Winter is here!

This is Mr. Slushy: created by Joshua

This is a windmill created by Grandpa Zvirzdin

THIS IS A WIND TURBINE-created by Big Business--
all 550 feet
(note door at bottom)

And THIS is how we feel about them in our back yard.
ALWAYS STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU FEEL IS RIGHT!
And this little darling came to find her old friend Jamie. Remember the day, "Ah the country is so lovely--(cow turns head) Augh!" You just have to laugh! Lets name her "Eyeda".

Fun Bike Trip along the Black River

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
-Sorry, our computer took a nap for most of October. She's awake and kickin' now! Yea!

And it's Hogans Heroes while we are carving. Our next addiction with the oldies is the TV series, "Lost in Space".
Joshua had a great idea this year for Halloween. He was bummed about how the world celebrates so much death and violence at this time of year. He said, "Why don't we celebrate Halloween this year by doing our genealogy and learning about our deceased ancestors!
It was an awesome idea!
We decided to choose Great-Grandma Ruth Isabel Long (Catherine's mother's mother). We made dinner from her cookbook and dessert was of course sticky buns! We told stories and looked at pictures. It was very memorable.



Our home from a different view.


We are continuing our tradition of "rolling the pumpkins" after Halloween. I'm not sure which activity is the favorite, carving or rolling. The hill behind our house didn't do as good a job on smashing the orange guys like the ol' "back bank". Good times

30 MILES OF AUTUMN BEAUTY
The pond on the right has been dubbed "Pickerel Pond". Biggest pickerel fish caught here was 20"!! See Joshua's blog, "The Zvirzdin Catch" for the fishy details.
It was a beautiful day. Our last big family activity before the
winter weather sets in.

Harvest Time!

For our Family Home Evening activity we made Scarecrows! Of course there has to be a "fishing pole" in the picture. You should see the cars slow down and look!

And this has been my life for the last 8 weeks. Every spare minute! Do you want to hear the variety? I hope you said yes!!!! Blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and peach jam, chokecherry syrup (it was suppose to be jam, but I did something wrong so we'll put it on pancakes), tomatoes, spagetti sauce, salsa, dilly beans, string beans, Amish lime pickles, bread and butter pickles, grape juice, apple sauce, plums and peaches. In the freezer is swiss chard, brocolli, beets, carrots, corn, blackberries and blueberries.
Hungry yet? Come on over!!
It amazes me what a little ground and a lot of hard work can produce.




















And the guys keep running!
Joshua's best time:
10:38 for 1 1/2 miles

Michael's best time:
21:40 for 3 miles

Both these pictures were taken at the Ilion Cross-Country meet. (note Michael running through our old stomping grounds, "Russell Park")

What!? Ilion beat Sauquoit

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD! BONNIE

The Amazing ZOOT SUIT! and more

THIS is my favorite present ever! It is a wet suit for those colder days in the water. Joseph Really surprised me with this for Mother's Day this year. It takes about 10 minutes to put on. It is really warm especially with the helmet. I have just loved my 1.4 mile swims every day this summer and now with the suit I can swim into November. The birds, the clouds and the fish action are spectacular. Once a red tailed hawk sat on the float and watched me go back and forth. He probably thought he'd found a great frog dinner!
Yea, I need to improve my photography ability, but he was just going too fast! Our 2nd job-- support of the Sauquoit Cross Country team. Go Indians!! Michael is on varsity and Joshua modified.

First week of September - 15 inches of rain, major flooding, schools closed, and no power--so we made the best of it and played a rousing game of Monopoly! Great family memories. All those hotels are Michael's, need I say more. Thank you Thank you Mother and Paul for our generator! We have used it 3 times so far.....

The Summer Continues!

Church Girls Camp for Catherine-
10 days for Michael at SeaBase, (a high adventure Boy Scout Camp in the Florida Keys)- Traditional scout camp at Camp Russell for Joshua-

WE ARE HOME!

Zvirzdin Family Reunion
Rusty, Joseph, Terry, Joanne and Brenda
Mom and Dad


Introducing a new member of our family! HAZEL (doe) joins our buck Roger and buck Sergeant. Hazel is Catherine's pet. She is a purebred Flemish Giant weighing in at 15 pounds.
Little bunnies next summer!

Roger (tan bunny) Sarge (black and white)

One of our favorite pictures.
Joshua and cousin Tiffany. A picture says a thousand words.

Frogging in the pond. This is a favorite named Goliath.

Psalms 105: 30 "Their land brought forth frogs in abundance....."

AND OF COURSE GARDENING!!

There is just something about clothes
on the line with a view of the family garden.
We love it!

Fun Creations

Bert the Beet

Carrotrina Twist

FISHING TOO!
We don't have a lot of pictures of Michael. He has been working at a neighboring farm 6 hours a day so we are adding him at one of his favorite past times. To see LOTS more of the boys fishing adventures go to Joshua's blog, "The Zvirzdin Catch".

To end the summer we have been canning up a storm and picking apples.
We hope you have enjoyed our first attempt at Blogging. We are missing a picture of our son Benjamin who has been in boot camp with the Army this summer in Missouri. He is now back at BYUI majoring in Political Science and participating in the ROTC. He will be an officer for the U.S. Army in about 2 years. Andrew, Jamie and their son Maxwell (our other absolutely incredibly adorable grandson) are in the Marshall Islands. Andrew is a foreign service officer for the U.S. Government. They have a blog at Zvirzdin's at Large. Daniel and Elise's blog is The Zvirzdin Environment.

Back to school we all go!!
We will try hard to post bi-weekly.

Surprise! We are taking the technical CHALLENGE!

Since 5 of our children are located somewhere other then "next door" we are way over due for a blog. So here we are! We're actually excited! Thanks to our teacher Joshua (youngest of our children). We're proud of you Joshua! You have brought your parents out of the dark abiss.

We will begin by introducing you to our home. Summertime - Richfield Springs, New York "Grandpa's Pond"
glorious swimming and fishing

Our home is the door on the left. Joseph's parents, (Leo and Joyce Zvirzdin) are on the right with a one bedroom apartment. Everything has worked out marvelous. They are angels for even considering living in the same house with this noisy bunch!
Catherine's summer began with visiting her Mother and Paul in Gettysburg, Pa. Paul just celebrated his 90th birthday!
Then off to Utah to visit our 3rd adorable, hugable and kissable grandson Samuel James. He is Daniel and Elise's second son. Born June 23 (Michael's 15th birthday) 8lbs.15oz.

And our beautiful miracle Grandbaby Joey who is 2 years old now! He is such a joy! We are so grateful to God for his good health. You should see this guy ride his "Strider" bike!Catherine had an unexpected opportunity to visit her daughter Leah! Yea! Leah is a sophomore majoring in Public Health and minoring in Child Development at Brigham Young University in Idaho.


Topping off her trip with a few days in Salt Lake City with Alex and Jenn. Jennifer is an exercise therapist and Alex is a psychology major at the University of Utah.















Reunion! Celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary ALL YEAR!