Fireworks, chickens and family vacation at the cabin!!!

Oh my … I'm now realizing that's it's been way too many days since I've blogged and I'm fully aware that if I want to catch up on here with all that's been happening, I may be up till really late.  But, here goes for now!!!

We did make it to see fireworks at Lititz Park on the 4th!  It started to rain just as we were leaving the house but we decided to still go and attempt it!  We made a pit stop at Matt and Marlene's to say hi and to see if the rain was going to stop.  Carson went as a friend for Matthew and we really wanted to see these!  We also made another pit stop to Fox's Creamery for some ice cream and it was there that I asked if anyone knows if the fireworks are still on in town?  One employee there said that he just heard they are!  By now, it was 9:30 PM, so we booked it out to the Yukon and went looking for a spot to park and watch! 

This time we stayed out of the park so we didn't have to pay $50!  Matthew and Carson found a better spot just down from us but the grass was wet and so we settled for a parking lot to plop our chairs on to and there we sat watching the night sky light up!  The songs were not near as good as last year and there was a time or two that I wished they would not have songs!  And this is what I loved about the whole thing last year!!!  I loved how the songs went with the fireworks!  Not so this year.  :/

It was really late till we got back home and our beds felt wonderful after getting into dry clothes and in our cool house.

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It's watermelon season and we are loving it!!!  If you like watermelon and Pinterest … then please look at some of the different ways of eating it!  When we kids and before Pinterest days, we would stand out on the back porch eating watermelon after sprinkling it with salt!!!  It tastes so good!!!  The other day, I cut up watermelon and cantaloupe and then squeezed a fresh lime of it and sprinkled it with herb salt!!!  Oh boy, let's just say it got devoured!!!

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We bought a four wheeler!  Matthew was so excited about this!!!  We have a family vacation planned to go to the cabin and so this was on the list of things to do!!!  Let the good times roll!!!

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We also bought us some chickens!!!  We've been dreaming of this for quit some time and now it finally happened!!!  I had to make a few phone calls to find some because chicks or fresh young hens are usually available in the Spring.  But we drove off to East Earl and picked up our five hens and brought them home in a box and then left them free in the chicken house that Mike prepared for us!!!  We also made a stop at our local hardware store to buy us a chicken feeder, waterer and fed! 

This was so exciting for these kids!!!

And now we wait for some fresh eggs!!!  It was like Christmas morning around here the next day when the kids woke up.  The boys were up first and went and woke Ashlyn!  They were all super excited to see if there were any eggs laid!!!  They all ran out to the hen house and looked. 

No eggs were found.

They checked later in the day and still no eggs.

It's been now about two weeks and still no eggs!!!  I'm about ready to call the chicken man and ask when we should be expecting some eggs???!!!  One thing is for sure, when that day does come, the kids will be so proud and happy and we will be having us some breakfast!!!

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We also just got back from our family vacation!!!  It was the best ever!!!  This year Mike thought that we should go to my parents newer cabin for a few days and skip the beaches and crowds!  I was into that but we had to talk Hadassah into it! 

We were thinking about leaving Wednesday evening after the King reunion at Mom Lapp's but it got too late.  Instead, we waited until Thursday morning to load up the Yukon and head to the cabin!!!  Everyone was SO SUPER excited!!!  Chandler got to ride along with us up because Weston was in a little league tournament not far from the cabin and we were going to met Gerald's up there with Chandler.

It was first a stop at the garage just down the street to fill up with oil for the Yukon.  Then another quick stop for breakfast sandwiches at Stoltzfus Meats and pick up Chandler.  We were finally on our merry way and got to the cabin around 12:30!

The boys jumped on the four wheelers as soon as Mike got them unloaded.  We had our one four wheeler plus we borrowed Ritchies.  Dad has a golf cart up there that Ashlyn claimed and drove around all weekend!  :)

I made homemade cookies!  It was so fun and relaxing to cook in Mom's cabin kitchen!!! 

Thursday evening, we drove to Weston's baseball game and watched.  We left Chandler there with his family and then we drove back to the cabin for some hot burgers of the grill at 9:00 PM!!!

We were tired and ready for beds.

Friday was a gorgeous day at the cabin!!!  I couldn't wait to show the kids where we used to take our baths when I was a kid!  In the river!!!

We enjoyed the afternoon just splashing around!

My whole world revolves around these dear people!!!

And of course, Mike got on Dad's tractor and did some field mowing!

We sat around and worked on some puzzle and the kids got into making some string bracelets.  The bear came out to the cabin for just a few minutes on Thursday night and we hopping to see it again tonight but just some pesty raccoons came out!

Matt and Lena and their boys, and Ritchie, came up late Friday night to join us!  The two days of just our family was so much fun and we want to do this again for even longer next year!!!  It was fun to welcome the new comers too!

Saturday was Matthew's birthday!  He's now a teenager!  We gave him an air soft gun a few weeks ago and so it was just a simple snack bag and a chocolate cake for his birthday celebration!

We showed the boys the river and got to spend more time there!

So much time is spent together with these four!!!

What a blast!!!

 

This stud … he's all mine!!!

 

Ritchie and Hadassah decided to go get the canoe back in Dad's pole barn.  They brought it to the river and had some fun with it!!!

And these two in the boat are two crazy ones when they are together.  There were life jackets in the canoe but were all dirty.  They washed them off in the water but one jacket floated away.  These two jumped in the canoe and went after it!

And there goes Ritchie, Hadassah and Matthew.  "Keep them life jackets on!!!," yelled Momma!!!

I got to spend some time with little Bryce on the river bank!!!

We all spent the rest of the day at the cabin and taking golf cart rides and wheeler rides.  The back porch was our hot spot and we were super excited to see the bear come out on Saturday night!!!

Sunday was another warm day at the cabin.  We ate a good breakfast and then went out the long dusty cabin lane and down the road to take the trails that lead to a cross!!!  So neat!!!

Hunter shot his first rabbit!

The bear … how exciting to sit just yards away and watch the bear clean out some old ice cream buckets!!!

Lots of golf cart rides!!!

And a mini photo session!!!

So pretty!!!

 We had such a great time at the cabin and really were not ready to come home but it was Sunday afternoon and time to wrap it up!  Thank you so much Mom and Dad for the beautiful cabin we got to enjoy!!!

Our summer is going by so fast!!!  We already got some school papers through the mail but I'm refusing to look at them too long!!!  I want summer to last for a long, long time yet!!!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Happy Independence Day everyone!!!  We are reflecting on our countries freedom and religious rights today!!!  I'm such a theme person and so with every holiday, I try to participate in some way!  We've got the patriotic song play list going in our home!  Matthew and I just finished listening to some YouTube documentaries about how our national anthem was inspired to be written.  We listened to the reading of our Declaration of Independence and we are just letting ourselves soak in some history about our nation!!!  I am no history buff by any means but rather embarrassed on how little I know what's going on in our country or how it even runs from day to day!!!  History was not a subject in school that I liked but I'm fully aware of that becoming an excuse for not being educated!  I would love to relearn some of our countries facts and life lessons that have been fought for through our soldiers and leaders! 

We are blessed beyond measure to live in this land of the free and home of the brave!!!  So many have lost their lives for this cause and I am grateful to all those who fought for this free nation!

We still have "in God we trust" on our currency and for that I'm grateful!!!  But I did ask myself, do I really trust God?  So much bad and wrong and sin is ramped in our nation.  America is killing babies and homes are falling apart.  Husbands are too busy for their families.  Mom's are too busy working jobs outside of the home, leaving the children with way too much idol time.  That's when the gadgets take over.  I'm preaching to myself here because it does take intentional efforts to sit down and read the kids a story.  Or to play a game of monopoly with them.  It's much easier to grab the TV remote and turn something on.  It takes energy to go outside and play some baseball.  I know, because I've turned down some of those opportunities myself.  I'm not saying that jobs are wrong!  No, I'm just saying that there is a balance!  We live in a day when our children need us parents more than ever!!!  I want to keep trying to do a better job at parenting.  First, being loyal and loving to my husband.  Being respectful for his hard work!  Then spending quality time with the children as a family!!!  Families are one of the things that make America great!!!

 

This was taken on Saturday night while we were out for ice cream and I love the people in the main focus and love the flag in the background!!!

We can't wait to watch the sky light up tonight with fascinating fire works!!!  We will be dressed in red, white and blue!  This holiday of July 4th is special!  Happy Birthday, America!!!

Steaming Summer!!!

It's so hot outside!!!  There is no guessing now if summer has arrived because we can feel it the moment we step out the back door!!! 

When it this hot outside, we need water!!!  The kids pulled out the slip and slide on Saturday and played on that before we headed for the pool!!!

We spent the afternoon at the pool and had plans to be there until dark but Mike called and said that John and Kathy asked us to join them for ice cream!  We didn't turn that down, so we packed it up at the pool and came home for quick baths and then we went to Strasburg Creamery!!!  What a fun place to get an ice cream cone!!!

Then we came back home with the windows down, hair blowing in our faces and jamming out on the new song for us "God is good" from Lifetree Kids!!!  It was the theme song at Bible School and the kids love to jam out on it!!!  We got home and sat around the campfire again enjoying these summer nights to the fullest!!!  There were fireworks going on in the distance and lightning bugs flying all around the back yard!!! 

Summer time is both busy and fun but yet we treasure the fun moments of relaxing at the pool or in the back yard hammock!!!

The two oldest just had a week long summer day camps last week and Hadassah made the comment, "It's been the best week of my summer by far so far!"  She was a counselor at camp and loved, loved it!!!  Matthew got to go a camper and really got to love it too!!!  Each day they would come home tired and dirty and challenged spiritually and physically!!!  What a wonderful, fun event to join in during the summer!!!

Our summer is rolling along way too fast and it's now already July!!!  Our week forecast is saying hot and steamy!!!  It will hopefully be more hours spent at the pool and watching some more fireworks light up the night sky!!!  We are so blessed to live in this land of spiritual freedom!!!  God is so good and we pray that the leaders of our nation will turn their face, hearts and motives toward God!!!

Enjoy your summer day and keep cool!!!

Happy Birthday, Austin!!!

 

Where do I even begin with this "Little Man"???  He's the energizer bunny in our family from sun up until sun down.  He just goes and goes and goes!  He's full of energy and has a really hard time sitting still.  We love his energy (most times) and Austin has added so much to our family since the day he arrived!!!

 

Austin is now three years old and loves, loves to be with Hunter and Adrian!  It's his favorite place to be and begs every.single.day to go out there!  He also loves his siblings and Matthew and Austin say a lot "you are my best friend".  Even though it's a cute thing to say now to each other I know that one day it will be true from the heart!!!  Austin and Ashlyn play so well together to!  It's the garden moments and the "jump on the lene" times that I know will be memories for a lifetime for them!  They both love the moped rides from their dad!!!  Ashlyn loves to plan things and Austin's party was something she made a list for weeks ago!  Austin said he wants a Paw Patrol cake.  I did go to a local bakery to grab a small cake but ended up coming home to bake my own cupcakes and print out Paw Patrol characters from Pinterest!!!  It was way cheaper and just as nice and yummy!!!

 

Austin woke up yesterday morning and we played the "best birthday song ever" from YouTube.  It gets played here at home on every birthday!!!  He laid on the couch until Matthew and Ashlyn brought out his birthday gift!!!

 

 

He was so excited to get a bike with a helmet and a guitar!!!

Matthew gave him a bag of M&M's.

We took the bike outside for a spin but I never once thought about telling how to brake.  He went from the garage to straight to the end of the driveway here and then turned his wheel and started to panic because he couldn't stop.  He wasn't going fast but he went down over the flower bed with ending up falling head first into the mulch.  He stood up crying and all mulchy but after we showed him how to stop, he got back on the bike. 

We went to church and because we had a small group lunch at a nearby park, we took cupcakes for the dessert!  Here is how they turned out!

Thankfully, my mom had a pack of candles for us to pick up on our way to church because I realized that I only had pink candles in the pantry.  That would have not been so cool for this little man!  He picked out the Ryder cupcake and blew out three candles.  We sang happy birthday and he was beaming from ear to ear!!!

 We came home around 4 PM and took short naps inside.  It was so hot and in the 90's all day!  Relaxing in the AC felt so good!  Then later last night, Matt and the boys came out for cupcakes and ice cream!  Matt made us homemade ice cream!  We had another batch of Paw Patrol cakes.  Ashlyn loved the tattoos that came along with the birthday package I ordered on Amazon.

Keeping it simple was so fun this time!  We added some birthday balloons and having only a few people was more relaxing!  Austin opened up a few gifts from the boys and loved all the extra attention!

The dad's got a small baseball game going with the kids.  They played in the back yard until the fire flies came out blinking in the night air.

Then my parents and Ritchie stopped by and we sat around the campfire.  Not because we wanted or needed the heat on this warm summer night but because it gave a nice glow and place to sit and chat!  The fire flies lite up the yard and fields with their blinking glows and the sound of fireworks were in the background. 

Austin went to bed tired!  It was a hot, fun, friend filled day!!! 

Happy Birthday, Austin!  We love you so much and thank God that you are in our family!!!