A Big Burn Pile

We have an old garage in our front yard that's a bit of an eyesore, a wasp-magnet, and empty.  It's demolition has been on the to-do list for a while and is now officially crossed off.  It was decided that the best way to deal with it was to knock it down and then burn it up.  Since we live in the country, we can get away with things like that!

Ryan had help getting it knocked down a few weeks ago.  Don and his son came on over to help out and it was entertaining to watch.  The building was built of stiffer stuff than expected.  

It took all afternoon and quite a bit of convincing to knock the thing down.  Cables and wenches were used in very creative ways.  Maybe jumping on the cable would provide that last bit of necessary force?

Nope.  A bit more deliberation and brainstorming...

Success!  Well, partial success.  Only three more sides to go.  But three more sides they got and the next day they discovered several sore muscles.

 This morning dawned gray and drizzly with a slight south wind.  The perfect conditions for a bonfire. 

 There she goes!

Aside from the pile of tin, there's not much left.  Once it's all cleaned up, the cement pad will make a great basketball court and play area for the kids.   

Evening Entertainment

What does one do when there's no fishing to be found, it's miserable outside and the evenings are still long? 

 Tie flies!

 
Who knew flies were so colorful?  And they come with some pretty interesting names too.  The one above is merely a Perch, but there are flies named Trash Burner, Ugly Sister, Renegade, and Wounded Road Kill.  Maybe the crazier the name, the better they attract the trout?

Reading Material

She loves playing cars and trains with her big brother.  She goes on major hunting expeditions that are 'guided' by her big brother. Sometimes she even convinces him to let her 'help' him build with his Trio blocks.  But when it comes to reading material for potty training ...

she's all girl!

Exercise!

At least someone is getting exercise around here and, even better, enjoying it! Logan doesn't seem to mind tummy time, especially if he has entertainment, and Lane thinks entertaining Logan is pretty great.

Cabin Fever

Outside, the weather is truly frightful.  It is cold (teens) and snowy one day and the next it's mid-30's and raining with a lovely layer of ice that never seems to go away.  Argh!  So we've been stuck inside doing our best to avoid cabin fever. 

 

Reading books is always entertaining, especially if you listen to Morgan 'reading' them. 

 Art projects are always a hit.

And then there's the train set.  It has created all sorts of commotion as crashes happen regularly.  Of course Morgan is generally the cause.  Her attention span is much shorter then Lane's and since there are stuffed animals in that bin ... one might say she's easily distracted. 

Crashes or not, this little guy watches it all and I think he's going to happily enter the fray in the near future.  

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  A bit belated but at least the laundry is just about done and then I can cross off 'unpacking' from my to-do list.  Of course, laundry seems to be never ending and never gets crossed off to-do lists so I just lump it in with another item so I can enjoy the satisfaction of crossing something off the to-do list!  But that's another story so let us head back to New Years...

We loved having willing readers read stories read to our kiddos.  Thank you Jake!

I couldn't get enough of this sweetheart.  Hard to believe Maddie is almost a year old already!

We enjoyed beautiful, cold, clear days playing outside.

Lane getting help from Uncle Lance.  The kiddos got great use out of the mounds of fill dirt where the shop will eventually go.

Lane had a ball trying to do everything his older cousins did.

Morgan caught a ride with Daddy.

It is highly entertaining trying to get 10 sets of eyes headed in the same direction.  Never mind smiles and everyone looking.  

We hope you had a lovely Holiday Season!  We wish you all the best in 2011!