July 4th, Part I

Once again as July 4th rolled around we began making plans for a trip to Oshoto to spend the holiday with our friends, Jared and Sarah Berg. It was yet another crazy, enjoyable, kid-filled several days that will go down in the memory books=) This year the Shively family made the trip as well, much to the delight of our oldest two boys. So that made a grand total of 18 people (12 of them were kids) sharing a 4 bedroom house....it was great! The oldest 5 boys slept out in a tent, the Shively's in a camper, and the rest of us claimed the rooms in the house. We really did have a great time with lots of laughs, good talks, late nights, yummy meals, and just the refreshment that comes from time spent with ones that share more than just a simple friendship.

When we first arrived the guys went to work helping Tod Hartman who was up to do some work on the parsonage....poor Sarah, a house full of company and the drills and saws were running, there was sawdust covering the couch and carpet in the living room, new windows being put in, siding being put up....etc. But she handled it like a trooper=) And thanks to Tod, the sawdust disappeared!

Another item on the list was to get the tent set up for the boys, they had what I think is called a 'wall tent' which had plenty of room for all 5 of them - Jeremiah, Jon, Joseph, Zach, and Logan.All the older boys brought their bikes, so they immediately took to the roads and spent lots of time exploring all over the place.

The Bergs also went through the trouble of getting some new tires for a four-wheeler they had so that the boys would have that to ride around on as well. The only trouble then was getting the new tire on....!
But eventually, after much hard work and persistence (aka grunting and groaning), it was ready to go....the boys literally drove that thing for HOURS!!

With a houseful of kids things stayed busy....even little Hannah got to be part of the excitement between naps. Another favorite pass time was shooting....I wish I could list off the different guns that were used but I couldn't keep track of all of them, I know there was a .22, a 20 gauge, and Matthew's 30-06.

Some of the guys took turns throwing the skeets....

...while the others lined up and shot.
And, others still, watched with their ears plugged=)

Daddy helped Logan take a turn - notice how he keeps his eye closed=) Alana and Jesse actually had a turn with the .22 as well, but the camera and I were somewhere else. Helping make supper I think....

The Bergs had a cat with three young kittens that got enough attention in those five days to last them another few months!

Another form of entertainment that the grown ups found was to try out Jared's bike....those that rode had a pretty good time! This is the bike that has been down to Mexico where Jared drove it the length of the Baja Peninsula!

Jesse found his own ride....he would hop on this little 4- wheeler off and on all day long. Here he is 'posing' for me when I told him I wanted a picture of him riding it....BOYS!

And on that note, I'll wrap up this post - saving the rest of the details about our time there for Part II! Oh, the suspense....=)