Monday, May 31, 2010

Everyday joys


"Hold me, mama!"

Davis graduated from nursery school. Naturally he's the one in the red shirt.


Our crew

We've been busy lately...

My mom was here and decided that the moratorium on removing the unused chimneys in our house was over. She's been on this personal crusade for ten years or more. Kenton finally told her to go ahead. Moral: Persistence pays off.
She did a ton of other work too: reworked a wreath and wall hanger, cleaned up soot, spoiled the grandkids, cleaned up soot, planted my garden, cleaned up soot, redid a flower bed, cleaned up soot, shampooed the carpet and furniture, and cleaned up.....well, I'm sure you get the picture. This is mom after a day removing chimneys and Kenton after a day on the farm. Notice her victorious smile? You gotta love anyone who can smile after that mess. Of course, it wasn't her four kids who were running around spreading soot to previously untouched areas. As revenge I'm posting this lovely picture of her for all to see and admire. : P
Guess what? Mom went home.....and I'm still cleaning up soot.

Bike riding with the Clampits....

was a howling success.

We invited some friends to go biking with us yesterday. Thankfully we arrived before them or it would have been more noticeable that the dog ate half the driver's seat and the six of us spilled out of a vehicle with almost as many dents as a golf ball.
We did this trail several weeks ago and it went fine. I don't know what Davis' problem was--but HE was our problem. He whined and groaned and moaned. Then the guys went back to get the cars and meet us (two moms, eight kids, and seven bikes) downhill in the next town.....seven miles away. We definitely got the short end of the stick.The guys were barely out of sight before Davis moved from complaints to tears. After two miles of his bellyaching, I was ready to pitch my good-mom badge into the ditch....and him with it.

It was so beautiful. I really wanted to enjoy the ride and the company....not listen to my whiny five-year-old.
Two miles later I accepted Kendra's offer to put Davis in their pull-behind(I know there's another name for that thing.) That only left her with Adelyn in the seat behind her while pulling Jack and Davis. The big problem was what to do with Davis' bike. We thought we could add it to the pull-behind, but that wasn't working so hot.
The final and most workable option, but also the noisiest, was to drag it behind me. Bikes do not remain upright when being dragged. The cacophony will make that ride memorable for years.
Did I mention that Davis was a total peach after that? Unfortunately, the bike will never be the same. Here are a couple pictures of people who did not cry during the bike ride.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Spring

I love northern Minnesota, but spring doesn't get any prettier than NW Maryland. Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to capture it on film.


My baby feeding her baby.


Four "helpers"


Fun in the sun!


Megan's 7th birthday.


Soccer season has started. Megan plays for the Cheetos. Gotta love that shrieking neon orange uniform, eh?


Jamison is playing for the Green Lightning something or others.....

Milk dud report: We classified today and got a new excellent. Three first calf heifers went very good.....I think. Kenton is almost done planting the shelling corn.

Den, I'm supposed to tell you that the 3020 is almost fixed. Tom thinks it's the fuel pump. It's being rebuilt.