Christmas 2013

 We started off the Christmas vacation festivities with frosting cookies.  This year we got to share all of our family traditions with Hannah.  She enjoyed every minute of it. 

 Christmas Eve we had Sheri, Derek and their four boys, also Jennie and Kevin and their three girls and one boy, and Hannah Jacobs our little  Dutch girl for a wonderful feast, partially  provided by Debbie. Yummy steaks and chicken, burgers, and hotdogs, salads, homemade roles  and lots of sugary goodies  After much eating, we sat in the living room and enjoyed singing Christmas carols and opened presents from the aunts and uncles.  It was a crazy mess but it was sooo
 much fun!

 Hannah didn't know all the words to the songs, but we helped her out a bit.  Amber being the singer in the family was at the lead.  We will miss her next Christmas. I guess Jennie will have to take over next year for us. 

 We always take a cousin picture and each year it gets bigger and bigger!  However next year we will be missing Amber, but she will be off serving the Lord!

 The next morning we gathered in the living room at 6:30am to open presents.  Needless to say I was tired. It was a lot of fun watching the kids open their presents.  Sam got his wish for a 3DS.

 We all have to take turns opening the gifts.  Keaton goes first and we go up from there by age.  So the older ones have to learn some patients. 

 Bret found this sweatshirt and laughed his head off.  So he had to get it, the only one they had was just right for Sam.  he loved it.  It has a mesh red part so he can see through it when it's all the way zipped up to display an open fish mouth.  He loved it, and can't wait to wear it to school.

 The kids love stuffed animals, and the pillow pet is a favorite.  The boys wanted to get Hannah one for Christmas so she would officially be a family member.  We got her a deer.  She was happy to have one to cuddle with.

 Ben has wanted an Xbox for a couple of years now.  I am against having another gaming system.  We already have a PlayStation and a Wii.  They are pretty old but still useable.  But I lost, and Ben got his wish.  We kept it up in our room until we were all finished opening the presents, so Ben didn't think he got it.  But I said "Wait, I think I forgot one upstairs."  So Bret went and got it and as Ben opened it he screamed, then the other two boys screamed.  It was a great reaction.  I still don't like it though.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  We are now getting ready to send Amber off to the Mexico MTC on January 1st.  She is excited and very nervous.  I'm excited for her, and can't believe I'll have a child that is on a mission!  I wasn't expecting that to happen for a few more years.  But with the age change it changed everything! 

 Ben, despite his reluctance is growing up before our eyes.  We celebrated his 16th birthday last month.  He is a special young man, and is being a wonderful example to his friends and little brothers.  He still likes to be with them downstairs or in their rooms, playing with and making up games, and imaginary play.  I worried that as he started high school, that he wouldn't want to do that anymore, finding more grown up activities to occupy his time, which he has, but he still likes to be a little kids too sometimes.

 This is Hannah Jacobs, who is an exchange student from The Netherlands that is living with us for the school year.  The first family she was living with wasn't working out, and the school councilor was trying to find another home for her.  They asked us if we would be interested, and after about 4 days of thinking about it, decided to have her in our home and be apart of our family.  Also Bret was excited to have someone to speak Dutch too.  She's a Junior, and is a very sweet girl.  Amber couldn't be more excited to have a younger sister even if it's just for a little while.

 This is proof that Ben isn't willing to grow up to fast.  One of his favorite presents was a shark piggy bank. 

 But his feet have grown faster than the rest of him.  He wears an 11 now, and his new hunting boots, I thought looked ridiculously huge on him!

 Keaton had to try them on too.  Following in his brothers footsteps so to speak.

 The 16 year old and his cake.  Waiting while we sung the birthday song, and not very well I might add.

 Moving forward a month, Ben got his drivers license last week, so he could take his date to the homecoming dance last night.  I must say I was more than a bit nervous for him, but excited at the same time.  This is before he left to pick up Nichole, and her friend Marisa, and her date Nick.

 This was Nichole's first date as well. I could really tell she was very nervous.  She was so funny. I asked Ben if after picking up the others, he would come back to the house so I could get some pictures.  So we kind of re-staged everything so I wouldn't miss out on anything.  It's really different being the mother of the boy!

 They probably thought it was lame, but I don't care!

 It's my prerogative!

The whole group before they left for the dance!

Summer spa

This is Keaton proving to me that he doesn't need to wear a life jacket any more, while swimming in the pond.  I still feel more comfortable with him wearing one, especially if I'm not out there.

 

 Who needs a spa when you have fresh pond mud to wipe all over yourself!  Ben is holding up something, but I can't tell what.  The boys sure have fun with this pond.  So far it has been a GREAT addition to our property!!!  We've had lots of fun with it.  We had a party out here last week for the 4th and I was so busy being hostess and having fun watching everyone, that I didn't take a single picture! 

 Sam giving me the thumbs up, which means......well you know what it means.

 Ben taking it easy, and enjoying watching his brothers.  He'd make a good lifeguard wouldn't he?

 Keaton climbing up the pole to jump off the top.  This is a crowd favorite.

 READY.......

 JUMP!!!

It was a great jump mom!!

My garden

My Potatoes.  I planted russets and reds.

 

 Just wanted to document my garden this year.  I've been working really hard, and I'm starting to see the rewards of my efforts.  Last year I didn't get to really put in a garden because of Amber's graduation, and our trip to Africa.  So I was anxious to get one in this year.  A late winter didn't help either.  I was worried about my potatoes because we had a big snow after I'd planted them.  They took awhile to come up, but they made it.

 Here's my broccoli. The first bunch I planted got waylaid by rabbits.  So I had to re-plant them and I put some protection around them this time.  So it's a bit late for them, I hope they don't bolt because of the heat.  They like cooler temps.

 Not quite ready to come out but any day now! I love fresh broccoli!

 I planted two zucchini plants and both are doing very well.  I've had to pick off some squash beetles before they did any damage.  All seems to be going well though.  My green beans are also in this bed in the back.

 A couple of these will be ready in a day or two.  My kids love zucchini bread, so I guess I'll have to get busy and make some.

 The green beans are looking wonderful!  Can't wait to pick some! 

 Amber helped me plant the carrots this year, and we had such a heavy rainy spring a lot of the seeds got washed away or didn't take.  But a few made it and are looking good.  I also re-planted a couple more rows that haven't quite come up yet. 

 I made a trellis for my peas this year out of some old pallets we had laying around.  They are doing well.  I don't think I'll do this again though they seem to not like going up a slant.  They do better going strait up I think.

 I love fresh peas.  As a kid there was a house that I would pass on my way to our town swimming pool that had a garden, with a chain-link fence around it and her peas would stick out of the fence.  I would sit down on the sidewalk and pop open the shell and eat the peas right then and there. I hope it wasn't stealing, I only ate the ones that were outside of the fence.  That's ok...right?   The best way to eat peas though. 

 I thought I'd try some watermelon this year. Haven't for a while.  We'll see how it goes.  The plants sure took their time growing though.  I was worried for a while there. 

 Planted three watermelon plants  so I should get some good ones this year. 

 My green beans again.  Who can resist freshly picked, steamed bright green and crisp green beans!  Well my kids don't like them, which is very frustrating but I figured if I force them to eat them long enough, they'll come around.

 I planted six bell pepper plants and surrounded them with geraniums, rabbits don't like those flowers so they will not bother the pepper plants.  So they say.  But it's worked for me, so I keep doing it.  The plants are starting to really take off.  They like the heat.

 M sweet corn.  I was worried about these guys.  A few days ago we had a really strong wind from the west.  Don't really have that during the summer so I don't have a wind break on that side of the fence, and my corn was laying down!  So I went and straitened them all back up.  Need-less to say, I'll be putting a wind break up on that side of the garden.  

 But it's doing really well.  Can't wait to sink my teeth into some corn on the cob.  I will say this much with all this rain we've had.  I haven't had to water the garden much.  And that's a good thing.