Things That Go Bump in the Night

Since before we moved, way back 14 years ago, and now back, our community has regulated the celebration of Halloween to the weekend. At first they would put it on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on which day the real holiday was closest to. Then they began putting it on Sunday every year. Well we've always felt that the celebration of Halloween was not really a sabbath appropriate activity so all those years we had to tell the kids we weren't doing Halloween and find some other way to enjoy the season while still keeping the sabbath. So we were particularly pleased this year when our community decided to just celebrate it on the actual day of Halloween. How refreshing. So each of the kids decided what thy wanted to be and set about making themselves a costume. Now this on - he seems like he may have been confused about exactly which holiday was being celebrated.

They actually did quite well. We didn't have to spend hardly anything on costumes. They mostly put together costumes from what we already had. This young lady did rather well, I thought.

Our youngest and his friend got away without being photographed. He can be a toad that way sometimes. But his outfit was equally cute and imaginative. So here's the whole crew (almost), all decked out and ready to go.

More Wedding Prep

Today's big project (at least for me) was to get some significant work done on the decorations for the open house coming up in just four short weeks. It was the best day we've had for a couple of weeks for painting. Unfortunately, we didn't get so far along as to get any painting done today. But Maulbeere was a great helper and did a fantastic job at getting the backdrop ready. This is the back drop that is planned for behind the cake and some other stuff that will be nearby. So we set up shop in the garage and used the trailer as our "work bench" and went to work.

We had these 4'x8' pieces of lattice wood that we wanted to put some edging on to make them a little stronger. So we laid the lattice across the trailer and fastened some wood strips around the edge of the stuff. Some we didn't have to cut.














Some we did have to cut. An old friend who was a really good carpenter told me once, "measure twice, cut once."














So we thought we'd give it a try. Maulbeere did really good - she only had to recut once. Pretty good for her first time with a skill saw.



















We got quite a bit done but not as much as we'd hoped. And when we got all three pieces trimmed we decided we needed to do more to make them a little more sturdy. So we had to go get more wood, along with the paint, and will work on it again during the coming week. But it was a good time, nonetheless.

A Berry Good Time!

A couple of weeks ago some friends asked us if we could feed and water their dogs over a weekend while they were out of town. To sweeten the deal they offered to let us have a picking at their raspberry patch. That was sweet! So we went over and gave it our best. We didn’t get over there as early as we would have liked to so it was getting dark fast as we picked. But we still managed to give the patch a good going over. Mom was the best darn picker of the bunch. Maulbeere (and in all honestly, others) picked but kept missing the bucket. But we still managed to get quite a few home. So they went in the freezer. Yum Yum!

Nesting?

So there's this little boy that lives at our house - soft brown hair, cute little brown eyes, and a nesting instinct like you've never seen. Try as we might to encourage him to keep his “nest” clean, neat and orderly (like any parent would prefer) he nests. So in the morning to get to his bed to wake him up I have to dig a path thru the nesting material. One day he got stuck in his nest and needed help getting unstuck. But man, he has cute dimples that show best when he’s laughing. And since they were showing the whole time he was stuck and getting unstuck its hard to be really unhappy with him. Light brown hair, dimples and soft, brown eyes. What you gonna do?

A Change is as Good as a Rest

This was an interesting day at church. I didn’t have to teach a lesson for sunday school. I actually got to sit next to my wife and listen to a good lesson. That was interesting, too. I extended the call to the new sunday school teacher. It reminded me of a call I extended to someone years ago, to be primary president. She was awe-struck. Almost overwhelmed. But she did just fine. She (the sunday school teacher) mentioned today how she’d agonized over it all week. She was a young married and this was basically her second call as an adult. She’d been primary secretary for over four years and had always thought there’d be some other calls between that one and teaching Gospel Doctrine. Some kind of progression. She thought it was a big jump. But she did just fine; I thought she did really well. It was nice to be able to listen from the congregation and hold hands with my wife. That was nice.

Oh, What a Day!

August 30th was the day of the big bridal shower so what's a guy to do!? Go golfing, of course! So we did.

So with the guys out of the way the ladies were able to get down to the serious partying. It was a good time for the guys to be gone. Some 30 ladies packed into the family room. Nobody got a picture of the whole crowd, that I'm aware of. I'm not sure that kind of crowd could be photographically reproduced adequately. There were ladies there from the Adams Ward, the Stevens Point Branch and friends of the bride from high school. And, of course, the bride herself.

We had borrowed 20 chairs from the church and those and everything we owned that you could sit on were occupied. But they had a good time. Lots of games, lots of talk, good food; all the stuff that ladies like in a bridal shower. We marked our house with balloons on the mailbox out front. Note the festive bouquet.

Now look on the right side of the road and find the balloons. All these cars were people here for the shower. Filling our double wide driveway three cars deep and parked in front of the houses two doors in both directions from our place. On the west end, at the corner, they were two cars deep.

"And behold, I was about to post other pictures from that weekend but lo, I am forbidden that I post them not. Therefore I post them not, for they are hidden from the world." At least until after the wedding.

The Summer's Last Adventure

Its summer time and the living is easy. Yeah, that's how it goes. Apparently the summer didn't hold enough camping for the boys so they've been camping in the back yard. Pitching tents, sleeping out. Not every night; their mean old dad makes them move the tent every couple of nights to give the lawn a break. So the first couple of nights it was a village.

Aug 17, 2008

The next time they got kind of a late start and were putting up the tents in the dark. Fortunately we have a couple of lights that light up the back yard pretty well.

Aug 20, 2008

While the tent was right off the porch we had a couple of warm, humid days and the lawn got a little steamed by the time they moved the tents. This time the went for the back corner of the yard.

Aug 28, 2008

Kinda like a bear crawling out of hibernation, uh? But each night they've been real good about getting up when we called them for family prayers in the morning. And they're having lots of fun. Can't blame them for wanting to sleep out; school starts right after Labor Day. Will they get to sleep out after then? Who knows. Seminary starts awful early. We'll see how it goes.

Getting Ready

Now, me - I had never heard of Gerber Daisies before my daughter decided she wanted that flower for her wedding. So this is new to me. So to help everyone become familiar with this kind of flower we got some the other day and put them on the kitchen table. They're not exactly the same color that the ones at the wedding will be but they're close enough to do the job. And they actually look pretty nice. And they have staying power, too. This picture was after we'd had them a couple of days. Still looking pretty good. So there they are, making me think of my daughter. Now that's the best part.

Scout Camp: the next installment

Well, the boys are off to scout camp this morning. After all the agonizing over what they need that they don't have (this in spite of being asked numerous times during the preceding week) that they remembered as its time to get in the car and drive to the drop-off point. All the things they chose not to take because it wasn't cool or they couldn't possibly see a need for it (like the rain poncho they almost left behind - yes, rain is predicted for a couple of the days they'll be at camp). And so far we've found that Himbeere forgot to grab his fishing pole on his way out the door.

But finally we got them and their stuff in the car and off to the drop-off point. Then everyone else (they all came in the same car) was half an hour late and all the while we waited it was "we missed them" or "they're not coming" or "we got the time wrong". Yea, so anyway, the rest of the group finally did arrive so they could load up.

At the parking lot they had to load a bunch of troop gear in, too. But it went good because everyone helped load up. So we got the boys' medical forms, permission slips and all the other stuff to the scout master and finally they were about ready.

Putting in a couple of tents and stuff.

Then a picture and a prayer and they were ready to pull out. So they have a 2 1/2 hour ride ahead of them up to the camp and then nothing but fun for the next week, right? Riiiiiiiiiight. Bugs, dirt, campfire soot & ash all over, animal proofing camp sites, sunburn, feeding the raccoons, and all the things that make camping so much fun. Remember them in your prayers.

Getting the Scouts to Camp

Our scout troops is going to camp in a couple of weeks and has been having fundraisers to help pay for it. Today was a brat fry at one of the local grocery stores. Our boys went and helped out pretty good. Here's Schwarzebeere , checking out the goings on at the grill.

Himbeere was there helping out, too. They have to attend these fund raisers to be able to use a share of the money raised. This was the second our boys have attended this summer.

Schwarzebeere likes working inside the booth, which is fine. During the lunch rush it can get pretty busy there but he does a good job keeping up.

One of the things they both like is that the troop lets them each have a free brat for helping. Have to feed them lunch anyway since they're usually there from around 9:00 until 1:00 or 2:00. And they're welcome to buy themselves more if they want.

A fun time for a good cause. They're both looking forward to going to camp.