Out of the Mouths of Babes

You know you need a pedicure when your 18 month old picks up your big toe and says, " Uckkk".

Needless to say, I won't put a picture with this post. :)

Isaac's 5th Birthday

Yesterday was Isaac's 5th birthday! He is so big (and smart) already.

I can't believe it's been 5 years since we had him.

Well, we had a nice day yesterday. I was not feeling up to having a party. Can't imagine why. :) 

Judy(Ken was out of town) and her parents came and brought us lunch. 

Then we had cake with them and my mom. So Isaac got to have most of his grandparents there.

Here he is beside his cake and cards. Such a sweet smile.

 

Isaac opening presents and cards. His great grandma and grandpa Hopkins are in the background.

Mommy and daddy with the birthday boy.

Isaac with both of his Grandma's, and Annabelle.

Getting a great big hug from great grandpa.

At the bowling alley. We were the only ones there,

so our pizza and pops came fast.

Isaac's favorite thing to do is play Wii bowling, so going to a "real" bowling alley

was very exciting for him.

Here is Seth. He loved it just as much as Isaac did. He actually got more points than Isaac did, but Isaac doesn't know that. :)

Annabelle didn't know what to think. She sat in a chair most of the time, wanting a "bawl, bawl" until daddy showed her how heavy they were.

What Our Kids Look Like After Too Much Ice Cream

Warning! Do not feed your children ice cream after 8:00.

Life For Some of Us in Northern Michigan

It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to start thinking about heating the house. Echh!
For the past few years we have been using wood as our primary heat source, with propane as a backup. This year, instead of buying 10 cords of wood, (which would help heat our house most of the winter) Jason decided to start going through the woods around our house and "clean" them up by cutting up all the dead and downed trees for fire wood. He bought his very own new chain saw, and has been hard at work for over a month. Every other evening after coming home from working all day and eating a hearty dinner, and also for several hours on the weekends, he goes out cutting, stacking, hauling chopping and stacking again. Slowly our wood room has been filling up. And now, in early September, he is almost finished!! I'm so glad because I miss him. Here are some pictures of the whole grueling process. It is such hard work but for those of us who still need money to buy gas and groceries at the end of the month, it saves a lot of money.

Here was an interesting tree right behind our house that Jason decided to cut down. It had a huge base, with 7 separate trunks coming out of it. Depending on how the tree is leaning and where he wants it to fall, ( preferably not on him ) he under cuts it...

then cuts it from the other side and then... TIMBER! down it goes.

After He cuts a tree up, he loads as much as will fit in the trailer, and hauls it back to the house with the 4-wheeler. (Thank you SO much Ken and Judy for letting us use your quad and trailer! He could not have done any of this without them!)

Then he hand splits the logs that are too large to burn in the stove.
Anybody feel like coming over and helping him so he doesn't break his back??

Isaac, on one of the rare occasions that he actually did help out, stacking a pile in the basement.

Work boy Work!

Now in our 12'X 11' wood room we have 4, 7' high rows of cut and split wood.
Aaaahhhh, when I walk in the room it smells like freshly cut wood, gas, and sweat from my hard working man.

Don't you just love how the logs look all together?

I'll help you next year honey, I promise. Unless I'm pregnant again. HAHAHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING. I know, I know, I shouldn't even joke about such things. Bad Emily bad.

Can You Guess What This Picture Is?

First Time For Everything

Annabelle's first time in the corner.

Top 10 things I love about summer ( this year )

10. Watermelon.

9. Not having to bundle up the kids, or heat up the car.

8. Less laundry, ( summer clothes have so much less cloth in them ).

7. Grilling!

6.Watching and listening to thunder & lightning storms with my bedroom window open at night.

5. Shopping at the farmer's market.

4. Listening to the crickets chirping in the evening.

3. Swimming, of course.

2. Everything is so green!

1.The kids play outside longer.