Celebrations

Hunting has nearly ended. The hunter of the house has not given up but has thus far had quite an unsuccessful season. We have, however, entered a wonderful time of year - the HOLIDAYS! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration in Starbuck and got to help Lucy celebrate her 9th birthday with a pinata! Thatcher even got a swing or two in. He may not have the strength to break it yet, but he sure did enjoy the treats when they came out. Give him a couple of years and he'll be giving the girls a run for their money.

Following Thanksgiving, we spent the weekend celebrating Christmas with the Sherlin side of the family. Although we had a few missing family members, it was a wonderful weekend filled with good food, lots of laughs, and presents! Thatcher has already received so many great gifts for Christmas, I'm not sure what we'll do when Santa comes!

Over the Thanksgiving, (early) Christmas weekend, we were very happy to announce to our family that Thatcher is going to be a big brother. Although I think many thought it was going to happen sometime soon, I don't think anyone expected the announcement just yet.

Decorating for Christmas at our house was quite uneventful. The boys worked down in the basement with their tools while I put up the tree. Thatcher was delighted when he got back upstairs and makes sure that we have the lights on all the time. He has also taken a liking to daddy's soldiers. Lucky for us, he understands that they are special and only looks at them.

Last Friday we were blessed with a nice evening with friends. Thatcher and Lillie were able to share a wondeful meal together and continued to impress us when they did an OK job sharing toys most of the night. Don't they look like they are having a good time? Nothing beats meat, cheese, fruit and milk - except some cheesy faces, of course!

Trophy froze over a couple of weeks ago and the fish houses are already out and ready for the season. We have not yet been out but have heard some good reports and look forward to getting out there soon. This afternoon over a thousand walleye fry were released into the lake. We are hoping for a great survival rate and some great fishing in the future!

As we get closer to Christmas - the parties, the lights, the celebration of life - we are so ever thankful for all we have and all we can share.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

harvest & hunting

Summer was good to us but we are ready for the fall and everything it has to offer. We were very fortunate to have extra help when it came time to harvest the garden. Haylee, Isaiah, Bella, and Thatcher picked corn, peppers, and squash while Josh and I came behind collecting the harvest and pulling out stalks. We have thoroughly enjoyed having fresh produce all summer and already look forward to next summer when we can plant again!

Bella and Thatcher picking green, jalapeno, and chili peppers.

Bella, Isaiah, & Thatcher (Haylee too!) picking corn.

Thatcher is changing every single day. He has developed quite a personality and has a GREAT sense of humor. He laughs and makes us laugh all the time. We were reassured that he was ours (not that we had a doubt) when he got to have his first taste of carrot "Anniversay" cake a couple of weeks ago. Every year on our annivesary we enjoy carrot cake together; this year we got to share our "Anniversary" cake with Thatcher - he would have a bite, say "Mmmmm!", run around the counter and come back for more!

Now that Fall has officially arrived, the boys have been busy getting into projects. You can see that Josh has a great helper ;)

Sheet rock has been hung in the bonus room and we will be starting in the basement soon. Josh has a busy fall ahead of him - as hunting season has already begun! Tomorrow, Deacon and Indy will get to enjoy their first hunt of the season. Pheasants Beware! They have already gotten up many pheasants the past couple of weeks when we have been out walking. They are MORE than ready for the first hunt. We even got them each a new collar - camo - to start the season.

To all our friends & family, happy fall and we hope to see you soon!

a new view

Sunshine, warmth and LOTS of rain have really helped us out this year. We were recently looking back on some photos of the landscape from the spring and can hardly believe how it has changed! When the snow melted we only had a black yard - except for some weeds, of course. Now, we have a mostly green yard (grass and weeds) that needs to be mowed more than once a week.

In addition to the grass, the rest of the landscape has changed quite drastically. We have done more planting, added a swing set (which was destroyed in the storm this week), painted the deck framing, and started tackling the hillsides. Josh got to enjoy a couple of afternoons as farmer. On the first day of naturalizing the hills, Josh got to use the brush cutter and chop everything down. Next, he got to drive Oliver the tractor (I think that is correct) and pull the drill we rented from Pope County Soil & Water. The drill helped get our new prairie grass seed in place. Finally, before the seed germinated, Josh took another round on the hills with the four-wheeler and sprayed everything with round up. The hillsides are quite brown right but we are anticipating a beautiful return of nice prairie grass very soon.

Thatcher was quite delighted to watch Daddy drive he tractor. He couldn't take his eyes off of him. Even the dogs thought it was fun. As Josh would drive down the hill, all three of them would stretch their necks up to get a view. Thatcher became even more enamoured with tractors than before and kept saying "Da-dee! Trac-tor!" over and over.

The garden has continued to be fruitful for us. We have been enjoying all of the fresh produce and have even planted a second crop of beets, green beans, lettuce, peas and spinach. We are looking forward to trying the corn soon and if it's as bountiful as it appears, we'll have plenty to share!

As you can tell we really have a new view around the house. But Thatcher can probably best claim the title of getting a new view best. Last month he finally decided he was ready to let go and walk all by himself. We were so proud! He was so happy and it was seriously less than two days from when he was still scooting on his butt to walking confidently all over the house and showing off by bending, squatting, and moving about. Apparently he wanted to make sure he could really impress us by doing everything at once, instead of one thing at a time, like I would have expected.

We love to see him explore and show off his moves - and it is always a joy to see him so giggly and happy. Now it's time to go play.

Toodles!

Summer Fun

Although summer has only recently begun, we have been enjoying summer activities around our house for a few weeks. The water temperature at Trophy Lake is quite tolerable meaning lots of splashing and swimming for us. Thatcher has taken a liking to digging in the sand and playing in the water. We're looking forward to spending some hot afternoons at the beach in the coming days.

On the home front (West side), our garden is looking great. Many hours have been spent pulling out the weeds and "new" grass that got tilled into the garden early this spring. A few more hours and the whole things will be looking great. Regardless of the weeds, we have a great crop coming in and we can hardly wait to try it all! We have already gotten to taste the lettuce and spinach - yumm! Soon enough we'll have beets, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, carrots, squash, green beans, peas, you name it.

Other projects around the house that we've been working on include moving rock (surprise!), landscaping with pavers and small rock, growing grass (tilling, dragging, seeding, watering - it takes a lot to get grass to come in nicely), planting perennials and shrubs, pouring a concrete patio under the deck, and washing windows - repeatedly. Needless to say, our days are filled with projects, but we still manage to have some time for fun.

We have already had a couple of quick trips and family gatherings this past month and a few more to look forward to in the coming weeks. It's so wondeful to be able to spend time with family and friends - eating, drinking, laughing...

But there is nothing greater than being able to kick back and enjoy a fire at the end of a long day, especially when it's in your own yard.

We are so very fortunate to feel like we are on vacation when we are at our home (when we're not working on projects!). It sure makes leaving hard!

Here's to a fun-filled summer!

CHEERS!

"Uh-oh!" and DIY

We have been very busy working around the house the past few weeks. The grass is growing and filling in nicely; the garden has been tilled and planted; perennials, shrubs and trees have been planted; a fire pit has been dug; and a sandbox has been built and placed in the yard. DIY at its best. We have, however, also been hearing a lot of "uh-oh" around here lately too - not because of the Do-It-Yourself projects but because our little Thatcher has learned a new phrase and when to use it. Since it's so fun to say he make sure that some of his actions require the "uh-oh" response.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to in the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Thatcher's tree got a ring of rocks.

Thatcher trying to eat rocks.

Fire pit dug, rocked and read to go - rock around the pit coming soon.

8x8 sandbox built, painted and in placed in the yard.

Adventure boy out for a drive.

Tile covered with rocks and plantings.

Enjoying a beautiful summer evening playing in the new sandbox. What fun!!

Spring is here

The much awaited Spring is finally making its appearance! We have already been spending as much time outside as we can going for walks, cleaning up around the house - piling the rock that got scattered during snow removal and picking up garbage and scraps that were left behind from building last fall - and re-arranging the garage. We have a nice burn pile ready to go but we'll wait for a nice, calm evening to enjoy the fire.

Yesterday morning we awoke to some activity on the lake. We had a muskrat feeding right out from our house. Needless to say, by the end of the day the muskrat had fallen under the shot of the avid hunters in the neighborhood (Josh and John). We have also seen many frogs hopping around. Deacon and Indy are already enjoying the chase - but I did have to stop them last week when they wanted to go after the frogs that had crossed the open edges of the lake onto the ice that remains.

Thatcher has been scooting like crazy. He has "mastered" the butt scoot and has so been called "Scooter" or "Scootie" around here quite often. Here's a quick clip of him on the move...

We're hoping he gets the confidence he needs to walk soon (he is so close) so we can really enjoy the outdoors! We are anxious to continue on the landscaping around the house, watch the grass grow, and plant the garden. A summer at the lake will be a new adventure for us and we are very much looking forward to it.

For now all we can say is Happy Spring - now get out and enjoy it!

One Year

It's amazing how much can happen in ONE year.

ONE year ago we welcomed Thatcher into our lives. It's hard to remember just how small and fragile he was at 6 lbs 11 oz., but it's impossible to forget all the joy, love, laughter and smiles he has brought and continues to bring into our lives. Now, ONE year later, Thatcher is 31 inches tall, 23 lbs 9 oz, and full of energy.

We celebrated Thatcher's first birthday on Saturday with family and friends. Thatcher enjoyed eating his barnyard cake, drinking green punch, opening presents, and playing with his cousins!

Summing up an entire year can be exahusting, but here are just some of the things ONE year brings:

• 16 lbs 14 oz
• 11 1/4 inches
• 6 teeth
• 6 clothes sizes
• 2 shoe sizes
• 2 types of carseats
• 600 + photos
• diapers, diapers, diapers
• rolling
• sitting
• first foods
• first steps
• belly laughs
• adoring eyes
• hugs
• cuddles, and
• relief - knowing that with each other, no matter what ONE year brings, we really have it ALL.

Here's to year TWO!

Happy New Year!

We survived the holidays and have so much to be thankful for - new toys, clothes, gidgets and gadgets, good food, good times, and extra pounds. Luckily the weather cooperated and we were able to see many of our friends and family over the past few weeks. Thatcher enjoyed the lights and sounds and tastes of the season and made our Christmas a very special one. Everything about the holidays is so magical to a little one - even before they know the meaning of the season.

Family pictures are few and far between but we managed to get a quick snap shot on Christmas Eve before the festivities got too crazy.

Thatcher figured out the presents on Christmas morning and had a wonderful time shaking, ripping paper, tasting and eventually finding the insides of the things he was opening. Not surprisingly, he had a great time throwing around his new socks with his daddy.

From Thatcher as he helps with this post: "sa jnj, zrdsrxfjmkl,m33d"

We look forward to everything that 2011 has in store for us - may it be as wondeful as 2010. For now we are going to enjoy all that we have and look forward to our next big event, Thatcher's first birthday! We'd like to think that he is showing us he's turning one in the picture above, but he hasn't quite gotten that down yet. We're working on it and hope to have it perfected soon.

Best wishes for a year of good health, happiness and adventure!