8-10-12 We Knew It Was Coming…

…but we didn’t know when.

First, back to Wednesday.  Drizzly day.

(Can’t say rainy day ‘cos it didn’t amount to enough to be called rain.)

Drizzly day means it’s time for a zoo!

And popcorn.

Thanks Tori for the popcorn pictures. Precious!

So Tuesday and Wednesday men from Grimm’s were here working on the new furnace/a.c.; they didn’t get finished and I’m not quite sure when they’re coming back. Wednesday morning new gutters were installed. They look nice but I have no px yet.

Today Jacob got to help Jeff and Andy put in windows, but Jesse was doing math, getting gluten, and doing silage for Gregg.

Looking very good!

Meanwhile, the rest of us did some heavy cleaning. Josh helped too!

Time for play after Friday jobs are done.

A N D

it was about 77 degrees and sunny out!!! Just BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Maria and Hanna joined us for the first picnic we’ve had in a L O N G time!

After Jeff & Andy left, we got to work cleaning up the mess they left and prepping the living room for demolition. Levi got home around then too, which was very nice as we needed his help moving furniture downstairs.

Yep --- we knew it was coming, but we didn’t know when ---

today was the day ---

The piano had to wait until Dad got home. So, after supper, the real fun started - - -

More demolition prep.

The temporary walls weren’t completely in before windows started coming out.

Our new look (for awhile).

Meanwhile -

Who knew scraps of pink wallboard could be so much fun?!

Demolition continued.

Well yes it was very dusty but not as dusty as this picture makes it look. WHY? I wish I knew WHY some px have these funny spots all over them. I have a suspicion it has something to do with the flash, but I certainly don’t know how to fix it.

Anyway.

So that’s the latest around here. And maybe you weren’t counting kids, but Ben was lying down with a headache all evening but he was feeling better by bedtime when Dad & I got home from Menard’s. (Heehee. And you thought we didn’t have any Menard’s trips this week - - - Wrong!!!!!!! We went Wednesday night and tonight too!)

I guess I never mentioned that Joshua had fever for 24 hours on Wednesday. Odd. No other symptoms, just an energy-draining, lay-on-the-couch, 4-hour-nap fever. He woke up with it Wednesday morning, went to bed with it Wednesday night, and woke up fine yesterday morning, and has been fine since. Well actually he’s not completely fine; now he thinks he’s a cow. Don’t think it’s related to the fever, but he’s mooing in lieu of talking and didn’t eat his barbeque for supper because cows don’t eat barbeque.

Hmmm.

He didn’t want to go to the barn to eat pellets, though, and by 8:30 when he wanted a snack, he was ready to eat his barbeque.  

Well anyway before bed tonight Jewel had a headache… and fever…

Oh I so hope we didn’t share anything with Maria and Hanna.

Meanwhile, it’s late, and I’m tired, so

Good Night.

8-8-12 Painting

by Tori

We’ve been busy since we got back from WI. Monday morning Jacob, Kate, and I painted the south side of the house. Dad and Levi helped us get the first coat on the west side after supper while Jesse worked on the new siding. Yesterday Jacob, Kate, and I, along with Gabriel and Josiah, finished the first coat and did the whole second coat. Grimm Home Services was here all day doing duct work too.  After supper Levi took off the tape and Jesse finished the new siding while everyone else just goofed off. Today Grimms are here installing a new furnace and air conditioner. It’s drizzling too. *hurray*

Sunday evening – watermelon from the garden. Looks good but is very lacking in taste.

The kids all made a crown in Sunday School, so they’ve been wearing them around the last few days.

The little kids haven’t played with the old (like 15 years old) farm toys much this summer, probably because of the heat, but since it was cooler Monday they got it out.

The finished soffit and fascia. We decided against the rake.

Making grilled cheese for lunch.

Painting the north side of the garage.

The west side. 

Jacob and Josiah took off the phone box and painted under it.

8-7-12 Chuckle For The Day

 

***thanks AB for sharing this gem***

8-6-12 Kaiser Weekend Away

by Tori

We left at noon Friday, as soon as Levi got home from work. It was supposed to be about 4 1/2 hours but it took us 5 because we missed 39 twice in Bloomington (due to the driver not knowing where he was going) and had some traffic on the way up. We never stopped but were barely moving once because of a fender bender on the right, then 100 feet past that a fender bender on the left. Coming through town took awhile too due to tons of people and cars. But we made it to Meadowbrook Resort and by 6:00 we were all eating pizza for supper. After supper Aunt Joyce, Levi, Trent, Morgan, and I drove down the road to a trail, then hiked 3/4’s of a mile to the WI river, which had a really nice beach and some great cliffs. After we got back we spent the rest of the evening playing euchre, watching the Olympics, and talking and laughing. Saturday morning we slept in late, ate junk food for breakfast, and by 9:30 we left for the river, right behind Uncle Mike and Aunt Janet and Aunt Joyce, and right before Uncle Mark, Lucas, Morgan, Lance, and Grace. We got there and discovered Josh’s swim trunks were still at the hotel, so Dad & Mom drove back and got them while the rest of us started walking to the river. It was a 20 minute walk, but it was through cool shady trees and was a nice walk. The water was a little cool but felt good once you got used to it. Once Dad & Mom got back we swam over and checked out the cliffs from the bottom, and then went to the top and jumped off. It was really fun but it took a lot of nerve the first time. At about 1:30 we headed back to the resort, and we spent the afternoon either watching the Olympics, swimming, sleeping, snacking, talking, or doing all of the above. We had supper in the Pow-Wow room at 5:00 or so, and around 7:00 a bunch of us kids went into town with Aunt Joyce for a while. After we got back we hung out in the lobby till about 10:30 when we got kicked out by the staff. Sunday morning we slept late again, and by 9:30 we were out of our room. At 10:00 we all met in the gazebo where Timothy had a Bible lesson. By 11:00 or so we were on the road (with extremely heavy traffic), and a little after 1:00 we stopped in Rockford at the Machine Shed for lunch. We got home a little before 5:00, and after unloading the van, putting away mountains of stuff, and doing chores, we spent the evening relaxing.

Everyone takes turns entertaining Josh.

A bunch of happy travelers. In the back seat, Jesse, Kate (right behind Sarah), and I were playing cards.

Uncle Don, Trent, and Blayne were our welcoming committee. The great thing was that they helped us carry some of our stuff in too. Thanks guys!

Josh checking things out.

Jewel and Josh loved the indoor pool.

Ben liked it too, although his eyes didn’t like the high chlorine very well .

Drew, Kate, Lincoln, and Creighton watching the kids swimming before supper.

Lincoln, Josh, Jewel, Sarah, and Kate all having a blast in the outdoor kiddie pool.

Josh had a blast the whole weekend.

Josh was so impressed with the sprinkler tree.

Kate and Jewel.

Kate and Sarah.

Josh manning up the courage to go down the slide.

It looks like Lincoln loved the pool too.

Josh, Kinsey, Grace, Kate, Sarah, and Jewel.

Samuel.

The kids discovered that if you covered all the holes but one, the water would hit the ceiling.

Kate, Josh, Lincoln, and Kate.

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Saturday morning on the beach. The kids actually had some pretty good sand castles built by using rocks for sides so when the boats went by and made waves they didn’t wash away.

The weather was beautiful.

The cliffs were about 30 feet high from the highest point and 25 feet high from the lower point. In the picture lance is level with the lower ledge. I think he had just jumped off the top.  The water was about 20 feet deep. It looks like Lance is going to hit the big out-jutting rock but that was actually 20 feet beyond him, so it was quite safe. Levi, Lucas, Jesse, Morgan, Jacob, Lance, Uncle Mark, and I jumped from the high and low ledge (except Uncle Mark did just the high) and Aunt Joyce, Katie, and Ben just jumped from the lower ledge. It was awesomely fun. I jumped off the lower ledge the first 4 times. It was really hard to jump off the top even though it was only 5 feet higher. I told Morgan if she went from on top I would go too. She didn’t want to go so Lucas jumped ahead of her and then she went. (I don’t why but it was a lot easier to jump when someone else had just jumped.) So then of course I did it too. We decided it was pretty fun then so we both went and did it again (with a lot less hem-hawing around).

Some of the boys swam across to the other side. This is Jesse and Lance.

That’s all the pictures we have of the weekend.

Once again, it was an awesome weekend. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for everything; we appreciate it a lot!!

8-3-12 Windows & Siding

8-2-12 What’s Up?

by Tori

What’s up around here? Well, on Monday Ron came and put in the outside doors. He also took the window out of Dad and Mom’s room and put it in its new hole. The wall it came out of is going to be ripped out but until that happens there is foam board and plywood over the hole. Tuesday and Wednesday Jesse was hauling silage so Dad and the boys have been doing the soffit in the evening. Monday and Tuesday Mom took the kids swimming too. Yesterday afternoon Katie had some teeth pulled. She wasn’t feeling great afterwards but is fine this morning.

The littles love playing with Levi.

The first of the white potatoes were dug this week.

Dad and Jesse doing soffit. Also the window and one of the doors Ron installed on Monday.

Kitten fun.

Josh and Jewel both love to read and be read to.