Ashley's Chicken Coop...

For this year's SAE project in FFA, Ashley decided to raise hens. (Never fear you beef lovers. She is still raising heifers and steers. The hens are just simply to add eggs and even more animals to our ever expanding household.) At first, I was sceptical. Since I have seen the finished project (well, the hen house anyway) I'm a believer. Ashley first found a blueprint on line. Then, in Ashley fashion, she modified it. Does anyone in our family ever leave well enough alone? I think not! Check out the work that was done.

Our first step was to go to Home Depot and purchase the supplies. Not wanting to be left out, I decided to make the trip a family outing. What the hell was I thinking? Three kids under the age of 2 all trying to fit in one two seater cart, with a teenager that doesn't want to be embarrassed by the psychotic mother wielding a camera at every chance she got... Poor Ashley. She is such a good sport.

It is such an early start for the weekend... Building...

Okay...Enough Already...

I'm getting the, "Why do you have so many pictures of food on your blog? We don't care about the food." "When are you going to update the blog? It's really old and boring.."

OK - I get it. You don't check out the blog for stories about my day and what I'm doing... it's all about the kids. Why is it always about the kids?

Psst.... tomorrow is Tim's and my 16th wedding anniversary! Wow! 16 Years - holy cow!

Going FAR

Tim is running for school board. Check out the business cards that a concerned citizen had printed up. She got together with a few other citizens and decided who they would like to vote for and came up with the slogan. Kinda cool, huh?

Wanna Buy A Duck?

A What?

A Duck.

A What?

A Duck.

A Duck?

Yes.

Oh, a Duck!

OK - little summer camp humor. Seriously though, Ashley is selling raffle tickets for the Annual Benefit Duck Race that is happening this weekend. The raffle tickets are $5 each. You do not need to be present to win. Proceeds benefit Rotary programs worldwide. 1st prize - $1,000 2nd prize - $250 and 3rd prize - $100.

How it works - The number from your raffle ticket is stamped on the bottom of a rubber duck. No, yours will not be as trendy as my "Hippie Chickie", because I'm cool. Anyway, moving right along. All of the ducks will be dumped into the river, and the first three to make it to the finish line win.

If you are interested, call me tonight, Thursday, Sept. 25. Or email me. Ashley has to turn the money in to the Interact Club on Friday.

Thanks!!!

Silent Pie Auction

So, Wednesday night brought about the Annual Ice Cream Social and Silent Pie Auction to benefit the FFA Alumni. (They are the ones who give out scholarships to FFA students.) Anyway, since I don't really like pie, I baked other types of goodies. Check out the picts...

The Blackforest Brownies were so easy to make and the bowl tasted fabulous! I'm not sure how the tasted at the end of the night. I didn't win it - Roper Plumbing did. ;) Thanks Grammy and Gramps!

My FFA chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting sold for $50. Yeah!!!

And my 1/2 dozen large chocolate cupcakes sold - but I don't know how much. Maybe $30.

I won an apple pie. I don't usually like apple pies, but this one came with caramel. Who could pass it up? Plus, it was definately home made. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed! The pie is AWESOME. Ashley has even had 2 slices an she HATES pie. I'll post of picture of it later along with my bidding story...

Ashley Plays Volleyball

Hi Guys! I know, I know... a post without photos. The reason there aren't any photos is because my volleyball photos SUCK!

Ashley made the freshman volleyball team at her school. Yeah! She is proud of this accomplishment because many of the girls have been playing "club" ball for a few years, and they come from larger schools. She came from a small school. Fortunately, she is a fabulous athlete (like her dad), and she made the cuts. They have had a good season so far, and Ashley has made some GREAT plays. Since she is attending a 4A school, we travel to Flagstaff and Phoenix regularly to watch her play. Good thing my boys travel well.

Tim is coaching volleyball at the middle school in town here. When he has a game he takes Stephan with him. The volleyball girls LOVE him! The other night he came home and told me, "No like volleyball girls." Tim said that they never leave him alone. They are always holding him or kissing him. I made him a shirt that says, "JR ASST COACH". I wonder what soccer season will bring...

Anyone who takes good pictures inside of high school gyms is more than welcome to attend a game. Let me know when you are available. I'm desperate for a few good photos.

Family Time

Ashley riding Stephan's trike...

Tim and I have made a commitment to walk together three nights a week. We've been doing really good at it. This week, we've been walking early enough that the kids have been going with us. We don't get the together time and serious talking time,but we get fun and laughs because the kids make us laugh.


When we picked up Stephan on Saturday, we brought home most of his toys. Boy did Ashley have fun!

Stephan riding his monster truck. Appropriately named, The Grave Digger.

First, on our walk, Stephan insisted on riding his monster truck. This is basically a push toy, but he can sit on it and ride it. We were hesitant about his ability to go the distance, but decided to give it a try. He can definitely cruise on this little toy. The only problem is the asphalt. He hit the ground a number of times. He was such a tough guy - he jump up and yell, "Took a digger!" We call him "Digger" now.

After his bath, Stephan modeled his elbow scratches.

When elbows meet asphalt...

By the time we got home, Ashley's adrenaline was up and she was trying out all of Stephan's ride toys. She jumped on his trike and started racing him around the truck. They were so funny! Then she attempted to ride his motorcycle. Even funnier - but with disastrous results. Ashley should never own a motorcycle.

OK - so Stephan never really had a chance at catching Ashley, but he still chased her around the truck at least 15 times. I laughed so hard!

Our walks are great fun, and a wonderful time with family.

Tools of the Trade (aka: How to Survive at a Roping)

Comfie place to take a nap.
Good attitude and plenty of toys.
Chairs, children, stroller, playpen, book, toys...
Excellent babysitter for those times you just need to get away. (Summer, Ashley's horse kept close watch on the boys.)
A place to get out of the sun, and sunglasses, of course.
Footrest...
foot rest for a different location...
Backpacks for hauling children when the stroller could be a hazard...

Kids and Horses

Aiden has decent balance. He loves the horses and loves to watch Tim rope.
Isaiah likes the horses well enough, but doesn't have the passion for them that Aiden does.
He has already figured out how to hold on.
The two boys were just giggling when we were walking around. They would grab each others hand and start squealing. It was funny.

Ashley has a natural talent for riding. She's been riding since she was 10 days old. She loves her horse, and her horse loves her. They work well together, and have gone to many competitions together.

A couple of weeks ago we headed up north for a roping. The weather was amazing and the scenery is great. The boys both helped groom before Tim had to saddle. Ashley was able to take off for a little while to ride in the mountains. Her horse threw a shoe in the rocks so she came back to read her much loved book series, Twilight.

And They Are Off!

Aiden
Isaiah

A couple of months ago I ran across a walker at a children's resale shop. Ashley just happened to be with me that day. We were discussing which one to get when she replied, "Just get them both. That way the boys can pretend they are bumper cars." I figured what the heck -

Little did I know...
"I'm just going out for a quick stroll...Little help with the door, please?"

Isaiah can chase (I use that term loosely) Ellie (my corgi) down the hallway. He can also manuver from the kitchen into the front room around the corner and into the hallway down to my room. He hasn't figured out how to make that turn yet.

Aiden can go backwards, but hasn't figured out forward motion. He really doesn't need to though because Isaiah will get beside him and just push him until he runs into something that stops them and then Isaiah is off and running again. Can you tell who my trouble maker is?

"The news is boring! We want cartoons!"