Love this season!

Top ten reasons I love this season...
1. eyes twinkle with excitement
2. the scurry of finishing my homemade gifts
3. the secret of knowing others' gifts
4. the magic in the air
5. the true story of Christmas
6. the girls excited to spend their money on someone else
7. my husbands strange questions about mixing paint???
8. 2 weeks with no alarm clock
9. snow in the forecast
10. receiving new cards in the mail everyday

Trivia Time

It is trivia time for you... 1. who was the first African American to reach the North Pole?
2. What happened on this day in 1773?

(To enter the contest, just post your hypothesis {educated guess} and you could be the lucky winner of a bag of puppy chow... ooohhh, ahhhh!)

By the way, I have done a few OLD WOMAN moves today... sending two Christmas cards to the same friends, forgetting to leave a few things for my sub, and leaving the laundry soap out of the washer. What does this mean? 33 could be rough!

3 syl*la*bles

I can describe my current thoughts is 3 syllable expressions...
Chris*mas*break
fi*re*place
wrap*ping*gifts
Christ*mas*cards
home*made*gifts
three*more*days
Che*la*da
... feel free to clap the syllables, it's fun!

Helicopter Parent?

Recently my principal made a reference to "helicopter parents" while we were having a meeting. Then she explained herself... a parent that hovers over their child and does not let them make decisions for themselves. I thought this term was very interesting. During our evening compute last night, my co-pilot/worker, decided we were raised by a "Stealth-bomber", sit back, let them make their own choices, then when incorrect, bomb them! We tend to parent like we were parented. I feel I am also like a Stealth-bomber. So are you a Helicopter or a Stealth-bomber?

The Story of the Christmas Wreath

Once upon a time on a little old ranch, lived a Christmas wreath. The wreath was hand crafted by good old Grandma Suzy. It was a little thicker on one side than the other, and it had a few long branches, but it still looked as lovely as can be. One day the wreath was wired to a gate on the end of the arena, where visitors could admire it as the drove up the driveway. Then one day, something bad happened to the wreath. The heifers in the lot got very hungry and ate it. Now, the little old wreath hangs on the gate with only a few sprigs of evergreen left and its frame exposed. Someone hopefully someone will fix it and the little old Christmas wreath will live happier ever after!

Pictures

In the darkness of the morning, I sat on the edge of the girl's bed to wake there sleepy head and noticed something. Something hanging on the wall in the clear slops of the grow tall with me wall hanger. There were three pictures staring at me, three pictures of boys. Immediately my mind starts spinning... oh my, who are these boys, boyfriends, last week fourth graders were holding hands, I will have a fourth grader next year! I stumbled over the toys and clothes lying on the floor and throw on the lights. Relieved I see the smiles of the three Rising Stars! My mind was eased a little!

SNOW

With the first "dusting" of snow on the ground, the excitement was in the air. These are a few of the comments I heard today... "this is tracking snow... are we getting out at 1:05... this is a blizzard... do we need our snow pants?" Man, the site of white stuff sure throws focusing out the window! Someone once told me that the number of the day of the first snow is the number of times it will snow. Will Old Man Winter really give us snow 30 more times?

Happy Thanksgiving

As an assignment today, I instructed my fourth graders to write a paragraph about the one thing they are the most thankful for. We have been working on writing a paragraph for weeks... main idea sentence and supporting details. I tried to give them an example paragraph but I could not settle on only one topic. Most of them chose either family or friends and their paragraphs are finally starting to improve. Maybe tomorrow, I will instruct them to make a list. May we all reflect on giving thanks during this Thanksgiving!



I am thankful for...

my deep roots,

a close family,

2 beautiful, healthy girls,

my husband,

living on a farm,

independence,

our little county church,

fresh air,

education,

small towns,

friends and neighbors,

sunshine,

and most of all... every single day!

Don't sweat the small stuff!

Last week was a time for sharing joys and concerns. I will start with the concerns, first we said goodbye to Red. Most of you know that he was not our pony, we fortunately just borrowed him from our friends for a few years. It was time for Red to travel on to another family. The old, trusted, fat pony has blessed 5 families. He will be greatly missed. A few tears fell, but we must be thankful for all that we have learned from him. I recently received a picture text from Red's new family and I must admit, it assured us that Red needs to be there. The next concern comes from child #2. Gertrude, the chicken that hatched in her Kindergarten class, is no longer with us. We sadly found her feathers in the yard. Once again, things like this happen, and we can hatch more chicks in the spring. Gertrude will remain as a memory. #2 has also had a sore throat and she smashed her finger in a door, but is feeling much better.

Now for the joy! The concerns are only small issues in our lives. When we look at the BIG picture, we must realize how small our daily troubles are and must remember don't sweat the small stuff!

Memories

I remember when I was about 10 years old, my grandma killing a skunk. My brother, sister, and our neighbor kids, who we spent a lot of time with, were playing at Grandma's house in the yard. All the sudden, Grandma instructed us to get to the porch, there was a skunk in the yard. I can still see the images of Grandma slaying the skunk with a hoe. Some things never change. A few days ago, the girls and I watch Grandma from her kitchen window beating a opossum with a broom. The difference, she's 80, I'm a mom, and the girls will be the ones left with memories!

Happy Thursday

Happy Thursday! and boy, am I ready for Friday! Today started rather early with a 7:15 PD meeting at school... that means I leave at 6:45, that means I drove in the complete dark, that means my wonderful husband does hair. The girls got out of school early because this week is parent\teacher conferences for them and no school tomorrow. The conferences were great... but we have a few things to work on, they both have wonderful teachers. The girls went with BL to his job site this afternoon (which happened to be the neighbors and my sister's house.) As soon as I got home, I picked them up. Before we left, they had to show me their hay fort in Adam's barn equipped with its own bathroom. The little pony-tailed, dirtballs were so proud. I love creativity!

I applied for a US Cellular Grant a few months ago. Last week, I got an email congratulating me that I was funded. Today, two boxes of books arrived at my classroom door. Toot, Toot! (that's my own horn honking)

Happy Thursday, and enjoy the weekend!

Trick or Treat

Hope you have a happy and safe Halloween!

Christmas Wreath

$10.00
$20.00

The next Project is making Christmas Wreathes. We, my lovely siblings and spouses and I, bought two wreath making machines. Many moons ago, I worked at a Christmas tree farm making wreathes. I truly enjoyed the magicalness that comes with the season, chilly weather, hot cider, the smell of evergreens, and the happiness of people. We are making and selling wreathes out of the trees my mom planted 20 years ago for our college fund. Well, good thought Mom, but we have all four made it though college and the trees are still standing. Our goal is to use the trees to make, decorate, sell, and deliver wreathes the weekend after Thanksgiving. (unless we have some special orders before) We have many different sizes. The smallest is a 20 inch wreath made on a 10 inch frame for $10.00 (first picture). The next size is a 30 inch wreath (second picture) made on a 20 inch frame for $20.00. We also have some BIGGER frames and swags. By request, we will also made some evergreen grave toppers.

PLACE YOUR ORDERS TODAY!

Project #3

Project number three,
Is made from a Christmas tree,
Now you are thinking what,
Yes, it will be made by an Utt!

Stay tuned for pictures and prices.

Home on the Range

Oh, give me a camper,

Where the beds are all made,
The girls and their cousins play,

And the skies are not cloudy all day!

Home, home on the range,

Where the campers are OLD,

When the campfires blaze,

And the enjoy the days!

Oh, yes! The Home on the Range camper is almost complete. if we had air in the tire, we would be ready to roll! I would like to send a special THANK YOU for all that helped! I couldn't have done it without you all!

(sorry the picture is dark... daylight seems to be an issue, I promise some better pictures, later)

#2

This is project #2, the IH is being replaced but not forgotten! The new 1968 beauty is under construction at the moment. The two beautiful ladies in the picture helped with the first stage... we are now on stage 3 of painting. The inside painting is in tomorrow's agenda. Fabric on Thursday. Fix-a-Flat and roof repair before lift off on Saturday at noon! I love deadlines!

Projects!

Project #1

As most of you know, I am always working on projects. If I had to analyze myself, I would say I work on projects so I don't have to clean house, or mow the yard, or do laundry. If I am working on a "project" I don't feel guilty about SLACKING on the other household chores. This week I'm going to share some of my "projects" with you. I also must confess that my project completion time has slowed down in the last few months... my day job slows the projects down. This picture is the barn addition project that BL and I did a few weeks ago, BL finished it while I was at the day job! It is his affordable shop, maybe the unaffordable shop will appear after we win the Lottery.

Can anyone guess what project #2 will be? Pictures will be posted soon!

Inspired

We recently traveled to Omaha to Ak-sar-ben to the Rodeo and Stock Show... great rodeo, good times, wonderful weekend! On our little weekend great-a-way, we went to the Twister Fork for supper, this little joint on Market Street is amazing. I am now, after 9 years, INSPIRED to paint my white living room walls! Let me know what you think!

As soon as the snow flies, I will get got my paint brushes!

Run for it!

My afternoon commute was very soggy, I was even considering pulling over because it was raining so hard. I did not have my encouraging sidekick by my side, Pigpen. The Rubber Duck trudged along and made it just fine, and the girls told me they had "to make a run for it" from the bus to the house. They did get a little wet, but they did not melt! Rain is forcasted for the next few days, we may have to bale the yard.

Science Projects

Well, I am not proud of this but I must confess... I had a few Science projects growing in my refrigerator. Back to school means no one is here during the day to eat the leftovers. Therefor they live in my Tupperware (thanks to Mrs. Sprouse) for WAY to long. Let me describe. The roast beef was fuzzy, the salsa was extra chunky, the hard boiled eggs were greenish slimy, and I believe I almost had watermelon wine. No fear, the Science projects are all in the weeds composting as we speak and my refrigerator has a pleasant smell again!

We must update the real Science projects... we have chrysalises 7 that we are anxiously watching and waiting for them to turn into beautiful monarch butterflies.

Burnt-out!

As I was just brushing my teeth and prying my old retainer in my mouth, I realized that the old, thin, DC Football t-shirt I had on looked like the stylist BURNT-OUT t-shirts that one can buy in stores today. You know the ones that are almost see-though, the ones that moms have to wear tank tops under, the ones that are to look wore out... well, DC Football is burnt-out, worn out, almost see-though with holes under the arms, and one of my favorite, old, soft, cotton, comfy shirts!

Hay Help

We have the best hay help around! Halfpint was the driver, and Handy was on the rack (flatbed trailer.) As you can see, Halfpint snoozed while we unloaded in the barn. We put about 130 bales in our barn and 88 in the neighbor's barn. I love to work with the girls!

1st and 3rd

First day of school was great... excited to get out of bed, loved the new teachers, wore the new clothes, had new backpacks. We are all looking forward to a wonderful new year!

Holey Ears!

No holes!

New holes!

A few weeks ago, (right after my last blog, I am a slacker) the girls got their ears pierced. They were troopers, no tears! They can't wait until September 15... they can change their earrings.

Puppies

Molly, daughter of Ollie (coyote hunting icon,) gave birth to 7 puppies on June 26. BL is so proud of these little creatures. I remember when we brought Molly home as a puppy, I must admit she was pretty cute. Brett was about 18 mouths old, Molly would run after her tripping on the grass, her own legs, or anything else.


Now the little, cute puppies are chow hounds, growing everyday, waiting to go to their new homes, and just waiting for their first hunt!

Maybe we need an ark?

Storm clouds, bring rain...
rain makes grass grow and grow...

rain runs into the pond... OVER THE BRIDGE!

We have had many inches of rain this week. Maybe we need to build an ark like Moses...

just kidding Noah built the ark!

VBS

Troy United Methodist Church Bible School Program 2010

Picture it!

We have had a 2 week break from riding our ponies because we have very busy with other things, so Tuesday we rode. The ponies were frisky, the girls were complaining... "we're hot, can we go watch TV? We can ride later, blah, blah!" We must ride again, soon. So today we ate scrambled eggs with Velveeta cheese in them, the best, then I head out to catch the beasts. As I tied up Tilly, I saw the girls walking across the back yard... holey-knee jeans tucked in their boots, old t-shirts with the sleeves cut off, and ball caps covering their messy unbrushed hair. I giggle out loud, what a proud moment that was! By the way, we rode to the back pasture to check the blackberries, they need a few more weeks, and the ponies and girls did much better!

County Fair

At the fair last week we...

celebrated a birthday

(Happy Birthday Grandma Suzy, awesome cake Ashley),

camped in the IH,

wore mud boots,showered in the shower house,

rode an elephant,

showed Bill and Rosie,

played Bingo,

ate fair food,

rode rides,

lost Briley (only for a short time),

saw many friends,

entered a stick horse rodeo,

won the water balloon toss (thanks Coach Eric),

worked for the Cattleman,

found horseshoes,

played Minute It to Win It,

and had a great time!

Many thanks go to the volunteers that help with the fair,

we are so fortunate to have a wonderful County Fair year after year!

July 4th

These little cowgirls are ready to go watch the first night of the rodeo. It is so nice that they are old enough to go and enjoy it, and go with the flow through the late nights, afternoon naps, and eating whenever!


The girls are practicing their Queen wave for the 4th of July parade!
They sure enjoyed watching the fireworks with their best buddies ever
from the top of a pickup cab!

The beginning of July starts our summer craziness, Bri's birthday, Ft. Bloomfield Rodeo, then the DC Fair... all within the first 11 days of July. Loving summer and loving my job!

Happy Birthday!

Homemade ice cream, fireworks, friends, and family at Grandpa's cabin

Classmates at the city park and pool for some birthday fun!

Happy 6th Birthday!

First trip to Lake

After spending 2 hours cleaning, 1 hour loading, and another 2 hours preparing, we finally headed to Lake Rathburn for our first boating trip. The lake is very full (when it rains everyday, the rain must go somewhere,) therefore, only 3 boat ramps were open. We drove around another hour finding a ramp and a place to park. Is anyone adding the time up? Oh yes, when we got the boat to in the water, it smoked like a S.O.B. After 30 minutes and white smoke everywhere, BL got the boat running... Hip Hip HOORAY! So finally after almost 7 hours we were on the lake, soaking in the vitamin D. Halfpint loves tubing, Brett enjoyed the company of Grandma Suzy ON the boat.

This is the water level... I wondered if we could make it under the bridge... we did, I wished I had some spray paint.

Bottle Calves

The girls started working with their bottle calves this week. If you remember, Buffalo Bill is the one in the top picture, he is as tame as a dog. However, he does not lead very well. I can't lead him and twist his tail, and Brett is still a little timid. So I had the great idea to tie him to the lawnmower to lead up to the other barn so the girls could wash him. He got a little upset and I was determined to get him to the other barn... he was pulling so hard on the lawn mover that it was stuck in the wet grass. Finally, after I was pushing on him, him pushing me, and a blessing from God we made it to the barn without the lawn mover. I hope Bill learned his lesson... or maybe I learned one. As for Rosie, she is the super-sub for Tiny Tim, she is a nice little heifer that even Halfpint can lead. (picture #2) Make sure to check out the gloves the girls are wearing in all three pictures. Tuesday night the girls have their bottle calf interviews, they could tell some interesting stories!

Overload

As most of you know, last weekend we had the FIRST Ft. Bloomfield Family Rodeo. It was a learning experience for everyone involved. I learned that it is very difficult to be mom, a contestant, and help with the events... will I give one up to make the others better? I am very thankful that WE all worked together to make this deal fly... the people who helped were awesome! I would also like to apologize for my "shortness" or grouchiness... I will do better next time! Overall, the girls had a ball (minus one small setback), and we had a great turnout, (despite the weather.) We are looking forward to the next one. Hopefully next time, I will get the camera out of the truck! Sorry no pictures from Saturday.

Garden Goods

Tonight for supper we enjoyed our first crop of garden goods, wilted lettuce and broccoli... home grown! I might have picked the broccoli a little early, but I couldn't wait any longer. The wilted lettuce was great even though we didn't have any radishes. I am not sure what happened to the radishes this year. I know who can't grow radishes... me! We picked a few early, then rain, rain, rain, now they are going to seed, oh well. My peas are blooming, peas and potatoes are next, yum, yum! BL also picked up soft serve ice to eat with fresh strawberries tonight, AWESOME! Thanks Mom for sharing. The thought of fresh strawberries and ice cream got me through my tough day of cleaning out the basement.

Almost

4 hours and 30 minutes... I can do it!

Camping

Last weekend we went on our first camping trip of the season. We went to Lake Lacey... great place to camp, many trees, small, playground, sand, bikes, and family. I love cooking in my Dutch Oven, I can't wait to find new recipes to try! The girls rode their bike around the campgrounds like professionals. They got to shower in the shower house, (Halfpint's favorite part.) Brett loved the playground, and did an awesome job "being the oldest." We sat around the campfire and we even had company stop by. The first annual Ditch Diva camping weekend was fabulous. Looking forward to the next trip!

Redneck Water Park

The girls invented a Redneck Water Park yesterday. The old slide is attached to the top of the playhouse. They washed out the old turtle sand box and placed it under the slide. Then they draped the water hose from the barn over the top of the playhouse and duck-taped it to the slide. They turned on the water, and let it run down the slide into the turtle sand box. Ta-da! Redneck Water Park.

Sad Day

Yesterday was a sad day at the Lough Ranch. BL buried his old coyote hunting dog, Cindy. In her day she was one of the best! The winter was hard on the old gal, she was only eating canned food, and did not come out of her box much. Over the last week, she quit eating, and was looking really old. I'm sure she is in a much better place... eating steaks, chasing and catching coyotes. Run free, Cindy Lou!

Say cheese!

The girls are posing for a picture to put on Grandma 's wall. Slacker Mom (me) has not updated their picture since they have had school pictures taken... just a few years. I can't help the fact that the "others" are picture freaks and update every 6 months. The top one is my favorite, they are models! I think the photographer needs to work on the backgrounds. Maybe we should wait for their dance pictures???

Happy Earth Day! We love the warm sunshine, blue sky, and green growing grass.

Bottle Babies

Buffalo Bill and Tiny Tim are a few of the newest creatures here on the Lough Ranch. Bill is

gi-normous, that is a cross between gigantic and enormous. Tim is his brother... and half his size. They have the same sire, Sun-seeker. Both Tim and Bill will accompany the girls to the DC Fair in the Cattleman's bucket-bottle calf class. Yes, Halfpint is finally old enough to take a calf to the fair... that is if "we" can get them broke to lead... I will pull some calf breaking experience out of my old suitcase. Oh, those were the days of Dad instructing and coaching, but NOT doing. I might need some new lessons on stepping back and only watching, same experiences... different side!

Dance

Our dancing bears had pictures last Saturday. The recital is in a few weeks... we can't wait!