Catch up time... again:)

So I really had good intentions when I started this blog, again....  But I am just not very disciplined to sit down and do it on a regular basis!  So here is another catch-up:)

A lot has been going on in the Volcansek house the past few months...  we ended a 10 yr career in the USMC active Duty, started a new job, joined the USMC reserves, ended another school year, prepared and went to YW camp, and had a marathon family vacation.  It has been really busy the past few months- but we all have smiles on our faces:)  Here are some pictures to catch you up on our clan.

Jack celebrated his 5th birthday in March.  Complete with ponies to ride and "cows" to rope:)  Can't believe he is 5!
 

Abby had her dance recital.  She is such a beautiful dancer - so graceful!!

 Next we headed to Bandera for a few days.  We LOVE that place!!  We keep our trailer at an amazing park - a gorgeous pool, wildlife, we even got to pick fresh produce:) 

Next Abby and I headed up to Goliad, an historic park, for YW camp.  It was hot and we were in tents - but I can honestly say that no one complained and all had smiles on their faces!!  We had a great time, as always!!  Sorry there aren't any pictures - but my motto is - "What happens at camp, stays at camp:)"  

Muleshoe started our summer family tour:)  We were in charge of the Lange reunion this year.  We love going to Muleshoe and visiting with family and pretending to be farmers for a day:)  Uncle Butch arranged a hay ride for us out to a local dairy where we got to see all the ins and outs of dairy farming - not something I would want to try:)  The kiddos loved it!  Here is Max, Jack and Mimi on the hayride...

Not sure what kind of conversation was happening here!

Sadie and Abby - such good friends and cousins!!

After the reunion in Muleshoe, we headed to SLC to visit Grandy for a few days.  It was so great to be back at her house - soft grass, Laird park across the street, good food (did I mention she is 90 and lives by herself, plants her own garden, swims 3x's a week, and hosted us for 4 days!!) great visits with family and friends, etc....  Andrew and his family were able to overlap for one day - it was so great to see them!  

We went to Temple Square (or square temple - as Jack calls it!).  There was a huge rainstorm, so we hid in the tabernacle for a while - such an amazing building ...

Love the flowers at Temple Square!

After SLC, we headed to Breckenridge, CO for a Volcansek family reunion.  It is such a beautiful area!  We had a hail storm we would drive in and out of as we went up the mountain - kiddos were so excited to see something white:)  This picture is of the gondola ride up the mountain in Breckenridge - BEAUTIFUL!!

All the grandkids- we missed David's kiddos!!

A fairly good family pic:)  They are rare in our house!!

 We spent the 4th of July watching fireworks from the hotel window in San Angelo, TX:)  Jack came down with strep throat, so we headed home, but had to stop to take him in to the dr:)  We were all so happy to be home, but had such a great trip!  We are looking forward to a quiet rest of the summer!

YW Camp Kick-off 2011

Well, Camp is coming up and I am serving on the stake Camp committee with 2 other amazing women!!  We were so excited to get the YW ready and pumped for camp this year, and i think we were successful:) 

The theme for this year is B.O.O.T Camp - building on our testimonies...  So the YW started off by making a boot print on a backpack....  Always gotta have crafts:)

We then did other things like skits, songs, and of course, boot-camp exercises!  This picture above says it all - Frederick leading them in a cadence run, and all the YW smiling and having a great time - although I think the Marine had more fun pretending to be a drill instructor:)  Even Abby is smiling!!

Abby is pretty excited to be at camp this year - I love this girl!!  Wish us all luck - as we are tent camping in South Texas in June!!

My First Little Garden

I never would have thought such a tiny little red ball could be so delicious!!  This little cherry tomato is the first fruits of my garden!  I have been wanting to plant a vegetable garden for years!  I always had excuses for not starting one - and finally this year, I really felt the need to learn how to grow vegetables... 

and here is the fruit of my labors!

During Conference weekend, I decided to go ahead and buy the materials and just put it together.  I had done a bit of research, so I went to the garden center and bought the supplies.  What I didn't realize was how hard it was going to be to get the dirt and 4x4's in to the back yard:)  Luckily a friend saw the job ahead of me and called her hubby and brother to come over and help - 20 min later I had the supplies ready to go (Thanks Libby, Josh and Jeremy!).  I cut the 4x4's to dimension and went to building the container (just like big lincoln logs!)  The next day between Conference sessions, Frederick, Jack and I went out and put the soil and compost in.  Jack loved dancing and stomping on the soil....  We then planted the veggies and herbs.  I am excited to say that I have had fresh flowers, I have cooked with the basil and dill and have eaten 1 cherry tomato!  Pretty soon I will be able to share it with someone:)  

But for now - I am happy with tasting the one bite!  

And as Jack said - 

"We will NEVER have to go to the store again!" 

Catching up!! September 2010

When I started this blog - I really wanted to post every month, at least - kind of like a family journal...  well, I am falling WAY behind on that!!  So here is a little fall 2010 Catch up:)


September 2010:
We decided to take Labor Day weekend and travel up with our trailer to our favorite spot - Bandera, Texas!!  (Yes, it is the Cowboy Capital of the World!!)  We took Abby's friend, Jamie, for a good-bye trip (Jamie has moved on to better places!!)  We really miss Jamie and the laughter she brings!  Both Abby and Jack love being with her!!

Labor Day weekend in Bandera is packed full of Cowboy and Old West activities - "Pa" was in heaven!!

They have a saying "Only in Bandera..."  Well - Only in Bandera can you see long horn parades!!  Obviously the kiddos were totally bored waiting for the parade to start!!

Mimi and Papa met us there to watch the Parade and celebrations.  Thanks for meeting us there!!

Pretty cute buckaroo!!

The last night we went to an Indian Pow Wow - it really was amazing - the outfits were beautiful.  They had a circle and invited all veterans to participate in the ritual.  They all marched around the circle and it is believed to relieve the people participating of all their wounds, both physical and spiritual, of war.  It was really cool - Frederick had a good time.











When we got home from our trip - we celebrated Frederick's birthday - he is getting old:) 

I don't know why they can't all smile nicely for a family picture!!  They better watch out - this may be our Christmas card:)

Cousin Sadie came!!!!

Sadie (and Cory and Tiffany for paying....)  THANK YOU for coming to visit us!!!!!  Mimi and Papa - thank you for bringing her down here!!

Ms. Abby goes to Washington!

 

This year, Abby saved enough money to pay for half a plane ticket to go to No. VA to visit her Grandma and cousins.  She flew all by herself for the first time.  Needless to say I was a nervous wreck - but Abby's text when she got there was "I made it in one piece!"  

Abby had a great time with her g-ma and cousins for a week and then Jack and I flew out for a second week.  We really crammed in the sightseeing this time!  We went to Hershey Park, PA with Takemotos and McMullin kids - a great amusement park.  Thanks, Grandma!!  Both kids loved the rides!! 

Mount Vernon

Abby is not happy to have her picture taken, once again!!

Abby and I drove to all the big monuments on Sunday evening!

We also were able to go to several museums, Mount Vernon, monuments, etc....  The weather was gorgeous!!!  We loved driving around in Grandma's convertible as we toured the monuments downtown:)  

Girl's Camp:)

This year was Abby's first year to attend Girl's Camp for our church.  She was pretty nervous about going - she is not exactly an outdoor girl:)  But she did great and loved it!!  Way to go Abby!!

Tour of Texas

To start summer off this year - we took off 2 weeks from "life" and embarked on our "Tour of Texas"!! We were so excited to travel in our new travel trailer and discovered a new world of traveling!! We started off visiting a small town called Bandera, Texas - in the middle of the Texas Hill Country. About 45 miles west of San Antonio. It is BEAUTIFUL!! The RV park was called "The Farm" - we loved it!!
We then headed west to Muleshoe, Texas for the Lange Family Reunion. It is always fun to be in Muleshoe. Tons of cousins, farms, games, food, and good people!! I don't know who was more excited to drive the tractors - Jack or Frederick! Thanks, Noah, for a fabulous ride!! Frederick also got a chance to fly his cousin Edward's plane.

After the reunion, we headed to South Oklahoma to a Bluegrass RV park:) Needless to say that Frederick was in Heaven:) While Frederick played all day and all night.... I took the kids and we explored the area. We found a wildlife rescue zoo - it was... let's say... interesting:) The pictures say it all!! (read the sign!!)




After Oklahoma - we headed to Clifton, Texas to visit with Mimi and Papa. We love Clifton!! We even had a visit from the local police as we lit off fireworks in the driveway - gotta love it when the Mayor gets in trouble - sorry, Papa!! It was a great trip! We are hooked on the RV world!!