Mother's Little Helper

Now that the kids are back in school, I only have Joseph and Meredi at home keeping me company. They're great fun. They follow me around "helping" me most of the day.

However...there was that one day...I had been upstairs sorting and running loads of laundry - all this AFTER I had cleaned the entire kitchen, mind you - and I came downstairs to find that Meredi decided she needed some Fruit Loops...



I've gotten pretty good at grabbing the camera instead of losing my cool when funky things like this happen around here - which is often! Look how cool THIS picture turned out! (Click on it to see it bigger!) I think I'm going to make it the wallpaper for our desktop! :)

Good Neighbors

So the story is too long and twisted to really tell it all - but the end result is this...this is the black bear that our neighbor's brother shot with his bow in our "back yard", so to speak - really it was in Brandon's mom's back yard, but that's close enough when we're talking fangs and claws!!



I know it's not a big bear and it was estimated to only be a couple of years old - and it's a black bear, which I've been told isn't necessarily an aggressive breed... but you know what?? IT'S A BEAR!! DOES ANY OF THAT MATTER???

Never a dull moment!

(I blurred the hunter's face out b/c I didn't get his permission to blog him - and not that he'd even probably care, but you never know!)

Fall Photos!

(Editors Note - I just scrolled through our blog, after submitting this entry, and realized I'd already shared this picture! If I weren't so lazy, I'd upload each of the kids' individual poses...but today, I'm too lazy! Sorry for the repeat!)

I FINALLY updated the pictures on our wall! They were almost two years old! The group shot turned out great!! Oh sure, maybe a picture with everyone sitting with their hands folded on their laps, all looking the same direction with somber looks on their faces would have been more "professional" - but THAT isn't OUR family! :)



(I didn't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with a more serious pose for a family picture - or suggest that we would never do such a thing...we just may one day...but if you'd been at our "photo shoot" you'd know the mere thought of "serious" was out of the question!)

Good Friends!

We are very blessed to be surrounded with the very greatest friends on earth! Last Friday our friends Steve and Julie invited is out to the lake to go boating and eat dinner. We all had a blast!!



Madilyn...Going...

...Going...

...Gone!!!


Jake, Jared & Megan...




Jared, Joseph & Jacob...



Fun on the shore - Megan, Malorie, Jared & Melanie.



Oh Brother! Jason, Jared, Dad & Gracie.



Mom, Meredi & Malorie.



I have NO CLUE whose legs those are!!!

First Day of School 2009

This year was Jayine's year! 7/9 are in school now - our house is very quiet during the day!!

We've been in school for a week now and everyone is doing just great. Everyone likes their teachers. Everyone is happy to have reconnected with friends. Nobody (except Malorie & Melanie) likes the bus, but it's a right of passage ... or so we tell them!



Everyone except the Malorie & Melanie rode the bus the first day (they liked it then, I guess). When we got to the Elementary School, Malorie quickly hooked up with old friends from her class last year...



...and before I knew it, she was a 1st Grader!



Melanie was excited to start school all summer long - right up until the last 3 days before it started, then she thought maybe she'd stay home instead! But when the day came, she was as excited as everyone else and without shedding a single tear, she turned into one of the school kids right before my very eyes!