i make things

Family Get Together: Why? 'Cuz Dad's Home!

DAD's HOME!!!!

So we gathered together at home. All of the kiddos were there and most of the children...Nick wasn't. He fixes ag equipment so he's out in the field (it's Harvest time in MN and everyone is either finishing up their beans or starting corn.)

It's hard getting everyone happy at once. There's always someone smiling, someone crying, someone pouting, someone looking the other way and someone making a face.

These two love this kid. Grace because she loves babies and Jacob because it's his brother.

Ashton wasn't too thrilled.

This little cutie patootie smiles the most for her Daddy.

I call him Squirt-o. No reason really it's just a nickname. There's no back story on that one.

He looks somber now but you should have seen his excitement at Grandma's motion-activated spider that drops from the ceiling when you get close enough. He squealed with delight.

This kiddo should be wearing a shirt that says, "I army crawl for food."

Plaid groupies. I wonder if they planned that?

'

Smooches from Grandma.

PILLOW FIGHT!

Break time from fighting for popsicles.

 

Co-Ed Softball 2015

Co-Ed Softball in Owatonna, Minnesota is serious business...well mostly. My team plays hard but also has a ton of fun. We joke around, tease our teammates and even our competitors.

Here's some pics from one of our games this summer.

This is Courtney. She's played on our team for quite awhile. Her dad helps sponsor the team too. :)

P.s. this was definitely a hit.

This is Danelle. She joined our team this year. This was a nice hard grounder.

This is Christles, my brother aka "The Blowhole". I gave him that nickname because he can't keep his trap shut. LOL The back of his shirt says "The Big Show". That should tell you something about him. :) He's our backup pitcher tonight but normally he plays a mean left-center.

This is Nicky, Nick or Nicholas Matthew (Mom calls him this.) He plays short-stop normally.

I'm pretty sure he missed this ball. Ah well. Jason out in left got it and threw it back in.

Wait...these aren't players. This is Karen and Ashton. My brother's girlfriend and my nephew. They come to watch quite a bit. Ashton likes hanging out in the dugout trying to sneak out onto the field.

This is Tara getting a runner out at first. Nice throw Chrissy.

 

"Hey Squirt-o, where do you think you're going? LOL"

This cutie love his Daddy. A lot. He tries to sneak out onto the field to see him.

This is Tara, my cousin, catching an infield fly. Good job!

This is Sam, a friend of the family, getting a nice hit and making it to first.

Kimmie warming up. See the ball. Hit the ball. See the ball. Hit the ball.

 This play was hilarious. Sam trucked it over to third and the outfielder threw the ball into the 3rd basemen right as Sam got to the base. She ducked right under the tag. SAFE!

This is Kimmie, my little sister getting a nice hit. She's got a nice swing.

 This is my brother Chris at bat. You can see the ball sailing out of the picture in the upper left-hand corner. He likes to either hit pop ups or line drives. Like a penny machine you never know what you're gonna get.

Somebody batted my brother Nick in. Woohoo! Honestly he probably just kept running from second because he's fast and they never throw him out.

This is my cousin Tara, getting a hit. She used to play fastpitch softball and now she plays slowpitch for us. That makes my mother very happy.

Nick. Again.

Nick again. The concentration. It looks like he's going to chew off his lip or something. LOL

Aaaaaand. He got it. Notice the yellow ball in his hand? Yep. He snagged it.

This is Traci and Al. Al is a bit of a goofball. He's a friend of the family. Traci is my cousin and usually plays catcher for us but...

Both her and our other Al injured their feet in the same week so they were warming the bench up for us. Technically the bench is already warm because it's freakin' hot out but whatever. I have to use the old baseball terms. :)

Here's Chris throwing someone out at first.

That's all I've got. I didn't get pictures of everyone....because it's hard to get the people in front and behind you when batting but I did my best.

Have a great day!

 

4th of July

4th of July - Meixner Family Sized!

Me and and all my nieces and nephews. It's difficult to get them all happy at once.

This is butterball. He's my latest nephew out of 5 and his daddy. They look a lot alike.

This is his brother, the Peanut. He didn't want his picture taken so at least I got the lip out of him...for a piece of candy.

When we get together we do a lot of things. First and foremost, we eat.

Oh yeah Henry (my cousin's kid) was going to town.

Jack my nephew.

Some of us like to sit and play on our phones. ahem....

Some of us are taking a rest break.

Some of us are avoiding getting smooched by the cheek pinchers.

Some of us are playing volleyball.

Some of us need help. This is Grace learning how to serve.

Some of us are doing selfies with my camera. LOL

These two are playing bean bags or what I really mean is playing with the bean bags.

Ashton is having fun with the bubbles courtesy of Uncle Thomas.

On to the fireworks. A lot of oohs, ahhhs, oh that's neat, oooh pretty! and so on. :)

Father's Day 2015: The Harbal Family

Father's Day! All about celebrating Dad. I got lucky this year. Dad wasn't working so he was home. I got to see him. YEAH!

Sunday morning I asked Dad to meet me at the Straight River Farm to pick strawberries. He was pretty excited. He had been wanting to go for awhile.

Figured what better way to spend a little quality time with my Dad than picking strawberries (p.s. I paid for his because he's my Dad and I love him.)

This is my Dad. He's never minded getting down and dirty.

This is one of his boxes of berries. Between the two of us we gathered over 28 pounds of delicious berries. That's 4 boxes.

Here he is with his last box of delicious berries. He picked some for freezing and just eating. I'm pretty sure he ate a few while we were picking.

It's funny because Dad picks faster than I do but then again I'm a little more particular than he is. I won't pick them unless they are ripe. If they are slightly under or over I won't pick them. I want to get my monies worth. Plus I go home and turn them into jam and freeze them right away.

mmmm.....Strawberries.

Pretty sure each and every one of my nieces and nephews has loved strawberries and could eat a pound all by themselves. Not kidding. They could just sit with that pound in their lap and eat until everything was gone. LOL

After the picking and chatting was done we went our separate ways. Dad to freeze and me to can.

All of us got together as a family for dinner (or supper depending on your interpretation of the word. I say lunch and dinner others say dinner and supper)

This is Dad aka Gramps aka Papa aka Grandpa aka Grampa depending on the age of the kid hollaring at him.

He loves to give lawnmower rides. The kids go nuts for it. He likes to swerve, drive fast, go up and down the ditches.

Most of the time they are yelling at him, "Go faster Grandpa! Go faster!"

These four are diehards. They have been getting rides from both me and Grandpa for years. They beg and kind of plead for rides. (Korby, Jacob, Jack and Grace) They'd go all day in that wagon.

Here's the whole brood. Ashton (orange stripe) he's not sure whether he likes it or not. He doesn't cry or anything but he doesn't look happy.

Clara (little pony tail sprout) doesn't ride 'cuz she's too small yet. But she was sure happy sitting in there.

Lucas didn't ride either 'cuz he's way too small (a little over 6 months). His brother just got to hold him. (Jacob)

Love the look on Jack's face. :)

Okay after awhile it was time to eat so we had to listen to the whining and crying and pleading again. It was more humorous than anything. It only takes about a minute or two then they start stuffing their mouths with food and it's blissfully silent...for another moment. LOL

Look at this cutie patootie. She's my 2nd niece and goddaughter. This was the first time I saw her with her cute little pony. She hasn't had enough hair until now. I can't wait for pigtails.

This butterball is my newest and 4th nephew Lucas. He's so happy and fat. That's what I tell his mother. She just shakes her head at me. Bruce is holding him because these two were born on the same day and their bald so naturally I need to get a picture of that.

This is Gracer (Grace) and Clara. Grace loves herding these kids. She's taken on the role of leader of the pack. She is the ring-leader in most of their mischief and noise-making. She chases them around and screams and they laugh and scream too.

This is Dad again. We bought him a man crate for father's day. It was pretty cool. Full of bacon-flavored things like bacon-flavored beef jerky, popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanut brittle (yes you read that right. bacon flavored peanut brittle) and even some pork belly seasoning.

It comes with it's own metal crowbar. Pretty freakin' sweet dontcha think? Oh I think so.

He loved that. Pretty sure he polished off the bacon-flavored popcorn in about 10 minutes.

This is Dad's brood. gaggle. herd. pack. family. whatever. :)

Left to right: Angi, Ashton, Nick, Karen, Chris, Korby, Jimmy, Dad, Kelly, Kimmie, Lucas and Jacob, Thomas, Jack, me, Grace, Clara, Bruce, Guy and Michelle

This was the best pic I could get. There's always someone talking or messing around or won't cooperate. I just told Mom to keep snapping and one of them would have the majority of us looking at the camera.

My Dad and his Children:

BackRow: Nicky, Jimmy, Kimmy

Front Row: Chrissy, Dad, Jen, Mitchelley

Do we look alike?

How about now?

 

Dad and the grandkids. Korby didn't want to cooperate AT ALL (orange). So he sat in the back and cried. Not sure why he didn't want to sit by Grandpa. We'll never know. Okay. Moving on. :)

Jack, Ashton, Gramps, Lucas, Jacob, Grace and Clara.

This is like the picture of faces. Here's what I think they could be saying/thinking.

Jack: Ashton what are you doing?

Ashton: Dad why am I sitting here with my sippy cup?

Dad: Woooooaaaaahhhh

Lucas: Help!

Jacob: The stare of death.

Grace: Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy

Clara: What are we doing?

Korby: Don't look at me?

Let's try one more...well, most of them are smiling and sort of looking at the camera. Eh. Good enough. :) If they were sitting there are prim and proper looking straight at the camera I'd say, "Who are you and what have you done with my nieces and nephews. Give them back!"

My niece and nephew Jack and Grace with their Dad. Who is my brother in law and is now rivaling my other brother-in-law for the whitest legs.

I should start a contest. The winner gets some free tanning sessions? or fake tanning spray?

Minnesota Zoo Adventures: Michelle, Jack and Grace

The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN was my destination in early May. Which is, in my humble opinion, one of the really good times to head up to see the animals. They are more active because it isn't hot yet so they are more fun to observe.

Anyway, I headed up to the Zoo with my sister and her two kiddos: Michelle, Jack (9) and Grace (7).

First stop, since the Discovery Bay where you can touch sharks and sting rays wasn't open yet, was the Otters.

They are the cutest and most playful animals at the Zoo. They are so much fun to watch.

We happened upon feeding time which is always a treat. Well, a treat for us and treats for them.

I had to laugh how these two were standing the same but using the opposite foot to put on the board. They are more similar than they'd ever admit. Glad I got the chance to catch this moment.

Next we went outside and checked out the bears along the Northern Trail.

Which didn't last long for Grace because she had to go to the bathroom. Pitstop 1.

Jack decided he was going to crawl up on this ledge and then said to me, "Auntie Jen, I got up here but now how do I get down?"

At first I said, "Well, you got yourself up there, now figure out how you are going to get down."

When he gave it a try but was a bit nervous I came over and helped him find his footholds on the rock wall and made myself the official kiddo-rock-climbing-spotter.

Back to the Bears. Jack was having fun being this close to the bear.  I kept saying, "Jack, just think, you'd never be able to get this close to a live bear out in the woods." "Look at the size of his claws! They are huge!"

Itching an itchy spot.

Look at this face? Does it look like the face of a hardcore fighting bear? I don't think so.
 He looks sad...like he's saying, "Seriously people, why must you press your face against the glass and stare at me?" "Ugly humans, go away."

"Raaaaahhhhrrrrrrrr"

Nah, I kid, he's just yawning not growling at anyone...you can't really tell the difference though can you?

What about from this angle? Nope. Still looks like he's one ticked off bear.

Those are some big sharp teeth.

Okay...onward. The buffalo on the grassy range.

These guys are never close enough for me to get close-ups. They are always in the back 40 of their area. You know...now might be a good time to invest in that long range lens for my camera.

These guys are fun. You are so close you could reach out and pet them. I bet they'd gnaw your finger off if you did. The little prairie dog hole-digging menaces.

Asian Wild Horses. Aren't they cool. They look much like the Norwegian Fjords which are a halflinger horse. Very pretty and endangered. In the 1960's they were completed eradicated in the wild. As of 2014, after years of work by people, there are 500 of these beauties in their natural habitats.

Next stop, the Family Farm, which out of all the exhibits is one of the kids' favorites. This I find ironic considering we have family with farm animals that we could see any time we wanted yet the kiddos love checking out the Farm at the Zoo.

They like to feed the goats. Jack kept getting mad at this big white one because he wanted to feed the little goats instead. This guy kept nudging his head over by Jack's hand of food. I told him to go somewhere else and find a pack of smaller goats.

See, this guy's trying to take the food from the little brown goat. What a meanie.

This guy is indoors. Apparently he'd rather eat inside instead of taking food from small kids. Get it, kids? LOL Okay not really that funny. I know. LOL It made me chuckle though.

"Hey Squeak, what's up?"

He was posing for a picture from me with his sister in the back trying to photo bomb. Where do they learn this stuff?

Jack found this hill and decided to roll all the way down. "Jack fell down and broke his crown."

"and Grace came tumbling after." I couldn't help but recite that line of the children's poem.

Grace naturally followed suit.

Honestly, I was worried Grace would hurt herself or break her glasses. I hate to say it but she's a Grade A klutz. Yep, takes after her aunt. She trips over nothing just walking along. She made it about halfway down then decided that wasn't for her. Phew.

 

The Amur Tiger. We found him and he was awake. He even yawned at me once.

Then he got up and walked away.

Any time I go to the zoo this guy is lazying around. He must be bored out of his mind. He doesn't need to hunt for food they just give it to him. I feel sorry for him.

Next stop the Discovery Bay. Jack loves this the most because he can touch the sharks and sting rays.

This made me chuckle because the last time we went to the zoo he wanted nothing to do with them. He wouldn't get near them. He wouldn't stick a fingernail in. This time he was elbows deep.

He had his hand in a lot of the time hoping one would come by .

You can see a couple swimming by. One was actually close enough where he could touch the shark.

Here's a baby shark. They were the most curious and would come right up to the edge out of water. The adults would mostly swim away.

Next to the touch tank is a huge aquarium with tons of different sea life including this turtle.

and this shark! You can see him eating a piece of fish off a stick. Jack and Grace wanted to see the aquarium feeding. It was pretty neat. They feed the fish differently. The little ones they just throw in a bunch of food, the turtles they feed up top and the sharks they put food down with a pole.

The monkeys are always a riot. Today they were exceptionally interesting because a bunch of them just had little babies who are the most playful.

They fight, swing around the branches, pester their mothers, climb all over one another. I could sit there for hours just watching them and their antics.

It fascinates me, most likely because they are so similar to humans and some of their antics feels like watching my nieces and nephews playing together.

Look at this little fresh one. New as it gets. So incredibly cute.

That was it. We decided that was enough for the day. There are many more exhibits but the kids were done so it was time to go home.

My sister has a Zoo membership so we can go back anytime for free.

This guy is a stinker.

He loves making faces and doing funny things. "Would this be funny Auntie Jen?" is a common question Jack asks.

He's getting so big and looking so much older. I can barely remember him as a baby anymore. It pulls at my heart strings.

Have a wonderful day!

 

Ashton at MOA

I babysat Ashton on Saturday (Apr 18th) for pretty much a half a day.

He was a complete joy! Happy, fun, playful, talkative, engaging, interested. He was so much fun.

I was so excited to get the chance to watch him. Usually I can't because I don't respond quick enough to the text from Nick or I have something going on, or someone closer watches him. (He has babysitters that are literally 5 minutes away and I'm more like 30 minutes)

I decided instead of sitting at home that I would take him to the Mall of America to check out the Sea Life Aquarium and do a little shopping. I thought he'd get a kick out of all the fishies.

He was excited even before we got in to see the fishies.

He LOVED the jellfish. I pushed him right up against the glass tubes and he could reach over in his stroller and touch the glass so it was like he was touching the fish.

He'd reach over and touch one and then look at me and smile. Then he'd talk baby to me about it. It was precious.

He thought the crabs were neat. I encouraged him to say crab. He tried but it was more like "cab" instead of "crab". He's little though.

I thought this purplish/blackish seahorse was cool.

This trip was fun for me too. I love aquariums.

They didn't move as much as the jellyfish so he wasn't as interested in them.

Often times he'd just stare away at the fishies swimming by. The sea tunnel was the coolest because fish were surrounding you from side to side and even above your head.

I pointed out the shark swimming above and he'd throw his head back and point and babble on about it.

da dum, da dum, dum I had a very "Jaws-like" moment seeing that shark swim right above my head.

The bottom-feeding shark, that's what I called it, was weird looking. When it swam over the top it look like a real mouth talking to you.

We Love You! smoochie smoochie smoochie

Fish lips! After I saw these two fish "kissing" I tried to teach Ashton how to do fish lips. He couldn't quite get the hang of it but he sure loved watching me do it.

Cool blue frogs. The colors were incredible. How does a blue frog hide on a tree stump?

Happy as a clam he was.

I picked him up and pressed him against the glass to see the evil eye of the gator poking out of the water.

I'm watching you.

"Just a bite!" - think Finding Nemo. Just a morsel.

Me and the squirt. Who wasn't sure what I was doing grabbing him and telling him to look at the camera for a picture.

Those eyes get me. Such a rich chocolate brown color and he just stares into you like he can see and understand your inner workings. He's been like this since he was little.

aaaaaand...he's a little stinker. Likes to smile and flirt with the ladies. In the shoe store he smile at all the passerby's and they'd say, "What a cute kid." He just ate that up.

We had a really good day. He napped on the way up so he was ready to go.

We probably spent a good 1 or 2 in the aquarium. Then got a chocolate covered strawberry which he absolutely devoured; both the chocolate and the strawberry.

Walked around and hit my favorite stores: DSW, Barnes & Noble (bought him a fun noisy moving turtle pull-toy, cuz I'm an aunt and can spoil him.), Lush, Loft, Ann Taylor and Victoria's Secret.

Stopped for Mac 'n Cheese at Noodles & Co. He didn't want any part of that so he ate some goldfish instead.

We splurged on Coldstone later on he kept wanting more and more. He'd open his mouth and I'd put the spoon in and rattle it up and down on his teeth. He just squealed with laughter...and I did too because it was hilarious and cute.

I kept him entertained a lot of the time. Pushing the stroller around back and forth, making noises, singing and doing the actions to little red caboose (girl scout camp song), talking to him, trying to teach him new words like "ready, set, go" which turned into me saying "ready, set" and him saying, "go" and thrusting his arm in the air.

Funny story. While I was in VS his daddy called wondering where we were. "I'm in VS with your son. bahahaha!"

He's so darn cute. And playful. and Fun. I Love him.

It was a really good day!

 

the Nephews are Visiting!

I had a planned visit from the Gwins a couple weeks ago. It's always fun when my nieces and nephews (and you too Kimmie!) come over to visit. In this case it was 2 nephews, Jacob and Lucas.

Usually when I get visitors I like to cook for them. In this case I went all out, ham, potatoes/carrots/onion hobo stew and ice cream. It's a tasty meal and one of Bruce and I's favorite.

 

Jacob is the bigger one and the little one is Lucas. Aren't they too cute?

Jacob, lately, has been into holding Lucas. He's 4 so that usually lasts about 2 minutes. Plus we like to keep an eye on him as he forgets he's holding a 5 month-old and Lucas would slip right out of his grib at any moment.

I just want to smooch both of them. Lucas and his fat cheekies and Jacob with his infectious smile. These kids will never grow up with a complex that they weren't hugged and kissed enough. LOL

You can see Lucas starting to slide right down Jacob. It was funny. Lucas's face just says, "Help...ppppppplease help." (think Piglet p-p-p-p-p-please)

Lucas made it all the way down because Jacob has lost interest. p.s. Lucas is called the tank, he's heavy duty with roly poly-hamhock-michelin thighs. Damn it's cute.

Jacob getting the "treatment" from Bruce. Jacob likes rough-housing...and to tell you the truth, Bruce does too, although I don't know if he'd admit it or not.

At one point Bruce and I ganged up on Jacob and gave him a "pretend swirly." Bruce put his head near the toilet and I flushed it...without Jacob's head actually in the toilet. Jacob laughed and laughed....and so did we.

Jacob got an ice cream cone because he finally finished his meal. It took us about 15 minutes to get him to eat it. 4 year-olds...the little stinkers.

He kept telling Bruce, "I want a big one!" So he got the two-scooper and danged if Jacob didn't finish it.

Jacob loves his ice cream. He definitely does.

 

Easter: family-sized

Easter at Auntie Shelly's this year. Most of the entire Meixner fam. came so this is the group. It's a lot of people which equals a lot of noise. A lot of food. A lot of talking...a lot of everything.

This is the Harbal's: 2 parents. 6 kids. 6 spouses & significant others. 7 children. One big ol' family.

the Meixners. Well, most of them anyways. Lyndsay's group was missing.

Kimmie and her hubby and the two kiddos. They weren't really cooperating so this is the best I've got. The boys have matching outfits and I suspect they didn't have a shorter tie for Lucas (he was born 11/2).

Me and Bruce...with his hat on.

Now with the hat off to get rid of that shadow over his face.

Jack on the hunt for his Easter eggs. The last couple of years we have been hiding a bunch of eggs for all the kiddos. The youngest ones, as in, they don't understand or aren't old enough to walk around themselves still go they just have to take a parent.

Ashton trotting along looking for his eggs. He needed a handler so Tristan got the job.

He gets oranges eggs because his Daddy, my brother, loves orange. One day he'll get to choose his own color like Grace (pics before). She gets purple because that's the color she loves.

Jacob filling up his basket.

After egg hunting always comes some horsing around. A couple of the kiddos at a time.

Family standing by the sidelines watching the antics. Often times shouting out, "HEY BE CAREFUL!" "Tristan, you're bouncing too high."

Tristan is bouncing the 3 boys around; Jacob, Korby and Ashton

Pigs in a blanket. Two sausages in a pan.

The kids like to horse around so now Tristan is doing tricks while Korby puts Jacob in a headlock.

Grace decided to join the bunch. I'm really surprised that nobody bonked heads at all. As many kiddos that were in there and as much as they don't pay attention. LOL

Tristan running in place in the air. I thought that was pretty cool.

Dunking the b-ball.

Doing flips.

December Daily | Day 24 | Xmas Eve!

Day 24 all about Xmas Eve!!!

I took a ton of pictures because there's a lot happening in my family. There are over 30 people spread out over my brother's house. Ages ranging from a newborn to about 60. So there's a lot going on. It's crazy. Ear plugs and aspirin are almost mandatory. I know that doesn't sound like much fun but really it is.

This day and Xmas Day are always the hardest for me. I want to include a picture of everyone but that's really hard and I can never seem to get everyone all together for a group photo. This year I just decided to peruse through my pics and grab my favorites. The 2x2 size makes it easier to get more in.

As you can see it was a crowded room with kids running around, hollaring, piles of presents, Hope Butter (mmmm....) It was a fun night.

I added one large picture of me on the right because I wanted to highlight my favorite gift from the night. The hand cross-stitched stocking my sister made for me. Seriously this thing is ENTIRELY cross-stitched. It's epic. So that pic got it's own 3x4 slot.

I added the milk and cookies because I thought it was a cute (another Pebbles die-cut. dang it they are cute) and I wanted to add something fun to the layout.

My title and journalling were quick and easy.

I used a random 3x4 red polka dotted card and added cream and red letter stickers. Used Ali's 2014 Dec Daily kit for the stars and the jolly tabs.

The old-fashioned book card I got from an October Afternoon Make it Merry Doo-dads kit. I just added the journalling using Photoshop and my printer.  (Remington noiseless font).

An unexpected surprise!

One sunday afternoon I got a random text from my brother, "Hey can we come over to visit?" "Sure, I said."

So I got to see my niece Clara and my nephew Korben for a couple hours. I don't get to see them as much as I would like because either they are at one grandma's or another.So it was a pleasant surprise.

Clara is totally a daddy's girl. She loves her daddy and he loves her. They are such a cute pair. Ever since she was born my brother has taken to her. I don't know if it's sisterly love on my part but it warms my heart when my brother's are so into kids. All of my brother's are. It's truly special.

This is one of the few smiles I got from Clara today. She was having a rough day today. I think it was a combination of getting over a cold, teething and being in a new place she wasn't familiar with. She cried quite a bit today. Just a look would set her off. I felt kind of bad because I didn't know what to do. I said to my brother, "Is she always like this??" He just shook his head. So I took what I could get and what I got was pretty dang good.

Korben definitely did NOT want his picture taken today. He was being a stinker. So I took this picture anyway cause it made me laugh.

I was playing with Clara on the floor and I look over and Korby was playing with the Transformers on the floor doing the splits. I hadn't seen that before so I snapped this pic. Anybody else have little boys that do this?