More Littles

So these px go back to last week – before the wedding and before the snowstorm.

Ben

I’ll try to condense life lately into several main subjects.

1. Brandi. After several frustrating weeks where she would run right through the electric shock-collar fence we’ve installed for her, Tori made a few phone calls to the fence company, made a few changes, and now Brandi greatly respects her boundaries. Since she can run off all that puppy energy now (not locked in barn or tied on leash), she’s a lot calmer and not quite so jumpy on people. Which makes her a much nicer pet. She still likes the four-wheeler and gets many rides from her people friends.

2. Ice rink. What you see here is the former pigeon coop, turned rink shack, now turned back to pigeon coop, making its way up to Levi&Echo’s house where it currently houses several pigeons. And yes, that means the rink shack is no more which also means our last rink has been taken down. The older kids who used to use it all the time aren’t around much anymore, and the younger kids don’t seem to love it quite like the older kids did. So, time marches on, bringing changes; and while we’ve had a lot of fun with a backyard ice rink, this change is welcome by all.

3. Ben. Ben turned 16 a couple of weeks ago and thus we have another driver in the house. Which is a really good thing because of his involvement in the Tremont robotics club; we all took turns doing a lot of chauffeuring this winter and are glad he’s now reached that milestone of independence. Congratulations, Ben!

4. Family times. Many random times with family here, there, and everywhere,

including a special daughter-in-law-to-be. And wedding plans too, both for A.Joyce&Mike’s wedding and Jesse&Lucy’s wedding. Guest lists and new dresses and all sorts of fun stuff like that. And our basement is a temporary storage pod for furniture for J&L’s new home. And this sweet little granddaughter who is growing like a wildflower and is twice as cute. No, Josh is not puckering up to kiss her; I think he’s protecting his tower from her demolition attempt.

5. Robotics. Ben’s team took first place in both its regional competitions so far, and, in between writing this post, I’m watching Team 2481 matches livestreamed from Milwaukee, WI, at another regional there. The team is already qualified for the coveted World Championship competition in Detroit in April, but wouldn’t it be something if they won yet another regional this season?! Pretty exciting stuff! It’s been a good experience for Ben and will hopefully give him guidance into a career choice as he gets involved in various aspects of roboting.

So there you have another peek at life lately. That’s it for this time.

Stay warm during this spring snowstorm that’s predicted tomorrow!

Littles

So I keep having these great aspirations of a long newsy post recording all the busy-ness of life that keeps me from this blog. I’m realizing the main thing is that since I no longer have a laptop, I just don’t get excited about sitting at the desk to journal life. As opposed to the laptop which rests on my lap while I put my feet up and relax. Well rumor has it I might be getting a laptop for my birthday so we’ll see how that shakes down. And meanwhile, life lately consists of lots of littles. We love them all.

Henry.

Jack.

So cute.

Brooks.

Three one-year-olds who wanted to go outside sooo bad with the big kids: Ella, Kenzie, Kiowa.

Wyatt.

Clay & Cason.

Alliyah.

I think that’s Wyatt with Kate and Josh.

Bristol.

Wyatt again.

Josh’s turn to get buried. There haven’t been many days nice enough for sandbox. Come on spring!

Cute as a button.

Jocie and Alliyah.

Jack, Ella, Alliyah.

Okay so that’s an awful lot of cuteness in one post.

And you might think that’s all our life is – littles – well it’s really not. They’re just a highlight ‘cos they’re so stinkin’ cute all the time. Maybe the next post will have a peek at life right now besides littles - - -

but I make no promises!

Pizza Party And More

by Jewel

Monday February 19. Monday night was spent at Marv and Paula’s house, because Sunday night didn’t work out. We had Ceci with us too, and we had a very fun evening with her and Wagenbachs.

Wednesday February 21. We usually have Alliyah on Fridays, but this time it was a Wednesday also. I was lucky enough to get to watch Alliyah and Clay at the same time, although it was hard holding them both at the same time.

Friday February 23. Alliyah again. We never get tired of little tykes around here. She chose Katie as her favorite, but she does like Josh a lot.

Saturday February 24. We had three of Tim and Emily’s four. Wade had a meltdown at first, but he warmed up. We all had a great time filling the piñata for the pizza party. Kiowa was also dropped off, as Levi and Echo were trying to paint and Kiowa was trying to help. She was picked back up at about lunch time. The new rocking chair was also brought back. Some of the other kids thought it looked like a nursing home rocking chair, but it is really comfy. 

Sunday February 25. Mid-Winter-Beat-The-February-Blues Pizza party. Almost everybody was there, except for Lucas & Chelsea, Derek & Meaghan, Trent, and Joel & Marcy. It was also kind of a informal shower for Mike and A. Joyce. The Pizza Hut pizza was delicious, and the cousins had a good time eating the M&Ms on the tables. We younger cousins spent a lot of our time out on the trampoline playing games. We did spend some time inside though. 

The Piñata was a big hit.  Brandon was the one who officially broke the piñata, although some solid whacks by Drew and Josh and some other boy cousins helped too.

Tuesday February 27. Meet Superchick. You could see the hole in his shell the night of the pizza party, and it was first spotted Saturday around noon by Levi.  Took the poor little guy several days to hatch, and in the end Dad had to help him on Tuesday. Not sure what we’ll do with him. He was the only one to make it though, one out of about thirty.

Wednesday February 28. Cason and Clay again.

Friday March 2. Friday at about nine o’clock, Sarah, Josh, and I went with Levi, Echo, and Kiowa to haul scrap to the junk yard. It was a pretty cool trip. In the meantime Mom and Katie had to go to a dress fitting, taking Alliyah with them. They got back before we did, and Anya came over to play. She and Alliyah must have been little buddies. Jenna also came for lunch.

Obviously not sure what to think. Cute as a button though.

Saturday March 3. Saturday was spent hanging out, and I'm not sure where I was while this was taken. Saturday evening, while the older kids were at young group, Sarah on down were at A. Sarah's for Grandpa Steiner's birthday. U. Dave’s were there too, except for Aaron, Samuel, and Mindy.

A fun time was had by all.