Another catch up post with all the pictures at the end.  A long rambling post too!

(I wrote this the end of June and just now downloading all the pictures to my computer.)

Benjamin recently turned 19!!!  Last year of being a teen ager!  He had a quiet day chilling and then we all headed out to a fancy restaurant downtown.  His bent towards the nicer things just makes me laugh.  It was an authentic quite, candles on table, restaurant.  For dessert he ordered gelato and espresso!  (A first for me, I got to the restaurant and didn't have my glasses, so had to turn the light on my phone to read the menu.  It's becoming way too frequent.  Holding things at arms length won't work for much longer. 

He is selling fireworks for the next 10 days or so.  The quick paced selling is right up his alley.  I have always said it, but he will make money with his mouth and pretty sure it will be some type of sales.  He just needs to figure it all out and then the sky will be the limit.  Not sure what direction he will take in 10 days, but he will figure it out to pay his bills. He was working in another kitchen restaurant but recently quit.  He continues to live at home.  He blew the transmission on his truck recently so he has been driving my van.  Some hard life lessons he has had to learn quickly.  There are some complications with trying to get the truck fixed so he is struggling if it is worth it or you count your losses and move on. 

Jacob and Joseph finished up 7th and 10th grade!  

Jacob finally got a bear!  He went with some friends over Memorial Day and got the bear at 615 yards.  The bear was estimated to be between 18-23 years old.  Was looking forward to trying bear jerky but as soon as they cut the hide, there was a terrible smell.  The Fish Wildlife employee, taxidermist and a family friend said they had never smelled a bear that bad.  No one can explain it, but something was wrong with the bear.  So we were not able to harvest the meat.  Jacob has gotten the skull taken care of but won't get the hide until early winter.

A few days before Jacob got his bear,  he was in the hills scouting for bears.  He happened to see a huge elk across a ravine.  After grabbing the binoculars, he realized it was a dead elk.  A friend, JR and Jacob set out to find the elk the next day.  They were able to hike up to it.  It had died of natural causes and a bear had not yet gotten it.  Jacob harvested the huge rack.

From the moment Jacob got home after his bear trip, Bree was not happy.  She would have nothing to do with him for about an hour.  Bears have a very distinct smell and she knew something was off in our home.  Even a few days after the trip, Jacob had his backpack out and she would not even go near it.   We were going through the house following her with it and she was running.  

Jacob played a few basketball tournaments this month.  He went to a football camp and took a hard hit, so they ended up benching him for a few days.  Fortunately they take concussions seriously and take no risks.

Jacob decided not to have a regular, consistent job but instead wanted to hustle this summer.  So far he has laid sod, done housekeeping, mowed lawns, put up billboards, detailed cars, landscaping and house remodel.  He told me he just signed up for Amazon Affiliate.  Today he saw a free bench with storage on FB and he wanted to get pick it up so he could 'flip it'.  I just stood there smiling as he told me he would sand it, paint it, etc then sell it.  Unfortunately, by the time we got over there, there was a lady literally just picking it up (it was first come first serve).  This dude is saving up for a truck and then a house.  He has some plans!

Work has been very interesting!  With the slow downturn of the economy/inflation, plus some employee issues, we have had our share of struggles.  I recently told my boss that these will be the days he looks back to in 10-15 years and realizes these trials were the ones that forever changed him as an employer/leader.

Joseph has now surpassed JR and Benjamin in height.  Years ago I predicted he would be the tallest and it appears to still be holding true.  Although Joseph has a few more inches until he beats Jacob.