Proud of Her

We are proud of her. It's been a tough year for Megan. She had started off this school year really good and very determined. Soon after the school year started DJ's Father was murdered and he moved. This was tough for her. Her grades fell apart and so did her attitude. After December, Megan decided enough was enough and she just wasn't happy being unhappy.

She told us and her teacher that by the end of the school year she would be on the honor roll. Let me tell you, that when this child gets something in her head there will be NO changing it. It took some serious work and some sacrifices but she did it. We got her report card a couple of weeks ago and was impressed. We let her know that she pulled her grades up to a 3.5 but the numbers really didn't mean much to her, until last night.

The joys of a small town. They post the High School and Middle School honor roll in our newspaper. I wish I took a picture of her face when she saw her name in the paper. Now the numbers mean something. She looked at it then checked where her friends are. Quickly she ran to the computer to type an email to her friend in Italy to let her know where on the list she was. Then looked at us and said "4.0 next year guys." Followed by "he he I am higher then Anthony."
A quick DJ update: His fathers killer was sentenced to life with possible parole in 25 years. Megan keeps in contact with DJ regularly. Now that summer is here, she is missing him big time. There was some talk that he would be here sometime to visit for a couple of weeks. I really really hope it works out.

Fathers Day

I don't have to much to report for Fathers day. We just didn't do much and that is exactly what we wanted to do.

Anthony is away at wrestling camp and I am missing him today. It seems very strange to be celebrating something and not having all the kids here. Just wait until my birthday. Two kids will be gone. My parents will be here so it won't seem so empty.

This is a picture of our desert last night. The hamburger buns are cupcakes and the hamburger is a brownie. The french fries are made out of sugar cookies. Megan helped me put together the basket and french fry bag. Jason was moral support and official taste tester. They tasted pretty good and Steve was impressed. I wish I could say this was my idea but it wasn't. I got the idea from another blog I follow.

I hope you have a great day. I am off to swimming lessons then VBS and to finish out the night soccer practices for both Megan and Jason. The lazy days of summer have begun.

Happy Birthday Lady Grandma

Have a wonderful birthday Lady Grandma. We miss you and really wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Steve and his Mom.

An Almost New Camper

We have had this pop up camper for a few years now. Steve lived in it for 6 months before we finally moved up here. As you can see, it really needs some help. The plastic bag is covering a hole.



After sitting for 2 years we finally decided to get it fixed.

Here it is now.



The canvas looks a little loose, but after it's been used a couple of times it will start to shrink up a little bit. I was very nervous about ordering it from a company we have never used before. I would highly them, they where wonderful. Thanks Sherry and RV Workshop.
Tent Trailer Camper Canvas Replacements Pop up Camper Canvas Replacements

Believe it or not, it took about 5 minutes to get the old canvas off and just about an hour to get the new on.

10,000 Pictures and More...

I have officially taken more then 10,000 pictures on my camera. I have been trying to pass 10,000 for a couple of weeks now, but just couldn't get it done. Jubilation finally put me over. I took over 400 pictures in one weekend. I will post more about Jubilation and some pictures in the next couple of days. Today is just an update of whats been going on in our lives the last couple of days.

A huge thank you goes to our teachers in this district. They voted to take a pay cut in order to help save sports and activities. They also saved a counselors job at the middle school. We went from having to raise $300,000 to having to raise $75,000. Our fees went from $100 to $150 a sport. People are pretty happy (me too, we where looking at having to pay $575 a sport) but I am not overly jumping for joy yet. The $75,000 will be covering transportation and the cost of referees. The Boosters Club is going to take on this task. Last year they where able to raise between $30 and $40,000 all year. Our little town is at 15% unemployment and we have yet another plant being shut down at the end of this month. I am just not sure that we can squeeze this community even more. I am not sure what will happen if we don't make that goal. I am just so thankful for the generosity of our teachers and coach's for making personal sacrifices to keep sports and activities alive at our schools.

An Anthony love life update: Well, it ended this weekend. He really means it when he said he wants to stay friends. He just is not in the same place she is. When he has free time, he would rather be causing bodily harm to his best friend with an air soft riffle then hanging out at the park with a girl. Now if she had a air soft riffle he would remember to call her.

Megan and I are getting ready for VBS to start next week. Yes, I am teaching again. Speaking of teaching, I guess I am teaching Sunday school again next year. I am just not sure what class I will be teaching. The church changed how they will be doing youth groups in the future. They formed a Youth Ministry Counsel. Guess who is on it. I think it is to funny, because they got Steve to be on it too. He never saw it coming.

I guess that is it for updates for now. Have a good day.

The Lake

We decided yesterday to take the kids up to the lake.



It was a little bit chilly but absolutely beautiful.


Jason was the only one brave enough to swim, but he did end up getting the other two to help build a sand castle.



Steve rented a paddle boat and took the kids out on it. I didn't get many pictures of the boat because I was looking for a missing flip flop in a river of muck. We never found it.

The lake is a hot spot around here and is usually packed, but we had the lake mostly to ourselves. It probably had something to do with thunderstorms in the forecast. We never let stuff like that stop us.

It also has a great campground attached to it that we are hoping to go back to in August.

Even had a hang glider drop in.

Thank You

Thank you Paula Dean. I made her peanut butter chocolate brownies tonight. Very yummy but very sweet. The kids loved them and are bouncing off the walls and my stomach hurts. I should know better. Anything with brownie mix and peanut butter chips is going to be super sweet.

A belated happy 16th birthday to our nephew Joseph.

We hope you had a great birthday, and I can't believe you are 16 already. That means one thing, Anthony will be 16 in a few months. Now my stomach really hurts.

That's it for tonight. I am tired and really need to be in bed.