Jakin turned 2 today. It seems weird. In one sense 2 years doesn't seem like that long, but with kids it is a huge difference. It was just yesterday that he was born, right? Man do I feel old. When you are younger, you look forward to when you are older. When you are older you just want things to slow down. Life gets that way sometimes.
Jakin had a great day. He loved all his presents. It was a beautiful sunny day for a birthday too. That was a bonus.
Photos to follow soon!
Perils of Picking Crabapples
The other night my wife went out to pickup crabapples. This is a routine activity since our 2 trees have approximately 1.5 million crabapples on them. You might ask, "why bother to pick them up in the first place?" There are several reasons. 1. They smell. 2. They attract bees, yellow jackets, fly's etc. 3. They get squishy in your toes. 4. They stink. 5. They clog up the tires on the lawn mower. 6. They can be very alluring to young children who typically like to put things in there mouth. Photos Here! 7. They will sprout new trees in the spring. 8. And lastly, they don't smell very good.
So my wife, being the awesome servant she is, decided to go tackle the yard after our week of vacation. She has been very sympathetic this time of year when my allergies are in full force. Thanks sweetie!
We here in Minnesota have had a very dry summer. We didn't get much rain in June or July. August has made up for it and so have the mosquito's. So how much fun can it bee (get it) to be outside with all those flying insects picking up mushy crabapples? It can be loads of fun if you dare to try.
WarWounds001
Originally uploaded by thestahlhouse.
So my wife, being the awesome servant she is, decided to go tackle the yard after our week of vacation. She has been very sympathetic this time of year when my allergies are in full force. Thanks sweetie!
We here in Minnesota have had a very dry summer. We didn't get much rain in June or July. August has made up for it and so have the mosquito's. So how much fun can it bee (get it) to be outside with all those flying insects picking up mushy crabapples? It can be loads of fun if you dare to try.
WarWounds001
Originally uploaded by thestahlhouse.
This is a picture of Laura's foot. She had 15 mosquito bites and they were very itchy. So she applied some cortizon and some bandages. She is even sporting some "Chicken Little" tatoo bandages. Very cool. With kids, I am glad I can get them for $1 a box instead of $3.50 in the store. Anyone with kids out there need some? Let me know!
We are now taking applications for full time assistant crabapple pickers.
We are now taking applications for full time assistant crabapple pickers.
A week of vacation!!!
I took a week of vacation starting on Monday the 14th. We planned on leaving for Aberdeen, South Dakota on Tuesday evening, so I figured I needed the whole weekend to prepare and pack for the trip. Here are the highlights from our week.
Monday the 14th
Started doing the prep work of our trip by cleaning the van. I vacuumed, washed, waxed, and even used armor all. The boys helped and were pretty much in the van the whole day. They were good, with very little mischief. Josh woke up this morning and was all ready to go see Papa John and Grandma Sandi. He must have asked every hour if we were ready to go yet. No other problems except Jakins belly flop onto the concrete garage floor. I am not sure what that sounded like since I was running the vacuum at the time. It must have hurt because he wasn't very happy.
Tuesday the 15th
Josh again woke up ready to go on the trip. He spent most of the day in the van with me as I packed it and ran some cables for separate speakers. I wanted the video sound just in the back so Laura and I could listen to what we wanted on the stereo. This worked really well. The boys were playing with the dashboard and the ashtray since it was full of coins. I told them to keep them the coins in the ashtray so they wouldn't end up all over. So I finished the speaker and power runs for the video stuff, just in time to see Jakin inserting coins into his bank. When I say bank I mean steering column. So when did I catch him? Not before he inserted 13 coins totalling $1.19. At 3:00 we headed on our way to Aberdeen. We arrived at about 9:45PM. Josh and Jakin were put in the sunroom to sleep in their new sleeping bags. They had fun until they wouldn't go to sleep, so Jakin ended up in our room with Jude, Laura and me. 3:30AM. Jakin wakes up screaming. He rolled under our bed and couldn't get out. Laura jumped up, turned on the light and extracted our "rolling" boy from under the bed. We took Jude (not so mobile) out of the portable crib and put Jakin in his place. Jude did just fine on the floor of our room. He didn't get stuck under the bed, whew!
Wednesday the 16th
We got up and had breakfast then headed to Wylie Park. This is a local park with a lot of activities including Storybook Land. It is really fun for the kids and adults alike. The kids enjoyed the time, rode the train, had a picnic and a lot of fun. We went home after this and enjoyed some naps. I went over to Grandma Jeanettes to introduce her to Jude. We had a very nice visit, then I left to take Jude back for his nap. Mike, Mary and I went back over to Gr. Jeannettes to learn how to make strudles. These are German dough logs that you cook and serve with gravy. I think they are quite yummy. After that we all played and had fun. Then we went home and the boys Sam, Josh and Jakin went for a "swim" in mom and dad's whirlpool tub. That night my mom thought it would be cool if all the older grandkids slept in the sunroom with their sleeping bags. Kate didn't want to join in, so Sam, Josh and Jakin tried sleeping together. Jakin was in the portable crib. Sam and Josh were on the floor. Josh is certainly the instigator. Jakin and Sam wanted to sleep, but Josh was keeping everyone up. So we removed Josh to fall asleep on our bed, then we moved him back to Sam and Jakin. All was well until the morning.
Thursday the 17th
The boys got up a little early. Jakin needs his sleep but with Sam and Josh up, it was difficult to get them w/o Jakin. So they all got up about 7:30. Jakin was tired the rest of the day. This day we went to the farm to see Grandpa and Grandma Stahl (Earl and Joyce). We had fun riding the 4 wheelers, playing in the corn and having a great meal from Joyce. The family headed home around 1:30 and I stayed to take some pictures of my grandparents. We had some fun and enjoyed a nice chat about ancestors. We (Gr. Earl, Gr. Joyce and I) took a drive "down home". This is part of the original homestead of my Gr. Grandpa Arthur Bean (Joyce's Dad). This land has never been tilled or planted. It used to have the farm hands house on it and a barn. The house was moved to my Earl and Joyce's current farm and they live in that house today. It was really cool to see this land. It is hilly and beautiful. Maybe I just like the flatness of South Dakota or maybe because it is a piece of history. I don't know what, but I like it. Gr. Joyce and I picked some apples from a tree that her dad had planted in the 1920's. It is amazing the tree is still alive. Gr. Joyce made me an apple pie from those apples. She delivered it to us on Friday and it was delicious. My grandpa Earl gave me a camera that was bought in 1927 by his mother Elsie. This a Kodak Brownie Autographic camera. I want to locate some film for it and shoot some pictures to send back to grandpa Earl. Thursday night we had the Gr. Grandparents over for a group birthday party. Josh's birthday was in July. Sam's is August 22, Jakin's is August 27 and Kate's is September 21st so we celebrated them all when we were home. Is was some really nice chaos. This night we put Jakin in the laundry room and he did just fine. So much so, that he slept in there the next 2 nights too!
Friday the 18th
Today was the day we were going to the Brown County Fair. My parents had bought some unlimited ride wrist bands for the grandkids. They rode the cars, the carousel, the whale, the planes etc. They had tons of fun. I got some good pictures for sure. After that we had naps and then to Uncle Jim's and his pool. It was a beautiful day for a swim. Josh did very well all by himself, and the help of his swim fins. Jude even floated in a float ring we bought for Josh and never got to use for Josh or Jakin. They grew too big too fast. This time Jude fit in just fine.
Saturday the 19th
This was a down day. We didn't do much except try to keep the kids entertained. They played in Grandpa's muddy yard. Lot's of fun for sure. We also took pictures of the grandkids. Later, Jackson came by (he is a few months younger than Jakin) so we could take pictures of all the Great Grandkids of Earl and Joyce. My cousin Corey and his wife are expecting at the end of September so that will make 7 "greats" for my grandparents. In the evening we had some relatives over for some pizza. A little later than that we played some games. Mom bought us a new game called Spite and Malice. I had seen this game before in the store and I didn't know if it sounded like fun or not. Let me tell you, it is quite fun. We also did some preliminary packing.
Sunday the 20th
We did some more packing. Mike and I went to Grandma Jeannette's to look at some family heirlooms. I picked up 2 bowls and a piece of depression ware that Gr. Jeanette says her Gr. Rath had and probably came from her Great Grandma Gutschmidt. She would be my Gr.Gr.Gr. Grandma Gutschmidt. Pretty cool though to have some more of history. Family is very important to me. I love our history. Our trip home wasn't too eventful which is good.
That's all for now! I'll have some pictures posted on flickr soon.
Monday the 14th
Started doing the prep work of our trip by cleaning the van. I vacuumed, washed, waxed, and even used armor all. The boys helped and were pretty much in the van the whole day. They were good, with very little mischief. Josh woke up this morning and was all ready to go see Papa John and Grandma Sandi. He must have asked every hour if we were ready to go yet. No other problems except Jakins belly flop onto the concrete garage floor. I am not sure what that sounded like since I was running the vacuum at the time. It must have hurt because he wasn't very happy.
Tuesday the 15th
Josh again woke up ready to go on the trip. He spent most of the day in the van with me as I packed it and ran some cables for separate speakers. I wanted the video sound just in the back so Laura and I could listen to what we wanted on the stereo. This worked really well. The boys were playing with the dashboard and the ashtray since it was full of coins. I told them to keep them the coins in the ashtray so they wouldn't end up all over. So I finished the speaker and power runs for the video stuff, just in time to see Jakin inserting coins into his bank. When I say bank I mean steering column. So when did I catch him? Not before he inserted 13 coins totalling $1.19. At 3:00 we headed on our way to Aberdeen. We arrived at about 9:45PM. Josh and Jakin were put in the sunroom to sleep in their new sleeping bags. They had fun until they wouldn't go to sleep, so Jakin ended up in our room with Jude, Laura and me. 3:30AM. Jakin wakes up screaming. He rolled under our bed and couldn't get out. Laura jumped up, turned on the light and extracted our "rolling" boy from under the bed. We took Jude (not so mobile) out of the portable crib and put Jakin in his place. Jude did just fine on the floor of our room. He didn't get stuck under the bed, whew!
Wednesday the 16th
We got up and had breakfast then headed to Wylie Park. This is a local park with a lot of activities including Storybook Land. It is really fun for the kids and adults alike. The kids enjoyed the time, rode the train, had a picnic and a lot of fun. We went home after this and enjoyed some naps. I went over to Grandma Jeanettes to introduce her to Jude. We had a very nice visit, then I left to take Jude back for his nap. Mike, Mary and I went back over to Gr. Jeannettes to learn how to make strudles. These are German dough logs that you cook and serve with gravy. I think they are quite yummy. After that we all played and had fun. Then we went home and the boys Sam, Josh and Jakin went for a "swim" in mom and dad's whirlpool tub. That night my mom thought it would be cool if all the older grandkids slept in the sunroom with their sleeping bags. Kate didn't want to join in, so Sam, Josh and Jakin tried sleeping together. Jakin was in the portable crib. Sam and Josh were on the floor. Josh is certainly the instigator. Jakin and Sam wanted to sleep, but Josh was keeping everyone up. So we removed Josh to fall asleep on our bed, then we moved him back to Sam and Jakin. All was well until the morning.
Thursday the 17th
The boys got up a little early. Jakin needs his sleep but with Sam and Josh up, it was difficult to get them w/o Jakin. So they all got up about 7:30. Jakin was tired the rest of the day. This day we went to the farm to see Grandpa and Grandma Stahl (Earl and Joyce). We had fun riding the 4 wheelers, playing in the corn and having a great meal from Joyce. The family headed home around 1:30 and I stayed to take some pictures of my grandparents. We had some fun and enjoyed a nice chat about ancestors. We (Gr. Earl, Gr. Joyce and I) took a drive "down home". This is part of the original homestead of my Gr. Grandpa Arthur Bean (Joyce's Dad). This land has never been tilled or planted. It used to have the farm hands house on it and a barn. The house was moved to my Earl and Joyce's current farm and they live in that house today. It was really cool to see this land. It is hilly and beautiful. Maybe I just like the flatness of South Dakota or maybe because it is a piece of history. I don't know what, but I like it. Gr. Joyce and I picked some apples from a tree that her dad had planted in the 1920's. It is amazing the tree is still alive. Gr. Joyce made me an apple pie from those apples. She delivered it to us on Friday and it was delicious. My grandpa Earl gave me a camera that was bought in 1927 by his mother Elsie. This a Kodak Brownie Autographic camera. I want to locate some film for it and shoot some pictures to send back to grandpa Earl. Thursday night we had the Gr. Grandparents over for a group birthday party. Josh's birthday was in July. Sam's is August 22, Jakin's is August 27 and Kate's is September 21st so we celebrated them all when we were home. Is was some really nice chaos. This night we put Jakin in the laundry room and he did just fine. So much so, that he slept in there the next 2 nights too!
Friday the 18th
Today was the day we were going to the Brown County Fair. My parents had bought some unlimited ride wrist bands for the grandkids. They rode the cars, the carousel, the whale, the planes etc. They had tons of fun. I got some good pictures for sure. After that we had naps and then to Uncle Jim's and his pool. It was a beautiful day for a swim. Josh did very well all by himself, and the help of his swim fins. Jude even floated in a float ring we bought for Josh and never got to use for Josh or Jakin. They grew too big too fast. This time Jude fit in just fine.
Saturday the 19th
This was a down day. We didn't do much except try to keep the kids entertained. They played in Grandpa's muddy yard. Lot's of fun for sure. We also took pictures of the grandkids. Later, Jackson came by (he is a few months younger than Jakin) so we could take pictures of all the Great Grandkids of Earl and Joyce. My cousin Corey and his wife are expecting at the end of September so that will make 7 "greats" for my grandparents. In the evening we had some relatives over for some pizza. A little later than that we played some games. Mom bought us a new game called Spite and Malice. I had seen this game before in the store and I didn't know if it sounded like fun or not. Let me tell you, it is quite fun. We also did some preliminary packing.
Sunday the 20th
We did some more packing. Mike and I went to Grandma Jeannette's to look at some family heirlooms. I picked up 2 bowls and a piece of depression ware that Gr. Jeanette says her Gr. Rath had and probably came from her Great Grandma Gutschmidt. She would be my Gr.Gr.Gr. Grandma Gutschmidt. Pretty cool though to have some more of history. Family is very important to me. I love our history. Our trip home wasn't too eventful which is good.
That's all for now! I'll have some pictures posted on flickr soon.
Fruits of my labor, well sort of...
Here is a dandy picture of 2 strawberries picked from our patch last week. These are the only 2 strawberries I got all year. We planted 12 plants on Memorial Day. All those plants died, so Laura took them back to Gertens. They explained to us that we fryed them. Basically we planted them on a day that was too hot. It was only 95 degrees. So we got 12 new replacement plants and waited until it cooled down. These plants were doing quite well and bearing fruit. They had some really nice berries on them. Then one day, Laura asked if I had been picking the berries, well I hadn't. It seems that birds must like strawberries too. Since strawberry plants are June bearing, we didn't anticipate any more berries. The plants are concentrating on spreading out and making a bigger patch. I was suprised to see these two, so I had to pick them and have some berries from the year. I wish I had strawberries as plentiful as my crabapples..... more later on that.
