I'll See You in May

***Warning - I began writing this post in late March.

He came home from burning one night.  I told him to freeze - I need to shoot you!- he replied that he was so tired he'd like to be shot and put out of his misery.
This is one of my favorite pictures of him EVER. 

Most mornings my husband and I have a bit of a 'morning meeting' before he heads out the door as the sun rises.  It's not much of a conversation; more like a trading of our lists of chores and obligations for the day.  It's rather informal.  I sit on a little six-inch step stool our kids use at the utility room sink; Wes sits on his bench and laces up his work boots. 

Late last week his tone turned serious as he spoke to me.  "I just want to let you know; next week the spring run is on.  I won't be around much."

I used to take this talk more seriously, to be honest.  This time I laughed.  In his face.  I regretted it (to a degree) almost instantly.  

***I'm concluding writing this post in mid-May.  If anything, life has gotten worse over the years after the spring rush has concluded.  After pastures are burned, corn is planted, calving is over, cattle are out to grass and calves are worked we now have a huge rush with activities for the children: field trips, baseball, t-ball, spring concerts and award banquets.  

We. Are. Tired.  

At this point I laugh about the struggles we used to have.  I no longer worry about solo parenting everyone.  At this point I feel I'm well versed in the art of solo parenting four kiddos and honestly my husband's presence often throws a wrench in our routine.  Our struggles these days come from trying to find balance.  We *only* participate in baseball and 4-H during the summer, which sounds manageable.  This is alright until we add in evening chores with critters, homework and trips to the field to visit Dad.  

We have no trouble when our heads hit the pillow at night.  

I realize these struggles are temporary, but goodness they are still exhausting.  We are all counting down the days until July 1.... when the next adventures can begin...

Spring Sprang

I'm just going to throw this out there - how the hell is it already May???  Not that we ever have a 'slow' time, but this is just getting ridiculous.  

Also, while I'm in a mood to complain, I'd like to reiterate my displeasure that our neighbor Grandma Curry has been in heaven this past year.  Maybe God was sparing her from our crazy, which is somewhat understandable.  I constantly think of all the ways we could entertain her daily: walking hogs through her yard, walking steers through her yard, riding the horse through her yard, driving 4 wheelers through her yard...... You get the picture.  Maybe she had to check out in order to preserve the integrity of her yard.  (I jest.  If you don't get that you must leave this page immediately.) 

John is our very best child at stopping to enjoy the finer things in life.  Be it on top of a hog pen, a tractor tire or anywhere else... John has perfected his lounge pose.  

Kenyon, the oldest, is a hard worker alllllll the time.  He rarely complains, even on days when we have to process cattle in 50mph winds.  We are proud of his work ethic and hope it carries through his entire life.

The heifer he showed last year at the county fair had a calf and it was nearly declared a national holiday.  I kid you not.  And for as friendly as Leeva was in her show calf days, I don't suggest you go out to try and pet her calf now.  Or do.  Just let me try to film your demise.  

But if you must meet your maker somewhere, this is not such a bad place, am I right? 

We are huge proponents of 4-H.  We always have been and always will be.  This picture perfectly exemplifies why we love it so much.  Big kids serving as an example for little kids.  

Pasture burning is not our favorite season, but it must happen each spring.  I enjoy the beauty in such chaos. 

We had a calf that was born rather traumatically and couldn't walk for a few days.  He hung out in our yard and was entertained endlessly by our children.  Perhaps that was motivation for him to learn to walk and run away from the crazy people?!  Durning his time here he learned how to blow bubbles, draw pictures, water plants, read books....

We joked that one thought she was a calf, one thought he was a dog.  Guess which one was which?!

I drive an SUV 99% of the time and this is one of the reasons why - I can haul calves and their assigned caregivers in a climate controlled environment

.  

The kids have enjoyed working with their 4-H calves this spring.  It's amazing to see an 80 pound kiddo command attention from a 1250 pound calf.  

Sometimes Reese and I have to feed when everyone else is busy.  I glanced over one day to see her contemplating the meaning of life.... and whether that second bowl of scrambled eggs and spicy salsa was a great idea for breakfast.  

She is a dirty baby.... as I feel most babies should be.  

Even though it has been one of the windiest springs in recent memory, we've taken advantage of the fleeting, still evenings and had picnics on the porch.  These types of nights are priceless.  

We hope your spring is going well!