I absolutely love fall.
I love the cool mornings.
I love the changing leaves.
I love playing outside with my kids.
I love pumpkins and gourds and seeing everyone's decorations.
I love that it freezes and I'm allowed to let my garden go.....all I have to do now is pick the underground stuff.
It's just a wonderful time of year; I only wish fall lasted three months instead of the hot summer. That's just me, though.
Today's a bit warmer than it has been lately. We're making good use of the weather outside; we started cross-fencing a pasture by our house. (Cross-fencing is just dividing the large pasture into smaller pastures so that we can rotate our cows next year...it helps prolong the life of the grass.) We've been digging holes for railroad ties this morning. Now the kids are napping. They were so tired; they sort of cried and whined their whole way through lunch. I was glad to send them off to bed; they were sleeping within minutes.
We've also been busy with many other things this month...or at least Matt is every day....I help when I can or he really needs assistance. He's been combining beans and fixing machinery; we've been hauling manure and hauling cows home together. I'm so glad all the cows are home now. It's so nice to know we only have one pasture to go and check and that if we need to give them a bale here and there, we don't have to spend half a day bringing hay down to my pasture.
Clarence has enjoyed his first two weeks of preschool...(It's only been 4 half-days, but he loves it!). He rides the bus now with cousin Tucker. He's picked up about 7:50. He gets to school, they play, then go eat breakfast as a class, then come back and brush their teeth. Then they get to make projects, play in the gym or outside, and read books. He really loves school; he's always asking me when the bus is coming again to get him for "cool". Of course, as soon as he gets any free moments, he's working on his pen. He recently moved it over by the horse pen, and has moved the panels around to make a chute. He's decided it's going to be a calf pen for the little calves. He's just constantly working on it to perfect its usefulness, I guess. :) He even has a bale of nice green alfalfa spread around the pen.....what he's expecting to come and eat it, I'm not sure.
He spent the night at Nikki's on Thursday. He noticed all the leaves in her yard and told her, "You need clean you yard up." So they went out and taked for a bit. They made a big pile of leaves, and Clarence pointed to the raked part, "That look so nice." He's such a little perfectionist! It makes me laugh!
Adina's having fun at home with me while Clarence is gone at school. We just hang out and get a little bit of work done, then it's time to go and pick him up. People keep asking her if she wants to ride the bus, and she replies, "maybe yater"...meaning that she's really not ready yet. "Maybe Yater" is her answer for when she doesn't get to do something today, tomorrow, or for a while. She understands that "maybe later" is a ways away, so that's how she responds. She's into playing with her Barbie, Ariel, putting on lip gloss, brushing her hair, and wrapping up her babies lately. She's also really into training her kitties, too. She loves playing "out-hide baby hihees". I love listening to her talk. We can really have a pretty full conversation these days, which is nice for me...I understand better what she wants.
I started teaching piano lessons in St. Vincent last week. I've got 20 students up there. I'm hoping it'll be a good year with everyone willing to practice and move along in their books. :) I'll also be teaching some lessons in Lancaster on Monday evenings, but I'm really glad I split the days up...it would get to be such a long day if I hadn't. I'm not really sure how things will work after the baby comes and I decide to teach again...I guess I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it. Just pray that it'll all work out ok, I guess.
Well, hope you're enjoying our fabulous fall! Pray that we get some rain soon....it's so dry everywhere!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Excitement
It's been a good start to the week.
Sunday began with our first day of Sunday School. All went well, and the kids had so much fun. After church, Mom and Nikki each took a kid. Matt and I went and had lunch with Pat and Laverne (the people we bought our farm from), then came home and canned tomatoes and spaghetti sauce. Yay for having a helper who was willing to peel tons of tomatoes. He literally saved me hours. Thanks, Matt. :)
The kids were so excited when they got home that night because Grandma Juli had let them borrow "Gunsmoke". It's all they've been watching since they got it. And they love it! It's black and white, but it's all they request. It makes me laugh. Matt loves it, too. He'll find any excuse to come in and watch a movie with the kids before bed. :)
Clarence started out yesterday by being privileged enough to ride in the corn chopper with Donald Burton. Donald and his crew came out yesterday and chopped our corn. Clarence was lucky enough to get to ride for three hours in the corn chopper. I asked him how many rows he did. He held up his hands, and said, "Five, five, five, five, five rows." (That's a lot, I'm thinking.) I wonder what he and Donald talked about? Any guesses?
I'm guessing farming, cows, haying, chopping corn, etc. Anything and everything that could have to do with the farm. Donald even gave him pop and candy. What a lucky boy!
Tonight he had his pre-school open house. We went to the school, found his room, his cubby, his nametag, his locker, and met his new teacher. He had a lot of fun (and Adina had fun tagging along). We read a book together, then had a snack, then went outside to play with the other kids. I know he's going to have a great time at preschool.
Today we spent a few hours cleaning up our toy room. It was a disaster, to say the least. Anyway, now we can easily walk in the door, through that room, and go right into the kitchen, rather than going around the long way. It's lovely.
Adina found so many cool toys she had forgotten about. She found one of my grandma's old purses full of dishes Nikki, Amanda, Savannah and I used to play with at Grandma's house. She added her own little collection to the purse, threw it around her neck (that's how she carries it), and has walked around with it on all afternoon. This morning she even picked 8 tomatoes and added to her purse and random collection. Thankfully Clarence told me about them so I could take them out before she squished them and made a large, disgusting mess.
That's all the excitement I have...not as much as I thought, but it's all fun, anyway.
Oh, one more. The baby's been moving for the last two weeks, and it's so much fun to experience it again! Now I can even feel it on the outside sometimes. I'm excited for when the kids will actually be able to feel it. It won't be long now! I'm 21 weeks along right now. Baby's due January 20th, although I'm sure I'll have my c-section the week before...I'm kinda shooting for Jan. 15th, which is my brother's birthday.That would be fun!
Hope you're having a super day and week! And yay for cooler weather!
Sunday began with our first day of Sunday School. All went well, and the kids had so much fun. After church, Mom and Nikki each took a kid. Matt and I went and had lunch with Pat and Laverne (the people we bought our farm from), then came home and canned tomatoes and spaghetti sauce. Yay for having a helper who was willing to peel tons of tomatoes. He literally saved me hours. Thanks, Matt. :)
The kids were so excited when they got home that night because Grandma Juli had let them borrow "Gunsmoke". It's all they've been watching since they got it. And they love it! It's black and white, but it's all they request. It makes me laugh. Matt loves it, too. He'll find any excuse to come in and watch a movie with the kids before bed. :)
Clarence started out yesterday by being privileged enough to ride in the corn chopper with Donald Burton. Donald and his crew came out yesterday and chopped our corn. Clarence was lucky enough to get to ride for three hours in the corn chopper. I asked him how many rows he did. He held up his hands, and said, "Five, five, five, five, five rows." (That's a lot, I'm thinking.) I wonder what he and Donald talked about? Any guesses?
I'm guessing farming, cows, haying, chopping corn, etc. Anything and everything that could have to do with the farm. Donald even gave him pop and candy. What a lucky boy!
Tonight he had his pre-school open house. We went to the school, found his room, his cubby, his nametag, his locker, and met his new teacher. He had a lot of fun (and Adina had fun tagging along). We read a book together, then had a snack, then went outside to play with the other kids. I know he's going to have a great time at preschool.
Today we spent a few hours cleaning up our toy room. It was a disaster, to say the least. Anyway, now we can easily walk in the door, through that room, and go right into the kitchen, rather than going around the long way. It's lovely.
Adina found so many cool toys she had forgotten about. She found one of my grandma's old purses full of dishes Nikki, Amanda, Savannah and I used to play with at Grandma's house. She added her own little collection to the purse, threw it around her neck (that's how she carries it), and has walked around with it on all afternoon. This morning she even picked 8 tomatoes and added to her purse and random collection. Thankfully Clarence told me about them so I could take them out before she squished them and made a large, disgusting mess.
That's all the excitement I have...not as much as I thought, but it's all fun, anyway.
Oh, one more. The baby's been moving for the last two weeks, and it's so much fun to experience it again! Now I can even feel it on the outside sometimes. I'm excited for when the kids will actually be able to feel it. It won't be long now! I'm 21 weeks along right now. Baby's due January 20th, although I'm sure I'll have my c-section the week before...I'm kinda shooting for Jan. 15th, which is my brother's birthday.That would be fun!
Hope you're having a super day and week! And yay for cooler weather!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Clarence's Daily/Weekly/Monthly and Adina's new obsession
Here's what I can remember from some funny things my sweet little boy has said recently. He continually cracks me up with his conversations, his addiction/obsession with the farm, and his love of helping his dad and grandpa.
C: Grampa Lowell? You got any minner and salt blocks? I need some. Bye.
(This was his imaginary phone conversation with my dad in the car one day.)
_________
C: Mom, you need get those matoes out of my wagon. I need to haul 'nure.
Me: Can we just leave them in there until I'm ready to use them?
C: Okay, but I need to haul 'nure. Morrow you can get them out.
Me: Ok....(but I'll leave them in there as long as he forgets about them.)
____________________
Last week, we found Clarence at the foot of the deck with two chairs turned over on their sides, the cushions for the chairs on the ground, a garbage can, and the wagon, all in a circle.
Me: What are you doing, Clarence?
C: Going camping, Auntie Mary's fair.
Me: You are at the State Fair?
C: Yeah, camping. Dina, lay down and sleep. (Then he lays down with her on the cushions and they pretend they're sleeping and camping.)
Later on, I saw he had Ruby in his "pen."
Me: Clarence, be nice to Ruby.
C: She's my heifer, I need to load her in the trailer (his wagon).
Me: Ok, but if she wants to get out, make sure you let her. You have to be nice.
C: I be nice.
.......
After Matt got home and saw his mess, he said:
Matt: Clarence, come with me; I have some panels you can have and you can make a real pen instead of making a mess right here.
C: Ok... (He's so excited about the possibility of real panels!)
Matt: (Goes to the barn, comes out with six sheep panels.) Will these work? Where do you want me to set them up?
C: Mom! I got panels!
Me: Set them up by the sandbox.
C: Yeah!
Minutes later, after Matt had the pen all set up, Clarence had a rope around Ruby's neck and was leading her over to the pen.
Me: What are you doing, Clarence?
C: I need to get this black pig in the pen.
Me: Oh, now you have a black pig named Ruby?
C: Yep.
From this poing on, Clarence has spent countless hours at his pen, opening gates, getting dogfood to lure the puppies and Ruby in, bringing the baby kitties out there, etc. He's obsessed...it's his own little pen to do whatever he wants with (as long as he's nice to the animals).
________________________
Adina's been really busy lately. Her black cat, Regan, had kittens about four weeks ago. She's been faithfully petting and training those five cute kitties ever since.
She begs to go outside to see them. She'll pet them, wrap them in blankets, carry them around in buckets (nicely), and feed them. She absolutely loves them! And, I'm so thrilled that we now have nine TAME cats right out my front door. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rocks, the gray cat who had kittens in May or June is going to have another batch any day now. I'm so excited..........
Anyone need any tame kittens?
Adina's a great cat-tamer! She's taught them a lot of tricks! And they are eating catfood already.
________________________
We've had such a fun, busy summer. I can't believe school's already started and we're back into having schedules to live by. Clarence starts three-year old preschool on Sept. 18th. He has it Tuesday and Thursday mornings every week. He's really excited about it - the fun things they get to do and seeing his friends a couple times a week. It's hard for me to know he's already old enough to be at school a little bit, and that he'll be riding the bus!
We have two pastures north of our house that have ponds in them. Dry ponds. We had to bring the cows home from those pastures this last week...we even had them dug out - 8 feet down, with only mud and dry dirt coming out...no water. We've been checking one of the ponds, and thankfully there is water coming back into it slowly from an underground spring. This might allow us to bring the cows back up to those pastures in a couple weeks. Hopefully! Please pray we (and all the other dry areas around us) get rain and plenty of snow this winter. If we don't, it'll be hard to feed the cows next summer. Kind of a scary thought.
Well, off to do something productive before my 'nure spreading helper, Clarence, wakes up from his nap. Adina's at her friend Payton's house today, because she's a difficult little girl to entertain in the tractor for an entire day. Plus, she's so excited to go and play with her friends, that it's fun for me to bring her there because I know she'll have tons of fun. It's all Clarence ever dreams of, though. An endless amount of farm work to do. He sits and talks to me about working his cows, feeding them oats, combining his beans, combining his sunflowers, etc., all of which is imaginary or has to do with his toy cows in the house. He's a funny and interesting little boy!
C: Grampa Lowell? You got any minner and salt blocks? I need some. Bye.
(This was his imaginary phone conversation with my dad in the car one day.)
_________
C: Mom, you need get those matoes out of my wagon. I need to haul 'nure.
Me: Can we just leave them in there until I'm ready to use them?
C: Okay, but I need to haul 'nure. Morrow you can get them out.
Me: Ok....(but I'll leave them in there as long as he forgets about them.)
____________________
Last week, we found Clarence at the foot of the deck with two chairs turned over on their sides, the cushions for the chairs on the ground, a garbage can, and the wagon, all in a circle.
Me: What are you doing, Clarence?
C: Going camping, Auntie Mary's fair.
Me: You are at the State Fair?
C: Yeah, camping. Dina, lay down and sleep. (Then he lays down with her on the cushions and they pretend they're sleeping and camping.)
Later on, I saw he had Ruby in his "pen."
Me: Clarence, be nice to Ruby.
C: She's my heifer, I need to load her in the trailer (his wagon).
Me: Ok, but if she wants to get out, make sure you let her. You have to be nice.
C: I be nice.
.......
After Matt got home and saw his mess, he said:
Matt: Clarence, come with me; I have some panels you can have and you can make a real pen instead of making a mess right here.
C: Ok... (He's so excited about the possibility of real panels!)
Matt: (Goes to the barn, comes out with six sheep panels.) Will these work? Where do you want me to set them up?
C: Mom! I got panels!
Me: Set them up by the sandbox.
C: Yeah!
Minutes later, after Matt had the pen all set up, Clarence had a rope around Ruby's neck and was leading her over to the pen.
Me: What are you doing, Clarence?
C: I need to get this black pig in the pen.
Me: Oh, now you have a black pig named Ruby?
C: Yep.
From this poing on, Clarence has spent countless hours at his pen, opening gates, getting dogfood to lure the puppies and Ruby in, bringing the baby kitties out there, etc. He's obsessed...it's his own little pen to do whatever he wants with (as long as he's nice to the animals).
________________________
Adina's been really busy lately. Her black cat, Regan, had kittens about four weeks ago. She's been faithfully petting and training those five cute kitties ever since.
She begs to go outside to see them. She'll pet them, wrap them in blankets, carry them around in buckets (nicely), and feed them. She absolutely loves them! And, I'm so thrilled that we now have nine TAME cats right out my front door. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rocks, the gray cat who had kittens in May or June is going to have another batch any day now. I'm so excited..........
Anyone need any tame kittens?
Adina's a great cat-tamer! She's taught them a lot of tricks! And they are eating catfood already.
________________________
We've had such a fun, busy summer. I can't believe school's already started and we're back into having schedules to live by. Clarence starts three-year old preschool on Sept. 18th. He has it Tuesday and Thursday mornings every week. He's really excited about it - the fun things they get to do and seeing his friends a couple times a week. It's hard for me to know he's already old enough to be at school a little bit, and that he'll be riding the bus!
We have two pastures north of our house that have ponds in them. Dry ponds. We had to bring the cows home from those pastures this last week...we even had them dug out - 8 feet down, with only mud and dry dirt coming out...no water. We've been checking one of the ponds, and thankfully there is water coming back into it slowly from an underground spring. This might allow us to bring the cows back up to those pastures in a couple weeks. Hopefully! Please pray we (and all the other dry areas around us) get rain and plenty of snow this winter. If we don't, it'll be hard to feed the cows next summer. Kind of a scary thought.
Well, off to do something productive before my 'nure spreading helper, Clarence, wakes up from his nap. Adina's at her friend Payton's house today, because she's a difficult little girl to entertain in the tractor for an entire day. Plus, she's so excited to go and play with her friends, that it's fun for me to bring her there because I know she'll have tons of fun. It's all Clarence ever dreams of, though. An endless amount of farm work to do. He sits and talks to me about working his cows, feeding them oats, combining his beans, combining his sunflowers, etc., all of which is imaginary or has to do with his toy cows in the house. He's a funny and interesting little boy!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
I Wonder Where This Is Going...
I've got an itch I can't scratch....
It all started a couple weeks ago when a guest speaker came to church with his drawings. His sermon was about letting go of old programs that are "dead", being open to change and new ideas, and to focus our lives on what gives us life instead of what drains us. If there is something in our lives that is continually draining us, we need to think of a way to change it and either let go of it or change, then find things that give us life and go with them.
Then, I started a book called "7" by Jen Hatmaker. If you've never read it, read it. I'll highlight a little, or maybe a lot, since I'm obsessed. She's a Christian writer, and the book is about her 7-month fast on seven different things. For a month at a time, she focuses on one thing: clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media or stress. Then, those single focuses are broken down by seven again: seven items of clothing, seven kinds of food, seven types of media, seven places to shop, seven ways to reduce waste, and I don't know about stress because I'm not there yet. Every "month" hits me hard....I spend way too much on food, clothing, in front of the computer/tv, random items to buy "just because", etc.
I just finished the "waste" month.
Here's a quote from the book: "I keep thinking about our obsession with health. Our kids have been immunized, checked, prodded, measured, tested, and examined since the day they were born. Cuts get antibacterial creme and bandaids. Twisted ankles get ice. Strep throats get antibiotics. We fuel our bodies with good food, drinking enough water and milk to keep the wheels on.....
Why? Because God gave us spectacular bodies, and we value them.
But as certainly as God created man in His image, He first created the earth. With the same care He designed sixty thousand miles of blood vessels in the human body, He also crafted hydrangeas and freshwater rapids and hummingbirds. He balanced healthy ecosystems with precision and established climates and beauty. He integrated colors and smells and sounds that would astound humanity. The details He included while designing the earth are so extraordinary, it is no wonder He spent five of the six days of creation on it.
So why don't we care for the earth anywhere near to the degree we do our bodies? Why don't we fuss and examine and steward creation with the same tenacity? Why aren't we refusing complicity in the ravaging of our planet? Why aren't we determined to stop pillaging the earth's resources like savages? Why do we mock environmentalists and undermine their passion for conservation? Do we think ourselves so superior to the rest of creation that we are willing to deplete the earth to supply our luxuries? If so, we may bery well be the last generation who gets that prerogative."
I've been thinking this over and over and over. How can I be a better steward of the earth?
I can recycle.
I can plant a garden.
I can conserve my trips to town.
I can plant trees.
So, not only do I want to be more green, I want to be a better spender, very watchful of where every penny goes, then give the money I would have otherwise spent on myself to those who actually need things. This book drills over and over that Jesus wants us to help the poor, needy, the orphans, the homeless, all those who can't help themselves. What are we doing spending all this money on ourselves? And what is God going to say to us when we meet him if that is all we ever do?
AHHHH!
Anyway...I feel like I need to change some directions of my life right now. I'm not helping the needy in any way that I can think of, and I want to. I am not a green person, either, and I want to be a good steward of the earth. I need to start recycling...that's something major I can do right away. I have to tell myself "no" when I want to buy something "just because".
Well, enough of my rant for now....
See ya!
It all started a couple weeks ago when a guest speaker came to church with his drawings. His sermon was about letting go of old programs that are "dead", being open to change and new ideas, and to focus our lives on what gives us life instead of what drains us. If there is something in our lives that is continually draining us, we need to think of a way to change it and either let go of it or change, then find things that give us life and go with them.
Then, I started a book called "7" by Jen Hatmaker. If you've never read it, read it. I'll highlight a little, or maybe a lot, since I'm obsessed. She's a Christian writer, and the book is about her 7-month fast on seven different things. For a month at a time, she focuses on one thing: clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media or stress. Then, those single focuses are broken down by seven again: seven items of clothing, seven kinds of food, seven types of media, seven places to shop, seven ways to reduce waste, and I don't know about stress because I'm not there yet. Every "month" hits me hard....I spend way too much on food, clothing, in front of the computer/tv, random items to buy "just because", etc.
I just finished the "waste" month.
Here's a quote from the book: "I keep thinking about our obsession with health. Our kids have been immunized, checked, prodded, measured, tested, and examined since the day they were born. Cuts get antibacterial creme and bandaids. Twisted ankles get ice. Strep throats get antibiotics. We fuel our bodies with good food, drinking enough water and milk to keep the wheels on.....
Why? Because God gave us spectacular bodies, and we value them.
But as certainly as God created man in His image, He first created the earth. With the same care He designed sixty thousand miles of blood vessels in the human body, He also crafted hydrangeas and freshwater rapids and hummingbirds. He balanced healthy ecosystems with precision and established climates and beauty. He integrated colors and smells and sounds that would astound humanity. The details He included while designing the earth are so extraordinary, it is no wonder He spent five of the six days of creation on it.
So why don't we care for the earth anywhere near to the degree we do our bodies? Why don't we fuss and examine and steward creation with the same tenacity? Why aren't we refusing complicity in the ravaging of our planet? Why aren't we determined to stop pillaging the earth's resources like savages? Why do we mock environmentalists and undermine their passion for conservation? Do we think ourselves so superior to the rest of creation that we are willing to deplete the earth to supply our luxuries? If so, we may bery well be the last generation who gets that prerogative."
I've been thinking this over and over and over. How can I be a better steward of the earth?
I can recycle.
I can plant a garden.
I can conserve my trips to town.
I can plant trees.
So, not only do I want to be more green, I want to be a better spender, very watchful of where every penny goes, then give the money I would have otherwise spent on myself to those who actually need things. This book drills over and over that Jesus wants us to help the poor, needy, the orphans, the homeless, all those who can't help themselves. What are we doing spending all this money on ourselves? And what is God going to say to us when we meet him if that is all we ever do?
AHHHH!
Anyway...I feel like I need to change some directions of my life right now. I'm not helping the needy in any way that I can think of, and I want to. I am not a green person, either, and I want to be a good steward of the earth. I need to start recycling...that's something major I can do right away. I have to tell myself "no" when I want to buy something "just because".
Well, enough of my rant for now....
See ya!
Friday, July 6, 2012
I've had fun, and I'm excited
Fun things we've done recently:
- Attended the rodeo in Greenbush a week ago...it was a beautiful evening, the kids were so good, and it was fun to hang out as a family. Clarence loved it - he's a farm kid through and through. He watched most of the events with wide eyes and interest. Adina, on the other hand, was only happy with treats and freezies.
- On the 4th, we went to Warroad. Matt's mom's cousin has an old, beautiful house up there where we went for lunch and to visit with their family. Then, we took the kids up town for all the festivities. They had all those jumpy game-things set up, and the kids could play all afternoon/evening. They had tons of fun. We ate yummy gyros for supper, and then brought the kids to the huge playground they have to play some more. The kids were sure tired. We were going to head home before the fireworks, but Clarence wanted to stay. So we stayed; he listened for a few minutes, then decided they were scary or too noisy and went and sat in the car. When the fireworks were over and we put our chairs away, we found Clarence asleep in his seat. Guess he was tired, too. :)
- The Kittson County Fair (see my previous post)...our exhibits and visiting with people, and fair food, and the grandstand events, and letting the kids go on rides, and watching Matt in the lumberjack show, and staying over (maybe), etc.
- Watching Mary show her steer in Roseau the week after.
- Camping with some good friends the week after the fair - a 4-day camping trip with the family, about 3 or 4 hours from home. It's going to be so much fun!
- The recent rain we've had this week to help the pastures, hayfields, and crp grow a little more. Thank You, God!
Our Fair List
Well, the Kittson County Fair is right around the corner, starting next Thursday. I'm getting really excited. The fair is one of the highlights of my summer. Having grown up on the farm and in 4-H, I always had tons of things to get ready. I'd bring a lead heifer, a cow/calf pair, a horse, and a bunch of other projects for the exhibit building. Now with small kids, my preparations have changed slightly, but I'm anxiously awaiting the day (kindof.....I'm excited, but don't want time to pass too quickly, either) when Clarence and Adina are in 4-H and we have tons of projects to be working on for the summer. I'm going to be baking next week with the kids so they can enter some things in open class. Matt and I were also thinking they could bring in some garden veggies or hay/corn/oats, etc. So, we'll see what next week brings. I have a lot of stuff to get ready before then. I think we're going to bring my brother's camper and stay at the fair. I think it will be easier to nap the kids right there and let them sleep there than run the 20 miles back and forth once or twice a day. We'll see how it goes, I guess.
Here's what I know we're bringing for sure:
Division B
Lot 1. Steer calf, 2-8 months
Jacki Przekwas
Lot
Since both Matt and I grew up bringing so many animals to the fair, we're excited for the day when we can bring show animals again. I think it's a wonderful experience for kids; it's one of my greatest memories - bringing animals to the fair, then winning trips to the state fair. It'll be a chance for us to get back into the swing of things...I know we'll both love it! :)
If you're bored next week, stop by the fair! (July 12th-15th)
Here's what I know we're bringing for sure:
Clarence Przekwas
Division B
Class 12
Lots
- Female: 3 Years and Over
6. Grade cow, 3 years and over with calf to be pen shown.
Class 18
Division K
Class 7
Lots
- Baked cookies
- Baked bars
9. Chocolate chip cookies
Adina Przekwas
Division B
Class 12
Lots
- Female:2 years and under 3
- Grade cow, 2 years and under 3 with calf to be pen shown.
- Best 2 Females, all bred and owned by exhibitor
Jacki Przekwas
Division K
Class 1
Lots
- Buns – white
- buns – dark
- rolls – caramel
- rolls – cinnamon
- rolls – orange
- rolls – any other
- cinnamon bread
- loaf of bread – oatmeal
11. loaf of bread – white
Class 3
25. Any other bars
Since both Matt and I grew up bringing so many animals to the fair, we're excited for the day when we can bring show animals again. I think it's a wonderful experience for kids; it's one of my greatest memories - bringing animals to the fair, then winning trips to the state fair. It'll be a chance for us to get back into the swing of things...I know we'll both love it! :)
If you're bored next week, stop by the fair! (July 12th-15th)
Thursday, June 28, 2012
The Home Front
It's been a busy month. The last couple of weeks have just flown by.
We've started haying, which totally consumes our life once it starts. On top of that, Matt's been AI-ing heifers, too. Today he'll be working on breeding most of the heifers we have at home. He did a few yesterday and a few this morning, but most of them will be ready by this evening, I think. We also put bulls out last night. They always get so riled up when we bring them into the yard and put them in small spaces...they snorted and mooed and fought all afternoon. I'm surprised they didn't break through any fences. I like watching the bulls, but I don't like to help with the bulls. They always seem ornery and huge and scary to me. I'm really no help for Matt when it comes to working with the bulls.
We're also just doing the daily/weekly yard work - keeping everything mowed, picking up toys, and working in the garden. I'm pretty excited about my garden right now. Everything's looking really nice. I watered it on Monday, and it seems to have grown inches since then. The watering and the heat have really helped.
The kids are having fun outside...most waking hours of every day are spent outside. They go with us and help whenever we're on the go, and they like swimming in their little pool, naked, every chance they get. Yesterday Adina rewarded me with a surprise...I let her go naked a little too long. She pooped and peed on the floor. It was gross. I'm really glad we have hard-wood floors instead of carpet downstairs. That would have been even more disgusting. Eeww.
Matt's little sister Mary had surgery last week on her jaw. She had an underbite and had it fixed; her bottom jaw was shaved, and they added other things to extend her upper jaw outward. She looks like a totally different person. Sunday evening, we went over to visit her and when we saw her, we all just looked at her. It was hard not to. Her face was still swollen, and she couldn't talk much at all. We saw her again on Tuesday, and she seemed way more comfortable with everything; she could talk way better, laugh better, eat better, etc., and the swelling had gone down some on her face. I'm glad she's doing so well; I just hope the next 7 or so weeks go by quickly for her so she can eat real food again. Get well soon, Mary!
This weekend, it's heritage days in Lancaster. There will be lots of fun things going on. We also hope to go to a rodeo in Greenbush on Saturday. I play organ on Sunday, and then I'm not sure what we're going to be doing. Probably just the usual - haying, working, etc. because we are hoping to go camping somewhere next week over the 4th.
Hope you're month is going great!
We've started haying, which totally consumes our life once it starts. On top of that, Matt's been AI-ing heifers, too. Today he'll be working on breeding most of the heifers we have at home. He did a few yesterday and a few this morning, but most of them will be ready by this evening, I think. We also put bulls out last night. They always get so riled up when we bring them into the yard and put them in small spaces...they snorted and mooed and fought all afternoon. I'm surprised they didn't break through any fences. I like watching the bulls, but I don't like to help with the bulls. They always seem ornery and huge and scary to me. I'm really no help for Matt when it comes to working with the bulls.
We're also just doing the daily/weekly yard work - keeping everything mowed, picking up toys, and working in the garden. I'm pretty excited about my garden right now. Everything's looking really nice. I watered it on Monday, and it seems to have grown inches since then. The watering and the heat have really helped.
The kids are having fun outside...most waking hours of every day are spent outside. They go with us and help whenever we're on the go, and they like swimming in their little pool, naked, every chance they get. Yesterday Adina rewarded me with a surprise...I let her go naked a little too long. She pooped and peed on the floor. It was gross. I'm really glad we have hard-wood floors instead of carpet downstairs. That would have been even more disgusting. Eeww.
Matt's little sister Mary had surgery last week on her jaw. She had an underbite and had it fixed; her bottom jaw was shaved, and they added other things to extend her upper jaw outward. She looks like a totally different person. Sunday evening, we went over to visit her and when we saw her, we all just looked at her. It was hard not to. Her face was still swollen, and she couldn't talk much at all. We saw her again on Tuesday, and she seemed way more comfortable with everything; she could talk way better, laugh better, eat better, etc., and the swelling had gone down some on her face. I'm glad she's doing so well; I just hope the next 7 or so weeks go by quickly for her so she can eat real food again. Get well soon, Mary!
This weekend, it's heritage days in Lancaster. There will be lots of fun things going on. We also hope to go to a rodeo in Greenbush on Saturday. I play organ on Sunday, and then I'm not sure what we're going to be doing. Probably just the usual - haying, working, etc. because we are hoping to go camping somewhere next week over the 4th.
Hope you're month is going great!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Clarence Daily
Yesterday, I walked into the kitchen and noticed about 15 of Clarence's toy animals on the floor.
Me: Clarence, can you come and pick up your animals in here?
C: No, Mom, those animals are in Roseau.
Me: You hauled your animals over to Roseau?
C: Yeah, I brought them to Roseau County.
(He decided he needed to bring some of his animals to "Roseau County" because Matt brought 3 cow/calf pairs over to his parents' house a couple weeks ago. Now, in Clarence's mind, he's doing the same thing - bringing his animals over to Grandpa Bob's for the summer.)
Today: (The animals are now out of my kitchen)
C: Mom, I'm hauling all those animals to Roseau. (He's loading a whole bunch of them into his big semi.)
Me: Don't you want them anymore? Should we bring them over and give them to Harley?
C: No, they're going to Roseau County.
Me: Are you going to have Grandpa Bob take care of them for the summer?
C: Yeah, I'll bring those home next summer....(he means in the fall...he just has how he talks about time confused)
He comes up with such cute little ideas. I love watching him and trying to figure out what he's doing.
Me: Clarence, can you come and pick up your animals in here?
C: No, Mom, those animals are in Roseau.
Me: You hauled your animals over to Roseau?
C: Yeah, I brought them to Roseau County.
(He decided he needed to bring some of his animals to "Roseau County" because Matt brought 3 cow/calf pairs over to his parents' house a couple weeks ago. Now, in Clarence's mind, he's doing the same thing - bringing his animals over to Grandpa Bob's for the summer.)
Today: (The animals are now out of my kitchen)
C: Mom, I'm hauling all those animals to Roseau. (He's loading a whole bunch of them into his big semi.)
Me: Don't you want them anymore? Should we bring them over and give them to Harley?
C: No, they're going to Roseau County.
Me: Are you going to have Grandpa Bob take care of them for the summer?
C: Yeah, I'll bring those home next summer....(he means in the fall...he just has how he talks about time confused)
He comes up with such cute little ideas. I love watching him and trying to figure out what he's doing.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Two Fun-Filled, Busy Weeks
June 5th - We celebrated Adina's 2nd birthday at the cabin. Many of my relatives came, along with Grandma Carmen, Grandpa Bob, Great-grandma Jeanette, Auntie Mary, and Uncle Mark from Roseau. Everyone had a great time visiting, eating, and watching Matt and the kids have water fights with water baloons and squirt guns. It was a perfect night to have a party - warm weather and no bugs!
June 6th and 7th - I spent the days buying food to prepare for VBS, which was starting Sunday, June 10th. I brought food out to Lake Bronson, set the tables up, etc.
June 8th - I went to the fairgrounds to help my cousin, Savannah, set up the building for her reception. We decorated all morning. It was beautiful! That evening, we had wedding rehearsal and the groom's supper. It was fun visiting and getting ready for the wedding.
June 9th - Wedding day for Savannah and Evan. I was a bridesmaid; Matt was a handsome usher. My kids stayed home until about 2:30p.m. with my cousin Bailey. She brought them in when pictures were about to start.
We (the girls) were up early getting our hair done and watching others get theirs done. Mine only took about an hour and a half. It was fun, though. Then we headed to the church to get Savannah ready and hang out until our pictures started. The day was very relaxed, laid back, and so fun to be a part of. The reception and dance were held at the fairgrounds, and it was a perfect spot, because it was kind of warm out, so people were free to be inside or outside of the building and not be in the street like they would be if the dance had been at the city hall.
Auntie Mary came over during the reception and hung out with us to help with the kids and take them home after they'd danced for a little bit. It was nice to have a sitter and not worry about the kids all night. That left Matt and I free to dance the night away. :)
June 10th, 11th, and 12th - The kids and I spent the three days out at Galilee Bible Camp at Lake Bronson taking in Vacation Bible School. (Matt came in the evenings and we slept in a cabin at the camp.) Nikki and I were in charge of making all the snacks and meals for the kids at bible school. We spent our days chasing our kids and making food. It was so much fun, though. By the end, Clarence was loving his class and everything he got to do at Bible School. He liked everything except going in the water on the paddle boats. He wanted nothiing to do with that. He'd wear a life jacket and wait on the dock, but he was afraid if he got in a boat, someone was going to push him into the water. (Too much scaring from his dad, I think.) In the evenings, we'd make supper, play games, and have a bonfire. The kids (Clarence, Adina, and Anna) had so much fun playing together. Clarence is already excited about next year.
June 13th, 14th, and 15th - We didn't start cutting hay yet because the weather said there was a chance every day. We didn't get any rain until Saturday, though. Matt could've started cutting last week, but oh well....he actually didn't even have the right parts for the mower conditioner yet anyways. We spent the days cleaning up the yard. With our house project and everything, the yard was put on the back burner. We mowed the lawn, weeded the garden, picked up the yard, put winter machinery away, etc. The yard looks way better now than it did last week. We still have some raking to do, but that'll give me something to do today.... :)
Friday the 15th, we headed to Kick'n Up Kountry in Karlstad for the evening. My mom watched my kids and their cousing Harley so Nikki, Mark, Nathan and us could go enjoy the evening. It was a lot of fun! The Bellamy Brothers were my favorite - I knew almost every one of their songs. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was good, too, but I only knew like four or five of their songs. Then there was a dance afterwards, so we stayed at that for a while. It was late when we picked the kids up, but thankfully they slept in a little Saturday morning. :)
June 16th - my birthday. I'm now 26. My mom and Clarence picked strawberries and made me a strawberry pie for my cake. It was delicious! My day was spent relaxing mostly; in the evening, we went to a birthday party for my second cousin, Jadyn. It was fun watching all the kids play together.
June 17th - Father's Day. We went to church, then came home and took a nap. Matt wasn't feeling well, though, after that; he was all congested. We ended up going to Roseau in the evening, then coming home late last night. It was fun to visit, but I'm kinda tired today. :)
Today, the 18th - Tucker and McCall (my cousin's kids) are here for the day. So far, it's 9 a.m., and Clarence is still sleeping...he was tired from our late night last night. Adina's been playing really well with the kids. I'm sure most of the day will be spent playing outside. The kids will have a blast together!
See Ya!
June 6th and 7th - I spent the days buying food to prepare for VBS, which was starting Sunday, June 10th. I brought food out to Lake Bronson, set the tables up, etc.
June 8th - I went to the fairgrounds to help my cousin, Savannah, set up the building for her reception. We decorated all morning. It was beautiful! That evening, we had wedding rehearsal and the groom's supper. It was fun visiting and getting ready for the wedding.
June 9th - Wedding day for Savannah and Evan. I was a bridesmaid; Matt was a handsome usher. My kids stayed home until about 2:30p.m. with my cousin Bailey. She brought them in when pictures were about to start.
We (the girls) were up early getting our hair done and watching others get theirs done. Mine only took about an hour and a half. It was fun, though. Then we headed to the church to get Savannah ready and hang out until our pictures started. The day was very relaxed, laid back, and so fun to be a part of. The reception and dance were held at the fairgrounds, and it was a perfect spot, because it was kind of warm out, so people were free to be inside or outside of the building and not be in the street like they would be if the dance had been at the city hall.
Auntie Mary came over during the reception and hung out with us to help with the kids and take them home after they'd danced for a little bit. It was nice to have a sitter and not worry about the kids all night. That left Matt and I free to dance the night away. :)
June 10th, 11th, and 12th - The kids and I spent the three days out at Galilee Bible Camp at Lake Bronson taking in Vacation Bible School. (Matt came in the evenings and we slept in a cabin at the camp.) Nikki and I were in charge of making all the snacks and meals for the kids at bible school. We spent our days chasing our kids and making food. It was so much fun, though. By the end, Clarence was loving his class and everything he got to do at Bible School. He liked everything except going in the water on the paddle boats. He wanted nothiing to do with that. He'd wear a life jacket and wait on the dock, but he was afraid if he got in a boat, someone was going to push him into the water. (Too much scaring from his dad, I think.) In the evenings, we'd make supper, play games, and have a bonfire. The kids (Clarence, Adina, and Anna) had so much fun playing together. Clarence is already excited about next year.
June 13th, 14th, and 15th - We didn't start cutting hay yet because the weather said there was a chance every day. We didn't get any rain until Saturday, though. Matt could've started cutting last week, but oh well....he actually didn't even have the right parts for the mower conditioner yet anyways. We spent the days cleaning up the yard. With our house project and everything, the yard was put on the back burner. We mowed the lawn, weeded the garden, picked up the yard, put winter machinery away, etc. The yard looks way better now than it did last week. We still have some raking to do, but that'll give me something to do today.... :)
Friday the 15th, we headed to Kick'n Up Kountry in Karlstad for the evening. My mom watched my kids and their cousing Harley so Nikki, Mark, Nathan and us could go enjoy the evening. It was a lot of fun! The Bellamy Brothers were my favorite - I knew almost every one of their songs. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was good, too, but I only knew like four or five of their songs. Then there was a dance afterwards, so we stayed at that for a while. It was late when we picked the kids up, but thankfully they slept in a little Saturday morning. :)
June 16th - my birthday. I'm now 26. My mom and Clarence picked strawberries and made me a strawberry pie for my cake. It was delicious! My day was spent relaxing mostly; in the evening, we went to a birthday party for my second cousin, Jadyn. It was fun watching all the kids play together.
June 17th - Father's Day. We went to church, then came home and took a nap. Matt wasn't feeling well, though, after that; he was all congested. We ended up going to Roseau in the evening, then coming home late last night. It was fun to visit, but I'm kinda tired today. :)
Today, the 18th - Tucker and McCall (my cousin's kids) are here for the day. So far, it's 9 a.m., and Clarence is still sleeping...he was tired from our late night last night. Adina's been playing really well with the kids. I'm sure most of the day will be spent playing outside. The kids will have a blast together!
See Ya!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Living Life
We've been so busy these last couple of weeks. I think about going on the computer, then think of 700 other things that I need to do. I also haven't been feeling very inspired to write lately, so sorry. Here's what we've been doing, though.
1. Matt was seeding and finished all the fields with no significant breakdowns.
2. The cows got out. Like three or four times.
3. We've been hauling cow/calf pairs out to pasture. We've done about 170 pairs so far (I think)....at least 50 more to go.
Hauling pairs is fun....most of the time. Matt and I walk the pairs up together, or he manages to do it by himself if I'm busy with the kids. Then we get them into the barn and into the chute. We give shots, write down cow numbers, which pasture they're going to, make sure each cow has an eartag in each ear, and load them up. We do the same for the calves - make sure they match up with the cows, give them shots, and load them up. Clarence has really gotten good at herding the calves. He'll work on getting them into the chute while Matt switches trailers. Usually he can get them all in by himself. It's really so cute to watch. He'll chase them around, yelling, "C'mon, calves, get in the chute, calves...." in a drawly cowboy voice. It makes me smile every time. Then, once everything's loaded up, we head to whichever pasture the cows are going to. Most of the pastures are close to home, but my pasture is 13 miles away, so it usually takes about an hour to make a load. (Just so you know, when we haul pairs out, we get 11 cows in Matt's big trailer and 11 calves in my little trailer. If we use just the big trailer, we can do about 8 pairs....it's slow going, but every cow off the farm is progress!)
4. Mark P. came over two weeks ago and started my addition. He and Matt have: put in subfloors; put up the walls; put plywood on the outside walls; put the rafters on; put the plywood on the rafters; and are shingling the roof today and tomorrow. They've made a lot of progress in the last two weeks, considering everything else we've had going on.
5. Baby Harley was baptized. Matt and I are the proud godparents. We love him so much!
6. We celebrated my Grandma Muriel's 80th birthday a few weekends ago. We had a lot of fun visiting everyone and helping her celebrate. We had pie and coffee with her friends at the Caribou Grill; the next day, we served coffee hour at her church, then had a potluck at her house after church. It was a fun, busy weekend.
7. Ruby had two puppies. A boy and a girl. She's such a good mommy. They look like fat, solid little logs. They don't have their eyes open yet, but I'm thinking that'll come soon. They'll be two weeks old on Friday. Clarence loves them so much. He makes sure he goes and visits them a few times a day. I love to watch him with the puppies - it's the only time he's really and truly GENTLE!
8. Matt's brother, Mike, came home for a visit. He'll be up until Friday. He came last week and helped put the rafters up and visit with his brothers. Sunday, we went to Roseau to celebrate a whole bunch of birthdays and visit the family.
9. Matt turned 26 on Sunday. He's getting old. :)
10. Today when we got home from hauling out our load of cows, Clarence hopped out of the pickup to hurry and get on with life. Adina was going to follow him, but instead she nose-dived and hit the road with her face. Half of her face is red and a little puffy, but thankfully, that's all that she was hurt. She really scared me; she landed only a few inches from a huge rock in the road that would've really hurt her, I think.
11. Clarence has been busy bringing sticks and wood scraps to our new fire pit down by the river. He has a new love for bonfires. He'll sit and gather wood for an hour and haul it down for the fire. Tonight, he and Uncle Mark are going to camp out in Mark's tent after we have a fun little bonfire.
Clarence is also my 'official egg gatherer'. He takes this job very seriously. About 7 times a day, he'll come find me with a big grin on his face, and hold up his hands, show me the eggs and say, "I found more eggs, Mom." He loves that job....I'm very thankful for that, because I don't love that job! :)
12. It froze here last night. My two whiskey barrels full of flowers are withered and wilted. I think I need to make another trip to the greenhouse.
Hope you've been doing swell. :)
1. Matt was seeding and finished all the fields with no significant breakdowns.
2. The cows got out. Like three or four times.
3. We've been hauling cow/calf pairs out to pasture. We've done about 170 pairs so far (I think)....at least 50 more to go.
Hauling pairs is fun....most of the time. Matt and I walk the pairs up together, or he manages to do it by himself if I'm busy with the kids. Then we get them into the barn and into the chute. We give shots, write down cow numbers, which pasture they're going to, make sure each cow has an eartag in each ear, and load them up. We do the same for the calves - make sure they match up with the cows, give them shots, and load them up. Clarence has really gotten good at herding the calves. He'll work on getting them into the chute while Matt switches trailers. Usually he can get them all in by himself. It's really so cute to watch. He'll chase them around, yelling, "C'mon, calves, get in the chute, calves...." in a drawly cowboy voice. It makes me smile every time. Then, once everything's loaded up, we head to whichever pasture the cows are going to. Most of the pastures are close to home, but my pasture is 13 miles away, so it usually takes about an hour to make a load. (Just so you know, when we haul pairs out, we get 11 cows in Matt's big trailer and 11 calves in my little trailer. If we use just the big trailer, we can do about 8 pairs....it's slow going, but every cow off the farm is progress!)
4. Mark P. came over two weeks ago and started my addition. He and Matt have: put in subfloors; put up the walls; put plywood on the outside walls; put the rafters on; put the plywood on the rafters; and are shingling the roof today and tomorrow. They've made a lot of progress in the last two weeks, considering everything else we've had going on.
5. Baby Harley was baptized. Matt and I are the proud godparents. We love him so much!
6. We celebrated my Grandma Muriel's 80th birthday a few weekends ago. We had a lot of fun visiting everyone and helping her celebrate. We had pie and coffee with her friends at the Caribou Grill; the next day, we served coffee hour at her church, then had a potluck at her house after church. It was a fun, busy weekend.
7. Ruby had two puppies. A boy and a girl. She's such a good mommy. They look like fat, solid little logs. They don't have their eyes open yet, but I'm thinking that'll come soon. They'll be two weeks old on Friday. Clarence loves them so much. He makes sure he goes and visits them a few times a day. I love to watch him with the puppies - it's the only time he's really and truly GENTLE!
8. Matt's brother, Mike, came home for a visit. He'll be up until Friday. He came last week and helped put the rafters up and visit with his brothers. Sunday, we went to Roseau to celebrate a whole bunch of birthdays and visit the family.
9. Matt turned 26 on Sunday. He's getting old. :)
10. Today when we got home from hauling out our load of cows, Clarence hopped out of the pickup to hurry and get on with life. Adina was going to follow him, but instead she nose-dived and hit the road with her face. Half of her face is red and a little puffy, but thankfully, that's all that she was hurt. She really scared me; she landed only a few inches from a huge rock in the road that would've really hurt her, I think.
11. Clarence has been busy bringing sticks and wood scraps to our new fire pit down by the river. He has a new love for bonfires. He'll sit and gather wood for an hour and haul it down for the fire. Tonight, he and Uncle Mark are going to camp out in Mark's tent after we have a fun little bonfire.
Clarence is also my 'official egg gatherer'. He takes this job very seriously. About 7 times a day, he'll come find me with a big grin on his face, and hold up his hands, show me the eggs and say, "I found more eggs, Mom." He loves that job....I'm very thankful for that, because I don't love that job! :)
12. It froze here last night. My two whiskey barrels full of flowers are withered and wilted. I think I need to make another trip to the greenhouse.
Hope you've been doing swell. :)
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