Imagine the Potential

Monday's w/ Michael

Not to mention:


Moses
Aristotle - philosopher
Crazy Horse - Sioux war chief
Edgar Allen Poe - poet
Gerald Ford - President
Daunte Culpepper - NFL player
Eric Dickerson - NFL player
Scott Hamilton - figure skater
James Palmer - baseball Hall of Famer
Ray Liotta - actor

Deacon Reinhard - "Imagine the Potential"

Happy Birthday America!

We had a wonderful 4th of July Celebration with some dear friends! We decided we wanted to get a picture taken of all the kiddos. Perhaps we should have done it at the very beginning. . . . .

O.k.- so maybe it was just Deacon that was not so sure about this group picture. We all had a great time anyways! Thanks Muellers! We look forward to next time!

Gatlinburg

Well, we safely made it home from Gatlinburg. We had a great 4 days, full of food, fun and family...and of course bets! We left at 12:02am, Saturday morning. Deacon was up from 1-4. As soon as he would start to doze off, we would hit a bump or go under a streetlight and it would wake him up.

Saturday we hung out at the condo. Grandma made supper for everyone and afterwards we played some games.

Sunday morning we headed up to the mountains for breakfast and church. Breakfast was delicious as always. Thanks, guys!

Chip, Dad, & Grandpa working on breakfast

After church, most people went rock-hopping. Deacon loved it!

Deacon "rock-crawling"

But he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about Steph's salamander.

Sunday night, we went to Bennett's with Mom & Dad for supper. We were fortunate enough to go on a night that the King was there. Deacon really enjoyed the entertainment. Elvis gave Deacon a teddy bear.

Elvis gave Jane & Mom a lei and a kiss!

Ok, so I'm sure everyone is wondering what some of the bets were. Well, here are a few of the bets that took place.

In one store, we found boxes of larva, crickets and chocolate covered bugs. We decided to go with the BBQ Larvets and the Salt & Vinegar Crickets.

Jane & Annie getting ready to eat their Larvets.

Jane eating a cricket.

Joel had to wear black socks w/ shorts into town.

Michael & Joel do-se-doing at a crosswalk in downtown Gatlinburg!

Alivia preparing to chug 8 Pixie Stix!

8 is too many, we discovered....

Here are some more random pics from the trip:

Deacon and Grandma swimming.

People were too afraid to wear these hats into town for a bet, but Gavin and Chad were brave enough to wear them around the condo.

One night, Chad, Logan & Abby left their trash outside the door. They had a visitor during the night. Fortunately, it was only a raccoon and not a bear!

One night, Michael decided to make popcorn, but forgot about it in the microwave!

A rainbow in the mountains

We had a great trip. We missed Mark, Angie, Kaitlee and Bria and were sad to see Steve and Renee leave early. Steve, we are praying that you feel better soon.

We are looking forward to the next Yergler Great Event!

Yergler Family Vacation

Monday's w/ Michael

Well, I'm typing this Friday evening around 8:00. We leave for Gatlinburg in less than 4 hours. Hopefully, as you are reading this, we are enjoying a wonderful vacation.

One of the highlights of Yergler Family Vacations are the bets. We play games and the loser or losers have to do something. Sometimes, you might have to eat something disgusting (like a skunk flavored jelly belly or a gross flavor of baby food). Sometimes, you might have to do something challenging (like take a shot of Pixie Stix (if you haven't tried it, it's harder than it sounds)). Sometimes, you might have to perform a death-defying stunt (like getting Grandma's hair wet! (this bet is so scary that most family members refuse to play the game when this bet is involved)). Sometimes, you might have to do something embarrassing (like last year when dad had to go to the balcony overlooking the cafeteria at the Farmstead in Shipshewana at breakfast and loudly proclaim "Friends, Romans, countrymen...lend me your ear." Or the time when Grandpa, Steve, Chip and Dad had to sing "God Bless America" outside of the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg (people actually asked them where they were going to be performing!)).

Ah, yes, before there was Improv Everywhere, there were Yergler Family Vacations. So, if any of you happen to be in Gatlinburg this week, you may see a scene like one of these below:

Another busy week

Ok-so this week has not been any less busy than the 2 weeks of Bible school. We were sad to see Lucas go home on Friday, but we hope that he will want to come again to Bible school again in the future.




I had the pleasure of getting together with some friends from high school. We had so much fun reminiscing and lots of good laughs. We may even be planning an 'official' reunion in the near future! Thanks Kay for having us in!




Well, you saw how Michael's Father's Day got started, but we just looked really hard to find the humor in it, and thought, "This is what we wanted. This is what we prayed for." Thank you Lord for your MANY blessings. Of course at the top of the list is my wonderful husband and Deacons's wonderful daddy. We love you, Michael.





Monday night, we had Harry and Lois in for dinner. We have been trying to do this for months, so we were excited when it finally worked out. We just love being with them and we always have so much fun together. Of course, we got in a game of Rook, and Lois and I won! I told Harry I have been waiting for this win since we were in Florida a year and a half ago. Thanks for the memories!

Remember going to this place when you were a kid?

Oubache! Well, I don't think I have been there since Middle school and I certainly remember it looking bigger than it actually is. My sister Marissa and I took her son Lucas, our niece McKaelon, and of course, Deacon. We had lots of fun (even though, if you know me, this wasn't AT ALL, my cup of tea {hot, sunny, no shade, swim-suit in public pool. . . .}) and I even went down the slide with Lucas!

Deacon, after a couple hours at the pool! He fell asleep right after we got in the car!

The kiddos came back to our house and stayed the night with us. Michael brought home pizza and we watched my new favorite movie, 'Hotel for Dogs'. If you haven't seen it, you MUST!

Here we are, about 30 hours until we leave for vacation, and I still have so much that I NEED to get done, and then there's things that I WANT to get done. I am really going to try and relax and just enjoy our time together as a family (isn't that what 'family vacations' are all about?) and focus on the present. We always have such a good time with the Yergler's playing games, watching people 'pay up' on their bets. We have been brainstormning for months on ideas for bets, which reminds me, I need to add the Harry Potter Jelly Bellies to my grocery list. . . :)

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. . . ."

This is what could happen if you lose a bet playing a game with the Yerglers-I can't wait!

A Father's Day Surprise

Monday's w/ Michael

Warning...the following story contains disgusting details and may not be suitable for young readers.

Yesterday morning, Jane and I were awakened by the delightful sound of a babbling 1 year old. Together we crept to his room to peek in his door. The stench coming from the room was very powerful, but I didn't think anything of it as he typically makes a mess in his diaper during the night. We cracked open the door and peered into his room. It took a moment for the sight to register: a nude little boy happily standing in his crib. Somehow, the little stinker (and I mean that quite literally) had managed to take off his diaper during the night. He then decided to play with his...um...deposit. He threw some on the floor. He smeared some all over his crib. He used some to paint his wall. My dad referred to him as our very own little "Poocasso". Somehow, he got some on his forehead.

Unfortunately, we didn't think to take a picture of it before it was cleaned up. But here is a picture of the guilty culprit.

Random Pictures

Mondays with Michael

Ok, so I'm clearly running out of ideas.... Here are some random pictures.

This is our "outside dog", Bailey. Doesn't she look regal? She's very photogenic. She looks pretty calm and well-behaved, doesn't she? Don't let the picture fool you. If you've driven down our road lately, there is a good chance you have almost hit her. Our neighbor calls her "the ditch dog" because she lays in the ditch, waiting for an unsuspecting car to come before she makes her attack.


Here is Deacon doing his best GQ "hair flowing in the wind" shot.


Here's Deacon doing his best "Yuck! What is this nasty green stuff?" shot.


We had a tradegy on the farm. Our beloved Betty was severly wounded in a hit-and-run accident. Fortunately, an AP photographer happened to be on the scene and was able to catch a photo of the gruesome incident as it was happening. Be on the lookout for a yellow convertible with blue wheels.

Here's a photo from our lovely beachfront property!

Make it a great Monday (night)!