Ramblings From Our Funny Farm

OINK

2012-01-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

The BEST BLT's EVER made!

Our pigs have made it back home...to the freezer. My husband may just love this pork more than he loves me. We have had some sort of pork product every day since Friday. The result? Oh.my.heavens. I love homegrown beef, and I love homegrown pork too. I was woken up at 5am yesterday to the smell of bacon. Jacob decided to cook him up some before he went coyote hunting.

So far we have tried ham steak, pork chops, bacon..lots and lots of bacon, and mild sausage. The bacon I was worried about, because it "looked different" then the stuff in the store. But--thats because the stuff in the store is junk. The flavor is wonderful and perfect. There isn't that over powering smack of sodium you get with a lot of bacon you buy at the store. And considering its bacon, I was very impressed with how little grease there was in the pan! I haven't gotten splattered with bacon grease once!

This is what was in the pan after cooking a lb of bacon.

We will now be doing this regularly. Danny already has plans to build a new lean to, so his next batch will have even more space to root around in.

I had a few moments of sadness. I loved those cute little smiling pigs. Danny was quick to remind me that they were raised in the manner we believe in, which is the big reason we did this. They rooted around like pigs are suppose to, were not pumped full of medications, they were respected, they got treats, and came to get excited when they saw Danny...basically, they lived the good life, with just "one bad day" at the end.

Farm raised ROCKS!!

The Great Egg Drop

2012-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Jacob recently had a very fun school project. The goal was to build something to keep an egg from breaking from a drop off the school roof.

Jake built a wooden cube, and suspended the egg, which was enclosed in foam from an egg carton and wrapped in a cloth pouch, from rubber bands. I was immediately impressed with this, as the rubber bands were very tight, and the egg pouch didn't move hardly at all when the cube was turned up and over or bounced around.

Here it is, almost done! Jacobs just adding the rubber bands and testing how tight they will be.

The finished product, getting ready to head up on the roof.

BUT--would it survive a trip off the school roof?

To slow down the cube he made a parachute out of a trash bag. It slowed the cube down just enough not to slam into the ground.

The result? IT WORKED!! EVERY TIME he tested it resulted in a nice and cozy, crack free, egg in the end.

I was pretty impressed--and HE was excited as when lots of his class mates were heading the internet for ideas, he used his noggin.

It finally feels like winter here in Ks. I know we've been really lucky with a really mild winter so far, but it sure doesn't stop me from whining about the cold! 60 days until spring!

I WON!

2012-01-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

I am one of the people who believe "if its too good to be true, it probably is." Danny has instilled in my brain not to play any games on the internet, or to click on the "You've won! Click here to claim your prize." so much, that I usually do not pay any attention to junk that like anymore.
However, the last week or December, everyone was talking about a game on Nescafe Dolce Gusto's Facebook page, where if you won at a game, they would send you a free coffee maker. SURE, I thought...when pigs fly. I got a text message from my cousins wife...I WON, she said. So I popped over to their page. It LOOKED real. What the heck, I thought. I'll try to play. So I "liked" their page, and played for once a day for 2 days, both times ending up not being a winner. One the last day of the contest, at 6am in the morning, I WON! All I had to do was type in my shipping info, and push submit. Hmmm...it LOOKS legit. But surely not. I get a confirmation email, and then I get a SHIPPING confirmation email, and THEN, MONDAY, A PACKAGE shows up, with THIS inside:

Holy Moly. I really won something. This machine retails for $99.99. The only drawback is that the capsules are a bit pricey--$9.49 for 16, so this sure won't be used every day, or probably even once a week. My husband likes to point out that even though I FEEL like I got the machine for free, it's the company who really is winning, since I will be buying the capsules now. He's such a sour puss, isn't he? His realistic thinking sometimes gets on my nerves. ;)

Oh well--Free machine, expensive capsules and all...it DOES make a MEAN cup of Cappuccino!

The Hallway Makeover

2012-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

About 6 months ago, I announced that I hated one of our hallways and it was time for a makeover. So ugly. I look at it every day coming down our stairs. When I mentioned this to my husband, he was in "a mood", quickly agreed, and immediately started ripping the wood work off from the door way from around our stair way...and there is sat for 6 months. So not only was it still ugly, it was now REALLY ugly with parts of the woodwork pulled out and exposing bits of the old lath and plaster.

(It WAS REALLY ugly. I seriously don't want to show you the before picture. Ok. Here goes. *gulp* Don't judge, ok?)

This is looking down from upstairs, AFTER I had peeled most of the wallpaper off, and Danny had removed the top door frames for me, but this is what I look at coming down the stairs every morning.

I had been waiting on him to bring me a piece of bead board..have I ever mentioned my hubs is a procrastinator?.... until I realized that the existing paneling might look really neat painted black. ..oil based, so it would look like glass! And it would be free, since we wouldn't have to buy the bead board.

Nasty! Old paneling, with no trim, scratched and torn up wallpaper.

Yesterday, I looked at it, got mad, and just did it.

I peeled off the old wallpaper, which took me no more than 5 minutes. It was so old it just came right off with no effort. I patched and repaired the cracks in the walls, primed and painted the paneling, Danny cut me a piece of wood to use as trim, and I painted the walls . A while back, we were strolling though Walmart and found gallons of white paint on sale for $8. I quickly picked a color I liked, ( Heritage Oiled Teak) and had the guy mix it for us. Score! Cheap paint!

TA-DA! The finished result. And just so you know--those pictures in that frame?? I have no idea who they are. They came with the frame!! I have pictures I want to print off to stick in there, but wanted it to look finished so I hung the frame up anyway!! My dork level may have just reached an all time high.

Much better.
Its about 95% done. Dan still has to get the wood for around our doorway and paint it, but its MUCH easier for me to look at now.
And he assures me he will have the rest of it done in just a few weeks. Right, Danny? ...Danny?

Things that go HOOT in the night

2012-01-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”

This morning, as I was deciding if I REALLY wanted to get out of bed, my eyes flew open as I heard a very close hoooo-hoooo-hoooo-hoooot. There was an owl outside. RIGHT OUTSIDE. I sat and listened until I just HAD to get out of bed, or I was going to be greeting daycare kids in my pj's. As I was starting coffee, Tristen came flying out of his room to tell me about them and how they had woken him up.It was right outside his window. I was afraid he was a bit freaked out, becuase when I say they were RIGHT outside his bedroom window, THAT'S what I mean. RIGHT outside. So we went and sat on his bed for a few minutes and just listened. There were actually 2 of them and it was pretty obvious they were talking to each other. I told T I was pretty sure it was a wife and a husband, and that the wife sounded irrated with her husband. I'm sure she was ready to head home and go to bed, and she just couldn't get her hubby to leave. ;)

Anyway, after a comment made to me on Facebook this morning about an owl myth, it got me curious. So, I googled OWL MYTHS.

- If an owl lands on the roof of your house, it is an omen of death.(GULP!) Constant hooting near your house also foretells death.
-- If an owl hoots at the moment of childbirth, the child will have an unhappy life.

-- The Irish believe that if an owl flies into a house it must be killed immediately. If it escapes, it will take the luck of the house with it.

-- If an owl nests in an abandoned house, then the dwelling must be haunted. An owl is the only creature who can abide a ghost.

-- By eating salted owl, a person can be cured of gout.

-- If an owl hoots during a burial service, the deceased is bound to rise from the grave and haunt the living.

-- An owl living in the attic of a house will cause a pregnant woman to miscarry.

-- If a pregnant woman hears the shriek of an owl, her child will be a girl.

Pretty icky, huh? All this dark dreary nonsense seems funny to me, because since I was a little girl, owls have reminded me of my Grandmother, who collected them. I associate them with her..love, wisdom, happiness.

BUT!! I also found THIS on the net, which I like MUCH better! =)

Throughout many cultures, the symbolic meaning of owl deals with:

intelligence
brilliance
perspective
intuition
quick-wit
independence
wisdom
protection
mystery
power

Native American tribes (primarily plains’ Indians) viewed the owl as a protector against harm and their feathers  were ritually worn to ward of evil spirits.
Ancient Athenians made the owl an emblem of wisdom and even emblazoned the image of the owl on their coinage. To the ancient Greeks, the owl is a symbol of Athene who is goddess of foresight & knowledge.
Taking symbolism from the owl directly, it is noteworthy that it is a creature of the night.   Nocturnal creatures are symbolic of inner-knowing, psychic ability, and intuition – so too is the owl.
If an owl has visited you, an incredible gift has been bestowed.  Also, keep in mind that animals are only called to those who share the same energy. In other words, you hold within you some of the very same symbolic attributes the owl represents.

Personally, I think they are beautiful and always get excited when I spot on sitting in the tree or when I hear one.

A few years back, probably a year or so after my granddad died, there were a pair that got stuck in the farm house. They had been nesting for years and years and years up in the roof and we thought we had plugged (at dark when they were suppose to be out hunting!) the hole they were using. There was part of the living room ceiling that caved in due to a roof leak by a picture window after a rain storm, and they ended up coming IN to the house, since we, apparently had trapped them INSIDE the roof. The poor babies were upstairs, trying to get out one of the windows. Dad lovingly wrapped them up in towels, and set them free outside.

We thought that would be the end of of the owl story, but the eventually found their way BACK into the house, where they hatched many more babies, filling the old empty house with a dead animal smell from the meat they brought back to the nest for their babies and remained there for a few more years, until my brother put a brand new roof on the house. Several times we would be out in the house and the sudden HIISSSSSSSS of juvenile owl can make you become alert pretty darn fast when your alone in a big old creaky house, sorting through a box, and verrry slowly make you back up until you hit the doorway, where you turn around and run down the stairs like your life depended on it.
3 years ago or so, Eric was tearing out the ceiling in the living room and found a nest. I'll never forget that beautiful white down covered chick, all puffed up hissing, thinking he was as big as a Rottweiler and he was going to eat us for lunch. They got him out, and set him in the old chicken coop, where his mom and dad found him and where he lived until he was old enough to " fly the coop".

Eric still holds a grudge against those owls for all the mess and headache they caused him. I think we were blessed with the memories and for the close up opportunity to get to see these beautiful creatures. I'm quick to remind him just how much his grandmother, who lived in the house he is now restoring, loved them.

So, there's a bit of owl knowledge and a story for your Friday. Remember to stop and appreciate the fabulous world around you!! "HOOT" knows what you'll see or hear!

Monday Visitors

2012-01-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

I realize this post may just, in fact, put me in a "crazy" category--ex: crazy cat lady, crazy squirrel lady, crazy bunny lady, crazy bird lady...you get the picture.

But I just counted 11 different "beings" on the tree in my front yard. Squirrels, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, little red-headed house finches, cute little sparrows.

I was so happy to see everyone back. Those sneaky squirrels broke my plastic bird feeder, and I haven't had one for a good month. Jacob got me a heavy duty metal one for Christmas but was afraid everyone had moved on.. Mom also got me a cute pressed bird seed wreath that I hung on my tree. They love it so much I am going to have to make some of my own.

I know some people think squirrels are pests, and our neighbor hates them so bad he even traps them, but I just adore them. They make me laugh and are fun to watch.

Apparently, squirrels share as well as 2 year olds.

I was most worried about the little Nuthatch never returning. I love that little bird and swear its the same one coming back year after year. Last year there was a pair of them, but I've only seen one so far. He seems to be the underdog. Everyone chases him off and he patiently waits for the feeder, and sometimes he resorts to picking seed off the ground.

Isn't he adorable?

Now, if I can just lure Mr and Mrs Cardinal back!!

What have YOU seen in YOUR yard today?

*Update: not even an hour after I had posted this, Mrs. Cardinal was dining at the new feeder. I hope she brings her handsome husband back with her soon!

And I also caught THIS on my camera and it makes me laugh...so I wanted to share. I hope it makes YOU laugh! =)

Goodbye to 2011

2012-01-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

Didn't I JUST post a "Goodbye to 2010 post? This year has flown by so fast. Overall 2011 was good to us. We lived well, laughed often, loved much! Here are some of our favorite things from the past year!

Danny raised 2 pigs this year so our family could have farm raised pork in addition to our beef. They were just recently sent to the processor. I found I had to distance my self from them. They have these cute little eyes, they smile when they eat, and Danny spent a lot of time with ours, so they were pretty tame and inquisitive and did things that just made you laugh. It got really hard to think about where they were going. Sometimes its hard to be an meat eater AND an animal lover. BUT--I would much rather eat meat that lived a happy life with "one bad day" than eat meat from factory any day.

We added a new breed to our rabbitry. And have hopes Tristen will do very well with them...just as soon as spring fever hits and we can get everyone to breed!

This past year Jacob had a few really big wins, with 2 of those being a double Best In Show in one day. We saw a lot of growth from him as he stepped up his leadership and volunteered to take comments for judges and does a GREAT job.

Hunters were born in my family this year. I griped a lot about having deer in my freezer, but I've learned it is "ok". Not something I want to eat every day though. I do love, however, the time is allows the guys to be together, and for that common ground. And if I have to lose freezer space to a bunch of venison for that, that's just fine.

This past summer was one of the hottest and driest ever for our area. This found us working like mad to keep rabbits alive. I lost a lot of plants, and probably won't know just how many until this spring. The garden, however, did the best we have ever had. Was a good year to be a vegetable at our house, just not a flower! =) I'm over being frustrated and we have lots of projects waiting for the coming season. Come on spring!

And a whole lotta basketball was watched this year as we cheered Michelle and the Lady T's on at State. I will always remember watching my tough of nails baby sister tear up when they won sub state and realized they were state bound, and therefore causing MY eyes to start leaking. Michelle is a senior this year, so our time watching her play her high school years is almost over, but the memories made from these years will last forever. And cross your fingers for state again this year!!

Happy New Years!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 is already a memory. Today we are in some kind of a post holiday hangover. The 2 oldest men in my family have been fighting a mild flu bug since yesterday. Not sick sick, but just sick enough to feel bad. Tristen and I are holding our breath we don't get it.

Christmas Eve found us at the candlelight service at our church. I love pulling up on this night, and seeing the church all lit up, with warmth and love spewing out its windows. After this, we always book it back to town, meet everyone at our house for a Christmas Eve dinner. This is something our family has been doing for years and years, only it used to be held in my grandmothers teeny tiny apartment. I actually can not remember a year we didn't do it. She's gone now, but every Christmas, as we carry on her tradition, she's never too far from my mind.
Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures from our Christmas!


My big attempt at decorating this year! I got this idea from my newest addiction: Pinterest. Was very happy with how they looked!

I added them to the table as our centerpiece, as well as the food table.

Christmas mice. =)

Yep--these are my people. And that freaky face blur in the corner? That's my husband.

A small amount of torture usually comes in some form or another at our get togethers.

But there's always much laughter. Here are Michelle and Danny, who I've lovingly started calling Abe. As in Abe Lincoln. No Shave November is SO OVER!!! Anyway, Chelle BEGGED him to take a picture with her with his beard all fluffed out. I'm sure he will be THRILLED to know its now posted here as well as on Facebook! hehe

Tristen was happy. Santa brought him his metal detector he has just been DYING to get since playing with one at the state fair. So far, hes dug up several old pop cans, a key, and an old tent stake. He was also happy with 2 new Monster Energy hats, a wood burning kit, and a very nice wooden magic kit that even impressed his parents.

And THIS boy...this boy I am convinced had been peeking at Amazon shipment details in my email...HAHA..was VERY surprised to come down and see that a hunting blind as well as a basket stuffed FULL of hunting supplies had been left for him. Santa even bough him a bottle of doe urine. A first for Santa, to gift PEE! Anyway, he is thrilled with it, as well as a much wanted Wii game all his buddies are playing, and an IPOD dock where high on his favorite lists.

I was spoiled. My parents got me 2 new pans to add to my red Paula Dean collection. I just love this line! And Danny got me a beautiful pie board, as well as glass beverage dispenser with a stand, that just has me ITCHING to throw some sort of party and use it. You should have seen the look of horror on his face when I announced THAT! Jacob got me a new METAL bird feeder, so our resident squirrel won't break it in his attempt to steal food. And Tristen listened to me gripe enough about wanting some hard soled slippers that he got me some. I hate having to put shoes on when I run outside in the middle of the night when we are expecting baby bunnies. The floor in our barn is rock, and it hurts on bare feet. I was very impressed--he got some leopard print,VERY soft, HARD SOLED slippers and I was even MORE impressed when I was told he even tried them on in the store, to see if they size was right, since he now has the same size feet as me!

And this wasn't a Christmas gift, but a Momma gift, which are just as special. My momma bought me a new Nativity scene. I have been wanting a new one for a couple of years now, but had just a certain one in mind, much like the one my grandma had at her apartment, and just hadn't found THAT ONE yet. She did though! =) It's perfect and I just love it. We used to have an all glass one, but very slowly the figures started disappearing. Funny how that happens when you have little kids!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I really can't believe it's already over!!!

And I am REFUSING to step in the scale until after the new year. BLAH!

Happy Birthday, Sister!

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

This girl is 18 today!!

18 years ago today, my 9 year old brother and my 14 year old self were sitting in the waiting room at our local hospital, waiting on news on the baby my mom was delivering. I was excited. And scared. Childbirth is scary when your old enough to realize just what is going on behind those doors, and it's your mom going through it. Eric was excited, as he was SURE he was getting a brother.

Out came a nurse holding a tiny bundle in a little white blanket.

"Do you guys want to see the baby?" she whispered.

We pretty much trampled over her in our rush and she held IT up for us to see.

She couldn't tell us if IT was a boy or a girl, so our dad could come and tell us, which may be one of the meanest things you can do to a couple of excited kids, but I remember looking at this little bald being with big wide eyes staring back us, and I knew I had a sister.

I got up with her the first night home and Mom was recovering from surgery. I was totally in love with her from the moment she arrived, and I would just stare at her and hold her for hours. I dressed her up and hauled her around. She was my living baby doll.

Many many MANY times I've thanked God for her. Because he knew she was exactly what our family needed and what was to come. She has a special relationship with my dad. For most of her life, I've felt sorry for her, since I had a strong and well dad, and she was too young to remember him before he got sick. But I've realized she came just when she was suppose to. I think Dad would have given up years ago with out her. She yells at him to keep going when he needs it most and sometimes hers is the only voice that can get through that very thick skull of his.

It's been amazing to watch her grow up, from a bald squalling baby, to a preschooler dragging her pink blanket in to class, to an dorky middle school-er, to a beautiful high school-er who tears up the basketball court. Along the way, she became one of my very best friends.

Happy 18th Birthday, Katie Michelle!! I love you! And just remember...NOW--you can go to jail! HAHA!

Christmas Sparkle

2011-12-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas? And I am NOT good at decorating, but I do love decorating for Christmas. Every year I add a little bit more. This year, I am having a love affair with real greenery. I picked it from the farm, and if I close my eyes, and sniff its wonderful aroma, I am reminded of Christmases from a long time ago, where trees where real, the people I love the most were healthy, and the magic of waiting for Santa was just about too much to take.

So, I thought I would show you some pictures of some of my favorite Christmas things. I am having a bit of bloggers block, and haven't felt like I had anything to write about lately. Keep in mind, though...Martha Stewart DOES NOT live here!

Greenery with some little sparkly bulbs added in an old canning jar. Thanks, Pintrest!

I love snowmen!! The water globe was my Grandma Juanita's. It was the only thing I really wanted of hers after she passed away. She used to wind it up and just watch it while it was sitting on her lap.

I add greenery with lights and bows to our half wall every year.


And I hang our Christmas cards from it!

Isn't he cute?

I got this tree a few years ago, but only used it one season before the lights died. I had put in way in the back of Christmas storage, and kinda just forgot about it until this year, when Jacob found it, rescued it, and replaced the lights. He's my hero!! I've really enjoyed it's little twinkle this year!

I am really learning I just love lights and twinkle!! The "present" is actually 2 glass blocks with lights inside. My BFF got it for me year before last, and I just love it. The Santa mug is one of a pair , and my boys drink hot chocolate from them Christmas Eve. I used to have a smaller one that my was my dads when he was little, but it got broken in a very unfortunate ball accident, so I was thrilled when I found these guys!! They are just not the same as the old one though!

Snowmen are just adorable!

This year I took an old pail I plant flowers in, added some greenery and some red sparkle. Thanks again, Pintrest!! I also found that little red cardinal recently, and may or may not have squealed with delight, in the middle of the store. I think he's adorable!

I love evergreen more than pine, but I do love pine cones and love how they look when they are naturally still on the branch.

How many days NOW, Santa?


I love Orange Pomanders. Some years I make quite a few of them and others I just make a few, but I ALWAYS make them. I love walking by and smelling them. DELICIOUS!!

This weekend and the coming week will find us finishing up the shopping, and the start of my goodie baking! Dan and I are taking off work on Friday for a shopping trip in the big city. JUST THE TWO OF US!! I think he's looking more forward to eating, and not so much the shopping. =)

The BUCK stops HERE!!

2011-12-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

November 30th, the first day of season, just as they were about to pack up and head home, Jacob got his deer. The buck was young, with 7 points, and next year, he says, he will wait it out for "the big one", but just couldn't NOT wait to get his first deer. He took him down from 31 yards, (Yep! He went back and measured!) and dropped him immediately. I guess all those hours of shooting cans and old couches is paying off!!

I wish I could breath life back in him, I'd hunt him again tomorrow~Ben Rogers Lee

This picture makes me LOL.

Can you just see the excitement?

I don't understand hunting. I don't understand gearing up in the cold, spraying yourself with scent away sprays..that STINK, by the way, and handling various bottles of animal body fluids, to sit in the cold and wet for hours and hours. But I DO understand the smile he had and the excitement that was radiating out of of every pore of his body.

And so it seems a hunting family has been born. I think I'm going to need a new cookbook. Anyone have any recipes they would like to share, or their favorite way to eat deer? *I* don't really like it, but the "men folk" at my house do, so I think I'm going to have learn to like it. Or eat a lot of salad.

9 Years

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today, 9 years ago, I was issued a child care license with the state of Kansas. 9 years. The kids that I originally started with are in Jr high and high school. I've seen lots of changes with the system during this time. Some good, some just annoying, some bad. But I feel like Kansas is FINALLY heading in the right direction.

I have had 9 years of slobbery kisses and hugs around the legs, 9 years of food program paperwork, classes, state inspections, 9 years of, at times, fighting, begging and pleading for my paycheck from parents, who "don't have the money to pay me this week" but tell their child in front of me to "hurry up and get your shoes on...we are going to Dodge" as they barely look up from playing on their brand new cell phone, 9 years of celebrating new babies and milestones with families, 9 years of laying in bed at night, wondering if that sweet little boy went be bed with a full tummy, 9 years of explaining thousands of times why its not ok to dope Johnny up with Tylenol and then send him to daycare, and then complain 3 days later when I have to close because I'm sick, 9 years of praying TODAY won't be the day the inspectors show up. You know..the day you over cook the macaroni noodles for lunch, and everyone is whiny and fighting and the baby just wants you to hold him, and there's dirty underwear on your bathroom floor, a Tonka truck in your house plant, and your childrens bedrooms look like some sort of explosion happened in them and it looks like you haven't done laundry in a year. (For those of you that don't know, the surveyors look through your ENTIRE house. Even your closets and areas not used for childcare.)

9 years of "Is Your Momma A Llama", 9 years of glitter, glue, crayons, markers, and paint, millions of bottles of hand soap and tubs of baby wipes, 9 years of Christmas parties and a Santa who stopped by one time to hand out bananas...yep! I said Bananas! =) 9 years of ABC's, 123's, Dora, puke, snot, poop, and even a bit of blood. 9 years of binkies, and blankies, woobies and lost socks.

9 years of tears as that little guy you've had since he was 6 weeks old, gets on the bus for Kindergarten, and the "Oh I hope he doesn't get lost or scared" on the first day, 9 years of laughter and exhaustion, 9 years of watching new mommies cry as they leave their babies for the first time, and feeling like a baby snatcher when they hand them over to me, 9 years of the pick up wars. Other providers will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, but it's this thing that happens to kids at pick up time. Mom's here and Becky's here. Which one is in charge? Hmm...I'll just act like a wild ape on crack and see which one reacts, 9 years of friendships formed with fellow providers, 9 years of listening to my children complain about my job, but I hope someday they will realize the benefits of having their mom available anytime and here and happy to see them when they get home from school, 9 years of "Can I have seconds, PA-PA-PA-PLLLEEASE?", 9 years of some of my families becoming some of my dearest friends, and 9 years of time with the most precious, innocent and amazing little people on this planet.

I just realized out of the providers in our county that were doing child care when I started, I am THE ONLY ONE left still providing care.

I'm not really sure if that entitles me to a medal, or a psych evaluation. =)

Memories and Cinnamon Rolls

2011-11-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

What does a grandmothers bread recipe, 2 granddaughters, 2 great-granddaughters, and 2 granddaughter in laws make? Sweet, precious memories!!

Friday morning my cousin Joy pulled up with a bowl of dough, her 2 sister in laws, and 2 nieces.We knocked out 8 pans of cinnamon rolls!

Shelle, Austyn, and Hannah--it's been so much fun meeting and talking to these girls in "the real wold", outside of Facebook! They are amazing women!! Lots of laughter and smiles come with them!

I have always looked up to Joy. She's little older than me,and she and my other older cousins tolerated me following them around quite persistently. It's been fun getting to know her as an adult, and it's quite comical to find us very different but alike in many ways too.

She has this beautiful calm spirit to her. The same one that her mom has, and that my grandmother had.

Joy and Avery

She understands that the smell of bread dough and pipe tobacco can make your heart ache, lost recipes can make you bawl, and why it's so very important to have cottonwood leaves stuck in your cookbook.

She's one of my very favorite people on this planet and we are ALL blessed by her.

Tristen and his Dutch Adventure

2011-11-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

Tristen has added TORTS to his Dutch varieties!

He had been hinting around here and there about them, and we finally asked fellow bunny exhibitor, Briony, if she had any.

Briony didn't have any for sale, but she WAS going to Indianapolis for ARBA Nationals, and said she'd be happy to bring him back a pair if we wanted. We have never purchased anything from nationals and the thought was very exciting. It's a chance to purchase rabbits from breeders from all over the country, and from the "big" names you only see way back on pedigrees or through national club newsletters.

She came home with Snickers, who came from Ohio, I believe. She has been bred and HOPEFULLY will have a litter the first week of December

And Rusty, who came from Michigan, who is with Tristen in the above picture. He's a very cute little Jr Buck.

So far he's had great luck with them! The little tort buck won Best of Breed at BOTH shows in Kinsley last weekend, and also won Best Opposite Sex at the Sunflower show we were at this past weekend in Wichita.

I will say that I am totally, head over heels, obber, doober in love with the personality of the Dutch breed and they make a WONDERFUL breed for kids. There is a HUGE difference from any other breed we have ever have. The Dutch we have in our barn DEMAND attention, love their human, and get a bit urked when you don't stop and admire them. They are almost annoying when you water them as they stick their heads out the cage door and just refuse to move until they have had their fill of nose rubs.

And as of this weekend, all Dutch does..and many Havana does...have been bred. Breeding this time of year can be pretty hit and miss, but we are crossing our fingers some babies land in the nest boxes in a month!

A Post Of Diffrent Sorts

2011-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on Tristen's post. Since the time change I haven't been able to get out to a picture of him since it gets dark so early. Its coming, I promise!

But first off, I wanted to write about a deep dark secret I have. Ok. *GULP*. Here goes.

I have eaten rabbit.

And I like it.

The show we went to last weekend is a favorite, for lots of reasons, but one is that we really enjoy the meals served. One of the woman always has some sort of rabbit dish. The past 2 years it has been rabbit enchiladas, and the year before that was the BEST rabbit and noodles EVER, complete with homemade noodles.

Basically, domestic rabbit tastes exactly like chicken, and you can not even tell a difference when it's in dishes such as the above.
And the honest truth, one that we try really hard not to talk about to our "non" rabbit friends, is this: If you are going to raise and show rabbits, you have to have a good cull program. There is just NO way you can keep them all.
Some people sell them, some go to zoos to feed other animals, others pet them out, and some use them to feed their families. None are wrong and it's a personal choice, as long the animal is always respected.

Here are some facts about rabbit meat:

Rabbit is lower in % of fat than chicken, turkey, beef, and pork.

The office of home economics, state relations of the U S Department of Agriculture has made extensive test and have stated that domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat known to man.

Rabbit meat is all white meat.

A doe rabbit that weighs 10 pounds can produce 320 pounds of meat in a year.

Other people are just more comfortable eating a monster sized plate of beef and bean nachos! And that is ok too!! =)

Windy Plains RBA Way Out West Show

2011-11-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Every rabbit breeder...well, ANY person that shows ANY animal...dreams of winning Best In Show. Its the entire goal of getting up before the sun, packing up rabbits, and grooming a rabbit more than most boys groom THEMSELVES in a month.

To dare to even THINK of winning Best In show is HUGE. To dare to dream of winning TWO Best In Shows at a double show is just down right silly.

But---can you guess what Jacob did today?

He won Best In Show. TWICE.

We were super excited to head to this show this morning! First off, it was only 45 minutes from us, which is the shortest amount of time we've ever driven. And it was a double show. Second of all, we had all woken up with the feeling it was just going to be a good day.

Jacob was THRILLED when he won Best of Breed with Jagger, and Best Opposite with Anna, a black doe in both shows. Which I will say is very unusual for the SAME 2 rabbits to be picked in the same order for 2 shows.

So, Jagger gets put up on the table for the Best In Show judging, and the judge goes through the bunnies, and he never looks at him again. Usually you can tell the ones that have a chance, as they go back and look at them a second, and sometimes even a third time. THAT'S when it gets exciting. So, without even a second glance, Jagger was announced as the Best In Show winner for Show A.


Jacob, Jagger, and Judge Robert Caldwell

After this, Jake put Jagger back up to be judged for the Best in Show Show B judging, knowing the odds of even placing again for really slim. What were the odds? Really? Anyway, the judge goes through them, and he goes BACK and pulls Jagger out. I look over, meet Jacob's eyes, and he's trying REALLY hard not to smile. The judge teases us when announcing the 2nd runner up. He walks towards Jagger, LOOKS AT HIM, and lays the award check BY THE RABBIT NEXT to Jagger. UGH!! Talk about a tease!! I was pumped when I thought Jagger was 2nd runner up! So when Jagger was announced as the BEST IN SHOW for a SECOND TIME, I was: 1. stunned 2.excited 3. laughing 4.clapping 5. trying not to pee my pants all within about 2 seconds span.

Jacob, Jagger, and Judge Vic Vogts

To say it was an amazing day is an understatement. And I haven't even mentioned how Tristen did!! I think he deserves a post all to his own! Stay tuned! =)

Some Gave All -- Lt. Donald G. White

2011-11-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Donald White was my fathers uncle. My grandmothers brother.

He was reported Missing In Action on February 23, 1943 at the age of 24. His story has always haunted me. From the empty grave at the cemetery, to his uniform hanging up in our local museum, to the stories handed down through the generations of my great grandmother waking up, with very eerie nightmares, the night his plane went down....his story is one of a true American hero, who gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Here are some tid bits I have found about him.

October 7, 1942.
Dear Folks,
Well, I've been around quite a bit since I last wrote you. On Monday before graduation they called us out at 1:30 p.m. and asked us to volunteer to get twin engine time if we wanted to fly P-38s. so I volunteered, and they sent us over to Williams Field that same afternoon, and we graduated in our overalls on the flight line during lunch hour the next day.
We got back to Luke Field Saturday, and the rest of the fellows had already been sent on to the different places, and we got sent out of there Saturday evening.
We drove up to March Field Monday afternoon, and Tuesday afternoon they gave us orders to report here at Glendale and we are going to fly what is said to be the best airplane in the world. This is about five or six miles from Los Angeles and Hollywood. We will leave for Muroe Lake, about 60 miles northeast of here, for six weeks training, and then be sent back here to patrol the coast. My friend Webber and I are in the same squadron.
How is silo filling this year? Are you going to get the silo as full as you did last year?
Must close now. Will mail you the wings sometime this week, Mom.
Love, Don

"Don was born on February 12, 1919, the eldest child of Harry and Ruth White. He grew up in Comanche County, attending Sunnyside country school, and graduating from Coldwater High School with the class of 1937. After graduation he became involved full time in the family farming and cattle operation. Don enlisted in the Army Air Corps Reserve in January, 1942, and a month later entered pre-flight training at Santa Ana, California. He was graduated from Luke Field at Phoenix, Arizona, in September, and received his second lieutenant commission. He then volunteered for training in the P-38 fighter plane, and received his training on the west coast. On December 15, Don flew to Honolulu, and from there, joined with other members of the 339th Fighter Squadron, being formed in New Caledonia. On February 23, 1943, while on a mission to accompany bombers on a raid over Bougainville, his plane was hit, and he was listed as missing in action. Don was 24 years of age. Each family member remembers him in different ways, but always... with love. -- Ruth White and Family, Comanche County History

And then this one:

The Western Star , February 26, 1943.
LIEUT. DONALD WHITE MISSING IN ACTION
Has Been With Fighter Squadron Since December. Mr. and Mrs. Harry White of Coldwater received the following telegram Wednesday morning from the War Department: Washington, D.C. Feb. 23. "The Secretary of War desires me to express our deep regret that the Commanding General, United States Army Force in South Pacific area, has reported your son, Second Lieutenant Donald G. White, air corps, missing in action. Additional information will be sent when received. THE ADJUTANT GENERAL."
Lieut. White enlisted in the Army Air Corps February 11, 1942, and after completing his training left the United States December 15 for combat duty. His parents and many friends here anxiously await further word from him.

This man was gone for 36 years before I was born, but I take my boys to his stone at the cemetery when ever we are out there. I don't want to ever forget him, and I don't want THEM to ever forget him.

For The Love of PUMPKIN!

2011-11-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Our family loves pumpkin. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin cakes. Pumpkin Rolls. Pumpkin dips. Pumpkin cheesecake. It goes on and on and on. Year before last, I sent my husband to the store to pick up a "few" cans since they were on sale. He brought home 15, so I would have a stockpile. Pumpkin ROCKS.

Anyway, I love baking this time of year! And this past week have made 2 different pumpkin recipes I wanted to share.

Though the recipe says BARS, my men have just been gnawing off HUNKS of this cake and slapping it on a plate. I made it last night, frosted it at 8ish this morning, and it's already half gone.

Harvest Pumpkin Spice Bars

Bars

eggs

cups granulated sugar

cup vegetable oil

can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

cups flour

teaspoons baking powder

teaspoons ground cinnamon

teaspoon baking soda

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

teaspoon ground ginger

1/4

teaspoon ground cloves

cup raisins, if desired

Cream Cheese Frosting

package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3

cup butter or margarine, softened

teaspoon vanilla

cups powdered sugar

1/2

cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening. In large bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Stir in raisins. Spread in pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over bars. Sprinkle with walnuts. For bars, cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. Store in refrigerator.

The second recipe I am in love with comes from one of my favorite blogs I follow called Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I love this blog and have printed off LOTS of recipes from here. Run!! Don't walk!! and go check this blog out!!
I made these for our annual Achievement banquet for 4-H, just because I had the stuff already on hand, and was too lazy to go to the store and get something else to make. I only ended up bringing home 4, which we all enjoyed for breakfast the next morning!! I will say I do need to play with these a little, to get my middle filling JUST RIGHT. I seem to be putting too much batter in first, therefore causing my filling to be more up towards the top. In the middle or not, they are still delicious!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Filling:

8 oz. / 250 gr cream cheese
1 egg
3 tablespoons sugar

Muffins:

1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

For filling...combine cream cheese, sugar and egg in small bowl and mix well until smooth.
In large mixing bowl, combine oil and sugars.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix in pumpkin puree.
Combine all the dry ingredients; add to batter and mix just until incorporated.
Grease muffin puns.
Put a spoonful of batter in the bottom of each muffin well (less than 1/3 full).
Drop a rounded teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the center of each muffin.
Top with remaining batter, spreading to cover cream cheese completely.
Sprinkle with crumb topping.
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.” Jim Davis

THESE BOYS!!

2011-11-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend I tortured..err...took my boys out to take some pictures. The leaves are just beautiful right now!

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. HE was laughing so hard he could hardly stand up, after sticking the pumpkin up his shirt, so he looked pregnant. I guess you just had to be there.

Pictures+13 year old boy+a pumpkin=complete torture.

And this one isn't MINE, but she IS CUTE!! And she never ONCE gave me lip about having to take pictures. She's not speaking sentences yet either, though. =)

WEPAC 2011

2011-10-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched my baby sister scratch something off of her "bucket list". She played basketball on the white WEPAC team as one of the senior high school players

Those of you that don't know what WEPAC is, go to http://www.wepacthehouse.org Basically it's this amazing basketball game with high school players, alumni players, college players, and celebrity players, who come together to raise money for cancer screenings for local woman in our area. It's even aired on Fox and it's a BIG DEAL for our small towns.

Since this started 3 years ago, she's wanted to play. And play she did. I admit I was a bit nervous, wondering how she'd play with the cameras there, college and celebrity players, but nothing seemed to faze her, and she wasn't the least bit nervous and played the game.

Michelle with Katie Smith


Giving her high school basketball coach an autograph. =)

And the best hug of the night didn't come from anyone famous. It came from our Dad. So happy he was able to be there!

So very proud of this girl and I just love her to pieces!

That SOUND!

2011-10-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

I HATE that sound. You know. THAT sound. The sound of a sick child coming into your bedroom in the middle of the night. The sound of your other child NOT making it to the toilet just an hour later. The sound of crying as stomachs cramp up and the sound of my heart breaking as he begs me to get Advil, because he's SURE it would help with the cramps.

It's been a rough night. The washer has been going since 2am. I need a nap. My house smells of vomit. My husband and I are the only ones left standing. I'm obsessively washing my hands, while trying to figure out the odds of Danny and I making it out of this with out getting sick.

Curse you, stomach bug!

Football 2011

2011-10-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today closed a chapter for our family. We watched our very last Pee-Wee game--at least with any of our boys playing on the field. Pee-Wee has been a part of our life for 5 years.

I thought for sure I would be relieved when this season was over. No more practices or trips on Saturdays, but I stood on the field and just felt sad. No so much for the game, but because it suddenly became apparent to me today my boys are very quickly growing up.

Jake's team closed out their season UNDEFEATED!!!! And Tristen's team just ALMOST did it, only losing one of their 7 games and that loss being today, their very last game.

Next year, I will have high school football player and a Jr high player.

Time to go play with the big dogs.

And as Mr. Kenny Chesney would say:

Well its turn and face the stars and stripes,
Its fightin back them butterflys

Its call it in the air alright yes sir we want the ball
And its knockin' heads and talkin trash
Its slingin mud and dirt and grass

Its i got your number, i got your back when your backs against the wall
You mess with one man, you got us all,

The boys of fall.

KSRBA Convention 2011

2011-10-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentleman...may I have your attention please, as I introduce to you:

His Royal Highness.....2011 KSRBA DUKE!!!

We were SO excited to watch Jacob receive this honor. Royalty is a lot of hard work. Jacob had to submit...right smack in the middle of football season...a 5 page written application. Then, at the convention this weekend, he did an oral interview, breed ID contest, judging contest, showmanship contest, and a *200* question test. The scores from ALL of those are tallied, and the applicant with the highest score wins. HE WON!

My camera annoys His Grace.

It was a wonderful weekend, and Jacob walked away with some pretty big wins.

Judge Tony Bell picked friend Tyler's black doe for the show Best of Breed Havana, with Ditto, Jacob's chocolate buck, being Best Opposite Sex. There were over 50 Havanas there, belonging to 5 youth breeders.

Sunday, for the Prairie Winds Havana Specialty show, Judge Briony Barnes picked ANNA, Jacob's Jr black doe for the Best of Breed. This time, Tyler received Best Opposite Sex award.

I also have to mention that Jacob had a first happen to him this weekend. His BEAUTIFUL little black DOE, JADA, was DQ'ed off the table because when the judge was checking the "parts", he found that JADA is actually a BOY. Jacob SWORE he had double checked everyone before we left. HAHA So Danny added an "N" to the end of "JADA'S" tattoo. Later, HE was entered in the specialty as JADAN, a little JR BUCK. Jacob caught heck for that ALL weekend.

This guy...well, this guy had a pretty rough weekend. This is what happens when you are playing ball tag in the dark with your rabbit friends, and run into a unseen cement wall. He was affectionately referred to as "WALL-E" for the rest of the weekend.

It seems mischief follows this boy everywhere. See what he's doing?

He's SCARING people...aka...girls..as they walk by and this ugly nasty fake spider comes hurling down on them from the rafters.

We look forward to this convention every year. It was a great weekend with great people.

Just what we needed!!

A Beautiful Fall Weekend

2011-10-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend found us giving thanks for RAIN!! Yes..you read correctly. We got RAIN!! Beautiful, soft falling, puddle forming, making straight hair go curly, RAIN!!!!!

Our Saturday morning football game got canceled. We found out pretty early, but too late to get everyone back into bed. After the initial disappointment, I think everyone loved laying around and enjoyed a lazy day..that turned into a lazy weekend.
We enjoyed lots of homemade, soul soothing food...grandma cookies, homemade breads, roasts. I was a bit urked when I got on the scale this morning though. Oh well.

I know we got over 2 inches here at the house. Really hope everyone else got that much. This morning found us with a one hour delay for school because of fog.

The boys are getting close to wrapping up their football seasons. Both boys' teams are undefeated with each having 2 games left.

October is breast cancer awareness month. How cool is it that these Jr High boys are wearing PINK socks? REAL men wear PINK!

I'm can NOT believe I forgot to mention this, but we are enjoying THESE guys:

My husband has wanted pigs for a long long time. He finally just made it happen. I have never really been around pigs but here is what I have learned so far. 1. They have a flee instinct like you would not believe. 2. They stink. 3. They are absolutely adorable and I could probably pull up a chair and watch them for hours. 4. They smile when they eat.

I also can't believe I didn't write about THIS. I am seriously slacking on my blogging. Anyway, look what my dad and sister killed this past weekend on the sidewalk at the farm.

My very tough and brave little sister killed it, while my dad held it down.(yea..I know...many of my gray hairs are actually caused from my DAD!) It was the first rattlesnake Tristen had ever seen. He was a bit in awe of it. And we are ALL paying a bit more attention out there.

This weekend will find us heading to the KSRBA Convention. With every thing going on, it will be wonderful to just get away and just be, and be around people who we can sit around and talk "bun" with. =)

Hope everyone else is getting beautiful fall weather like we are!

Career Day

2011-10-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

This week is Spirit Week here at our school and today was career day. My boys are thankful they have a grandpa who doesn't like to throw things away. ;) Jake decked out as a cop, which didn't surprise any of us, really, since he's wanted to be a cop since he started talking and had the ability to tell us that's what he was going to be when he grows up. Everything but the name tag, which was Danny's from the Navy days, had been handed down from Gramps through the years. All he had to do was borrow the hat.
Tristen is a firefighter. He threw on a pair of coveralls and borrowed the helmet from Jacob, which had been given to him from Grandpa many years ago.
Tristen loves firefighters, fire trucks and all that jazz. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, Danny and I were rolling at one of his pee-wee football games when he actually stopped during the football game to watch some firetrucks go buy. I'm sure his coach didn't find it humorous at all, but we sure did. It was so Tristen.
So..what were YOU going to be when YOU grew up?

Next BMX Star

2011-09-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I think I've mentioned bikes are a hot topic around here. Many bikes have been drug home from junk piles to be fixed up, but my youngest has been spending his evenings on YouTube, watching bike tricks. Over and over and over until he thinks he's got it figured out.
So here is a sample of what he's been working on. Sorry about the noise--this is taken with my digital camera and it's NOISY! Now the goal will be to slide back ON the bike after he gets it flipped around. I think. And we had like 20 takes this video. Over and over and over. Because when the camera came out, he just couldn't get it JUST right. He may be a little bit of a perfectionist.
I also learned he can ride a wheelie almost all the way down our street. Yikes.

Oh The FOOD!!

2011-09-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts about State Fairs is the crazy foods! From deep fat fried candy bars, Oreos, Twinkies, to Krispy Kreme Burgers topped with deep fried ice cream...we just love it! This year there were a few we just HAD to try.

This little plate of happiness is a Red Velvet funnel cake with cream cheese icing. Oh my goodness. Danny and I snarfed that bad boy down in record time while the boys were in line for a ride..so we wouldn't have to share. We are such wonderful parents, huh? ;)

Danny's been anxious to try alligator and declared THIS was THE year. Tristen..well, he wasn't so sure he really wanted a bite.

Danny digs right in!

Tristen, well, he takes his bite a little more apprehensively than Dan did. The verdict? It takes a lot like chicken. It just has a bit different texture and is a little more chewy. But it IS good.

Cheese Curds are a family tradition. We enjoy these little heavenly, artery clogging, delicious bite sized bits!!

Oh yea...

Cupcakes were a hot ticket this year. I'm crediting one of my favorite shows, Cupcake Wars, for the sudden increase in cupcake love. I got this little beauty at a catering booth I ordered my lunch from. Oh my gosh. The frosting melted your mouth and was JUST RIGHT in sweetness. We did see another booth that was just selling cupcakes. Corn dog with mustard infused icing. No joke. And no. I didn't try one.

Some of us were happy with the ol' standbys. You know, like slices of pizza bigger than your head.

Good thing the fair is only one time a year!! Now, I'm off to eat a salad for lunch in hopes to repair a bit of the damage done this past weekend!

Kansas State Fair 2011

2011-09-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

It was a wild ride, baby!! Filled with cute bunnies, exciting results, aching backs, funky food, exhausted parents, screams of terror, and empty pockets.

Jacob entered his gun rack-red, Snickerdoodle cookies-red, picture of an old antique truck from out in the pasture-blue and he entered 5 Havana rabbits, which ALL received purples. He was awarded Best of Breed with his just-turned Sr Buck, Rufus, and Best Opposite with his Sr doe, Keisha. He got a wonderful mention in the Best In Show judging when the judge said that Jacob's rabbit will be seeing great things in the near future. =)

Tristen took the "famous" Apple Bundt Cake--blue and took 2 Dutch rabbits. He was to take 3 but his little buck decided to molt. Tristen and that buck are pretty good buddies and he wasn't too excited with the thought of him being gone for 3 days, so the decision to leave him home wasn't really a hard one. His little black doe was awarded Best Opposite Sex of Variety. Which is 2nd. The best black (Best of Variety) was a buck, so they chose his doe to be BOSV. His little blue doe he took was awarded a blue ribbon.

Here are some pictures from our great day!

This is Stormy, Tristen's little blue doe. She's in the judging coop, but she kept staring at Tristen like she wanted him to come and get her out. He felt really guilty. It was really sweet when he arrived and went to see his rabbits. They both got so excited to see him they were doing little binkies around in their cages and begging at the doors. People who claim animals have no feelings are insane.

And this is my handsome hubby WORKING at the State Fair. He got asked to work behind the tables for "just a little bit" assisting the judge. He loved it so much he ended up doing it for the entire show and I'm pretty sure he will doing it again at other shows. But it's safe to say he probably won't be wearing a BLACK hoodie when he does. Bunny hair really likes black it seems.
Jacob also worked. He was a runner-- bringing rabbits up to the table and then taking them back to their coops after they were judged. It's probably safe to say he will be doing it again next year. He loved it.

Tristen didn't work, but claims he wants to next year. One of the best things about rabbit shows is rabbit FRIENDS and he was with his "pack" for most of the day.

After the show we...er...they...rode a few rides. It would seem Jacob has inherited his mother's stomach. He only rode just a handful before he declared he had had enough.

Tristen conquered his fear of "The Zipper" after a bad ride year before last with his mom. I'm sure my screams of absolute terror and my vocal fear about the cage door coming open really didn't help things. He braved it again with his brother and declared "it really wasn't that bad after all." Whatever you say, T-Bone!

Tristen even got his dad to get in on the action, while Jacob and I, and our poor,weak, bellies watched.

I had can't post about the fair and not mention THIS ride. They strap these people, with their arms behind their head, in this circle shaped device of torture and SLING SHOT them into the air, while the seat bounces and spins from the bungee like cords.

Looks like fun, eh?? Ack!!

We love the fair!

Next up: FOOD from the State Fair!! It deserves a post ALL of its own!

Seeing Green

2011-09-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

THIS is what are life is revolving around these days.

Tomorrow we will be heading to the Kansas State Fair to show! It's been FOREVER so we are all anxious, even if it's "only" a 4-H show. =) Should be a fun day filled with friends and funky food! Stay tuned!!

That September Day

2011-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

10 years ago today, I was at work. I was mom with young kids, just trying to make ends meet and survive. Danny was driving a truck for the same company and had come in and asked if I had heard that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. All I could picture was one of those small recreational air crafts. I didn't think much more about it until people started pouring out of the office, letting everyone know that another plane had hit and they thought we were being attacked. We all piled into our bosses small office with a TV, and watched news coverage. I could not even comprehend that anyone would do that on purpose.

Work continued, and with the radio on we heard about the towers collapsing, and the Pentagon and Shanksville. I remember if felt like the world was ending, and all I wanted to do was leave and go get my babies and go home.

Danny and I spent evenings and every lunch hour watching news coverage for about 2 weeks. As a mom I wondered just what kind of world I had brought my boys into. It was very quiet at my house, and I could feel something shifting. Within just a few weeks there was a navel recruiter sitting in my living room and a husband re-enlisting. Danny, a veteran, comes from a strong military family, and he was pissed.

My boys were young. Jacob kind of remembers the news coverage, but Tristen was only a year old. This year at school, they watched coverage of it in class, and it has really bothered Tristen. He is, in a way, just like we were the day it happened..asking hard questions, and wanting to know exactly what terrorists are and why would they be angry at America.

I will never forget that day or the days that followed. The flags, the tears, the uniforms... Earlier today a friend that I graduated with posted this in his reflections of that day:
We weren't Republican or Democrat, Texan, or Californian, white or black...we were AMERICANS. How quickly we forget, and yet remember all at the same time...

Labor Day

2011-09-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love those weekends when you get EVERYTHING done you wanted to? We kept pretty busy over this past weekend, but it was the good kind of busy. The weather was FABULOUS. In the 80's. It was even down in the 40's at night, which sent my boys scrambling to find their beloved hoodies. Danny and I though, don't think we will EVER complain about the crisp fall air after surviving this summer.

We put away a lot of good food.

We grilled hot dogs and bratswurst from our favorite local family farm. All beef! I loved the fact that I could pronounce everything on the label, and there was only 5 ingredients in the brats. They were DELICIOUS!

A new recipe for us, but one we will be having again: fried ice cream!

Seriously, I have NO idea WHY I just can't lose weight? Any ideas?

We've been watching our cows pretty close, knowing we were going to have to switch pastures very soon. We deceided this weekend that it was probably time, but needed to do a bit of fence repair first.

This guy can pretty much keep up with the big dogs now. And I wonder just how old some of those fence post are. They are amazingly tough. Like trying to hammer into concrete.

And this one...well, this one found ANY excuse he could to drive the pick up. Apparently, leaving your hammer 5 fence posts down means you must get in and drive down, and back to pick it up. Was I EVER this excited to drive? I can't remember.

While walking around the pasture, praying I didn't find any snakes, I found these. Everywhere. Grass...er..well, just about anything that is suppose to be green, is pretty much all dead and gone, but these cactus seems to be thriving all over the pastures.

And then we moved the cows. And I laughed. My brother had closed them in when he drove by and saw they were all in the lot getting a drink. All we had to do was open up 2 gates. Dan walked over to Rosie and said "Well, get going!" and pointed to the open gate. And off she went. And everyone else followed. We don't have cows. We have 1,000 lb dogs.

They seem pretty happy with the new scenery and greens to munch on. Evidently the trees taste much better on this side of the farm.

We also located a hay supply for the winter. That's been a huge cloud hanging over our heads. Our local suppliers are understandably hanging on to everything they have for their own use. It's amazing the number of semis we are passing on the high way right now, loaded up with hay.
I am very thankful our cows are just a hobby for us. Not how we make our living.

I also managed to get the house cleaned, did a bajillion loads of laundry, weeded..and perhaps mowed parts of... our garden.

This fall weather can stick around for a long long time!!

Hot and Lazy Weekend

2011-08-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our weekend included...

LAUNDRY

We are at that time of our where scenes like THIS

are pretty normal around the house come Thursday nights. And I try to pick all that up, run for the laundry room and dump it in the washer before the smell makes me sick. I can't believe I gave birth to these 2 stinky creatures.

We did a bit of bird watching. This lady (guy?) has made appearances all summer long. I read that Road Runners eat snakes. She can stay as long as she likes. That fact almost smooths over the murder of a Monarch I watched her commit earlier this week. Eek.

We tried out some new recipes. This one is a Dreamsicle drink I recently ran across. Jacob LOVES Dreamsicle ice cream, so I thought he would enjoy it. It's just orange juice with scoops of ice cream tossed in..or as Tristen said "a root beer float with orange juice." Anyway, it was pretty tasty!!

The boys ramped their bikes. Our neighbors have ramps setup their yard, and the neighborhood has turned into a bit of a bicycle gang. They ride for HOURS and I'd really like to know just how many miles they are putting it.

Bikes have been a hot topic around here most the summer. They have acquired lots of bikes and parts, have repaired a lot of them or used parts from here and there to make whole bikes.
I complain about the bike graveyard that has taken over our side yard, but I guess I shouldn't complain. There are many worse things they could be doing than riding and working on bikes.

Some of us found the BEST sunbeams and laid around and snoozed. ..Perhaps for most of the day. This is the closest Paris has been to sunlight in 9 years. The outdoors is a dirty and disgusting place, where the feet of the queen must not touch.

But this one says, HEY! You don't know what your MISSING!! If you hide in the Morning Glories, you can POUNCE on the first unsuspecting bare feet that walk by!

Hope you have a great week!!

A Garden Walk

2011-08-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you all for your kind words in my previous post. Dad is home and doing well at the moment! =)

We have been blessed with some lower temperatures the past 2 weeks or so, and it's been such a relief. I'm seeing a lot of improvement on my plants. However, it spiked back up again today. I will be sad when this "green season" is over, because it IS my favorite, but am ready to welcome fall. This summer has just been too hard. On plants. On humans. On animals.

Our "real" tomatoes are just now starting to take off, but we have been enjoying lots of cherry tomatoes. See those cool striped ones? They are called Red Lightening.Technically, they are suppose to be normal size tomatoes, but just haven't been able to get any size on them. And see the ones that look green? They are actually fully ripe. They are Italian Ice tomatoes. We are really enjoying them, and it's been a lot of fun growing some different varieties.

Now our tomato plants may not be producing a lot of fruit in the heat, but they have been growing! Check THIS out!!

Over 6 feet tall!!

All the plants have suddenly decided it's time to make some mators! YEA!

And I am VERY excited about the green peppers! This is the first time I've grown these, and they've pretty much just sat all summer. The temps lowers and suddenly they went to town! I've also got a bunch of itty bitty jalapenos coming along too. FINALLY!!! I just might get to make salsa after all!

And ok-ok this isn't from my garden, but I was really happy to see this cutie hanging around the front yard!!

Lots going on next month. September will show us back on the bunny show circuit after what feels like YEARS. We haven't shown since June. Well, we took bunnies to our county fair, but that doesn't really count. ;) Everyone is anxious to get back to it. The bunnies...well, the bunnies said they don't care what we do with them or where we take them, as long as the temperature stays around 80. Anything over that, they say, is for the chickens.

The darkest hour. .

2011-08-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

..is just before the dawn.

I tend to be a private person about some things. I have a few friends I'll spill all too, but certain subjects I prefer to skip right on over. This one is one of them, and I'm sure you've gathered it from my blog already but:

My dad is dying.

And the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of emotions. And blessings.

My family took him up the the Hospice House yesterday evening and were not real sure he was going to come back home. I watched him slip in and out of hallucinations, with fear building up in me that we were about to lose him, and at the same time, fear that this would NEVER stop. It's this jumbled mix of erratic thoughts and emotions when your watching someone you love lose a battle.

Not long after we had been there, the Chaplin came in to see him. He's known Dad for the 2 years he's been on the Hospice program and I was shocked at how much he had really talked and listened to him. I mean he LISTENED. He knew it all. He sat with us, talking to Dad while holding his hand the entire time.

During this time, I suddenly had this overwhelming feeling of peace and warmth come over me. The panic disappeared. I felt calm. I NEVER feel calm. And I knew that even if something happened, everything would be ok. I couldn't explain it. I just knew it. I remember the Chaplin turning to me and just smiling, almost like he had felt it too.
"Maybe someone is praying for me." "Maybe it's just the peace of this place." "Perhaps I really AM losing my mind." Whatever it was, it was much welcomed and I KNEW it was SOMETHING. SOMETHING was with us. SOMETHING was trying to tell me that it would all be OK.

Saturday Dad was doing much much better, and heading back to normal. I had asked him what he remembered.
"Almost all of it," he said. During this conversation, he kept turning around, and then laughed and said "I keep thinking there is someone back there."
"Maybe there is," I said, laughing with him.
He turned and looked me, with his beautiful sky blue eyes, and said, "There has been. My dad was here last night."

And I smiled and nodded my head.

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Routine and hectic schedules entered our life again today. I think we are ready though. Jacob's headed in this morning as an 8th grader, Tristen as a very nervous 6 grader. But he admits it IS nice having a bigger brother to help you out with questions.

Jacob is officially as tall as me. At a recent Dr's appointment he was 5'6. I'm 5'4 1/2. (That 1/2 is really important to me!) BUT--he had shoes on, so I'm still saying he's "as tall" as me. He's also wearing the same size shoe that his FATHER wears. EEK Even though I've had 13 years to get used to it, growth and development of my kids still amazes me even to this day!

Tristen has had a lot of anxiety about starting middle school, but thinks he will like it. The highlights are getting to take snacks for in between classes, (Food is a big deal to that boy right now!) and not having the same BORING teacher all day.

I'm hoping the rest of the year will go as smooth as it did this morning, but I'm not holding my breath. The excitment seems to wear off mid-way through the first week here at our house! =)

How?

2011-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

How can something so teeny...

..and tiny....

. ...make you hold your breath and squeal with delight...

...make you run and get your family...

..and thank God over and over for the amazing world we live in!
Take a moment to enjoy the "teeny" things around you! They are pretty amazing!

(Pictures were taken by Jacob, by the way! =) )

Black, Yellow, and Zebra Striped

2011-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

What's black, yellow, and zebra striped??

My sister's BEDROOM! =)

To make a long story short, her bedroom is right by the bathroom, where a few years ago was a leak under the house. The moisture from that leak caused damage to Michelle's floor. A couple of weeks ago, while moving a chair for her, Danny and my brother realized just how bad it had gotten and decided it was time to replace the floor. The ENTIRE FLOOR.

Anyway, while they had the sub floor down they mentioned it would be the perfect time to paint, so that's just what we did.

I took BEFORE pics, and then couldn't find them ANYWHERE. Later, Jacob got up enough nerve to tell me he thinks they were one his SD card he uses for his trail camera and he deleted them. Oh well.

The walls have had the same wallpaper the entire time I was growing up in that house, and I'm pretty sure it's been there at least since the 60's or 70's. So it had seen better days. But the wallpaper was still in good shape, just kinda worn and dirty, so we just sealed it all in with a oil based primer, and then we were able to paint over the primer with regular water based paint--DANDELION YELLOW-- with no worries about it causing the wall paper to lift.

The ceiling, trim, and doors are all painted in an oil based black primer. And let me tell you, that stuff is SLICK looking. It's MESSY, but VERY glossy!

To finish it off, a zebra print border...err....zebra print GRAY TAPE was added for a border. Who knew they made such thing!!

The guys finished laying the new floor today, added a new black ceiling fan, replaced light switch covers and outlet covers with new BLACK ones, and gave her a brand new black shelf.

I was a bit taken back by her color choices, but just walking in there makes me smile now. Because it IS very cool, and looks JUST like someplace my sister belongs.

The Year That Wasn't

2011-08-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

This was the year that my flower beds would finally look like they do in my head when I picture them. You know. Perfectly "groomed", not overtaken by weeds.

Obviously I was wrong and this was NOT the year. As of right now, the weeds have taken over everything because I'm a baby and refuse to weed when it's 108 outside. As of right now I've lost both Shasta Daisy's and 2 Gaillardia plants. Two others are just barely hanging on. I keep hoping that maybe they are not dead, just dormant, going to the happy place plants go to during the winter, but just heading there earlier this year to escape the scorching heat.

Or perhaps I am in denial and they are dead. Could be. I am so incredibly frustrated this year and at this moment have been daydreaming about pulling everything up and laying a bunch of decorative rock in it's place.

Who needs green anyway?

Boot Hill

2011-07-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

We got up early this morning, ON A SATURDAY, and headed to Dodge City. A visit to Boot Hill has been on our summer to do list and, well, our summer is almost over. Danny has lived here for over 20 years and had never visited and I hadn't been for about that long. We..Danny and I ...have a fascination with the "old days" so we were really looking forward to this!

The boys thought the jail had a "creepy" feel to it.

Taken from the Boot Hill website:
Boot Hill Museum was built on the original location of the infamous Boot Hill Cemetery. From 1872 to 1878 Dodge City had no established cemetery of its own. It became known as Boot Hill due to the fact that most of the people buried here still had boots on their feet.
Most of the bodies were believed to have been moved during Dodge City’s early expansion. There is a large corner, left undisturbed, where you are able to walk among the markers that tell the stories of the many souls who were buried on top of the hill. The cemetery only existed as a burial ground for about six years; it was a lookout point, used to view the river’s lowlands, a place to observe wild game and buffalo and to detect one’s enemies.


My guys REALLY enjoyed the different guns they had on exhibit		.

And we had the BEST time in the Longbranch Saloon where we "bellied up to the bar" and drank some ice cold Sarsaparillas.


See that beautiful bar behind Tristen? It was made out of cherry wood in 1881.


This man playing the piano was adorable and could play the piano like no one I've ever seen!

This was taken from the Hardesty House. I didn't take a lot of pictures in here, but I was memorized by the stairs. They were stunning! You can no longer go up to the second floor. The house was built in 1879 and the information says when it was built it was not built so to handle the 90,000+ visitors the home gets per year and there had been some structural damage to it. Later when I researched a little about the house, I found many stories on the internet about this house being haunted. I'm glad I found this out AFTER we had visited.

This exhibit was of old barb wire. You wouldn't think that would be very interesting, but some of these were amazing works of art.

I loved all the old brands. Somewhere in there is a cute little heart one.

There were many other exhibits I was unable to get pictures of due to the lighting. A bank, a medical exhibit, clothing store, blacksmith, printing press, and a mortuary. Some of the caskets had glass windows in them. And of course, we had to see the train that sits out by the parking lot.

It was a great and fun morning! We really enjoyed our visit. Sometimes I think it would be amazing to go back to live in such a simpler time, but yet realize how lucky I am to live in this day and age!

Marvelous Mozzarella

2011-07-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what THIS stuff can make??

HOMEMADE Mozzarella cheese!!!

Well, my cheese loving husband made it, really. I just took pictures and annoyed him more than anything.

I learned a lot today through this process. I had never even heard of Rennet before. I made the mistake of HAVING to know exactly what it was and Googled it. Basically, its an enzyme that comes from the lining of the stomach of a young calf, lamb, or goat. It causes the milk to form (curd), and allows the liquids to separate and run off as whey. I just wonder HOW they figured this process out.


Getting it to JUST the right temp


If you look close, its just starting to form


Doesn't look very tasty yet, does it?


Starting to look like cheese!!

After much kneading and stirring, it turns into....

THIS!!!!

Danny is happy with it, but says he will most defiantly be cutting the salt in half in the next batch. And we discovered that cheese is most wonderfully delicious when it's still warm.

Amazing what you can do with a gallon of milk--which is on sale this week, by the way! =)

Tristen County Fair 2011

2011-07-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Tristen also had a wonderful fair! The most exciting for him was his foods, rabbits, and his showing his calf.

After all attempts and re-attempts on his Apple Bundt cake for his food entry, I got a call from the school on judging day from Tristen. He had won Champion Level 1 foods. Therefore, he had to make it again so he could auction it off at the champion foods auction, which is a BIG deal. On the last baking of the cake, he discovered he has the ENTIRE recipe memorized! HA!

Tristen and Black Out got a blue ribbon for the bucket calf project. He learned so much, as did his parents. He learned how to clip and also learned a bit about weight gain when it was announced that Black Out had gained 120lbs since the spring livestock show, putting on 17lbs a week for 7 weeks.(Going from 180lbs to 300lbs) Isn't that amazing? (And no WONDER I can no longer push her along when she's being stubborn!) He will be bringing her back next year I think as a breeding heifer, and the family that sold her to Tristen said they would AI her for him in the spring when they do their heifers, so if all goes well he can bring her back the year after THAT as a cow/calf pair.

I love these pictures. To me this is WHAT 4-H is REALLY about. Miss S was very patient and took the time to really explain things and help with whatever we didn't understand. She showed T how to do it, and then let HIM do the clipping, while standing over watchfully. I was very grateful to her!

He had a hard time deciding what he wanted to make for his woodworking project until I stumbled across plans on the net for a gumball machine. He thought he REALLY needed one in his room. It was a fun project for him and something you don't see everyday. He ended up getting a blue on it, brought it home and immediately filled it up with gumballs.

He also did Horticulture for the first time this year, and really enjoyed it. He took 2 different kinds of potatoes, and they each got a blue ribbon. Next year, he has plans for his own little spot in the garden. And we will plan better next year too. He grew some of his very own veggies this year, but they were more cooler weather crops, like peas. Needless to say they were done and burnt up way before the fair.

There was also a friendly competition between Jacob and Tristen on who was going to win the rabbit award. Jacob has some very nice Jr's right now, but Tristen had also just purchased a nice trio of Dutch. In the end, it was Tristen who got the champion ribbon with his black jr Dutch, Oreo.

Tristen also did rabbit showmanship for the 1st time EVER at the fair. This has been a 3 year nag session, hoping that he'd give in and do it and just conquer it. He did it, and not only did he do GREAT, he only got beat by Jacob by 10 points. Really hoping he will continue, but I only asked that he just try it once, and that he did!

It was a great fair, and though I love the fair, I am VERY happy we have a year now to recover from this one!

Jacob County Fair 2011

2011-07-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jacob had a great fair. His favorite projects this year were his rabbits and woodworking.

He took 8 rabbits. Our fair board bought brand new cages last year for the poultry and rabbits and we didn't want them to just sit empty, so they decided that they would take whatever they wanted comments on or to qualify for state fair.

He got Reserve Champ, with a black jr doe Havana named AJ. He got 6 blues, 1 red due to a hollow back end on a Californian, and a white ribbon on a little black Havana buck who has both testicles, one just hasn't descended yet.
He went head to head with his brother doing rabbit showmanship. Jacob ended up being the champion with 10 points ahead. He got a really nice duffel bag at the awards presentation.

In woodworking, he made a gun rack out of cherry. He got Grand Champion on it, and gets to take it to the state fair.

In cooking, he made Snickerdoodles and Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies, and received state fair blues on both.

I was thrilled with his growth in photography this year. I saw him taking pictures of things that you normally wouldn't stop and say "I'd like a picture of that," just to see what the result would be.

This is one of his favorites, and it got a state fair blue.

Another one of his favorites and it also got a blue.

He shot this one at one of Michelle's basketball games. It got a red.

"Sandy the Squirrel" got a blue.

Also blue

And this one got a red.

Both the boys also did information display boards. Jacob did 2 and both got reds, but I think the only reason they did was because they had come home to eat lunch, thinking the judging was going to break for lunch.. The judge that was there was really big on talking with the kids. There was nothing but good comments written on the comment cards.

Overall it was a great fair! I think Jacob's going to change things up a bit and join a new project or two next year. One he was talking about was "wildlife." Shocking, I know. ;)

Lessons Learned From The Fair 2011

2011-07-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

The fair is officially over.

Lessons learned:

1. Rabbits will need to leave the fair early when the temps are 108 degrees.

2. Cattle require lots of grooming.

3. Cattle poop. A lot. On each other at times.

4. See number 2.

5. Bundt cakes are evil.

6. Eating hot dogs for lunch, walking tacos for dinner and not nearly enough water drank, will result in a leg and foot that resemble a telephone pole. Yea..just one leg. I'm just cool like that.

7 Not eating dinner due to nerves from the approaching beef show, and then drinking multiple sodas at the community carnival and running around at top speed will end with vomit by/on your dads pickup. Tristen is pretty sure his coolness factor went up becuase all his friends saw him barf.

8. The fair is exhausting.

I'm not really sure why but this fair kicked our butts. Hard. I'm sure a lot of it was the heat. And added stress of having an animal in the beef barn for the first time ever. Not really knowing how things work or what to do is draining.

We also had a lot of extra worry about our bunnies and ended up taking all of our bunnies home the day after they got there. I'm pretty sure we would have a lost a few of them had we not. The judge that came to judge the poultry and the rabbits said most of the fairs around were on an "emergency order" due to the heat where the animals came to be judged and then went back home.

And, because I love it when people keep it real, and because I'm feeling very brave today, let me show you what a picture of a 4-H family kitchen looks like after the fair. I'd like to tell you this is from a week, but honestly, its from Friday thru Sunday.

My boys had a great fair, and I'll work on posting their results soon!

FAIR TIME

2011-07-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

It's FAIR TIME!! Entries are being judged as we speak. This poem was just posted on Facebook and I though it was too perfect and wanted to share!

FAIR TIME

Tis the night before judging, and all through the house
the 4-Hers are scrambling– you can hear groans and shouts.
“My pie has run over!!”... “This paint doesn’t match!!”...
“Where did I put all those screws to that latch??!!”
The mothers are frantic–there are very few smiles.
“I’ll quick run to town– it’s just 30 miles!!”
The sink’s full of dishes to be washed in a hurry
for child #2 with a face full of worry.
“Where on earth did I put that chocolate cake mix??
Ah,,, yes, here it is.” (That makes attempt #6!)
Now in the meantime the sewing machine quit;
the heifer’s gone wild and the steer has a limp!
Just when you think that it’s way too much strife,
remember the lessons this might teach them for life.
Maybe they’ll learn to plan farther ahead.
Maybe there’ll work on their projects instead.
Perhaps they’ll believe that “It’s just one opinion”.
They’ll make the best better and they’ll just keep on trying.
Despite all the stresses and yes, dirty looks,
remember – this part is easy.
THERE’S STILL RECORD BOOKS !!!

The Cursed Bundt Cake

2011-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

About a month or so ago, Tristen was looking through cookbooks and scouring the internet, on the hunt for the PERFECT something-something to enter in the fair for his foods project. He found an Apple Bundt cake that sounded pretty tasty, so it was put in the "to do" pile.

Our county does something called a food fair, where the kids bring what they are planning on bringing the fair, and a local lady "judges" it for them, giving them tips and suggestions.

The night before the food fair, Tristen makes his cake, turns is over......and the entire "top" is stuck to the bottom of the pan. We piece it together and he takes it anyway. The judge had some great suggestions for him, and was very helpful, but it was apparent that this would take a bit of experimenting with before fair time.
And I'm very thankful we made this cake before the fair...sometimes we don't and just wing it. Lesson learned.

This cake has been make *4* times the past 2 weeks. The very sight of this cake now makes my stomach hurt.
We have tried:
Cooking spray--epic FAIL
Coated with butter--again, fail
Coated with Crisco--much better but still stuck quite a bit

BUT--today--TODAY 99% of the cake came OUT of the pan!! We used a different pan today, coated with butter flavored Crisco and flour.

Yes, I know it may be a bit TOO done, but forgot to take time "off" for the dark pan, and we let it cook the entire time. BUT IT CAME OUT OF THE PAN!!! The crust is not "hard" at all, just brown, and the cake is just right. AND IT CAME OUT OF THE PAN! Next time Tristen is going to keep the apples more close to the center. You can see the various dark spots where the apples come out and cook on the pan, making areas more brown. That's also what happened to the area that stuck the most. BUT IT CAME OUT OF THE PAN!!

So while you are looking over those yummy and delicious cakes, cookies, pies, and breads that will be at the high school later on this week that those cute 4-H kids made, be sure to think about all the parents that cleaned up messes, and taste tested, and googled "how to get a bundt cake out of the pan." =)

Anyone want a piece of Apple Bundt Cake?? Blah.

Our 4th of July Weekend

2011-07-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't exciting, but it was nice. Since it's so dry in our county, there was a ban on all fireworks. My boys were B.U.M.M.E.D OUT. Overall, though, t was just a nice relaxing weekend. Danny BBQ-ed some pretty tasty brisket, using wood from our Mulberry tree to smoke it with.
Our county fair is next week, and the men used the evening to work/start on several fair projects. It seems to have snuck up on us AGAIN this year.

I'm not sure if there really is more wildlife this year, or if I am just paying more attention, but we've had several exciting sightings here the past week.
It's kind of hard to ignore things when you have a wild life nut around like Jacob.

This little fawn has been all over our neighborhood. He was even napping in the neighbors yard yesterday evening. I was a bit worried that he had lost his mom, as several times he has seemed frantic, but as relaxed as he was yesterday I think Mom must be around. Perhaps...

...in my garden? This little lady I caught out of my kitchen window yesterday, just as the sun was coming up. She made me stop and quietly watch her, while she soundlessly made her way snooping through things. THIS doe, unlike the ones at the farm, looks like she's getting PLENTY to eat. ;)

And we've had loads of fun watching this little girl. You can see the sprinkler going right beside her, but she couldn't have cared less. It's all good when you have a built in umbrella. There are 3 squirrels that stay in our yard. One's a boy, one is a girl...not too sure about the other one, but Jacob can pretty much tell them apart just by looking at them.

My family has gotten really good about coming and getting me when there's a new bird in the yard. I THINK this one is called a Common Flicker. I had never seen one before, whatever it is. I'm getting a little better in identifying things a bit quicker. The bird action has picked up a LOT this season. I noticed we have a handful of Orioles that are still making an appearance at least once a day.

Pay attention to the world around you! You'll just never know what you might see!

Devastation

2011-07-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

This season has been awful. Lack of rain with extra hot temperatures with plague like grasshopper populations have meant loss and heart ache all around.

I am thankful we only have our little tiny wanna be cow herd. Because we only have to try to feed a handful of animals instead hundreds, though I do think we are getting low on grass for them to eat. We know people who have sold off cattle because there is just no grass left and others have moved them many miles to borrowed pastures with grass. We've already talked about coming up with a plan to feed the cows this winter, trying to locate bales already. I'm worried we won't be able to find them or afford them later on. People haven't been able to grow crops and the ones that HAVE been able to grow anything, have had it destroyed by hoppers.

Another problem is what this has done to our wildlife. I honestly hadn't even thought about it, until I saw a very sad looking starving doe eating an attractant Jacob set out in front of his camera. They are running out of food too.

Jacob may very well soon be their heroes--he took corn and apples out with him this morning. Hopefully the ones around will come in and at least get a snack. We've also talked about about filling up a stock tank in another pasture for water. It has no cattle in it, but close to the trees where I'm sure they, and lots of other wildlife, would come in to drink. It's heartbreaking to think about anything not having enough food and water.

Pray for rain and relief!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

To this guy!! The guy who was half responsible for bringing me into this world, who taught me to love my roots, that's it's ok to have ice cream sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies for dinner sometimes.The guy that accidentally kicked me off the bed the day they brought newborn me home from the hospital. The guy that never let me fail and told me to "pull up my bootstraps" and to "keep plugging away" more times that I'll ever be able to count. The guy whose body gave out, long before it should have, but failure still wasn't an option so he put his mind to work when his body just couldn't any more. The guy that looked very handsome in his police uniform, and even more so in the tux on my wedding day. The guy that become "pa-pa" and drove around bumpy pastures just to satisfy a 2 year olds request to "see the cows" and watched baby boys with earaches and croup so their mommy could go to work. The guy who let a family live a dream. The guy I watched pull start a rototiller and till his garden 4 days after open heart surgery. The guy whose candy jar is NEVER empty. The guy we laugh with over things that really are not that funny, but it's how we cope. The guy who never ever gives up.

And to THIS guy:

The guy that asked and I said yes. The guy who was in denial when the 2nd line appeared on the stick. The guy who got in trouble by the nurses in the hospital when he wouldn't put our newborn down. The guy who teaches things girls just don't understand, and does jobs that girls just won't do. The guy that eats and eats, but never outgrows his jeans. The guy that repeatedly tries to teach me football. The guy that walked into my family and sat down and made himself cozy and never left. The guy that stayed up the entire night with my father in the hospital, telling my exhausted mom and I to go home and sleep. The guy that gets better as he gets older and teases me about my gray hair. The guy who is my best friend, and who gave me 2 amazing boys.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Tristen Goes DUTCH

2011-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago, Tristen came to me and said "I don't think I want to do rabbits anymore." That's a BIG deal at our house! But a combination of some severe bad luck mixed with some bad mommas and peanuts, had him ready to throw in the Mini Rex towel. That guy tried for *2* years to get his program going, with NO LUCK. He's watched his dad and brother take off running, while he stayed stuck in the mud. I didn't blame him a bit. He gave all of his Mini Rex to his dad.
A few days later:
"Well, I think still want to do rabbits. Maybe Dutch. I'm really interested in them."

Lo'and behold, later that night on Facebook, a Dutch breeder and judge we know was advertising she had a jr buck would be a great 4-H project. Hmmmm.

I contacted her and made arrangements to pick him at the Wichita show. The day before we were to leave he showed me a picture of a blue Dutch. "I'll start with Blacks, but I'd really like have a blue someday."

So we go and meet Briony at the show. She shows us the little buck, who we all instantly love, and then...then pulls out this beautiful baby BLUE doe to show us. How funny is that? We came home with both of them. He also bought another baby black doe from breeder Bob Bergene. He's got nice little trio now to work with, and has a blue sooner than he thought he would.

Meet Oreo, Storm, and Twilight

He got to show the little black buck at the Wichita show, and won Best Opposite Sex with him.
He can't wait for them to grow up. Next year's show season should involve a lot of Jr Dutch!


Though the human is beaming, the rabbits find the paparazzi boring. ;)

Let's SHOW some BUNS!

2011-06-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the show we had been looking forward to for months. It's one of our favorite shows at Wichita. It's a double show, one put on by the Sunflower club, the other put on for the KSRBA Scholarship fund. And there are specialty shows the night before, so you can potentially show 3 times.

I guess I should probably mention I woke up Friday, the day we left, with a scratchy throat. Just annoying. Nothing bad. A while later it was a full blown sore throat. By noon, as I was stumbling through the hunting section at Wal-mart with Jacob and I was having to pump myself up to even swallow my spit, I realized I was very sick. Like "I want my Mommy" sick. So I got Jacob out to the car, drove to the motel, checked in, crashed in bed, and called my momma, who promptly took control and made things better by calling my Dr and sending a bag full of meds up with Danny just as he was packing up to head up our way. Sometimes only a mom will do.
BLAH. I was so annoyed that I was SICK on our big weekend get away.

Anyway, Friday evening Jacob showed in the Prairie Winds Havana Specialty show where he got Best Black with his Jr buck, Rufus. It was nice for him to hear lots of good comments about his Jr's--they just needed to grow up a bit, but I think he's defiantly on the right track.

Saturday at the Sunflower show, we anxiously waited for ALL the Havana's to be judged. Havana numbers have really grown. It felt like there was 1000 of them, and I lost track of what belonged to who and what and where Jacob's were. In the end, while we were holding our breath, Jacob's Jr doe, Pink, was awarded the Best of Breed prize, with the Best Opposite going to his friend Madelynn. Pink also got looked at twice and long and hard during the selection for Best In Show at the end of the day, but no such luck this time!

Jacob, BOB with Pink, Madelynn, BOS with her blue buck, with Judge Eric Mixdorf from Iowa.

Later in the scholarship show, Jacob's friend Tyler took the Best of Breed with a broken, and Jacob's Jr chocolate doe got Best Opposite.

Jacob, BOS with a jr chocolate, Tyler, BOB with his broken buck, with Judge Vic Vogts.

Jacob's haul, minus a really cool BOB ribbon that was buried in his moms purse. Jacob graciously shared ONE of the boxes of candy with his family. The other boxes are hidden and probably under lock and key.

I was thrilled to witness a wonderful camaraderie with the youth Havna breeders. Jacob, Tyler, and Madelynn were never far from each other, going over each others rabbits, asking questions, giving advice, asking advice. Jacob had hauled a few rabbits to the show for Tyler to look at to buy, and he ended up buying 2. Later, Jacob and Madelynn traded stock, because each of them had something the other wanted and needed for their programs. I love it that they are turning to EACH OTHER and not just the adult breeders, for support.

You can also tell exactly when and where the Havana breeders are at a show..youth AND adults. They cheer VERY LOUDLY and give candy for the rabbits first off the table. (last place) It's just another way to have fun and show support. =)

(I have news on Tristen, but I think he deserves a post all of his own, so stay tuned!)

Houston, We Have TATORS!

2011-06-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

Danny and I were tinkering around the garden this evening, just chit chatting. He was checking out the potato plants, I was cussing the grasshoppers.

"Guess what?" he asked.
"What?"
"I'm going inside and gonna have me a baked potato for dinner."

And then he whipped this out.

He had just stuck his finger into the top of the dirt and popped it out. It's a Purple Viking. It's the first time we've planted this variety. He just brought me a bite and oh mylanta--it's heavenly.

Hopefully there are many many MANY more out there!!!

Bunny Love

2011-06-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

In bunny news we've had a very successful breeding season. We have never bred this many does before, nor had this many litters. It's nice to be able to be really picky about the stock we keep, and Jacob's getting really good at picking those out. We've also had some really strange things happen this season. We've had 2 black babies born with incorrect eye color.(BLUE! They are BEAUTIFUL regardless!!) And we also had a first time mom get a little obsessive about cleaning and chewed off part of her babies ear. (It's hard to get upset at them for "loving" their babies so much. Some of them are just a bit OCD about it.) So while this boy can't be shown, he can stick around for breeding stock. We've named him Crack, because as his ear grows, the "crack" in it gets deeper. He's a bit homely looking, but is very sweet. And it's never hard to pick him out from his litter mates! It was actually just tiny little "notch" when he was little, but as his ear has grown, so has the crack.

It's the first of June and we have already lost 2 juniors to the heat. It may be a very long summer. Both these were from a Californian litter. Rabbits are very intolerant to heat and will check out pretty fast.

Danny braved the high winds over Memorial weekend and shimmied up the tree to get on the roof to install a soaker hose on the bunny barn roof. We had plans to re-roof in white tin, but that just didn't happen. Water on a metal roof will drop the temperature down quite a bit. Last year we used a sprinkler on one side and it knocked it down 5-8 degrees. We are hoping with it running down both sides it will help even more. We normally use frozen water bottles in their cages, but seeing as how our freezers are full of FOOD, and we don't really have the room to freeze the number we need, we will only be doing that for the buns OUTSIDE of the barn. Summer time with rabbits is a yucky time.

Jacob stood guard, promising he'd come get me if he thought an ambulance was needed. He also attached different tools with rope and Danny would hoist them up. Sometimes--SOMETIMES boys are smart! ;)

Gotta keep one hand on the hat at all times.

This probably should have waited until a different day, but he got it up and it works like a charm. I'm sure we will be trying it for real sooner than we'd like.

We've got a big show coming up in just a bit over a week!! It feels like it's been FOREVER since we've been able to show. Jacob's got a lot of youngsters to get on the table and some of them are looking pretty nice. It will be nice to catch up with our rabbit friends as well!

Barn Swallow Baby Love

2011-05-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness look what is in the barn at the farm!!

There are probably 8 Barn Swallow nests the barn, and I've been telling the boys they should be hatching soon. A few days ago while I was waiting for Tristen to get done feeding the calf, I just happened to look up and see a little sweet and UGLY face looking down at me.
I counted 4 of them. They are adorable. Every time the flash would flash, they would all stretch out their necks and open their mouths wiiiiidddde open. You can't see it in the picture, but they all have this hilarious white fuzzy mohawk on the top of their heads.

I was worried about them with the high wind we've had over the past days. Afraid I'd go check on them and find the nest blown down, but they were just fine this evening. I'd like to know exactly what they use to make their nests, to be able to withstand some of the winds we have. I also found it interesting the parents pick up horse hair and even other feathers to build with.

One summer when I was about 10 or so, we had one build a nest right above our front door. It was so amazing to watch the parents build the nest, lay the eggs, see them hatch, and then grow up and leave. I'll never forget it...nor the amount of bird crap that was on our porch that summer!

Sweet Sweet SUMMER!!

2011-05-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this post for four days now! Hopefully now that things have started slowing down I'll be able to keep up with my blog a bit more!!

Wednesday was the boys last day of school for the year. Life has been super busy lately, and I have been feeling as though I just can not keep up anymore. The break is much welcomed!

Every year since the beginning of time, our school has a "Play Day." It's pretty much a mini track meet. This year it got rained out right as the running events were starting, so summer got a little extra head start.
It was my very last Play Day EVER. Both of my kids will be in Jr High next year. Weird..

Tristen is doing the softball throw here. He got 1st in it and also in the football throw.

I was afraid we'd be making a trip to the chiropractor after this event!

And this is about as good as the pictures of my oldest get right now. I WILL get him over this anti picture phase. Anyway, the older kids do not participate, but they help out with events.

In garden and yard news, things are doing well. The lack of rain has been apparent in the size of our water bill. The garden is totally newspapered and mulched in now, and things are really taking off. Danny's magic potato spot is working it's magic and the plants are getting tall and blooming. All but 5 that he planted came up. He wasn't going to let me take this picture until I told him I was just going to use his leg to show how tall his plants were. Seriously, what IS the deal with men and pictures? Ugh.

I planted beets for the first time this year. I'm the only one in my family that likes them, and I plan to pickle them and enjoy them all winter. I also think I will do another crop of them early this fall. They are very satisfying to grow! I thinned them out AGAIN today and found some little baby beets!

Tristen is growing peas and cabbage. Both are doing great! Hoping the grasshoppers stay away. Last year all he had left was the outline of the leaves or "the bones" as he said.

And I found some little baby tomatoes this morning while we were out checking things. There are lots of blooms on the other plants and the pepper plants as well.

The lavender is just starting to bloom. I have a new recipe for jelly I'm anxious to try this year that calls for dried lavender and champagne. YUM!

I call these my flowers from God. I had a pot of these over by our bunny barn last year and they had self seeded and ended up growing in my flower bed. Well, they came BACK AGAIN this year, only bigger and better. They are staying. I'm find comfort in them. It's a good reminder that sometimes we just do not understand things, or the way life is, but God is in control and has a plan. It's our job to sit back and let things bloom.

The water plants are taking off and the fish have caught on that when the human looks in, she usually has food.
Anna, the kitty, really enjoys it. She thinks it's a giant bowl of water filled up, just for her. So far she hasn't paid too much attention to the fish.

The bird sightings at the water fountain have picked up! There is always someone out there getting a drink or taking a bath. We have a family of squirrels who have even gotten brave enough to come up for a drink.
I've also been tickled to have 2 different kinds of hummingbirds here this year. One I haven't been able to get a good look at. Just as I see he's at the feeder, he flies away. I'm happy to be their "Quick Trip" for a snack on their journey and hope they tell their friends about our full service station!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!! We are going to enjoy a full 3 days of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Spring Livestock Show 2011

2011-05-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the day Tristen had been waiting for since LAST fair season. He showed his VERY OWN bucket calf.

First there's a lot of scrubbing, soaping, scrubbing--Jacob snapped a great picture of me and T while we were picking poop balls off her bum. Glamorous it is NOT!

A high school 4-Her who shows cattle took pity on us and took Tristen under her wing. She showed him exactly how to dry her and also took the time to clip her in the areas needed, and over all just showed him how to primp her all up. I was very grateful to her!! (T had went to a clinic on this recently, but it was a massive amount of information thrown at him at one time. He remembered some of it though.)

Here she is all dolled up and ready to go. She had strict instructions at this point not to poop, pee or lay down. She didn't listen.

Nerves suddenly hit. Tristen was very worried he wouldn't know what to do or where to go, so he took a little time out and sat with us in the stands, watching the lamb show. This gave him a better idea of how they were lining up and what the judge would ask him to do.

And then it was show time!

I wanted to be a little bird out there !!

Tristen is talking and Black Out is behaving....SUCCESS!!!!

There were 3 exhibitors and the other 2 (who were both from out of town) took the top prizes, but he did get to come home with a brand new rope halter.

I am super proud of him. Those that are involved in our life know the struggles Tristen has had with confidence and shyness, so it was a HUUUUGGGGE step that he even wanted to do this, knowing that he would parade out in front of everyone, and have to speak to a judge.

I also learned that not only do I love fairs and rabbit shows, I also love regular livestock shows as well. I don't know why. I am NOT a competitive person and it's not really about the competition so much as it is the excitement and anticipation, the primping and grooming, the smells, the socialization...it's so much fun!

Except the poop ball thing..that was kinda gross. At fair time, Danny's helping with the washing. ;)

Mother's Day

2011-05-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

I spent Mother's Day sweating my behind off and I'm not sure my leg muscles will ever stop hurting!

Early that morning, while it was cool, we got 90% of the garden newspapers and mulched in with straw. We still haven't gotten that last little bit done, but plan to later this week or this weekend. That job stinks and is the very very worse thing about having a garden I swear. BUT--it sure beats weeding!

After that we headed to the farm. Jacob mowed and helped Eric move some branches, and Tristen helped Kim mow. Danny worked on a section of the lot fence so we can kick Black Out into a bigger area. There's lots of grass out there for her to graze on so she should be thrilled.

Tristen also walked Black Out a little extra, and gave her a bath. He's got the spring show in 2 weeks, and really needed to start getting her used to the process of looking pretty. We were both worried she's freak out. However, as soon as that water hit her and the shock of it passed, that little cow was in bovine heaven. She loved it!! And Tristen loved GIVING it to her! They are just best buddies. ;)

While everyone was busy with their projects at the farm, it gave me a chance to break out the "old school" camera. I got the film sent off yesterday. I'm really hoping the pictures come out as nice as they looked through the viewfinder. And I can't TELL YOU how many times I would take a picture and then look at the back of the camera to "see" my picture like on the digitals. HAHA

Look what I found at a trip the local greenhouse! Happy Mother's Day to ME!! This is called a 'FanFare' Gaillardia. I have 3 that will be here any day now, but these are big and already had blooms on them, so I hauled two of them home! I've been trying to get one of these for 2 years and I will have plenty now!!

I love how each little petal is like it's own little flower.

And just for the smile factor, check out how Tristen dressed to feed Black Out Sunday evening. ;)

He loves these boots SO much!

By the way, I really really DO love my oldest child, and would have lots of pictures of him too, but he seems to be going through a "mom is so annoying with all of her silly pictures and I just refuse to cooperate anymore" phase.

I would have NO idea why.

Looks like we are in for some weather today! Pray for rain and that the severe stuff stays away!

My Water Garden

2011-05-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Melanie has an amazing pond at her house and I've really enjoyed watching the process and hearing about it. I knew I was not, nor probably never will be, ready for anything like that, but I am still fascinated and in awe when I see it.

She brought me a magazine recently, with lots of DYI projects. One of them was the new water feature in our yard, but I also saw several water container gardens.

Oh how I wish I could do something like that. *sigh* Wait a minute. Why CAN'T I???

I found the perfect bucket--free!!-a container that our feed and seeds gets mineral blocks in. Added some pea gravel, filled that puppy up with water, and was on the hunt for some water plants.

I really had NO idea what I was looking for, and had only planned on getting 2. I came home with 5. (Yes, I am fully aware I may have some impulse control problems...especially when it comes to plants.) Anyway, my haul included some variegated Sweet Flag, Water Pennywort, a Chinese Hardy Orchid, Southern Blue Flag Iris, and some Golden Creeping Jenny.

I had a moment of panic when I got them home, because honestly, I have NO idea what I'm doing. I pretty much re-potted them in bigger pots just the way the nursery had them potted and set them in. They look pretty right now at least. Crossing fingers I don't kill them!

And there are 2 goldfish and 1 Goth-fish in there as well, to add a bit of excitement to my front porch. The Goth-Fish is really just a fancy tailed goldfish, but that's what I call her, as she is all orange except for her lips. They are black. ;-)

It's been so much fun and I'm very much enjoying my little wanna be pond in a bucket!!

It's MAY!

2011-05-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hooray for MAY!! It means so many things!! It means its almost summer. It means dragging my grouchy dragons out of bed and getting up at the butt crack of dawn is just ALMOST over!! It means flowers and gardens and ...well, I just love this time of year!!

Jacob's track season will finish up this week. He has really enjoyed it, and I KNOW a lot of it has to do with the great coaches the team had this year!!

He's ready for summertime! He's trying to find another mowing job or two to add to the one regular one he has and already has several camps he's wanting to attend, so I think his summer will be pretty busy.
Jacob's got some really nice Havanas and has a waiting list right now of people waiting to buy some. He wants to show each litter a few times before he decides on what to keep/sale. He did have something really strange pop up in a recent litter. Black and Chocolate Havanas have to have brown eyes to be shown, and Blues have to have blue/gray eyes. He's got a sweet little BLACK buck who has the most beautiful BLUE eyes! So, he can't ever be shown, but already has a good pet home to go to when he's weaned. Genetics can be a strange at times!

Tristen has been staying busy with Black Out. They are two peas in a pod. That calf just loves that boy and seriously just tolerates everyone else. She has a strong dislike for Danny--even kicked at him a couple of days ago. Danny had to give her a shot recently, and I think she's holding a serious grudge against him. She likes me. But I think it's only because I usually walk along with her and Tristen in the evenings, and she associates me with him. And she doesn't really care for Jacob either, though she tolerates him better than Danny. =P

Anyway, Tristen walks her every night for about half an hour and she's finally walking pretty well for him. We keep telling him all of it will pay off come spring show/fair time. It's been a great lesson for him. The worlds most stubborn boy has now met worlds most stubborn heifer. I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for, but it's been a hoot to watch at times. Neither one of them is good at giving in, so quite a few battles have occurred.
The boy FINALLY got his cowboy boots.

2 weeks worth of drama those boots were!! Long story short--after scouring Dodge and ordering off the internet, only to have the boots discontinued and our order canceled, they had to be special ordered. They HAD to be BLUE topped brown boots with A SQUARE TOE. Who says it's girls who are picky?? Anyway, they already have scratched and scuffs, and Tristen couldn't be happier!!

Pray for rain and have a great MONDAY!!

Old School

2011-04-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've known this little baby was in our house. I've moved it from place to place to place many times over the years, but never really thought much about WHAT it was. My husband bought it when he was in the Navy,to photograph all his travels, and barely used it. And I don't think I've EVER seen it in action since we've been together.

Jake was snooping around the basement and found it. So we bought new batteries for it, and are going to get some film.

I think Jacob and I are about to have lots of fun!!

It's hilarious. My kids think this thing is such an antique and can't begin to figure out film and winders and how it is "sooooo weird" not being able to see what you caught until after you get your film developed. PUHAHA!

I've been having a great time playing with the zoom lens and REALLY need to read the manual. (Though I'm not sure I really will understand it.)

Hope you can still get film and get it developed around here!!!

Today We Celebrate

2011-04-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Happy 11th Birthday to Tristen!! Wow! 11 years ago I was thinking I would be pregnant FOREVER!! It was a long day, filled with anxious tears, excitement, and a couple of reassuring leg pats from Dr. Cannata.

He came into the world bruised, scratched, and screaming. Not much has changed--he's usually still bruised and scratched and still screams a lot. ;)

Lizards are very cool in his life right now, so that's what he requested on his cake. He's been wanting some cowboy boots, and we went to Dodge yesterday, but didn't get them. Evidently, Tristen is in a "weird" shoe stage in life, where they don't keep sizes that big in the children's section, and they don't keep sizes that small in the men's section. So we figured out what size he needed, and came home and ordered them from the internet. ranchoutlet.com saved the day!!

My parents, sister, brother, sister in law and Hope come over for Easter/Birthday lunch. It's a tradition at our house that the birthday person gets to pick a birthday meal. So, we had grilled hamburgers and birthday cake for Easter today!

Grandpa with his grandkids!!

I can NOT believe he's 11.

Baby Update

2011-04-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Remember the doe we were waiting on to kindle? The one that looked miserable? *11* babies were born mid-morning yesterday! BIGGEST litter we've EVER had. There were 2 DOAs. It looked like they probably had gotten stuck. There are a couple little guys in that mix, and we have several mini rex due today, so we are hoping for smallish litters so we can foster a few of the little ones out to give them a better chance at getting some dinner. (Bunnies are great foster moms!! They usually do not care who they feed!)

This doe is black but her dad was a chocolate, and she was bred to a chocolate buck. Jacob was hoping for some more chocolates, but it looks like he got ALL blacks!! (I know they look brown in the picture, but they are dark in real life.) Just when we think we have the genetic thing figured out, we get surprised. I can't believe he didn't even get ONE chocolate! I can't wait to watch these guys grow up. Their mom has been a kick butt little doe for Jacob and I hope she's passed that on!

As I said we have several does due today and the barn is busy with nest building. To us in the bunny world, this is just as exciting as Christmas morning.

Devotion has a BEAUTIFUL nest built, but has stopped and is in "the trance." Shes spending most of her time in her box with her eyes closed, concentrating. I'm guessing this is when we humans start screaming for the epidural! Hopefully by this evening there's babies in her box!!

Poor sweet girl!

I've caught myself kind of shying away about blogging about our bunnies, but really, this blog is MINE about ME and MY family and, well, this is what we love and what we are passionate about. Some people ride Harley's for therpy. Some people garden or write. We play with rabbits.
So I told myself I would no longer worry about what others thought, and if I felt the urge to write about bunny births, then I just would. =)

Go Go GO!

2011-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

That seems to be the name of the game right now!

4am on Saturday, we stumbled out of bed to load up and be on the road by 5:15 to head to Hutch for the Salt City RBA show. We didn't get home until after 10pm so to say it was a long day is an understatement. Jacob's 12 week old Havanas got some great remarks but didn't place anything. They all have some nasty baby coats, but he took them out mainly to get comments on bodies and so they can start learning their show manners. All of our good bunners are heading to the nest box to have babies OR have babies on them. It stinks not having anything real exciting to show, but we have hopes that the later show season should be fun!

We have several does due Wednesday and Danny swears they will be delivering Tuesday as it's a full moon. We stick our nest boxes in on day 28, but they usually do not deliver until 30 to 31. Anyway, today was the day we stuck boxes in, and Danny's lynx mini rex, Devotion, suddenly looked very frantic and started getting to work on getting her nest ready. It's pretty fun to just sit and watch them build and tidy things OBSESSIVELY, picking up any stray hay/fur to add to insulate the nest.

Jacob's black Havana, Ava, is due Tuesday and looks like she's swallowed a cantaloupe. I'm anxious to see what pops out, as his last doe that kindled didn't even look like she was pregnant and she ended up having 6. She's a black doe, with a chocolate background, bred with a chocolate buck. Jacob's really hoping for some little chocolate bucks!

We had a couple of days of horrible winds, but since it's settled down we've all been enjoying the wonderful weather again... ALL of us:

If you build it..

2011-04-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

...they will come.

What an exciting day we had in our yard!

First these guys showed up. I had no idea what they were, but later learned from M that they are Cedar Waxwings. I loved thier little masked eyes. They reminded me of raccoons. Later we were all sitting on the porch, with Tristen sitting with his legs spread out, with one of each side of the fountain, when one of these dudes swooped down, got a big drink, looked at T like THANKS MAN, and flew off.

About 10 minutes later my boys came running inside. "MOM! There's a HUMMINGBIRD out here." In no way did I believe them, but sure enough!!

Danny looked him up on the internet, and between that and my book, we think he is a male broad-billled hummingbird.
I've got my hummingbird feeder up now close to the bush he was drinking from. I hope he stays around for a few days.
He is gorgeous and I think we all could have sat out for days just watching him. He provided Jacob and I some pretty nice photo opportunities.

Between these guys and the stunning butterflies flying though today, it's been a wonderful day!!

Saturday Blessings

2011-04-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am feeling better today! =)

It is hot and windy here in Kansas today. I wish wish wish it would rain, but it seems that moisture just does not fall from the sky here anymore.

Even with the ick weather, we spent a good part of it outdoors. Melanie brought me some some plants she has split from hers, and I had some butterfly weed to plant, so late this aternoon found me hot sweaty and dirty from planting. It was wonderful!!

My men are trying so hard to get this stupid stump out of our yard, but it's complicated due to 1. it grows UNDER our porch. 2. There are plants/flowers planted near and around with care that must be given or Mama will be mad. 3. The roots on this sucker may be some sort of record. I've asked them to please hurry and get it out--I'm itching to get some sedums split and planted there. They just don't think I'm very funny. ;)

And Mom... Tristen is JUST HOLDING the chain saw. Calm down!

And this Auntie got a bit of Hope time in this morning while her parents were working. She got to play cars and trucks, and go on a stroller ride around the yard with Tristen.

The fountain continues to be the "hot spot" for the birds to hang out! Love it!! We came home today and there were probably 50 of these Grackles in our yard. They ended up almost completely draining the reservoir and I had to refill it. I'll probably be doing that a lot this summer.

Really hoping it cools down just a little bit, and we get some rain soon!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Frustrated

2011-04-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I really try to keep my blog a "happy" place, and not write about anything negative, but I am just incrediably frustrated this evening, and thought I'd see if writing would help ease some of it. I'm not even sure I am going to post this, so if your reading this, feel free to just skip this post, ok?

I am frustrated with this really strange place both of my children seem to be at the moment. I hate Jr High. Hate it. I barely survived my jr high-high school years and thought it was awful, but it's 1000 times worse when you have to watch your child go through it. Everything from the mood swings to the drama with friends--it all stinks. Can't WAIT for high school. HA!
My youngest isn't quite in Jr high yet, but his attitude is. He's exhausting me.

I'm frustrated with hectic schedules and appointments and our calendar that looks like a road map. I get like this EVERY spring around this time. Summer is sounding heavenly.

I'm frustrated with the people I feel only want to be around me when they want or need something.

I'm frustrated with my vacuum cleaner. Why can't they make things that last longer than a year or two anymore?

I'm frustrated with my kitchen and how it never ever seems to stay clean. And my carpet, and the mystery stains that just seem to appear out of thin air when I walk back into a room.

It just seems no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get THERE, wherever THERE is.

It's quite possible I have a very mean case of PMS...

Happy ALMOST Birthday to ME

2011-04-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

My ** nd birthday isn't until next week, but I couldn't wait to show everyone what my oh so handy hubby made me. We got the plans for this little water fountain out of a project magazine my gardening buddy M brought to me to look at. I've wanted something "water-ish" for our yard the past year or so, but knew we weren't ready to take on a pond or anything like that. This, however...THIS was RIGHT up our alley!

Forms all ready to go

Danny and Jacob mixing the concrete

Fill'er up!

Adding the rebar for support

Filling up the bottom part, (and making a mess!) while Tristen holds the copper tubing in place

All set up

Dan getting the bucket level

Bottom part is now concreted into the bucket.

Almost done!! He's got the pump attached now, and is covering everything with wire mesh that will be hidden by rock.

TA-DA!

I am LOVE LOVE LOVING it!! And so are the birds! I was super excited to see visitors already today! I was afraid it would take them a bit to find it, but it sure didn't take them any time at all!

I bet they will REALLY appreciate the cool water later on in the summer heat!

The Teenager Invasion

2011-04-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

I am the mother of a teenager. How on EARTH did this happen? It doesn't seem possible...

Though his birthday wasn't until today, we had a family get together Saturday evening. Pioneer Woman Chicken Fried Steaks (14!! of them), mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, birthday cake and ice cream.

For his main gift he got a white tail deer bed set from Cabela's from us and his grandparents. Another first for his mom. Who would have thought I would be ordering bed sheets with DEER on them..ON PURPOSE! We are hoping to get his room painted in the next few weeks, but I'd be happy if it were done by the end of summer! HAHA He picked out a chocolate brown and a kind of camo green to go with his new "outdoor-hunting" theme.

Becoming a teenager means lots of other things will be coming up soon. Like this:

I'm off to buy hair dye! Have a great Monday everyone!

Black Out

2011-03-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

Meet Black Out.

She is Tristen's 4-H calf for this year. He named her. I didn't. I was suggesting names like Daffodil and Valentine. Evidently my names didn't have the "cool" factor like Black Out does. ;)

He loves her. And she loves him. Because he brings the bottle.

Ahhhh...MILK! It's just THAT good!

And this one...

Well, this one is just happy I am now baby talking something else.

This is Chewy, our bucket calf from last year. He remembered the bottle. He started drooling as he watched Black Out eat.

Men just never grow up.

Stuffed Strawberries

2011-03-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe came recently in one of my very favorite magazines. My family LOVED it, so I thought I'd share. So easy, so yummy!

Stuffed Strawberries

8oz cream cheese

1 cup powered sugar

1 tsp almond extract

4 cups large strawberries, hulled

Combine cream cheese, sugar and almond extract, and mix well. Place mixture in a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

Make criss-cross cuts in the narrow end of each berry, cutting about halfway down, and pipe cheese mixture into the opening. Chill until ready to serve.

DELISH!

Summer Dreams

2011-03-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

My Summer Dreams garden from High Country Gardens arrived last week...a WEEK EARLY!

They are so pretty and green and happy, even in the shipping box!! Everything I've ever ordered from them I've been THRILLED with.

Dan worked up a new flower bed for me in our front yard, and after we figured out where to put these, I decided I would order another of the exact same pre-planned garden and mirror it right next to this one. It should fill this space in very nicely and I should have room for any other goodies I find this season!

My oh so sweet hubs measured and laid out exactly where I needed to plant my plants according to the handy dandy diagram.

I can't WAIT to see what this garden does this season!!

GROW, BABY, GROW!!!

Windy Plains Spring Fling

2011-03-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday we loaded up and headed to Garden for the 14th Annual Spring Fling held by Windy Plains Rabbit Breeders Association.

It was a long and very strange day.

It was a double show, so this meant all the buns were shown in show A and again in show B. Jacob got to show his Havanas 3 times because there was a Havana Specialty show also.

He didn't take much with him: One Californian, and 2 Havanas. Everyone else that stayed at home is either weaning babies and out of condition, just HAD babies, or ABOUT to have babies.

Jacob's Havana AVA won Best Black in the Havana specialty show. This was a very awkward and exciting showing for him, as he went up against THE ADULTS. This means the 2 breeders, Yvonne and Dan, that have help him the most, he was now competing against. It was so weird for him. Anyway, he was THRILLED to get best black in a specialty show.

Jacob with his certificate and chocolate bunny from the specialty show.

And at the end, those 2 breeders who have helped Jacob so very much, walked away with a Best of Breed and a Best Opposite in ALL 3 shows!

Yvonne, Dan, and Judge Conall Addison

In the regular showing, Jacob's black was beaten by a broken chocolate, but the judges kept gooing about how nice Ava was. BUT---in her 3nd showing--AVA was **DQ'ED** off the table!! We were SHOCKED and the judge quickly apologized and brought us over to show us what he found. She has a white line on the back of her leg. Yvonne was close by and quickly told Jacob she has seen it before and AVA probably scratched her leg at some point and the hair grew back white there. IT MIGHT molt out, we will just have to see. Jacob took her right off the table and asked Yvonne if she had a chocolate buck he could breed her with. She's been BEGGING to be a mama, and he thought since she's going to be sitting at home for while, she might as well be happy and get to have babies. That little lady has been amazing on the show table and I can't believe no one has caught it before this.

Jacob's Californian that he pretty much just threw in the carrier at the last minute just so he's have a bit more to show, won 2nd RESERVE in Show A! This rabbit is annoying. No, really, he is. If there is such a thing as Rabbit ADHD, he would be diagnosed and treated. EVERY TIME this rabbit is shown, he escapes from the coops and joy runs down the judging table with everyone chasing after him. "Look at me, I'm FREE I'm FREE!" and "Hey Sweetie--your rex fur is looking MIGHTY fine today." Jacob had to go get him several times while we were waiting for the Best in Show judging to start. He seemed pretty smitten with a very nice castor mini rex doe a few coops down. This same rabbit does laps in his cage at feeding time, and chews on his feeder, and loves to flick water on unsuspecting people who are standing close to him. He's a brat.

Jacob and THE BRAT, 2nd Runner Up

In Tristen news, his mini rex did OK--nothing got last, but nothing won anything either. He's got a litter in a nest box and just bred some more this morning so he should be getting some nice JR's soon.

BUT- he did the youth contests for the 1st time EVER and got 2nd place in the JR judging contest!! This pretty much concretes my suspensions I've had all along about Tristen. He will NOT participate in ANYTHING until he is confident he knows what he's doing and that he'll do it well.
It really makes me sad that he's missed out on so much just because he worries about not doing something right.

I snapped this picture really fast while T was busy doing the rabbit judging contest. 4 different breeds of rabbits, with four in each group. They have so long to go over each group, and rank them 1-4, checking for DQ's and the standard for that breed of rabbit.


Here he is..and our cat Paris, posing (SILLY!!) with the bag of candy he got from the contest. You just never know what you will bring home from a bunny show!

It was a fun and long day, but filled with some of our most favorite people on earth! Rabbits...and rabbit PEOPLE...ROCK!

Shamrock Shakes

2011-03-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

In honor of St Patrick's Day, here is a copycat recipe I found that tastes ALMOST identical to the shakes Tristen and I love!!

Shamrock Shakes

2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 1/4 cups 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
8 drops of food coloring (We didn't use that much. More like 4)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Stop blender and stir with a spoon if necessary to help blend ice cream. Pour into 12 ounce cups, add a bit of spray whip cream, throw a cherry on top and ENJOY!!

3rd in State, BABY!

2011-03-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today we rest, after an insane, intense, JOYFUL, and EXCITING weekend of basketball, where we watched our high school girls bring in the 3rd place trophy!
I won't even try to detail everything out, but some of our highlights included: a trip on a chartered bus, where I added to my growing list of things that make me yak, or ALMOST yak, face paint, naked chested high school/jr high boys just OOZING with school pride, posters, windshield paint, a motel stay where there were probably 10 other families from our county, sister hugs, Shamrock shakes from McDonalds...(Tristen and his mom just might need a 12 step program for our Shamrock shake "problem")....I could go on and on, but I won't. Be thankful. But here are some of my favorite pictures:

Go CHELLE!

The Days INN Pep Squad

Can you BELIEVE these refs, Auntie? If I could talk, I'd be yelling at them too!

Chelle getting her medal.

3rd Place!!

M talking to a reporter after the game.


What does EVERY girl need after a weekend of hard b-ball? A giant slab of pretty much raw cow and the enjoyment of grossing out her big sister.

It was so much fun with many memories made and today finds me kind of sad basketball is over. Can't wait until next year!!

Love ya, #5!

STATE BOUND!!

2011-03-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

My hands hurt from clapping, my voice sounds like a 90 year smoker, my throat is scratchy, my husband will probably have bruises on his legs from me grabbing his leg, and I may, or may not have peed my pants a little bit towards the end of the game.....BUT!!.....The LADY T'S ARE STATE BOUND!!!!

2011 SUB STATE CHAMPS!!

The final score against St John was 38 to 35. It was a CLOSE game and until the last 2 minutes, I didn't think they were going to do it. It was an AMAZING game and an amazing moment in time to be there to watch my sister come off that court.

One I don't think I will ever ever forget.

Next week: STATE!!

The Upgrade

2011-02-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Not a new car. Not a new computer.

We got a new fish tank. Bet you didn't see THAT one coming, did you??

We've really enjoyed having our 30gallon tank up again, and after researching and learning from mistakes, FINALLY feel like we are heading in the right direction.

A few months ago, while visiting PetSmart, my husband ran up while I was trying to decide which fish were trying to tell me to take them home. ;-)

"You've GOT to come here and see this fish tank!"
"But!! I'm right in the middle of deciding..."
"Who cares what your doing! Come see this. NOW!"

So a few aisles down there was a BEAUTIFUL tank, decorated in an Asian theme with these HUGE, tennis ball plus sized gold fish in them. Now, my husband LOVES Asian decor--reds and blacks, bamboo, dragons--stuff like that, so this didn't surprise me at all. It WAS beautiful!

And I sat there looking at him and you could almost literally see the wheels turning in his head.

As I watched him drool, he said.."This is THE tank I want someday. With big ol beefy fish in it. None of those little weenie fish! And I'm going to decorate it JUST like this."

I peeked at the price tag on the tank. Secretly laughed. A LOT. Maybe a little out loud.

"Suuuuurrrrre, ok, Babe--lets go pick out some guppies now."

Fast forward a few months. A friend calls us. Her friend has a big fish tank she'd like to get rid of. Are we interested?

No. Not really.

She tells me the price.

I spit coffee out my nose.

Umm..SURE!!! We will take it!

So, here we are. It came with 2 goldfish, 2 sucker fish, a Molly, African Featherfan Catfish and an Angel fish. I tried to con him into combining the tanks, so we only have up keep on one tank, but he was having NOTHING to do with it. And I'm guessing within a month we will have a Asian themed fish tank with man eating sized fish in it.

And at the moment we still have our other tank set up, with our little procreating Mickey Mouse Platies.

Maybe I'll open a pet store when I retire and sell bunnies and fish.

Random

2011-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

First of all, do you see that?? ^^^^^ My counter??? Spring is getting closer and closer!!! I've been THRILLED to see things start poking up out of the ground. My poppies have come up, as well as some Tulips. I'm still finishing up seed and plant orders. It's so hard to decide when you want to grow a bit of everything. Must get that all ordered very soon!

Tristen is in Horticulture in 4-H this year and has been a growing fool. He's trying to decided what he wants to grow in the garden this year, but has already been playing around inside with some seeds. He got a kit for Christmas that came with all sorts of cool, strange seeds, like Eyeball plants, with a little dome greenhouse to start them in. I can't get anything to grow from seed, but his are doing great. They've gotten lots of new leaves on them. As long as I don't touch them, they should be ok. ;) (I might have to snag the little dome after he's done with it!)

He's also growing a bit of wheat. For Kansas Day at school everyone got cup of dirt with some wheat, and he has really enjoyed watching his sprout!

Jake's been keeping busy with the bunnies. He's got some new litters due spaced out with in the next month. One he's REALLY excited about, as mom is a chocolate and the dad is a chocolate carrier. He's really wanting some new chocolates to show!! His babies I blogged about a few weeks ago are just a bit over 3 weeks now. Jacob had to kick them out of the nest box. They were very attached to it. We've never had a litter that just refused to leave it. They are also very attached to each other and their mom more than what we've seen in the past. See what I mean:

There are 3 babies all grouped together sitting and stacked on mom's head. Yawn doesn't seem to mind though. (I minded...I took them all off her head and she just looked at me and sighed. I know exactly how you feel, sister!!)

Jacob will be starting track soon...didn't I JUST by basketball shoes?? I've really enjoyed having him come home right after school and it will be hard getting used to practices again.

A lot of the MEN in my life are claiming we will have one more snow storm before spring hits. How I hope they are wrong!!

4-H Days 2011

2011-02-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday evening was our local 4-H days. This is where kids do project talks, demonstrations, music and band numbers, and readings in front of a judge and then are judged on their performances.

This year Tristen didn't do a talk, but he did do 2 musical numbers with the 5th grade 4-H members that were in band. They sounded great and got a blue!!

Next year Tristen says he's doing a talk, to which his brother responded, "Well, I am NOT!" ;)

This was Jacob's first year for doing a talk, and he did a demonstration on the Havana rabbit. He took a bunny of each variety and told about what was required of each according to the standard. He knew all of his information, and just memorized the order he wanted to give it in, and was able to do it with no papers or notes.

He did great and ended up getting 2nd Blue for the Jr demonstrations...aka..the alternate for regionals. I did notice when he got nervous he focused on the bunnies instead of looking around. The judge was really nice, and wrote some encouraging comments for him. She did ask some "funny" questions that I wasn't expecting, (Can you breed a broken to a solid color? and Do you do anything commercially with them?) and after she was done she told Jacob that she used to raise rabbits too!

( I totally loved it -- she had over 200 rabbits when she raised them. We catch heck ALL THE TIME about our small herd, so I thought it was great she put that out there and maybe people will catch on we are not all THAT strange and different. ;) )

It was a great night and I am very proud of my boys!

My Valentine

2011-02-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

What do rabbit breeders buy their wives for Valentine's Day?? BUNNIES, of course!!!

The quest for these buns has a really long story to them, but it ends really sweetly.

Every person that raises and shows rabbits loves their breed. When my boys were first starting out, they visited a rabbitry and the sweet lady there was telling us her story about the first time she saw "her" breed of rabbit. "My heart flip flopped just a little bit and I thought they were the most beautiful thing my eyes had ever seen." she told them. Yeah..that about sums it up.

I first ran across English Lops on the internet way before we had ever thought about showing or raising rabbits. My heart flopped and I fell in love. Played with the idea of owning one SOMEDAY, but they are really rare in our area. My boys fell harder into breeding and showing, and my husband found "his" breed, and I played with my little Hotot's. But I'd always look around at shows for the Lops I longed for...but never seeing any. I looked into having them shipped in from out of state, but that costs around $300 and while I REALLY wanted one, I wasn't quite ready to spend that sort of money.(And NEVER would have been!)

So this past year I decided that I WOULD have one and started seriously hunting. We were at a show in June and one of our judges walked by and he had an amazing tattoo of an English Lop on his calf. We chatted a little bit, mostly about the tattoo. I sent him a message later on Facebook, asking if he had any for sale. He replied back and told me that he was sorry, but he had JUST sold out his Lops....=(.....to a breeder in Kansas!!! Wait...WHAT??? So he told me the name and lo and behold they were sold to a lady we know and see at almost every show!!!!

My very sweet husband called her up, and yes, she had his rabbits, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to get rid of or even what she had because she hadn't really had a chance to go through them yet. I was bummed, but was hopeful I'd at least be give then chance to get one very soon.

This past week Dan calls from work.
"I'm gonna be gone for a day this weekend"
"Oh really? What for?"
"To go get your dang rabbits"
"What rabbits?"
"The rabbits from M. She just called and has a breeding pair for you."
"*Insert dramatic intake of breath and intense girly squealing here* OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!!"
"I think you might have just ruptured my eardrum."
"Sorry!"

So my superman took off to go pick up MY dream bunnies. The breeder lives in Abilene, and the buns were given to friends of ours at a show we didn't get to attend, and they brought them to their house in Haysville and kept them overnight for us. Rabbit friends ROCK!!

And a husband who take a day out of his quiet weekend just to go get buns to make his wife smile rocks even more! ;-)

The bunner in the picture I've named Murray. The doe is really upset right now, so I didn't pull her out for a picture. She doesn't have a name YET! (Any ideas??) The buck is a lovebug, and will lay his head on your shoulder. I'm head over heels in love with them and a 3 year hunt has ended. Flop Flop goes my heart.

Winter Whining

2011-02-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

It's cold. Bitter cold. There is snow on the ground. Lots of snow. BLAH.

It stinks having bunnies in the winter months. February is usually the month I daydream about not having any buns. No frozen water crocks to unthaw. No more lugging water jugs to the barn several times a day. No more fingers sticking to the aluminum water crocks. No more slipping cold newborn babies down into your bra to warm them up.(You haven't LIVED until you've done THAT!) No more running nest boxes full of babies out to mamas in10 below temps and wind so cold it burns your skin. (Our life would be very sad and boring without the bunnies, so my daydreaming never really lasts long after I think about that! ;-) )
Short as the month may be...FEBRUARY SEEMS TO LAST FOREVER.

The winter weather did provide us with some snow days. I love snow days, or at least I enjoy the first one of the season. This one I didn't enjoy. It could because of:

The salt, mud, wet blobs, and snow my boys tracked in over and over. I finally just stopped cleaning it up.

The mounds and mounds of wet hats, gloves, jeans and socks,

or the many pairs of wet shoes and boots just kinda of laying around wherever they are thrown as the cold feet they were attached to run for a pair of warm and dry socks.

Next year I'm considering flying south for the winter with the birds, or hibernating all season like a bear!

It's OVER!!

2011-02-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

HOORAY!! Super Bowl is HISTORY! I survived another football season!! This means plans at my house no longer depend on who's playing at what time!
My men really enjoyed the game. And they enjoy planning their buffet as much as the game itself. This year Jacob made pizza bites that he made a recent 4-H foods meeting. (Thanks Melanie!) He's becoming quite the cook and they were very tasty!

Jacob's basketball season is officially over and will be on to track soon. Tristen just started his pee-wee basketball season. He's got 4 more weeks of games. He's really come out of his shell from playing last year and become more aggressive on the court, even fouling once in the game. Whoops. ;)

Wednesday found us with some excitement here during daycare. We had just sat down to eat our afternoon snack when I heard one of the kids say: Eww...I smell a skunk. Oh my stars did we smell skunk. I have one daycare boy with a very sensitive stomach and gag reflux and he immediately started gagging. Anyway, long story short, Smokey got sprayed, skunk ran off while Smokey was rubbing his nose in the snow and the dumb dog recovered enough to go and GET the skunk. Not only was I sure our house would never smell good again, we were also worried about our dog. Smokey had gotten bit and scratched on his nose. =( Danny took him over to the vet, windows down the entire way, for a booster on his rabies shot and to have his nose cleaned. They also took pity on us and gave him a bath while he was over there.
After 24 hours the house smelled better, but it still creeps up sometimes in the weirdest of places, such as the can of coffee. Skunk smell is awful anyway, but when sprayed close, it reaches an entire new level of stinky.

Suppose to have more winter weather starting tonight. Ugh. How many days until spring????

B-Ball, Wind Chills, and Flu Bugs! OH MY!

2011-02-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Saturday found us packing up to head to Dodge to watch sister Michelle play in a high school basketball tournament.
It was a rough game, with us trailing behind until the last quarter, when we pulled ahead and won first place! The atmosphere in that gym was electrifying. I've never clapped and screamed and stomped my feet so much in my life as I did those last few minutes of that game.

The last play of the game, I watched as my sister fell over a player and didn't get back up. It's sick feeling when you see someone you love not jump right back up while playing sports.. She did get up, just really slow and with help, and my husband stopped me from running on to the court and embarrassing the pee-wads out of her. But as soon as they got their medals and were lining up for their pictures, I was down the stairs, with my brother trailing close behind. She had re-injured her hamstring and will have to have another week of PT. We are all crossing our fingers she didn't REALLY hurt it this time.
During the game, I started feeling really hot and clammy, and my stomach started feeling funky. I thought it was probably because of how many people where in there. It was so hot and loud. We went out to eat and all I could eat was a few bites of a milk shake. When I woke up the next morning, I was sick with the stomach flu.
I don't remember the last time I've felt that bad. I stayed in bed most the day Sunday, and THOUGHT I was better on Monday, but ended up only being up out of bed for about 2 hours the entire day. Jake called around 9am from school.
"Mom, can someone come get me? I have a fever and a stomachache." Dan took the rest of the day off to run between our bedroom and the couch, taking care of us. Fun times.
Tuesday found me feeling better, but still weak and shaky. I'm working today, but still can't stand the sight of raw meat and am just trying to catch myself up on basic nourishment, like water, for starters.

Around 2am Saturday morning, Jake's new bunny, YAWN, had 7 babies. 5 brokens, 2 solid blacks. I was pleased she delivered on one of the warmest nights, because Sunday night the temp dropped and the wind blew. We ended up with just a scattering of snow, but the wind chills have been just bitter, so school was canceled Tuesday and Wednesday.
We brought the nest box inside in the warmth,and take them out first thing in the morning for the babies to nurse. They are fat and sassy little things. This is Jacob's first litter with brokens, so he's anxious to see how they do as they grow. He was VERY excited to see 2 chocolate brokens in the mix. They are sure cute and we are enjoying having babies around again! (yeah yeah yeah--they DO resemble rats to you non-bunny people. But to us...they are adorable!)

Dan's off in a bit to buy a new car battery. Did I mention I'm ready for spring?

Stay warm!!

RABBIT FEVER

2011-01-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

We can NOT WAIT to see this! =)