Logan

The "catch up" post continue... ketchup? catsup? hmm.  ANYWHO.

 

 

Remember my nephew, Logan?

 

He came to live with us.

 

He's 17, and a junior in high school. He's funny and handsome. (of course)

Logan is flexible and easy-going. Willing to get dirty. Which Ryan loves.

Always ready for an adventure- Loves to pick on Elizabeth and William. That's what big brothers are for, right?

He can drive! He willingly runs errands for me and Ryan.
He drives to school, and these two girls couldn't be happier about NOT riding the bus!

He calls me "Aunt Sarah"

 

I love it.  and him.

The Cutest Puppies In The World!

Remember those cute little puppies?

 

Well... they have grown up!!

 

 

 

Since I feel like Ruby looks, we are looking for good homes for these eight little cuties!
 Is your family ready for one of the cutest puppies in the world?

Marieke



(Mah ree ka)

 

The silence on this blog is deafening.

 

We've been uber busy- but I'm ready to get back into our regular slow schedule. Ha! What a good joke.

 

 

I'm ready to start blogging on a regular schedule again too.

 

First things first, we are completely smitten with our new big sister. We are having a great time getting to know her better, and introducing her to our typical mid-western life style.

 

She's had a lot "firsts" in her twenty days here...

 

She was here 22 hours, and I took her to her first soccer practice.  She's the tall one.

Not 24 hours later, she milked a cow.

And then, climbed the silo. It's ok. She has the extreme sports insurance.

We canned peaches and made peach jam with Cousins Connie and Jennifer.

She ran a 5k!

First day of school. sigh. School is school, whatever country you live in...

She went to her first American football game,

Played in her first American soccer game. We tied, 2-2.

She likes ice cream, and is amazed that girls actually wear pajama pants in public.

Her English is fabulous, but has a tough time with "th" as in: "Mudder" and "Brodder". It's not a sound they use in her native dutch. She trying to teach us some dutch, I've got "Walnoot" and "Stool" (walnut and chair) as for "please" and "thank you"? It's all dutch. Ha.

She's learning that little brothers can be annoying, and incredibly sweet. She's also very happy she's not 13 anymore.

She's very tall, and very smart. She's respectful and helpful.

She's making lots of friends, and figuring out American high school like a rock star.

I cannot believe her parents let her come, but we're so glad they did!!

Livin' Life

We are having a great time getting to know our new daughter- and bonding with our Texas cousin!

Will check in soon... with lots of photos!!

It's a GIRL!!

Marieke Geeske Johanna

Arrived Tuesday evening at  7:36pm from the Netherlands

70 inches long and 60 kilos

We couldn't be more excited about having a new BIG sister!

Lemon Lush

My photo:

Their photo:

I'm sure mine tasted better.

I was first introduced to Lemon Lush by my friend Anita when we moved to Indiana over sixteen years ago. *gulp*

When I saw this pin on Pinterest- I realized it had been way to long since I had made it. Such a perfect summer dessert!

You can make your own- Here is the LINK.

*I left out the nuts... we're nutty enough.

Abby's Wedding

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Abby & Zach. Where I was referred to as "Sarah the babysitter". Ha! It's been a long time since I've been called that!

The setting was romantic

The bride was stunning

 

The groom was charming

The maid of honor was a gentleman



The flowers were beautiful

The dinner was delicious

 

The dancing was lively

The signature cocktail was tasty



My date? FUN!

I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends. (it's been awhile since I was up until 3 am just chatting!)

Thank you so much for having me, Scott & Nancy. You should be very proud of the wonderful children you have!

Fair Rides

Good grief.

The blogging around here... pretty sketchy.

Any who. The rides, The Rides, THE RIDES.

ugh. I hate those rides. (Last year I got lucky, and the carnival rides cancelled- woop woop!)

Every year during the fair my kids ask me no less than 63 million times a day if they can "ride the rides". I'm not joking. If my kids are anything, it's persistent.  I'm sure it'll be beneficial in their future. Not so sure about mine.

I decided a few years back, to hold them off until later in the week-after their animals had been shown, and then on ONE night, let them ride 'til their little hearts content.

And then, I got really smart, and hired someone to take them on the rides. Oh yeah. I got this parenting gig DOWN!

I, of course, show up later in the evening and take some photos for the scrapbook...I'm not a totally slacker mom.

This year, Kris, Noah and nephew Logan followed Isabelle and Jackson around from ride to ride, while Elizabeth and William ran a-muck with their friends.  (The carnies had a few more teeth than usual.. it made me feel safer)



On the "roller coaster" for like the fifteenth time. I love the hands!

The flying bananas didn't really do it for them, they only rode it a couple of times. They didn't really care for the carousel either. They did ride it like four times with me though...

On the other hand, they loved the motorcycles.
I know it's going to be short-lived, but I love that they still wanted to ride together. *sniff* *sniff*