Adventures in Iowa

The last post was focused on the arrival of Baby Weston, with some extra photos of his siblings.  This post will be about some of the things David and I (Heidi) did while we remained at Becca & Jared's house for an extra week after everybody else headed home.

Julie and Derrick came over to spend last Thursday with us and help us put up some good fresh bi-color corn - picked just that morning!

Part of the crew at work

We didn't get pictures of the first few steps, but after bringing it home, we shucked it all out on the driveway.  Then we headed inside.  The next steps were to blanch it, then cool it.  (That was my job this time.)  Here's a picture of my set-up at the stove.

After the corn was sufficiently cooled, I delivered it over to the table crew, who then cut off the corn and scraped the cobs to get out all the flavorful juices!

Finally, the corn gets bagged and heads to the freezer to be preserved for some excellent meals throughout the upcoming year!

If they calculated correctly, the 3 bushels/15 dozen/180 ears that we did should last both the Knox family and the Barta family for the whole year.

 Weston spent some of his time just chillin' in the bouncy seat.  He is such a content little guy!

 A few Derrick photos

Later that evening, Jared's parents - Nana & Papa Barta - came over for a while.  Here is a picture of the older kids enjoying a book with Papa Barta.

The next day, Uncle David took the older ones fishing for minnows in the creek while Cody and I stayed back to attend to some things around the house.  They went off all decked out with their fishing poles, nets, and buckets!  :-)  Though they were all on a mission to have a bunch of fun with their uncle, sweet Conner turned back to wave to Cody and me on the deck.  Awww!  :-)

 Savannah came back after a while, ready for a bit of a break.  When we headed back out there to call the boys in for lunch. . .

. . .this is what we found!  :-)

Siblings  :-)

Heading home

Upon arrival back at the house, the boys unloaded their buckets, dumping their minnow catches into a water table on the deck.  They then proceeded to observe the product of their hard work play.  :-)

 Cody was pretty intrigued as well.

I got caught - He must have heard the camera!  :-)

And here is one final picture from my time out there - Willie thought it would be fun to try on his daddy's 4-wheeler helmet.  I think there's still a bit of growing room, Willie!  :-)

A Sixth Nephew!

On Thursday, July 24th, 2014, my brother-in-law and sister, Jared and Becca Barta, welcomed their newest little one into the world!

Weston Timothy Barta

They had many visitors at the hospital including local family, several friends from church, and both of their pastors.

Weston's Aunt Julie is giving Derrick a lesson on how to touch his little cousin gently  :-)

Pastor Hamilton and his wife

Pastor Wes and his wife

Weston arrived at 18:18 (otherwise known as 6:18 p.m.), weighing in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces, and measuring 20.5 inches long.  We thank the Lord for allowing this to be Becca's best birth!  Weston has been really sweet ever since too - a very easy-going baby!  Becca is also doing well.

Interesting Fact:  While Willie was named after his maternal grandfather and his father, Weston was named after his paternal grandfather, Timothy Barta.

Papa Barta meets his little Weston Timothy

Because of our involvement in Sforzando String Camp, we were not able to visit Weston right away, but Nana Mueller, Uncle Zach, and Aunt Lisa headed out as soon as camp was over, arriving Saturday afternoon/evening.

Cody learning how to be gentle - Oh, so sweet!

Biggest brother and littlest brother

So, Mom, it was like this. . .

Dad, that camera is so distracting!  I'm trying to tell Mom about it!

. . .and that's the way it was when I had  my own little world!

I love you, Mommy!

Aunts Heidi, Kimberly, and HollyBeth, and Uncle David came out after spending a little more time with some friends whom we only get to see once a year.  We arrived on Wednesday evening, just in time for some dinner before heading to church.

Cody gives such sweet hugs

Weston is a good little sleeper

Savannah loves her little brother

Time to stretch and kick a bit

When he's not busy eating or sleeping, Weston is pretty alert

Such loving siblings

Willie is a big helper and protector

Conner so sweetly shares his special Beary

Profile shot

Those are contagious, little Weston - Be careful!  :-)

Cody had some pretty cute outfits!

Precious little Weston hands

Another picture?  You act like I'm something special!

Story time with Aunt HollyBeth

Do you think he's trying to tell us something?

Savannah Rose loves her Aunt Kim!

All snuggled in for a nap with Mommy!

Aunt Lisa and Weston took a nap together

 
Papa Mueller was able to come out for a quick weekend.  Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pictures.  :-(  Many were witnesses, however, to the fact that he got to hold the little guy.

On Monday, August 4th, Nana headed back with all the aunts and uncles except Heidi and David who stayed out to help and visit for one more week.

Time to say goodbye  :-/

 

Following are some personality-filled shots of Weston's big siblings that I was able to get one evening with the help of Jared's nice camera.  :-)

Willie

Conner

Savannah

Cody

And I'll leave you with these two pictures of Weston to end this lengthy post.  :-)

*Note: To answer the question before it's asked, no, my family has not gotten a new camera.  All the nice quality photos in this post are used with permission from Jared.  :-)