I Love the Holidays...

Merry Christmas!  I love having Christmas on a Sunday, we went to church before opening presents.  So...the true meaning of Christmas was first, then the fun.  And...we looked nice while opening our presents instead of tired-looking bed-heads.

"All I want is an XBox 360! That's it and I will be so happy!"  Santa delivered.

An iPod for Taylor...

And...Kanani for Carley.

The Martin Christmas Tree.

The Busch Christmas Tree.

And my favorite part.  We hope your day was as special as ours!

The Happenings...

We went to a Cleveland Indians Game, Taylor made friends with the mascot!

The naughty dog is not allowed in the house, but he worms his way in occasionally.  Dallin was the champion in getting him back outside where he should be as the guard dog.

Carley gave Tim a new "Do", and loved every minute of it.  He was brushed, curled, gelled, and ponied.

The only place we know that he is being good!

Muddy Mess...

If I had been the bus driver for this team, I would have made them walk home!  I can only imagine how long it took to clean that bus from a team of muddy girls, but it was a fun game to watch as they sloshed through the puddles.  Getting that uniform clean probably took longer than cleaning the bus.  And we had her cleats in front of the fan to dry-out for hours.  Soccer season has come to an end, and I think those cleats are going in the garbage, they may never dry out!

This was on one of our Sunday outings.  We took the kids to Pennsylvania back to the Busch roots.  They got to see the original Busch homestead (which I will share with you another time).  Tim is so lucky to be right here where his ancestors pioneered after emigrating from Germany.  We have found some amazing things out about those Busch's.  It is fun to try to put the pieces together.

Their First Waterfowl Expedition

 What else can I say?  They definitely belong to their father.  The three of them planned this duck-hunting trip for weeks.  Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold.  Dallin did get a few shots at some geese, but they came home empty handed, but not discouraged.  They are eager for the next expedition!

Puppy Love?

 

 

This post is dedicated to Craig and Jordan as they undertake the responsibility of a new family member...

The second you see these little buggers, you are completely smitten with their cuteness.  You just can't resist because their little faces look at you with those adorable puppy eyes.

Then you get them home and they demand your constant attention, just like a normal baby.

 

But those little faces and those adorable eyes once again steel your heart, and you know you will just love this menace forever.

 

Even when he is naughty, it is so cute.

 

Then...they grow up and become not so cute menaces!

And when they do naughty things like chew the stairs in the garage, they aren't really that cute anymore.  Even though this big clumsy animal looks older, he isn't even a year yet, and I have to remind myself of that as I want to yell and banish him from the garage. 

And when he chews the bench in the garage I have to again remind myself, he is only a baby.  He will eventually grow out of this chewing stage. But he better hurry up!

 

He looks like he is smiling at me as I am yelling at him.  He brings stick after stick into the garage and shreds it to pieces right after I have cleaned up the mess from an hour ago.

And then the digging starts in your flower beds.  Now that's a treat!  All the hard work you have done to lay that black weed preventer just perfectly, he digs up and shreds.  Now that's just about enough!!!!  Grow up already!

Caught red-handed chewing my watering container.  No remorse whatsoever!

But for some strange reason, we just keep on loving them and hope that eventually they will outgrow all those puppy characteristics that drive us batty.  And hope that eventually he starts barking at cars that come down the driveway to warn us of visitors.  I'll let you know when that starts happening.  Good luck with your new family member.

Our Sunday Outing...

Remember when we used to load up in the big blue van on a Sunday afternoon and head out for a family adventure?  Well, we tried it last Sunday, just for old times sake, what a fun jaunt it was!  We loaded the kids and dog into the mini-van, and off we went to Pymatuning Lake in Pennsylvania to feed the carp a loaf of bread.  These fish were monsters, just mauling each other to get to a piece of bread.  They were so plentiful, ducks were standing on their backs intercepting the bread thrown.

 

Then we had to check out a trail we found near the lake.

 

 

 

I think we are off for our second Sabbath jaunt in a few moments, we'll let you know what adventures we came upon today.  Love you all!

Photography by Taylor

 

She has the knack for thinking "outside the box".  These are some of the amazing pictures she took in the last few months.  They all come from places we have visited or our home and they all have a special meaning to them.  It seems when I'm behind the camera, I can only get the big picture, but she can get down to the fine details.  That is a talent I admire.

Summer Shots...

In the Pocono Mountains at a beautiful resort that reminded me of a plantation in Louisiana.

Two beauties right smack in the middle of The Big Apple.

Youth Conference 2011!

It finally came!  It is official and awaiting a frame and a place on the wall!

Well, summer has come to an end.  I went back to work this morning.  I'm sad, but it has been wonderful!  I made my first trip to New York City with Taylor, I went to North Carolina with my girls for Seth's baptism.  We visitied Chicago and mom and dad on their mission.  I got to see Winter Quarters and enjoyed a thorough tour by the most wonderful missionary couple.  I went to Nauvoo and spent time with my dearest friend, Debbie.  My niece survived a shark attack and became famous!  A miracle took place and she is going to recover in time.  I graduated.  Our garden did great!  I have so many pickles and strawberry jam, and the tomotoes are just about ready.  We hosted the Busch family reunion weekend.  Wow!!!!  Maybe I can jam one more thing in before the kids head back next Tuesday, we will see!

Hugs and Kisses to you all!