The year 2013 was a good one. The beginning of the year brought with it the usual hopes of a fresh start and of doing better with the things we did not do so well in the previous year and a new list of projects to be completed. All-in-all, I think we ended in a better place than we began, and that is a good thing. Here is a look back at the Slangsfamily fun 2013
The project - RV 101 2.0
This was a project that taught me to not be so afraid of things I might not know much about. With a lot of coaxing and prodding, Cherilyn helped me through my fear and I even learned a thing or two. Major props to Cherilyn, I think I wore her out some days just with my lack of desire to face the elements and continue tackling the project. A year later, the project is still not complete but we are entering the "fun" stage. I say fun in that we are doing things to "pretty" it up as opposed to the rebuilding. Some of this work is still hard though. HERE is the story of this project and sometime in a future post, the story of the completion will be told :-)
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| Scary Project |
Field trip, Gravel and Snow
February brought the usual spring tease with several very nice days as well as the reminder that winter is far from over. We just have to take advantage of whatever comes our way.
On a few of the nicer days, we were able to do some grounds improvement. We had gravel brought in for a nice pad to park the 5th wheel on near the barn.
Unfortunately the day of Brittney's class field trip to Fantastic Caverns was not such a great day, we knew it was still winter. In spite of the cold and clouds and some snow on the ground we had a good time. (follow the link to learn more about Fantastic Caverns)
With snow came winter fun
GRADUATION:
Krystene, a proud UNCC Alum
With the RV project still incomplete, we were unable to travel to North Carolina with it for Krystene's graduation. So we packed up the van and drove the 15 hours to Charlotte at the beginning of May. This trip had it's ups and downs. (that's what traveling through the Appalachians will do for you. LOL)
Seeing your daughter graduate college brings a mix of emotions. Being immensely well pleased is the greatest of these emotions, after that however, come the thoughts of worry - have a done a good enough job as a parent? will she be able to get a good job? holy cow I'm old! etc.
Our trip had the fun of the graduation and all the festivities that go along with that as well as the opportunity to see and visit with good friends. I must say it was good to be able to see everyone I was able to. I miss my good friends in NC. Along with the visitations with good friends, we were able to spend time in the local ER - Thanks go out to the ER Staff @ North East Medical Center for taking care of Carissa. Remember what I said about memories? Well, memories of appendicitis caused a concern in Cherilyn when Carissa described feeling pain in her abdomen and began running a fever. Turns out, Carissa just needed a little more fiber and exercise, nothing major. :-)
(For full details and more pics, click the GRADUATION link)
Spring Invasion
The springtime in southwest Missouri brings beautiful days, much greenery and good times in the great outdoors. Along with all of that good stuff, comes a few unwelcome guests to the land. Now these guests are great for doing what they do but I do not like to see them at all, especially near the house. Indiana Jones and I enjoy the same expression of displeasure - "snakes! why did it have to be snakes!" Fortunately, I have never heard - "Scott, the floor, it moves!"
Parental Visitation:
The end of May brought Cherilyn's parents for their annual visit. No major activities planned this year, we had been too busy all spring working on the 5th wheel, which still was not ready for use, though it was close. Just before Cherilyn's parents were to leave, the 5th wheel was ready for a trial run and just like the year before with the last 5th wheel, they got to be a part of the first use.
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| Ready to fly to Utah |
NO KIDS
When Cherilyn's parents flew back to SLC, Brittney and Carissa went along too.
Couple Retreat
While the girls were off having fun in Utah, we thought we should have some fun as well and not just work ourselves to death, after all, we had worked all spring on rebuilding the 5th wheel. We decided we could take a couple of days and enjoy the fruits of our labors. We found another State Park not too far from us to explore, Bennett Spring State Park
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| what a proper campsite view should be |
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| Preparing the treat for the dutch oven |
(Thanks to my grandmother for the hand beater) :-]
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| the treat! |
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| tinfoil dinner |
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| NC Proud |
The saddest part of the trip was drinking my LAST Cheerwine soda! :-(
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| Check out the size and amount of Trout! |
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| One of the many hiking trails |
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Meanwhile in Grandma and Cousin Land (otherwise known as Utah)
The girls enjoyed plenty of good times during their 3 weeks with cousins and Grandma. Thanks to their Aunt Julie, Rebecca and of course Grandma big plans and big activities abounded daily including, Avairy, mountains, lazer tag, miniature golfing, fun centers and multiple trips to the water park where Carissa finally overcame her fear of going down the slide and dropping into the water. :-)
Krystene Lands a Job! and an apartment!
Krystene was able to officially enter the "real world" by becoming employed in the field in which she studied. She was fortunate to have graduated in May and by June she had a job that would have her begin her teaching career in July. That employment also meant a big move a few hours away. Krystene began teaching the 5th grade at a year round school in July. So VERY proud of her! :-) Good luck "Miss Lang"
July
July brought everyone home and good times during the 4th of July fireworks and of course Carissa's birthday.
We enjoyed the annual fireworks in our little town of Marionville on what was actually a pretty cool evening.
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| Blankets in July |
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| Marionville Fireworks |
Being at the campsite was like being in a furnace because it was sooooooo hot. We were thankful for the RV with A/C when we could not be in the pool. However, we survived and had an enjoyable time during our stay at the Branson KOA.
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| the pool was the big hit of the park |
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| Marshmallow toasting on the grill |
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| Carissa requested a candy cake |
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| "Candy Land" cake |
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| Presents are great for your birthday! |
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| Free pancakes at the KOA |
The girls rode their bikes to breakfast at the hall not too far from our campsite
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| Jumping pillow |
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| KOA RV park camping |
The end of July brought a boys weekend of camping and mountain biking. I rounded up some friends from church and we set up camp at Table Rock Lake State Park and enjoyed the White River Valley Trail system.
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| Safety first in my new helmet. |
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| View from close to the top of the trails |
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| Burgers for lunch |
All the riding was fun but with several hundred feet of elevation change multiple times on the trails, I realized how out of shape I was/am LOL
Water Project
In August we began our quest for water. The drillers finally showed up out of the blue one day 6 months after we began the process of trying to get our new well drilled.
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| 600 feet down |
Puppy Love
Earlier in the year Brittney picked a pup from one of our litters. She named her pup Chloe
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| A girl and her dog! |
School Bell Rings
August also brought the start of another school year. Brittney entered the 3rd grade and Carissa entered the 1st grade. In our school system, this means they are now attending two different school buildings which means we have to leave earlier in the morning in order to get both girls dropped off on time. That is a real chore! :-)
Don't get too close to the fire, you might get burned!
Burn piles happen several times a year at our place and the girls really enjoy them. Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows is always fun. The issue with the burn pile is that it sometimes gets really big and that means it's also really hot. This makes it difficult to roast because you cannot stand close to the fire. Well, Cherilyn came up with a solution. She had a local welder make her the ultimate roasting stick. It's a two prong, six foot long marshmallow stick.
During this particular burn pile, we had an interesting experience that turned into a gospel lesson. Right after we lit the fire, a turtle was spotted on the edge of the burn and was headed right into the fire. Evidently we had not noticed him earlier or we would have removed him from the danger zone long before we lit the fire. When we pushed him away from the fire he headed right back in again. He didn't know that the fire would kill him. He assumed safety was in his "home" the burn pile. We were able to catch him and save him from what would have been an awful experience had he continued into the fire.
The lesson learned begins with understanding what we have been taught - John 13:34 tells us to love one another. We should love our fellow man. John 8:1-11 tells us of the story of the adulteress which shows us a few things about how we need to live our lives. First, we should realize that we all have issues, sins etc. that none of us are immune. Second, Christ himself showed that we, like him should love the individual no matter what. Luke 10:27 also lets us know to love our neighbor. With all this in mind, we should be prepared to help those in need whenever we possibly can. Often in our lives we run across individuals, friends, family or perfect strangers who, perhaps unbeknown to themselves, are creeping too close to danger, the fire. We have an opportunity, even an obligation to help when and where we can. Just like the turtle who was crawling toward the fire which we knew would harm or even kill him, many people are on the same path. We were able to help the turtle to safety and in life we may be able to help others to safety as well.
Muddy Waters
Brittney and Carissa LOVE to play in the mud. We were so busy this spring working on the RV then it rained and rained so we never got our garden put in. The kids begged for dirt to play in so I tilled up a plot in the garden area so they could have a mud bath.
Nationals
Brittney wanted to attend nationals for her birthday trip, so we loaded up and headed to Tulsa, OK to see all the miniature horses compete.
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| Brittney and Chloe |
Each year we have the fields cut in the Spring and sometimes the fall. Here, the bales were dropped in the orchard waiting for them to be picked up and hauled away. Two little girls found hours of entertainment on top of them.
Dallas and DM
September brought the Depeche Mode tour to Dallas and Cherilyn and I enjoyed another retreat together. The greatness of going to a DM show is somehow overshadowed at the end by wanting to attend another and not knowing when that chance will come. I am so glad we were able to go to the show and I am thankful to Cherilyn for going with me and making it possible. DM is simply the most awesome group of all time and they put on one AWESOME show!!
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| Dave, Martin and Fletch |
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| AWESOME couple attending DM concert |
October
October brought a 90th birthday in CA, hiking in MO and of course Halloween fun.
We were able to fly to CA for the 90th birthday of Cherilyn's grandfather and meet up with many of her relatives as well. We had a lot of fun exploring the Bay area.
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| Alcatraz |
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| San Fransisco skyline |
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| We were able to go to the temple with Cherilyn's Grandpa who has been going once a week for over 20 years! |
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| Santa Cruz |
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| Santa Cruz |
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| Birthday Cake |
I was tasked with the making of the birthday cake.
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| Happy Birthday Grandpa Black |
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| Even @ 90, still king of the BBQ |
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| Family photo time |
Day hike in MO @ Roaring River
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| exploring the cave |
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| are you coming or what? |
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| out on a ledge |
Pumpkin Patch
What would fall be without a trip to the pumpkin patch? Fortunately for us, we live very close to one. The girls invited a couple of friends to come along and enjoy the fun.
Halloween
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| a witch and Alec from the Black Stallion |
December brought wood hunting
the stack of logs in back was gone in less than 8 weeks. That stack should have lasted 10 weeks. It was that cold!
December then brought snow and 5 days of missed school
So glad I had just been able to get all that wood! This snow was just days after the wood cutting.
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| Face Plant! |
We had the opportunity to enjoy the Nativity display and musical production at one of our churches in Springfield. This was a wonderful experience that included a live nativity as well as some wonderful holiday performances by some of the great groups who perform on the Branson Strip.
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| the group SIX performs |
for more about SIX, click HERE
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| live nativity |
December also brought Christmas, which was wonderful as usual. Lots of love and presents too.
Our year ended with a trip to San Antonio. We were able to do some business as well as meet up with Cherilyn's college room mate Jolene. We were thankful to Jolene and her husband Mike for being wonderful hosts and feeding us the best home grilled BBQ food! We took in the Alamo and the Riverwalk as well as some of historic Gruene. We saw the Gruene dance hall and had a great meal at the Grist Mill. We topped off our trip with a visit to the San Antonio temple (number 14 for us together)
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| The Alamo |
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| Add caption |
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| old friends |
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| San Antonio Temple |
That was Slangsfamily 2013. Good Times, Good friends and Great memories.
(Don't forget to click the links to see more of some of the fun places we were able to see, you too may want to visit them one day!)
