Fall Saturday

I am so excited for the project that filled our fall!  Joe loves forging and welding but doesn't love working in the rain.  He and his dad with the help of some of his brothers built a lean to onto the tree house for him to work out of the weather.  I loved seeing it all come together.

After working all day, we set the table for a fun family treat.  We invited everyone over for a steak dinner to help clear our freezer before the new beef was brought in the following week.  It was a fun night of coming together and just enjoying each other's company.  What a gift!

Even the dogs joined us.  Milly, Sage and Ellie roamed the yard while we cooked and prepared the food and just hung out chatting and catching up.  The boys rode bikes and had quite the sword fight while the food was cooking.

Some of the kids had to work but got off for dinner.  It was so nice to have most of our family together.

It got dark quickly and chilly but that did not deter us.  It was such a sweet night together.  

                      I love this photo of Ben too!  That's why I saved it for last! It is memorable!

 

NH Northern Lights

What?  We've always heard about them but got to actually experience them!  The kids came in after playing outside in the field and mentioned the sky was red.  I thought they were joking but saw it for ourselves.  We jumped in the car and went to the soccer field to get a better view.  Wow!  They really put on a show for us!

 

Fall days and adventures…

Gabby is feeding one of the horses at the barns where the older kids work.  She loves being around them and this particular horse was happy for all of the grass treats she offered.

Becca took the initiative to bake cookies with Gabby and they both had fun eating the cookies at their tea afterwards.

We worked with Spirit this year on pulling a cart.  It has been challenging to all of us but a great learning experience.

We traveled to NJ for my Aunt's funeral and stayed in a hotel on our points.  It was beautiful and we all had fun in the pool relaxing after our long drive.

Gabby and Michaela joined us and spent some time with us in the pool area.  Gabby liked the pool.

 

Happy Birthday Michael!—23!

Check out this guy--23 years old!  It's been a great year for Michael and we can't wait to see what this next year brings! 

 

Bright Lights Conference

Kentucky, here we come!  We have been a part of Bright Lights with our daughter for....well, a long time.  We first meet the Mally family at a home school conference in NH.  We later joined a Bright Lights group and have been involved in 2 different groups over the years.  We were so excited to go to a conference to connect with other mom and girls at the Ark.

The conference we focused on us 'Seeking Christ' and challenged us to see where we can do this on a daily basis.  We heard on the role of women from Martin Iles.  Ken Ham spoke on the Earth History and did an amazing job backing everything up with scripture.

Singing with the Wissman girls is always a high light.  They wrote and recorded the Bright Light CD which we love!

                                                                        Martin Iles speaking

        We went out for dinner together.....mmmmm, it was authentic Mexican food and SO good! 

                                                                               Ken Ham

I love this shot of the Ark framed by the rainbow entrance.  This is the biggest timber frame building in the world....so cool!

                              We rode the very unique carousel that features dinosaurs and other animals.

                                                                                 Kiara

                                                                                Sara

                                                                              Becca

                         The entrance to the Ark--remember?  God closed this door when it started to rain!
 

September Graduation Party

We had 3 graduations this year!  Whoo Hoo!  Kiara, Jacob and Joseph all graduated high school-so cool! 

                           We had family, church folks and friends over to help celebrate with us.

We played games, had good food and had an official ceremony on the front porch.  So proud of all of their hard work and efforts!  We can't wait to see what is in store for them next!

 

Blandford Fair—Jess, Sky and Lexi

Jess and her girls had the priviledge of opening their little fair in their hometown.  They went all out with a new hitch for their ponies.  They sported flags.  It sure was a foggy morning but there was a lot of excitement in the air.

Jess competed for the first time in a long time.  She and Jasmine make a good pair.  They brought home many ribbons.

The girls also competed on Jasmine, Emma and then got these 2 critters dressed up for some fun.  They played games too.  It was a fun family day.

The girls compete on lead line still because of their age.  It was fun to see their smiles and all of their ribbons.

              Jess and Jasmine have been together for a long time!  Sweet relationship!

And then there was these guys!  The weather threatened all day to rain.  The cart was staying for the next days festivities so they moved it with their new 'horses' with a whole cart load.

                                                     Lots of smiles for sure.

And then there was this!  Devon enjoying ice cream at the fair!  He was saving some for later, I think.