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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Huntess and the Frog

When Hunter and I returned from taking the boys to the bus stop this morning, he wouldn't come in the house because he wanted something under the car. I figured he had somehow found a baseball or football that he isn't supposed to have. So I went around the back of the car and looked underneath the car. I saw what looked like a small bouncy ball or something....then it moved. It was a little frog. Not really very cute...kinda ugly in fact. I ran and got my phone to take some pictures...the quality isn't great but you might get an idea of what our morning was like...

This was not a very pretty frog...and not very big either.

He was being very brave...careful to not get too close ;-)

Look by his back leg...the frog is under the mower about to make a break for it.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Have Mercy On Us...

We have an official teenager in the house!!

Hannah turned 13 while we were in South Dakota for our reunion (which is why her birthday post is coming so late).

Here she is when we woke her up on her birthday.


Hannah has acted like a teenager for years now, but now it is finally official.

Hannah made us parents and continues to make us earn our parenting badges!!

She is such a joy to be around (most of the time), she is fun and mostly interested in her social status. She takes pictures of herself with her phone in the same pose over and over again and then uploads them to Facebook. She texts like crazy and that phone is attached to her hand at all times. We don't usually make her happy and we really don't know anything.

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone...I remember the day she was born like it happened this morning. This little firecracker (she was only 5lbs 13oz) made us a family and we couldn't be happier to call her ours.

Happy Birthday Boo Bear....you hold such a special place in our hearts and while I know it is tough right now, know that we are ALWAYS there for you!! Love ya Girl!!!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Back to School

Everyone is in bed after a very good start of the new school year.

Last night everyone got bathed and teeth brushed and tried to go to bed early.

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The bags were packed and shoes set out.

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Morning came and breakfast was made.

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We took the 1st day pictures.

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The bus came for the boys and off they went.

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Hannah talked me into taking her to school early…

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A great start to what I hope is a great year.  I am scared though because Hannah actually looks like a teenager…when did that happen?

**I am sorry for the quality of the pictures…the time of day is terrible because the flash made it look super dark out but it wasn’t quite light enough for no flash without it being washed out.  Maybe when I “get rich” (Matt’s favorite saying) I can get a better camera where I can do some manual adjustments**

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Almost Ready

The kids go back to school on Monday....

I think we are ready...we have met their teachers (Davis' is Mrs. Havens - my maiden name - which is very cool and she is also AWESOME)...school supplies are neatly tucked in their new backpacks (courtesy of Grandma and Papa)...clothes are picked out...new school shoes are awaiting their turn to climb the stairs of the bus.

I am really excited that they will be back in school. It does mean we have to get back to a schedule and deal with homework. But I find the kids quickly get bored and start acting crazy.

I will update on Monday with the "1st day" pictures. I dreamed last night that they headed off on the bus and I suddenly remembered that I hadn't taken pictures. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world...one time on the way to the bus after taking the pictures I accidentally deleted the pictures I just took. We simply redid them the next morning!!

We are looking forward to the last day of "summer" tomorrow.

Friday, July 30, 2010

The close of a chapter

Over 7 years ago we bought a small camping trailer brand new...right off the lot (actually we had one ordered so we could get the fabric we wanted).

We have loved this camper and have had many good times in it.

We called it "Tommy" (Hannah's)..."Lil" (Pete's)...and "Willy" (mine) each time we drove by it where we had it stored.

Due to our current "economic state", we decided it was time to sell our beloved trailer.

So, yesterday Pete listed it on Craig's List at about 11 am. We had not done anything to prepare the trailer...to clean it up...take anything out. We imagined it would take awhile for it to sell and we could bring it home this weekend to get it ready.

Boy were we wrong....it was sold for our asking price within a couple of hours. Pete brought it home and started the process of cleaning it out. I stopped by the store on the way home to get some storage bins and started helping when I got home. I cried....it was sad. However, there is also a sense of relief. We couldn't really afford to go camping right now and we still had to pay to store it. We had really outgrown it in some ways too...we were only a family of 4 when we got it. Maybe we can get an end of the year deal on a tent so we can still have some camping fun.

We delivered it to the family that bought it and was greeted by a very excited almost 3 year old little boy who jumped up and down saying "we have a camper, we have a camper". They were so excited about it.

I left a note to the family wishing them as much joy as we have had in the trailer. I also did a little note inside a cabinet with a Sharpie that states that "The Yost family loved "Tommy", "Lil", "Willy" from 3/03 to 7/10".

It was much easier to leave it than I thought it was going to be. I was so proud to be able to show them the rails and the ladder my dad made and was even more proud when I heard my husband recommend winterizing the trailer (don't fall over Mom and Dad) and him showing him the bypass that my dad installed to help with the process.

We will miss that trailer...but know that it will be loved by the family that bought it. I also know that I can make the mortgage and pay for the kid's sports this fall.

Bye Willy....thanks for fun!!!

***The ad actually helped us connect with an old friend that would never return Pete's calls - cause he is a slacker :). As we were getting the trailer ready, Pete got ANOTHER call about the trailer....or so we thought. The guy says "I hear you have a crappy trailer to sell...I bet it is really a piece of crap...I bet the owner didn't take care of it and I hear he is a real jerk". Then he laughed and Pete knew exactly who it was....his friend Jay. He is actually looking for a trailer in the price range we listed it at and saw the ad. He thought it looked like ours but then knew for sure when he saw Pete's name and number. As we said goodbye to one "friend" we were reconnected with another....life goes on.***

Monday, July 19, 2010

Buffalo…Finally

We went on vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota for my family reunion (there will be another post about that).  We arrived before the reunion so we took the scenic route through Custer State Park to get to Mt. Rushmore.

The scenery is BEAUTIFUL…

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But this in NOT what Pete was looking for…he wanted to see BUFFALO.

We were over 3 hours into our drive and about to leave the park and we had not seen a single buffalo.

Then we rounded a corner and Pete about peed his pants!!!

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This made the long drive worth every minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Nine

In Nine Years we have gone from this...



To This

This boy has been a shining light for us and my world would be so dark without him.

Davis Alexander - nine years ago God gave me what I needed to make all the yucky parts of life not feel so yucky!! This mommy couldn't feel more blessed to have given such a wonderful gift. Happy Birthday and I look forward to spending many more birthdays with you!!!