Our House

Jim had the chance to go flying with his friend John who has his pilot's license. These are the pictures he took of our house. It gives you a great idea of where we live. These pictures were taken on September 3, 2009.

All the Grandkids -- Part 2

On Saturday, August 8th, all of the Toncray grandkids were together. Since I posted pictures of the Kerrins grandkids, I wanted to also post pictures of the Toncray grandkids. As you can see, the Toncray side of the family is younger, and therefore, more difficult to capture on film. I think we will try this again in about 6 months - 1 year! Enjoy :)

Bears Family Day

On August 8th, we went to Bears Family Day at Soldier Field. It was awesome to see the stadium and the new Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler!! Jay actually throws passes and people catch them!! The kids had a blast playing the games and Trevor actually won a beach towel. We can't wait until football season starts.

All the Grandkids

At Leah's graduation, all 6 of the grandkids were together. This is a big moment that doesn't happen that often. Michael is off to Germany for the next 2 -3 years in the Army and Leah is going off to college. We aren't sure when all of them will be together again.

Stepping Stones

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to my Uncle Mark and Janet's house in Michigan for a family reunion. While we were there, we made Stepping Stones. The kids loved it!! You pick random items and they are set in cement. When they are finished, I want to put them in my yard. The kids told me that they are putting them in their rooms!! Therefore, even I made one! We can't wait to pick them up!

Fort Worth Cousins

Charlie at lunch (Fuzzy's).

Adam & Christian

Abby & Cosi at lunch.

Abby & Trevor were so excited to meet the cousins that they had not met before. We had lunch with Adam, Charlie, and Cosi. We enjoyed riding the train with them and going to the Civil War Museum. This visit was a definite highlight of our trip to Texas!!

The View from Above

When Jim isn't planting or harvesting, people always ask what he is doing. One of the many things that he has to do is move the grain from the bins on our farm into town. On Thursday, he took these pictures of our farm from the top of the grain bin. It certainly gives you a new perspective of life in general!

Jim's Birthday

Friday was Jim's birthday. We bought him the new Jay Cutler (Bears's new quarterback) jersey. It was funny to see the kids try on the jersey!

Flower Bed

Every good farm has plenty of flowers. Well, after 12.5 years, I have decided to have a flower bed on our farm. I spent most of Saturday digging up the bed, laying the rock border, and planting the flowers. Trevor was a huge help with the rock border!! Now I will just have to wait, weed, and water while waiting for the flowers to grow!!

Community Night

On our trip to Chicago, we went to Sully's school to celebrate Community Night! Everyone had a blast. The kids made leis and bookmarks and we all enjoyed watching Sully hula. What a real treat to end the trip!!

Spring Break in Chicago

On Tuesday, Abby, Trevor, and I went to Chicago to see the cousins, the aunts, the uncles, and Gramma and Poppa. We went to Lincoln Park Zoo for story hour on Wednesday and enjoyed the singing and touring the farm! I am constantly amazed at the interest my kids take in the farm exhibits when we visit the big city...considering we live on a farm!

Quilting

Abby received this "Knot-a-Quilt" for Christmas last year. I think she is now old enough to do it on her own. She has gotten quite good!! After a brief refresher course, she took off and it won't be long before she has a blanket!

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum Visit

On Saturday, the 14th, we took a roadtrip to Springfield to go to the Museum. The kids loved the museum, the movies, the log cabin, the white house, and Mrs. Lincoln's attic. They are at the perfect age and seemed to take everything in. It was Jim's idea to go and we all enjoyed ourselves!!

Our Joliet visit

On Saturday, Abby and I went to Joliet to visit with Bec, O, Gramma, and Poppa. Trevor was sick on Saturday so Bec and O couldn't come to the farm. We actually had a good visit and O finally warmed up to Abby and I. O enjoyed playing with Abby's babies...maybe practicing for her new baby in July!! We even got to sing Happy Birthday to Bec, Fr. Harry, Poppa, and Abby with Mom's famous red velvet cake for dessert!! What a great day!

Abby's Slumber Party

Abby decided to have a slumber party this year for her 8th Birthday. She invited 3 girls over. They played the Wii, Guitar Hero, DS, painted nails, watched movies, talked, and stayed up until about 2 a.m.!!! I think the party was a big success!!

10th Gup Testing

On Thursday, Trevor went to Soo Bahk Do to take his 10th Gup test. He is hoping to become a 9th Gup. He did very well on all of the tests -- written, arms, kicks, forms, and breaking a board. He was the only one who actually broke his board!! We will post again when we find out if he passed.