Fall has arrived!

The air-conditioning has been turned off and the furnace has been turned on! The trees have begun to change and the air is beginning to be crisp. We have definitely turned the corner into another season here in Wausau. The nights are in the 30's and the days are in the 60's. I certainly felt it as I walked around the neighborhood this morning. I could see my breath and smelled the smoke coming from the chimneys. It is so beautiful here in the fall. The boys school backs up to Rib Mountain State Park and the hillside view of the "mountain" is breath-taking. I only hope to capture it's beauty with my camera! But, I'll have to give it a couple more weeks.

I thought I'd share with you a couple of photos from Jason's work site. The project is, I believe, 58% complete (at least that's what I thought I heard Jason tell someone recently). Jason stays quite busy and he seems to never be at his desk (especially when I want to reach him). Though, I'm not sure if it's because there's stuff to do out on the site or if he just likes climbing on all the stuff. Like 500' up! (as you can see from the pictures). I am just glad that God has blessed him with a career that is fulfilling and with this opportunity to be a part of a project from beginning to end.

I spent last weekend in Hunter's Education classes. Yippee! I wasn't a whole lot of fun, but I survived and I am now a bonafide hunter, well legal any way :) We are going pheasant hunting in Valley City, North Dakota in October. This will be the first official hunting trip where we will all be together (not just the guys). It's still cool that mom is along for the ride now, but I'm sure that will change when the boys get older.

This week is packed full again. Jason and Kyle had their first pack meeting for Cub Scouts last evening. Jason has decided to be the den leader for Kyle's den. He will have the opportunity to lead and teach nine, 9-year old boys how to build things, the importance of helping your community and most importantly good character qualities.

Jason's aunt, uncle, grandma and great-aunt are coming for a visit on Thursday. His grandma turns 90 on Saturday! His grandma and her sisters all lost their husbands relatively early in life so they would all get together and travel all over the place. Jason's aunt thought the best way to celebrate is to take Grandma with one of her sisters from Minneapolis (the other is ill) on a trip to Michigan to see their other sister. Since Wausau is sort of on the way, they decided to stop by our house. The best part about it is that it's all a surprise! We are very much looking forward to it. His grandma is such a wonderful person and even though she is slowing down some, she's still got a lot of spunk for a 90 year old.

The boys are doing well. They have been in school now just short of a month and still loving it. Kyle's favorite part of the day is, of course, recess (such a boy!) and, Kory's is doing projects in class and playing with the dinosaurs. They are both counting down the days until their birthdays, unfortunately they have quite a ways to go...44 & 48 days. They must think they are getting something pretty cool :) Maybe they know something Jas and I don't.

Well, soak in the change of seasons and God bless you all. Have a wonderful week.

The last days of summer...

HOW BEAUTIFUL! I thought I'd capture the last colors of summer. The warm sunny days are slowly disappearing and with that so are the bright, beautiful flowers.













The above photos were taken at my friend's house and the two bottom ones are from my front yard. I was very pleased that I even got anything to grow. My flower bed was so full a few weeks ago, but the deer decided to have a midnight snack. Ahh...after going all summer without even a nibble!














On Monday my washer went caput. Grrr...nothing is more maddening than having your washer quit right after the rinse cycle. Anyway, this necessitated a trip to my friend's house on Wednesday to wash the remaining loads of laundry. I also took care of another one of my friend's little girl, Alaina, on Wednesday afternoon. She is the sweetest thing! We decided to enjoy the sunshine since we hadn't seen it for a couple of days. I was so happy I had my camera along. Can you hardly stand the cutness! She is always up to something and Kory can never resist a pose for the camera.



















Wednesday evening was the big kickoff to the fall schedule at our church. The boys are in One Way Club (similar to Awanas). There were 154 kids ages 4-11. Jason and I are keep busy on Wednesday evenings, while the boys are in One Way, with the youth group. This year has started off wonderfully...90 teens. Jason and I are excited to see what God will do this year in Generation180. Last night we enjoyed an outdoor movie with the kids. It was a little nippy, but that's why they make stocking caps and blankets right?!

Today has been pretty relaxing . Jason worked for part of the day and the boys and I just took it easy. It rained this morning, but now the sun is shining and the boys are outside enjoying it. Jason is mowing the lawn so I think I'll go put my feet up and relax out on the deck.

Have a good week!

A Chipmunk Where?

On Thursday evening after tucking the boys into bed, Jason and I decided to play ping pong. One game in and Gunner became very interested in some sheetrock stacked against the wall. Upon moving things around and discovering nothing, we went back to our game. But, Gunner just wouldn't leave that corner alone. So curious me decided to move all of the sheetrock out of the way...upon doing so a little chipmunk decided to poke its head out from behind the last piece. Needless to say I screamed and the sheetrock went back into its place. By this point Gunner is going crazy and Jason is having a great deal of fun (at my expense). I ran upstairs and recovered Kyle's BB gun. We now have the chipmunk trapped behind the pile of sheetrock with a BB gun aimed and ready. Because a good shot wasn't possible Jason decided to move all of the sheetrock to the other wall. Well...when he moved the last board the little guy took off up the wall in front of Jason and then behind me (all the while I am wigging out). This little manuever created "fair game" in Gunner's mind and he took off after it. And, he did succeed in catching the chipmunk. A few headshakes and bone crunches later, the chipmunk was dead. Whew...who knew I would have to do some hunting in my own house! However, this ordeal has lended itself a good laugh.

THOMAS THE TRAIN TABLE...the table has been completed! Jason's handy work and my limited artistic talents have made a very happy boy! In fact a new train, Emily, had to be purchased. Can we say spoiled?!

Well, my first game of golf ever was played on Saturday! I would have to say that this is a sport that my evil twin will quite often be revealed. I was told that I did very well for my first time playing. But because of my competive nature, I should have made par on every hole! Maybe I should continue to practice :)

Well we are already off and running this week so let's see what kind of adventures we can find! Hope you all are doing well. God bless ~

Summer has ended...

Welcome... Well, it's official, summer has ended and school has begun. I have survived the first day without any children at home. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I'll like it just fine.

Our summer was quite enjoyable visiting family and friends. We had many days at the lake jetskiing, tubing and knee boarding. There was an attempt at waterskiing by Jason and I, but to no avail. We took a 5 day trip to North Dakota, where Kyle and I brushed up on our shotgun skills. And, the boys learned to drive Grandpa John's 4-wheeler. Oh, there was also a tractor ride, which I'm sure Kory will never forget.

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...

Both the boys were pumped this morning. Kyle, now being a 3rd grader and on a new wing of the school, thinks he's pretty cool. He was up early and already eating when I came out of my room this morning. I had to wake up Kory, but it didn't take too much coaxing once school was mentioned. Kory just thinks it's cool that he is now able to go to school with Kyle. And, because he is turning 5 (in two months), he thinks he's pretty big stuff. I am just very pleased that I left them at the school with big smiles on their faces and bouncing with excitement. Let's just hope the excitement continues for the next nine months.

I hope you enjoyed this tidbit of news. I hope to be more creative with each post.