Meet Koda

Devan has been wanting a dog for several months.  He was thinking a dog that could be more of an outside dog, but yet he wanted a puppy, not one that was already grown.  We finally found one for him and she came to our home just 6 days before his 17th birthday.  She is an Australian Shepherd & Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix.  Hopefully she will stay smaller like the Australian shepherd.

Look at the blue eyes....Isn't she adorable?

17th birthday present

Dexter & Koda sporting the new doggie sweaters Renae got for Christmas.

She has grown in the two weeks since we got her.

Seeing as it is January, it's cold outside, puppies love to be with people, she is so adorable and soft and cuddly, etc, this puppy has been spending most of the time in the house.  Hopefully she will enjoy being an outside dog when it warms up!!  In the meantime, she is getting house trained..... 

Summer/Fall 2020 Highlights

It was one of those years that not too many pictures were taken.  We really want to try to do better in 2021.  Here are a few highlights.

Fishing at sunset on the Chesapeake Bay.

In August we spent a few days as a family in Duck, NC which is on the Outer Banks.  This was a different type of vacation for us, but a nice change.  We had a house which was a 5 min. walk to the beach and we enjoyed some things we had never done before.  The guys got to go out fishing on the boat Little Shell from the show Wicked Tuna.  They brought home Tile fish.

The girls, not to be left out, decided to go parasailing.  It was so much fun and quite the view when the rope was all the way out.

It was kind of cloudy while we were there and this was the only nice sunset pic we got, but the clouds made that it wasn't so hot, so we didn't mind.  It was nice that the guys could fish from the beach instead of just sitting in a chair like some of us enjoyed doing.

Lyn & I made a trip to OH and were able to help Darryn a day on his house.

For my birthday in November, I requested a family hiking day.  We found an area in south Lancaster Co, PA along the Susquehanna River.  It was a beautiful day! 

Our gang..... it was a fun time!

The girls, taking their mom out for breakfast.

Class of 2020

Well, it was quite the unusual and disappointing way for our two seniors to end their year!  No one ever dreamed that the last 2 1/2 months of school would be done from home.  But they arose to the challenge and we are proud of all they have accomplished in the past few years.

Renae was able to have a drive-in Graduation at Greenwood Mennonite School. We are still waiting to get pics from the school of the event but here is a few family shots we took.

May 31, 2020

(Ericka had a shoulder surgery hence the sling)

A few weeks later we had a grad party for her down at the pond.  Lyn BBQ'd chicken and it was a lovely evening.  

There was also a yard full of people, but this was the table of her classmates.

And for those interested, here is picture of Renae and Calvin, 

the guy that's been hanging around a lot these days.

Dwight had a virtual graduation from Rosedale Bible College.  It was hard not being able to bring closure to the school year.  When they were sent home, they were hoping to be able to go back and finish out, but that didn't happen.  They are still hoping that they can have a "reunion" weekend yet this summer to get together and say their goodbyes.

We were in PA the weekend of the virtual grad, so we were able to watch the grad with two other RBC graduates; his cousin, Daniel and a friend, Paige.

The main reason we were in PA was to celebrate our grads with Lyn's brother, Joe & Naomi and their kids.  They had three 2020 grads.  The kids had fun dressing up and taking pics together.

Dwight & Daniel - RBC (associates)

Renae & Jewel - high school

Sara - bachelors

Celebrations

Welcome 2020.  So far it is turning out to be quite the year!  The Covid-19 virus is certainly adding to the craziness.  This is to document some celebrations that have happened recently.

Devan turned 16 (4 days before 2020)

We have our last driver on the road!

Renae's 18th birthday in Feb. 

We had fun surprising her by inviting some friends over from the youth group.

The girls celebrating the end of Renae's basketball season.

Because of the coronovirus, Dwight was home for his 20th birthday last week.

This past weekend, we celebrated Ericka's 23rd birthday outside around a bonfire with extended family so we could practice our "social distancing" a bit better.

Darryn & Danae are celebrating their birthdays (2 weeks apart) in Columbus.  I think they cooked themselves a nice steak dinner because they couldn't go out to celebrate (restaurants closed!)

We are thankful for family!  May we be able to continue to find ways to celebrate life amidst the uncertainty we seem to be experiencing this year!

RIP Charlie

It was a sad day in our house last week when we had to make the decision to put one of our 4 legged family members down.  Charlie has been a part of our life here on Bushy Tail Lane for over 13 years.  He wasn't an indoor member, but a part none the less.

The early years of boundless energy are a very distant memory.  We remember how we had to put boards over top of his 4 ft kennel because he would climb over the top of it, how he would run away to the neighbors and dig in their flower beds, and how he killed a few of our chickens.  He would bark excessively at Amish people, bark at sticks, get into trash, and drag deer/beef bones up from the woods that he found that the neighbors dumped and then leave them in our yard or front porch.

The later years he became a dog that we could let loose all the time.  He enjoyed every cook out and took his naps on our back deck.  He had become mostly deaf, and he would come in at night when it was cold or rainy and sleep inside the deck door in the kitchen.  We will miss him.  There is something comforting about having a dog around to alert you to visitors and other noises, even though it also was sometimes annoying.

The last month or so we were noticing that Charlie was having troubles with his hips and he was stiff going up and down steps.  He was eating as usual, but was losing weight.  He seemed to pant a lot and he wasn't hot.  His eyes seemed sad even though his tail would wag.  We could tell that his days might be nearing the end.  His hips seemed to get much worse the last week and one night he struggled to walk into the house and the next day he wouldn't get up.  Even with help, he wouldn't stand but just laid back down.  He didn't seem to be in pain.  He didn't fight at all when Lyn picked him up and put him in the car.  He seemed content to just lay there.

Devan and Renae were the only kids home to say good bye.  You were a good one for our family, Charlie!

All smiles.... trying not to think about the inevitable.  

Devan the Deerslayer

Everyone has seen deer, but this was Devan's year for getting the big ones to come past him.  The first one was during muzzle-loader season..... a 10 point with 16" spread.

And the 2nd one was the last weekend of shot gun season in Nov.  Another 10 point (it had a broken brow tine if you are only seeing 9 points) with a 19" spread.

Now he can only shoot a doe.  

Back to school

After searching most of the summer, Dwight now has his own wheels.  He ended up with a 2008 Honda Accord with just over 100,000 miles.  Hopefully it does him well for a few years.

 And here he is getting ready to head off on his first trip to OH all by himself.

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Renae and Devan are excited to be back to school too, although they would say that they are not....  This is Renae's last year of high school and Devan is a sophomore.