Sweet Summertime

The year is flying by.  Nothing major ever seems to happen around here but we are making all sorts of tiny steps towards our little people becoming more grown up, independent folks.  

Each morning the kids are up and out the door as the sun rises so they can feed their livestock and walk the hogs.  I often wonder if the kids realize how fortunate they are to witness such a beautiful time of day in such a beautiful area, or if some of these sunrises are totally wasted while they cuss and discuss various 'little 80 year old man' topics.  

This year the boys work with their 4-H calves all by themselves.  Get them caught, rinsed, walk them in the yard, they can do it all.  It's so incredible to watch a 50 pound boy be able to control a 1400 pound steer.  Mom, I'm 56 pounds - please get it right.  

When the kids are working on their arts and crafts projects for the fair this summer I just give them the hot glue gun and walk away.  I think some of the kids have burned their fingertips enough times they may not have any fingerprints left, but perhaps they'll grow up to become bank robbers and thank me for being so farsighted.  

The oldest is 10 and cuts all his own boards for woodworking.  I'll admit, I still peer over his shoulder on this one.  Partly because it is super dangerous, but partly because I love woodworking so much.  He seems to enjoy it as well and I love that we can bond through this.  

The three oldest kids all played baseball this summer and had a great time.  All three also played catcher at times.  This was my favorite position growing up and it gave me great pride to see them tough it out during miserably hot games.  

This day was particularly rough. She got up early to help load cattle, had swimming lessons during the late morning, picked up rocks and sticks from a previously flooded field all afternoon and then was absolutely comatose during the hour-long drive to the ballgame that evening.

Arguments are starting to evolve around here as the children age.  During breakfast last week I heard a heated discussion on what type of spray we needed to use on our soybeans.  I don't think my favorite PBS cartoon, Daniel Tiger, has a helpful jingle I can sing to diffuse these sorts of arguments.  Also along those lines, I miss many of the PBS cartoons that helped us along during the past decade.  It seems now we've graduated to old westerns, science documentaries and exploration-type shows.  

I'll admit, we push our kiddos pretty hard out here.  We see how the rest of the world is spiraling and it only further solidifies our desire to raise our children more like '80's babies', with less technology and more time outdoors and filthy.  But it's not always work!  This summer we've tried to make more time to carve out a little bit of fun.  Great Grandpa stops by occasionally and though he doesn't stay long, the kids always glean a little bit of knowledge (and a lot of bull) from him.  We recently stole away for a weekend and went camping with cousins.  The kids are now hooked and have been mentioning pooling their money to purchase a camper.  And one of the best perks of kids maturing is that we can now eat at a restaurant and actually enjoy the experience!  Our good friends recently opened a sundry in a nearby town and it is quite the place.  I enjoy a reprieve from feeding a small army and the kids enjoy eating at such a fancy place with familiar faces. 

Time Marches On

Summer commenced.  

We blinked.

Summer came to an end. 

Captivating material, right?  I'm renowned for my creative writing skills.  

I've heard people exclaim 'I have no idea where the time went!', and while I understand the phrase I can assure you we know exactly where the time has gone around here.  

Our time this summer was spent in the hay fields, the ball fields, the bean fields, the corn fields - any type of field you can imagine - we were there.  

And then there were the chores.  The kids were very faithful in taking care of their animals.  Each morning they walked their hogs as well as fed and watered everything.  In the evenings, provided they didn't have ball games to play, they walked their calves and then fed and watered all their hogs, calves, horses, chickens and dogs again.  We were very proud of their work ethic.  Don't get me wrong, they grumbled on many of those hot days, but they understood the importance of their duties.  

On the weekends we'd have some quality, family bonding time while we processed calves together.  For the most part, the boys are becoming pretty decent help.  Kathryn fills in where she can and is learning the ropes... and little Reese does what most supervisors do and barks nonsensical orders that benefit absolutely no one.  

I always enjoy when someone asks if we enjoy the sunrises from our home.  
Yes, yes we do.

The kids and I try to sneak in a few walks each week before the heat gets too terrible.  They subscribe to the Robert Frost school of thought and enjoy choosing the 'road less traveled'.

Find a better babysitter.  I dare you.
Loopie is the best of the best.

6am and ready to head out the door to load cattle.  
Pink, sparkly shirt?  Check.
Pink, sparkly belt?  Check

Fishing has become much more enjoyable for all as now 75% of the kids can cast out the lines themselves.  It makes a world of difference to the parent(s). 

Reese has a pretty tough life I tell ya'.

6:30am and we were watching a concrete mixer unload into the forms for a loading chute.

It was really interesting for all of us to watch that process.

This day was absolutely awful.  The kids were fighting and screaming and I nearly lost my mind.  The next thing I know, the house is silent, save for the gently voice of Kenyon reading Bible stories to his sisters. 

Yes, Mom forgot to pack the lawn chairs one day.

Yes, the all survived eating on the ground.

Silage chopping was less than stellar this year.  

Thankful to have that one checked off the list.

A low quality photo, but I do enjoy watching the kids help us work calves.

After the fair we had the chance to go into the meat locker and see the kids' calves and hogs hanging.  It was such a great learning experience.

We are very fortunate to have many great mentors in our lives. 
(Bonus points if they are super pretty high school girls.)

The girls thoroughly enjoy oiling anything with leather.  
Halters, boots, saddles, purses, diaper bags... If you bring it, they will condition it.

They often move as a whole and I love to watch this little tribe and all their antics.  They have inside jokes, inside arguments, inside super-secret plans.  They are close and it is wonderful. 

This photo will never get old.  8am and running your hogs while topless in your socks and jelly sandals.  Life is good for R.E.C.

Kathryn touched her brother's welding project and burned a finger.  While icing it down she also passed out from sheer exhaustion.  This accurately captures the essence of our summer.  
Sheer exhaustion.

Cooking class with Grandma can be rather chaotic but the end result was oh-so-worth it.
Raisin bars with Grandma Kate for the mouth-watering win!
It was a nice change from boring ol' mom's endless pans of chocolate chip cookies.
I'm a bit of a one trick pony with baking and not afraid to admit it.

Teeny, Tiny People

When the babies were little, they were constantly attached to me.  I was often holding them on my hip or chest so they were RIGHTINMYFACE and BREATHINGMYAIR most all day, every day.  Which is the wonderful part about having babies, don't get me wrong.  Even for their small size, they were huge in my eyes due to their proximity. 

Now the babies are getting older and.... smaller.  They no longer breathe my air.  The are rarely right in my face, unless they are showing me the latest bump, scrape, bruise, turtle, blackbird or the like to impress me.  These days I mostly see them from a distance, which is becoming increasingly alright with me.  A friend told me once that raising kiddos never gets easier, it just gets different.  Each day I am becoming more aware of just what he meant.  

See what I mean?  I wasn't joking.  Blackbird.  In my face.  He was so proud of himself for catching it.  Still not sure how he managed that one. 

We spent a few days last week hauling hay.  Kenyon LOVES to drive the pickup and flipper trailer through the fields so I can load him with the tractor.  Once I get him loaded he dutifully slides over and lets me drive down the road to the hay yard to unload.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Load after load. 

Not only can he do the manly chores like haul hay, but he's great at walking home to make sandwiches for everyone as well!  He really wanted to keep loading hay while I went home to make sandwiches, but he definitely lost that argument. 

We had to wait nearly 10 minutes for the men to switch fields and bring us a tractor, which is approximately 10,000 eternities in young man years.  He sat on the tail end of the flipper trailer and nearly died of boredom.  

"Seriously, Mom.  I think they forgot about us.  There is no way it should be taking this long.  We should just go find them."

I love picking up these tiny hitchhikers I find alongside the road.  All the kids love to take turns riding in the swather and baler with their grandpa and dad.  After spending many long hours bouncing around in the cab I drive to the appropriate middle-of-nowhere location and find the tiny dot standing at the side of a field that is hopefully my child. 

I loved stumbling upon this scene a few days ago.  The kids found the best vantage point (the top of the ground load trailer) and watched their dad go back and forth with the tractor and baler.  I believe if you click on the individual photos you can enlarge them.

Nearly every Saturday morning while the rest of the world is watching cartoons, we have our kiddos out working a load of calves that arrive to our place the night before.  I run one side of the chute- giving shots, worming and putting in ear tags while my husband works the other side.  He runs the hydraulics of the chute to catch each calf, gives other shots and implants as well as brands each calf with a hot iron.  We both keep an eye on the kiddos as they push calves up the alleyway or simply see how much dirt they can possibly cover themselves in.  Not to brag or anything, but they could earn a gold medal in the filthy kid category.  Hands down.  

The boys have to practice their penmanship skills when they number all the ear tags and vials for BVD testing that I then run in the afternoons.  

This new, different chapter is difficult for me to process at times but I'm slowly adapting.  I never dreamed it would be this enjoyable to watch the children grow bigger physically but become teeny-tiny in my eyes as they become more independent. 

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...

Sugar and Spice and...

 

Now that the boys have gone back to school it's just the girls and I at the house.  People often fawn over the idea of two girls in the house.  Oh, you can teach them to cook and clean and you'll just have so much fun! 

Yes, they will know how to cook and clean, but so will our boys.  I'm not a huge feminist; rather, I'm a huge advocate for knowing a bit of everything to be self sustaining.  I don't do the damsel in distress bullshit and I don't have much tolerance for boys claiming ignorance in the house either (just ask my husband).  

So.... long story short.... even though there are only two girls left in our house right now, life hasn't changed much.  Most of our conversations still revolve around dinosaurs and cattle, we still enjoy wrestling, running, dirt and all things outdoors.  

I'm thankful that all the older kids are such good sports and allow Reese to continually body slam them.

It's been oh-so-hot this week while we've been taking lunch to the silo.

The girls ran up and down the hill time and again yesterday and had the best time.

This evening Kathryn ran down this same hill at a slightly higher rate of speed, tripped and busted her face open.  Her lips are now as swollen as Lisa Rinna's.  (If you don't know you must google.)

It's been so odd this year to have such a small group for our picnics. 
Not entirely sure I'm comfortable with it yet.

She loves to watch the bulldozer, just like the rest of her siblings.

No one wants an unsightly tan line, am I right?!