Zoe has graduated high school.  Congratulations, Zoe! Wesley, Serenity and I flew back to PA to commemorate the occasion. My sister threw a great party that we were able to help with and we got to be spend the week with some special friends. The graduate! Zoe made me laugh because the main thing she was looking forward to about her graduation was writing thank you notes. What?!  And she did.  That very night, after her graduation, she wrote out more than I would in weeks. I was amazed. Interesting to see the differences in peoples passions. Then & Now 13 of the 15 of us who spent the week together…

The camping trip was a success and the kids were all returned safely to their parents, although much dirtier than when they arrived! (for sure!)  🙂 I had a lot of fun with the food this time.  I was trying to think of meals that kids would enjoy but that would be different than the normal fare you have when camping. I came up with: Pita pizzas on the grill Eggs in the Dutch Oven with orange rolls cooked in orange rinds Nachos For dessert we had marshmallows (of course!) and banana boats     Listening intently to a great mountain man story about Hugh Glass.   A rattlesnake was…

We’re headed out for an overnight camping trip. Who’s going you ask?  Nine little munchkins. Who’s going to make sure they don’t get lost, bit by rattlesnakes or eaten by a mountain lion?  That honor will go to Russell, Serenity and myself. 🙂 We’ll be testing out the outfitters tent I found on Craigslist for a BARGAIN!  I’m so thrilled. It was only $150 plus we had to purchase a few poles for it. Camping with the kids will be fun but exhausting if it’s anything like last year but I think I’m a little more prepared than before because I’m bringing snacks.  Gotta keep those tummies filled at all…

1. Wesley turned 18 today – August 19. 2. I can’t believe how the years flew by. 3. His delivery was the easiest of all of my 6 kids. 4. As a matter-of-fact, the midwife didn’t make it. 5. Wesley was my 3rd son. 6. And I’ve survived. 🙂 7. Wesley loves chess… 8. and hunting… 9. and walleyball 10. He actually has some friends here tonight playing. 11. They love their intense games full of spikes and hard serves. 12. Of course, the young ones like to pit themselves against the “old” ones. 13. And they usually win. 14. When Wesley is really concentrating he sticks his tongue out.…

Here are those photos of Seth’s little beauty 😉 that I promised I would post pictures of. It took him 4 months to get it all set up. Part of the time he was working on just getting the title released so he could have the trailer moved. Many hours was put into it and a lot of self-education came with it, too. Looking towards the kitchen. Looking into the living room. The previous owners apparently wanted an office more than a bathroom, so all bathroom fixtures had been removed. Although the plumbing was there underneath the flooring, Seth reconfigured the bathroom. He added a laundry area and a small…