
The birthday boy!

Ben’s birthday dinner piled on the birthday plate…he ate all that
Yesterday we went to some friends’ house (the V.’s) for Mr. V’s birthday. I’ll post a bunch of pictures, but for the whole album, go here.
The twins were in heaven, I think. They must’ve spent more than two hours on the backs of those horses!

Once upon a time there was a little girl who wanted bangs very much, and so when she was about seven or eight years old, she undertook it upon herself to cut bangs. Immediately upon doing so, she realized she would be found out if she was discovered, so she chopped those bangs off right next to her head. Which, of course, made it worse! And she was still found out anyway.
Lately, however, it was thought upon that side bangs might look good.
Before

After

True Scotchman…
Whenever I’m asked “what’s for dinner?” I say “Food,” and they say “what kind?” and I say “Yummy kind.” Well, the other day the conversation went like this:
Jay: What’s for dinner?
Anne: Food.
Jay: What kind?
Anne: Yummy kind.
Jay (eyes big): Haggis??
On Independence Day
We went to a park to watch fireworks on the 4th. You know how fireworks leave smoke, well, it was kind of windy and the smoke was blowing, and each new burst illuminated it. “It’s lightning stains!” Jay said.
Grandkids…and at her age??
Abby and Beth were talking.
“I want a TV bug,” Abby said.
“You mean VW Bug?” Beth asked.
“Yeah, so I can take my grandkids around!” Abby replied.
The other day, the boys demolished the railing on our deck.

One day, Kate was looking out the window and she saw a family of skunks on the other side of the gully! Pretty soon, a few more came strolling over…there was like eight or ten skunks in all! Ben and Eric got the shotgun and ran outside. The skunks went onto the neighbor’s property, so the boys came back in. Then a few of them came back on our property, so Ben and Eric went back out. Eric called me, or I called him, I don’t remember which, and I gave him a running commentary on what I could see, because they were above the skunks on the hill. Ben shot at them, and killed two (and he thinks he wounded another). Eric never got a shot, though, and the skunks never reappeared.
We were talking to another neighbor, and she said one year they had 17 skunks! They live-trapped ‘em and shot them. Man!
Yesterday, the boys installed window air conditioners into the girls’ room, Beth’s and my room, and Mom’s and Dad’s. It’s kind of nice looking out your window and having a breeze…but the a/c makes it a lot nicer to sleep in! Well, last night, wouldn’t you know it…there was a storm. And I mean a storm! Torrential rains, all that stuff. It was leaking in my room! So I put a towel in there.
That wasn’t the least of the worries, though…Dad got quite a scare!
He was driving up a hill, in the pouring rain, and he couldn’t even see the car in front of him. He went to change gears, and couldn’t find the next gear. He looked at his speedometer…it said ZERO! He was rolling backwards down a hill in the torrential rain! Thankfully he got it in the right gear, though.
Aaaannnd…I was going to post some pictures of Elle Janie…but the person with the camera needs to unload them!! *hint hint*
After an exciting 11 days, we’re finally back home from our Oregon tour. “Tour” sounds more important than “trip”! But that’s what bands do when they travel, right?
Anyways! I’ve got a whole lot of pictures here (we all know everyone loves pictures, right? And if a picture is worth a thousand words…this will definitely turn out to be a novel!). Hover over the pictures for a caption and a larger image.
Thursday/Friday, June 19, 20
Saturday, June 21
Sunday, June 22
Monday, June 23
Tuesday, June 24
Wednesday, June 25
Thursday, June 26
Friday, June 27
Saturday, June 28
Sunday, June 29
Monday, June 30
A big thank-you to Grandpa, Grandma Kathy, John, and Paul who opened their home to us; Immanuel Lutheran Church, the Manor, and Lacomb Bible Church for inviting us, and all the wonderful people there…and the biggest thank you to the Lord Jesus Christ who made the whole trip possible and provided for us bountifully through His followers! Glory to God! Amen.
Why I Slept With Toilet Paper In My Ears., August 13, 2009
You know what is strange? What it... The Cute Unattached Ones, June 26, 2009