Wonderful weekend

I always wonder how to start the blog. Sometimes it seems there are so many things to share. It's not like the events of the day are world changing, but I must say they are important to us. I hope everyone who reads the blog enjoys sharing some of our little moments!! The opportunity to share with family and friends near and far is so important to us. For those only interested in the owls....sorry...we only see or hear them on rare occasions now. Dave happened to see one of the babies sitting on the fence when he came home the other night. We hear some hooting in the woods after dark sometimes also.

Now for the rest of the happenings.

We are keeping the new trailer at my parents house, and we spent the day Saturday doing some more updates. Sarah helped Dave with he installation of the new hitch box. Dave is thrilled with having some outside storage. I could have taken some pics of him installing the sewer tube, but decided to spare you!!!

Sarah has always been my picky eater but the one thing she has always loved is my moms home grown peas. My mom is always concerned with getting them in the ground in time for her to have some by time it's Sarah's birthday. Mission accomplished!!

I think she approves!!

"We love what you do for us, Volkswagon!! "

So, for those who didn't know a couple weeks ago Jesse and Lukas hit a deer on the highway. It ended up that there car was totaled, no one hurt though. Thank Goodness!! So, they have been using the jeep for a couple weeks while they waited to hear what was happening and looking for something new. Decision made and today they picked up the new (used) ride. I think they are happy with there choice.

Sunday, and we were off to Sarah's house. Dave rode from the house to Deep Lake and the trails and then back to Sarah's in time for the arrival of his little guy. Stinky cloths and all Lukas was happy to see grandpa!!!

Lukas has acquired a new skill. He will do this for a long time and never seems to tire of it. I never tire of hearing it or helping him making it. Here mommy lends a hand.

OH, come on!!! All worn out and having done nothing!?!?! Night night Jesse.

Lukas stylin in his shades. I am always surprised that he wears his hat and never seems to mind. Today the shades, and he never touched them either. How cute!!

Hey, grandpa here I come!!!

It was REALLY windy today. They said 20 mile an hour gusts....they were wrong, they were much higher. Sorry, Sarah for the windblown hair shot but Lukas was so cute here I had to include it!!

He didn't mind taking a walk in the grass but liked the deck a little better! I am surprised that he is so strong. I swear if he had better balance he wouldn't need anyone to hold on to him at all.

G and G Stark were over for dinner and fun on the deck.

Mom insisted that I take her picture in the lovely shirt that my sister Nancy helped her pick out. Mom said Nancy is forever checking her closet to see if she has worn it yet!!!! So here is the proof and by the way she really looks stunning in it.....good job Nanc.

The reason we descended on Sarah was to celebrate here birthday. It was actually on Thursday but, she was otherwise occupied. She and a friend were seeing NKOTB (new kids on the block), and channeling her inner teenager!!!

We were growing older waiting for her to remove ALL the candles!! Love you Sarah!!

Lukas pitched in and had his first taste of whipped cream.


Watch out Jesse she looks dangerous with that knife.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sarah we are so proud of you and who you are!!!

After dinner and before they headed home Lukas wanted another bath at aunt Sarah's house. This boy does LOVE his bath!!! OH, and he loves it when she sings to him too!!



Here he is channeling his inner Olympic diver.


As always I pick a shot that I love to end the blog.

So with this happy smile I will close for now. Hopefully you all enjoy the "Days of our Lives"

Um Um Good!!

Hello everyone, Lukas here. I asked my grandma if I could write the blog this time. Being the wonderful, awesome, caring grandma she is she said sure. I thought I would tell you about the last 2 days in my life, while hanging out with grandma.

Well, lets see when mom got home from work it was time for some dinner. I wasn't too sure I was up for it!

But being the cooperative little man that I am I decided to go along with it.

HUMMMM...something new???

OH!!! Apples let me think about this a second.

Allright now I may be getting used to the taste.


Yup, bring it on I like it!!!!

After dinner I tried to lend a hand by washing my own face.



I never realized before what a hard job this is. It always LOOKS easy from this side of things.

OK, now I am getting the hang of it. And it feels good on the gums also.

After I cleaned up mom let me practice my self feeding skills. I think I am doing a real impressive job, don't you???!!!

I was rewarded for all my efforts with a big hug and some playtime with mom. She is so AWESOME....everyone should be so lucky as to have a mom like mine!!

The next day after mom and dad left for work I got some hanging time with gram. I got to kick and roll around on the floor for a while. OH, not to brag but I am rolling front to back and back to front, all the time now. I surprised grandma by rolling across the room yesterday. She went into the kitchen and when she returned I had made a lot of progress...she put me back on my mat. Later in the morning I got to play in my excersaucer. I really have a lot of fun in this and can stand and turn around. Grandma says she is particularly fond of my hams ( as she calls my legs). I am quite proud of them myself. I am working on building up my biking muscles!!

Now, for the most part I try to maintain a good attitude but sometime a guy just has had enough. So ,everyone is entitled to a little melt down once and awhile. It usually doesn't last long but, I was ready for a nap. Of course grandma came to my rescue and gave me lots of hugs and squishes. All in all we had a really nice day.

Thanks to Lukas for his nice blog and kind words. I can guarantee you I am more than happy to spend time with this guy. He is getting to be so much fun. Jesse and Amy are going to have there hands full very soon.

Loving this boy!!!

Happy Pappy Day

The family was all together up north for Fathers day. It was Jesse's first fathers day.

Lukas had some help from mom to make a great first Fathers day gift for Jesse.


It is so awesome to see how much Jesse is loving being a dad. Although Lukas is sleeping here, when he is awake he is always so excited to see his daddy. These calm moments are touching to see.


Next up for a celebration, it was Dave's turn to open his fathers day cards and gifts.

Question??? Do you notice a theme here?? Sarah, Jesse and Amy both found the same card for him and both got him Livestrong items without talking to each other. We are really in tune with each other.



All that card opening can wear a family out.


Before the kids headed home we wanted to take the opportunity to get a picture of 3 generations together. Lukas said "grandpa turn your head and look at the camera."

My 3 favorite guys!!

A great day was had by all.....HAPPY PAPPY DAY!!!

Continued

OK so I may not have the best service up here for posting a blog. It self posted and then would not let me on again so I will continue now where I left off!!! Lukas met a new friend at the race. Long time racing friends have a new baby in the family, Eston, and he is 2 weeks younger than Lukas.

Yup you heard me right....2 weeks!! We have our selves a little bruiser!!

After his first lap Jes came into the pit area to re-fuel and Lukas was there to add a little more incentive!!

All week Amy had been sick with a cold and you had to know who would catch it just before the one race Jesse was waiting for. He came in from the 1st. lap feeling pretty bad. He said his lungs were barking. All Lukas wanted to do was get to his daddy....With that kind of encouragement he headed out for a second 25 mile lap.

Back to the race....Oh! Oh! something doesn't look quite right?? Is he riding one handed!??

Never a good sign when they are holding the shoulder!!

So that was the end of the day for Jesse. He said...wake up feeling lousy...crash your bike...can't feel your fingers....I just completed the Lumberjack 32!!! As any true biker will ask "Is my bike OK???" Bike was fine, helmet not cracked and some how he poked a hole in his shoe??

Back to the pits and now it is time for a beer!! Oh and isn't the little cabana too cute. It kept the bugs off Lukas and gave him a place to get out of the sun. And, yes Amy got in there a few times to discretely provide him some nourishment.

Now we can all watch the finish. This is a guy that broke his back a few weeks ago at Fort Custer. He was supposed to ride the Lumberjack so he wore his # plate to cheer on the others.

Aunt Sarah was more than willing to provide some entertainment to Lukas besides the racing.

Grandpa is making sure that Lukas gets a feel for the great outdoors.


A parting shot for the day. I will post a cute father's day post later!!

Great job Jesse, glad your OK and let's try again next year. Dad said he is going to try it!!

Bye for now!!!

What a weekend!!

First I want to say a great big congratulations to Matt, Autumn, and Hunter on the arrival of Victoria Jane Kraima. What a wonderful new addition to the family!

Now onto the extended weekend with the Ward's. We picked up the new trailer Wed. and headed to Wellston where Jesse was to participate in the Lumberjack 100, a 100 mile mountian bike race. It was the first chance the kids got to see the new digs. I think the approved. I imagine that Lukas is voicing his approval here!! Yeah, for the new trailer!!

Of course the night before the race it had to start raining. I am not sure that there was a lot of sleeping involved. Isn't that the way it is when you really need your rest!! We got up at 5:00 to prepare for the big day. Amy suprised Jesse with a new shirt for Lukas, she made it herself..how cute!

We arrived at the race to cloudy skies and warm weather. All smiles at the beginning of the day!!

Jesse coming around at the 8 mile mark in the first lap. I couldn't believe it when the other guy, who had stopped for water, jumped right in front of him. A little evasive manunuver and he was off.

Well, we finally did it!! After 3 years of looking Dave and I finally decided on a new trailer!! This is the new unit as we were picking it up. This is our salesperson at Terrytown RV. If you were to ask him, he would tell you we got such a great deal he may lose his job and will not be able to feed his family....ya ya ya!! We feel good about the deal and the camper.

Jesse is participating in a 100 mile mountain bike race in Northern Michigan and we are here to provide lodging and support. This is the view from the back of the trailer....please disregard the mess, we have a LOT of sorting to do.

Right away Dave dove in and started the upgrades. Here he is trying to carpet the stairs. There is a tremendous amount of sand at this campground.


On top of all the outdoor work I convinced him to help make up the beds in the back of the trailer. OK, so maybe I watched and let him do the work.

My handy hubby really did a ton of stuff today. He has already made it more comfortable and functional. He knows what I like, and always try's to make things easier for me. Here he is installing a a knob on the vanity cabinet..the only one in the trailer with no knob or handle?? He also put up a shelf in the kitchen and installed hooks around the trailer. Next up some shelves in the closets for added storage.

We are still learning where things are in this thing. It took us most of today to figure out what one of the switches was for!!! So, off to get a label maker so that once we figure it out we won't forget. Hey ,who would have guessed there were bug lights on both sides of the trailer!!!

So, this is a preview of our new home away from home. I will keep you updated on all the improvements and how everyone likes having so much more room.

Now, if anyone knows someone who wants to buy a 18 foot toy hauler, in excellent shape, with all kinds of upgrades you know where to call!!!