Summer Days just getting away...

Hello! I feel like we've had so much happening the last couple weeks and I'm going to just post a picture story for ya'll to keep up!

Can't believe August is here tomorrow...Dave's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday Babe! So glad God brought you into this world on this special day 31 years ago!!

Here we go...

It's no secret our family loves the pool in the summer. We have to go 13 times to get our money's worth out of our season pass... and we never have a problem filling that criteria. Even with a wet and cool start to summer :-) Here we are at the Aquatic center enjoying a hot day!

Geetha and her husband, Baboo, live just two houses down from us. They are here until April, working for John Deere (he is). We have built a nice little relationship with them the last few months and Geetha loves to visit the boys everyday. Jaxon has really started to enjoy these visits too and is usually waiting with the hose to "play" with her. She thinks it is so funny when he gets her all wet. What a patient and child like spirit! It is good! Austin has come to really laugh/smile at her too.

This is the Hudson Parade..the 3rd parade we've been in with Walt this summer. Don't the boys look ecstatic to be on that wagon again!?!? Vote Walt Rogers District 10 this fall! :)

My friend Kris and I took a day to make homemade baby food. We stocked up for the next 3 months and spent....drum roll, please.... $7.14 each for 3 months worth of baby food! Can't beat that!!!

Welcome Jonah Raymond Carlson! Our newest Brody cousin/nephew has arrived! He was born July24th to Dave's youngest sister Lo and husband Cliff. Big sister Jayda welcomes him at home :) So glad you are here and healthy and cute as can be!

This is Jaxon with his next door buddy, Kendyl. She is the granddaughter of our good neighbor, Roger. She visits each summer and has been here for 1 month! Jaxon LOVES having her here and will miss her when she leaves tomorrow :( He sits in our yard by the curb waiting for her to come out each day (literally) and she is so nice and plays with him as much as he wants. I think I will miss her too... kinda nice to split the entertainment duties of Jaxon with someone :-)

Ah, the guys! Dave's Wednesday night softball team... They all came over for a grill-out before one of their games. Never a dull moment with this crew! Dave works with all but two of these guys at DTI.

Okay, if I'd had my camera at 4-H fair you would have better pictures of Jaxon LOVING the fair this year. But, I did not have it so you get a picture of him in his new 4-H t-shirt which he proudly wears to bed and around the house most days. He loved fair this year...helping his uncles with the animals, being a curious little boy, hanging out, seeing cool projects, eating, and the good ole gunny sack race. 4-H holds a special spot in my heart, being in it for 10 years myself, and I can not wait to have my children experience it too. It is a great program for youth to explore their abilities and developing many good characteristics for any person to obtain. There are so many options from photography to music to livestock to science to baking to word working...you name it and it is found in 4-H. 4-H is intentional about teaching kids many life skills that will be used as adults...and I'm looking forward to being on the parent end of 4-H!

Austin loves his bath even more now that he can sit up and crawl around in the water. The Peppers cups seem to be his favorite bath toy... I don't know why we spend money on toys! :-)

Jaxon is taking swim lessons right now. It is so fun to watch him. He's doing great listening to his wonderful teachers and learning some good swim moves. He's pretty proud this week becasue he's mastered the back float finally! His main teacher is 70 something and been teaching lessons for at least 35 years. She really whips them into shape!

And, last but not least...Dave and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this month! 7 years, 2 kids, 4 houses, 10 vehicles, 8 jobs, and how many other different things later... and we're still plugging away loving this life! (I know, 10 vehicles, remember Dave's ebay car buying days!?!?) Happy Anniversary Babe...love you!!!!

Look forward to the next few weeks... hope you are all having a great summer! See ya in August.

Picture Happy!?!

So we recently had our family pictures taken by a gal that was suggested to us from some of our family members. She did great. We were done within 1 hour, it was casual and fun, and not too pricey. However, I think I caught her before she really established her photo business so prices may go up in the future for me...anyways...good business deserves good word of mouth advertising...so here is her website if you are looking for a good photographer. You may even see some of our family photo's on her website :-) She does families, babies, weddings, seniors, and kids. I'm sure she'd do about anything you need photographed! Tessa Cole is her name... check her out if you are looking for future pictures to be taken :) She was a very cheerful, laid back, comfortable, and sweet gal. Perfect for getting my family to pose for any kind of pictures!

http://www.sackettphotography.com/

Baby your 7 months old!

Baby Austin is 7 months old today... He is really starting to move into the curiosity stage of babyhood. He strains to see what he is hearing from every direction, he wants to hold and suck on everything...my plate of food, Jaxon's toys, edge of the TV stand, whatever; he wants to see out the windows, and loves to watch you appear through any door to see him! He started to sit up on his own just days shy of his 7 month mark on life. His hair is starting to grow, he's at least 20 pounds, and he has finally taken a liking to the pool. What a baby! We think he's pretty grand and can't believe how fast he is moving through babyhood years. A true blessing to our clan!

Showing off his sitting up skills outside by mom's flowers :)

Austin is "loads" of fun these days! He usually rides up and down our stairs and to the laundry room with me in style :-)

Smiles for big brother!

"hello"

Jaxon and I have a morning routine of greeting Austin after he wakes up singing a good morning song together. Austin is always ready with a huge grin for us! I love to start our day like this!!

i'm in love...

...with this cherry dessert that is! My neighbor from just down the street has cherry trees. This last weekend he offered me some of his latest sweet & sour tasting red fruits. Oh, was I excited to try a new recipe!?! He brought them to my house and within 90 minutes I had thrown together this delicious cherry crisp dessert! I'm not a huge cherry fan. Actually, you could say most the time I don't like cherries at all. When I eat cherry cheesecake I take out the cherries themselves and use the syrup part of the cherry topping. When a recipe calls for cherry I usually replace it with strawberries or raspberries. When I go home for dinners at my grandparents I get really bummed when I see she made cherry pie and not apple pie. However, I watched my neighbor's cherry tree blossom this spring 9beautiful!) and every day I drive by I see the little cherry's start from beginning to today...ready and ripe and time to pick. Something about the home-grown, local, pesticide free, neighborly, up on a ladder picking yourself, and fresh feeling came over me and excited me to bake with these yummy looking berries (are they a berry or a fruit?). Anyways...I made this recipe below and it was YUMMY! I loved it so much I am baking it again today! I shared the first batch with the neighbor's across the street and behind us and they all asked for the recipe...so, since I am on a new recipe kick this summer I thought I would share my latest fav with you all. I hope you like it as much as we all did...it is best eaten warm right out of the oven. Can't wait for my oven to ding so I can take a bite again!! Happy cherry picking to you at your local neighborhood tree or your local grocery store :)

Cherry Crisp

ingredients: 4 cups pitted sour cherries. 1 1/2 cups white sugar. 4 tablespoons flour. Handful of chocolate chips. 1 1/2 cups flour. 1 cup old fashioned oats. 1 cup brown sugar. 1/2 cup butter. 1/2 cup margarine.

directions: In a bowl combine cherries, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, and 4 tablespoons flour. Pour into 9 by 13 baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips through-out on top of cherries. Next, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, oats, and brown sugar. Cut butter and margarine into this mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over cherries. Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 45 minutes or so (until golden brown on top)

rewind: back to Haiti

So I never really got around to getting any of Dave's Haiti pictures up here. Those of you that know my husband know he never carries a camera and winces in pain when I pull it out :-) Thankfully our friend, Doug Tensen, shared all of his with us! He took some great shots and has a real eye for photos I think! There are a lot here, but I was trying to pick from about 400 shots and they were all SOOOO good! Just a glimpse of Dave's trip to Haiti 5 months ago (already?) and some of the things he did. He'd like to go back sometime, together. Pretty amazing trip! And, his group was awesome!! If you are ever interested I have a whole file full of pictures to see :) Enjoy!

Boarding the plane that took them into the area where they stayed. Lots of turbulence.

Some of the school girls getting their mid day meal. Many of the kids sponsored are given their only meal a day at the school here. A privilege to attend.

Dave got a little hoop ball in during his visit.

Shawn, Randy, and Dave getting off the plane. They landed in a grassy field...it was their "runway".

Haitian women heading to market, I think?

Love this picture of a little Haitian girl.

This is considered a VERY NICE house in Haiti.

All smiles in the street. A lot of the children are naked and just wander through the village. However, crime is very low in this area.

An outside classroom.

The kids loved Dave's bald head! "tet-kah-lie" they called him (means bald man)!

They often had to get off and walk when driving from one place to the next because of huge ravines in the dirt roads. Their main passage routes.

The guys loading up the truck with rice. They usually traveled with anywhere from 1-20 people in a truck.

Dave passing out bags with school items in them for the students.

Riding in style again!

A friend of ours, Judy, giving the salvation message to a group of children. That is a translator next to her. At the end, each child raised their hand to accept Jesus into their heart.

A goat can feed a family for a long time when they are trained to care for them properly.

The group. Dave had such a great time with them! Really a fun crowd.

Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! Hope you are all enjoying the holiday weekend wherever you are! It was beautiful weather here and the weekend looks to be just as nice. Dave spent the day golfing in the Bartlett Open with some friends and the rest of us joined up later for an early meal at the golf course with all the other wives and kids and parents. It was fun, as there are so many young kids anymore! We were joking that we used to all spend the day at the golf course...the guys would all golf and us gals would hang out all afternoon in the clubhouse...now, we all stay home to let our kids nap and are lucky to get there by 4pm! Ha! Boy, things change quick huh? :) We wouldn't change it for anything though.

After a nice afternoon we came home and hung out at home. Jaxon is not sure about fireworks still and really did not want to go. We watched them on TV from New York and DC. Uncle Augie & Aunt Katie came over and spent the night and grandma and grandpa McIntosh came over for some sparkler action and dessert. Jaxon fell into bed very late filled with fun & laughter from the day. Austin was a trooper and enjoyed the day in lots of different arms :)

I can't help but think of the blessing it is to live in America. There are so many wonderful things about being born here and raising our family here. It truly is a gift when you think of all the places God could have placed you. We're so thankful for this Independence Day and everything it represents. We especially thank all the men & women who have and are at this moment fighting for everything America stands for. God Bless the USA!

At the Bartlett Open

Uncle August (my brother), Jaxon, and me having fun with sparklers! Jaxon decided he did like these this year!