i'm like some of you. if someone doesn't update their blog often enough, i stop looking.
it's true.
i know you do too.
well, i refuse to be taken off your 'check in often list' so i'm going to make it my goal this month to be better about posting.
and since i know that a few of you are going to remind me that i said it here, i have no choice but to stay true to that.
since just today i am current on my 'Project 365' (i can almost hear becky and taya clapping!), i can now tackle my blog. let me just give you a quick (whatever, i do NOTHING quickly) run-down of our life.
a beautiful reminder of a PROMISE that My God still reigns!
Matsqi water park in Canada is one of our favorite places to take our kids. plus it's cheap. looking for a way to spend a rainy afternoon, we called the Wubbens,loaded everyone up and set out for MUCH fun. and fun we had!
thankfully i have friends that share their children with me. hailey lets me get my 'girl fix'. she also lives with 4 boys so she understands my need for some chick time. i love you sweet girl.
kaid and jack-best of friends.
just realized that i didn't even post a picture of my niece, kayt (i call her kit) at graduation. so proud of you girl!
yet another likkel/denbleyker football game.
we had the privilege of having BOTH sets of aunts and uncles here from Michigan a few weeks back. first my dad's brother, Dave and his wife, Marilyn (aunt mike) here. the last part of their week here, aunt Faye (dad's sister) and her hub, Les, came. since all of the our denbleyker relatives live in Michigan, it's always a precious time when they come to visit. their time here is never enough in my opinion. this year, when they left, it was especially hard for me. even my boys got choked up.
these are sweet, sweet memories.
uncle les and jack practicing their passes. jack was giddy over the prospect of hanging out with uncle les. jack digs him!
HIKE!
if you've been to our house, or driven past, you'll notice that those BLASTED moles have gotten the best of our once beautiful lawn. since uncle les is a master mole catcher/KILLER we let him see if he could work his magic in our yard. unfortunately the moles were on to him and decided to have a little fun with him. he never did kill one but he gets an A for effort.
i loved looking across the lawn to see these men, who are all so incredibly special to me, walking together.
the whole gang......
cheering on the troops.
whenever uncle dave comes, the boys talk about his 'lawn games'. he comes up with funny little things that the kids need to do. stare at him without smiling (jack ALWAYS loses!), race to the jungle gym, do 5 push ups, say and do silly things. at the end of the games, there is usually some money, small change, thrown at them as rewards. it warms my heart to see the joy in their faces while making such sweet memories with an uncle who, although lives too far away, is so special to them.
really, i have no words to explain how precious this picture is to me. pure joy.
i don't know what he's asking them to do but i DO know that they were giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls.
i must have really liked this one. it's in here twice.
jackson roon scoring his first goal of the season!! so proud of you buddy!
pondering his next move.
being congratulated by the BEST coach he's EVER had. uncle tim you rocked!! 
daddy dear washing veggies.
this is a typical, silly jack look. showing how proud he was of his corn shuckin'!
the boys FAVORITE snack. these never last long in our pantry.
it's hard working being 8.
this is a normal occurrence. these two snuggled up in the chair, daddy is usually sleeping.
this is my children's idea of a joke. it's a miracle that our cat hasn't run away. max felt like it was time Joe started working for his food. hee. hee.
i was sitting quietly in my chair, reading when THIS floated down from Sam's room. scared me half to death. still, really, really funny. poor GI Joe. i bet he wishes he was back in training camp.
bo salivating all over the bowl of cookie dough!
obviously, something in his recipe must have gone terribly wrong.
such concentration!
in mid-august we spent a few days over the mountains at Steamboat Rock with the denbleykers & the wiersmas. we had an unbelievably relaxing trip! thank you friends, looking forward to next year!
tam hooking lis and i up for happy hour. her specially? good ol' strawberry Margarita's!
jack warming up the wake board.
my babes.
maxwell ripping up the waters of the Columbia river!
this is blog worthy. i know to the untrained eye, this looks like children quietly coloring, like normal children should be doing. however, if you know my children, quietly and normal do NOT fit them. they are full of energy...all the time. so when i saw jack and max coloring, QUIETLY, i knew i must capture this moment. about 60 seconds after i took this, they were gone! on to something louder! bless them.
is this just not the picture of child-like happiness? skipping throught the field, not a care in the world.
frantically digging for moles after i promised 20 bucks to the first person to bring me a dead body. i still have my 20 bucks.
uncle lik getting some snuggle time with our nephew, elijah!
passing them at Birch Bay State Park. love these backside shots.
at our church, when you 'graduate' from the second grade you receieve a sending off ceremony and your very own bible! this is a big deal to these little ones and as parents, we LOVE this tradition. jack, we pray that you will learn to love and cherish this book above ALL other earthly possesions!! it will guide you in every decision you make in this life. read and study it often. 
Cadet camp is a highlight of the boys summer. this year, eli made it just a little more dramatic when he needed to be brought to the hospital to get stitches in his leg. he was riding in a GARBAGE can, with wheels, down the hill. um, yes, there IS a reason why they leave their mothers at home. that is all i have to say about that!
buddies. please take note of the pile of dirt on jack's face. he's been there for 4 days with not as much as a washcloth across his little mug. good thing he's so darn lovable, dirty face and all.
someone is always building a fort around here. i sent them out to find a quiet place to read, next thing i know, they've built themselves a castle.
the first marshmellow smile of the season!
lik working to stay ahead of the weeds, 'Round-upping' the driveway. unfortunalty, life gets busy and the weeds always win out.
kaiden and jack planting the trees that they got from school. sadly, they were taken out, in the bagger of the mower the next time the lawn got mowed. shucks.
from boyhood to manhood. jacks first taste of mowing the lawn like the big boys.
someone didn't like what i was making for dinner so they thought they'd send in a replacement. i guess they didn't think i'd notice. i almost didn't.
