just the essentials......

holy cow. i haven't blogged in a long time. once a month is lame.

this photo was taken in the crosby super valu. we needed tp and milk.:) this was just after the first night of Vacation Bible School. we all had matching tee shirts! how cute is that?

the birthday box

we have a sweet little tradition at our church, the "birthday box". the week before your birthday you get to go up to the birthday box and pick something out while the church sings "happy birthday". it is so sweet. for the third year i captured the moments on camera...and videotape (thank you, gwama bwenda).:)

this year jack was looking extra special. he had his new birthday boots on, and his belt and belt buckle from papa dan. doesn't he look OLD? my baby! jack picked out a toy tool set, complete with saw, screwdriver, and hammer.

dan's side job

dan has been fixing some heavy equipment and painting it up for a guy we know. it has turned out to be a rather large little side job.:) this is the bobcat dan fixed and repainted. jack is really enjoying all these neat "toys" in the yard.

happy father's day, my love!

dan is such a great dad. happy father's day, dan! case in point... this father's day he is taking our family on vacation!:) yeah! i can't wait to spend the next few days entirely with my family! literally together. we'll be tenting it.:) (p.s. in case you were wondering, this is a "pinkerton" book that dan is reading. i LOVE pinkerton. steven kellog is a genius with words, but especially pictures!)

garage sale!!!!!!!!!!

God does big things if you have faith! there was a delicious ad in the courier for a sale that had 4T and larger boys clothes. exactly what i need for jack! it was the third day of the garage sale...but i told dan that i expected God to do big things for us today. and He did! we walked away from that sale with 2 huge boxes for...FREEEEEEEEEEE! FREEEEEEEEEEEE! FREEEEEEEEEE! 2 boxes filled with clothes, books, toys, costumes, toy story sleeping bag, and a "buzz-a-bightyear" rug. the shoes, bing crosby records, cookbook, agatha mysteries, and some of the clothes were from other sales. these are the grand haul photos. i don't have a photo of the sleeping bag because dan deleted it.:) God is so good.

jack's first time lake fishing

dan, jack and i went fishing friday night for a bit at blackhoof lake. didn't catch a thing. but jack thought he did.:) the minnow on his hook counted as a fish to him! oh, and i knitted half a dishcloth.:)

curious george

saw curious george at the mall a few weeks ago. jack was really shy. as soon as we went to leave, however, jack decided he wanted to hang out with george.:) well, in the grand scheme of things i suppose it was a waste of time... but jack really loves curious george. and the photos are pretty fun.:)

snowmobile

just thought i would post this photo of dan and jack with the snowmobile before the snow is gone away. dan took jack for a little ride and made him the happiest of little boys. this year was pretty good for snowmobiling. of course, i barely went. andy just took me for a short ride up the hill after i sledded down it one night.:) how pathetic! well, i am the one that usually has to watch jack, so i don't get that many opportunities. plus, i almost kill myself every time i try to operate one of them. oops.

jack's point of view

came home from church a few weeks ago and jack took this photo of "dan" and "i" in the kitchen.:) it really amuses me. so, that's his point of view, huh? sweet.

valentine's day '10

dan bought me flowers. i really like them because some are dyed and have glitter on them. my kind of flowers!:)

Happy New Year! welcoming in a new decade

this was jack's first decade. it was kind of cool to document it. i don't suppose my parents let me stay up until midnight in 1979.:) we had the best time!!! we went to dan's sister's house and ate appetizers (a lot) and played Wii (a lot). it was so unbelievably fun. i actually didn't want to end the night! but, my ride was leaving.:) so, here's to a new year. Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve at Milkovich's '09

Christmas Eve we finally got some family photos taken. it was a great night full of family, food, chocolate (jack and i should probably join a 12 step program after the holidays...) and presents.:) we are blessed with so much loving family. Merry Christmas to all!

"don't det (get) me!"

jack loves a good chase around the house. laugh laugh laugh, "don't det me!!!". this was december 13th after the Church Christmas Program.

fish

i find it very sweet that dan likes to take photos of jack with the fish that he catches. dan also likes to show jack how to clean the fish. not that jack would ever touch the fish! jack is afraid of them. he will tell you very interesting stories about throwing the fish in the water, and then throwing rocks at the fish.

oh deer!

here is a photo of my dear cutting up some deer. another one of his many many talents!!!

FUNKY

jack and i found this old pair of dan's sunglasses in the basement. photo op!:)

the prince and the pea

jack has a toddler bed. it's a hand-me-down from angie's kids. he's WILD about it. love! i am glad. i was worried he might make a fuss about moving out of his "cribby". as soon as dan put it together jack wanted to get in it. dan piled a bunch of love seat cushions in it and made a little bed, complete with pillow and blankies, for jack. jack reminded me of the "princess and the pea" fairytale. once again i rushed for my camera.

"the stout scout"

that's what dan named it.:) isn't that cute? dan's uncle jim gave him this old International Scout. dan has had it about a year. just recently he ripped the body off it, added huge tires, chopped up the body, added brakes, and a roll bar. hopefully seatbelts will be next, if they aren't already added. andy has been helping him with the modifications. it is really fun to use. dan took jack and i for a ride. we had a great time! and i'm really glad that my shoe didn't melt all the way through... i was stepping on the exhaust pipe, apparently!

an alternative to halloween -- part 1

i've got a lot of photos from this year's "halloween alternative" held at my Church. so much fun! i didn't really put jack in a costume. he has this really fun tee that makes him look like popeye. look, he's making muscles.:) and he wore the funky fun belt that papa dan made for him.

at one point i realized that my BABY was playing "box hockey". i was glad to see that dan was supervising him.:) i think jack really did a good job. that action wasn't too intense :), but the puck did make it from side to side and out the goal slots. and then the little boys would raise their sticks and yell, "YES!!!". as you can see, jack has natural athletic ability.;)

tractor project, continued. STICKERS!

dan put the finishing touches on the front-end loader... the stickers. wow! what a difference they made! the tractor went from looking GOOD to looking PROFESSIONAL. it is a real beauty.