Harvesting a hornets nest

We have found 3 hornets' nests around our house this year and 1 at the end of the lane.  One was on the eave of our house and we had to destroy that one.  This one was nicely made on a branch.  Darryn was the rescuer.

The idea was to put it up by our bear BooBoo.  What do you think?  At least one kid doesn't like it there, but not sure how else to display it.

"Oh happy day, happy day...."

On Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, Darryn & Ericka were baptized.  It was a happy day for us as a family and we are glad they have made this decision of obedience to identify with Christ Jesus.  We have a baptistry in our church and the baptism was at the end of the regular morning service.

They could pick who they wanted to help baptize them.  Darryn asked Uncle Paul and Ericka asked Shari Sapp (current youth leader and someone she connects with).

 Austin Gingerich and Seth Pennell were baptized as well.

2014 Deer Season

That "First Deer" smile says it all!  Devan was sitting in a blind with Lyn when he shot this.  It made getting up at 3 a.m. worth it all!

3 pt. buck

Lyn's "right place, right time" buck, added to Darryn's doe and Devan's 3 pt. makes for 3 deer hanging.  Not bad for opening weekend.  Dwight would have made it a clean sweep but chose to pass on a spike.  First year for the 4 guys hunting together, hoping it's a tradition for many years to come.  Maybe next year they can talk the girls into it too.

This & that

My two applesauce helpers.....

Lyn's parents celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in October.  We had a last minute open house for them one Sunday afternoon. 

Lyn's mom has her good days and not so good days.  She looks good on this picture.  She was pretty tired out after everyone had left, but I think they both enjoyed the day.

Ericka - Volleyball

Ericka has enjoyed playing volleyball the last 3 years.  It's so hard to get good shots....

The seniors

Byler's Emplyee Picnic at Fifer Orchards

This year we were able to do our annual employee picnic at Fifer Orchards near Wyoming, DE.  It was a great evening for employees and their families.  They had all kinds of fun activities which included a 6 acre corn maze, a hay ride, zip lines, pedal carts, a big slide, human hamster wheels and other fun kiddie stuff.  Here are a few pictures of the evening.

Bouncy horses

Pedal power

Renae on the zip line

Ericka and Shari Sapp did the corn maze in 21 minutes to come out on top.  They were moving!

Pouring the Cement floor at Maranatha

We are in the middle of a big building project at our church.  A few weeks ago Lyn got to help pour the concrete.  It was quite the process.  Basically, Lyn's job was to run the little cement buggy from the trucks to where they needed the cement.  They used 4 buggys and a Laser Screed and poured the entire building in 3 hours.

Cape Henlopen

We enjoyed a beach day mid September with several other families.  The water was nice & warm even if the air was a bit cool.

 

The mermaids and their sculptor

Back to school

Well, this is Ericka's last "first day of school" in high school.  It is also Dwight's first year in high school and Devan's first year in middle school.  Everyone seemed ready to go back....though they would never say so.  It was just a year ago that Renae & Devan both were "sick" and stayed home the 3rd day of school.  They have adjusted well since then.

They are standing by the old van affectionately named "the kidney bean".  At approx. 230,000 miles, we are hoping it will give us another 12,000 miles to get us through this school year.

Cherrystone Campground, VA

After several years of talking about doing this, it finally worked out for us to spend some time with friends at Cherrystone.  It is a big campground located right on the Chesapeake Bay about 3 1/2 hrs. south of Dover on the Delmarva Pennisula just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  This is not the "roughing it" type of camping.  There is an activity to suit just about everyone including 4 fishing piers, a pond with paddleboats, 5 swimming pools with a splash zone, putt-putt, tennis courts and several playgrounds all free with your reservation.  There is also a nice place to clam at low tide and swim in the bay too if you prefer that.  Kayaks and small boats can be rented as well.  We borrowed 3 kayaks from Lyn's sister, Maryann, which got a lot of use.

Ryan and Dwight

We tried crabbing and fishing off the piers......

....but had minimal success.

On the pier

Renae & Mary

Cody, Devan & Josh

We ended up putting our 10 crab pots out away from the piers and used the kayaks to check them.  We had much better success and we took turns checking them all day long.  By night we had about 3/4 of a bushel.

Yummmm

We also enjoyed going out at low tide looking for clams.  After the first night, we got smart and took all the nets with us the next evening and netted some crabs as we looked for clams.  The water was clear and we also saw puffer fish and stingrays.

The pictures just never do justice but the sunsets over the water were spectacular.

It was a long drive and lots of packing for 3 nights and 2 days, but nice to be able hang out with 4 families from church.

Flashback

Earlier this month I was able to fly to MN to help my mom clean out and sort through her belongings.  We were working so hard I didn't even take pictures (much to my regret) except for these few.  We found my sister Joy's dresses that she had worn as a bridesmaid in my brother, Bill, and my weddings.

This was worn to Lyn & my wedding - Aug. 8, 1992

Check out that bow.

This was worn to Bill & Tammi's wedding - Oct. 1993 (I think)

Pretty impressive, Joy, that you can still fit into them. Especially when you consider that you were not quite 14 at our wedding.  The dresses look the same color in the pictures, but the first one was a teal green and the second one a teal blue.  Both dresses had the same big butt bow.  Watch out--it's been about long enough for them to be back in style.  The shoes were the kind you dyed, so they were redyed to match the second dress.

Wheww! It was pointed out that I needed to get a post in for this month.  I made it!

Sault Sainte Marie, MI

On our way home from MN, we came home through Michigan.  It added a bit of time on, but we were ready for something different.  We drove the whole length of Lake Superior the first day.  From tip to tip takes 8-9 hrs.  I guess that's where the name "Great Lakes" comes from.  We spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie which is on the Michigan/Canadian border.  There are boat locks there known as the Soo Locks.  It was very interesting to watch a huge ocean liner loaded with iron ore come through.

This is the Lake Huron level.  These gates (wall) open, the boat enters, the gates close, and then the water fills the lock and raises the boat to the Lake Superior level.

We spent a bit of time at an old fort near the Mackinac Bridge as well.  The camera got left in the car.  We can also say we skipped rocks into Lake Michigan.

Camping at Owen Lake

While in MN, we spent parts of 3 days camping with my brother Bill, and sister Joy, and their families about a half hour north from Mom's home.  My brother, Brian, also came out the first day and Mom & Wes were there the second evening. The campground was small and remote with a pump for fresh water and a decent smelling outhouse.  Since it was a Monday & Tuesday night, we pretty much had the campground to ourselves and claimed the sites along the lake.  Everyone had tents and we took Bill's pontoon boat and kayaks along.  As always, I could have taken a lot more pictures.  We hit the nicest days of the week and enjoyed fishing, swimming, kayaking, biking, corn hole, ladder ball and cooking over the fire.  

 Gracie & Renae

 Cleaning Northern Pike & Bass

 

 The water was very cold, but the air was warm so we all got in.

The cooks

Yummm.....Grilled cheese cooked in a pie iron.

Dutch Blitz

Young kids playtime

The first night was so still and the loons made all kinds of sounds.

I think we all enjoyed the time.  Thanks, Bill & Tammi, for pulling most of the supplies together!