Thank the Lord for friends!!

Yesterday afternoon our electricity went off and as a result, we were privileged to spend the evening with our friends, the Grates. We had a lovely time eating pizza and fresh sweet corn and visiting. The men had a good time debating young earth creation vs. old earth creation. Here are some pics of the lively debate.

Ok, maybe not so lively the entire time.......


And the winner of the debate was?????



Alyssa totally enjoyed her sweet corn.......


Becky & Andy had far more important ways to spend an evening than visiting with us old married folks.....

Riding the Bus

Since we took Vincent to school yesterday he did not get to ride the bus until today. He was SO excited. Here are a few pictures of him enjoying yet another "first". He looks like he still may be half asleep but at 7:30 AM - I don't blame him!!!

All good things must come to an end (unfortunately)

Today my nieces had to go home. I miss them already!!! The cousins played together exceptionally well and my kids cried and cried when the girls left. I think I re-gained the "best aunt ever award" - after losing it by telling them they had to go home today - by breaking out the cantalope. Jennifer and Brooklyn got so excited!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the exciting event. Here are a few last pics of our exciting visit!!!

Today we had peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. Here is Brooklyn thoughts on the matter....

1. Hmmmm.... lets take a look here...



YEAH!!! Peanut Butter and Jelly!!!


After a taste...

Oh, NASTY!!!! I can't believe you expect me to eat THIS!


We do require our guests to help clean..... (not really)


Helping Uncle Byron once again finish up the field.

From Vincent's Teacher

This came home today in Vincent's book bag:

The First Day
I thought of you with a wink and a smile
As your child entered my room today;
For I know it is hard to leave the school
And know your child must stay.

You've been with him for five years now
And have been a loving guide;
But, now, alas, the time has come
To leave him at my side.

Just know that as you walk away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him as I would my own
And help him learn and grow.

For as a parent, I, too, know
How quickly the years do pass;
One day, not long ago, it was my turn
To take my child to class.

So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more;
For I will love him and take him in
When you leave him at my door.

See, I told you he has a wonderful teacher!!!

Vincent Grows Up

The long awaited first day of school arrived today!! Vincent was so excited. He is fairly certain that he already knows everything there is to know but I assured him that his teacher would probably be able to find something she could teach him!! :-) Vincent will ride the bus most days but today (as is our tradition), Jerry Dalrymple (Grandpa Jerry) chaffeured Vincent and Daddy.



Vincent and his teacher, Mrs. Mary Herl







Vincent eats breakfast at school

The Cousin's Visit - Day 2

Playing in the sand


Uncle Byron planted seed today in the "lower 40". The kids had a blast "helping" him.









Brooklyn is petrified of our harmless, cuddly, puppy. Now, granted, Tally is bigger than Brooklyn - despite the fact that she is still a puppy. Anyways, Brooklyn has not wanted to leave the house for fear that Tally will devour her. So, all the other kids have spent hours playing outside but she has been content to watch out the window, unless I take her out. Today, I watched her get a bit braver. Here is Brooklyn testing the proverbial "waters"....

"I think I can...."


"I really think its worth a shot..."



"Yep.... gonna do it this time...."

Brooklyn has been so stingy with her smiles this visit so today while on the trampoline, I took full advantage of her sheer pleasure (well, all except for the 5th one) of jumping and snapped away!!








And when the day was done.....

Morrison's Hardward in Linesville PA

For any of you out there reading this who are familiar with this area.....

Yesterday Byron stumbled upon Jim Morrison's Hardware in Linesville, PA. He was thrilled to find this





This buck was shot by Pete Struski in 1945. The buck has been hanging in Morrison's Hardware for 62 years. The size of this rack is mammoth and it field dressed at 220lbs+. The following is a copy of a picture of it after it was shot. The G-1's are absolutley huge - 18+" from the skull to tip of the tallest one!

:

This post is for all you bloggers who are hunters!! :-)

We Turned our Church SIDEWAYS!

We thought perhaps turning our church upside down might be a little drastic so instead....


Today we turned our church sideways!

We are in the process of remodeling our church. This will only be temporary until we can completely remodel the sanctuary.

The End of Day 1 - Campfire Fun

Uncle Byron builds a beautiful fire!



Jennifer gets to talk to her Mommy. She was clearly distracted though. Too much excitement around her.



Brooklyn eats a hot dog - obviously as a way of blending in with the cousins. She clearly is not overly thrilled with the delicacy.



Brooklyn has had enough socializing. Uncle Byron is just the one to help her escape from all the craziness.



Someone really needs to teach this child that it isn't nice to pull people's hair!!! (Actually she wasn't even touching Kendra's hair. She was motioning to the fire)



It's been a rough day!!



The Cousin's



Brooklyn is CLEARLY not finding the excitement in this little party!



A tired Aunt Julie with 5 cousin's and 1 in the background who is very stubborn about getting her picture taken!! :-)