The snow came and then it was so cold the pool had several inches of ice!
Work on the chicken coop continued for months of hard work to get it right.
Katy's friends were adding a wire mesh to protect the coop from digging predators.
Overspray from the paint was not good!
Look at that form!
Diana had a great basketball season in rec league. I love watching her fight her hardest each game.
We are very proud of our level base for the water.
Devin came for a day to help. It was so cold! We were also burning scrap wood from around the yard to make sure there was no good place for snakes to hide out.
John made it to the county spelling bee! He got two words right and then got his third wrong by one letter. My favorite thing was that he asked every single thing he could before giving it a shot. Origin, in a sentence, etc. Like knowing the origin made any difference to him lol.
I was not recovered from my pinched nerve but enjoyed watching everyone snowboard and I made great food for them.
Jacob drilling the windows on.
Michael's drone soccer arena and drones arrived from China!
Tis the fishing season in spring
And the beautiful sunsets on the lake are incredible
Kaitlin came home from her mission and we got to be there, what a special moment!
Jacob's birthday breakfast
Round three of chicks. Cutest little cheepers.
Seedling started for the garden! (The garden took longer than expected so all this was for naught. But it made for a great project at the time haha)
Jacob asked a girl to prom
Camillas are so pretty
Jacob has done a lot of fishing!
Mike asked a girl to prom
Playing around on the guitar Jim made me.
5 months after being in our new ward, the boundaries were changed! Our giant new ward is wonderful. Jim is a counselor in the bishopric and I lead singing time in Primary.
Ostler family march madness and the kids really do awesome! This was partway through.
Lake fun
On to the garden creation!
And the orchard upfitting.
We measured where the sun was and for how long, planned out all the dimensions and set to work.
Loads of scrap wood didn't get burned for months due to drought. Of course that made it a great hideaway for snakes but it's burnt now.
More fishing
Pathway in the orchard mulched over.
The three youngest did all the mulch with me while the boys worked on the garden.
The missionaries watched general conference with us.
Easter egg hunt in the large yard was epic!
Jim had a surf trip to Nicaragua
Jake took this sunset pic at Jordan Lake. Whew!
Katy at a school fair
Katy at a birthday party
More fishing from Jacob
Boys fishing trip
Just a girl coming home from church and holding Oreo the hen.
Diana published a book on Amazon! This was so much effort over such a long period of time.
We have blueberries!
Diana serving overhand and scoring. Was fun to see her first season, she picked it up so well!
Katy played too, they didn't let her in as much since she was the youngest, but maybe next year. Since I was there she got to play more which was great.
Katy's birthday party drone soccer fun
We sang in stake conference. It was pretty special because the rest of the meeting was the other visiting authorities, old stake presidency, and new stake presidency. So we were the only other thing besides the hard hitters lol. Maybe we were the comic relief, but I sure loved singing testimony.
Nicole was not pleased that Jim wanted to talk while working out.
Diana's summer camp ad
More fish. I mean, wow.
Although this didn't take as long as the coop, I think we sweat plenty on this. One of Jim's mission buddies was in town for work, and stopped by on the weekend to help and it was SO helpful to get the project actually done.
Some sweet friends bought Diana's book and had her autograph it. So kind!
Jacob played piano for the Spanish group in Siler City.
I accompanied the grandchildren of this sweet man that we know, also great friends with his daughter and her family. A life fully lived, very loved.
Somehow these popped up. They're from the same trip.
Loads of dirt for the garden!
I put thousands of pounds of gravel in by myself it was insane. We wanted a few inch layer to keep digging critters from coming up underneath the garden.
Ready to stain!
Playing with the spare wood
More pics from Jim's surf trip
Diana was at the young author's contest for the county. The winner was a book in Japanese and illustrated for young readers. Hard to beat that, they were looking for illustrations and our AI cover wasn't it haha.
Diana and other winner from our school
My bay leaf tree has come back from the deer attack last year. It is safely in the pool area now.
Katy played flute this year and does great!
Sometimes a dormant plant from last fall makes you wonder if it will live, but the daylilies thrived and have put on such a show!
Johns nightstand. Lighter, check. Pinewood derby car, check. Poison control hotline number, check.
Nicole in double jackets freezing in her new area, Lake Titicaca, where it has snowed and hailed!
Chickies growing up!
