Lofty Ideas

We Have Arrived

2011-12-25T21:56:00.006-06:00

You know you're a real Missourahn when...

Santa knocks on your front door at 10:30 Christmas Eve night but instead of wearing a red suit he's wearing a gun and a badge. (You know you're a real parent of teenagers when the first thought to enter your mind upon seeing said santa is, "What did those boys do!")
And instead of bringing presents he brings a message that your black and white cows are out on the highway so you spend a good chunk of the night running around in the dark and cold rattling a bucket and hollering "Here girls!" at the top of your lungs and end up climbing through the over-grown woods getting hung up on thorn bushes and tripping over fallen trees and cutting fence knowing full well you will later have to take the time and headache of mending but there is nothing else to do. Then they all follow you home like a bunch of little (ok, actually big, huge) puppy dogs wagging their tails behind them.

You're even more a real Missourahn when the next morning you get up, get in your Christmas Sunday best and are heading down the driveway with your family on the way to church only to glance across the pasture to the distant treeline and notice a herd of white belts strolling among the trees on their way out to the highway so you find yourself quickly back in jeans and muck boots (but still with diamond earings on--cause I can!) climbing on the four-wheeler again with your trusty bucket to go search for the renegade oreos. And my hair had just happened to have been looking so good that morning too! Of course that was all over after I had run around the pasture with the wind whipping through it.

But that's how it is because, finally, after all this time, I think, I really feel like I just might have, afterall, become a real missourahn.

Merry Christmas!

Anybody want a cow?!

Joe's Unfortunate Birthday

2011-11-29T10:03:00.001-06:00

Once again it was time for Joe's birthday.
Once again he started in with his expectations of receiving the new Call of Duty game for his birthday.
Each year the new game comes out a couple of weeks before Joe's birthday and he spends the entire year letting us know THAT is what he wants for his gift.
Every year we tell him that we will NOT buy that game for him. Then we find some way to hide it at gift-giving time (last year it was in the bottom of the box of the shoes he received) so he spends a little time thinking he really did not receive the game as a gift.
This year he absolutely refused to believe me when I told him we would not buy him the game.
It was time to take it to a new level.
We got the new game, Modern Warfare 3. We spent a long time working very carefully to open the thin plastic wrap around the case without tearing it. Finally accomplishing that goal, we slid the MW3 game out and replaced it with Joe's copy of Modern Warfare 2. Using a little double-sided tape we got the plastic wrap closed back up all neat and nice.
We wrapped the old MW2 game (now in its shiny new plastic wrap) in gift paper and put it with the other gifts we got for Joe. We took the copy of the new game, MW3, and put it way down inside one of the muck boots we were giving him. We wrapped the boots back up in their plastic and boxed them back up all nice and new.
Hee hee hee
Thanksgiving morning, after breakfast, we brought all the kids in and explained that we wanted to give Joe his birthday gifts a few days early. He was born on Thanksgiving morning so even though it is a different date this year, we can still give him gifts on Thanksgiving, right? Besides, we wanted him to have time to enjoy his gifts while he was out of school a few days since he is not allowed to play video games on school days.
Joe saw the gift shaped like the video game and his hand went to that one immediately. We slowed him down and made him open his other gifts.
First, a MW3 promo pack they handed out at the release of the game: cool t-shirt, stickers, dog tags, etc.
Joe was very excited about that.
Then came the big box with the muck boots. Joe opened the box, laughed at the boots, and set it aside.
:)
Now the big moment! Joe reached across the table, picked up the video-game-shaped gift and began tearing the paper. A few seconds later he became very quiet. I looked down and asked him what was wrong. He tilted the game towards me so I could see the cover. There in beautiful brazen lettering was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2!
A million emotions shot across Joe's face in a half second.
Jason took notice and a doubtful look began to form on his face (Oscar moment!).
I began to apologiz to Joe, explaining that I told Dad to get the "new" Modern Warfare game, I didn't explain it well enough I guess. Jason looked all confused and asked if that wasn't the new game... he saw that it had a 2 on it... that's the new one, right?!
Joe was bouncing between severe disappointment and concern for his dad's feelings.
Jason started carrying on about feeling like such an idiot and how sorry he was. Joe immediately launched into reassuring his dad that it was o.k., it was no big deal, don't feel bad dad.
Seth stood behind me, whispering into my ear what horrible, sick, twisted parents we are.
I just don't know where he'd get such an idea!
After a bit Jason and Joe decided that they would go to the store in a couple of days to see if they could get a refund on the "wrong" game--since it was still in its nice, new, shiny plastic wrap.
Oh well, Joe wasn't going to get to spend the weekend glued to his new game afterall.
Everyone kind of wandered out of the room and Joe sat at the table looking pretty dejected for a while.
Finally Jason came back through and reminded Joe that the boots looked a little big and he should try them on.
Joe put a foot into one of the boots.
The WRONG boot!
He wiggled his toes around and checked it all out.
Seemed to fit o.k.
Whatever.
I suggested he put the other boot on and walk around to make sure they didn't rub his heels or anything.
The other foot started to slip into its boot when we were suddenly met with accusations of being the most horrible parents in the world and how Joe could NOT believe we did that to him AGAIN, etc.
:)
Yep!
But, ya know, after spending the last several months hiding around corners to jump out at me--shoving pictures and video trailers of this game in my face, or talking relentlessly about it, or trying to tell me why I needed the game, or filling up my DVR with commercials for the stupid thing, JOE DESERVED IT!
And yes, we are sick, twisted parents but he will never forget his birthdays, will he?!

Zombie Duck

2011-11-29T09:12:00.007-06:00

Over the years my children have watched me make various duck cakes for different parties. There has been the cubscout duck, the Easter duck, the Phantom of the Opera duck. For his birthday this year Joe decided he wanted a duck for himself.
So, I give you... Zombie Duck!:

And with Joe around we eventually had a "crawler" of course!

And you can't have a birthday cake without fire!

A Dollop of Sunshine

2011-11-25T17:30:00.002-06:00

Near the end of November, on a cold and blustery day, my daylily decided to bloom. The little bugger must have plenty of sunshine in his heart.

And so the Week comes to a Close

2011-11-19T11:42:00.006-06:00

Another hunting season is ending. A buck for every boy. Our freezers are fat and happy with the great bounty of this year. It has been a good season.

And the winner is.....!

2011-11-17T14:36:00.004-06:00

There will be no living with him now!

Button, button, who has the button?

2011-11-17T14:25:00.002-06:00

David went out yesterday morning to get a nice donor doe. After a wait, a good deer walked out from the trees. This looked like a nice doe. David took aim and made the shot. A great shot that grazed the heart and hit the lungs.
Upon inspecting the deer they found that rather than a doe, it was a button buck--a buck with two little button "points" (although they don't really count as points) on its head.
I guess David is still trying to catch up with Jason's 8-point-plus-9 1/2-point lead. Maybe he's just a natural buck hunter.
Everyone got antsy because these guys only have one buck tag left and Joe really wanted it so he could still try for a big buck. Luckily this little guy qualifies as "anterless" and can go on one of those tags. Whew! That was a close one!
Oh well, no donor doe, they'll have to settle for a donor buck instead.

Seth's Turn

2011-11-15T19:37:00.003-06:00

With Joe getting a 4, Jason getting an 8, and David getting a 16 we figured Seth would have to get either a 2 or a 32 point buck. Instead he got this awesome 6 pointer and shut us all up.

Eight Points for Jason

2011-11-14T14:42:00.004-06:00

...which makes him half the man David is?
No, no--Jason informs me this eight point combined with the 9 1/2 point buck he has here at home (on the wall) combines to make more points than David. Jason is still top dog!

Go Vote!

2011-11-10T08:11:00.003-06:00

David is entered in a deer hunting contest. Please go vote for him. You can vote once a day every day until the contest ends. Please encourage all your friends to vote for him! Click here for the vote page

Joe's Buck

2011-11-05T19:08:00.003-05:00

Joe got him a little 4 point buck this evening. He shot it at the bottom of the neck and put the bullet straight through the heart. This kid is king of the incredible shots every year!

Prizes all around!

2011-11-05T19:06:00.002-05:00

Even Rufus brought home a prize and was happy to pose for a show-off picture too!

David's First Deer

2011-11-05T11:00:00.004-05:00

...and it was a 16 point monster!

Student of the Week

2011-11-03T11:39:00.004-05:00

So my first thought was, "whom did he bribe?"
Then I remembered that the boy just made his last payment for his class--therefore he is totally broke.
So now I wonder where he got the money to make the bribe!
Way to go Seth, we're proud of ya! :)

Missouri Morning

2011-11-03T10:26:00.001-05:00

'Tis the Season

2011-11-01T14:32:00.002-05:00

Time for the Black Walnut Dance! Shake those trees!
(Jason is gonna kill me!)

My nutty guys

2011-11-01T09:46:00.002-05:00

Home of the Tomato King

2011-11-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

We found the tomato king living in our garden!

Halloween Dinner

2011-11-01T08:04:00.005-05:00

Our Halloween dinner this year:
Monster eggs:

What are you looking at?:

Spider infested pizza:

Katie's bugs:

It ain't over 'til the Skinny Dude Screams

2011-10-31T18:22:00.000-05:00

Tim the Enchanter, Missourah style

2011-10-31T18:20:00.001-05:00

Family Portrait

2011-10-31T17:32:00.006-05:00

Surfer punk (look at his "shoes") viking who does what he wants:

Some call him Tim:

Are your papers in order?

My wild child:

Married Man:

Now you know where our little monsters get it from:

Halloween 2011 Party Slideshow

2011-10-31T17:07:00.001-05:00

I was back by our booths during the entire party so I didn't get a chance to mingle and get pictures of everyone. There were tons of really cute costumes all over the place--these are the pics I did manage to get.

2011 Ward Halloween Party--video clips

2011-10-31T15:03:00.003-05:00

Good Times

2011-10-28T10:06:00.001-05:00

Can't have Halloween without..

2011-10-28T09:24:00.001-05:00

THRILLER!!!!!!!!

This Is Halloween

2011-10-28T09:11:00.001-05:00

Heron My Pond

2011-10-07T08:22:00.001-05:00

Big Blue was out enjoing the sun this morning.

Paintball Warriors

2011-10-03T10:39:00.004-05:00

Joe got to go with his friend Sam to a paintball tournament called Operation: Paintball Warrior last weekend. It was sponsored by a local radio station and was a fundraiser for the local DAV. They had three military guys and 12 civilians playing on each team. Joe and Sam were on Army Bravo. They won their first round--Joe was left lone-man-standing facing 7-8 enemy Air Force team members but he managed to pull it off! They played several rounds and had a blast. Joe is still suffering battle-shock from the round they went up against a semi-pro team.

Elementary Shadows

2011-10-03T10:38:00.002-05:00

Angel Pony in my Pasture

2011-10-03T10:25:00.003-05:00

My Little Walnut Picker-uppers

2011-10-03T10:12:00.002-05:00

Black Walnut Season

2011-10-03T09:28:00.007-05:00

He has...

2011-10-03T09:25:00.002-05:00

...such a nice smile, don't you think? Rufus, I mean.

Skills

2011-10-03T09:20:00.002-05:00

Katie is coming along nicely in her supervising skills.

Super-vision

2011-10-03T09:09:00.004-05:00

You know those Calvin and Hobbes comic strips where Calvin uses the fake eyes to make it look like he is awake and watching the teacher while he catches a quick nap in class? Works like a charm when you're out supervising the kids' walnut-picking activities too!

Opossumble Task

2011-10-03T09:05:00.003-05:00

You know you live in the country when.....
The boys found themselves out in the back yard during the wee hours of the morning cleaning up dead opossum before leaving for seminary and school.
Ah, what a life!

One Harvest Day

2011-10-03T08:58:00.003-05:00

Our garden did really well this year. This is one day's pickin' this Summer. Yummy!

Skippy II: The Return of Skippy

2011-09-21T08:40:00.021-05:00

No. I am not kidding.
Yes. I would really really like to move back to the city. NOW.

Oh what a beautiful morrrrrrrning, oh what a beautiful daaaaaaaay!
Weeee! The horrible, oppressive Summertime heat has finally broken and the Fall weather is here! I love that crisp nip in the air, the hint of color hiding behind the green leaves on the trees, the big harvest moon. Autumn is my favorite season.
It is also the season when all little critters wandering in the wild begin looking for a nice, cozy place to nest for the winter. And what nicer, cozier place is there than our shop, right?
A couple of weeks ago our dogs began paying a lot of attention to the big wood shelves in the back of our shop. That is never a good sign. The bottom of the shelves have a panel of wood running along the edge, enclosing the space between the ground and the bottom shelf, making a wonderful little place to hide out. Add to that the fact we have our hay is stored just a few feet from there and it is the perfect nesting grounds.

At first we were afraid we had a raccoon. There had been (check it out! I talk like a Missourhan!) a raccoon up on our porch a few nights before this which caused a big rukus with the dogs.
Perhaps he had decided the shop was a better place to live than the dog-infested porch.
We found cute little raccoon hand impressions in the mud outside the shop and we know there are raccoons getting into our trash dumpster at night (they really really love chili cheese stuff from Sonic!).

I so did NOT want to have a raccoon living in our shop!
I don't care how cute they seem or how many stories people tell of feeding the "cute little raccoons" with their little hands that look and move "like little people hands."
No way!
These suckers vicious!!!

We got our live animal trap out, put a nice can of tuna inside for bait, and set it up just outside the shelves.
First night: nothing. Come on, who doesn't like tuna?!
Second night: nothing. Apparently what we throw away in the trash is so much better than a nice can of tuna.
Third night: we got a hit! Only the bugger is smarter than us, I mean, than the cage. We found an empty tuna can, licked clean, wedged under the little trip lever so that the door on the cage couldn't close.
I think I also hear a little giggle ring out from somewhere under the shelves.
Grrrrr!
Well, I'm not spending money to feed this thing tuna every night. Time for some cheap cat food! We wired a little can of cat food to the back of the cage. With it stuck to the back of the cage the critter can't pull the can towards himself, it will have to go closer to the trip panel and will get so busy eating he'll forget all about watching his feet and step on the trigger, right?
Wrong!
This little sucker must have a longer neck than we thought.
Next plan!
We decide to peel the lid of the can only part way back so it just exposes a little bit of the food. The critter will have to get in there good and really work to get under the lid for his feed now! How can he possible avoid stepping on the trigger when he has so much to do?!
First night: nothing. Oh, we have a lazy critter on our hands!
Second night: nothing. Here we go again! So frustrating! (If only I had known then what was to come I would have thanked my lucky stars, packed up the house and moved straight back to the city: what's so bad about a little dirty air, horrible traffic, gang bangers, and drug lords after all?!)
Third night: a little nibble gone out of the small exposed spot. Whoa! Wait a minute! Mice? Could that possibly be all we are dealing with here? The dogs like to kill mice. We do have mice in our shop. Maybe there are just mice back there causing the dogs to bark. Mice could get in and out of that big trap without setting it off. Maybe it isn't a raccoon after all!
Whew!
We now return you back to a normal life.
Or not.
Every time I went into the shop for something the dogs still ran back to the shelves and put on their hunting postures. Jason assured me that whatever had been living under there had surely moved on by now. (I keep telling him my name's not Shirley!)
Titus seemed to lose interest a little but Rufus became more and more frantic about the shelves in the back of the shop. Rufus spent a lot of time running back and forth on the bottom shelf barking and snarling around the edges. Rufus would bark and dig at the end of the shelves that sat over gravel and dirt. Finally Rufus worked his way under this edge and got under the shelves. He could only go in that one spot, the part of the shelves sitting on the concrete was too low for him to squeeze past. I was afraid that if there was indeed a raccoon under the shelves it would eat Rufus but Rufus returned from his adventures under the shelves unscathed.
Perhaps my dog is insane.
Yeah, not my dog!
Each morning after haying the horses, I would return to the house to listen to Rufus barking in the shop for hours. Maybe it was time to buy that dog a new squeaky ball.
We all grew used to the Rufus alarm and became immune to noticing it.
Until yesterday.
What a beautiful day.
The pastures still moist and refreshed from the recent wonderful rains. The bright sun shining warm and comforting in the sparkling blue skies. A day to just be alive and soak in every moment.
Seth came home from school and gave Titus a bath. Joe in turn, bathed Rufus for me. The kids were out running around the yard enjoying the nice weather. The dogs were fluffy and soft. Who could ask for a more delightful afternoon?
Then Joe went to the shop for something and came back to report that Rufus was doing his usual patrol of the shelves but this time Joe heard something making a growling noise back at Rufus.
Uh oh.
Please Mr. Raccoon, don't eat my corgi!
Joe grabbed a flash light and began trying to see through the little slit between the ground and the shelves. He could see black fur moving around.
Black. O.k., a opossum maybe? Yeah, looks like a opossum.
Good! No Mr. Raccoon!
Not good! Opossums carry diseases that pass onto horses and make them very sick!
We need to get rid of Mr. Opossum.
As Joe continued to inspect the black-furred critter under the shelves he made a grizzly discovery....a white stripe!!!!!!!!!!!!!Somehow Joe and I ended up back at the entrance to the shop in a flash. (And they say humans cannot move at the speed of light!) We caught our breath, realized that Seth was there with us, and tried to regroup and form a plan on how to deal with this most foul of adversaries.
Of course Joe was off to the house for his little .22--that goes without saying. I began searching for something I could use to stick under the shelf to push the body out where we could reach it for disposal after Joe had dispatched it. Seth lounged around on the four-wheeler and played with his dog.
Armed with the .22, a big long stick and a flashlight, Joe and I made our way back towards the shelves. That was one of the longest walks I've ever taken in my life! I assumed my battle-ready stance (just in case) with big stick held over my head, hoping my speed-of-light powers would still be in effect! Time to do some thumpin'!
Joe moved his flashlight into position so he could see the little monster, readied his gun checking his position carefully to make sure he had a good, level angle so he wouldn't hit concrete or anything dangerous, and took his shot.
The report from the gun echoed through the shop.
Seth and the two dogs, back at the entrance to the shop, looked up.
Joe adjusted his flashlight, took a moment to inspect the situation, and reported that the black (and white) fur was still running around under the shelves.
Next plan!
I take my big stick and push an end of it under the shelves and start moving it towards the opening by the gravel and dirt. Joe gets up into position on the hay bales to watch the opening. After a short time Joe reports that he sees Mr. Skippy sticking his head out, looking at Joe. I give Joe the go-ahead to take a shot. Joe looks down his sights and sees the whites of his eyes (do skunks have white in their eyes?!) and squeezes the trigger.
Again the report rings through the air, bouncing its way all through the shop.
Mr. Skippy ducks back into his nice hidey-hole.
Joe stays on his perch up on the hay bales and I again shove the stick under the shelves and start knocking it about to encourage Skippy to show himself. Who in their right mind asks a skunk to show himself?! Joe reports that he hears Skippy scuttling around under the shelf and he seems to be on his way out. Next Joe reports that Skippy is sticking his nose out. With a little more excited tone in his voice, Joe reports that Skippy is all the way out from under the shelf now and Joe's hand begins to move toward his gun. At that same moment, Joe gives a yell and throws himself backwards.
I scream like a girl and bolt to the entrance of the shop (every man for herself!). Seth and the dogs, still playing, look up to see what all the fuss is about.
I turned back to see Joe sitting, panting, rubbing his head a bit, but otherwise in seemingly good condition. As my senses returned, being the good mommy that I am, I roared "What was all that about?!!!!!!!"
Joe explained that as he watched Skippy come out of his little house he saw the perfect opportunity for a shot but as he moved his hand, Skippy spotted him and immediately turned his backside to Joe and lifted his tail. Joe's lightning-fast reflexes are the only thing that saved him from a condition that would have caused him to be shunned from family and society in general from hence forth and forever more.
That was a close one!
I think Joe is still having PTSD from that experience.
O.K.
All right.
Huh.
O.k., big breath, blow it out...
We can do this!
Once again, Joe and I begin to carefully move in the direction of the last known location of the assailant. I look back to encourage Seth to join us but he is quite happy with his perch up on the four-wheeler. As I think back now, I do believe he actually had in his hands a bucket of popcorn which he was cheerfully munching on while he enjoyed the show.
Joe returned to his post back up on the hay bales to report that Skippy was no longer in his line of sight. I glanced around the other side of the hay bales and saw a cute black fuzzy thing with a big fluffy tail sauntering right toward me.
Again I screamed like a girl and flew to safety at the entrance of the shop.
Mustering what is left of my courage... O.k., actually, there actually is no courage now, there's nothing, just numbness and stupidity, which propels me forward because it seems like I have nothing better to do with my life at this point.
I peek around the corner to see no sign of Mr. Skippy. Joe looks all around but cannot figure out where the critter has gone to.
*Cue creepy music.*
Everything was suddenly very quiet. I could hear the beating of my heart, the hiss of my breath as it escaped my throat. My eyes darted from one side to the other. Sweat dripped from my brow. This was worse than seeing the fuzzy puff ball trotting right toward me! Now he could be anywhere! No matter where I looked, he could be creeping up behind me, ready to blast me, at any moment. Panic set in. Now I couldn't even run to the entrance of the shop because I just knew that as I ran, Mr. Skippy would come flying out from beside me and bite my head clean off!
I took one more peek around the corner and realized that the two bench seats from Seth's scout were sitting there. I was immediately ready to bet that Mr. Skippy had found refuge under those seats. I was NOT immediately ready to approach said seats to make sure. This was a job for the dogs!
I gave the call and immediately Rufus was by my side, ready to work, the trusty and loyal hound that he is. Titus, on the other hand (notice how canine reflect their owners?) was nowhere to be found. Seth informed me that Titus had lost interest and wandered back up to the house. I gave Rufus the command and he went right to work, sniffing out the area. After a few moments he gave two barks, his call to Titus, and Titus returned to the scene. Together the two dogs began their inspection of the shop. They made their way to the bench seats sitting by the hay bales. Immediately the hair on the back of their necks stood up and low growls emanated from the depths of their souls. Each dog took either side of the seat and the barking and snarling and pawing began. Each dog worked his side, trying to get under the seat to catch their quarry. As this went on for several minutes, suddenly Rufus jumped back with a little yelp, shaking his head and sneezing. The scent blossomed in the air and we all began to gag.
O.k., who forgot to pack the gas masks?!
Rufus ran to us, looking for a friendly leg to rub his face on. We all jumped back and started commanding Rufus to go to the other person as we edged away.
Titus gave a yelp and we saw him shaking his head frantically.
Another casualty we thought.
But Titus stayed in the fray, quickly snatching up Mr. Skippy and with one hard shake, dispatched Mr. Skippy to a better world. Of course, being the thorough dog that he is, Titus was not content with just the death shake, he had to continue shaking his prize and in the process sending skunk spray every which way.
We all screamed like girls and ran for the entrance of the shop. We yelled for Titus to drop and he obediently put down Mr. Skippy and came happily trotting to us. Expecting lots of pats on his head in praise of his effots.
We took the dogs out and washed their faces off for them. Then we returned to the shop in search of the carcass of Mr. Skippy. We found it lying behind the hay bales and Joe started to move it onto a shovel to take it out for burial.
Titus, noticing we had returned to the shop, followed us in to see if there was any more fun to be had. And of course he found some! As we all stood around the body of the skunk, Titus slipped by, snatched up the body in his mouth and again went to shaking with all his might. Before we realized what was happening (and could get to safety), I experienced the sickening sensation of the spray hitting my sandaled feet. At the same time I heard the screams of anguish from my boys.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We survived through that entire ordeal only to get taken down by one of our own!
Weary, defeated, dejected, reeking to high heaven, we walked from the shop, shoulders bent, heads hanging low. Katie, who was just running out to meet us, caught wind of the scent we carried and turned and ran.
Shunned.
That was our future.
We found ourselves in a condition that would cause us to be shunned by family and society in general from hence forth and forever more.
Why did I leave the city? Why oh why oh why?!!!!!
So we began the clean up process.
Titus's trophy was taken away and buried.
Stripping of the offending clothing was completed and showering commenced.
The dogs had to be washed again.
By the way, if the vet gives you a recipe for de-skunk-your-dog wash involving Dawn soap, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide: they are just trying to keep you from bringing your skunked dog into their office and get you off their phone line. It does make for a wonderful mess all over the front yard, though!
(Actually, we give them a bale of straw to roll in all night in their kennel. It takes the scent off them relatively well.)
And as for the ol' wives tale of using tomato sauce to get the skunk scent off of you? Well, let me just say, people in these parts like to tell city-folk such stories 'cause they get a kick out of watching you dump tomato sauce all over yourself!
After all was said and done, though, we were finally declared clean and allowed back into the house. And as we entered we were met at the door by Katie who proceeded to give us a nice chewing-out for not saving Mr. Skippy's pelt so she could make a cool hat.
Sometimes ya just can't win!

A Little Backyard Paintball

2011-08-22T16:29:00.001-05:00

2011-08-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

Tie One On

2011-08-18T09:09:00.003-05:00

I caught Jason and the boys practicing tie-ing the other evening. Time to conquer that Windsor once and for all!

Hillbilly Skeet Shootin'

2011-08-17T11:43:00.001-05:00

Like I asked before, what idiot allowed helium into this house with these boys around?!!!

Ride the Lightning

2011-08-16T11:30:00.003-05:00

On assignment

2011-08-16T11:18:00.005-05:00

Grandma has given me an assignment to get pictures of each of my children so she can put them on her wall or shelf or wherever it is she keeps pictures of her grandkids.
Perhaps she doesn't understand what she is asking!

Deep Thoughts with David:

Not Very Deep Thoughts with Seth:

Joe had a thought once:

Oh, where is the picture of Katie, you ask?
After all this, wouldn't you have just given up too?

Rockers

2011-08-16T10:39:00.005-05:00

And not the kind you have out on your front porch either! I keep these in the basement.
Joe finally saved up enough to get his bass. He's learning little bits at a time. Now they are both learning how to stay with someone else playing! lol

So we decided to let David have a birthday this year afterall

2011-08-16T10:32:00.005-05:00

And since Mom didn't hang any streamers for the party, Seth and Joe took care of things themselves.

Then Joe realized we didn't have a pinata either...

Um...

2011-08-16T10:21:00.001-05:00

Who let helium into this house with these kids around???

Such a nice, loving Family

2011-08-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

The Aunt Nellie Box

2011-08-16T09:36:00.006-05:00

And just in case we should happen to have any normalness about the kids' birthdays, Aunt Nellie had to send a box to get us straightened right back out!

I guess the whole turning 16 thing went to Seth's head and he had to go get tatted up about it...

And take his little brother with him...

And.... oh forget it!

And if you're gonna have tats you gotta have Super Hero capes too, right?!

Seth had a little trouble figuring out this whole how-to-wear-a-cape thing.

I give up!

Honestly, after everything David went through to get rid of Carl, what kind of sick person sends him another one?!!!!!

And Then it was Katie's Birthday

2011-08-16T09:14:00.006-05:00

The balloon fairy attacked.

We were not sure how to get candles into Katie's giant no-bake cookie cake. Joe decided the best solution would be to light the thing up with his giant Roman candle.

Fortunately Dad has a little more maturity and found a more conservative way to handle it. (why is there a bottle of Tobasco sauce sitting there?)

David seemed rather worried about the giant Nerf gun Katie got.

And then it was Seth's Birthday

2011-08-16T09:04:00.003-05:00

A 16 year old in the house.
*Help me!*

And the new lady in his life.

Tales from the Hospital

2011-08-16T08:26:00.009-05:00

O.k., so, after the insanely long post of David's experience with his less-than-wonderful new friend, it's time for some pics of the FUN.

What is the first thing smart people do right after surgery? TWINKIES!!!!!!!!

Getting in line with the latest big-cinema movie trends, this Summer we decided to present Carl in 3D. Get your glasses at the concession stands now!
(It's lovely being trapped in a family of idiots.)

At St. Louis Children's Hospital even the salads are happy!

Did we mention room service?

And
You know it's time to go when Dad starts getting stir crazy!

After busting out of the hospital and finding a safe haven at the hotel room with his brothers and sister, David returned back to "normal" (translation: being a mindless zombie in front of the brain-sucking Playstation.)

Of Carls and Things that go Bump in the Night

2011-08-15T12:08:00.015-05:00

Well I guess it's about time I wrote about our Summer adventures from this year.

We had many plans and dreams for our Summer vacation of 2011. Those lovely, hazy, lazy days of Summer.
Joe and I were going to become the all-time zombie masters Of The Earth, David was going to build a space shuttle out of household appliances, Seth was going on his first world tour of rock star awesomeness, and Katie..... and then there's Katie. It's better if we just leave Katie alone and allow her on her merry way.
The last-day-of-school Friday came and my children happily launched out of the school doors and ran screaming... I mean, walked quietly and orderly to the car.
Away we drove, the horrible bondage of daily school routine just a distant memory in the rearview mirror. The dreams of laziness, slovenliness, pajamas-all-day-iness, and video-game-athons blossomed and the scent was intoxicating.
Fast forward to Sunday. Nice, normal Sunday. Everything was, well, normal. We went to church. We came home from church. I smacked Joe a few times. Kicked Seth. Chased David around the yard. Hid from Katie. All nice and normal.
That evening storm clouds began to gather.
David began to feel a little "not so good."
The clouds intensified and the winds picked up.
David's cheeks became red and his eyes glazey.
A storm warning was issued and a tornado was bearing down on Joplin, a town South of us.
David began to run a fever.
We were counting ourselves lucky we were North of the storm and would be clear of its destruction. Little did we realize the "tornado" that was about to hit our lives.
When David woke up on Monday morning he had a large swollen lymph node on the side of his neck. David often gets swollen lymph nodes through the Winter when he picks up little viruses and colds. His body works hard to fight off infections. He is often one of the first kids in our family to clear a virus even though he takes medication which suppresses his immune system.
During the past Winter none of the kids had been sick and I had just started patting myself on the back, mommy pride, that I'd gotten my kids through the season healthy and well. We were past virus season now, we were home free!
David ran a fever and the lymph node continued to get bigger. By Tuesday it was time to go to the doctor. I made an appointment with the local doc and before we left the house I picked up the phone to check with David's transplant nurse, making sure I had all the bases covered, what medications we would not accept (interactions ya know) and any questions or suggestions on what to look for. It seemed rather odd to me that the lymph node on just one side was swelling--usually with a sore throat the lymph nodes would swell on both sides. The transplant nurse did bring up the threat of PTLD.
PTLD (Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders) is a disease transplant peoples are at risk for. It was something we worried about with David after his second transplant.
Here's how it works: By the time we are grown up, almost all of us have had exposure to the Epstein-Barr Virus. However, a lot of very young children have not been exposed yet and therefore have not developed antibodies to the virus. When you transplant a child with a portion of an adult (likely has had EBV so the virus is still in their tissues) liver then EBV gets into the kiddo's system. In a child with antibodies to EBV they can usually fight the virus and keep it knocked down. However, if the child does not have antibodies on board and then you suppress the function of the immune cells there's nothing to "police" the virus from the new liver and it takes off in a wonderful riot, looting and pillaging and making a mess of things. Over time it is possible for the EBV to cause PTLD. It usually happens within a couple of years post-transplant. We were very worried at the time for David that he could develop this malignancy on top of everything else. The doctors gave him medications to combat the EBV and we were very fortunate to make it through without PTLD.
*Whew!*
O.k., so, the transplant nurse brought up the possibility of PTLD but I brushed it aside, confident it wouldn't be that in this kid--he is over 11 year posttransplant. No worries.
Off to the doctor we go. Poor doctor. He is such a nice man.
He looks at David, notes the impressive size of the node--just on one side!--and expressed that he would like to do a little research. Perhaps we could give David a little amoxicillin, that shouldn't hurt anything, and he'd look into possibilities some more. I told him the transplant nurse had mentioned PTLD. He wasn't sure what that was (we are very far from any transplant center way out here in the boonies). Finally the doctor's staff called the transplant nurse and she talked to the doctor, giving the information he needed to order a bunch of labs on David.
The labs Jason and I were most interested in was the EBV titers and PCR. That would give us a good idea if this could be PTLD (not something we wanted to think about). If the EBV had indeed activated again we could be in some real trouble. (Didn't want to think about it!)
That afternoon the local doctor called. He had called a few other doctors in our area and consulted with them. They had come to a consensus that it would be best for us to work with David's transplant doctors since none of them really knew anything about PTLD and were basically afraid to touch David because of his transplant status. He also mentioned that the other doctors advised it would be best to withhold antibiotics until more progress was made in diagnosis so as to not make the picture more "murky".
*Punt!*
Didn't know we were a football. Cool!
Honestly, I prefer a doctor to be hands off when he doesn't know what to do rather than start "trying" things. Experimentation is not something I favor when it comes to my kiddos' lives.
So I guess we wait a bit.
Some labs are back.
White Blood Cell count is goofey.
Really? The child has an infection, off course it's goofey!
We wait a day or two more. The node continues to grow. What was once a hard knot under his chin has now come around to behind his ear and is stretching toward his collar bone. He has fever, feels crappy, no appetite and the node is very painful.
This really isn't the way I planned on becoming all-time zombie master Of The Earth. Although Joe is convinced that it is looking more and more like a zombie chomped David and we should quarantine him.
David has decided that his new "friend" has grown big enough that he should have his own name. David decided that name would be Carl. So from then on you had to address David AND Carl--it is very rude to talk about Carl like he's not even in the room.
Well, since the doctors weren't going to do anything for David at this time it was my turn.
O.k., actually I'd already been doing lots of mullein and lobelia oil and stuff like that but now it was time to kick it up a notch.
I began mincing up cloves of garlic, loading it into capsules and stuffing them down him.
Next was parsley.
I was braced for a fight--David usually gives me all kinds of grief just getting him to eat some salad--but he was very willingly and obediently chewed away.
Wow! That showed just how desperate this child was to feel better. Incredibly scary!
Tons of water and lemon juice. He drank lemon juice with no complaints.
This child was REALLY sick.
For snacks he asked for carrot sticks and cantaloupe chunks.
Joe put forth the theory that Carl had sucked out David's brain, hence the huge change in tastes. I was beginning to concur.
Jason spoke with the transplant nurse. She was very concerned we could be seeing a case of PTLD. Although unlikely, it is possible to develop PTLD this far out from transplant. (Still really don't want to think about it!) She told us David needed to have a PET scan. She wanted us to head for Pittsburg immediately but it isn't just a little trip down the lane for us. We wanted to do as much of the testing as we could do here first.
The local nurse was a sweetheart about helping us get it set up but there weren't any appointments avaliable soon enough. The transplant nurse told Jason that PTLD can get really bad really fast. (O.k., not thinking about it but going into panic mode now!!!)
The local nurse started working with the hospitals down in Springfield. She begged and pleaded on our behalf and finally got someone to give in and get us on the schedule two days later. We love nurse Lori, she is AWESOME!
In the mean time poor David was suffering with Carl. Carl had decided he wanted to be red and the redness ran down David's neck and onto his chest covering the area that would be exposed if David were wearing a V-neck t-shirt. Nice huge angry bump. And you thought your acne was bad!
We asked Jason's mom to come take a look at David. She has been a nurse for 50+ years. She took one look and announced that it was an infection. She said it was classic for infection.
Wow did we feel better.
Amazingly better.
Someone finally pulled that monster elephant off our shoulders.
It's not PTLD, just a huge horrible life-threatening infection. Whew!
Yeah, how crazy was that, but that's how we felt!
We took David down for his PET scan.
Honestly, I really don't understand what all the fuss and cost is about. The day before this test I had walked David outside. He was missing his Rampage and wanted to visit him. The horse ran right up the fence when he saw his boy. As David stood at the fence, Rampage leaned down, looked at him for a moment, sniffed him a bit and nuzzled his shoulder. Rampage seemed to sense something was wrong and wrapped David in one of his "horse hugs" and just stood with him.
That was a pet scan and it cost us nothing.
But I guess that isn't good enough for the medical profession.
David had his PET scan. We called the transplant nurse to let her know they were sending the discs overnight but she was calling the radiologist to get his report that day. Cool!
I talked with the transplant doctor, told him that Jason's mom said it looked classic for infection and could we please now get David on some antibiotics. He had his nurse call the pharmacy and we had David on cipro within the hour.
Things started looking better by the next day. David was feeling better. Carl was starting to ease up a bit--the redness was starting to pull-in and focalize. Everything looked like we were headed in the right direction and the antibiotics were working. The report from the PET scan showed metabolic process at the node in the neck but not in other places of the body. If it was PTLD it would be likely there would be malignancies in other nodes through the body. We were very glad to hear things looked clear. That was a GOOD sign.
It is a hard thing to think that your child could have cancer. Of sorts. Something like cancer but doesn't usually even respond to chemo. And to read that in some cases a mortality rate as high as 100% has been quoted.
Ugh.
We were finally starting to breathe a sigh of relief.
Apparently Carl doesn't like sighs of relief.
After a couple of days of things going in the right direction, things turned around and started going downhill quickly. At the same time the transplant nurse called and told us that David's labs came back positive for EBV. What a punch in the gut. I can't even explain the sick feeling that came over us. Just when we thought we were out of the woods the worst news we could get landed on our heads.
We looked all around Springfield for an oncology or ID doctor to see David but no one would take him because of his transplant status and possibility of PTLD.
I did not have a copy of the labs myself but if I had, I would have seen that the nurse had read them wrong. It showed that he had HAD an EBV infection sometime in his life (duh!), that part was positive, but the part showing whether or not he had an active infection was negative. Grrrrr.
We finally went with the doctors at St. Louis Children's Hospital. David's transplant doctor recommended them to us. We had a little trouble getting David's appointment as soon as we wanted and thought about possibly taking him to the ER. David's transplant doctor sent some e-mails to help us. We decided to go on out to St. Louis so we would be there close to the ER if we needed it while we waited for David's appointment.
We had to leave our other children with their grandparents. It has always been such a hard thing to leave my other kids when I have to go to hospital with David. Talk about being torn in half!
On the way out of town I had picked up copies of David's labs to take with us. That night I opened the labs to have a look for myself and discovered the mistake the transplant nurse had made. What a relief!!! What a roller-coaster!
Carl was cooperative and let us get through the night and make it until the appointment.
We met the most awesome peds ID doctor at this hospital. She was kind and good and so gracious. She and the lead hepatologist who works with the transplant team took one look at David and said "that is NOT PTLD."
How do you keep from dropping to your knees at a time like that?! I mean, I don't want the doctors to think I'm insane or something but how do you stay in your chair when someone tells you that your very worst fears you have been living with are now over? Wow.
We had a lot of Wows this Summer.
The ID doctor started grilling us on everything trying to figure out what David might have been exposed to so we would have some idea what to start treating for. We dug through all memories, trying to remember every little thing, every bug bite, every person he was in contact with, anyone who might have breathed on him or even looked funny at him. We thought of all kinds of strange and exotic bugs that could be infecting this kid.
The ID doctor set up a consult with the ENT team--they would be opening Carl up to drain him and clean him out. We went to the ENT clinic and met Dr. Spaz. The guy was awesome! Total spaz. He took one look and was very impressed. All the residents kept snapping pics when they got the chance. David was feeling like a celebrity but we had to inform him it was really Carl everyone was looking at. Humility stings sometimes.
Here, you can decide for yourselves which one is better looking:

Back in David's room a little while later the IV team came in to get things started so David could go to surgery. Apparently Carl decided he'd had enough. He didn't wait for the ENT team to have all the fun--he burst open on his own and the IV nurses got to have some fun too!
As you can imagine, they were thrilled. No, actually, they were. Nurses are disturbing people sometimes. And, after surgery, the ENT doctor informed me that we were NOT getting a discount.
Carl had tunneled in to David's neck a good two inches. The opening in David's neck was only about as big around as a pointer finger but by the looks of things (we got to see the cool surgery pics) the skin around the opening was failing and would eventually give way.
David went to his room, got hooked-up on IV antibiotics and the party began. He had his own personal little TV, for food service they gave David a menu and he got to call "room service" and order whatever meals and snacks he wanted. Baaboo and Poppy brought the other kids up for a visit and, being the good brothers they are, Seth and Joe smuggled a bag in with a little TV and a Playstation for David to have in his room.
David was feeling better each day. He wasn't too happy about the idea of the "unpacking" of his wound but he found out the doctors have really cool drugs that make everything all better.
Cultures showed that the exotic crazy bug we were dealing with was Group A Strep.
Bor-ing!
Doesn't make for a very good story so we decided it needed to be Garbuly-glunk-muck-muck spado.
Cool, huh?
Anyways.
So you know what they put him on?
Amoxacillin!
Yep!
Remember waaaaaaaaay back at the beginning when I had David in to the local doctor's office and he thought we could put David on a little amoxacillin? Another one for the book of FOLLOW YOUR GUT INSTINCTS!
The ID doctor told us it was interesting, thought, they couldn't figure out why David had gotten better for a few days when he was started on the cipro. Strep does not usually respond to Cipro. They were very puzzled by that.
A couple of days after talking with the doctors I saw a paper published in the Journal of Microbiology with findings of a study on group a strep showing susceptibility to garlic.
Ha!
Only thing was, when David started the Cipro, I quit giving him the garlic because I figured the antibiotic would take care of things. So we had the backlash.
So that was two strikes.
Poor kid, glad we didn't make it a third.
David spent a week in the hospital. He went back to surgery a second time to irrigate the wound and put more packing in. More pretty pictures. It's kinda cool to see your kid's trachea from that angle.
David did discover that there was a TV and a Playstation in the little pre-op room he was in. Ever play Playstation when you're high on midazolam?
Don't answer that.
Children's Hospital St. Louis was AWESOME! Everyone we met there could not have been sweeter to us. Everyone from the top doctors down to our little housekeeping lady were as kind and sweet as they could be. The waiting room for surgery has all these little private cubicals (or even private rooms) that can be reserved so you can sit with some privacy.
They have lots of things going on for the kids. There were therapy dogs coming along to visit the kids; there was a library to check out books and videos; a family room for other siblings to stay with a staff to watch them and keep them busy while parents were busy tending the sick child; a "teen" room with video games, music and places to hang out and talk with other teens; a garden up on a roof level which was a nice escape from the hospital environment; a nice cafeteria with Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen; and did I mention room service? The theme of the room service is forestry and Moose. Mini Moose sliders, moose pizza, etc. When the food gets to your room, the person delivering it is dressed in a forest ranger uniform. How cool is that?!
The rooms have a shower and a little bath tub in each bathroom so the kids can get cleaned up in comfort and privacy. It seems like everything has been thought of in this facility to preserve as much comfort and dignity for their patients as they can. St. Louis Children's Hospital rocks! I'm ready to rip David's arm off just so we can go back and stay a while longer!
So after a week we finally got the o.k. to take David home.
We were all packed up, David dressed, just waiting for the doctors to finalize the papers when the nurse came in to tell us that the lab just called and one of the cultures had just grown out another bacteria.
Wow.
Yep, another one! Another wow I mean. But, yeah, another bacteria too.
I guess that's what we get for renaming Mr. Boring Old Strep. We were actually going to GET Garbuly-glunk-muck-muck spado.
Huh.
When am I ever going to get my chance to be all-time zombie master Of The Earth?!!!!!!!
The little peds fellow came skittering into the room. Really cool kid. (Yeah, I found myself referring to residents as "kids". Age, thou art the devil!!!!) All kinds of crazy fuzzy hair sticking up out of his head. He came in to inform us that the ID doctors had all shot down to the lab upon hearing the information about David's culture, took a look for themselves and declared the new bacteria to be a contaminant.
Whew! No Garbuly-glunk-muck-muck spado. Not really.
Although we're still going to tell everyone that's what it was anyways.
So David was given his walking papers and we walked outside and smelled the beautiful smell of freedom. And some smog and dust, a little tar from the roadwork going on down the way, roasting hot dogs from the vendor over there and BBQ. I definitely smelled some BBQ.
Once home we got to do wet to dry packing on David. Ah, a walk down memory lane. And slowly, but surely, Carl came to an end.
During this experience David endured many lectures by his concerned mother about the types of friends he was chosing and the consequences for not being more careful and thinking things through a little better before picking up certain types of friends. I am happy to report that David has been much more careful now and has now, to this date, been a healthy and happy child.

I ate a Dragon!

2011-08-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

Jason and I took the two older boys to an activity in Springfield on Saturday. We had the chance to do some running around and have a "date" while waiting on the kids.
After some errands and shopping we decided to hit one of our fave places for sushi--Jason gets tired of listening to me when I am craving Cali rolls.
We made our selections and decided to try the "dragon roll." When you have a chance to eat bbq eel you dive on it, right?!
The presentation of the dish was so fun that I had to take a pic when it got to our table...

Who knew it would be an actual dragon! And they set the sauce on fire too. I always love it when things on our table are set ablaze. :)

Super Skippy

2011-05-29T20:32:00.002-05:00

Psycho squirrel on our balcony.

Angry Skies

2011-05-23T13:52:00.005-05:00

We were on the Northern end of the storms which blew through Sunday, May 22nd, causing such destruction in Joplin and other communities in Kansas and Missouri.

Black skies to our South and an eerie yellow light falling across us. The dogs, who normally whine, bark and make a ruckus when there is lightening and thunder were hunkered down on the porch, heads flat to the ground, not moving a muscle or making a sound. Very creepy feeling.

As the storm passed by it left a spectacular sky boiling with color and texture. Amazing that something so beautiful can be so terrible and deadly at the same time.

Some Pics from May 2011 Joplin Tornado

2011-05-23T13:30:00.006-05:00

The Joplin LDS Stake Center--what is left of it.

Helicopter parked on top of the hospital before the tornado hit.

Pepsi Cola employee looks at the wreckage of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Plant.

Go Missouri!
Would-be volunteers wait in line for a work assignments at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 23, 2011. Hundreds of people turned out to offer their assistance the morning after a destructive tornado moved through.

Bubble Ballet

2011-05-18T17:53:00.002-05:00

The dogs performing their famous bubble ballet.

Lazy Afternoon

2011-05-18T17:29:00.000-05:00

I caught Seth and Joe hanging around in the (trashed--someone needs to beat the maid!) living room the other day and tried to get some clips of Seth playing with his guitar using my phone since he always quits when he thinks I'm recording him.

Thirst Pony

2011-05-17T17:25:00.000-05:00

Trying to give Clarence a bath and cool him down but he would rather just play with the water.

Elvis has left the Pasture

2011-04-19T18:50:00.006-05:00

Yesterday evening was beautiful. The air was still with just enough warmth but just enough coolness to be incredibly perfect. The sky was overcast with smooth, grey clouds. The butterflies were floating around the green pasture and the entire world felt at peace. A perfect evening to go catch tadpoles.
As the kids and I were trapsing down to the pond with our tadpole-catching gear, I glanced over at the big cedar tree growing by the fence line between our two pastures. There, under the tree, all by herself, was little Elvis standing in the thick ferns. I thought it was a little odd that she was alone as she usually stays with the other cows and had lately been very busy helping Shirley keep Ivan (yes, still terrible!) in line. I wondered if maybe Elvis was beginning to labor. She has been reallllllly fat for the last little bit and has been "bagging up". I looked around but there was no sign of a calf so I went on down to the pond with the kids and proceded to terrorize all the little frogs living there.
This morning after I dropped the kids at school I came home and pulled the ol' muck boots on to take a little walk down the pasture--fully expecting to find Elvis under the cedar tree with a calf. I arrived at the cedar tree but found no Elvis. The other four cows were out lazing around the pasture but Elvis was not with them. I walked up and down both pastures but could not find Elvis.
I spent the rest of the morning on the four-wheeler going around all the neighboring pastures, looking under all the trees and in all the shrubs but could not find her. In the early afternoon I took one last pass along our fence line by the woods and noticed a post where the wire had been broken down. It was very obvious a cow had gone over the fence in this spot.
With it being turkey season I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of running around in the woods but I needed to find Elvis. She is two years old but still pretty small and this is her first calf--I was afraid she might have some trouble with her delivery. I ventured over the fence--making pleanty of noise so the turkeys wouldn't shoot me--and worked my way through the thick underbrush and thorns. After searching for a while I saw a white belt off in the distance. Then I noticed the little black fluff standing by her side. I was glad to see Elvis standing and a strong, healthy calf with her.
It was time for me to be at the school to pick up the kids so I carefully backed away not wanting to disturb the new mama. When we got home the boys went with me and we walked through the woods to find Elvis. With patience and time we got Elvis back up to the place where she had crossed the fence. She jumped back over but her calf couldn't get through. Joe carefully worked his way up, trying to not scare the baby away--and not scare the new mama who would stomp him into the ground if he made one wrong move--and stood on the fencing wire so the calf could hop across. By late evening we had Elivs and her little calf safely back in our pasture and headed off to introduce the little one to the rest of the herd.
Ivan immediately took notice of the new baby and ran to check it out, much to Elvis' chagrin. Elvis butted Ivan away but he was not to be detered. He butted right back. Elvis and Ivan locked into a head-butting battle and Ivan jumped and bounced trying to find away around Elvis to get to the baby. Elvis is a smart mom, seems she doesn't want Ivan's terrible influence around her sweet little baby. The calf stick close to Elvis, follows her closely and immediately responds to her call. She is a sweet little thing. I'm with Elvis, I don't Ivan to influence the new calf either!

Missouri Pool Party

2011-04-19T18:30:00.002-05:00

School Bus on the Road to Enlightenment

2011-04-13T11:48:00.003-05:00

Seth's Scout Project

2011-04-05T14:54:00.003-05:00

The Beast has made its way into our shop and is busy generating lots of dirty, oily laundry, cut up hands, greasy skin and hair and quite a bunch of grins.

Ivan the Terrible

2011-04-05T14:40:00.004-05:00

Shirley had her calf on the last day of March this year. A sweet, soft, fluffy little bull calf.
Then we let David pick out the name for him and Shirley hasn't had a moment's rest since!
Ivan runs and runs and runs around the pasture, his little tail sticking straight up in the air. Shirley gives here "come to Mommy" moo but Ivan just ignores her and keeps galavanting all around. Being the good mama cow that she is, Shirley trots along after him, which just gives Ivan reason to run faster. While the other cows graze and loaf around in the warm sunshine, Shirley is busy chasing Ivan from one end of the pasture to the other. When Ivan does finally decide to settle down and take a nap, he hops right through the fence to the other side to curl up. Shirley stands diligently at the fence watching over her sleeping calf, looking miserable with worry and exhaustion.
As if all this terrible behavior wasn't enough, Ivan also has a terrible belt. One side looks pretty good, a little rough, but not too bad. The other side? There is no belt, just a nice bright Cheshire-cat grin. Uh-huh.
First Rampage, now Ivan the terrible.... David is now barred from naming any more animals on our place!

Gone With the Wind Corgi

2011-04-05T14:27:00.003-05:00

If you ever have a Joe in your house....

2011-04-05T14:21:00.003-05:00

...do NOT let him cook dinner!!

Cheshire Cat Sunset

2011-03-07T08:33:00.000-06:00

How do you drive a Joe crazy?

2011-03-07T08:22:00.001-06:00

It is NOT deer season.....

February 2011 Blizzard

2011-02-23T14:22:00.006-06:00

It is amazing what one little song can do...

Video Journal - Feb. 2011 Blizzard

Sunbathing--Missouri Style

2011-02-17T10:41:00.001-06:00

And the Heavens were opened and the Earth was given Oreo Cows...

2011-02-17T10:30:00.001-06:00

Goodbye Christmas Tree!

2011-01-18T15:04:00.002-06:00

O.k., who left the matches out where Jason could find them?!!!
What else are ya gonna do with some old Roman candles and a Christmas tree laying around the yard?

Seth solves the Rubik's Cube!

2011-01-18T15:03:00.000-06:00

O.k., for real this time! - Seth Sovles Rubik's Cube

2011-01-18T14:57:00.004-06:00

He uses a little more than the prescribed 20 moves (try like 57,000 or so moves) which is said to be possible in every scenerio, but the bugger can solve the stupid thing!

Hillbillies On Ice

2011-01-14T08:36:00.004-06:00

We had a snow day this week and could my children go out and play in the snow like nice, normal children?! Joe is still trying to figure out how to work an innertube. (He has to be smarter than an innertube first!) And of course Seth turned sledding into a full-contact sport.

How Californians dress for snow

2011-01-13T13:33:00.002-06:00

Pretty Sunrise

2011-01-13T13:22:00.002-06:00

The Happy Couple

2011-01-13T13:10:00.003-06:00

My cow is such a hussie!
You hear stories all the time about bulls breaking down a fence in order to get to a cow. In fact, very few fences are considered "bull proof" when it comes right down to it. Right?
Well a little while back the neighbor put his bull in the pasture next to ours. No big deal. He has a whole herd of cows over there, plenty to keep the bull busy, no worries.
Right?
So we go out a couple of days later to find the fence between the pastures knocked down. Not only is the fence knocked down but one of the big heavy posts is broken clean off!
Now that took some doin'!
Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the fence was broken down in a direction LEAVING our pasture, not coming into our pasture. A quick look around confirms our suspicions...there is Laverne, throwing herself all over the neighbor's bull!
Usually it's the bull breaking down the fence to get to a cow. Not around here, my cow goes fence bustin' when she sees her some good lookin' bull!
My cow is such a hussie!

'Bout time I posted some Christmas pics

2011-01-13T12:19:00.005-06:00

We had a great Christmas in 2010.
Katie got her giant bucket of cheese balls and new games for her DS.
Seth got his retard hat which he wears proudly--and a nice horn to go with it which we NEVER hear the end of! Harpo rides again!
David received the gift of many Russian rabbits to wear upon his head while he drinks some sort of fizzy Russian drink (NOT vodka!--that's for his mom to cope with all the stupidity around here!).
Joe is permanently attached to his phone, turns into a zombie on a regular basis and is sporting a sweet new Veyron.
And Jason gave me a gorgeous wool shawl from Russia and David gave me a silk scarf from there as well.

Poor and Quiet

2010-12-23T13:48:00.002-06:00

A couple of days ago I was looking around for sheet music of Eastern European/Slavic Christmas songs for my son (who is working hard to teach himself to speak Russian) and I came across this beautiful Polish carol named Mizerna Cicha which is said to be translated in English as "Poor and Quiet."

Merry Christmas my Friends!

2010-12-23T08:55:00.000-06:00

Why me?

2010-12-07T14:12:00.001-06:00

We let the kids decorate the Christmas tree this year. After carefully hanging all the bulbs and ornaments with the most gentle attention, taking time to make sure every bow was straight and all the beads were even, they climbed up to hang a beautiful, dazzling star at the top of the tree, right? Yeah.

Joe's Birthday

2010-12-07T13:49:00.007-06:00

o.k., I'm a little late getting the pics posted....
We took Joe and the kids out of town for a little over-nighter. Once at the hotel Joe got to open his birthday present.
He got an awesome pair of new shoes!
(which he didn't want)
And there seemed to be no sign whatsoever of the new Call of Duty video game.
(which he really really really wanted)
After playing the gracious kid and telling us over and over how much he really liked the shoes--all while keeping a bold face trying not to show his disappointment--Joe finally discovered there was something under the paper at the bottom of the shoe box...
(someone needs to inform Joe that it is NOT legal to throw shoes at one's own mother!!!!)

After I was finally released from the hospital and had gone through enough therapy to regain the use of my arms I was able to bake Joe his birthday cake.

Power poll

2010-12-07T13:45:00.002-06:00

A star got stuck in my tree

2010-12-07T13:30:00.002-06:00

Born of Flame

2010-12-03T17:18:00.004-06:00

Our resident hellhound.

Rakin' in the Doe

2010-11-16T19:44:00.004-06:00

The Mighty Hunter and his faithful sidekick Psycho Seth went out for the hunt this afternoon. Psycho Seth perched in his favorite hay bale blind and spent the afternoon watching doe after doe frolicking around in the pasture.
There was a buck somewhere in the area because the Mighty Hunter heard him grunting. The Mighty Hunter did call to the buck and rattle some antlers to which the buck responded with more grunts but he never came into an area where the Mighty Hunter could get a good clear shot at him.
Meanwhile, back at the blind, Psycho Seth grew weary of watching all those does. He was ready for some antler action. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and as the day grew short and the shadows grew long he finally decided it was best to have a doe than to go empty handed. He picked out his favorite and took her down with one shot.
(and I must say, she is a beauty!)

Here a Buck, There a Buck, Everywhere a Buck Buck

2010-11-16T19:34:00.002-06:00

I awoke this morning to the sound of rainfall. It was a little disappointing to hear that sound because my Mighty Hunter had plans to take down the great buck this day but deer don’t come out when it is raining.
I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only 4a.m. Perhaps the rain would let up by sunrise and there would still be time to hunt. I quietly slid out of bed, not wanting to disturb the Mighty Hunter, and went downstairs to watch the weather report.
Sure enough, the report stated it was early morning showers which would be stopping soon and clear sky was coming in behind it. Perfect for hunting! I got G.I. Joe rollin’ and made breakfast. By the time I left with G.I. Joe towards town the rain had quit.
Upon my return home I suggest to the Mighty Hunter that he might want to get out on the hunt this morning, seemed the perfect conditions for a good hunt. Of course he just kind of grinned at me--what do I know about hunting, right? It’s not like I’ve ever been out in the pasture up in a tree stand to observe every intricate detail of deer behavior. So we made plans to do some running around in the morning and then the Mighty Hunter and his faithful sidekick Psycho Seth would head out for an afternoon hunt.
We gathered a few things we needed for our errands and headed out to load up in the Flaming Minivan of Death. Down the driveway we went. No sign of deer, no shots ringing on the still morning air. Just a beautiful, quiet, overcast morning, the grounds freshly washed from the gentle rain.
We pulled out onto the highway and drove about a half of a mile when, to our right, standing right smack in the middle of a wide open pasture was a buck. A nice young buck. We slowed and admired him from about 30 yards away and he just turned and watched the car as we went by.
Well, kind of funny to see a buck out this late in the morning.
Along on down the highway we go--over the river and through the woods as it were. Three miles later I glance out my passenger side window as a flicker of white catches my eye. Sure enough, there’s a nice big doe standing in a pasture right next to an electric fence.
Then I see him.
The great buck!
He stands just on the other side of the electric fence, all attention fixed on the beautiful doe.
I jump in my seat and yell to the Mighty Hunter who immediately applies full brakes and puts the car in reverse (maneuvering as only the Flaming Minivan of Death can). We back up and the view that unfolds is one of those rare scenes which just stays with you until the day you die: Standing about 20 yards in front of us is a great, magnificent buck--huge, wide rack just bristling with points. It was difficult to count how many but there had to be at least 12, probably closer to 14 points. He stood there in all his regal glory daring us to take a breath.
A truck coming toward us from the other direction on the highway slowed to see what we were staring at and as the driver caught sight of the great buck I watched his eyes bulge and his mouth drop open. I’m pretty sure at this point beautiful light shown down from the heavens and an angelic melody rang through the air.
But I didn’t hear it, only the guys did, because of course I’m not a hunter and I don’t know anything about deer.
After shaking the Mighty Hunter from his deer-induced stupor, we continued on our journey down the highway. Soon we came to our turn-off which is a dirt road running along farm area. Along we sped, dodging the worst of the potholes and running over the old-troll bridge. Another mile or two down the road we glanced into yet another open pasture and sure enough, there stands yet another beautiful buck, maybe 20 feet from the road, just watching us drive on by.
As we continued our journeys through the morning we saw several more deer--one running across the road right in front of our car, another along the side, in the ditch next to the road, another standing right in the middle of a road we went past. All in all we saw nearly a dozen deer this morning.
But of course that was all just luck because I don’t know nothing’ about the behavior of deer or when is the best time to be out huntin’. ;)

The Mighty Hunter and G.I. Joe

2010-11-15T16:24:00.009-06:00

It was early afternoon. The Mighty Hunter and his two boys were just arriving at the Happy Hunting Grounds. The day had be overcast and a touch frigid but now the sun was coming out and the bright rays warmed the pastures.
The hunting party walked the trail back into the woods. Seth was the first one to nestle into his spot. He had a small blind made of hay bales Poppy had carefully stacked for him. As Seth began to prepare his gear and get set up for the wait, the Mighty Hunter and G.I. Joe walked on down the trail.
Next they came to the Old Faithful tree stand. Many a deer have passed by this tree stand. A few have traveled no further. In fact, just that very morning a doe had made the fatal mistake of gazing upward toward Old Faithful to glimpse the final scene she would see in this life.
G.I. Joe decided this would be his post for the afternoon. He scurried up the ladder, rifle slung over his shoulder, and seated himself on the little pad. He busied himself loading his rifle, checking his sights, and doing all those things hunters do as they wait with excited anticipation.
The Mighty Hunter walked on down the trail a bit then passed over to the other side. Crossing a small stream and a thin line of trees, he soon came to an open pasture and the tree stand he had selected as his afternoon abode. The Mighty Hunter did not hurry: the afternoon was still early, the deer would not be out for at least another hour--more than enough time to get set up and have a little chance to think and ponder on life's great mysteries. Up into his tree stand climbed the Mighty Hunter. Up he hoisted his trusty rifle. He settled in his seat and had a look around the area. Still plenty of time, no need to set to work right away. Nothing wrong with taking a few minutes to enjoy the quiet day.
And then there was movement.
Three does walked into the clearing. The Mighty Hunter froze. The does walked along, looking this way and that, snowy white tails flitting back and forth. As the Mighty Hunter watched, the does walked right under his tree stand. While they moseyed around there was another movement in the corner of the pasture. A buck, a b-u-c-k, hot on the trail of the three lovely ladies.
The Mighty Hunter felt his breath quicken, his heart beat a little faster, buck fever was setting in. He raised his rifle, looked down the long scope, found the sweet spot right behind the shoulder of the buck and squeezed his trigger.
The shot went slightly askew, missing the heart and hitting the shoulder instead. The buck jumped and began to run. The Mighty Hunter sighted in with his scope again and shot to put the poor buck out of his misery. But now the buck was in a dead run and it was very difficult to track him with the scope. The next shot missed, barely grazing the running buck on his hip.
The Mighty Hunter was out of ammo. He had not had time to reload his gun and ready it for the hunt. The sudden break in the clouds had brought the deer out early. In desperation he radioed to G.I. Joe, instructing him to quickly bring his gun so that the Mighty Hunter could get another shot into the wounded deer.
G.I. Joe scrambled out of his tree stand and began to run to the Mighty Hunter. As G.I. Joe was on his way, the Mighty Hunter realized that the buck would be out of range. The Mighty Hunter radioed to G.I. Joe, giving him the news that he would have to change course and try to head off the mighty buck: G.I. Joe was on his own.
G.I. Joe quickly swerved around and ran back the way he had come. He passed Old Faithful tree stand and put all the speed he had into every step. He ran almost 100 yards when he saw the bolting buck. G.I. Joe planted his feet, took aim down the sights and pulled the trigger.
The Mighty Hunter, who was coming down the trail behind G.I. Joe heard the shot. He stopped and waited for another shot but none came. The Mighty Hunter picked up his radio and called to G.I. Joe.
There was silence.
Then the reply, G.I. Joe answering the call.
The Mighty Hunter slowed his pace. As he walked, he looked down at the trail beneath his feet and saw a glove laying on the ground. He stooped to pick it up. Inspecting it, the Mighty Hunter realized it was one of G.I. Joe's gloves. He shoved it into his coat pocket and continued on down the trail. After several more steps the Mighty Hunter came upon another glove thrown carelessly on the ground, mate to the first glove, shed in a moment's haste. He picked this glove up from the ground and put it in the same pocket with the first.
Several yards later the Mighty Hunter came to where G.I. Joe was standing over the deer. Everything that had transpired became apparent to him as he neared the boy and his buck: G.I. Joe had raced over a hundred yards in a dead run trying to head off the deer. Finding a good place ahead of the deer as it turned, in an instant G.I. Joe had braced himself in a shooting stance (there was no time to drop to one knee and the grass was too tall for him to see from a crouched position anyway), shouldered his rifle, taken aim at the running buck and made a kill shot to the neck. The buck had dropped as soon as the bullet hit. The Mighty Hunter stood, gazing on the scene in amazement.
All this, and earlier what was G.I. Joe's reply to the Mighty Hunter's radioed question inquiring if he had killed the buck? A casual, "....yeah."
So the three hunters took the deer up to Poppy and Baaboo's house where Joe helped Baaboo clean his buck and made constant "deer zombie" comments and jokes and chased his mom around with his yucky hands.
I guess all that time in front of his Call of Duty game has finally paid off for G.I. Joe!

I need more Doe

2010-11-15T16:10:00.004-06:00

Morning of opening day we found Seth and the Mighty Hunter sitting in the woods watching deer. A group of three deer meandered around the area, stopped for a couple of moments to look Seth in the eye and then went back to grazing. All three were doe, no mighty bucks to be found. After waiting for about 20 minutes the Mighty Hunter decided to go ahead and take a doe (at home mama was glad 'cause nice tender doe meat is so much better eatin' than that tough ol' buck!). He figured it'd be better to get a doe than to be empty handed this season as has happened in the past. It's sausage makin' time!!!!

Do you think your generation will have an impact on America's future?

2010-11-13T14:29:00.003-06:00

This is an essay Seth wrote for a school class a month or two back. A couple of days ago he was asked to go to the local radio station and make a recording of it.
He was a little nervous and had to do a cold read as he hasn't seen the work since he turned it in to his teacher. I think Seth did a good job and he has a good message.
And of course being the mama that I am I have to share it with everyone! I'm proud of my boy!!! :)

Dog and Pony Show

2010-11-12T14:28:00.001-06:00

The kids out enjoying a warm evening.

Ward Halloween P-A-R-T---Y?! Cause I gotta!

2010-11-01T08:37:00.004-05:00

We had such a fun party this year. There was a chili cook-off with many good and interesting recipies brought in (everything from "John Deer" chili to chili with bear meat and a whole range of seasonings). Many awesome costumes showed up--I almost got taken out by a ninja, good thing I know his weakness: marshmallows! The pumpkin carving contest was a lot of fun with many imaginative designs and great carving skills. The evening wrapped up with a trunk-or-treat for the kids out in the parking lot.

Who are the People in your Neighborhood?

2010-11-01T08:23:00.009-05:00

It's a Bush!

Ha! No it's not!

An Identity Crisis:

The Communist Party:

The Mad Hatter:

Losin' My Head

2010-11-01T08:09:00.004-05:00

O.k. Mom, I'm postin' pictures!!!!!!!!!
This is the Marie Antoinette costume that I made. Thankfully I have my sister Nellie and my mom who answer their phones when I have questions about sewing directions!

And you thought YOU had a fancy-schmancy printer that could do everything!

2010-09-30T18:50:00.004-05:00

These guys are my heros! Who would have thought lil' ol' Missourah would be at the head of such developments?!

Forgacslab
"Our research is focused on the physical mechanisms in cell and developmental biology. In particular we study the biomechanical properties of cells and tissues and their relevance to morphogenetic shape transformations. Current activity is concentrated on the application of these physical mechanisms to "organ printing" a fundamentally new approach to tissue engineering, whereby, spherical cell aggregates with composition appropriate for the particular organ (the bioink) are delivered (with a modified ink-jet printer) acccording to the organ's anatomical blueprint into biocompatible scaffolding gels (the paper)."

Yep. You heard it. (o.k., actually you read it if you're gonna be all technical today) PRINTING organs. Whooo-hooo! Oh... wait... I feel a new song coming on..... "Print Me A Liver (ooo eee ooo)" *sung to the tune of "Send Me An Angel" of course!
I gotta get me one of these printers, then David wouldn't have to go around rippin' off livers from all the poor deers around here.
Can you imagine a day when you need an organ transplant and, instead of going on a list to wait for years until you are lying at death's door and it takes major heroics, several miracles and tons of luck to save your life, your doctor just pushes a couple of buttons and a new organ is faxed straight to you?! Yeah baby, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Because University of Missouri ROCKS!

Why I love Missouri

2010-09-24T08:26:00.003-05:00

Gotta love the creative names people come up with around here...

And right next door...

Clair de Lune

2010-09-24T08:11:00.002-05:00

Super Harvest Moon