By Kailey Mentink

This summer has been busy and hot but it has also been very pleasant. We have been able to appreciate a quantity of fun activities such as swimming at the pond, spending time as a family, and playing with our new puppy, Spice. We also have had a fun time playing with our cousin, Kate. She arrived from Lincoln on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon we took a trip to the Platte River to go canoeing. We took two canoes, one for Mom, Dad, the babies and the boys, and another for Alena, Kate, and I. The river was low and we ended up having to get out and push at certain places.  About halfway through we secured our canoes to a sandbar to take a break and go swimming. We ran into the river and had fun skipping stones, taking pictures, and having fun racing each other.  We then got into our canoes, set off again, and had some fun going down different channels in the river. Before long we saw the bridge, which would end our trip. Before we could get there, we ran into a sandbar and had to get out to pull our canoes to the bridge. We took everything out of the canoes, loaded them up, and then headed for home. It had been a very fun trip except for the fatigue and my sunburn. We all decided it had been even more pleasurable than going to a water park as we had considered doing.

We have also been enjoying our new puppy, Spice.  We had steadily been looking for a dog; we all wanted one except mom who was uncertain as we have had a nasty dog in the past.  Then we got Spice, (Grandma surprised us with her) and now that she is here Mom likes her as much we all do. She sometimes bites and will occasionally jump on people, but we are continually training her. She is also very entertaining and even though we discourage it she sometime chases the chickens. Fortunately, we have one really nasty hen that is not afraid to defend herself and will peck Spice if she gets too close.

We have been doing a lot of canning for the winter, and plan to do a lot more. Now as we are getting into fall we are having warmer days, cooler evenings, and nights. Dad, and occasionally Caleb and Aiden, are getting work done on the house. In the evenings when dad gets home from work usually his evening schedule includes working on the house. We hope to move into the house before winter begins, but there is talk of an early and severe winter. The house is coming along and there is a possibility that the prediction will be wrong.

As winter gets closer, so does deer hunting season. Caleb and Aiden have watched a video on hunting and processing the deer. Dad and the boys have gone hunting in previous years but with no avail. The boys are very excited to go hunting again this year and Dad feels confident that they will get a deer this time.

We have had a wonderful summer with many blessings and we hope you did too!