Step Inside My Office....

Welcome! I know I've been MIA lately but I've been a little busy at the office. Let me give you a little tour around the place......

This is the outside view of my office.....

Just another view with a little different background. Pretty huh!!!

This is the inside view of my office.......
(obviously a man decorated it, I would have chosen a different color scheme)

This is my employers office......

(once in awhile he lets me sit at his desk and run the thing)

This is the view from my office.....

Nothing like an office with a view...........

This is a co-worker of mine.....

(sorry, bad picture, it's a semi)

Sometimes I get "ride alongs".....

Sometimes I sit and think about how big my butt is getting from sitting in my office all day.....

Oh, got to go, the boss man needs me. Tour has to come to an end.

I'd love to come see your office someday.....

Rockhound Champs!!!

Kale with his team's trophy and his individual trophy.














Sunday was the big PeeWee and Midget tournament to end the baseball season. The boys look forward to this big day all season long. All the teams are from local towns and so the players pretty much know all the other players because they all go to school together. You can imagine the competitiveness this day brings to the boys.



Both teams played very well and provided some great games to watch. The other highlight of this tournament is that there is a swimming pool about 250 yards from the baseball field. Between games the boys head over to swim and play around to cool off while their sisters pretty much stay in the pool the whole day. It really couldn't be any better of a situation!


Both our teams came out the Champs and took home two HUGE trophies and also individual trophies as well. Very Cool!! I was so proud of the boys and their coach for all their hard work all summer.







PeeWee's
(Kale is standing in the back, the third player from the right)


















Midget's
(Trevor helped coach, he has on the white shirt)









Tonight the boys and the girls teams head to the pool to celebrate the end of yet another good year of ball games.


The kids are all done but my ladies team is in the second week of our tournament and Trevor's team will be starting their tournament this week. So, just a few more days of ball diamonds and then in a short while it will be football fields and volleyball courts.

My Personal Sanctuary

Girls...you have to get yourself one of these!! I absolutely love my little gazebo. It's not the biggest one they sell but not the smallest one either. It is so nice to go and just sit and look at a magazine, read a book, take a nap, or just sit and do nothing but have a cold beverage or a hot coffee. There's something so quaint about it that makes it very relaxing. The screen keeps the bugs out and it stays nice and shady (which is a huge necessity with the 90+ weather temps we've been having).


This is my second one. Last year I had one too but a nasty wind storm pretty much destroyed it. I was working in the field driving the tractor and it was heavy on my mind that my gazebo may be in jeopardy with such strong gusts of wind, but farmers just don't understand that harvest should be shut down for awhile to run home and tie down the gazebo. When I did get home that night I found my gazebo toppled over in a pile. I sat and cried because I knew it was ruined. I know - what a baby! But I loved my quiet times in my sanctuary. I had it tied down and staked down but the wind was just too much. This year it's tied even better and that baby isn't going anywhere.

I didn't know if Trevor was going to "let" me have another one or not but when I found this one on clearance I gave him my best "puppy dog eyes" and begged. Last year I set it up all on my own - how? I still have no idea how I managed to do it by myself. I guess I was just determined. This year Trevor helped me, which was good, I don't think I could have done this one on my own.

A little outdoor furniture and some plants to make it comfy cozy and your set. Awwwh....RELAXATION. I have a grape vine and a new perrenial flowerbed that I started last year behind it that makes for a pretty view. I admit though, I definitely haven't spent enough time in it yet this year. After this week both kids will be done with ball games and hopefully I'll have more evenings to spend at home. Of course then there's wheat harvest which we started yesterday......... Oh, sooner or later I'll find some quality time to hang out in my sanctuary.

What Have We Been Up To You Ask ?????

A little of this and a little of that......

Both kids qualified for State in the pedal tractor pull...

Triathlon!!

At the starting line....

heading out around the buoy....

(Kale has on the white shirt)

running hard to the finish line ....

Second Place!!!

A job well done.

Gave three of these to a nice family...YAY!!!

PARADE!

Waiting patiently for the candy...

Here come the boys...finally.

Swing hard Slugger!!

Swimming lessons test.....

Both kids passed - YAHOO!!

Went to Mpls to visit the in-laws....

played a little put-put...

shot some trap....

Kale shot trap for the first time and hit one...Atta Boy!!

Miss You Much!

My blogging break needs to continue another week. The kids have one more week of swimming lessons - which I don't get home until noon. When we get home it's off to the farm or catch up on things at home before heading out to ball games in the evening. My head is spinning in circles (more than usual) and I just haven't made the time to sit at the computer lately. I miss you all so much and can't wait for a rainy day to catch up. Speaking of rain - the crops could sure use some. The fields still look really good but a nice inch or two would really help the plants produce a bountiful crop.

How about this - school starts in about six weeks. YIKES!!! Oh, where did this summer go to? School supplies are out already too. I'm thinking of letting my kids just skip this whole year - think the State would mind? Just kidding! The other day, I was ready to send them to summer school! It turned out to be nothing that a spanking spoon couldn't handle.

Ever get to that point during the summer when the flower beds get a little neglected? I'm there. I feel like those stupid weeds just start reproducing the moment I pull one of their dear friends. Thank the Lord for my little roto-tiller. Trevor bought me one of these little buggers that I can get in and around my plants after my accident a few years ago. It's been a real help. I'm so far behind in pinching off the dead blooms on some of my flowers - do they make a tool that does that for ya? I've learned that really helps the plants bloom longer. Oh, and if that dog digs one more hole, and kills one more plant in my flower beds....well, I don't know what I'll do....I guess I'll just go buy more to replace them (the family would kill me if I killed that dog).....dumb dog!!!(actually it's a really good hunting dog and I am the one that bought it for Trevor so it's my own fault).

We moved the calves over to our place since we have the "perfect" little pasture for them. These are the calves that for some reason or another had to be taken from their moms and bottle fed. We have six of them. They are all eating on their own now except one that is still on a bottle. Kale's a BIG help with these buggers. He's pretty responsible with feeding them grain and making sure they have water.

Okay, now I'm just babbling on and I really need to get off this thing and get busy. I'll try to get pictures down-loaded off the camera and post some of the happenings in our lives lately. Oh, did I mention Kale and Danny got 2nd place in the Triathalon!!!!(more later on that).

I hope you are all having a great summer, getting some sunshine and enjoying family times. I miss you all so much - more than you know. You have all been such a great inspiration to me and have kept me going in life in ways you'll never know. It hasn't been an easy year for me - but thanks for the kind words you all share. They help me keep my head above the water.

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope you all have a great week and weekend. Enjoy some fireworks, take in a parade, catch a ballgame, have a picnic, splash in some water and enjoy time with family and friends. We'll be doing these things and a little more.

While the Husbands Away......

Why is it that when my husband is out of town I just can't come up with anything fun to do? Kale is going camping with the boys and Trevor is leaving for a fishing tournament, so Nikia and I are going to be home by ourselves.

I want to do something fun, but what???

Girls night out - I can be ready in 10 minutes.
Shopping - maybe.
Pool - possibility.
Movie - perhaps.
Just sit at home - probably.

I have such a boring life!!!

Girlfriend and Boyfriend

Remember Jade? Kale's "girlfriend" (she just graduated this year from high school). He's been wanting to ask her to come to one of his baseball games but just hadn't got the chance to yet. Well, last Friday he made his move. Now, this is really cool that he wanted to invite her, BUT.... I had no idea when he was going to do it.
I was taking a shower when he comes in my room and says, "I just called Jade and she said she might come to my game."
Ummmm, what did you just say? (as I'm getting the soap out of my ears because I thought he just said he called a girl)
"She might come to my game!"
"You called her?"
"Yes"
"Well, okay, but it's an away game" (45 minutes away, to be exact, in another town, and it starts in 2 hours. In the back of my mind I'm thinking there's no way she'll come that far) "How did you get her number?"
"I already had it marked in the phone book!" (dah! Mom)
"You did?"

So.... we're sitting at the game, waiting for the Wee-Wee's (5-6 yr. old) game to finish and the Pee-Wee's to begin when up walks Jade. I looked at Kale and he got the biggest smile on his face and started to blush. Could she be any nicer? A beautiful teenage girl, on a Friday night, could have made plans to do anything and she chose to make my little 8 1/2 year old boy's night. She drove all that way just for Kale. Isn't she wonderful?

















The other highlight of the night was.....

As the games went on Jade and I were chatting about Nikia and Jade asks if Nikia has a little boyfriend. I told her I didn't think so, she thinks boys have germs (a little thing I may have made her believe). It was no more than 3 minutes later and up walks Nikia crying her eyes out. Sobbing!!

"What's the matter honey?"
"Aaron, my boyfriend, just broke up with me!"
"What did you just say?"
"He broke up with me, and now he's playing with another girl!"

As Jade was doing all she could not to laugh out loud, I was trying to comprehend that my 6 yr. old just said the words "broke up" and actually new what it ment, and that it was referring to her and a boy.

OH THE DRAMA !!!!!!!

Black and Blue and Red

I've taken such a beating the last couple of days. On Tuesday I was scooping manure out of the barn and I went to toss the "crap" off of my pitchfork into the wagon but "it" didn't come off. The pitchfork kind of fell out of my hand and the handle went right to my right eye. OUCH!! Now I have a black and blue mark on my eyelid. I've tried to cover it up with eyeshadow but it must not be working. My Mom told me it looked like my makeup was smeared. NICE!!

Tonight at my softball game I was playing catcher and the pitch came in and took a nasty bounce right at my mouth. OUCH!! I had to leave the game because it wouldn't quit bleeding. I now have a big ol' fat lip on the top and a little hamburger on the bottom lip, plus a nice RED mark on the outside. Oh yeah, and my front big tooth hurts too. I sure hope I didn't hurt a nerve to my tooth. That would be real great to have my tooth turn black. I'd have to change my blog site to The Redneck Hillbilly. NICE!!

















So, yeah. I'm looking just peachy!! Wish I could just stay home and hide out for a few days. Nope. I have softball practice with the beautiful teenage girls at 8:00 am. YAY!! :(

Pets, Pets, and More Pets!!

I know I have posted pictures of our goats before, but I have to show you our new set of twins. They are so adorable. I wanted to name them Bert and Ernie but it turns out one of them is a girl. So, I have yet to come up with their names. (any ideas Kerrie? I thought of the first letter of all our names and came up with TANK or KNAT. I'm thinking no to both) They were born while we were on our trip. I knew the mama was close and I was really hoping she could wait till we got back, but no such luck. They're only about 5 inches tall.




















Guess what else we came home to. Another litter of kitties. She had 6 kitties to be exact. So now the count is 11 baby kitties. NICE!!!
Okay, now make sure your children are looking at the screen and read the following out loud to them.
Anyone want a free kitty? Pick a color, any color. We've got black, grey, white, and orange. Nikia plays with with the older litter everyday so they're nice and tame - very kid friendly. I'm sure you kids would love to have one - or you can even have two. That way one kitty won't get lonely all by itself.






















These are two from the first litter and they're about big enough to start giving them away. They wouldn't cost any money. They're free!!! They'd probably be such good kitties you could let them sleep in your room with you or just follow you around wherever you go. You can even pick out a name for them. Except, Nikia has already named the orange one Peaches. Just tell your mom that you really want one.

Now moms, don't break your kid's heart. Give in and let them have a kitty - or two. Remember, they're free!!!

Father's Day Trip to the Black Hills

It was a great trip and we're all ready to go back again next year. The location Dad had picked out was beautiful. We were very secluded from seeing or hearing a lot of vehicles so there was hardly any noise except what we made. Every day we went on horse rides and 4-wheeler rides so we put on something like 200 miles on each of the 4-wheelers and I'm not sure how many on the horses. We saw so many deer, elk, turkeys, antelope and of course we heard the coyotes howling at night. It was such a relaxing and enjoyable trip for everyone.




One of the gorgeous views!













Tylor letting the horses eat some grass.

Kale being a goofball!

Nikia and Lexy slept in the front of the trailer each night.

Playing the "washer" game.

Heading out for a ride.

We had just gone through a very beautiful long canyon with rocks and trees on both sides of us and it came out to this open range.

Kale letting Storm graze a little.

Saddle is on and now for the bridle.

My brother and Dad deciding which way we should go to see more elk.

The first day we had the horses tied up like this. They could move around quite a bit but they ate the grass pretty quickly so we changed it a little the next day.

The next day we made a corral for the horses to stay in.

Grandpa having some fun with the kids.

Trevor and Nikia hanging out.

For those of you wondering: our "biffy". The blue tarp for some privacy, the white towel to let others know someone was using the biffy, the toilet paper on a stick for a holder. This "seat" really came in handy for the kids to use. I didn't have to worry about the kids getting "any" on their pants while squatting. The bucket with a bag for easy disposal. I would prefer using this biffy over any other biffy any day - it didn't stink and it had a beautiful view! :)

It really was a great time. I wish we could have stayed longer - lord knows we had enough food along to stay longer. The weather was perfect except the last night we got about 1/4 inch of rain. We didn't mind it though - it washed all the dust and pollen off of everything. I can't wait till next year!!

This is just going to be a quick post as it is 4:00 in the morning (I can't sleep and what else is there better to do than blog). I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to lately since I haven't posted in a while. We've been so busy around here lately. Last weekend I worked here at home and finally got caught up on some things that have been neglected (mowing, flower beds, garden, cleaning house, etc..).

Every night of the week someone in our family has a ballgame. It pans out kinda like this:

Monday - Kale baseball
Tuesday - Nikia softball, and I help coach a 16-under girls softball team
Wednesday - Amy softball
Thursday - Nikia softball, and Trevor softball
Friday - Kale baseball

Busy? YES!! But I love watching the kids play and it's a good time to chat with the other parents from the community.

We've been getting ready for our Father's Day vacation. In past years we've gone out fishing to the Missouri River with my Dad and Mom and one year my brother's family came too. This year Dad decided we should all (except my sister and her family because they're being party-poopers and don't want to) go to the Black Hills. We're taking 4 horses and 6 4-wheelers. We're staying in tents and Mom and Dad are bringing their camper. We're not going to a campground.....no, no, no, we're staying out in the woods and "roughing it". It should be a lot of fun if the weather cooperates.

I'll be sure to let you all know how the trip went and post some pictures when we return. Have a great weekend.

Just Horsing Around!!!

Almost every day Nikia asks me if she can ride a horse. When we're at the farm she spends a lot of time by the horse pasture talking to the horses and feeding them grass. She LOVES horses. In fact, she wants her own Paint horse someday. I've never been that big of a fan of Paints but maybe for her I'll change my view. Maybe. The other day my niece Lexy went riding and helped Nikia and Kale get all set on some horses.

Nikia riding Zippy.

Kale riding Bo.

Nikia has no fear of horses and Kale is a little more nervous around them. I think Kale's fear stems from seeing my horse accident. When it was time to put the horses away, Nikia cried because she wanted to ride more and Kale had had enough.

Who Are You, And What Have You Done With My Children?

We've had so much rain lately that it's been hard to keep up with the mowing. The other day we finally had a break from the rain and the sun was shining so I sent Kale out to begin the task of getting the whole yard mowed before the clouds came back. It takes about 3 hours (non-stop) with a riding lawn mower to finish our yard. He was such a trooper and only took two breaks. One for lunch and one for a much deserved popsicle. I was going to take over but he never complained or seemed to get tired of it.

I was so proud of him for getting the job done so quickly. I told him that Pirates of the Caribbean was on t.v. if he wanted to watch it. He loves that movie and hurried into the house to watch it. He only watched about 15 minutes of it and then came and asked me if there was anything else he could do for me outside. WHAT??? He wants more work? Ummm, okay. I told him there was some piles of old straw/hay in the goat pen along with a couple piles of sticks and branches that he could pick up and haul to our dump. He simply said "alright" and got to work. Again, no complaints, and he finished that job too (this time with a little help from his sister). She didn't have any complaints about the task either.

That same morning, Nikia asked if she could dust for me. Ummm, of course you can. She was walking around dusting and singing away. This can't be normal. Kids enjoying work?

Yesterday, I explained to Kale that for one of his summer chores I would like him to clean the toilet in his bathroom once a week. I have shown him how to do this before and he was thrilled to learn (go figure). So yesterday, with no hesitation he got the job done and then came and asked me what I use to clean the mirror in the bathroom. Again, he's wanting to do more work.

Wait just a minute! What is going on here? I promise, I don't threaten them, or bribe them, or run any type of sweat shop. I'm just simply wondering who took my kids and what did they do with them. My kids are usually really good workers but I usually hear some griping and wining about the chores they're having to do. Hmmmm, what are they up to? They must want something. But what? I bet in some way or another their father is involved in this little conspiracy too.

I guess the only things I can do is consider myself extremely blessed to have such willing little workers, and make up a list of things I want done so I'll be ready for the next little volunteer.

I sure hope this lasts all summer. Yeah, right! Who am I kidding.