Summer Days 2016

 After all the miles we put on in July, it was fun to be at home and have family come to us! Rob's brother and his family were here for a visit, so we spent some time at the lake together.  I really like this picture of D&M watching all the water activity.

 Our brave Australian sis-in-law was game for the paddleboard - even on the choppiest day! I guess it doesn't hold a candle to the Australian surf, but it was challenging in a different sort of way.

 Uncle Rob enjoying his littlest niece. :)

 We got to celebrate an anniversary for this lovely couple!

 And we ran a local 5K Race.  The little ones had a "Mini-Dash" race, so that was super-fun to watch! 

 

Lana and I ran the Diva Dash, and took a funny picture together at the end.  It was a fun day!

 My biggest fan! :)

 The greenhouse in its glory... I'm loving it! As of 10/22, it is still producing many small cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  It is also now beginning to produce cilantro, kale, lettuce, and a few other little fall things.  So fun!  It feels really tropical on a sunny day.

 We were privileged to have Rob's whole family here for a day.  The three brothers...

 And this sweet couple! They have a baby now, not pictured (but very very cute!)

 So fun to have these four playing UNO Attack around the table again! :)

 A knitting lesson... maybe next time they visit we'll master it!

 We miss these guys!  It's a long ways to Australia.  So glad they came for a visit!

Lana made Evan's cake.  We are enjoying our two teenagers, and life keeps whizzing past us with more birthdays and stuff like that.  We have so much to be thankful for, and family is right up there at the top of the list!  I'm always thankful for summer, too.  We are sorry to see it leaving us, but we are looking forward to what fall and winter have in store!

The Bittersweet Twists and Turns of Life

At the end of June, we got the news that our dear sweet sister Jeannie had passed away.  It's a hard thing to grasp, even now.  She was such a lovely, peacemaking, kind, humorous, gentle, athletic, dear girl.  Still a girl, really.  But, also such a good mom to her kiddos and wife to my brother.  So, we traveled to Idaho for her funeral.  It was a bitter cause, but it was mixed with sweetness.  So amazing how God can work good into such difficult times.  One of the sweet moments was our 10 minute stop at Manhattan enroute... we got to see Elaine and Joanne!

The funeral itself was perfect and even sweet because of the assurance that Jeannie is now safe and released from her pain.  And of course it was bitter because we all miss her so much and love this little family so much.

 

I love this picture of them last year on their wedding anniversary day.  Precious memories!

After the funeral was over, I stayed there for awhile.  I had kept July's schedule pretty much open in case I'd be needed.  These kiddos know just what to do when they are in the boat!  At this point, Ryan was putting it on the trailer.  They lined up just right so he could make it all work!

I love to fish.  It was a real special privilege to go fishing with Ryan and the kids for Kokanee Salmon.  That was very sweet!

Goofy kiddos!  It was a lively time!  I realize I've gotten a bit older, and it was a change to take care of 3 younger kids again!  So much fun though. :)

Lana had been out west with her cousin, so we rode the train home together.  We enjoyed being home for a week or so to celebrate Rob's birthday (Lana made this amazing cake!)...

...and to get a learner's permit! (And glasses for driving)

We did both return to Ryan's again to be there another week.  It was super special to have Lana there with me the second time.  Here we are on the train... knitting dishcloths like Grandma Ruth. :)

 My lovely niece!

It's always fun to go on a run or a walk with Lana!

And it's always fun to spend time on Lake Pend oreille!  This boy just got his snorkeling set.  It was hilarious to watch him get around... and just a little scary!  I could just hear Jeannie worrying out loud about it!

We came home with some blueberries and thoroughly tanked up on them while we were there.  Amazing!

Somebody was happy to have us home! ;)  You may notice Evan isn't in any of these pictures.  He was putting long hours in at the dairy, so we didn't see much of him on weekdays. 

Spring to Early Summer 2016

 This was Mother's Day. We took our traditional picture on the grass with the kids and I, but I really liked this one best that included their special Dad too!

Evan's creation keeps getting better!

 The last post I did was when Lana qualified for state track.  I love that Jeannie left Lana a comment of congratulations on that post.  This was the two-mile award stand.  She had a great run!

 Muffins for convention. :)

 Catfishing just a few miles from home!  It was a good time.  We caught a few "kitties," about 3-4 lbs. if I remember right... Very fun to catch.

State Qualified

Lana qualified the two-mile last week with a time of 12:01.54!

Projects and the Grand Canyon

Maybe I've done a post called "Projects" before.  I guess we do a lot of projects around here. 

Rob's major winter project was his tractor cab.  He created the whole thing from scratch.  Quite impressive I must say!  And, it seems to be working somewhat as "winter insurance."  The purchase of the tractor did a real good job with that last year.  Now maybe the cab will work for another year or two!  We had a lovely winter.


As I'm putting the picture on, I'm remembering - he did use a golf cart roof... so it wasn't quite from scratch. :)

Lana's winter projects included a quilt for her cousin's baby and an FCCLA STAR event called "Sports Nutrition." 

My projects have involved photo books, sewing projects (like the aprons below), and some basement redecorating.  Unfortunately, I don't have an "after" picture ready of the basement yet.  It may be awhile, but we are making progress!

Oh... part of the basement project has been picking out furniture.  After going to several furniture stores and being sadly disappointed by quality and price, we got together and planned out what we wanted... and it was made by my handy husband!  He also made two end tables out of the same type of weathered pallets.  I love them!

Evan possibly takes the cake for the most projects this winter.  He has done some work on his pickup, built several items for the school, did a minor overhaul on a four-wheeler, etc.  He recently opened an Etsy shop, and it seems like he is always fabricating something.... We are excited that he will be working at a dairy this summer! 

Lots of projects going on.  I guess it's kind of what keeps us going around here.  We did take a little break from projects and skipped on down to hike the Grand Canyon for a few days.  What an awe-inspiring experience!  I really should do a separate post on it, but I don't have much confidence that I'll get that done, so here is my favorite picture from our time there.