Fun in October '07

A friend generously lent us his Harley so we could go riding with some visiting friends from Richfield. The kids all got rides with Ron and had a blast!

This is Jordan on Ron's bike.
McKayla with Ron on his new bike!
Colton on the bike with Ron,
Ron and Jen and Susan and Barry!!

(Ron and Barry have been friends since high school)

Enjoying a fish fry with the Campbells and Fillmore (Barry's Dad). We hadn't seen him in many years and it was a treat to have him to ourselves for a few days. The kids really enjoyed getting to know him and interviewed him with lots of questions of his childhood. We had a lot of good laughs about him meeting up with Mr. Concrete and how Mrs. Am Bulance came to get him and then Mr. Poll Ice came to question him. Fillmore was a great story teller......
Up north at the cabin!
New cabin! Landscaping coming in spring.....
we love the canoes....

And sitting by the river watching nature go by.....

Surprise!! On Oct 8th we celebrated Connie's and Barry's birthdays. A limo came and picked us up and took us for a ride and then off to a nice restaurant for a special surprise for Barry's 40th. Friends met us there and fellowshipped with us for evening. Dessert was at Connie's with homemade cheesecake and homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icing--two of Barry's favourites. So far, Barry says, "the 40's have treated me well!"

Canning Salsa

A Family Affair!

Salsa making this year was a family event. Everyone was involved and the result was delicious and colorful. We make salsa every year but never were so many hands "in the pot".

Susan was cutting onions beside Colton and Jordan who were on the green pepper duty. Before we knew it Susan was crying and the kids had their protective gear on!

Bear squeezed two heads of garlic and he attempted to stir the pot full of ingredients but was too hard....

So, Susan got her hands into it and accomplished the mix.



We had live entertainment between cutting and clean-up!

Bear set up the water-bathing in the garage on a big gas burner. It is wonderful to have that outside.

Had some trouble with the jars sealing this year--not sure what the problem is! Had to reseal half of the salsa jars.......

This si the final half of Salsa. Susan canned 15 pints last week.The final product! Phew...finished...now on to the next thing...V7 Tomato Juice (couldn't get myself to put in the beets).

Soon to be...

we will soon be:

1. returning to school
2. starting the canning season
3. starting up another year of home schooling
4. getting ready for hunting season [mckayla has passed hunter safety]
5. settling down to a routine again

We have:

1. gone to washington DC
2. volunteered at lifest
3. mckayla and i have gone on a church retreat
4. gone to fort wilderness

Overall our summer has been extremely busy.

The weather in Appleton has been wonderful! Today it is supposed to be 77 degrees outside. :) At the end of July our family is going to Washington D.C with our church to participate in a peaceful rally. Mom and Dad are helping church to get all the plans together. For the last two weekends we have been doing Brat Fry fundraisers at church for the trip. Lifest is coming up and our whole family is getting excited about volunteering and seeing some of our favorite artists. This Thursday Mom and Dad are going to Nebraska to see some of Mom's old friends. While they are there us kids are going to hang out with our Gramma. She is putting a new modular home on her property on the Wolf River and we might go up on Friday to see them put the other half of the house up there. It should be fun!

Snow in April

We hope you had a blessed Easter! Our family was blessed with having Susan's parents visiting from Canada for the week. We enjoyed shopping, eating, scrapbooking, watching movies and attending all the Easter services at our church.

We received about two inches of snow today. It is heavy and sticking to the trees and bushes. It looks like winter wonderland! Once again we are reminded of how God sees us when we confess our sin--white as snow!

The two oldest have had their spring break and start school again tomorrow. They are looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers again. Kacey and McKayla missed being in school. They enjoy it a lot!