Birthdays-CJ style

This week, we had two birthdays-Miss Charity's and Aunt Carols.  Birthdays at camp can be very interesting...Actually, they are always interesting!  We are easily entertained, and logic says: if you are easy to entertain, might as well entertain cheaply!  Creative minds don't need expensive items to decorate and celebrate!  And though our minds may not be entirely intact (no comments!) they are creative!

  

Decorating the Heritage room for Aunt Carol's birthday.  She almost didn't come to her own birthday meal!  She was trying to hide out in town...tsk, tsk

  

A wild balloon for a lady with a decided wild side!

Miss Charity made this cake for Aunt Carol.  She made it from scratch with homemade butter.  That's impressive!

blowing the candles out

I don't have any pictures of Miss Charity's b-day.  I decorated the office doors with chalk paint.  My housekeeping sister suggested reserving chalk paint for the summer months, as removing it from the office doors gave her great difficulty, with this cold weather :(

Birthdays are always special...real special!

On my last birthday, Jenna and the girls stayed up all hours of the night decorating the kitchen.  I found these balloons stuffed in my cubby!

For Hannah's birthday, we put on sombreros and sang "Sapo verde eres tu," to the tune of "Happy Birthday."  I know it sounds pretty impressive to the non-Hispanic person.  It actually means "You are a green toad!"  

Ben VP, the little chaparito.  He makes a good Mexican!  Wrong accent, though!

(chaparito is Spanish for little bunny, I think! :) )

Carrying on the Spanish line, Jenna made this cake for my birthday!

One of the summer kitchen girls got this giant gummy bear for her birthday!  

Sapo verde eres tu!

Camo Day at CJ

YOU CAN'T SEE US!

Last week, Aunt Carol decided that we should have a staff camo day.  

So, after a trip to town with "Little Bekah," to buy shirts, and a little coaxing of a reluctant staff member, (who shall remain unnamed :) ) the majority of us were outfitted with camouflage.

"Nice day fer a coon hunt"

The aura of light gives us a somewhat angelic glow, don't ya think! :)

Aunt Carol and "little Hannah"

The formidable housekeeping staff.

(This is soooo out of character for Ruth!)

Hannah, doing her best "smolder."

This one cracks me up every time I see it! :D

All this camo makes me think of rednecks...

Wanna hear a redneck joke?... Well, you're going to hear one anyway!

How can you tell the age of a redneck?

By the number of dirt rings in the bathtub!

Happy (Belated) New Year!

We brought in the New Year at church, starting with a service, then snacks, then we watched a docu-drama about the life of Fanny Crosby.  It was very interesting and informational.  She wrote so many hymns that she was assigned various pen names so the hymn books wouldn't be full of hymns seemingly written by one person.  Amusing fact: one of her many pen names was James Appel!  

Then, we went downstairs and had more snacks, and the few and brave-hearted stayed until the wee hours of New Year's Day.

Amy, Ruth and Tabitha, after a rousing game of Dutch Blitz

Me and my little friend, Toriana

Tori wanted to take a picture with my camera. This is her stunning self portrait! :)

Elizabeth, playing Guesstures. Very amusing!

I like quick, involved games, like Dutch Blitz.  With 6 or 8 competitive females, this was definitely quick and involved! (and LOUD!)

{next 3 photos courtesy of Tyler, who is a budding artist and photographer :)}

The dessert table...need we say more?

Colton. Definitely a candid shot!

After we finished playing games, we drew with the little kiddos until...

Midnight finally struck!  We stayed until about 5 after, and called it a night.

Happy 2014!

Theft-Resistant Vehicles

My mom sent me this little snippet in a letter a few years ago.  It made me smile, and I've kept it tucked in my wallet since then.  I thought it sounded like good description of Logan vehicles, as well as Camp trucks!

Theft-Resistant Trucks

Here are the top 10 reasons farm trucks are rarely stolen.

10. They only have a range of 20 miles before they break down or run out of gas

9.Only the owner knows how to operate the broken door latch to get in or out

8. It's hard to drive fast with all the fencing tools, ropes, chains and loose paper flying around in the cab

7. It's hard to see through the cloud of smoke coming in through the floorboard

6. The dog on the toolbox looks mean.

5. They're too easy to spot.  A police description would sound something like: "The driver's side door is primer red, the right front fender is gray..."

4. The big round bale in the bed makes it hard to tell if you're being chased.

3. Top speed is 45 mph.

2. Who wants a truck that needs U-joints, $5000 in body work, a new windshield...

And the number 1 reason :

It's hard to commit a crime when everyone you drive past waves at you!

Hannah, Ruth and I with the beloved old black Ford that finally bit the dust!

Back home in junior church, we used to sing a (somewhat sacrilegious) song called "You can't get to Heaven on Roller Skates."  One of our teachers modified the song to say "Oh, you can't get to Heaven in the Logan's car, 'cause the Logan's car won't go that far!"

Ahh..yes, the Logan's cars were well known.  It was either all of us crowded into the truck rattling down the road to church, or all 6 of us adults in the car-with one up in the front between Mom and Dad.  Our record is a 7 hour trip!  The buckles are only about 8 inches apart, and are not comfy to sit on, to say the least.  Dad found a lumpy gold cushion and wedged it in the front middle seat for us to sit on.  The "Royal Cushion" as we called it made intolerable trips bearable.

 Another child memory was hitting a deer with our large, boxy white car.  A few weeks after that incident,  we were at church looking out the window with some other kids, and one of the boys said, "Wow, look at that old dented car out there, I wonder who would drive a car like that." 

The answer-WE would!

When I was younger, my dream car was a purple Dodge Caravan minivan.  I adored the pictures of it in the Family Fun magazine, looking over every nook and cranny, and I especially liked the little plastic drawer under the passenger seat.

Today, my dream car is anything that runs.

(although Mustangs are pretty neat...I wouldn't mind just touching one :) )

Amazing how time and frugality and necessity change what's really important!

I'll Be Home for Christmas

We got to go home for a few days at Christmas time.  Admittedly, home is not the same without Mom, not at all, but we don't often all get together, so it was nice to be home with my family. 

 I think I appreciate them even more this Christmas, since we have been 

through a lot of trials together this year.

The Logan House-Bed and Breakfast* est 1986 

*You make your own :)  

  

Jesus Christ is truly the greatest gift ever given to mankind, and I have the privilege of knowing him as my Lord and my Savior.  The words to this hymn are very thought-provoking:

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

"Thou didst leave thy throne and Thy kingly crown when thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room, for thy holy nativity.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus- There is room in my heart for thee."

{E.E.S Elliott}

Rebekah put the tree up and decorated it 

Pretty Christmas bulbs

Our storage room was about 30 degrees.  That's where we have our washer and drier, and since the pipes were frozen, laundry had to be put on hold.

The bathtub pipes were also frozen, so we embarked on a new journey of washing our hair in the sink!  Old houses definitely have their unique quirks, but also an extra dose of personality!

O Tannenbaum...Oh Tannenbaum...What is that anyhow, just a fancy way to say "Christmas Tree"?

  

My earthly treasures.  My family knows me and my tastes very well!

I didn't need any of it, but I like all of it!

Rebekah got the infamous DD pillow Aunt Carol put in our closet at camp.  She stuffed it into a surprisingly small box.  Hopefully, it won't give Rebekah nightmares!

After we opened gifts, we ate a scrumptious breakfast.  Ruth made ham and cheese turnovers, and this yummy coffee cake.

I thought these icicles were so pretty

Ditto

Aaand...what could be finer than a beautiful snow-covered truck against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset!

Merry Christmas!

Birthday Boy

 On Christmas Eve, we celebrated Robbie's 22nd birthday.  

Wow! He's getting old! (Hmm...what does that make me :) ?)

We made him a special birthday lunch, and invited my Grandpa Logan over to eat with us.

Pepperoni lasagna

Rebekah made some yummy, fudgy brownies, and I decorated them.  We didn't have any birthday candles, so we used a tealight.

The birthday boy, celebrating the double 2!

Aunt Carol sent home a Duck Dynasty puzzle that she had gotten from the White Elephant gift exchange at camp.  She said it creeped her out to touch all the "beard" puzzle pieces.  Since I'm sure she doesn't read blogs, I feel it's safe to write what the plan for this delightful item is.  Robbie is going to put it together, frame it, and give it back to her for her birthday in late January!  What goes around comes around. :)

A very spiffy tie, from the ever-resourceful Ruth, who found it on sale at Kohls last spring.  Robbie has the biggest tie collection I have personally seen!  He has them categorized in shoe boxes, with labels like "solids/stripes," "plaid and paisley," etc.

Thought I'd share a few pics from Robbie's past birthdays:

The day Robbie was born, before we went to the hospital to see him.  

We had heard before that we were getting a baby, but not understanding "logistics" figured Dad and Mom were going to the hospital to pick it out.  They picked an interesting one, that's for sure! :)  We wanted to help name him, offering stunning suggestions such as "Pepper" and "Christmas Tree Boomer."  (Boomer was the name of a beloved doll we had.)  Mom didn't care for either of them, so they named him after Dad-Robert Edward Logan II.

Our teeny, tiny Christmas baby, weighing just over 6 lbs.

Poor thing, no one deserves 3 "mommies"

His first birthday

Birthday number 4

Whenever I want to smile, I get out some of my photo albums and look at the pictures.  Here's a few candid ones of Robbie :)

Mom must not have been watching him, because I know she never let us kids play in the oven!

  

He's very dramatic, and good at facial expressions!  This one was taken after the exhaust pipe 

fell off our van.

Robbie impersonating a Ram

He's sure a character, but I wouldn't trade him for a million well-behaved brothers!

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord..."

Psalm 1