Mr. and Mrs. Miller

Congratulations to you both. What a beautiful couple.  Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.

We had lots of fun celebrating. 

PS - a cappella is my favorite style of music. 

The Views of Summer

Hello.

My name is Grant.

I am practicing for a very important job I am performing this weekend.

Anyone want to guess?

While I'm off practicing, why don't you take a look at some of the things going on around the zoo.

(besides chasing wayward hamsters)

Waaaaaaay back in July when Grace went to church camp we had a  pretty significant piece of news that was never shared.

Grace was baptized on the last day of camp.

See her there in the water with the camp counselor?

Yup.  Mom and Dad are pretty proud of her.

Dad says there is a new calf at the farm.  I think we now have five babies.

He's named them all "Moo La".  

He calls them "Money" for short.

Yeah.  I just made that up.

I'll stop now.

I'll be you've never heard of a sport called hay bale slalom.  Have you?

Here's Dad showing Grace the techniques needed.

Grace and I both love to slalom around the bales.

One more thing we've been doing is cheering on our local baseball team, the Bats.

I have perfected my one-handed-sno-cone-eating-glove-wearing-in-case-there's-a-foul-ball technique.

I'm pretty good at it too!!

Well, gotta go to bed now.

Goodnight!

Hamster Hating Tonight

I was congratulating myself this evening on starting to get caught up.

Then Grace and Grant decided to play with the hamsters......

in our bathroom.

One hour, one apple and one very large hole later.....

the kids resumed playing with their hamsters.

The hamster is the reincarnation of Houdini. I swear. We had to cut a hole in the base of the bathroom vanity to get Grant's hamster out from under the cabinet. 

Stupid hamster!!

Look who came to visit today...

Baby E!

Everyone held and loved on him.  He has grown and changed so much.  I'm gonna love being a grandma some day.  

Just not yet.

Stuff

Grace and grant having fun with hamsters. The kids are having fun. I don't think the hamsters are loving it much. 

I think the hamsters' singular purpose in life right now is to escape the clutches of their captors. 

I took one frame out of a hive Saturday. I couldn't wait any longer!  Most of the frames are full, but it still isn't ripe for harvest. Patience. I know. I'll try again in a couple weeks. 

John has this crazy idea that he needs to buy a truck. He has had his eye on this blue beast for a few months now. Sunday we stopped to look. 

When did our kids become old enough to have their own car!

We took one last look at the old house at the farm. By this winter it will be only a memory. We hope to have a shiny new barn sitting there instead. 

I know it is beyond repair. 

But. 

There will be tears when it is gone. 

Guaranteed. 

After hours

Now that school has started, this is our evening entertainment after kids go to bed. 

Take one very large very hungry dog

Add cheese 

And watch the fun while he drools and stares cross eyed at the cheese he wants so badly. 

Good dog Remington!

Now go lie down and stop begging!

School is off to a good start. We bought school supplies for the high school crowd tonight.  Grace and grant are having fun and making new friends. Neither one has had much homework so far. Hallaleujah for that. Hopefully they don't get a big homework teacher. 

John and Emily are enjoying thir sophomore year. John likes math and band. Emily is liking her Latin and English classes. 

Two days done.   One hundred seventy-eight to go!

OH!  Good news. We have sold half of our six gallons of maple syrup so far. If you want some, let us know. It seems to be a good seller. Gotta check honey this weekend to see if it is ready to harvest yet. I'm really looking forward to that little adventure. Honey, anyone?

Goodnight!

First Day

High school sophomores were up bright and early to start the new school year. Both kids like their schedules.  I think they share three of their six classes. Last year band was the only time they were together. 

Grace and Grant (fourth grade and second grade) started their day with smiles and cheerfulness. They were still smiling at the bus stop this afternoon. Both were full of stories to tell about their exciting first day. 

One day down..... Only one hundred and seventy-nine more to go!

Best Friends

Guess who REALLY likes the hamsters. I can't decide if she wants to be friends with the hamsters or eat them for lunch. 

Pictures from today......

Last Hurrah

Spending the last day of summer vacation at Kentucky Kingdom's water park with all four kids. 

Our summer is ending with a splash, not a bang. 

I am sitting here watching the younger two play at the splash pad celebrating the successful and safe end of a summer that started off rather rough.  I am thankful for good health, safe travels and a family I love very much. 

And now....

Let the school insanity begin!!  Bring it on. The Zoo is ready!

Zoo Expansion Project

Yes. It is what it appears to be. 

Grant has a hamster. 

Grace has one too. Her hamster bites. She won't hold it long enough for a picture right now. 

We had a little incident the second night with grace's hamster. Its previous profession was escape artist.  At least it seems so. The hamster could not be found.  We emptied her room looking for it the next morning with no luck. 

Only after we lost Grant's hamster the next day did we decide the hamsters were tiny enough to free themselves from their cages. Sigh. 

After emptying grant's room and recapturing his hamster I was pleased to see grace's hamster cowering under grant's bed. Both hamsters are safe in cages newly modified to prevent future escapes. 

Bonus points are awarded for two extremely clean children's bedrooms. 

Now I need a nap!

Happy Birthday to Them!

A couple somebodies turned fifteen while we were on vacation. We had the pleasure of celebrating the big day in Carrollton with Grandma Shupe. Thank you Grandma for supplying the birthday dinner and goodies. 

It took a full week, but we did manage to celebrate birthday at home with presents and treats. Emily requested a cake with chocolate icing. John wanted pecan pie. It doesn't get much easier than that. Presents included lots of DVDs and books. As John observed, that's a sure sign they are getting older. 

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY JOHN AND EMILY!!!!!!!

No more tin grin

After a year plus a few weeks, the braces are off. 

Isn't he handsome?

One!!!!

John slalom skiing tonight!

Cale, David and John took advantage of the beautiful weather to sneak in one more ski trip before Cale leaves Friday. 

Happy Second Birthday!

Someone is having a birthday. 

Since she is getting so grown up, we decided it was time for some big girl lessons. 

Snickers wore a bridle for the first time

This was also the first time she had someone on her back.  We walked her around for a while with bridle and rider.  

Special thanks to our volunteer rider, Grace Shupe.  She happily risked life and limb to be the first person to sit on Snickers' back.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SNICKERS!!!

No creatures (or cute little girls) were harmed in the production of this riding lesson.