Celebrating Johnny’s graduation open house with a trip down memory lane!

Johnny’s graduation dinner was a smashing success.

I love the randomness of all his friends. From casual summer attire to dapper, "I just came from my graduation" dress.

Thanks to my mom for letting us switch to her place at the last minute! All the Covi19 rules have taught me to be flexible!

Andy didn’t want to be outdone by his brother this past weekend...

...So he went fishing with friends and caught a doozy!

It was nice that we could find a few minutes where we were ALL available for a picture.

Quite a nice looking crew. It was a good thing I had cleared the path the day before!

The boys enjoying spinning sticks at 11p at night!

This is how Andy gets his phone at the angle he wants for video streaming...

Over the last few weeks, we have enjoyed the various celebrations of commencement for each of these young men.

It has sure been a pleasure to have them as part of our lives.  Oh the fun of watching them learn and explore the world around them.

I am proud of all three of them as they each launch their college and future adventures.  

I pray for each of you consistently that you will build:

1. A wall around yourselves and the negative influences of the world.  We used to be that wall for you, but it's up to you now.
2. A bridge to those suffering around you that don't know the Lord as you witness to them.
3. A path that you can walk, straight and narrow, for your lives and follow the Lord's guidance. 

We look forward to all that each of you will become.  

Three cousins over the years!

It has been great having these three guys all the same age in our family. Here they are in a picture with my mom and dad from a day at the park. It was the earliest picture I could find in my files with all three of the boys. About the 2004 time frame.

The senior pictures are all by Isaac. He managed to capture the unique spirit of each of them.

At the picnic table, left to right: Zac, Ian, Johnny. In the senior pictures counter-clockwise starting with the bass guitar: Johnny, Zac, Ian.

Time passes quickly! from the first smiles to senior pictures.

We sure enjoy the happy go lucky smile of Mr. Johnny Barton! Here you can see some of the early days with his grandparents and one of our favorite of his senior pictures.

I love you son!

Just enjoying a walk around the pond.

We finally got my mother in-laws masonry and brick work finished!

We really like the result. We reused the original brick as much as we could. We would have run out of it, so we used the stone instead of having to buy more brick. The Davenport family team were great!

Snuggled up like two bugs in a rug!

I enjoyed the view on my walk.

I went on a little geo-painting walk last weekend.

I’m finally transitioning to leading my team full time. These are just eye-candy... ;)

Andy is enjoying the great outdoors this week.

He looks like burrito or a nice snack made by a spider. Haha.

Sometimes Pepper beats me to the bedroom and just waits for me to get ready for bed.

An evening with Andy at the fishing hole

Andy spontaneously decided to hang out at the fishing hole this week. We relaxed and enjoyed a little respite.

I love the intensity of this kid!

This popped up on my photo frame and made me smile. I know of a very similar picture of me batting leaves out of a tree with a yardstick at almost the exact same age... There is an intensity about Andy that we all enjoy.

I especially like the single boot on a summer evening. ;)

Memories with Julie’s dad...

This hangs at Jet Freeze with all the other pictures of friends and family enjoying ice cream together.

Just another pretty summer night

An old shovel we found out in the field while clearing some of the paths.

An even lower view?!

I was in the basement and noticed this chicken in the window well. She wondered what I was up to, but didn't seem too concerned as I got close so I was able to snap this picture. Silly birds. ;)

To balance out the size and expense of Julie’s car, I got a smaller and cheaper car for work.

I don't need to haul around all my equipment any more, so it made some sense from that standpoint too. It's like we shrank my car and stretched Julie's.

It makes for a cute little sports car.

Elsa’s for Father’s Day lunch!

I get to pick and everyone knows THAT's what it's gonna be.

I love being a dad and also appreciate the two great examples I had in my life. It's my favorite job! I have always loved hearing my boys say daddy. I remember when Johnny used to call me Daddy David. :)

A worm’s eye view of a chicken.

I like the contrast of the back and gold in her feathers!

I’ve been cleaning up all my demo gear and transitioning to managing my team

My table is looking a little bare

It has been strange having to do so many demos out of my basement over the last several months, but it made handing out all my cameras and lights a little easier. ;)

It was nice to go back and be able to sit at one of Johnny’s tables again!

Don't forget your tent...

My brother in-law nailed me with a water balloon...

It was quite a shock just as I was picking up my gas can. I thought maybe it had exploded in my hand?! He got me good and we had a good laugh.

Then my nephews decided it would be a good idea to stalk me... Jet caught my right in the head, while I was trying to run away on my tractor. I ducked right into it. He knocked my headphones right off my head! Good times...

I caught site of a mother dear and her pair of fawns this week.

Another idyllic spot.

I like the view of the pond from our paths.

It was fun to enjoy Susan’s idyllic little spot while celebrating Zac graduating and heading off to summer camp

Julie made Quincy a squirrel house. He moved RIGHT IN!

I was impressed. She found the wood, designed it and made it all by herself. Quincy loves it. It's fun to watch him moving all his nesting material in.

Welcome Julie’s new car to the family.

Subaru Ascent. And of course we KNEW it was the one for her since it was gold! We've been planning for two years just waiting for the right incentive. 0% interest helps. I got a smaller car out of the deal to balance out the costs. :)

I feel like I am flying an airplane the way they have car cockpits designed these days!

We sent Zac off to his summer camp job in style last night. Barton style, with ice cream!

Meanwhile, another squirrel came to check out the new guy in the neighborhood...

Just enjoying the sound of the wind chimes on our porch

Julie’s started rehabilitating Quincy

She's trying to get him used to the outside and foraging for himself. She had to treat him for mange, and it made all his fur fall out. He's even growing back some of his hair. :)

Silly little cat just waiting for us to get up in the morning...

Janice bought Julie a set of wind chimes.

They add a pretty sound to the back porch.

Check out this cute little squirrel nose curled up to sleep under Julie’s hand after eating.

Just out for a walk in our paths

This is kind of a scary thing to wake up to!

Quincy likes to curl up under Julie’s hand for a nap after he eats.

I worked hard the rest of the day.

Between last weekend and this weekend, I have all the weed eating and path clearing all caught up. That's the first time in a long time and I've NEVER finished it in just two weekends. My new hedge trimmer and I are going to be good friends!

It was fun to watch the process of getting all of us lined up and smiling

Sarah did a great job and we REALLY APPRECIATE her putting up with us and our last minute scheduling!

We are excited to see how they all turn out.

Yesterday was family picture day!

These are just some of the cars gathered. Everybody converged from all over the county. We had thirteen people and probably 10 cars... Everybody coming from their own individual Sunday morning activities. We threaded the needle as we had about ONE HOUR that everyone would be available at the same time, probably for several months if not longer...

I made a lot of progress around the property this weekend.

Once my sisters saw this "idyllic setting" they decided THAT was where we should take family pictures before some of the nephews head off to summer camp jobs and on to college!

Stefanie captured this beastly beetle for Julie’s terrarium collection!

Shadow must have had a rough day. She’s fallen asleep facedown... haha.

Fun with physics

Andy and I were having a debate out if a heavier or lighter soap box derby car would get to the finish line first. So we set up a test with his skateboard and a small hill. It was him vs. me carrying several steel weights. Let's just say it was about 16o vs. 250 pounds total.

Let me know what you think the results were...? Was I faster, slower, or the same as Andy...

Worth every penny!

After years of struggling to get ahead of the paths, hedges, and woods (including a few injuries along the way) at Off the Range, my family decided I needed THIS for Father's Day! Instead of spending several weeks of weekends, I finished half of it in half a day's work yesterday. By next weekend I should be caught up for the first season in too many! I love having the paths to walk along, but nature sure does try to take them back!

I remember how when we first moved back in how much effort it took to on the property to "reclaim if from mother neater"! This fancy hedge trimmer makes it a little easier.