Party of 18

14 kids + 4 adults + 24 hours = lots of fun

by the fire

cold night
good friends

warmed by the fire

toasting marshmallows

tag in the dark

missing gloves

friends laughing

fire watching

pretend coyote shooting

baby doll carrying

enjoying the moment
together

by the fire

table of friends

kittens & neighbors

in the rare case that you follow me on twitter...

you may already know we went to visit newborn kittens the other evening

they had just opened their eyes and were absolutely precious

mama had 7 kittens {6 orange tabby and 1 lonely tiger}

the neighbors told us how they knew the father cat was from our farm a mere 4 miles away

we talked of generators and blizzards

they also told us of the buffalo they had just slaughter earlier that day

{the organs were laying just outside the barn}

we talked of spitting lamas and coyotes

and how it must have felt to have 7 kittens in mama's belly

the girls talked about "kitties" with complete awe

we talked about my bare feet and how this just isn't going to cut it in a North Dakota winter

we talked about mama and her payloader home she made for her kittens

and when their little dopey ears would perk up

dad held weary girls until they drifted to sleep

we watched the kittens wrestle until they were sleepy

and mama wanted them back...

so we put them back into the payloader

and drove the 4 miles home

thinking of the next time we'd come by to visit the kittens

and talking about which ones will be ours

the ride

that had all 5 boys ducking for cover...



or not...

it started out warm {78} and breezy

and ended cold {54}, drizzly & very windy

...which left the boys huddled in the corner

or at least most of them

...I heard "whooooo baby"
"let's go faster"
"bring it on"
"yeehaw"
by this one...



what we were doing?
just going for a drive in the pick-up
down to the underwater road
with 13 people
which meant that a few had to ride in back
and it wasn't hard to convince those boys
until it was cold, wet and windy
and they all wanted inside the pick-up with us
yes all 13 of us on the inside
it was a
smooshed
loud
blast!

orange. yellow. green and blue

what is going on here?

When an Ozzie loves an Ava...

...and an Ava loves an Ozzie.

Tonight at dinner, during 'good day - bad day' {our family dinner talk}
Ozzie kept telling everyone...
"I go to Ava's house today"

and his brothers kept saying
NO you didn't...
but they didn't know that he DID go to Ava's house today...
in his imagination.

He got his KEYS
hopped into his imaginary car
and off he went to AVA'S house

...they had hummus and cucumber
played with Ava's keys
hid in Ava's house
and gave Shelly hugs.

It may sound silly to say...
but sometimes I think maybe just maybe
Ozzie and Ava were made for each other.

It could just be that they were walking side-by-side from the very beginning...
inside their mommies bellies
or that they were born 11 days apart
and have always known each other.

I used to joke that Ozzie and Ava together is what twins would be like.

Anyway....
Ozzie and I sat down and the computer to find some pictures of Ava tonight.
And look what I found!
I almost forgot I had these ADORABLE photos of them before we left town.

{just LOOK at these two!}

{oh the young love}

{this one made us {moms} squeal}

{way TOO innocent and cute!}

I DARE you to tell me those aren't the cutest things you've seen all day! {grin}

bins, pigtails, marriage and more

you guys really do pay attention {grin} I think this
is the picture you were remembering from last year...

really... who can forget this picture... it's gosh darn adorable!



and yes the little girl in pigtails IS indeed the same little girl... oh Ava you look just precious in pigtails!

Ava is sweet on my little Ozzie... he is still a little girl shy however!

As many of you mentioned... these would be great phots to show at their wedding. Can we arrange that now?!

Ah seriously... to know my son is going to marry a beautiful, smart, healthy girl from an amazing Christian family. No need to worry about my new daughter in law vaccinating my grandkids or feeding them hot dogs and Doritos. If only! We'll just have to wait and see. {grin}

You have to admit Ozzie and Ava has a nice ring to it!

oh and I almost forgot... the bins are from Target and YES they are awesome! We have about 40 of them in the toy room!