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. 

Photo Dump

That doesn't sound very nice, now does it?  Photo DUMP?  That's the sort of thing that would make my grandmas cringe.  

My apologies.  Please clutch your pearls and prepare yourselves for a photos OVERLOAD instead of an unseemly DUMP.  

This kiddo has learned how fun a slide can be (thanks HF) and now makes a beeline for the swingset each time the door opens more than an inch.  I love to see her face each time she says 'READY, SET, GOOOOOOOOOO'. 

Good babysitters are hard to find and this will one day be it's own blog post - but today I'll give you the abridged version and just tell you to find a 4-Her.  It's as simple as that.  4-H kids make amazing babysitters 99% of the time.  We've been fortunate to have some of the best girls love our babies.  

Did I mention that Reese loves the slide?  Just to be clear - REESE LOVES THE SLIDE.

Can I get some feedback from other rural mamas please?  Is this a real thing, the tortuous game of timing before church?  Yes, I got the babies ready and now it is time to do my own hair and makeup (hardy har har) but do I let them go outside and enjoy the most perfect day ever, or do I turn on a blasted cartoon so they sit still in front of the television?  In my experience, it is a no win situation.  My thanks to everyone at church that puts up with our dirty little hot mess of a family. 

A teacher gave us a mere stick this spring that we all assumed was dead.  We planted it and it has thrived and given us the most beautiful rose of sharon blooms I've ever seen.  It's been one of the great highlights of our flower beds this year. 

My little tag along dominates the majority of my photos these days it seems.  She's the slowest moving of the pack and thus I can capture more photos of her.  

Kenyon had one evening football game and it was MAJOR.  Lights on the field and everything.  It is fun to see him grow and experience these fun, new things. 

Like I said, this chick dominates my photo feed these days...

The boys and I have some quality bonding time each morning while we wait for the bus.  We live in the most beautiful place on earth and therefore get to witness some of the most beautiful sunrises each day.  It's a rough life, but someone's got to do it....

The kids are so good at cramming into a feed pickup and tagging along for whatever adventures we're sent on by their dad.  Thank goodness Reese's behind fits into the pickup console perfectly. 

Dear school: please excuse my children for being late to school.  They were shipping cattle with their great grandpa.  

Great Grandpa: Hey! Crawl into the cage on this lift and I'll see how high and far I can lift you! 

It's been a whirlwind of a September, but looking back it has been pretty good for us.  

Fields of Dreams

 

This is it.  This is life lately.  We are either in the ball fields or the hay fields.  Tonight we left the baby with a friend, the oldest went to the field to bale with Dad while the two middles and I went to play t-ball.  As soon as we were done, we rushed back to the field to help move equipment and get ready for tomorrow and then drive back to our friends' house to pick up the littlest one.  

The kids went to bed 1.5 hours late.  It is now 10:30 at night and I'm making cheese dip for my husband because he called and said it sounded good. I cannot help but oblige him after he works so hard for us.  

These are the days.  What a love/hate relationship I have with the land and the lifestyle.  I know that these days are not fun for anyone involved - kids or parents, but hopefully it makes for some wonderful kiddos that understand WHY we do WHAT we do to help feed the world.  Right now they seem to have an appreciation for agriculture and we hope that sticks with them throughout their lives.  We hope they understand why there are only fleeting glimpses of Dad right now and why Mom makes the baby take most of her naps in the carseat these days.  

In a few more weeks this will all be a memory.  But right now, we are living in all sorts of fields of dreams.  

One to Remember

 Is this the worst snowstorm in history for our area?  

Probably not.  Although it is one of the worst thus far in my lifetime.

Is this one something we'll remind our kids of, tell the grandbabies about someday?  

Probably so.  At least I will. 

I'll tell them about the water line that broke up by town and all the rural water was shut off in our area for one day.  The automatic water troughs froze, some of the water lines in the house froze.  We prayed for the men that dug up the line and had to fix the leak when I'm sure they couldn't even feel their fingers. 

I'll tell them about the tractor that caught fire and almost burned (because there was no water) but a pitcher of my mother in law's tea saved the day.  I'll tell them how that day seemed to last an eternity.  I'll tell them how many weeeeeeks we stayed below freezing consistently.  I'll tell them how mom's SUV was parked out in the yard and the tractors and feed pickups all were parked in the shop instead because we are real with our priorities. 

I'll tell them how tired everyone's eyes looked, even when they smiled.

But...

I'll also tell them about some of the good things.  Baking cookies, making hearty meals, playing games, snuggling and watching movies at night.  Lots of together time.  I'll remind them how fortunate we are for technology that allowed us to watch church on our computer instead of going to town.  

I'll tell them how heartwarming it was to see people share their ideas and tips with one another online for keeping calves warm or thawing pipes or chopping ice.  

I'll remind them that this was the time they learned about kidney stones.  Mostly because they heard me mutter to myself over and over 'this too shall pass.  It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.' 

Many thanks to anyone, in any industry, who is required to be out in the elements during this time.  

And many thanks to those who have the common sense to stay home when their assistance is not required. 

Snow on an animal's back is actually a great thing and serves as a layer of insulation.

Animals do a great job of finding spots in brush or down in draws where wind and weather are not as severe.

Visibility was fairly compromised this morning. 
Sunshine will be oh so sweet when it finally comes one of these days. 

Corn silage that was preserved earlier this fall is a great feedstuff during winter days.

You don't have to ask twice for the calves to line up at the bunk today.

There's always that one a**hole that slips out of the pen and is on the wrong side.

Not All Bad Days

We've had a run of bad luck lately in our household regarding sick kiddos.  My husband and I try to keep it in perspective though, as there are many who have it much, much worse.  RSV, colds, flu, pinkeye; the list goes on and on.  

There have been some peaks amidst all these valleys, however.  Not every day has been a bad day.  

During one of the many cold spells/ice storms I let the boys watch a kid's yoga video.  I highly recommend something like this to combat cabin fever.  The boys loved it. 

It doesn't matter if the temperature is only 30 degrees, if there is no wind and your dad asks you go help him clean a pond, you help him clean a pond.  

Seeing these PVC pipes that Wes was going to place in the pond dam brought back a flood of memories for me.  My dad had some PVC pipes down at our barn for a horse waterer that he was installing.  Somehow, my older sister convinced me to stuff myself in one of the pipes and she stood on top and started to run.  During this unfortunate log rolling incident several of my fingers were rolled on and as a result I lost some fingernails and then we had to make up some elaborate lie to tell my mother.  I believe the best elaborate lie we could muster was "I fell." (Really?  You tripped and fell and that's why your fingernails are purple and bleeding?  I believe her response was something like that.  We totally fooled her.)

Although my heart skipped a beat when I saw John standing next to these pipes, we are safe thus far as the next generation cannot yet read about this log rolling incident and have the seed of mischief planted in their brains.  Probably next year. 

We read quite a few books at our house.  It's one of my favorite 'go-to' parenting strategies.  (Right up there with 'go outside'.)  Look bored?  Read a book.  Don't feel good?  Sit on the couch and read a book.  Hungry?  Read a book to pass the time until supper. 

Sometimes the stars align and all the kids play nicely together.  These little five minute chunks of peace and contentment are the highlight of my days.  

Just woke up and Mom refuses to turn on cartoons?  Read a book. 

Same story, different pajamas.  Wake up, read books. 

Waiting on Mom to serve lunch?  Read a book.  (I wasn't kidding folks.) 

Improvisation at it's finest.  I HAD to run some snap tests for Wesley, pronto.  Kathryn refused to nap and felt the need to be near me the majority of this day.  Therefore my sidekick had to settle for sitting in her highchair with toys, watching me work away. 

Speaking of snap tests, my helper is absolutely DEVASTATED when I deny him the chance to help his mom with work.  I admire that about him and hope he keeps that attitude up.  

Not every day of our winter has been terrible.  Occasionally there has been a sunshiny day where we can open up the shop doors and have a picnic for lunch with the men.  We live for those days.  There are few things in life better than fine dining on a milk crate table. 

On some of these rare, wonderful, sunshine filled days we've played outside every waking moment while the cattle looked on at our construction site.  Dozers, backhoes, dumptrucks... these boys accomplish some pretty substantial work while playing.  

Okay, this one was a bad day.  It is never enjoyable when your child is hospitalized.  On the bright side; however, this was also the day when our child was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease and proper treatment could begin.  It was the best, bad day possible.  

We're ready for a spring filled with our best, great days possible!