to watch their dog for the summer. He is very sweet, but he likes to wonder off if he is not on a chain. We have already lost him for two days, and then found him again, thanks to some very nice neighbors. Hurkey and Jake were friends about 5 years ago, they lived next door to each other, so they enjoy seeing each other again.

Outside with Sparrow

2008-06-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sparrow or "Just Do It" is our Jumper pony. He is for sale or for lease. A friend of ours from CT rode him and showed him in 2004 in Pony Finals, and she may take him back, when she gets a job. She loves him. She graduated college and is trying to get a horse training job. Congratulations Amy!! (She just sent us an e-mail, and she does have a job, Yeah!!, and she would love to take Sparrow when she gets settled.)

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

I wish my father a great father's day, and to all the other dad's out there - Thank you for being so wonderful!!

Jason had a nice day yesterday. We spent most of the day outside, the weather was clear and in the 70's. We let the horses eat some grass outside of their pasture, and we did some gardening. Then we got cleaned up and went golfing on the course just a few blocks from our house. It was very nice. We then we out for dinner and came home and watched a movie.

I have a question about the gardening. Why is it when you are trying to plant something in one place it does not grow and then when you don't plant it other places it flourishes? We have so much grass and weeds in our garden, and we have no grass in certain areas of our yard. It took me about 1 hour just to clear a tiny area of our garden, it is difficult to do. But our corn, sunflowers, watermelon, peas, and lettuce are growing!!

This is where the grass is suppose to be growing.

This is where the grass is growing (in the garden).

Butterfly Trail

2008-06-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Jason mowed a trail that goes thru to the back of our property. There are so many butterflies and honey bees, it is really pretty and relaxing.

Possum

2008-06-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

We caught a possum, and it is no longer on our property. Now the trap is set again, because when there is one, there is usually more. We did catch our cat in the live trap once, also.

Kristen's birthday party

2008-06-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

(We closed out the rink, this is after the party, they were watching the Zamboni)

Kristen had a party at an ice skating rink. They had comic skating Sat night.

We have a great story to tell about the cake. I called and ordered a cake at a local grocery store about a week prior to her party. I went to the grocery store right before the party, and they did not have the pretty purple and white cake I had ordered. They claimed they did not have the order there and maybe I called the wrong store by mistake. I tried to call the other grocery store about 10 times, and I kept getting hung up on (there was a storm the night before and I believe they had some phone troubles). Well we had to get to the party before the guests, so I dropped the kids off at the ice rink (thankfully they are old enough to be unsupervised for a little while), and I went off to the other store. They did not have my cake there, so I had to pick out a pre-made cake for her. There were only three choices, hot pink icing, yellow, or red. I chose the yellow cake. The lady from the bakery started writing Kristen's name on it and ran out of yellow icing, I had also told her two time how to spell Kristen's name. She had to scrape off the yellow icing and start over, well it looked really bad, so she asked me to pick out a second cake. I picked the red one, she then proceed to write in the very pretty orange icing Happy Birthday Kristin. I was late for the party so I took the cake, paid for it and left. Oh Well if they spelled her name wrong and if the cake looked bad, it will taste good!!

Storm

2008-06-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

We have been having a lot of storms the past few weeks. We took some pictures between the storms tonight, when the sun broke thru the clouds. I missed a good photo right when the storm started we had some bad winds, and we ran to the basement for a little while (I didn't have my camera with me, it was in my car. When the rainbow came out, I had Jason run out to the car to get the camera, Thanks Jason!!) We are very thankful the storms haven't been worse by us.

Kristen's 17th birthday

2008-06-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 17 today. The first picture is the winning assignment notebook design, that will be used next year at her school.

Kristen on her 1st birthday and her at 3 weeks old.

The top picture was when Kristen was almost 3 years old, and the one right below it was about a week before she turned 2 years old. I graduated college, right before she turned 2. The picture is with my dad and my grandmother.

Happy Birthday Kristen!

Jason mowing the lawn

2008-06-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Jason was singing very loudly while listening to his new Ipod, and mowing the lawn. It was funny. He was enjoying himself outside.

Will's party for Carey Ridge Friends

2008-06-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Will invited about 30, 2nd grade kids from his school over for a couple hours on Sunday. About 7 kids were able to make it with their families. We had a great time. It was about 80 degrees, so they played in the sprinklers most of the time. Kristen and her friend Devin, got Bella ready and gave pony rides to any kid that wanted to ride. They kept busy walking and trotting Bella for the whole two hours. Thank you Kristen and Devin!! And thanks to everyone that could come to Will's party.

Kristen received two awards

2008-05-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

Kristen got a letter last week, stating that she was getting an award. So we were invited to an awards presentation. Kristen was unsure what the award was for. She received to certificates for being the best in her class for Visual Communications I, and for Java Applications. Two different teachers nominated her for being the top student in their class. We are so proud of her. In her visual communications class her artwork was chosen by the teacher and the principal to be used on the cover of the 2008-2009 Assignment notebook, she also won a $50 Barnes and Nobles gift Cert. because her artwork was chosen. At church she also won an art contest for Vocations, her artwork was chosen the best for all high school students and was displayed in the church narthex, she was given a $25 Barnes and Nobles gift cert. for that. She is such a hard worker, and always turns in her best work. By the way she has already spent all her gift cards, she loves to buy books.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

I worked the 4 days around memorial day weekend this year. I had a nice time at work and my family kept themselves busy. I usually love going to the parade on Saturday, since I did not make it this year, I am going to go next year.

Thank you to everyone in the armed services and all the veterans. Please honor our loved ones, our ancestors, our friends who died in conflicts and wars, those people who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom.

My grandfather (my father's father) is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I really enjoy going there to visit. I thought my parents had been there before on Memorial day and had taken pictures of all the grave stones with flags in front of them. So I was trying to find a picture of that, but my mother told me they went there over the holidays and have a picture with wreaths on the grave stones. So I took this picture from Arlington's web page.

Will's concert

2008-05-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

Will had a spring concert. It was the whole 2nd grade, and they sung all Dr. Suess songs. It was great, very cute. Will's first pre-school concert, he just stood there, while everyone else sang. Every school concert since then he has done a little bit more, he doesn't like performing in front of groups of people. (Will is wearing a green polo type shirt and black pants)

Kristen's concert

2008-05-20T01:41:00.000-07:00

Kristen had a spring concert. Will and I enjoyed watching it. I forgot my camera, but I do have a few other clips and pictures of her playing that I will post from this school year. Here is a clip of her playing some songs from Wicked The Musical in March of 2008.

Getting caught up

2008-05-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in about two weeks, so I will try to get caught up with all of our spring activities that have been going on. The weekend of May 16th-18th Jason and Will went out of town. They worked in Springfield, OH at Jason's parents Antique Show. http://www.springfieldantiqueshow.com/ The day after they came home, they were ready to spend their hard earned money, they each bought an ipod. Kristen found them on Amazon, and she bought one also, because hers was stolen at school about two weeks prior. They are all enjoying their ipods, Jason got a colts cover for his, Will got a Jets cover for his and Kristen got a dragon cover for hers. Pictures soon to come.

Kristen and I relaxed that weekend. We hung out with the horses, and we visited with friends. I went to visit my best friend Cindy, she lives on the south side, we went shopping, ate pizza and watched Mad Money. We had a great time. She is going to be having surgery this summer, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Kristen spent time with her friend Sara.

I watched Olivia and Alana

2008-05-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today I went over to Olivia and Alana's house. We had fun. They are so cute and are getting big. Hopefully it is o.k with Wendy that I post their pictures. They smiled a lot for me, and really didn't fuss. I think their stomachs are starting to feel better.

Outside Again

2008-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Will is pretending to get the ground ready to plant, so that I can take an action photo. Watch out he looks like the child of the corn.

It was another decent day, so we worked outside planting a garden. It is Jason and Will's project. They planted corn, carrots, and tomatoes. They still have some planting to do, maybe they will do it next week. I do not have a green thumb, so I am trying to not get involved, it will be nice to eat some home grown vegetables.

We also let the horses out on the grass, maybe we won't need to mow as much.

Mother's day

2008-05-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

Happy mother's day to every mom out there. Thank you for everything Mom!!

Thank you to my wonderful family. Today it was raining all day. We slept in, ate breakfast around 11am, watched a movie, went to church and then went to Bob Evans for dinner after church. Then I watched Desperate Housewives. It was a very nice day. I had two things on my wish list that I wanted for mother's day, a rosary and a new rice cooker. Last week my dad gave me a rosary from Jerusalem, it is really beautiful, I will try to get a picture of it. And this week my family got me a great card, and a new rice cooker. My old rice cooker I got as a going to college present, almost 19 years ago - Gosh, am I that OLD??? I needed a new rice cooker, we use it at least once a week. Will made me two presents at school, a mouse pad and a card- they were very nice.

Congratulations Rick

2008-05-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Another party, next week

2008-05-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

More swimming

2008-05-04T16:00:00.002-07:00

Swimming

2008-05-04T16:00:00.001-07:00

The day after

2008-05-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Holden riding Bella (Will's pony).
Glen enjoying himself on the 4-wheeler.
My sister's kids do not have guns at their house, so guess what they played with for two whole days straight.... You guessed it - guns.

My sister - Anne, her husband - Glen, and their two boys came to visit for Will's 1st communion. They stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on Sat night, and the next day we went there to swim, then they came back to our house for leftover food, to see the animals, and to just relax in the backyard.

Bonfire

2008-05-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

I love the sky in this picture.

Will's party

2008-05-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

Pretty pictures of everyone eating.

Will's friends are gathered around the cake.
Thanks to everyone that came, we had a great time.
Sorry I didn't invite my co-workers, I am hoping to have a NICU party sometime this summer. I need to get my act together and get my horse stuff organized so that people can ride the horses when they come over. But first I am hosting a party for Rick, and his graduation next week.....

Will walking down the aisle in church

2008-05-03T15:00:00.002-07:00

More communion pics

2008-05-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

More to come soon, keep posted.

Will's first Communion

2008-05-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Will outside of St. Maria Goretti School.

Will with a friend Lucia. He was embarrased to take a picture with a girl, that is why is looks so upset. We were once Lucia's neighbors, and he used to play with her, I just think he was embarrased because she is was dressed up and looking so pretty.

Every child made a banner and they put them togethor outside the church. Will's banner is near the top left side, 2nd row, third one in.

Will's 1st game at Thorntown

2008-04-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

#2 Jenkins