Be Vewwy Vewwy Quiet...

This week, we are celebrating our 10th anniversary by sending the kids to Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Alisha!!! It worked out perfectly to just drop them off on our way home from my cousin Angie's wedding. We'll have 5 days with no kids! Saturday night we're going to Dodge to spend the night at the Boot Hill Bed & Breakfast. It might sound silly, but it got pretty big reviews.

 It's been very quiet around here. We miss the kids, but it's so nice to take a break and just be with each other with no interruptions. Plus, they're having so much fun with their cousins! Isaac has finally decided he likes Alisha. Every time he saw her before he would usually just scream at her (and Mia and Kaedyn)! I talked to Anna at lunch time today and she said, "Mom! This is the best meal I've ever eaten here!!!" At least she said "eaten here" and not "eaten"...I'm still the top cook in her book! ;) 

Yesterday, we slept in til 9:30, Aaron went to work for a couple hours, I ran errands whenever I wanted (no waiting for kids to find shoes!!), we watched "our shows" whenever we wanted, Aaron took a long nap, I didn't have to cook!! We went to a nice Italian restaurant in Hutch for supper and didn't have to hurry through to get home for bedtime or worry about the kids giving the babysitter a hard time. It was GREAT!!! Then we went for a run/bike ride. 

It's not all fun and games, though...I have a couple of projects for us. :) Deep cleaning the house (especially Anna's room!) and cleaning the carpets. It is soooo hot, we've been staying inside most of the day. We wake up too late to do much in the morning before it gets really hot. I've been pulling cucumbers out of the garden like crazy. I've got close to 30 I think!! Time to make pickles! And I picked my first watermelon!! That will be our dessert tonight, I think.

Better go wake Aaron up from his nap so he can go play softball...yuck! It's well over 100* still!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my husband, Dad, and father-in-law. 

Enjoy a funny rap video...ahhh Dads... :)

Singing Part 2

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Singing Part 1

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Harvest 2012

Harvest always seems to start when we're on our way home from a trip to Colorado. This year was no different, even though it was the first of June! But because it was so early, Uncle Terry's combine and tractor weren't in yet. We stopped by anyway and had fun hanging out. Then the next week we went back out and got in on harvest. The equipment had arrived and the weather cooperated! This year, Jacob brought his little buddy Wyatt along. We were only able to stay 2 days, but everyone had a lot of fun!!

 Picasa added some new editing tools. This is the "pencil sketch".

 New favorite photo!!

 I couldn't resist some pictures with this great green door as the backdrop!

 Someone please tell me that she's not really about to turn SEVEN!!! :'(

 Wooo boy I had a lot of weeding to do after being gone for 2 weeks!! But the garden is looking amazing! I wish I had 2x as much space, but I've squeezed in as much as I could! After getting all the weeds pulled, I decided to put cedar mulch down to help keep moisture in and weeds out (plus it was 50% off!). So far, so good!

 Whatever has been eating my zucchini plants the last 2 years isn't touching this one! I've already gotten one zucchini and have lots more coming on. I'll be making a lot of zucchini bread...! And making lots of pickles! The 3 cucumber plants are looking great, too. Our neighbors will help eat up the watermelon...especially since it's stretching out into their yard!

 I've never done sweet potatoes before, so I have no idea what I'm doing, but they look pretty good! 10 pepper plants...everything from green bells to jalapenos to tabasco peppers! Should be interesting. I already have one green bell about ready to pick!

 This is where I had broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. They are all cooler weather plants. I've never had any luck with broccoli...still didn't this year! I think it just needs to be planted much earlier. We did get lots of spinach and lettuce out, though! After those were done, I planted green onions, velvet sunflowers (they're a deep maroon-red), and some zinnias. Along the fence I've got green beans. Can't wait for those!!

 12 tomato plants!! They're looking really good and all of them already have lots of little green tomatoes on them. I'm looking forward to fresh salsa!!

We stayed at Jeremy and Alisha's so the kids could take turns going out to the field.

 This is what happens when Mama and Auntie Lil get distracted by the baby and her cute new "shoes" and Moxley decides to sit next to Isaac while he's eating lasagna....!

 What a messy eater!!!

 I'm a little (okay, a lot!) jealous of the view from their porch!!

 They found an old tiller. It actually works great. Jeremy made a new handle for it.

 I don't know how anyone can see a sunset and not believe in the Creator...

 He says Mama, put me down already!! I wanna RUN!!!

 

 Lunch break!

 I'll never get tired of taking their pictures in the tractor tire!

 Jacob's little buddy Wyatt. Those boys had so much fun!! (Jacob was already in the combine)

 Look out!! :)

 This boy won't WALK in grass, but he sat right down in the wheat stubble! And started chewing on some straw like an old farmer!!

 Isaac loved the tractor.

 Telling me all about the combine coming.

 Hot stuff, driving the tractor at 19 months old! ;)

 I didn't get very many pictures of Jacob because he was usually on the combine.

 This year, he didn't try to keep the deer right side up. :)

 I married a farmer after all!! ;) He got a bit nervous when Uncle Terry mentioned how much money he was sitting in ;) He even moved it from field to field!

Jacob "helping" cousin TJ check things out. TJ put a guidance system on the combine this year so it didn't even have to be steered! Just turn it around at the end of the row. Technology!

As always, we all had fun and I love keeping the tradition alive with my family.

It's Baaack!

 Dad fixed my camera!!! So I have a LOT of pictures! :) We went to Colorado over Memorial weekend (and took a few extra days) for Aaron's cousin's graduation. Aaron calls it a vacation, I call it same routine, different location! ha! It was fun to see family and spend time together (except for Isaac deciding to stay on Central time and wake up at 5am every morning!!!).

 Cloth diapering in the Rocky Mountains :)

 He's still ornery...

 Kissable cheeks!

 I wish I had a better editing program because her blue eyes are so stunning.

 I told him to smile and this is what I got. :)

 Grandpa taught the kids a new song, which they love because they get to "sing" really loudly on one part that goes "my, my oh MAMA!!" :)

 Ketchup face.

 Anna had fun exploring in the backyard.

 You can take the girl outta the country, but you can't take the country outta the girl. :)

 Anna's "Colorado Creation". She and Grandma gathered and created!

A big highlight of the trip was a first for my kids....the CIRCUS!!! It was 2 hours long, with a short 15 minute intermission. Isaac was enthralled the entire 1st hour and I honestly think he would have sat the whole 2 hours if he hadn't tasted "freedom" during intermission. Anna and Jacob absolutely loved it.

 

 Anna telling Daddy all about what he missed.

 See? Enthralled!

 He was even clapping. He really loved it!

 The hula hoop girl...she's got 47 hula hoops going at once!!

 Native American Appaloosa horses...this was Anna's favorite part.

 

 The elephants!

 Jacob's favorite part was the train ride afterward!

 I tried talking them into riding the elephants since they can ride a horse ANYTIME, but they wanted the pony ride.

 Isaac LOVED the pony ride!!

When the guy buckled Isaac in, he told Isaac to hold on. He immediately did. And then when we started going around Daddy, Grandpa, and Grandma were waving at him. The first 2 rounds, he had a hard time deciding if he should hold on or wave! Then he figured out he could wave with one hand and hold on with the other. It was really cute. When it was time to get off, Isaac let everyone in a 5 mile radius that he didn't want to get off!

We also went to a Ranch Sorting competition, but my camera needed new batteries (which I didn't realize until we got there) so I don't have any pictures from that. Even though it was pretty cold, Anna loved it and we stayed for over an hour (The boys didn't last nearly that long!).

Thanks for the good times Grandpa & Grandma!