Summer Days

You know that you have hit the middle of summer when the summer banana apples are ready to be sauced. Leo was very interested in the process.

Mom was in charge of the grinding.

We were still cleaning up while it was getting dark, and just when we thought things were winding down Javi saw a rattler.

Leo was ready to rumble.

Javi grabbed a 12ga and blasted that thing in half. It was quite the adventure.

The older youths went to FSY, we held a cool boating activity for the younger kids that were left behind. It was a lot of fun.

The late summer nights are wearing DeA right out.

Mom made some delicious stir-fry, Javi decided that it needed a banana.

We had one of the busiest days ever at the office, and it just happened to be the day that the AC broke.

A nice patient brought donuts, but since it was so hot no one wanted to eat them. I brought them home and Luca was more than happy to chow down.

Leo Dog has Luca trained well, Luca "drops" lots of goodies for Leo Dog.

We had a fun day down at the lake, but it was surprisingly chilly for July.

Ryker felt sick, which he sometimes does when he's exhausted. He thought he could sleep it off, but unfortunately he puked his guts out before he could fall asleep. Thankfully he woke up the next day feeling great and hasn't had a problem since.

The grass is in, and it is spectacular!

It looks and feels like a real, established lawn!

It's a great place to chill in the shade on hot summer evenings.

I have taken the kids golfing a few times, and this pic accurately depicts our experiences. Rock is hitting probably his third or fourth tee-shot while Jens and Ryker fight over the ball washer.

The big adventure has been watching Brian fight with the shop.

Luca loves seeing all the cool toys are have been brought up to try and erect this thing.

It's bad enough for Brian to have to deal with shoddy plans and mis-engineered materials, it's the watchful eye of Sauron that puts it over the edge.

We took Leo Puppy to Stutzman's and remembered quickly why we don't take him down there very often.

 

Lazy Summer Peaches

The boys are fully into the lazy days of summer. In Rock's defense, he does have a job and is constantly trying to get more hours. Ryker, on the other hand, thinks mastering Mario Kart shortcuts is a job.

Travis and Megan had some peaches that were ready to be picked. Rock was very excited.

Luca was also excited, and almost nekked.

It was a fun group effort with kids happily climbing the tree to reach the best peaches.

Kassidy thought she could get the best peaches by climbing her mom.

Luca was more excited about the pigs and chickens than he was the peaches.

The kids fought to use the ladder and then they loved launching peaches at the other kids.

Leo Boy found the blackberry bush and went to town.

Rock the peach picker

Luca was pretty mad that kids were on 4-wheelers and he wasn't.

Hannah and Carter came to take care of the pigs, and all heck broke loose. Luca did not want to ride a pig.

DeA tried to pretend that she was a farmer, but I don't think she fooled anyone.

Trying to make a Chick Fil-a peach shake.

 

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing, and that means spending time at the dog park with Leo Puppy.

He loves giving it a good shake.

He does not want to get out of water when he gets tired, he swims to you and expects you to hold him.

The kids blindfolded Max and then ran around him while he swung his arms. What could possibly go wrong?

Luca ate so many popsicles that he was in a brain freeze, at least I think that is what was going on.

There was a massive storm with a ton of rain the other day, we had water run from the windows. The water restoration guys showed up and we are living with a de-humidifier now.

Things have been a little frustrating and stressful for DeA, and she relaxed by writing the grandkids' names on the patio.

Wait a minute...

Yeah, between the water crap and church calling stress, she was knocked out when I got home from work Friday.

Ryker is living the summer dream: staying up too late, sleeping in too long, lots of video games and time at the lake.

Feral Luca loves 4-wheeler rides, until he gets back to the driveway and he realizes that it is almost over.

We ended up with a family pass after the kids loved golfing last week. Rock is trying to get our money's worth in the first week. It is nice golfing in 95 degree weather because no one else is dumb enough to be on the course.

We were all hanging out in front of Mom and Dad's when we realized that this bull snake was just chilling with us. He seemed pretty content and wasn't bothered by Leo Puppy, Leo Boy, or Luca.

Dad tried to get Ryker to pick it up by the tail, but despite Ryker's bold claims he never pulled it off.

We used a rake to get it into a bucket

I walked him out to the loading area and let him free to kill all the voles and mice he can find.

We have been having some spectacular sunsets lately.

Everything is spectacular when DeA is around.

The Rock

It was such a beautiful night that the kids wanted to watch a movie on the lawn. Nothing worked right, but it was a good idea.