Happy Birthday, Alene

Flashback Friday...Shower the people you love...

Paper bells, games, triple tied ribbons and the threat of breaking them, cake on glass plates and punch out of a bowl, small children eyeing the gifts, ribbon bouquets and twisted crept paper:

As long as there are brides to be, there will be showers.

You may not remember what you gave away or even what you got at showers,
but hopefully the memory of the day is one of
showering and being showered by love and best wishes.

We've had quite a few showers over the years
and are getting ready for the next one on Sunday.

Here's a few Bride's to be at their showers:

Janet's shower
Susie's shower
(the photographer must have been in the same seat; note small child eyeing gifts)
Susie's 2nd shower
(note same small child eyeing gifts)
Patty's shower
(note small child getting ready to eye gifts)
Sandy's shower

So, Shel get ready to pose for snapshot!

Directions to here:
Where is Verna and Steph? Anybody remember where their showers were? I must have to dig deeper into the family archive!

Stayed up late with this girl last night.

Thanks for the chat, Aunt Mary!
Can't wait to see you down on the farm again!

Sweet Sixteen and a half

Ok.

It's come to my attention...that there is another Hoshaw that repeatedly gets the short end of the stick when it comes to remembering birthdays.

Yep, it's the baby.
Born on December 24.
A Christmas Baby whose birthday always gets overshadowed by that man named Santa and oh, I dunno, some other baby named, um....Jesus.
What competition!
And Aunt Nancy is always cramming video together...and is too lost in video land to post a picture.

Did you know she turned 16?
Yep, Sweet 16.
I thought she was 15.
But nope. 16.
And she is a Sweet 16.
So here it is today:

Her Sweet 16 1/2 Birthday
Happy Half Year Birthday to Shelby!
We love you!

Happy Anniversary

Elden and Steph !

Flashback Friday...To all the dogs we've loved before

With the passing of Gus and now Copper,
I've decided to dedicate this Friday to all the dogs we've loved before:

Shep ~ Sissy Sue Winglo (??) ~ Sukie ~ Clyde ~ Bootsie ~ Sandy (the dog, not the girl) ~ Fur, Hansie ~ Roo ~ Bart ~ Jamie ~ Sheba ~ Bullet ~ Shanna and family ~ Buddy ~ Jordon ~ Codiak ~ Pee Pee ~ Pee Pee Head ~ Gus ~ Sunshine ~ Golden ~ Casey ~ Copper ~ Rusty ~ Sadie ~
Sluffy (???...is this right, Sandy) ~ Bugs.

And people, that's just me relying on my memory.
I know that Janet could add at least a half dozen more and I'm sure there are others that have come and gone along the way.
Email me your list and a pics and I will post them as I can.
How many smiles and laughs have come to us over the years from watching and playing with these furry beasts that have their own unique personalities? Who can measure the joy or the comfort and all round goodness that a dog can bring to a household? No wonder we shed tears when they leave us.

So get up from your computer and if you have one near you (if you do, chances are he/she is sitting at your feet) take a look your "best friend" and say, "Good Dog."

Directions to here:
Today's Flashback inspired by Luke and Tammy's, Copper:

Happy Father's Day !

Oops, I did it again.

Or didn't do it...in regards to getting Cody's birthday right.

I don't know why, but I always think Cody's birthday is June 30th. And no matter how I try, I can't get the 30th unstuck out of my head and the 1st stuck in.

So after becoming a "friend" with Cody on Facebook, and seeing his profile, I realized I did it once again.

Anyhow...

Happy Belated Birthday to Cody!

Flashback Friday...For the Dads

With Father's Day around just around the bend of the weekend,
I've been thinking about Dads.
There are things I remember and things I'd rather forget,
but when I think of my Dad,
his goodness and things he did right, always overshadows the shortcomings.
The lessons, the tender times, the toughness, the willingness to be goofy, the time spent, the sacrifice:
It's all part of what makes a Dad special.

Here's to the great Dads in our family!

Life in the fast lane...

It's like this...

Sorry for the lack of posts.

Life has been moving faster than I can blog.

Directions to here:

Joel dances with nance at the Children's Museum animation exhibit

Flashback Friday...Summer time

I had company in town all week and missed out on Sunday dinner.
Heard that it was spent at Ellis' pond, one of our family's favorite summer time hang outs.
The last time I was there, I wondered why it seemed so small.
In my memory, the shelter was as big as a house.
The pier went on forever.
The square "pontoon" was too big and scary for me to swim to or play on.
The boat was like a yacht and the water skiers stayed up for hours.
The water pump was too big for me to work by myself and the "lake" was like one of the great lakes.
I have to dig to get to see if I can find more pictures, but here is one from Aunt Mary.

It's the only picture of the speed boat that I've ever seen.
What's the story behind the silver boat? Where did it come from and does anyone know whatever happened to it? I remember Dad stored it in Rudolph's barn? Did it sell with the house?
I love that Dad has his standard station and farming outfit on. Remember when he never wore shortsleeves, even while farming out on a cab-less tractor? He always said it was cooler. His tan started and ended at the wrists and his tan line on his head always ended at the rim of his hat.

So, anyone who knows anything about the boat or has a favorite memory of Ellis' or even why we were able to go there (did Dad farm their ground)...give us a shout out on the comments!