Camp Timberlake!

 Isaac and Joshua went to a Christian camp back at the end of July

and had a marvelous time!  Camp Timberlake was highly promoted by our church

and we knew that this was an experience that they would really enjoy and benefit from.

We took them out on a Sunday afternoon.

Isaac was in Badger Cabin with Noah as his leader.

Joshua was in Otter Cabin with his leader, Reuben, who had to leave after the first day

because of a medical issue.  His new cabin leader was Lucas.

We didn't see the boys until Friday and my goodness, they had a marvelous time!

Isaac with his cabin leader Noah.

Joshua with his cabin leader, ..........

The leaders had a short program for the parents before they were

released to go home.  There was a lot of energy among all of those kids!

Pastor Jason was on staff for the week that the boys were there.  He led chapel

every day and gave a short message on Friday.

The following pictures I got off the camp website.

Joshua and Isaac both playing basketball!

Playing carbet ball.

The boys had all their stuff packed and ready to go, so they gave us a tour around the camp!

The infamous climbing tower (and climbing wall, which was closed for repairs).

Isaac did climb to the top, but Joshua chose not to!

The swimming hole, with The Blob in the background.

The Corral Ball area!

The dining area.

It sure was good to see these boys again!  We missed them!

Little House in the Big Woods

When we bought this property, three years ago, we knew it was a perfect fit.

We purposely chose a reasonably sized house, went from 140 acres to three, and became 

positioned in between two towns. 

PLUS, it had gorgeous trees all over the property!

We have tons of trees!  They are so beautiful both in the summer and in the fall.

And the evergreens are especially gorgeous with the snow on them!

But with this many trees comes maintenance.  After a storm, the boys go around

and pick up the small dead branches and limbs that inevitably get broken off.

And some just need to be cut off.  So this weekend, the boys and Joe worked on

some of the higher up branches.  They didn't get them all, but it was a start!

Isaac used the pole saw, Joshua cut up the limbs into more manageable pieces, and

they both loaded them into the wagon.  Then Joe drove the load to our ever-growing

burn/log pile.

We have beautiful trees in our backyard also!

This is my view from the kitchen sink.....................I am blessed.

Willie's 16th Birthday

 

This is Willie.  Joe, Jonathan, and David found him and his brother as six week

old pups on our dirt road in Arizona.

We immediately thought they had escaped someone's fenced area, but after

talking to neighbors, and the town vet, we quickly decided they had been

dumped.

We estimated their birthday as July 4.  Some friends took the other puppy as

a surprise for their kids, and they just had him put down this past

December.

Willie has been bitten by rattlesnakes twice, ripped up skunks and jackrabbits, eaten

poisonous lizards.........etc.  And here he is, living in the good life on green

grass in Nebraska.

Happy 16th birthday, Willie!

The Fourth of July

 Seward, Nebraska, is known as Nebraska's Fourth of July city.  Up to 40,000 visitors

descend on the small town of about 7,000 people.  It's so wildly popular

that small towns all around Seward have their celebrations on July 3!

The fireman's hose contest is always a favorite!

So many people!

A huge number of antique cars.

We went to the National Guard Museum (ahhhh, air conditioning!) and had

delightful conversations with President and Mrs. Lincoln, and General Grant!

We also enjoyed a nice concert (also in air conditioning) put on by the Wissman

Family!  Such great music!

We were all hot and tired, but we had to stay for the parade at 4:00.

It was a great day celebrating our nation's 246th birthday!!

An Arizona Visitor!

We were all very excited when our good friend, Nancy, drove up to visit us over

the Fourth of July.  She had several stops along the way, but made her way to us

after visiting Iowa.  Her family was one of the first we met when we moved

to Arizona in 2005.  We've all been great friends ever since!

The boys decided that they wanted to do tent camping while she was here.  They

gave Nancy their bedroom, and moved outside!  They had a blast, and only had one 

wet morning after some nighttime rain. 

On Sunday, the 3rd, we headed out to Rachel's for the afternoon after church.

The boys helped David work on the tunnel slide and definitely made some progress!

We all had a wonderful time at Rachel's house!

Our Granddaughter

 Well, Miss Elenna totally enjoys the midwest, country life, and

helping with the chickens.

So funny!

Basketball Camp 2022

 This is the second year Isaac and Joshua attended Basketball Camp, sponsored by

Concordia College.  They had a great time, and did skills, drills, and played games

from 8:30 - 4:30 for three days in a row for the middle and high school kids.

Elementary boys were there only for the morning.

Bonus for the hungry boys - they had great meals provided by the college cafeteria!

Over 300 hundred young men came from eight states this year!

I took these photos when we came to pick them up on the last day.

What a GREAT time!