Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The land my Man loves...


There is a place my Man calls home. He gets homesick for it if he stops to think about it.



It is what makes him who he is. Honest as the day is long, if he has it he will share it...something about this land makes him different from any other man I know.


"What am I made of? Whole wheat and barbed wire." And open spaces with room to breathe, and dirt roads that go on for miles, and beef from this land, and snow...cold...snow...for months.


He looks right in this setting, he fits.


I think he looks hot! hehe :)




I am very thankful that the Lord brought him to me instead of vise versa.  I am not made of whole wheat and barbed wire.  I am made out of the fertile Delta soil and Southern breezes. 
This Southern Magnolia would wilt above the Mason-Dixie line...I am so glad he loves me enough to keep me here. :)

Monday, July 18, 2011

Pie Face


There are many reasons why I like spring and summer, but mostly it is the bounty of fruit that comes into season and fills my counter tops and then freezer!!!!
I love the fact that I live in a place where I can get a lot of the fruit locally and organically.  The blackberries and strawberries I picked this year from the bounty of friends.  These delicious peaches came straight from Georgia on the back of a pick up truck.
YUM!!!!!!!
What do you do with fresh Georgia peaches??? You bake a pie and then eat the pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it is gone!!!
The fresh, wonderful tastes of summer!
Matt decided that he would make the pie this time, completely on his own, from scratch.
Sure!
He didn't do too bad.  Practice always makes perfect! ;)


When thought it even looked like him! :)

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Like a kid in a candy store :)

Back at the farm in SD, Matt wanted to explore every inch of the old house and various buildings on the property.  Of course, he had the kids in tow. 
What some of you might not know about my husband is that he is a scavenger. A closet packrat.  I do my best to keep it at bay.  Thankfully, I have managed to have most of the stuff moved under the house. 
I am the exact opposite. It makes for some interesting conversations. ;)

 Matt was super excited to go through his Grandfather's old workshop.

DISCLAIMER:

the following pictures will make all mothers, grandmothers, super organized people, neat freaks, and white glove wearers cringe.



I warned you!!! Have no fear, I was right there the whole time. 
Have you ever seen so many things hanging above a workbench that could give you a concussion if it fell on your head???

Matt was rubbing his hands together in excitement..."what can I take???"


Not exactly a play area for children... :)  For Matt, yes!!!


"How did this work again?"


"Babe, it won't all fit in the car.  Just find something small." :)

And he did. They were actually pretty darn cool.
Old, metal cow tags. It doesn't sound cool, I know! Just trust me.
Of course I forgot to take a picture of them!


"Umm, Matt...should you be standing on that????"
He survived, but he couldn't leave without seeing what was above those rafters.
I don't remember...I'm sure more dirt and grim than you could handle!
It is amazing what collects on a farm over the years!!!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Bubble magic is non-toxic, right???


We spent all this morning outside under a shade tree.  It was a fun morning. Two things got play time, bubbles and water flutes.




Bubbles are an automatic fun time, but water flutes are new to us.  The kids had a blast filling them and making different sounds. Of course, they eventually ended up in the water. How could you not on a hot day?


The only problem of the morning was the continually changing texture and taste of my coffee.
The kids were blowing bubbles all around me and I didn't think a thing of it. The longer I sat there and took pics, the funnier my  coffee tasted.


It finally dawned on me that they were getting large amounts of bubble magic in my mug!!!


Yah, I am not sure how much bubble magic I actually consumed. :)


I did end up pouring out my coffee. Oh well!


I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I did!

Did I mention we had orange popsicles??? YUM!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Heebeejeebees!!!

Last night we had just driven away from the house of friends...
kids in the back seat talking...
Matt talking to me...
It was dark...

I barely felt something tickle my arm...
I brushed it away...

WAIT! THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE CAR WITH US!

I really did not panic.  I assumed that it was a firefly, a June bug, a moth.  I am not scared of bugs.  Well, spiders yes, but come on!

So I turned on the overhead light...

There on my purse sat an inch and a half, dark brown, tree roach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
PULL THE CAR OVER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
THERE IS A ROACH IN THE CAR!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

I jump out of the car and continue screaming like a 16yr old girl.

"GET IT OUT!!!! GET IT OUT!!!! IT'S UNDER MY PURSE!!!!

Yes, I was dancing along with the screaming.

Poor Matt!  He was frantically trying to figure out where this roach was and get it out of the car.

He finally shoved it out and I saw it scurry on the ground.
I quickly jumped in the car and slammed the door to keep it from flying back in.
I spent the rest of the ride home with the heebeejeebees.
I am still getting shivers!!!

There really is not a nastier bug...ugh!

I really didn't think I overreacted, until Hotrod asked, "Mom? Are you afraid of bugs??"
I could hear his confidence in me shatter.
"No, I am not afraid of bugs!! Just roaches!!!"
"Oh."

I think I rocked his world.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Come run with me


You know, everytime God allows me to visit this particular place, all I want to do is run.  How can you not with spaces like these???

Unfortunately, this particular visit was filled with stress.

Matt's grandparents (mother's side) live in the middle of nowhere. 3 to 7 miles of gravel road, depending on which way you go.

There had been lots and lots of rain...record rain...gravel roads...7 miles of mud.

It was like driving on ice, but you could not go into the ditch because they were flooded...like I said, stress.


But we made it! Praise God!  And we got to run.  It was good. 

The next day??? It rained all day...I watched the fields fill with water and my heart fill with dread.


Matt had a fantastic time pulling up the ancient maple flooring in the abandoned church/school where he attended VBS as a kid. Yes, we now have wood in SD.  no comment. :P


We had a good time the afternoon we arrived going back and forth between the new house and the old...and eating.  Boy, do you eat at his grandmother's table!  Always good, as a grandmother's food should be.
(BTW, that is Matt's brother, Jake, and his wife, Sabrina.)


I love this shot of my boy!  He is hanging on his great grandfather's gate.








There is nothing like Aunts and Uncles!!! Especially young ones with energy and patience!!! Uncle Jake is one of the best! (notice I said one.)  :)




Silliness abounded after an afternoon of riding in the car!  It was great to be free.  Did I mention we eventually had to get jackets on the kids??? June...it was cold! Oh well!! Such is Dakota.

The next week was 100 degrees! :)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Attack of the giant turtle from Devil's Gulch!!


While we were visiting Devil's Gulch, Matt found a huge turtle!!! We were not quite sure what kind it was, but it was big!!


Of course, he wanted his son to experience it, touch it, see how cool it was! Hmmmm....yeah, I don't know if Hotrod was so keen on that idea.
"Son, touch the turtle.  Come on! Touch the turtle! Just use the stick and touch the turtle!"


"Son, just touch it! Like this, with your finger."


All the coaching worked and Hotrod carefully reached out and touched the turtle.  Then the turtle became really cool!! :)


Poor turtle, I am sure he just wanted to be left alone.


(father and son discussing turtles)


Oh yeah! That is a proud dad!!




Everyone now!!! Join in on the fun!
Anyone know how to make turtle soup??? :)

We left Eastern S. Dakota and traveled to Central S. Dakota that afternoon...oh, what adventures waited for us there!!!








Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Devil's Gulch, SD

As I have mentioned previously, we just recently got back from a trip to South and North Dakota.  Our adventures started in Eastern S. Dakota at Josie's house, my Sis-in-law. We were only there for a total of twelve hours (and that included sleeping), but in that short time we visited a very unusual site for SD.

Devil's Gulch!!! Apparently this is where the famous outlaw, Jesse James, got away from the authorities by jumping over this impressive gulch on his horse!! Exciting story! 

Here is the website if you would like to look at some detailed pics!


Ever since Josie has moved to this little town, Matt has argued with her as to the existence of such a place.  Well, Josie had a chance to prove him wrong!  It is unusual to find a gulch with a waterfall in SD, land of flatness... ;)


As always, I enjoy the scenery here!


Does it get anymore precious???


Seriously, wasn't expecting this!  It was very hard to take pictures of this.  The angle was bad, and there were a ton of trees in the way! Go figure!
I had to get almost to the edge to get this one!


This is more like it!  I took this as we were walking away from the gulch.  It is amazing how quickly it changed back!!! 
Once you come to appreciate the skyline, this place is beautiful!!

But such a long way from home!!!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Sipping and slurping it up!!!

This morning was a late morning for us.  We all snuggled a bit in bed, so it was after 8am before I got up and got my shower.  Matt left for work, I got dressed and it was 9am before I was attempting to get breakfast.
If I don't get something in my system, I can get grouchy and nervous and shaky. (no comments please.) :)
I get bored with breakfast pretty easily, so at the moment I am drinking a powdered, organic, sprouted protein drink mixed with carrot juice and a green drink.  It makes me feel very good in the mornings!
(now you are thinking that I am insane...just wait.)
I got it mixed and was standing there drinking it, when it somehow it fell out of my hand.  

 ????????

It took a second or two to register that my breakfast was across the kitchen counter.

"NNNNOOOOOO!!!!!!"

I quickly picked up my glass to salvage what was left and then realized it was all over a library book...

Why is there a library book on the kitchen counter????
Who put that there???
Quick! Pick it up and get it clean. I have bought enough books lately!!! (ok, only one)
(all of the thoughts going through my head at that moment.)

I saved the library book and somehow managed to get all the carrot/green/protein goo off of it.

To Rosemary...just ignore the previous few lines... ;)

I turned back to the mess on the counter. 
There sat my breakfast. 

 I tried to wipe it up, but there was just too much.  This stuff is not cheap and that was the last of the green drink.
I can't make another one and I am hungry.

The counter top was clean....

I could not scoop it into my glass.

I tried.

HMMMM....

I am not wasting this...

What else was I supposed to do???

So I pulled out a straw. 

Yes ma'am, I did!!! I drank my breakfast from the kitchen counter with a straw!!!

It distressed my daughter. 

She asked me to stop.

I didn't.

Now you know that I am certifiable. :)