Fair Time

Cleaning Stalls -

Watching the others . . .

Milah participated in 4 events - showmanship, trail, western equitation, and working rancher. Before each event, the kids are given a pattern that they must memorize and complete under the supervision of a judge. They are scored on their poise, dress, and control of their horse. Milah received 1 blue ribbon and 2 red ribbons and a white ribbon.

There was a costume competition just for fun -

After the intensity of the last few days - Milah crashed. I finally awakened her after a 3 hour nap. Notice a freaky Milah trait - from birth, she has always slept with her eyes squinted a bit open. Creepy -

Sale Alert

Once a year, for a few weeks, this wholesale nursery is open to the public. They offer awesome deals on plants (I have bought entire flats for 1$). Time for a little confession - I actually get butterflies in my stomach on the way to this sale. Also, as it nears the end, the deals get better so you have to go several times. I've nearly had to tie the kids to the roof to get home after heaping the car with bargain perennnials. This year, the sale starts July 19th and it will run for 2-3 weeks. Maybe I'll see you there!

Hey Hay it's your Birthday!

No this is not a "senior" picture, but it will be soon enough. Sten is turning 16 in 4 days. What happened to that little towhead in the backseat chattering about tractors and monster trucks from his perch in the carseat? A blink, a nod and a few runny noses later - he's a young man. Sten is a character with a calm and witty personality. He's a bit redneck (maybe a large percentage), part comedian, part Mr. Fix-it, and part "Good Guy." He would run through hot coals for his sisters, and is the perfect mix of "toughness" and sensitivity. He is loyal, fair and a hard worker. Although not crazy about school- his sharp mind, his skills, tenacity, and friendly nature will serve him well (after he escapes the penitentiary). Happy Birthday Stennie.

The cast of characters

Is she a Classic Yet?

Many moons ago (before there was air) this was Scott's ride. A 1976 240D Mercedes. In anticipation of a need for more hay storage, he moved this out of the barn.

The girls were incredibly excited over these "new" wheels. Maren had a friend over and flippantly pointed in the direction of the car (one hand on her hip) - "That's our Mercedes - a Mercedes is an old fashioned car." (Oh, if she only knew)

Sten does not seem to share their enthusiasm. The resurrection of this automobile is a mere week from his 16th birthday. Hmmm, I think the insurance rate for a 16 yr old male in an ancient german-made tank shouldn't be too bad???

Get your FIREWORKS HERE!

4th of July means peddling fireworks on behalf of the swim club. The kids always enjoy getting dressed up for the occasion.

Our Marketing Team

A slow moment allows for a quick snooze

Milah Moo and Ronie Too

Part of being in 4H is participating in parades. This means "hurry up get there" and then "sit around for hours". I think Ronie was ecstatic about her attire tho-way to show some spirit girls!

New Floor Old Barn

Scott and the kids completed an update in the barn recently. They replaced rotten floor boards and made a stall area with a sliding stall front. Milah is high stylin' now - and things are look'n officially horsey around there.

Summer Fun!

Off to the Vet we Go . . .

Danner apparently tangled with the wrong sharp toothed critter and suffered a casualty. The rip in his ear required stitches and as always, he was a beast at the vet. He saves his meanest growl for them and they have learned to muzzle him because I think he would take a chunk out of 'em. We have tried to convince them that he is "Mr. Mellow", but they look at us very skeptically and nod their heads

Danner was tormented by the "bonnet" and bandages. He was constantly trying to shake loose of them.

Child Labor

Maren had a tooth barely hanging for a week, and it finally fell out on Saturday. We'll spare you the gruesome photos of wiggly teeth (nasty). She also got some new spectacles -

I discovered this site just the other day. It is an online job chart that your child logs into each day and checks off tasks as they are completed. So far, Maren has unloaded dirty dishes out of the dishwasher and placed them back in the cupboards and taken 3 showers a day - eager to stack up her "points." When all jobs are checked off, the child gets a round of applause. My favorite is that you can send notes back and forth between parent and child. Milah's first note to me was, "this is by far the stupidest thing you have done in years Mom." Ahhh, warms a mother's heart.

Buzzzzz

You never know what a day brings . . . today our neighbor requested Sten's services as a beekeeper when a swarm developed near their house. Seems as tho the mighty logger is deathly afraid of bees (I'm right there with him) and begged Sten's assistance. Sten admitted to being a little creeped out and nervous about the task.

Aw Aw Aw CHOO!

Hay season is in full swing around here . . . this means long days, sunburns, weather checks, and coolers full of water. It also meant pulling a bit of tansy - over a ton in one field.

It also means scheduling, checking the weather, monitoring equipment and a full cart of grub at Costco.

Oh, and did I mention - we are always checking the weather?!

Susie and Gauge are home. This little guy is irresistable.

Shop truck on standby

From the Warden

Sten has informed us that his friends refer to our home as the peniteniary. Upon further questioning it turns out that it's because we don't let him do whatever he wants. Hmmm, we thought that was called parenting. Stay tuned for a DIY tutorial on installing razor wire and guard posts at your home. Love you Stennie - don't forget it.

Crewcab Update

Sten is in the tedious process of piecing his truck together. It is a giant puzzle - with these pieces waiting their turn, along with a huge bucket of bolts (somewhere). I would never attempt to explain the events that need to take place, but the firewall is almost complete, and then they will have to place the engine on the frame, making sure that all their measurements are correct. Sten says in the process they will be putting pieces on to check measurements, and removing them multiple times. They fashioned this dolly out of an old trailer so they can move the beast out of the way (you know - when it's time to do "real" work).

They used the firewall of the '95 truck, so that was a big hurdle - one down!

Sten was hoping this would be done for his 16th birthday in less than 2 months, but he's obviously had to rethink that goal.

We'll Come to You!

This truck rolls into our parking lot on Wednesdays. I think Santa Claus must be inside because Scott gets real excited and runs out to visit. He nearly always comes back with a purchase (after ALWAYS saying he isn't gonna buy anything). Yeah, we girls have our "things", but this is an obsession - oh excuse me, I mean a necessity.

He always has a "special". Today, was an impressive BBQ. If Scott would've sprung for that one, there's a good chance he would've been the first one roasted (you know I'm kidding . . . kind-of). We tried to work out a fair deal, such as - he gives us the BBQ and we have lunch for him every Wednesday when he drops in, but he wasn't in the bargaining mood.

Higher Learning

The Barely Awake grin. Sten is off on a field trip today, check'n out this college. Boo hoo, sniff sniff (No that's too far, I wouldn't be able to see him everyday, what would he eat, what if he gets sick, he will surely need his mommy).

Sten always sews (yes sews) new pants. He thinks the Carharrts are too wide, so he takes them in a bit on the legs. I checked out his handiwork and noticed that apparently he had used the previously set "basting" stitch on the machine. A basting stitch is temporary and rips out real easily - a guarantee that he would be wearing a long "skirt" by the end of the day. I attempted to rectify his mistake at 5 this morning, but found that my 40+ eyes were not cooperating with the needle threading endeavor too well. I blindly completed the task, but may have to tackle the project at a more "sane" time of day.

Catch a Wave

Check out the surf! No wonder Milah was still feeling "wavy" hours later when she closed her eyes. This was a reward field trip for meeting their reading goals for the year and we were the only school there. Way cool - funzippety

Splish Splash!

Satisfied Customer

We recently sold this truck and I thought their logo was simple but adorable. Oh yeah - and check out that snazzy garbage truck!

My Kinda Place

Hmmm, I have a friend that always inspires me . . . the last time we visited, I peeked out her patio door and screeched with glee. Check out this awesome, adorable, unique, and stink'n cute wind/rain screen. We "harvested" the branchy tree for her and she plans to adorn it with little white lights. I think we'll be sipping some lemonade on that sofa real soon -

This is the master bedroom and it has a cozy vintage feel. The headboard is one that I found at Habitat and painted/distressed. I was sure that I had ruined it, but she loved it, even tho it was a bit too small.