Summer Fun

Since our last post, we have filled our days with fun at Trophy Lake.  We purchased a new kayak to take out on the lake.  Josh and Thatcher took the first ride together.  Thatcher lays back in Josh's lap like a little worm and enjoys the ride.

Cousin Brynn came to visit (with her parents, Jessie and Evan) the weekend Grandma and Papa Staples moved to their new house.  Thatcher loved spending time with all the company.  He also got to play with his other Staples cousins, Lucy and Ellie, the week before when they were in town.  He sure does love having playmates around!

We spent Father's Day in Glenwood (not much traveling once we got to the middle of June in case of an early arrival of Baby Phoenix).  Josh golfed with his dad in the morning, we got blasted with rain at church in the park and headed home to have a pizza party with Grandma and Grandpa Sherlin.  Thatcher surprised daddy with a new spotting scope and he gave us his best "cheese" face for the picture.

The past two weekends while we stuck around home (again, just in case we had an early arrival), we enjoyed hours and hours playing outside.  Thatcher just LOVES the water.  He goes swimming in whatever attire he has on, lays down and puts his face in, and splashes like crazy.  He found a love in jumping in the water and getting thrown around by anyone willing to toss him up.

And if swimming at the lake doesn't satisfy his outdoor pleasure, we head back to the sandbox where we make castles, scoop, fill buckets with water, you name it...  there is always something to do in the sandbox and it keeps us all busy.

I don't have any pictures to show but Deacon and Indy have been thoroughly enjoying the warm swimming weather as well.  Deacon "fishes"  while Indy plays fetch.  Both of them love having the lake so close (and it sure makes it nice for us too!).

We are anxiously waiting the arrival of our new bundle of joy and hope to have news to post soon.  Until then, we'll continue to enjoy the lake, the sandbox, the dogs, and even some fresh garden produce.  Hopefully all of you are enjoying your summer too!

Spring Update

The past month has been full of fun nights and weekends and even some project time (if you can imagine!).

Our basement is almost entirely finished, less some trim and doors and decorations, I suppose.  We will eventually get everything finished but we are certainly enjoying having a big play space and “carpet” and the “ABC’s Room”.  Here are some updated photos of our progress:

 

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter with Thatcher and the Sherlin clan.  Thatcher loved looking for eggs and having treats!  He liked the jelly beans but continued to call them “m’s” all week – I guess that’s what we get for usually only having M&M’s as our household treat.

Other highlights of our few weeks have included a pizza party for Mommy’s birthday, the return of Grandma and Grandpa Sherlin from Arizona, a trip to Anderson’s Nursery to see the animals near Easter, playing outside in the sandbox, throwing rocks in the lake, going for walks, and getting all of our projects done.  We have also enjoyed a lot of time with friends and family and have even been able to enjoy a couple of fires in the pit already!

We hope for more nice weather and look forward to getting the garden planted and a few more “to-do’s” done in the coming weeks.  And or course our biggest adventure is also getting closer.  Baby Phoenix is scheduled to arrive in just two more months (if not before).  

Busy Weeks

Time sure does fly by!

On February 7th, Thatcher turned 2 years old! We celebrated with on Saturday following his birthday with family at our home. Thatcher enjoyed his train cake (made by Mommy, decorated by Daddy). He ate the candy off the engine and called it good for the day; however, he did enjoy the rest of the cake throughout the week. Thatcher enjoyed opening his presents and loves all of his new things. He has officially learned how to sing “Happy Birthday to Thatcher” and sings his version for everyone’s birth since then.

At the end of February, we were able to get away for a fun, family weekend at Thumper Pond. We met the Sherlin side of the family and celebrated all the birthday’s that had passed. The water park was a big hit. Thatcher really enjoyed playing with his cousins and we loved being able to see everyone and visit for awhile.


Back at home the mudding, taping, texturing, and priming were completed in the basement. And we have since painted all of the walls. Next up is tiling the bathroom and entry floors (which we have planned for this coming weekend). It’s sure is crazy how the basement has changed in the recent weeks; it wasn’t that long ago when it was only framed in. We sure do look forward to getting back to our play space!

Last weekend our niece, and God-daughter, Brynn, was baptized. She was perfect and the ceremony and party following were wonderful. We are so thankful to have her in our lives!


We love the mild winter and “almost” spring weather we have been experiencing. Deacon and Indy have been spending a lot of time exploring the area and playing with the other dogs in the neighborhood. Deacon turned 5 (or 35) the end of January but doesn’t show his age yet; he is still quick as can be. Indy will be 4 in May and still has a lot of puppy in her but she has begun to mellow out a little for us. We all enjoy their company and look forward to a fun summer of fetch and walks with them.

On February 22nd, we found out that Baby Phoenix is a boy. We are delighted! What could be more fun than two boys in the house?! And the bonus is that we already have everything “boy” so hopefully it will be an easy second run. Baby Phoenix is much stronger now and loves to move around; his jabs are almost strong enough for us to feel on the outside now. I just love having him move around, it reassures me that we have a strong, active little one on his way into the world. It won't be long until my "boys" picture goes from the smiley TWO (below) to THREE!


Until next time, take care and God Bless!

Transitions

The holidays have come and gone (sorry for not getting an update out sooner). Since then, we have successfully moved Thatcher from the crib to his "big boy bed". Luckily for us, he has loved every minute of having a twin bed and has had no problem adjusting to sleeping in a bed and staying in his room until we come in for him in the morning. We started with one mattress, then a week later we added the box spring underneath, and two weeks after that we added the bed frame and headboard. It was a nice way to have him learn the boundaries of the bed without having to buy any extra safety rails.

It seems like Thatcher just keeps getting more and more kid-like every day; he is no longer a baby, that is for sure! He has taken to reading time much more now that he can sit/lay on his bed - we can even make it through entire books now and even multiple at a time! Every night we spend at least 20 minutes reading in his room, which was an impossibility just 3 weeks ago.

It's hard to believe that in just two short weeks he will officially turn 2! The time has sure gone fast.

In an effort to regain control of my pregnancy pillow (Thatcher's TV chair/pillow) we bought him a camo bean bag last week at the "deer store" (Cabela's). Again he surprised us as he did not even notice we had removed the pillow chair from the living room. He LOVES his bean bag and battles us for it daily. We love to roll it around and get him stuck on top of it. It has provided lots of entertainment for us this past week.

Also on our trip last weekend, we were able to meet the newest addition to the Staples family - Brynn Alexandra Staples. What a beautiful, little peanut! Good job on her Evan and Jess! We very much enjoyed spending the afternoon with the three of them and were also surprised to see big brother Tyler and Jody there as well. It was a nice, but brief Staples sibling reunion. We are excited to see everyone again soon for Thatcher's birthday bash. It will be fun to see how Brynn will grow and change in one month's time.

On the home front, we have basically put everything away so the basement is ready to be taped, mudded, and painted. Josh and I have also been looking at paint colors - decision time again! I trust we'll make a good decision and everything will turn out great. It will be so nice to have part of the basement project done before summer arrives.

Baby Phoenix has been moving around more and more everyday. I am so very thankful that this pregnancy has been almost an exact repeat of the last in that I feel very well and can maintain my usual routines quite easily. I have a long way to go (just 16 weeks now) so things could change but I know my boys will take care of me/us when we need it most.

Now, FINALLY, a picture extravaganza to catch you all up on our happenings since the last post:

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!