Intensity

 Whew.  Just..... whew.  

Life these days is beyond wonderful, but..... it's a lot.  Like, A LOT.  And we knew that when started this mess.  A friend told me once that having several kids very close in age was fun 'if you survive it'.  I mentioned to her that she in fact got divorced, so did she actually survive it?...  I loved her response.  "Oh yes" she laughed.  "Besides that part it was so much fun!" 

The kids enjoy doing puzzles, so we try to squeeze in one or two a week.  

This one.  This one.  There is a reason she's the last one.  She's pretty wonderful and I'm trying to soak up all the wonderful little baby snuggles I possibly can.  She's a little ray of sunshine for us all. 

Poor Grandma C.  Like it or not, we bother her nearly every morning and regale her with stories of chasing chickens, chasing bucket calves, dead racoons in her yard, live opossums in her trashcans.... there is no shortage of stories to tell her ever.  We don't go into the house, but the kids knock on the door, peer in like creepers until she come out and then berate her with stories over and over again.  The lady has it rough I tell ya'.  

Seriously.  This kid.  She's too much. 

My momma tried hard to teach me to cook and I didn't fully appreciate her efforts until I started cooking for a crew of my own.  Maybe I can break the curse?... 

The kids are starting to be great help when it's time to load out cattle.  If we can keep them from sticking their head or hands in the panels and just stay alive then we'll have great help someday.  

Sure, Reese looks cute in this picture, but I love seeing my husband's smile.  Pure joy.  

***

I read someone's blog several years ago and she apologized for her lack of blogging but added in the caveat 'if you don't have a 3, 5 and 7 year old then you probably don't understand'.  I didn't understand then, but I totally do now.  I am currently forgoing a much needed shower in order to get a few of these pictures recorded for posterity.  I feel poorly about letting this blog lay idle as it serves as my kiddos' defacto baby book as well.  I also feel poorly that there are no current pictures of our oldest child, but he is now a full-time student and much too busy to pause for the camera. 

This past week my husband and I celebrated a milestone anniversary and it was simply wonderful.  My mother-in-law watched the kids for 24 hours and I was simply in heaven.  I was able to SIT.  BY MYSELF. AND NOT FEED ANYONE ELSE. NOT BATHE ANYONE ELSE. NOT ROCK ANYONE ELSE. It sounds incredibly superficial and shallow to brag about this, but I cannot tell you how refreshing it was as well.  On Sunday morning when I picked up the kids I felt like I was returning from a one week vacation in Jamaica.  It was heavenly.  No wonder folks get addicted to this 'me time' thing.  

Here's to hoping that I make it a priority to blog a bit more often... showers be damned.  I love looking back on these pictures years later and wondering how in the world we survived.  It is intense these days, no doubt. 

A Royally Unique Experience

My husband and I don't get away often.  Lack of time, lack of funds, lack of babysitters and too many responsibilities at home usually get in the way.  Adulting is tough, am I right?  

But last week one afternoon the stars aligned and we were able to drive to Kansas City for an afternoon of meetings and then attend a Kansas City Royals baseball game.  The company that hosted us rented out one of the two 'dugout suites' for the evening so we were fortunate to watch the game from a rather unique perspective.  

It almost made me wish I were a professional baseball fan.  Almost.... I'm sorry, I realize I may be in the minority, but I find it difficult to spend time, energy or money supporting a recreational industry where some of the participants are paid millions.  It's just not my jam.  (But if a drug company invites us and also provides free food and drinks I'm totally fine with being a fair weather fan.)

I was blown away by the enormity of the property.  There were so many extra amenities I did not expect, like the mini golf, carousel, restaurant after restaurant, fountains, statues... the list goes on and on.  You are most definitely provided with opportunities to have an 'experience' versus just a ball game, and that surprised both of us.  

My one regret is not asking the Fox Sports sidelines analyst if I could hold his microphone once he finished his broadcast.  After all, we did get to set right next to his filming area.  If we ever get the chance to do something like this again you can count on a photo of me holding his mic and  'broadcasting'.  That's right, folks.  These are some of my bucket list items.  I keep my list short and expectations low to ward off inevitable disappointment! 

The man in the center is apparently a badass according to a friend I was sitting with.

Good job, Mr. Badass.  Go get 'em. 

The Long Game

It's that time of year again; the time when our alarm goes off at 5:30 each morning and our heads hit the pillow absolutely exhausted at 10 each night.

It's the time of year when I cook as much as possible on the grill so I don't have to turn on the oven and heat up the house because we refuse to turn on the air conditioner just yet.

It's the time of year when the boys wake up at 5:45 and barrel down the stairs for the day.  They see the sun shining through their window and know that they need to get in gear.

It's the time of year to pick cherries and then enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Literally.  (One of the few times literally has actually been used correctly.)

It's the time of year that we don't see much of my husband and I'm a single parent 90% of the time.  This is getting better as the kids get older but it's still me the majority of the time.

It's the time of year when we do get an occasional evening to see Wesley and spend some time as a family fishing together.

It's the time of year when we spend lots of time in the garden and flower beds and I try to incorporate science and life lessons in here and there.

It's a very fulfilling life, a very tough life and hopefully one day a very rewarding life.  When things get too hard sometimes Wesley and I will sit at the supper table long after the dishes have been put away and make sure we are still on the same page with our goals.  We make sure that 'not raising little assholes' is at the top of our list, followed by a bevy of other things.  We try to find the balance between providing a nice life for the kiddos and creating little monsters that don't understand what work is.  We want them to realize food doesn't just come from a grocery store, money doesn't grow on trees and hard work is worth it.  I don't know that we always get that balance correct, but I hope the majority of the time this is the case.

I appreciate so many things about these kiddos.

I love that they enjoy simple things in life.  We went on vacation and the thing they enjoyed the most was paddle boating as a family on the lake each morning, not the flashing lights and hoopla found everywhere else.

I love that they enjoy hard work.  They LIVE to work calves and help me in the wood shop.  Kenyon jumped in the alleyway to push baby calves one day, got kicked several times and was so proud to show me the bruises from his hard work.

I love that they are content to play for hours outside.  They can make their own entertainment without screen time.

I love that they enjoy grocery shopping with me and are starting to understand coupons and sales, or at least understand that they are of major importance to our family.  This has lead to several conversations about price as well as value.

I love the big picture, hard questions that Kenyon is starting to ask.... most of the time.  Sometimes I find myself tiptoeing as delicately as possible.  Still answering the question but in a roundabout way.  Not much gets by him and therefore he's got THOUSANDS of questions that need answered.  Every. Single. Day.

I read a quote once that really stuck with me.  If you raise your kids then one day you'll be able to enjoy and spoil your grandkids.  If you spoil your children you'll end up raising your grandkids.  This part of our lives is absolutely exhausting, but we keep this quote in the forefront of our minds and tell ourselves that someday it will all be worth it.  Not saying it's a guarantee, but at least we're trying to build a strong foundation for the long haul.

Vacation

At this time last week Wesley and I were driving east towards the Ozarks.  We hadn't been on vacation since 2011 and we were both chomping at the bit for a few days of rest and relaxation.  My folks were excited at the chance to keep Kenyon for several days and I didn't think they'd lose their minds watching him..... too much. 

I won't give you a minute by minute rundown of everything we did - just the highlights.  

• Branson was gorgeous.  When we ate at fancy restaurants we usually chose to sit out on their patios and watch the water/light/fire show that occurred every hour.  There was also a zipline in the background and we watched other folks blow their money on it.  We were too frugal to splurge on such a nonsensical thing. Side note: Every time we ate in Branson we experienced HORRIBLE service at our restaurants.  It was like the servers knew we were tourists and the likelihood we would be back soon was nil, so they put forth as little as possible.  Branson tourism board, take note.  

• Of course there were cattle involved on this trip.  We stopped by a friend's place and watched him weigh up cattle from area producers.  It's a country cattle purchasing facility that takes in cattle certain days of the week.  Our ENTIRE TRIP was planned around this weighing day.  I kid you not.  This log wall was inside one of their barns.  It didn't look like they used it for much besides storing hay these days, but I was nevertheless fascinated by the construction of the log walls.  Super neat to study.  

 

• We stayed several nights at a resort just south of Branson.  It was super fancy and definitely out of our normal comfort zone.  When I booked the room they asked if we were celebrating anything special - birthday, anniversary, baby, etc.  I told them we were celebrating our anniversary (a few months early, cough, cough).  They had this little cake waiting for us in our room upon arrival.  It's little things like this that made us feel special.  They don't do this at the Motel 6!  (Sorry, I'm easily impressed.)

• The grounds of this resort were gorgeous and manicured to a tee.  I never saw so much as a blade of grass out of place.  Also, I was amazed at the total lack of wind.  I never even felt so much as a breeze the entire time we were there.  No wonder they have beautiful flowers; they don't have to worry about them bending and breaking in 60 mile an hour gusts.  

The giant fish was part of the mini golf course on the resort.  It was huge, but oddly enough didn't look out of place in the least.

• My normally frugal self decided to splurge and get a massage while we were at this resort.  It was ahhhhhhhhhhhmazing.  I arrived at the spa a bit early and was the only one there so I didn't feel quite as dorky while I snooped around and took pictures of their decor 'designed to promote a sense of tranquility'.  

 

Of course I couldn't partake in the lovely hot tub due to my pregnancy, so I decide to sulk by the fireplace instead.  I suffered, I tell ya'. 

But wait - there's more!  Future posts will cover more of our trip: salebarns, cave tours, a fish hatchery and bar fights.  (Sigh.... that has to be one of the most random sentences I have ever written in my life.)