The Howerter Family Homepage

Yesterday was Jay’s birthday.  He turned 28.  Oh my gosh, where did the time go?  I cannot believe that my baby is 28.  Wow.  He and Kat came over last night, and we enjoyed their visit.  He opened his presents, and then we watched Swamp People on the History Channel.  It is quite an unusual show.  If you have never watched it, give it a try.  I hope your birthday was fun Jay.  We love you!

Friday night Ryan, Sara, Jay , Katherine, John and I went to the new Osaka Steak and Sushi restaurant in town to celebrate Ryan’s birthday.  I did not realize that it was such a nice place.  I thought it was just going to be another locally owned restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised.  You can either eat in the sushi bar or at the hibachi grill.  Sara made us reservations in the hibachi grill.  Each grill has 8 seats around the grill.  The chef puts on a little show while cooking everyone’s meal right in front of you. Most of you have proabably been to a place like this.  The food was wonderful and plentiful.  We got soup and salad before our meal and any appetizers or sushi that you ordered.  John ordered sushi, and Jay ordered calamari.  Then came the meal.  We got rice and noodles with each meal, and the noodles were fantastic.  I could have just eaten a pile of those and called it a night.  You also get veggies cooked on the grill plus your entree.  It was way more than you need, but, of course, I ate it all.  We will definitely be going back there.  If you do decide to go, I strongly suggest having reservations. 

Yesterday for Father’s Day, we went to Jay and Katherine’s for dinner.  Ryan and the kids came too.  Sara is camping with her mom and aunts, so she was not there.  We had a wonderful time.  The pool was the perfect temperature, and we all got in.  The boys had fun with Grandpa while he chased them all over the pool or threw them up in the air for a splash and a laugh.  Lily watched the boys go off of the diving board, and then decided it was her turn.  She got up on the board, and Ryan put his hand on her chest.  She “jumped” in and laughed, squealed and giggled.  Then, the boys began telling us to watch them as they walked onto the board before their jump.  So, of course, the next time Lily went up on the board she yelled at all of us in her gibberish to watch her.  She then jumped off and screamed with delight.  We all laughed so hard!  It was great.  Katherine took video, so watch Jay’s website for it.  Thanks again Jay and Kat for having us!

Jay and John grilling in the rain.

Jay and Katherine had a picnic scheduled for Memorial Day, and the weather turned very wet.  They did not cancel the picnic, and we had a great time.  They set up tables in the garage, and we ate and visited all afternoon.  It was a wonderful time, even with the rainy weather.  Jay and John cooked the burgers and hot dogs on the grill in the pouring rain with huge golf umbrellas.  It was funny to see them out there in the pouring rain.  Lauren and Chad came, and it was great to see them again.  Brandt and Angel came too, and it was fun visiting with them.  Brandt’s taco dip was a hit.  Carla, Katherine’s grandma, wanted the recipe!  Nice job Brandt.  (Angel, if you made the dip, nice job.)  Lauren brought dirt cake with gummy worms in it.  The kids thought that was pretty cool.  Thanks Jay and Katherine for having us!

It has been a while since I have posted, so I will catch up on things.  Both Elijah and I have had our birthdays.  Mine on November 5, and Elijah’s on November 7.  John was in Europe that week, so I missed him.  Mom came up on my birthday, and we spent the day together.  That evening we went to the Cracker Barrel with all the kids, and it was wonderful!  Thanks Mom, Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah, Lily, Jay and Katherine for spending my birthday with me.

Elijah had his birthday at Kicks.  Four of his friends came and played video games with him, and three of them spent the night.  He had a great time.  Ryan and Sara were very brave having 5 boys over night.  Josiah spent the night with me and Grandma Nell, so at least they did not have to worry about him. 

Then next morning, Ryan cut his thumb while working on his roof.  It was pretty deep, so I had to take him to the ER.  The doctor thought he cut the tendone in half, so she stitched him up and sent him to the hand doctor the next day.  Luckily, he can move his thumb fairly easily, so the hand doctor did not open it up to do anything.  He has to wear a splint for 3 weeks, but it has not stopped him from going bow hunting.  He actually went that afternoon.  Luckily, it was his left hand, so it is not the hand he pulls the bow with.

This weekend is shotgun deer season, so the boys are all a twitter.  Zeke came over this morning, and they all are practicing at our house this afternoon.  They will head out quite early in the morning to be in their stands before sun-up.  Hopefully, they will all have a succesful season this year.  It is so wonderful to see John, Ryan, Jay and Zeke enjoying something so much together.   Male bonding!

Lily's first birthday cake.

Today the entire family went down to Collinsville to have our family picture taken and to celebrate the 6 August birthdays in our family (John, Katherine, Sara, Brad, Lily and Jay).   We try to take a family picture every other year, and this was the year.  Haury, the photographer, does a great job getting all 14 of us to look good in the pictures.  The kids did great during the session, but when they tried to get shots of the 3 kids, Lily was too tired.  Jay will take some of them on another day.

After the photo shoot, we all headed to Bart’s for lunch and birthday cake.  Grandma Nell and Laurie had a great lunch ready for us, and of course we had birthday cake.  The birthday people opened their presents, and Grandma Nell and Laurie even had gifts for Elijah and Josiah.  Thanks Laurie and Grandma for thinking of them.  After Lily’s nap, we ate cake, and she had her very own since she is turning 1.  She enjoyed the icing very much, as you can see by the picture!  Thanks Bart and Laurie for hosting us all. 

Jimmy, Glenda, Jessie, Kelsey and Aunt Betty came over, and it was great to get to see the Vickers.  They are only here once a year, so it was fantastic that we got to see them.  Lily really enjoyed JImmy.  He had her laughing so hard that she got the hiccups!

It was a great day, and we had a good time.  It is always fun to get together with Bart and Laurie, and even better when both Brad and Donny are there too!  Elijah and Josiah love to hang out with Donny.  He plays video games with them, so he is definitely at the top of their list!

Jay and Katherine have sold their house and are moving in the middle of August.  They will be moving to a 3 bedroom ranch on the west side of town.  It is in great shape and has an in-ground pool!  The back yard is completely fenced in, and it is quite large with beautiful landscaping.  They should not have to do anything to the house before they move in.  We are very excited for them.