HAPPY BIRTH-MONTH TO THE FIRST BORN MATERNAL COUSIN OF MY CHILDREN!

The children's first cousin on my side of the family is a lego-genius of epic proportions. The kids decided to send him this very thematically appropriate greeting. In my family, we've chosen to celebrate "Birthmonths" instead of birthdays (which suits our genetic procrastination tendencies). We've really enjoyed having Eric visit us and look forward to more fun times together.

Glory regularly asks about Eric, and wanted to take a picture to send him.
This is her creatively futuristic composition.
Actually, she's just too short to get a different angle.

WHAT WE DO FOR FUN AROUND HERE . . .

We purchased several dog crates for shipping the puppies to their new families (all of them have homes now). We were assembling the crates in the living room when several of the little people crawled in one.

Then the kids started discussing how many of them they could fit into one dog crate.

With some careful engineering, all of these strange folk fit in the crate with the door closed.

I'm not sure why we need such a big house.

AND THEY ALL TUMBLED OUT.

The kids even persuaded Alana, who had come to visit for the afternoon, to try out the spacious new abode.

JULIE AND JON'S JUBILANT JORDAN

This is my sister's precocious water baby, Jordan.

Jordan jumps joyfully. (Illiteration is interesting).

If I understand correctly, this was an early scientific experiment involving an avacado.

TWELVE ANGRY MEN REHEARSAL

. . . all those voting not guilty . . .

. . .guilty. . .

. . .this is the angry part. . .

I love Scott's costume.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This classic jury room drama is amazingly fun to watch. Alex Goff was at the last rehearsal and afterwards said, "I thought watching 12 men argue for three acts would be dull, but it WASN"T!" Join us for one of the performances.

Starring Jurors:

#1 Steve Skelton
#2 Steve Quakkelaar
#3 Paul Hammacher
#4 Kevin Edwards
#5 Nathan Hickle
#6 Joe Davidson
#7 Joel Nisbett
#8 Dan Goff
#9 Keith Nisbett
#10 Bruce Wade
#11 Scott Alford
#12 Adam Nisbett

Justin Mosher Guard
Judge Bill Hickle as the Judge

SEWING CLASS 101

Debbie Hickle has been patiently teaching the Rolla area homeschooler how to sew. The young ladies in her first classes now have homes and children of their own. When Amy first took lesson's from Mrs. Hickle, she had to stand up to reach the pedal. She now sews so fast that she stands to go back and forth between her serger and sewing machine.

Learning how to put in a zipper.

The finished skirts and dresses.

Spending time with these lovely ladies and their mothers was a highlight of our summer.
Thanks to Amy Quakkelaar for the pictures and to Debbie Hickle for the fantastic week.

SOME INTERESTING TRENDS

Esther and Rachel had coordinating outfits.

Polka-dots was a favorite choice of material.

These outfits were the reverse of each other.
Naomi had brown on top/turquoise on bottom.
Rachel flipped the combo.

Keturah and Sarah went with bold combos.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET LITTLE BOYS COME TO A GARDEN PARTY . . .

Many thanks to Debbie Hickle for the picture, and the party.

OUR FAVORITE SUMMER GET-AWAY

Several words from Genesis 1 come to mind concerning our delightful day spent at the Ymker's Lake Cottage on Saturday: Chaos, the Spirit of God, and the Water. The chaos was just the extreme excitement and hub-bub that preceeded leaving for Camdenton. Everyone was thrilled with the plans for the day. The water was peaceful, fun, and a healthy family activity

LOVE THOSE CARDINALS!

Last Wednesday, we belatedly celebrated John's birthday by taking him to see a Cardinals Game.

John updates me every morning on the Cardinal's standings. MLB.com is in danger of becoming our home page. The Cardinals are currently in first, staying very close to nine games ahead for several weeks now.

The game was great fun, and the Cards won 3 to 2. Joel Pineiro was pitching and did a fantastic job. No Balls; Five balls were hit right to the pitcher, which were all caught for an out, two of which turned double plays.

The Engineers analyze something.

PRESUMPTION

This picture was taken in our living room this afternoon, and while I love many and varied guests to join us in our home, I think this bat took the invitation a little too far.

However, I really hate to wake peaceful sleepers, so he is still napping undisturbed.

HEADING FOR TEXAS

This weekend, we traveled to Texas. Our first stop was with Keith's sisters in Midlothian, near Dallas.
It's a fantastic "Bed and Breakfast". Margie has always joked that they provide a bed and we have to fix breakfast. However, this time, Rhonda put together a great spread each morning.

We enjoyed hanging out on their wonderful porch.

Joel and Josiah practice modeling for a catalog, or looking cool, or something?

Nathanael playing with a vice that Keith's great uncle, Uncle Earl, made in his blacksmith shop.