Turning 12

Every year I say, this, but every year it is true, I can't believe how fast my kids seem to grow. Has it really been 12 years since we brought our firstborn son home from the hospital? We were scared to death, not knowing what we were doing, yet at the same time, so incredibly happy that our family live had finally begun.

Jameson's birthday the past few years has been during baseball tournaments. It is tough to plan celebrations around a hectic schedule, but Jameson is a great sport about it. Since we had 4 games on his birthday this year, I decided to try and make breakfast extra special, since I wasn't sure what time Connor's tournament games would be played. We sang to him at and then he blew out a candle in his monkey bread.

Two of our games that day, were his that were rescheduled due to all the rain and storms we've had. He had one of his best hits ever, that landed just a few few away from the fence and pictched 3 great innings.

Connor's team finished up their season and won 3rd place in their tournament.

Poor Jameson has opened his presents in the car for the last several years since we are usually coming from or going to a game. I guess he doesn't mind though. His big present this year was a camera. He has really been getting into photography and I got this one for a great deal on ebay. Connor found this extra large North Carolina jersey at our little thrift store here in town and asked if I would buy it for Jameson. I thought it seemed silly to buy one so large and so I said, no. Well, Connor decided to spend his own money to purchase it, so Jameson could hang it on his wall. It's always nice to see evidence that they really do love each other.

Our tournaments got over in time that we could go out to dinner at a decent hour. So Jameson picked Red Robin, since he loves burgers.

Today was a big day for Jameson because he was ordained to the office of a Deacon. It was really nice to have my parents come down for church and then have lunch with us afterwards.

I want Jameson to know how very much he is loved and how proud we are of the young man he is becoming.

Fun on a summer night...

Catching frogs



and fireflies


Much to the children's dismay, all creature's were set free before bedtime.

First Class

Jameson had a great week at Camp Cornhusker. I was amazed to see the changes in him in just shy of a week. He got almost all of his requirements done for the trail to First Class scout. He also completed his swimming and rifle shooting merit badges. Thankfully there was only one severe thunderstorm that went through their camp the whole week long. That was definitely an answer to prayers considering all the severe weather we've had for the past month here in Nebraska. We all got to go down on Friday night to eat dinner with him and watch their campfire program that evening. We watched as they retired the flags that were half mast all week because of the 4 Scouts who lost their lives. I am really glad he got a chance to go, but I am so happy that the week is over and that he is back safe at home.

Father's Day Weekend

Connor had 2 ball games. They won the first one and lost the second.


Genna and I picked strawberries.


We gave Troy his gifts Saturday night since he leaves so early for his Bishopbric meeting.


I had to set my alarm clock for 3:30 am to put the brisket in the crockpot. It was totally worth it. Here is the recipe from the Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipe Book:

Brisket
2-4 Pounds Brisket or Roast
Kosher Salt
Coarse Ground Pepper
Garlic Cloves
2 T. liquid smoke

Place meat in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil. Rub the brisket with salt, pepper, and garlic. Drizzle smoke sauce over meat and seal foil up tightly. Place foil packet in crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove from foil. We used a fork to shred the meat, which just fell apart. We then poured the juices from the crockpot on the meat. You could also serve with BBQ sauce. So easy and yummy!

My Mom and Dad came down to Nebraska City for church. It was so nice to be able to sit by my Dad during Sunday School. We had a very hurried lunch together. It was definitely too short!

We were so rushed because we took Jameson down to Scout Camp. It's his first time spending more than a night away from home. I am a little nervous considering last week's Scout camp tragedy that hit so close to home.


We had supper with Troy's Dad. He got to test out his Father's Day gift right away.


We picked mulberries off of our bush that I was going to cut down.


We have one tomato that is very close to being ripe. BLT's and fried green tomatoes aren't too far away.


We have a new little bluebird couple using the house. There are 2 eggs so far...we'll keep you posted.


Hope your weekend was as good as ours!

Summer Busy

Being busy in the summer is different than being busy during the school year. It still involves being on the go a lot, but the destinations are usually more fun.

Here are some of the things we've been busy with the past few weeks:

1.Baby gift I made for Troy's cousin. I got the pattern and idea from here. Mine didn't turn out quite as frayed looking as I'd have liked, maybe after a few washings.
2.We've had tons and tons of rain. The flowers are loving it!
3.Troy's sister was in town and we went to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo with them. It was so much fun!
4.Genna is playing t-ball this year for the first time and Troy is helping coach.
5.Genna lost her first tooth.
6.Connor had to get stitches after his foot slid under the treadmill. It must have gotten cut on a bolt under there. So he has missed out on swim team for the past 2 weeks.
7.Amber helped me find this cute shelf when we hung out last week. It makes my entry way much more cheery!
8.My garden has also liked all this rain, we've been picking and eating fresh peas all week long. Unfortunately, the weeds have thrived with the rain as well.
9. Along with the rain came lots of thunder and lightning, plus tornado watches and warnings. Thankfully we got our basement cleaned out and so the other night when we had to go down in the storage room, there was a place for everyone to lay down. The kids slept there all night because the warnings lasted past 11pm.
10.Jameson finished up his Faith in God requirements and is getting ready to go to scout camp next week. We are so proud of what an awesome young man he is turning out to be.
11. Genna lost her other front bottom tooth and so we had to document that as well.
12.We didn't really venture out in any of the storms to get any pictures of the storm clouds, although we saw some pretty incredible ones while we were waiting for ball games to get called off because of bad weather.
13.It was so nice to be able to spend time with Shantelle and her family. Troy's sister lives in Utah and so we get to see them about once a year. Their kids change so much in between times. Caleb just turned 3 years old and he is such a smart and funny kid!
14.We have been playing A LOT of ball lately. Connor has normal games Mondays and Saturdays. Jameson plays Tuesdays and Thursdays. The past 2 weeks Connor has had to suit up for Jameson's games as well because of missing players or injuries.
15.Jameson has been working on taking pictures for the fair.
16.Anna is 10 months old and a sweetie. We watched her and Caleb for the afternoon and evening. Boy did I forgot how much work it is to have a baby in the house.