Pump Problems

Daddy and Adam had to replace the fuel pump before we could come home Friday. That was okay. We'd get home late but it wouldn't be too bad. But sixty-five miles later at 11:00 p.m. when the new one went out at a gas station it was not okay.

It was 27 degrees out-side and it got pretty cold by the time Joel came to pick us up with Clough's van. We wrapped up with pretty much everything handy that would keep us warm. Here's the pic of Adam you requested Michelle (Durkee):

(That's Hannah's sweater on his head and Daddy's hunting sweatshirt over his lap.) Adam comes up with the most ridiculous thing sometimes. He was sitting there and all the sudden he comes off with "You know, this is awful color coordination. Florescent orange with purple, blue, and black? It just doesn't go together!" Duh. Like that matters when your head's cold in the middle of the night.

Serena asking Joel "Are you almost here?"

We got home at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday. Daddy and Adam got a few hours sleep and then went and put yet another fuel pump in the van. So far we have had no problems with it.

On the Funny Farm

The barn:


Daddy's hunting hat from when he was a boy; he wanted to know if I would want to wear it. Ha ha, very funny.

This is what happens when you have granddaughters that like to play with hair:

Grandma relaxing:

Uncle Doug

Making Music

We played Hymns and then took an ice cream break (dairy products are an important part of a Sickler's life) and then we played Scotch and Irish songs

Thanksgiving Dodge Ball with the Sickler Family

The "Outers"

Last night was the Advanced Music Banquet at PVBI. Julia played "Prelude in C# Minor" by Rachmininoff and Joel was suppost to sing but.... he didn't have his piece ready on time.

Julia at the piano:

Adam's comment on this picture is that he LOVES how his tie stands out.

Adam was singing "Sleep, Baby Sleep" to Serena on the way home (she sang along) :

Yesterday Joel and Linnete came over and they signed over the title to their future home. We like it that they will be so close (right across the road)but we wish our neigbors didn't have to move away. Phil and Mary Jean have been great neigbors and the girls have had a lot of fun playing together. Adam has also worked for Phil for about 3 years and he really likes his boss.

Erica and Serena playing Scrabble.

Hannah and Tasha

Mommy, Phil, and Adam.

Teacher: Now if you bought ten apples for ten cents what would each one be?
Suzy: Rotten! At that Price they'd have to be.

She Got a 100% - Twice!

Hannah's brain transplant sure must have worked. She's doing great in Spelling now!

Do YOU Need a Brain?

Hannah felt that she would be in need of a new brain before her next spelling test; difficult math problems had worn her old brain beyond any usability. Dr. Serena P. was generous enough to offer her services free of charge in this dangerous but necessary procedure.

Dr. Serena P. administering medication:

The operation was quite successful and Hannah seems to be doing well though she is still under observation.

NO PIPES ALLOWED IN THE HOUSE HANNAH!

Bribery Always Works

Adam told Serena he would pay her 25 cents if she would scratch his back while he did supper dishes tonight. Then out of his unfailing, bountiful, and unselfish generosity he gave her an extra 10 cents as a tip.

P.S. Just wanted to let you know Adam. There will be a fee of 5.00 for this post.

P.P.S. I don't mind if you want to add a 2.00 tip. :)

P.P.P.S. If there are no posts following this one I am either too busy or unable to post. I am unsure as to how my older brother will react to my revealing his kind giving spirit. In other words: if he kills me please come to my funeral!!!

Adam has an entire Alien suit now.

Doesn't he look funny?!

Happy Very Belated Birthday to Hannah!!!

She's 9! This post is kinda how her birthday was .... late. We celebrated the day after her birthday by inviting some neighbors over and having a little party. She also didn't get her gift until the day after. Mommy let her pick it out herself, so of course she got a doll! But this doll was special. It cries, sleeps, and even breathes! Adam says it sounds like a horse with asthma when it's sleeping. I think he's right. Thankfully, it also comes with a switch. Store-bought babies sure are easy to care for!

Too bad this doesn't work for me..

Voice (on the phone): Johnny has a cold and can't come to school today.
School secretary: Who is this?
Voice: This is my dad.

Are There Mouses in Your Houses?

Last week Mommy went to the pantry to get something and discovered that mice had carried off nearly an entire bag of noodles! When she looked farther she found that they had also chewed of bags of chips, flour, sugar, baking chips, walnuts,and the list goes on. This reminded me of a poem.

MICE

Rose Fyleman

I think mice

Are rather nice.

Their tails are long,

Their faces small,

They haven't any

Chins at all.

Their ears are pink,

Their teeth are white,

They run about

The house at night.

They nibble things

They shouldn't touch

And no one seems

To like them much.

But I think mice

Are nice.

I cannot say I agree with the author entirely.

This picture seems so calm and peaceful. Julia looks almost angelic doesn't she?

Joel & Linette's Engagement Pictures

HOORAY FOR US!

We have a piano and violin teacher! We took our first lesson with our new teacher today. Her name is Esther Hobbs if anyone wants to know, and I think she will be a wonderful teacher.
It sounds like my sisters are trying to do gymnastics in the bedroom again so I'd better go settle them down. - Angela


P.S. The two-by-four-to-the-head method works best for this nightly procedure. :)
Good Night.

The Woman Pharaoh, Hatshepsut

Can anyone guess how old he is?

He's 49 today! This picture was taken when he was a little younger though, as you can probably see. :) Daddy thinks he was 12 or 13 (1971).

He still had a little hair on top when he was married!

Daddy holding Julia and Adam. Adam was probably about a month old.

Daddy and Julia having their Sunday afternoon nap.

Hannah and Daddy. This was taken when we visited the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

In the milking parlor. I think this was the last milking before the sale.

Daddy and Joel the day of the farm sale.

Does anyone else ever take close-up pictures of historical markers like these?

Here's Daddy doing his best to look intelligent.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Help Us All!!!

I was given a rose by a man tonight! Horrors!

Did I mention it was from a bouquet of funeral flowers?

Thanks a lot, John Jacob Inglhiemer Schmidt. (Names have been changed to protect the guilty.)

-Angela

Adam's Four-wheeler

I don't know very much about four-wheelers at all. You'll have to ask Adam if you want to know all the particulars. About all I know is that it's a racing four-wheeler and it's really, REALLY fast! Adam let me try driving it tonight and I, well, thought I was going to dump him right off the back of the seat. But hey, I only stalled it once! I think I scared Adam as much as I did myself though. I was a bit shaky when I got off and Adam would have to have nerves of steel if he wasn't at least a teensy, weensy bit shaky. (The neighbors probably got a good laugh if they where watching. :)



Even Mommy took a ride!

Why Do They Call it Labor Day?

If anyone knows the answer to that question please tell me! If we call the day that we don't work Labor Day, then why don't we call the days we do work Non-Labor Day?

Anyhow, would you like to know what we did on Labor Day? We went to the mountains on a picnic. Don't ask me which mountain we went to because I don't know, but it was a mountain! Joel brought Linette and he also picked up Julia at Penn View. On the way up the mountain we came upon a good sized rattlesnake coiled in the road. Julia had her camera so she got some

pictures of it.

Daddy drove up next to it trying to get it to strike the tire but all it did was rattle.

After we ate we climbed part-way up the mountain on a little trail. Daddy and Julia went all the way to the top but the rest of us chickened out because we were afraid of snakes.

Linette waltzing up the mountain.

Notice Serena and Hannah trying to keep on their feet. Unfortunately the only shoes they brought where their old sneakers, that are so slick on the bottom that they have used them to slide on the linoleum in the kitchen (only when Mommy's gone :).

Serena "falling" off a cliff. She was actually about 12 inches off the ground.

A black snake another picnicker killed. It didn't have a head but it kept on moving.

The boys are traveling to Ohio tonight to pick up a four-wheeler that Adam is buying from a friend.


Checking the truck's tires:

Joel: Look at that, Adam.
Adam: Aah, we can change the tire if we have a flat.
Joel: Do you remember how hard it is to get the spare off?
Adam: We could get it off quick! Bolt cutters!
Practical as usual-
Joel: I don't have bolt cutters.


Adam was in a hurry to get going but Joel, being his normal self, saw no need to rush...


Finally on their way and only an hour after they wanted to leave. Not too bad for a Sickler!

P.S. the weed-patch in the background is not just a spot in our yard we like to mow around, it's our garden. :)

The kitties are getting big now and are turning into real fierce little cats.

The kitty above is actually the friendliest and most tolerant of them all. It eats the most, fights the hardest, is the skinniest (that's not saying much though, they're all fat little fur-balls) and sleeps the soundest. The kitten below is a rather fat, lazy, and boring little kitten. Her main concern is making sure her sisters don't eat her tail off.

Now this kitten...uh...is a kitten! How profound. It's the balance of the three. It's kinda fat but it is lively enough to be fun to tease.