Thankyou

This is my sister Erin and her husband Stephen, for those of you who don't know their story here's a quick blip. They met in the Air Force, both were involved in EOD training(these are the guys and gals that get rid of roadside bombs) it's a very dangerous job! They were married while stationed in Guam. Stephen went to Iraq for six months and in that time diffused many bombs and in turn saved many lives, yes my friends you are looking at a real life war hero. He returned safely but while on vacation was injured in a diving accident that left him paralyzed. He has made excellent progress and amazes doctors as well as everyone around him. Which brings me to the reason I'm writing this, he was retired July 25th from the Air Force, there was a ceremony held in honor of his service. One of the hard things about living away from family is not being able to participate in these kind of events but I wanted to shout it from the mountain tops about how proud and honored I am to know this guy. He will probably be a little embarrassed about this post, because he is very humble. Point being, during the ceremony friends and family found out things he had done while serving in Iraq, that he never told anyone. He has been a blessing to our family in more ways than one and I regret that I was not there in person to see him honored. We love you guys and are so proud, thank you Stephen for your service and your sacrifice to make this world a safer place to live and for us to enjoy the freedoms we tend to take for granted. Much love and Many Blessings!

Bye, Tyler Byler

I just got home from dropping off Tyler at the airport and I already miss him, the kids cried the whole way home. We had a great time having him here and definitely made a lot of memories these last couple of months. We ended his last night here with a party with all of the friends he's made at church. Definitely a good time, thanks everyone for coming out it meant a lot. Here's some pics of last night...
I love the faces Audra makes
Awesome, seating for everyone, we had between 14 and 16 people on the couch at one time. I love our couch
Tyler the back of your head is ridiculous, you work that fade.(inside joke)

Tyler tried to take Ainsley home in his carry on, but I caught him. I did offer Madi though but she was too big.(hee hee)

So anyways I have to say that I am really impressed with Tyler, he's such a good kid. I am very proud of who he has become, he has such a strong love for the Lord and for his family, a want to serve and help others, he's hilarious, and just a lot of fun to be around. I am going to miss him so much and will be counting down the days until next summer. Love you little bro!

Fourth of July

We had an awesome Fourth this year, it's always a lot of fun because everyone in our neighborhood set off fireworks in their front yards so it's very loud and exciting. We had a blast, the guys went to Boom City and got tons of fireworks and anything that made noise or caught on fire that they could find. It was nice and relaxing because we just set some chairs in the front yard along with some blankets on the grass and a fire pit to roast marshmallows. The weather was perfect, we had sloppy joes and baked beans as well as some to die for desserts.
This first one is Strawberry Dumplings

Ingredients:
- 4 cups strawberries, quartered
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 7.5oz. cans(10) buttermilk biscuits, separated and cut into quarters
- sugar for sprinkling
- Whipped cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof iron skillet, combine strawberries, the 1 cup sugar, and the water. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat; cook and stir about 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Arrange biscuit quarters on top of the strawberry mixture in the skillet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Next, is a simple one, S'mores
Last but not least, this one is called"Not Yo Momma's Banana Pudding" and it is my favorite.
Ingredients:
- 1 box Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies
- 4 bananas, sliced
- 2 cups milk
- 1 (5oz.) box instant vanilla pudding
- 1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softenend
- 1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12oz.) frozen cool whipped topping, thawed
Directions:
Line the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch glass dish with the shortbread cookies. Layer sliced bananas over cookies. In a bowl, combine milk and pudding with a hand mixer. Blend until thickened. In another bowl, combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Mix cream cheese and pudding mixtures together until well blended. Pour mixture over cookies and bananas. Refrigerate before serving.

Here is a flower bucket I made out of a coffee can,spray paint and paper, mod podge, and some wire. If anyone would like the directions just let me know.

Here's a closer look




Avery on her Red Ryder

Here she is prepared for all the noise, she wore them all night!


Here's Madi being a goof ball.







This strawberry was a perfect heart shape
Thanks Erin and Stephen for the adorable outfits, they made the holiday that much more festive.

Whew!

So I've finally caught my breath from all the excitement that's been going on around here. We just finished up with VBS(Vacation Bible School), it was so much fun but exhausting at the same time. Everyday we came home we would crash on the couch for a couple of hours. We also had a really nice visit with Ash's family, we went to Deception Pass which was amazing, so beautiful! Here we are walking on the bridge, it was very nerve wrecking for a mother of five little ones. One side cars are driving by and on the other side is a very long way down. But such beautiful scenery otherwise.We then drove down to the beach and had a picnic and explored for a while. WARNING: Lots of pictures!!!
I love this picture of Prestin
Madi throwing rocks,she's so awnry
And blowing kisses

There were these rose bushes growing wild everywhere and they were so fragrant, it was kind of like being in a secret garden


We found this awesome teeter-totter made out of driftwood

Madi throwing sand

Someone had made this before we got to the beach so I took advantage of their handy work
Here's Zippie with his summer hair cut

Sorry Tyler I had to post this one
You can see Deception Pass in the background


Wow that was a lot of pictures but what a great time that was. There's still more to share but I'll do that on another post.