Our Backyard and Beyond

Walking the Decks of History

2011-09-28T13:36:00.001-05:00

September 18, 2011

What to do on a rainy fall day?

Take advantage of the news from late last night…

We saw a quick clip on the news about a WWII ship that was docked in Chester, IL. So here it was almost 11:00 and I am googling to get more information. What exactly was this?

A little investigation led us to find that this WWII ship was stationed along the bank of the Mississippi River and open for tours over the weekend. We decided to make the 1 1/2 hour trip to let the boys see a piece of history. I mean how often does the chance to tour a battleship here in the Midwestern US occur?

Sunday we got the boys ready to go and loaded up to head out on our adventure. They kept asking where we were going. Drives them crazy to not know what is going on. (I have absolutely no idea where they get that from!) After many guesses and hints, they finally got that we were going to the Mississippi River. This is always exciting. The river is intriguing to all of them. Watching barges, crossing great bridges, sometimes tossing rocks into it… Braden especially loves it. We cannot take a trip to IL without making sure he gets to see the bridge that we cross on that particular trip. There are three routes that we commonly use to make our crossover to IL depending on who we are going to go visit. He can already tell you a lot about the river and issues tied to the river. (This past spring’s floods were a topic of much interest for him.)

As we crossed into IL, the boys could look off the bridge and then saw the ship! They couldn’t wait! Raindrops hit the window about that same time. Hmm… Quick check of the radar. (What did we do without our instant access to cyberspace?) The rain shouldn’t last long. We will find a parking spot and eat some lunch before we head to the ship…

So much for a picnic along the river… OK we did still have our picnic, just with three anxious boys cooped up in the van instead of sitting along the riverbank. Lunch is done, rain still falling. “It won’t last much longer. Let’s go on.” My trusty weather man’s prediction. Glad I grabbed the umbrella as a last fleeting thought before we left the van. The WHOLE time we toured the ship, it rained. In and out and around the various decks. Each time raindrops were falling. Until the end once we were off the ship. The wetness did not dampen enthusiasm though. The boys caught as many details as they could. All of them were excited about getting to walk through a huge ship, see military tanks, check out the monsterous engines, see where the soldiers would eat and sleep, and climb around old deuce and a half trucks on display.

Create a photo album

Then as we stepped of the ship and looked along the river, Tanner started pointing and chattering. “Two boats! One going that way. Other one go that way!” Two barges were crossing paths right there. Sooooo Cool! Then his little head spun around to look up along the road as a freight train rumbled by! A little later another longer freight train passed by going the other direction.

Here are a few more pictures from the day. Click where it says “View Full Album” to see all of the extras and to see them a bit larger.

View Full Album

Ship, barges, trains, big military trucks! Wow! A boy’s dream day, rain or not.

Summer Days

2011-08-23T18:07:00.001-05:00

Time Flies When…

…swimming in the pool

…checking for fresh eggs

…petting baby bunnies

…riding big boy bikes and trikes

…growing garden goodies

Time Flies When…

…visiting and playing with friends

…going to vacation bible school

…going to cub scout day camp

…celebrating birthdays

…hanging out with the family

Time Flies When…

…watching dragonflies

…catching lightning bugs

…listening to martins

…capturing tiny toadlets

…watching clouds in the sky

Time Flies When…

…going on a camping trip

…fishing in clear Missouri streams

…kayaking for the first times

…skipping rocks in the water

…finding a tarantula on the camper tire!

Time Flies When…

…conducting fun science experiments

…building forts in the house

…racing hot wheels

…making lego creations

…pretending to be cowboys

Time Flies When…

…devouring pumpkin blossoms

…picking garden goodies

…canning salsa

…baking zucchini bread

…trying watermelon for the first time

What has kept time flying for you this summer???????

First Day Jitters

2011-08-17T23:08:00.001-05:00

We are now the proud parents of two boys who are going to school! Yes, today was the first day of school here! Big changes… Much excitement getting supplies ready… Lots of anxiety thinking about school days ahead... We are creatures of habit around here. We enjoy our time together as a family. We like things to be predictable and known. The boys were emotional roller coasters the past couple of days. Excited and nervous all at the same time. This morning’s send off had a few rocky moments. Tears were shed. Nervousness showed.

The boys were geared up and ready to go… Lunches, backpacks, and nervous smiles. The ride to town was kinda quiet. Contemplating what was to come.

We took Riley to the cafeteria to meet up with his class. Riley took Braden’s hand and showed him the way. Reassuring his brother and taking comfort in having a friend along too.

Bittersweet partings. Nothing like throwing kids into the day. =) Works well for some, but these guys like that slower ease in approach to these things. Nonetheless, by the end of the day, they had survived! I pick Braden up at 2:00 and Riley rides the bus getting home closer to 4:00. Braden was excited to have Riley home at the end of the day. They walked hand in hand back to the house chatting about their day.

A Camping We Did Go

2011-06-20T23:05:00.001-05:00

We finally got to take our new pop-up camper on our first official camping trip. We did get to use it a few weeks ago for a weekend visit to my parents too. That was the perfect test run for the first time using the camper. A cool night, rain, hail, breezy, a warmer night… The weekend gave us the whole gamut (is that how you spell that word????) of weather conditions, and the camper and occupants all faired just fine. Good to go.

We intended to camp another weekend in but weather just did not cooperate. So we decided this was the weekend. Packed up and ready to go, we headed to Ferne Clyffe State Park near Goreville, IL (just 10 minutes or so from I-57 and I-24). This is one of our favorite spots to go camping or even just take a day trip to. If you are ever passing through that area and need a break, check it out!!!! We love it for the awesome trails, exploring opportunities, great playground areas, and nice quiet campground. It is close to home too. We can be there in about an hour.

Despite some ~~torrential~~ heavy rains, lots of thunder, and light up the skies lightening through the middle of the night, the trip went just fine! Riley would even argue with you whether it really rained that much let alone stormed like it did. He and TanMan slept like rocks. Braden, Ross, and I waited out the storm together and all finally got to doze back off when things calmed down.

Once we got our campsite picked out, everyone got busy helping set up camp. Riley and Braden started looking for sticks and wood for a fire, Tanner and Ross started setting up the camper, and I started taking pictures of everyone’s progress. (Ha Ha!)

Had to stop for a snack too.

Rileyis Dorkus making silly faces, Braden the Cicada hunter, and sweet TanMan lovin’ every bit of the camping trip.

Along with the actual camping, we hiked a couple of trails. One the first evening that was short little hike along the bluffs near the campsite. I didn’t even take the big camera and haven’t downloaded the pics from the other camera yet. We came back and played at the playground with our camping neighbors and their two kiddos. They were nice folks, and the boys kind of liked having some other kids to hang out with. Kept them all five busy when we were cooking and tearing down camp. =) The next morning was our big fun hiking adventure.

The Waterfall Trail…

A nice short little trail… Water was running in the waterfall after the previous night’s rainfall. Not many people were out yet. Quiet (well as quiet as a hike with three young guys can be!) Serene. Peaceful.

While the boys played in the water and explored, I played with my camera. I have been trying to get more familiar with the manual settings for our SLR camera. so I practiced a little with the waterfall to get more of the blur effect. I think this one turned out great!

Then we discovered…

…a box turtle hanging out in the water at the edge of the waterfall. I took him to safety and took some pictures while I was at it. After I got my pictures, I tucked him up in the rocks off the beaten path a little ways. Hoping that someone else didn’t find him and try to take him home. They just don’t make good pets and are best left where they are found.

The boys played in the water…

building dams and channeling the water…

then destroying the dams and letting the water go…

Nobody was in a hurry to go. Several other families came and went. Looked at the waterfall for a few brief moments and then moved on. I love how we get our guys to stop and look around. There is so much more to see than what is obvious! It is good to take time and explore a little deeper. That is how we discovered the box turtle, the millipede, the frog way up under the rock…

TanMan and Braden climbed, moved rocks, threw rocks into the water, sat together helping each other, and walked up and down the creek. When it was time to go, TanMan was the most reluctant. He kept pointing back and saying “water”. He did not want to leave.

Nova was a patient girl while we were playing around in the water. She enjoyed watching everyone that came and went. Even got quite a few pets from various folks. That social lab that gets no attention from us! =)

On the way back to the van, we made a few more stops… Braden and Riley led the way…

We checked out some stepping stones leading to a trail across the creek…

TanMan, Ross, and Nova patiently waited while the other two boys ~~got soaked~~ discovered how quickly they could make it across the stepping stones and back again.

Then the boys discovered a GIANT earthworm as we walked to the van. Everyone had to take a turn to hold it and check it out.

Finally we got everyone back in the van and went back to camp to pack up and head for home. The boys are so ready for a longer trip! Hopefully soon we can take a few days to go explore somewhere else! Now that we have air conditioning, I can handle summer camping! There will be many more trips to come!

A Steaming Adventure!

2011-06-05T23:03:00.001-05:00

What month is it? What day? I seem to have lost track. It must be the end of July or the beginning of August the way things feel outside! The pool is 88 degrees, the air is thick and muggy, and it is just plain hot! Oh, but it is just the beginning of JUNE! Wow this could be a long summer… Hope that we have many more adventures like today to help it pass all the more quickly.

What to do on a sultry summer day????? Go on an adventure of course! Today’s adventure was certainly a steamy one. (Tee Hee) Want to take a guess as to what we went to see today? Need a couple of hints? Well, lets see what we can come up with…

Still need a few more hints? No problem!!!!

Surely you have guessed by now. We went to see a train today!!!!!! But not just any ole’ train… This was a massive steam engine that was produced in 1944. The Union Pacific steam locomotive No. 844 was on display in Cape Girardeau today. Cape Girardeau is one of several display stops that the steam engine will make as it continues its excursion from Cheyenne, WY to Little Rock, AR and back again. What a cool sight for all of us!

Yep, you could walk right up to it, touch it, crane your neck to see the top. We were all in AWE! This thing was absolutely MASSIVE!!!!!!!!!

We got to Cape right at the beginning of the official start time for the display today. So glad we did! There were a lot of people around already, and more and more folks coming in by the time we left. An added bonus… We got to ride on one of the university shuttle busses. TanMan wasn’t so sure about that at first and really did not want to get on that bus with strange people and a guy driving that he did not know! By the time we took our return bus to the van, he was loving it though.

We walked from the front of the engine all the way to the end of the last car and back again. You can see the structure behind the steam engine. Added bonus number two… The mighty Mississippi was directly behind the train. We walked under the big new bridge that crosses the Mississippi from Cape Girardeau into Illinois. With all the recent flooding Braden has been infatuated by the river, so he was almost excited about this as the train.

After a short break to check out the river and watch a barge go past and under the bridge, we were all ready to go again.

There was so much to take in, the boys just couldn’t decide what to pay attention to. Obviously they were not too concerned with me at all. The are getting used to me taking tons of pictures and usually just ignore me and my camera. =) Look at how huge those wheels are!

Massive chains, wheels, and so many parts! One guy commented, "…if something were to go wrong, where would you even start?” Good point. Again we were just awed by the size of the engine. There were several cars along with the engines. One car was set up with souvenir sales, but that was the only car open for people to go into. The rest of the cars were for the crew that travels with the train. This particular excursion lasts for about 5 weeks. They left Cheyenne, WY on May 27th and are scheduled to return on July 2nd or 3rd.

After checking out the train for a while, we took the shuttle bus back to the van, took a drive across the Mississippi river and back again, and then we spent most of the rest of the day in Cape shopping, before we came home to let the boys get in the pool for the first time this summer. The whole family had a great time!!!!!!

Our Palomino

2011-05-23T14:04:00.001-05:00

We have been wanting one of these for quite some time now! The whole family should have a blast with our new palomino!!!! It should add a new element to some of our outdoor adventures. Let me give you a little preview of our recent addition to Glenn Acres…

What? That is not what you were thinking of? You thought it would be more golden in color? Maybe a little softer? Well it isn’t that kind of palomino. We didn’t get a horse. Maybe one day, but not now. Our neighbors have one of those palominos in the pasture along the drive, so we can already enjoy watching her every day. =)

We did get this palomino though!

After “losing” another spring camping season to uncooperative weather conditions, we found the perfect solution. As much as our family loves to camp, I have never been big on the whole summer tent camping adventure. Too hot and muggy where most of our trips take us. Makes it just a little miserable for everyone which then sometimes leads to grumpy, grumbly, grouchy family members. Time for a change.

We have talked about getting a little camper of some kind for a long time now. We finally found one that fit our needs perfect at this point in our life. This is a 2000 model that is in excellent condition inside and out, has A/C, will sleep the five of us and Nova pretty comfortably, and will allow us to have most of our gear packed up and ready to go. Perfect!

The boys were so excited to see how everything worked. They were not two steps away from Ross as he set it up here at the house the first time. Or the second time for that matter… None of them missed a thing! By the time Ross was ready to take it back down to put it away before we got some rain, Tanner was putting the handle for the crank where it was supposed to go to lower the roof. Think he didn’t pay attention. He has such determination for such a little guy. Riley and Braden got to hang out and read a book and play UNO in the camper for a while. Some good brother bonding time and practice for rainy camping days. We even spent a night in the camper over the weekend. The boys all seemed to sleep good. I think Ross and I would have slept better had the stray beagle dogs not ended up chasing rabbits through our driveway during the middle of the night.

Now we can’t wait to try it out somewhere else. Wonder where our first adventure will take us????? Hmmm…

Amber

Another Trip to Town…

2011-04-15T23:27:00.001-05:00

Remember when I just said that you have to keep an open mind to find exciting things and that you just never know what you might find around that next corner, or through the next stoplight? Well… Here is another perfect example of opportunity awaiting when you least expect it.

It was just another ordinary Friday evening. We were watching our friend’s girls tonight and decided to treat all the kids to a meal at BK. We loaded up all five kids just after the pop-up storms passed through the area. The clouds were thinning and the sun was starting to shine. Off we go. It isn’t too far into town. The kids were having a good time chit chatting in the back singing made up songs and talking about 1st grade and 4 year old things. The younger two were just giggling at all the big kids had to say and sing about.

Just as we pulled up to the stoplight in town, we saw it! Ross made a quick lane change and we took a detour to see this unusual sight. Here are some clues… Can you guess what our town trek discovery was this evening?

It was sleek and colorful! Like a bright golden sun.

Many aerodynamic curves.

Personalized license plate in the front window? Hmm…

Looks kinda like a space ship cockpit.

Got it yet? Any guesses?

Man I was hungry! I mean we came to town to eat. Maybe we should have just grilled some hot dogs. I didn’t think we would ever make it to Burger King. Have you given up yet???? Here ya go, the giveaway pics!

It isn’t everyday you get to stand next to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile! To think, I almost changed my mind and fixed supper at home tonight with all the rain that was passing through the area. Glad we once again went on one of our close to home adventures to town.

Just Another Trip to Town…

2011-04-14T14:18:00.001-05:00

This winter, we took many weekend trips to town. Picking up groceries, heading to the man mall (a.k.a. Lowes), eating at McDonalds. You know, just ordinary stuff. Most of the time however, these trips include some fun sights. We have watched army helicopters land at the little airport in town, seen a HUGE semi truck in an abandoned parking lot (I think it had over 30 tires on the rig!), picked up a few geocaches, gone to the farmers market, bought a couple of rabbits, and the list goes on and on and on.

Now that I have my sometimes smarter than me Android phone, I am able to document more of these everyday moments. Here are a couple of collages that I put together on my new PhotoGrid Android app then emailed to myself so that I could post it here. Really like this app so far. Amazing what phones can do today! Amazing what all this technology can do! You know, I never even used email until I was out of college a couple of years! So many changes in such a short time. Imagine telling these guys about the days when I was a kid and the phone was attached to the wall with a cord and you could not leave the house to talk. Since the phone is our go to communication to keep in touch with family across the miles, I think that will be more amazing to my guys than life without so many of the other modern conveniences.

Here are the men planning out their manly irrigation system for this year’s garden. Plants will go in soon. Very soon! TanMan did take a little extra time to peruse the many options for painting his room now that his crib is gone. Yep, no more baby bed for this big guy! Time to put together a bigger boy room now. Out with the yellow stripes (it isn’t as bad as it sounds!) and in with the new… He hasn’t picked the new color yet. =)

On our way to Wal-mart, we had to detour to the next door parking lot to take a look at these mighty machines. Guess their drivers were eating lunch. The boys were all in awe, and walked around and around the trucks to take in every detail.

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind of life. To focus on the mundane tasks. To think that life is boring. Simple trips to town like this are a good reminder that there is excitement and opportunity everywhere you look. Sometimes you just have to remember to branch outside the box to find those moments. It helps to be looking at the world with the youthful eyes of our little guys too! Search to find ways to overlook the mundane of your world too. Let us know what you discover on your next adventure to get groceries!

Lego Mania

2011-04-07T14:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, we have hit that stage… The age of legos! The boys have scored big in lego sets between Christmas and Birthdays. Many afternoons are spent building, and building, and building. And once in a while creations are taken apart, pieces to be used for a new creation. Last weekend we opened a couple of more new sets and built a fire rescue brigade. Braden and I built a fire boat, and Riley built the fire rescue truck. Braden’s approach is to grab a little life boat and a mini figure and play at the table as I do the rest. Every few minutes he checks my progress and goes back to his guys.

Legos are right up Riley’s alley. He loves the detail of putting something together and does great at following along with the instructions. He is determined and focused. He likes seeing the finished product. He then likes to take things apart and rebuild it. All is good unless someone (a.k.a. Dad) has made modifications to the original. That throws him off. We are working to encourage him to create his own ideas and be flexible with substituting pieces if he can’t find the exact one the instructions show. He will get it…

Of course, once the build is finished it is time to play! We had quite the entourage of lego rescue vehicles in the living room. I felt quite safe! (TeeHee) TanMan even gets in on the action once he wakes up from his naps. (Most lego building is done while TanMan sleeps. He has a tendency to latch on to a handful of legos and stake claim to them, not wanting to give them up for ANY reason whatsoever!) He grabbed a little life boat and fought with Braden over a couple of guys, then was content to play along with the big boys.

Braden just grabbed his helicopter and headed off on his own. Easier than having that pesky little ~~bother~~ brother following him around.

See… Quite the crew! Perserverance and determination resulted in one mega fire boat, one ladder truck, three helicopters, and a rescue truck. Not bad for a couple of hours of building.

Celebrations

2011-04-04T21:39:00.001-05:00

Spring is a busy time here, full of celebrations. Once Christmas is over, the craziness of birthdays begins. First TanMan, then Braden, and Riley. Three birthdays over the course of 7 weeks. (Even their dad has a birthday just 3 weeks later!) My spring boys… Thank goodness these guys are good friends as well as brothers and we can finish off with a bigger combined party. Makes life a little easier, at least for now. I am sure that one year soon, the boys will each want their own day. We will cross that bridge when it comes. We usually do a small cake for each of the earlier birthday boys on their actual birthday too. That way they get a little celebrating in on their own birthday.

First was TanMan’s 2nd birthday… I posted a brief couple of pictures last time too. Tanner wanted a train cake. He loves Thomas and all trains in general! We are going to have to take another ride on the amtrak sometime. Maybe a trek from Central IL to Chicago??? Hmm… We will have to see what we can work out for that one. He was excited to tell everyone that he is two. He spent much time trying to get his fingers to work so that he can show the world he is two! I can’t believe what a big boy he is now. He never really wanted to be a baby. He had keeping up to do. No time for that little baby stuff! He is now potty trained, sleeping on his new big boy bed, and playing with all the big boy toys. Where did my baby go? He will be in college in the blink of an eye!

Next came Braden’s 4th Birthday! Did I already say that these guys are growing up too fast? YEAH???? Well… I just said it again. Braden got to help me decorate his cake. We did a dinosaur cake with a river running across it. Most of the time Ross does the cakes, but we decided that Braden and I would attempt this one. It was fun. Braden helped me figure out where to put the river, picked out dinos to put on the cake, and then placed most of the dinosaurs himself. He was proud of his work. That evening we went to McDonald’s for dinner so that he could have his favorite chicken nuggets, and then came back for cake and nutty bars. He was ecstatic about his special night.

Finally came Riley’s 7th birthday, and the boys’ combined birthday party! Riley and Braden decided together quite a while back that they wanted a wildlife themed party. After we looked at many ideas for cakes and decorations, we decided on a camping/wildlife theme. It worked out great. Ross and I used teamwork to tackle this cake. He baked it and did the base green icing. I put on the river, and border. Then we both worked to add the finishing touches-rocks in the river, a tent, campfire, log benches, and plants all around the campsite. The trees were the only thing that were not edible. We even let people eat the rocks. Great Grandma Pogue got quite the kick out of that one. I think I am going to have to find her some rocks of her own to eat.

The boys got to invite some friends and we invited a few family friends too. Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma Pogue were all able to come for the weekend too. It was a good party. Just wish it would have been warmer so that we could have spent some time outside too. Oh-well, maybe next year.

Now it is time for much exploring for the spring. I am so looking forward to days spent outside as we meander around our backyard and beyond.

A Giant Adventure…

2011-03-14T15:03:00.001-05:00

Wow! We have had a busy few weeks. I was going to show what we did this weekend, but I still have to figure out how to get my pictures off of my new phone. Not sure if I have the right cable to connect to the computer, so I might have to email myself the pics that I was going to share with you from our trip to town. Technology…

So instead we are going to take a blast back to the very, very recent past… Sunday, March 6, 2011…

The weather had been cold, damp, and dreary. The weather forecast was promising for this day though. Sunny and mid to upper 40’s says the weather man. Braden has been wanting to go on a picnic and take a picnic basket. Why not? We haven’t been to Southern IL for a while. Let’s get up and go in the morning. 4:30 pm, decision made.

6:30 am, Morning comes, we look out the window. Where is the sun? Where is the inkling of warmth? It is coming, it is coming. Pack a picnic lunch, grab some coats, camera ready, head out the door. Load up kiddos, load up dog, load up us. Roll on down the drive. The boys have no clue where we are going, just that we must be going to have a picnic. Fun!

Driving along, we look out the window. Where is the sun? Where is the inkling of warmth? It is coming, it is coming. We arrive at our destination. Lunch now, or hike first? It is still cold, lets hike first. Everyone will be ready to eat by the time we get done. Everyone is rearing to go at this point. It is still cold, bundle up boys! Coats, gloves, hats… A hiking we will go!

TanMan and I headed up the rear of the pack. The bigger guys and Nova darted on ahead. There were rocks to climb, clues to find, adventure awaiting.

There is always time to take a moment and share a cool find with your brothers, or take the more adventurous route to see what lies ahead of us.

And when you reach the top, take another moment to hang out with your buddies.

As we trudge on, I look around. Still cloudy, still cold. Where is the sun? Where is the inkling of warmth? It is coming, it is coming. I certainly hope…

Whoa! Look at this! Can we move it. Riley recruits his strapping little brothers to help him out, and they didn’t budge it one little bit! But, they sure gave it a go. I think it might take a bit more to get that log further off the trail. Maybe that is why it is still there. ;)

Someone was getting tired, and cold, and had worn out little legs. Daddy saved the day and carried him the rest of the way. A catch twenty two though… This led to getting colder than everyone else. Those muscles weren’t getting used, made for a cold little man by the end of our little one mile hike. We trudged on.

Giant City State Park near Carbondale, IL is such an awesome area! We love to come hiking and camping here. So lucky to have this spot so close to home. We can be here within an hour. So many areas to explore close to home… We have vowed to do these kinds of trips more this year. It is awesome to watch the expressions from the boys while they explore. Even when it is cold.

I looked away from my camera… Where is the sun? Where is the inkling of warmth? It is coming, it is coming.

After stopping at the “alligator rock” near the end of the trail, we continued on down the last stretch of trail and finished up our hike.

Everyone was cold. And hungry. And cold. And thirsty. And cold. (oh, did I already mention that?!?!?!) Time for our picnic on this sunny, bit warmer day. Darn it, the weather man lied! You shouldn’t lie ya know? Anyway… We now had tears, maybe wails, from TanMan (he was cold, and he does not like to be cold, and he lets his unhappiness be known very loudly!) We had other cold, hungry boys. But a picnic we shall still have! TanMan and I gathered our rations from the picnic basket and hopped in the van with the heat cranked as we sent the others on their way. They headed to the pavilion to have a picnic, at the picnic tables, with the picnic basket. Hardcore folks. Hardcore. Little bit of cold is not stopping this crew! They shivered and scarfed their food down and then came back to pile into the nice, cozy, warm van to finish their picnic. We stopped in the little visitor center at the park, grabbed a geocache, and finished thawing out a bit before we headed home.

But that is not all, folks. Oh, no…

I was still looking around… Where is the sun? Where is the inkling of warmth? It is coming, it is coming.

It was at home!!!!!! Who knew!!! That sun and little bit of warmth was waiting for us in our own backyard! So we took advantage and got a teeny bit of yard work done.

Goodbye little dogwood tree. I will miss you so. You just could not endure the drought from last summer. Goodbye little pine tree. You also did not fare well…

Of course this job meant getting the old Case out, and getting the old Case out means rides for boys, and that makes everyone forget being cold. We will have another picnic and hike on another warmer day soon. Ross always says that good things come to those who wait, so we will just have to wait a little longer.

You know what I love about my guys? That no matter what the conditions might be, they trudge on and are such troopers. Despite my repeated reminder of how cold it was, everyone had a blast!!!!!!!!! These guys are the greatest in the world! I am glad that the four of them are mine!

Looking forward to spring days and more adventures for 2011!

The Lost Month

2011-03-05T22:11:00.001-06:00

Yeah, so I guess I didn’t do so good about posting often again! Oops! We have had plenty going on, and I have gotten plenty of computer time. I have no excuse, just procrastination. I cannot believe that it is already March!!!!!! Where in the world does time go? Anyway, here is a bit of a recap from my lost month of blogging.

1. Braden’s surgery—Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy

Braden had huge tonsils for a while! We got him in to see and ENT, and the Dr. basically took one look and said “How soon do you want them out?” We ended up at the surgical center 6 days later. Nice to have something move along so quickly in the medical field. He recovered pretty quickly. After a couple of days of being pretty wiped out, he was soon back to his active self.

We have noticed an improvement in his speech, he eats so much better, and is sleeping better since he can breathe so much easier now. Yea!

2. Guess who is two?

All of these guys are growing up so fast! I can’t believe that TanMan is already two years old!!!!! He is constantly working to keep up with everyone else, and trust me, he does not fall too far behind. Since the 11th was actually a snow day, we ended up spending part of the day visiting the nature center where I used to work. The boys love going there and looking through the exhibits. Then we celebrated with a daddy made cake over the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Pogue.

3. Snow Days—One week Riley had three and a half snow days! Made for a short school week. We got out and played in the snow quite a bit. Of course this was right after Braden’s surgery, so we still had to take it a little bit easy. The first day was great snow for building snowmen. We had an awesome time, except for Tanner….

He was having no part of it that day. Went and sat on the steps in the screen room, cried, sat in his car outside, cried, stood in the snow, really wailed, watched Riley and Braden building snowmen, said “uh-uh!”, cried hard shaking his head no, then finally got sat on the couch in the screen room to impatiently wait for his brothers to get their carrots on the snowmen. Then we called it quits.

The next time we ventured out for snow play time, Braden was in about the same mood that Tanner had been in before. We trudged on much to his dismay and played anyway. Can’t please ‘em all all of the time!

4. A Trip to the Grandmas’ house—Went to Clinton to help paint Ross’ mom’s upstairs hall and stairway. Ross was tucked away making progress most of the weekend. The boys did get to help with some of the prep work, and then made regular assisted appearances for inspection throughout the weekend. The end result is a fresh clean paint job to brighten up the stairway. Happy Birthday Grandma Glenn!

The boys found lots of time to entertain their grandmas. They were such troopers for the weekend. We did get to take them to the really cool playground in town one afternoon. It was so nice to just get outside and run off some energy for a while.

5. Visitors from NC—Adrienne and her new little guy, Bailey came for a quick visit while they were in the area visiting her grandma. They returned the cradle. Bailey was the 9th little one to get to use the cradle that Ross and my dad built just before Riley was born. Such a cool thing to share with our friends and their little ones. We then loaded them up with some other goodies for Bailey to use when he gets just a bit bigger. Enjoy Adrienne, Brad, and Bailey!

Life is always busy with “normal” things too. Scouts, school, work, laundry, dishes, sleep… I just don’t know what I used to do before this “job” came along! Time flies and the next thing I know, another month is gone. I have some other posts planned. Even have them written down on my to do list. Be on the lookout for some blasts from the recent past.

‘Til then,

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-24T22:39:00.001-06:00

Last week we woke to an incredible wintery scene. After the snow on Thursday, a fog settled in for the evening leaving the world blanketed in thick frost. It looked like it had snowed again. I was able to get out for a few (hundred) photos before Ross had to leave for work. Here are some of my top picks for you to be mesmerized by.

What an incredible morning! Despite the cold (it was around 10 degrees), I could have spent soooo much longer enjoying the peace and tranquility. I am just grateful that we have this little spot of our own, otherwise there would have been no way that I could have taken a brief time out from the daily grind to go snap some photos. Hope you enjoy looking as well.

Snow Days!

2011-01-21T21:42:00.001-06:00

We finally got a good snow yesterday! You know, one that you can actually get out and really play in. One that makes it worthwhile to get everyone bundled up to go outside to play for more than a few short minutes. One that covers the ground and warrants the snow toys.

Riley got out of school early yesterday and was out today too. We bundled up and headed out to play both days. Snow Much Fun! (HeeHee) I even got a little time to go out and just take some winter wonderland pictures too. But to the business of play now…

Everyone got bundled up and ready to go outside. Nova was not about to be left out of this fun time. She was the first one to the door. Don’t you love those smiles?

Nova was rearing to go. The only thing that kept her still long enough to have her picture taken was me holding her ball right next to the camera. Then she chose not to bring it back for that trick again!

The fun is even greater when shared with good friends! We were so glad that Maranda and Remmi and their parents got to come play with us! We introduced them to a little kayak sledding. You might remember this from last year if you have read along with us for awhile. It is great fun! I will have to try to get a video up soon, so that you may glean the whole experience. Who says you can’t kayak in the snow too?

Tanner was a trooper. He trudged through the snow. Made it to the little slide. Turned around and headed back. Sometimes he crawled, sometimes he walked, and many times he wished to just be carried. But, his lugginess makes that tough for his mommy’s arms. As long as we were within reach, he was good to go.

Then he just got plain cold, tired, and HUNGRY. It was time to be done. He was not a happy camper at that point. A nice warm bath, full tummy, and cuddles on the couch were the perfect remedy for those tears.

Today we trudged out the door again. It was COLD! TanMan had a new preferred method of travel today. The sled. He stayed there most of the time that we were out. If I stopped he rocked back and forth to try to get going again! Crazy boy. He tolerated me stopping to snap pictures and wait for his brothers, but was always glad to get moving again.

Boys moved snow with their big trucks. We walked out back through our “woods” as Braden says. We played Mantracker. All was good til Braden got stuck in a “pricker” bush. His big brother came to the rescue even though it meant capture by yours truly, the Mantracker. At that point the troops were ready for full tummies and warm surroundings again. Off to the house we headed.

Before we went in, we found some undisturbed snow (at least until Nova came through and disturbed it). Boys all plopped down to make some snow angels. Riley got it, Braden got it, Tanner just laid there. He did not see the point at all! Oh, well there is always next times.

We will see what the weekend brings. I am sure there will be more kayak rides. More snow play. Maybe we will give mantracker a go again, now that Braden knows to watch out for those sticker bushes! Sunday we are supposed to get more snow. This is what winter is supposed to be like! Love it!

A View from the cam…

2011-01-20T21:23:00.001-06:00

As promised here is one of the recent views from my new camera instead of a view of the camera.

You can imagine where this could all lead as time goes on. Any ideas to offer to my dearest husband for future views? I am sure he would be delighted to help provide some footage for you.

One Year Ago…

2011-01-18T14:06:00.001-06:00

I started blogging!!! Wow! I got off to a good start, getting posts on fairly often, yet lately time seems to be vanishing before I my eyes. Life is still full of adventures. Boys are crazy as always. There is never a dull moment… Maybe that is the problem! I need a few dull moments so that I am not too tired to get posts put together. =) Regardless, I will do my absolute best to get some updates on here a bit more often.

We have spent a lot of time inside recently. I think I am getting wimpy in my ~~older~~ more mature days. I can’t stand to be out in the cold and wind. Give me snow, and I am all for it. But cold, brown, gray, dreary days of winter? Nevermind, I will sit inside the warmth of my cozy abode sipping hot tea and watching the boys play.

I got a new camera. Intentions are to have it with me to take more pictures and even video when we are on the go. The first couple of times it would have been handy to have, it was left on the computer cabinet. Fail! This will take some getting used to. Never fear, it has been getting broken in around the house. Check out my fabulous new camera.

Not exactly what I envisioned my new camera getting used for, but it kept the boys occupied for a good bit. I am sure that this could just be the start of many train cam/pedal car cam/bike cam/kite cam/etc. ideas to come. Must get cheaper little key fob cam for Ross soon!!!!!

See you again soon with more pics from the camera instead one of the camera.

Our Backyard and Beyond

2010-12-15T07:57:00.001-06:00

Our Backyard and Beyond

Peaceful Moments…

2010-12-07T14:27:00.001-06:00

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us. So much to do, and so little time to get things done. Time is ticking and my list is growing. Candy to make, cookies to bake, gifts to be wrapped, family and friends to see… All to be fit into the daily grind that must go on as well. The days do get chaotic, yet each day we love to take a few moments and just enjoy a little bit of serenity with our crew. Just sit and relax on the couch, look at the lights and ornaments on the tree, slowly start winding up for the day ahead. It is so much better than the rush to get rolling! Won’t you take some time for some holiday peacefulness in your day too?

Shiver Me Timbers!

2010-11-04T14:21:00.001-05:00

Arrrrgh! All Ye landlubbers, bewares! The backyard pirates are here! We be guardin’ our parade candy treasure that we raked in o’er the weekend. Need to get that map made so we can go back for more next year! Our matey’s had a great time las’ weekend. It was a time of much merriement, many family and friends, and good grub and grog. Too bad it had to end. Arggggh! We will have to sail again soon for another gatherin’ of such proportions.

In the meantime, Captain B and crew want you to schmile and say arrrgh in the comments, or ye will be walking the plank. (If we can find our trusty ship.)

BOO!!!!!!

2010-10-28T14:46:00.001-05:00

Hope we didn’t frighten you too much!!!!

Albeit a little late, we decided to tackle a little pumpkin carving. The boys have been wanting to do this. I got the pumpkins about a week ago, and there isn’t much time left before Halloween. It is now or never, at least never this year. Why not? Might have been a bit stressful, but overall we had a great time. The looks on their faces as they each held their finished masterpiece was well worth the mess of pumpkin goo all over the kitchen.

Boys waited patiently, very interested in what the inside of a pumpkin looks like.

(You see… We have not done this since Riley was just a wee little tike about TanMan’s age. Time just slips away oh so darn fast!)

Digging into the first one. Everyone was intrigued by what the insides looked like.

Riley was the only one eager to dig in with his bare hands to tackle the cleaning out mess. He was a huge help getting the slimy goo off of all the seeds, although he couldn’t believe that it is really o.k. to eat the seeds. We will have to roast some and let him try them out for himself.

This takes soooo much time! Everyone diligently stuck with the task at hand. All was well until Braden got some goo on his sleeve! Oh he did not like that! After we assured him that the shirt would come perfectly clean when washed, he was good to go again. =)

TanMan wasn’t having anything to do with touching that stuff though! He armed himself with the long handled spoon and gingerly dug in. He was fine as long as we didn’t need to use the spoon.

Oooooh! Look at the stringiness. Time to clean out pumpkin number two!

Riley and Ross take on the job. Other boys just sit aside and wait.

Finally!!!! Time to carve ‘em up!

Riley picked out a ghost pattern that I found. He wanted a little bit of a spooky pumpkin.

Tanner thought it was fun to watch Riley punch his design into the pumpkin. Riley did a great job of getting the pattern outlined and ready to cut out while I helped Braden carve his.

TanMan remained in his perch for the entire duration of the carving process. Even though he was not carving, he DID NOT want to miss out on one second of the excitement.

Braden and I used teamwork to cut out his BOO! He was very patient about it and let me help him with all of it. Whew! Might have had a funny looking boo otherwise.

Riley did an awesome job helping me cut out his ghost. He is so patient, and loves the detail. I have a feeling his pumpkins will get more elaborate in years to come.

Once the carving was done, each boy proudly showed off his pumpkin. I think they look super! TanMan had to have a pumpkin too. Maybe next year he will get to carve one, but for now he is sporting the little accent pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!

Waiting…

2010-10-27T14:09:00.001-05:00

As 3:30 rolls around each day, there is anticipation and excitement in the air. TanMan and Braden get anxious. Waiting… “Is snack ready? What are we having today? I want to take my fire truck water bottle today. Does Tanner need his drink? Did you get something for Riley?” Braden’s verbal checklist. Every day we take the same steps at the same times. Every day, the same scenario. Getting ready to go wait. Yet the waiting is always eagerly anticipated. So far it hasn’t gotten old. And I hope that it never does.

At 3:30 we get snacks gathered up, shoes on, and head out the door.

Trek down the drive. Some days they walk, and some days they RUN!

Look at the horses. Look at the chickens, turkeys and ducks.

Get to the end of the drive and sit under the ash tree.

Enjoy snack, have a couple of drinks, and watch the road.

Waiting…

There it is! Here it comes!

Riley is home!

Running to greet his brothers. Home from a busy day at school.

Awe, so sweet.

(The snack they bring might be great motivation too.)

“ See?” Riley is home!

It makes their day. The waiting is worth it.

“How was your day ‘Iley?”

No matter how much they fuss at one another, their closeness runs deep. They have a friendship that we hope lasts a lifetime.

Mechanics 101…

2010-10-21T13:47:00.001-05:00

How to Change a Flat Tire

1. Employ three strapping young men to help out.

2. Ask the chief mechanic to assist when needed.

3. Check out the spare. Be certain it is aired up correctly. This is determined by the bounce factor when jumped upon.

4. Use the buddy system to safely remove the flat tire and place the spare tire back on the vehicle.

5. Replace all lug nuts. Sometimes it takes two hands to get them started.

6. Be ready for a quality control check. “Hmmmmmm…”

7. “I think this one needs tightened a little bit more.”

8. Finish tightening all lug nuts. Clean up tools. All Done!

Stealing Our Hearts

2010-10-06T14:58:00.001-05:00

Nova is now almost 8 months old! She has grown into a beautiful chocolate lab. (Although, I might be a little partial and all…)

Back in March when we decided to add her to the family, we talked a lot about the pro’s and con’s. Were we ready to add a puppy to the mix again? TanMan was just learning to walk. It takes soooooo much time and effort. Housebreaking, chewing, crate training, lots of crazy puppy moments. I was the eager one for sure. Ross took a little coaxing to convince that this was right. I just didn’t feel that our household was complete without a furry critter around. I wasn’t ready to NOT have a dog again. It was time. Ross was easily convinced once he held this furry little butterball in his lap when we went to “Just see” the puppies. We brought her home that night.

6 1/2 months later…

Nova has been a wonderful addition to the family. She is awesome with the boys. She loves to run with Riley, even though that aggravates him sometimes. She follows Braden around the yard looking for sticks. She lets TanMan crawl all over her, even when she might have just been sound asleep. They are all buddies in one way or another. The boys love having her around. They all keep an eye out for her, and I am sure as time goes on she will be the one to keep an eye on them.

I knew that it would all be good. Having critters just makes our world right…

A Little Magic

2010-09-29T15:01:00.001-05:00

Hold on to your seats! Two. Count them. Two days in a row! I told you I was coming back around a little more.

Anyway, I had to share a magic trick with you that I finally took the time to figure out! I am EXCITED!

Do you remember this picture from yesterday? Here it is again, minus the fancy framing… Notice any differences? This new picture is not one of the original dozen or so pics that I took of the boys all sitting together the other evening. Nope, but isn’t it perfect? I will give you just a minute to check and see if you can figure it out. (No peeking ahead for the answer!) Here is yesterday’s photo to compare.

Got it yet? Yep! All three boys are looking at the camera! Do you think that I could get my boys to all cooperatively look at the camera together precisely as I take a picture? On rare occassions yes, but alas, most of the time they are all going different directions! Especially when I have no extra hands to direct and distract.

So my little magic secret? Photoshop Elements 8… I got this program over the summer and have been wanting to take more time to learn some of its cool little tips, tricks, and neat features. I thought this was a good time to try it out! Photomerge will let me have all the boys looking at the camera! Brilliant! I don’t normally do much post processing to my images, but sometimes it helps to create an incredible image!

Enjoying a little magic trick from time to time,

Season’s Changing

2010-09-28T22:35:00.001-05:00

Well, hello stranger! Oh, wait… You are right. I am the one that has been a stranger lately! Sorry! That is called summer, school started, and… I could come up with excuses all day, but I will spare you this time. We have been busy as usual. Although, would you believe that until yesterday I had only taken about 15 pictures in September? Not that we didn’t do anything picture worthy. Just forgot that silly camera. Every. Time. We. Went. Anywhere. A living history days event at a local park, our friend’s farm, the SEMO district fair, the nature center. Every. Single. Time. We had fun anyway. You just won’t get a chance to see those good times.

I am trying to make up for lost time. So, last night I took about 100 pics of the boys and Nova playing outside. Ross had to go check on a fire at one of his areas, so we played! Ran through the grass, climbed gates, picked grass seed heads, threw a ball to Nova, played hide and seek in the pasture, just had a blast! I think the pictures will speak for themselves!

See ya’ around on our next adventure! Don’t be a stranger o.k.? I promise I won’t be either. Hold me to it!

It Rained…

2010-08-31T21:56:00.001-05:00

These guys were a little tough to keep up with from my drier perch in the screen room. Might have been cause they were a wee little bit chilly, or maybe because they were having a blast, or maybe a little of both. Regardless it was a blast to watch!

Waiting for more wet days ahead.

Rabbit Rescue

2010-08-23T13:51:00.001-05:00

So a while back you might remember that I gave a sneak peak of the newest additions to our place. Furry little blobs hiding in a box… Well here they are, our rescued rabbits. This was definitely not a planned addition at this point in time, but how can you say no to such cute, tiny bunnies? Our neighbor discovered them out by his barn and caught 3 to “show” the boys. There are several domestic rabbits that roam our little neighborhood. Someone must have released them over the last couple of years, and now they are increasing in number. There were still more left over there too. Eight baby rabbits total! Well… I couldn’t just let them go again, so here we are. Thanks, Eddie!

Friends of ours took a couple too. Now we only have six! Yikes! Plans are to keep a couple of these, trade the rest to get another female or two, and raise some rabbits for meat. Of course the boys will have their pets that won’t go to the freezer!!!!! Riley and Braden have each made their choice of rabbits. Meet Twister (white with brown) and BooBoo(White with dark ears).

So tiny when we first got them, we figured that they were barely ready to be away from momma. We had to use jar lids to offer food and water because they could not reach into the bigger crock bowls that we had. They were not too excited about eating pellet food either. They perferred to have fresh grass and oats, and really liked their oats to be moistened. Spoiled rabbits! They have thrived and grown and won our hearts over!

The rabbits lived in a cage together in our screen room for the first weeks that we had them. What a mess such cute critters can make! The boys have loved having them right outside the window though. All three boys stand up on the toy trunk together and watch to see what the rabbits are up to. TanMan points and says “BooBoo, BooBoo, BooBoo!” Riley and Braden check to see if they need food, water, or are getting too hot. It has been a brutal summer here. Around 70 days with highs over 90 degrees! Stressful for little bunnies, so we take frozen bottles of water out for them to snuggle up against to get a little relief from the heat. On cooler mornings the boys get their rabbit out for a little holding time. They each pull up a chair, grab some fresh grass, and get ready to cuddle with a bunny. On rare occasions, TanMan even joins in and sits for a couple of short minutes.

The rabbits are growing, and growing, and growing, and growing!!!!! Yes, I know, that is what rabbits do! They have probably almost tripled in size now! When we first got them, all six didn’t even cover the bottom of a five-gallon bucket. They were tiny I’m tellin’ you. Now they fill up boy laps. They do not all fit in a bucket together. They have ravenous appetites. It was time for them to move! Out of the screen room that is.

Ross, the handy guy that he is, built some new rabbit cages. Our living room was a factory for a few evenings. He might have had a few helping hands with this project. Guess Ross has a few helping hands with all of his projects. I try to just lay low and help when asked, mostly I just grab the camera and document these moments of helpfulness. Phase two of the moving project was to build an outdoor hutch for the cages. A couple of trips to the barn, Lowes, the barn, Lowes again, and we had the materials that we needed to make a hutch. Voila, new bunny home. Yea! No more poop on the screen room, no more hay in Nova’s kennel, now the toys can take over again.

Last night was moving day for the rabbits. The boys were great helpers. The move went off without a hitch. Now we have the girls in one cage and the boys in another. Sooner than later we will have to separate them to individual cages, since bunnies tend to fight if left together. For now they are content, and we don’t have to worry about more little bunnies!

The bunnies are happy to be right out in the front yard so they can keep an eye on us each and every day.

Our First Grader

2010-08-18T21:24:00.001-05:00

Today was Riley’s first day of 1st Grade!

He had an awesome first day. Went right on in the cafeteria this morning without even hardly telling us bye. Said that he would stay at school all night when I picked him up. Guess that means that he is going to hit the ground running in first grade. I can’t believe how fast he is growing up!!!!

Last Summer Adventure

2010-08-15T21:41:00.001-05:00

So the other day (Tuesday) Ross called while he was at work. He does this… Nothing out of the ordinary. Here is how the conversation went…

Ross: “When does Riley start school again?”

Me: “Next Wednesday. Why?”

Ross: “We never did get to go to the Magic House this summer. You really wanted take the boys before the end of summer didn’t you?”

Me: “Yeah. But that is o.k. Maybe we can go some weekend this fall.”

Ross: “So… Want to take the boys to the Magic House tomorrow?”

Ummm… I am much a planner. I don’t like to do big things last minute. I must have time to absorb and prepare, mentally and physically. This was a mere 16 hours before we would be leaving to drive to St. Louis the next day if we decided to go. I tend to worry and fret when I am rushed. I need to pack snacks, drinks, and and and stuff! That takes TIME! And an extra set of hands would sure be nice to take 3 boys to a big children’s museum. Are we sure that we can make this work?

Me: “Let me think about this and absorb a little.” (And see if anyone else can go with us!)

Ross did convince me that everything would be fine. I got everything together and ready to roll everyone out the door quickly the next morning. We got around in good time and didn’t run too late. (Run late? Like we had a strict timeline to keep! I do that to myself.) The boys were excited! Riley settled in for the couple hour ride. Braden was trying to absorb what exactly was going on.

Braden: “Where are we going?” a few minutes later… “What are we going to do? Where are we going?”

When we finally got to the Magic House, the fun began! We spent almost 5 hours there and still didn’t do everything. We covered most of the museum, but passed a few parts here and there. Check out the fun. It was awesome!!!!!!!!

Riley hoisted himself about 5 feet in the air! He thought the pulleys were really cool!

TanMan took right to going across this plank. He had to try a couple of times to get brave enough to start, but then there was no slowing him down. He just grinned as he looked through the net at the people below, and shimmied his way to the other side. Then back again, and across again. Over and over for a few minutes.

Boy in a bubble! He got it almost up to his waist before it popped. The bubble room was pretty fun. Too bad it was soooo crowded. We decided to move on so that we could check out more areas.

Time to “eat.” Braden is serving up some pizza at the Pasta House. Every children’s museum that we go to, the boys are pulled in to the cooking/eating/grocery stuff. It is fun to watch them in action. Then we repeat the scenario for days at home afterward. Braden has been cooking cinnamon rolls almost every day this week. Even Tanner has been cooking up some sort of concoction and offering it to us. “Here. Here. Here.” Tanner is sharing his pizza.

Braden is busy cooking, cleaning, and talking on the phone in the kitchen. Riley and Tanner showing Daddy how to play the piano.

We had a bit of a hair raising time while at the Magic House! The electostatic sphere has been there for years! Braden and Tanner both thought it was pretty cool. TanMan’s hair did a great job of standing up! Having a great time! This was a tunnel under some sort of long cabinet. A sign at the beginning said something about wiggle like a worm. Not sure what kind of connection it had to anything in the area since I did not read the rest of the sign. Oops! All I know is that the boys loved this! All three crawled through the tunnel, got up, and RAN back to the start over and over and over and over and over and over…

A rare picture of all three boys at the same time. This might have been the only one of the day that everyone was facing the camera too! Again wiggling through the tunnel.

Tending to the fire at the Lewis and Clark encampment. I love the fact that Tanner and Braden are working together.

Definitely a fun day! The boys were all exhausted by the time we loaded back into the van. I am sure that we will have to go back again sometime. We will pick a cooler time so that we can enjoy a few of the outdoor areas of the museum too. There was no way we were going to spend more time than it took to eat on this 100+ degree day!

We are now counting down the days until the start of school. Riley is getting excited and nervous at the same time. He is like me, doesn’t care for change. He will do great and have a blast in first grade though! Riley and I got to spend a couple of hours in the pool today and hope to do pool time again tomorrow. We are going to head to the nature center near us on Tuesday to finish up the last days of this sweltering summer vacation! We are looking forward to fall, cooler days, camping trips, and just getting outside more!

Fresh from the garden

2010-07-21T21:46:00.001-05:00

Hello y’all! Been a while again, I know. Seems like we have not slowed down since before the fourth of July! When things have slowed down a little bit, I have spent my computer time completely veging. We are getting ready to be gone again for a few days, so I thought I better take advantage of a nap to try to get a post put together.

We put a garden in this year. We started out with grand plans. Then the birds ate many of our seeds. No green beans, no Indian corn. No sugar snap peas. Other stuff didn’t cooperate. No carrots. No lettuce. One lonely yet productive ornamental gourd. We have had great success with the rest of the garden. Tomatoes, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Green Bell Peppers, Jalapeño Peppers, pumpkins (mostly for the blossoms.)

Our tomatoes have flourished. We have six plants, and none of us actually eat tomatoes. Yeah… So what in the world did we want them for? Ross loves salsa! Riley even eats tiny amounts of it with him. So we decided to give canning a shot this year. We have so far canned about 18 jars of salsa. WooHoo! Ross can have about 1 jar a month and have a little more to share. We also have grand plans to make some homemade pizza sauce to can. We will see what we come up with there. Ross has had a great deal of helping hands through the whole process. And those hands haven’t really been mine. I hold down the fort and try to prevent any other catastrophes.

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(Make sure to click the view full album to see all the pictures a little bigger.)

We also put up a bunch of sweet corn again this year. We ended up with about 9 dozen ear, 24 bags, that we put in the freezer. Just down the road, 30 minutes away, there is a farm that commercially grows sweet corn. One of their biggest customers is Del Monte. As they harvest the corn, they have to check for insects. If any bugs are found, so much before and after that ear are culled and sold as seconds. That is what we buy. We do not even try to grow our own corn. It just isn’t worth it when we can get this corn so easily! Everyone in the family pitches in and helps with the whole process. The boys were awesome shuckers this year. Braden has been the most interested and involved, being Ross’ shadow through all the steps of everything. Riley, Tanner, and I helped out with shucking the corn by staying out of the way. We swam while the work was being done. :) We did get in on the tail end up the shucking though.

View Full Album

I have also made loaves and loaves of zucchini bread. I bake 4 at a time and usually do 2 batches each time I have the oven going. It is oh, so scrumptious! We have cooked dozens of pumpkin blossoms. Have you ever had any? If not, try ‘em sometime. The process is simple. Dip each flower in egg & milk, dredge in cracker fine crumbs. Fry in butter. MMMmmmm… Delicious. No pics of either of theses. Hmm… Need to get Ross to man the camera for me sometime. I will try to get you some pics to tantalize your taste buds.

Here is a sneak peak at the newest additions to our family…

More details to come.

Whew! Time to get some more zucchini processed. I am making more bread to take with us on our trip up home. If we see you, you might just be able to sample a bite or two.

Until next time,

Playing with Our Cousins…

2010-06-18T14:30:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was so fun! We had company and the boys all had a blast. They love when people come to visit. You know we are so boring! My aunt and uncle from Chicago came down with their grandkids/our cousins from Pheonix for a visit. They were here for 3 1/2 days. We kept busy!

A free picture collage by Smilebox

Our adventures included:

1. A ride on the ferry. You have to drive to the middle of nowhere to ride across the mighty Mississippi River. We got off and then ~~hopped~~ drove right back on to go back across again. The big boys all got soaked by some surprise splashes! That was fun to watch. This was a first for my guys. So easy to take for granted what is in your own “backyard”.

2. Playing on the farm. We then headed on down to visit our friend’s farm and show these guys some southeast MO country life. The kids got to see bullfrog tadpoles, baby chickens, pheasants, and quail. They all had a chance to hold some baby bunnies. Rode the rangers to the river boat ramp and threw lots of sticks in the river! Came back to play on the trampoline and collect some eggs. Then we indulged in some fresh fried southern food-Catfish, hush puppies, zucchini, peppers, and fries with pecan pie for dessert. MMMMmmmm…… Everyone was exhausted when we got back to the house.

3. A day in Cape. We headed to Cape for some more Surprises! Drove the kids crazy not knowing where we were going and what we were doing. =) Riley was a good secret keeper! We went to the nature center that I used to work at. The kids even got to go in back and see the resident snakes. They were all eager to touch one too. We also headed to the new children’s museum that just opened at the end of April. My crew hadn’t even been there yet. We then came back and hit the swimming pool for a little while after supper.

4. Lambert’s. Another night to get stuffed! Caught some rolls, ate good food, enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant. Thanks for suggesting this one Dylan!

5. Just playing. The rest of the time was spent here around our house playing. It is so awesome to see the kids play together! They all get along so well together. It is too bad that we are not able to see each other more often, but we feel fortunate to get to see these guys a time or two each year.

It was a busy few days, but so worth the tired times afterward. I think everyone has recovered now. Can’t wait to do it again!

What we have been doing lately.

2010-06-09T13:52:00.001-05:00

A little of this and a little of that…

T-Ball

Opened the pool and swimming is in full swing.

Visited the Glenn side grandparents and went to the cool Children’s museum in Bloomington, IL

More T-Ball…

Playing outside…

More Swimming…

Our summer is in full swing. How about yours?

An Ever Changing View

2010-05-27T21:15:00.001-05:00

As a little girl, I can remember that one of my favorite things to do was watch the clouds. I would see dogs, horses, whales, giants, all sorts of images. It didn’t matter if we were driving down the road or I was laying in the fresh, green grass, I always found pictures in the sky. Then just when you spot something, it changes. So dynamic. I still love to cloud watch with my guys. This is what we found this week…

You have to get good and comfortable… Relax… Let your mind drift and imagine.

Are you ready??????

Check out the whale’s tail. Ready to make a splash in the sky.

Then there was this dark cloud. Grumpy old man. He needs to cheer up.

There are some days that just are not good for finding cloud shapes. But nonetheless you still need to keep a close watch on these skies too.

You might see some lightening, or end up spying a rainbow.

You might catch a crop duster buzzing by. My guys are always excited about catching a glimpse of these in our backyard skies.

Sometimes, you might just enjoy a view of some beautiful, fluffy, white clouds.

Take a minute or thirty and just sit back and enjoy the ever changing view in the sky around you.

This week the theme for you capture at I Should Be Folding Laundry is Sky. I am sure it will be awesome to see everyone’s sky pics. Check it out when you have a spare moment.

Springtime Shots in our Backyard

2010-05-20T14:55:00.001-05:00

In the months of looking at many blogs trying to get a feel for what is out there and what I want to do here, I have come across a few neat weekly theme posts. I have been thinking I need participate in a few of these “blog carnivals” or “blog hops” sometime. One that I have really enjoyed looking at is at I Should Be Folding Laundry--You Capture. You capture is a weekly challenge/assignment where folks jump in and post links to their blogs showing what they capture for the theme through their own camera lens. This week I decided to finally take the plunge and jump in myself! This week’s You Capture theme is Depth of Field. I have a few favorite images from this spring that fit perfectly into this challenge. Hope you enjoy them too!

This first set of pics were taken when the boys and I headed out back one afternoon in early April. It was a beautiful day. They guys all had a blast. TanMan loved getting to put his new walking skills to work. Great fun was had by all.

The second set of pictures were taken around our backyard. A dogwood blossom. Newly emerging sassafras leaves. A single redbud bloom. I think I need to print this one and put it up on the wall somewhere!

When you are done here head on over and take a look at more you capture images. You might be inspired to jump in yourself.

“Big” Surprise…

2010-05-18T22:34:00.001-05:00

Oh, a too cool opportunity came up last night!!! I never check my email around supper time. Usually I look at it in the afternoon or late evening. Last night, for some unknown reason, I got online right as we finished up dinner. I was showing Ross the pictures that I put in the berry picking post. I had a message from a friend that if we had the evening open, we should come see the _____________________________ that she had at her place. (I can’t tell you yet or it won’t be a surprise for you now.)

So we loaded up the boys and headed out. It takes about 15 minutes to get there, and the boys were excited to be on the go at the spur of the moment. (I am not usually crazy about such impromptu stuff, but it is becoming a habit lately.) Anyway, this is what we saw in her driveway when we arrived!

Oh My Gosh! We were going to see the Budweiser Clydesdales up very close and personal. Marshia has a horse farm and offers overnight boarding to folks traveling through the area, and this day she just happened to have 10 of the Budweiser Clydesdales and the 3 semis that haul them at her place. One of the guys that travels with the team just happened to be out feeding while we were there too. Never dreamed I would ever get to do this. I have seen the Clydesdales a few times before, but never up this close! I am still excited and maybe a little giddy about it myself. Thank you again, Marshia!!!!

Meet Elite. He is one of the two lead horses for the team that travels out of St. Louis. He stood about 6 feet tall at the shoulders. The top of his head was about 8 feet up in the air!!!! WOW! We got to walk in the stall with him and pet him for a minute. That is also the Budweiser Dalmatian that rides up on the wagon. He hung around for a few minutes too. Then the guy, Tony, that was feeding came over to see how things were going. He asked if we would like to have Elite brought out for some more pictures. “Sure. That would be great,” I replied in a hurry. Never did I ever dream that he would hand the lead to me and walk across the barn isle. WOW! (I think I might have said that already.) A Big Thank You to Tony!!!!

These guys are huge! Gianormous! Absolutely awesome! They make our neighbors big percherons seem small in comparison, and Linny and Jordan are no where near being small, they are big draft horses too. Riley was awed by this gentle giant. Elite seemed to love the attention too. He nuzzled all of us. It is awesome to have a giant Clydesdale nose right up next to you. What an incredible experience. Look at Elite’s head. It is almost as long as my 6 year old is tall! Whoa!

Tan Man got a big kick out of trying to offer Elite some hay. He just walked right up to the horse with handfuls of hay and said “Hi, Hi, Hi.” He loved getting to help hold the lead for a while too. He didn’t care that this guy towered over him!

We will definitely remember this adventure for a llllloooonnnnggggg time!

An Impromptu Adventure

2010-05-17T14:07:00.001-05:00

Saturday we had an exciting afternoon. Totally unplanned… Here is a little hint as to what we did. Any guesses? What a mess, huh? Not sure if the shirt will ever clean up.

The boy did come clean. He was sure a mess for a little bit though. Have you figured it out yet?

When we left the house, the boys had no idea what we were going to do. All they knew is that we were going someplace while their dad spent a couple of hours mowing. It drove Riley crazy not knowing. He guessed and guessed and guessed. I finally gave enough hints on our drive that he figured it out. We had a great time going to the Strawberry Patch to pick some berries.

The boys had a blast and were hard workers. Riley couldn’t wait to get started. In no time he had figured out what the perfect strawberry was. He went right to work and hardly stopped until the buckets were filled.

At the beginning the lady said to let them eat as much as they wanted too. Not Riley’s thing. He wanted no part of eating the berries. Braden was not shy about trying them out. He would pick one or two and then take a break to eat a couple.

Tanner gobbled one strawberry up. Appeared to love it. Then wanted no more. He was done. =) He just watched his brothers. Guess he really wanted out to pick his own too. I was not ready for that! One messy shirt was enough for one day with only 2 grown up hands around.

This first picture shows a typical scene while we were at the patch. TanMan watched from his perch in the stroller, Braden watched while stuffing a strawberry in his mouth, and Riley worked hard picking the perfect berries. See that huge one that he found! It filled up his hand! Mmmm, it was yummy!

With Buckets full, it was time to head on back to the house.

Happy Picking! See ya next time!

Ahoy, me Hearties!

2010-05-14T14:37:00.001-05:00

Early Morning Fly By

2010-05-06T14:02:00.001-05:00

What an awesome start to the day. As you might know by now, my guys ALL really, really, really love all things motorized. They will drop whatever they are doing to look at that motorcycle zooming down the road, listen to the tractors in the field, watch daddy on the mower out the window… Whatever it is, they stop and intently watch. This morning was no different.

Ross came in and said, “Guys, come out here for a minute and look at something.” Of course I am not going to be left out. I have to keep up too. Wish I would have grabbed my camera when I first went out the door. How was I to know that we weren’t looking at the cute giant white bunny munching on the grass out by the pool? Who would have guessed at 7:15 in the morning we would see this…

The crop dusters were all out working early this morning! Right before the “yellow plane” sprayed this field just past our property line, the “white plane” was in a field right across the road. Then the second “yellow plane” came in to finish up this field too. Cool, huh?

Now seeing crop dusters at work around here is not unusual at all. In fact, we drive past one of the hangers each time we go to town. They fly over the house almost daily traveling from field to field or banking and turning to make a pass over a nearby field. But to see them at eye level just a few dozen feet away was sooo awesome! Braden has been warped all day. Every toy he picks up becomes a crop duster. Riley had to be pried away when his ride to school pulled up. Tanner was perfectly content to stand on the deck and point up at the sky looking for the planes to come by again.

See anything exciting in your view of the sky lately?

She’s growing!

2010-05-03T13:44:00.001-05:00

Nova will be 3 months old this week! Seems like she has been a part of our family forever… Critters tend to do that here. They wiggle their way right into our hearts. Make you forget what it was like before they arrived. They are members of the family! That might be why we have dwindled our critter numbers down to one. No more rabbits, cows, goats, chickens, turkeys, kitties, fish, or anything else. At least not right now. I am sure one day more critters will inhabit our property again… Not until boys are bigger and can help with the chores involved!

Anyway… Nova is growing… You might remember that cute, wrinkly puppy from a few weeks ago. See those adorable wrinkles again here. Now, just a few short weeks later, she is looking a lot more like a teenager puppy.And acting a lot more like a teenager puppy… Is this a preview of what my 3 boys are going to be down the road? I know it won’t be the same. After all they are NOT labradors, but… Loving family, selective hearing, gallivanting, hunting, sad eyes to say sorry… Hmm… What do you think?

Bringing the outside in

2010-04-29T13:46:00.001-05:00

Uh… Sorry that I disappeared again! I have to make this stop happening! You would think that my days now should be the same as they were in the winter when I posted so much more often, but I think as days have gotten longer, time is slipping away more! I don’t know how that happens. =)

Anyway, I wanted to share some pics of our most recent little big project here. Re-creating usable access to our backyard again. And yes this really was a little BIG project.

We decided the weather had been beautiful and we wanted to open the house up a bit to let some fresh air in. So we literally took this to heart! Yep, there is Ross tearing out the door frame for our french doors on an incredible Friday afternoon with outstanding weather predicted all weekend.

Now some of you might be asking “WHY?!?!” Well… Long story short… We have been here 8 years, replaced these doors once before, found that they have continued to leak, now had kitchen floor damage too. Something had to be done. What better time than the present?

So Ross comes home from work on a Friday afternoon shortly after boys started napping, drags out some tools, and starts to ~~destruct~~ repair our home. He grabs the sawzaw. UH! Kids are napping. “Well, they may not now,” he says with a grin on his face. Hmm… We will see. “If they don’t, that just means more helping hands,” I replied with a grin on my face. AMAZINGLY THEY SLEPT!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least for a little while… Then we had to get Riley from school and wake them up. Yes wake them up with power tools running in the house. All in all… The weekend was an adventure of repairs. Thank goodness Ross is fully capable of handling such a task, and has the patience to include his little helpers when possible. 5 days later we had doors in place and most of the mess cleaned up. Everything went pretty smoothly. Here are a few more of the highlights for you to enjoy.

Everyone is lending a helpful hand…

What a mess!!!!!!!! Braden “WOW! Wow.” Riley, with a serious tone of voice “The holes are getting bigger and bigger!!!”Still more mess before things get better. Let me get these for you dad. Whatcha doin? Whereya goin? You look funny down there dad! Are you done yet? do you need this? Doors in. Boys locked in. Lock on door backwards, so dad locked them in. Ooops! Fix that in the morning.

Sure glad that this is over. It was trying at times. Wouldn’t have been bad if our boys didn’t have those handy man genes. It is in their blood to help with projects! Go for a walk out back? No way! They might have missed out on something! Whew! I did talk the boys into going to watch a parade and see a model train display on Saturday, but I had to do a little coaxing. =) I am glad they are learning fix-it skills early. They will make it in the world.

So… Any exciting little big projects going on with you?

Let’s Get Out!!!

2010-04-11T09:51:00.001-05:00

Did you think we got lost? I don’t know where in the world the past month has gone! I really don’t know! Oh, wait… Swim lessons 3 nights a week, March birthdays, puppy training, school, playing with the boys, dishes, laundry, and sleep. That’s right. Not much extra time left in life right now.

Wild winds kept us inside most of the past week. UGH! The wind was so horrible. During the few times that we did venture out of the house, I thought TanMan was going to blow away! His little newly walking legs were just no match for gusty breezes. We made it though. We even tried to escape to the back side of the house, but that was not really any better. So, on Thursday when we woke up to calmness, we knew it was time to get out! Three boys and a lab needed to get the wiggles and cantankerousness out of their systems.

They were soooo ready. By the time I finally got my shoes on, everyone else was lined up at the door “patiently” waiting. Bikes needed to be ridden. Dump trucks needed to move dirt. T-ball needed practiced. Swings needed occupied. Bird nests needed to be found. Three acres of trees needed explored. Little legs needed to run. Voices needed to be loud. You get the drift.

So we headed out. Tension lessened. Laughter abounded. Boys had a blast! It felt good. I am so glad that we spend much time outside. Imaginations come alive. Moods lighten. It just refreshes everyone.

Hmm… Wonder what they were up to? Looks like they are scheming about something!

TanMan had an absolute blast! He walked those little legs off. He is certainly on the go now. It was just about a week and a half ago that he really started walking much. He had taken a few steps here and there, but had been content to just crawl. Finally he decided that it was time to walk. He already acts like a pro! You know, grass is not exactly level and easy to walk on. Just try to tell him that if you want to!!!! I don’t think he will believe you.

Well… Gotta go catch up with these guys!

A little delayed due to another internet issue! Blah… So much for trying to be productive yesterday!

Crazy.....

2010-04-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

WOW!!!!! Time Flies!

Things around here have been crazy busy lately! Whose idea was all of this? Oh!!!! I guess most of it was MY idea!

1. Get new puppy
2. Swim lessons 3 nights a week for boys
3. Drive 40 minutes to get to swim lessons 3 nights a week
4. Birthday party for boys
5. More swim lessons
6. Lose Internet--suffer withdrawl.
7. Holiday weekend--Dye easter eggs, get ready for easter bunny
8. Riley's spring break next week
9. Ross to Mississippi for a night soon
10. More swim lessons in the midst of all this.

Sometime we have found a little time to sleep and eat along the way. I will be glad when the middle of April will be here. Then we can trade swim lessons for T-Ball! Sure do have a great deal of respect for those who do this kind of schedule all year long! I don't think I could at this point! Wouldn't trade it for the world though.

Meet Nova

2010-03-23T14:13:00.001-05:00

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the household…

Nova, is a 6 week old chocolate lab pup. What an adorable bundle of fur! She has wrinkles on her legs, nose, and face. Those eyes can melt you in a second. She definitely loves to be with people! The family that we got her from had 5 pups and had them all hanging out in their living room every evening. Nothing seems to bother her at all. Her favorite thing to do is curl up on your lap. Little does she realize that there will not be room for 80 pounds of lab on our laps in just a few months.

She has taken to the boys and follows them wherever they go. The other day they had her running all around our six acres. She was one tuckered pup. She did her best to keep those little puppy legs moving so that she could stay right next to Riley and/or Braden. She usually picked which ever boy was leading the way. By the second trip back in the trees, I gave her a bit of a break to ride in the bottom basket of the stroller. She fits right now, but won’t for long. She liked it but at the same time was not content either. She could not see those boys then. Every time she bailed and caught up with the leader of the pack.

The boys are all crazy about her. Everyone keeps a close eye on where Nova is. She and Tanner do have a bit of a love hate relationship right now. As long as things are on his terms all is o.k. If Nova licks and he is not ready, No good. If he pets her, all is great! =)

Riley helped us pick out the name. I had a list of some that I liked and planned to show Ross. Well… Riley decided the other day that he wanted to ask to take the puppy outside for a while while the other boys napped. He had been calling her Anastasia because that is what the girls from the family that had her picked as a temporary name. Well… He came over and said, “Mom, can I take (Long pause)… Can I see your list of names?” Looks at the list. “Nova. Can I get Nova’s leash and take her outside for a while?” I told him we had to talk to dad and decide on a name as a family. He just said that he was calling her Nova until then. Well it stuck. =)

Oh, it will be an entertaining spring.

Guess What We Did?!?!?

2010-03-18T22:33:00.001-05:00

Got a new chocolate lab puppy tonight. She is just 6 weeks old and so adorable. We will post pics and details soon. Still need a name. The boys are already in love. Riley said that it just feels right to have a dog again. =)

A trip to the prehistoric days.

2010-03-18T22:17:00.001-05:00

Good grief! Where in the world is March going?!?!? I sure didn’t intend to leave you all hanging so much this month. Life has just been crazy busy at times. And when it hasn’t been, I have enjoyed doing a little bit of absolutely nothing. I will have to do a little catching up.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL today! Supposed to be awesome again tomorrow. Boys and I are planning to go outside. A lot! Fresh air is great for the soul. It refreshes and relaxes. It wears boys out. Helps them sleep. Fresh air is so important after being cooped up for the winter. Outdoor adventures are waiting.

Now let’s tackle first things first… Our recent visit to prehistoric times. We took a trip to the Cretaceous and the Jurassic time periods last weekend. It was awesome! The St. Louis Science Center has had a big temporary display—Dinosaurs Unearthed—that will be gone at the end of this month. We had to go. We invited our neighbor, Amy, along for the adventure. Loaded up and headed north.

Riley was super, super, super excited. Dinosaurs are his big thing right now! He is all about learning whatever he can about them… When time period they were from, what they ate, how they looked. He is a sponge. Right now he says he wants to be paleontologist so that he can figure out if troodons have feathers on their heads and discover some fossils of dinosaur skin. He thought it was awesome to see a skeleton that had been discovered by a 12 year old girl about 150 years ago. He has big ambitions.

Braden always loves whatever his big brother loves. However he wasn’t so sure about this adventure. Those dinosaurs just looked, sounded, and acted soooooo real! He wasn’t convinced that they were just giant toys. As long as he could cling to one of us, he was o.k. to get a little close, but not too close. I was proud of him to just take it in stride, get us to protect him, and enjoy the dinosaurs from a distance. He did like the “teeny tiny ones.” (Picture a toddler bending over reaching to the floor with his pointer fingers almost touching as he quietly says “teeny tiny ones.”) “Teeny tiny” is his favorite description right now. Should we get a new dog? “Yes, A teeny tiny one.” Anyway, this little baby stegosaurus was Braden’s favorite. He didn’t mind getting close to it as long as that momma stegosaurus right next to it did not move.

Ross told Riley to show his tough guy pose. Every picture after that was tough guy Riley. Gotta be tough in the land of dinosaurs. This parasaurolophus was one of my favorites in the exhibit. The dinosaurs were animated and had rubber-like skin with textures. Looked really cool and realistic. We could have stayed in there a long time, but knew we needed to go see the rest of the science center too. Along the way Riley pointed out several dinos he knew. I said something about “those big T-Rexes” and Riley said “Those are allosaurus mom. They have three toes on their front legs. T-Rexes only have two toes.” Yeah, I knew that!

It was a great time. Riley is going to have a full month of Dinosaurs. His birthday party is at the end of this month. Theme? Dinosaurs!!!! A roaring good time will be had by all.

Old Days Adventure

2010-03-07T22:25:00.001-06:00

You will never believe what we did today!!!!! It was quite the adventure, that is for sure. Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-grandma Pogue all came down for the weekend. Mom and I did our usual trips to town to get some shopping time in. When we left today, Grandpa said “I can watch the boys.” O.k. Sounds great, they will like that better than girly shopping time. So off we went. (No this was NOT the wild adventure.) You would never guess what we saw when we pulled back in the driveway a couple of hours later!!!!!

Way back in the trees we saw the crew. We had to chuckle a great deal and say “Oh wow!” Wanna see?

Everyone was back in the trees. They had Great-grandma back there too! 83 years old and traipsing around our six acres. Or at least being chauffeured around the property. Ross had the tractor out today to get some mowing done after he and dad cleaned up some limbs that were still down from the ice storm last winter. That led to taking they boys for rides up and down the driveway. His brain is always spinning… Full of ideas of all kinds… Great-grandma always talks about how she would love to go walk back there to see those trees, but she is not able to do that. So in the past he has taken her in our little S-10. Today he saw the neighbor’s wagon and thought to do this. It made her day!!!!!!

The old days adventure comes from the fact that there were 4 generations being pulled in an old wooden wagon by an antique tractor. How did they get Great-grandma in? Hmm… Not really sure. Haven’t asked at this point. ;) All we know is that she was loving the ride. I saw her grinning from ear to ear.

At this point I think I told her she was going to be famous. “What???” she asked. “I am putting this on the blog,” I replied. =)

The boys were all having a great time too. Riley and Braden love to do stuff like this. They are always up for an adventure.

But we are not done yet! There is more. For anyone who has not been to our place, The Trees is a 3 acre area at the back of our property. You have to go through an old pasture, past the old barn and barn lot, and into the little “woods.” Those of you who know my mom, also know that she is not all that keen to experience too much nature up too close and personal. She has come a long way over the years, but still prefers the civilized mowed yard space over more wild spaces. Yes, we even got my mom in the wagon to take a lap around the tree trails. And, of course TanMan has to get in on the action. I snapped a couple pictures and climbed up in the back of the wagon. Off we went through the tall, green pines.

Uh, Oh!!!!!! We are experiencing a little setback. We had to stop in the very back corner. As far away from the barn or house as you can get, we stopped. The tractor stopped, as in quit going. Putt, Putt, Putt, sputter, sputter, nothing! “OOPS!!!” says our driver. “I’ll be right back. I know what that means.” And he walks off. As he passed me I heard some muttering and mumbling. Something about “this always happens way back here as far from the barn as I can be.” Hmmm… Experience. Everyone sits in the wagon patiently waiting for his return. Great-grandma is laughing. Braden could take no more. We lost him many yards back. Poor tuckered guy. Riley is just patiently waiting. He has seen this before. Even happened to him on his little 4-wheeler. TanMan is just loving being with everyone and taking a ride, even if the wagon is not moving now. Check out that wild hair! Remember, the wagon is not moving right now!

Ross returns… Gas can in hand! It is full. Now our minor malfunction will be fixed and we will be ready to roll again. Look at that grin. He takes these times in stride. He told me this evening this must have happened a half dozen times before. You would think he would learn his lesson. =) He did check the fuel level before he fired up the old Case again. Everyone was perched in the wagon patiently waiting. Not like anyone was in any hurry to walk all the way back to the house.

We did make it back after the refueling stop. On the way back, we had rearranged seating a little. Great-grandma told me, “This has been so much fun! But I don’t know how I am going to get down from here.” I just replied, “The reverse of how you got in. You climb down.” Now mind you, I still didn’t know how they got her in. Just so you know, we documented the dismount from the wagon. Truck ramps cannot only be used to load and unload ATV’s, they can be a ramp for 80+ year old adventurous ladies to climb in old wagons. Great-grandma was not harmed in the making of this adventure. She came out in one piece. I imagine she might talk about her adventure for a day or two. We all had a good time.

Moving Days…

2010-02-28T21:41:00.001-06:00

What a beautiful weekend! Sunshine, temp was right around 50 degrees all weekend, and everyone is feeling better. Yeah! We spent the whole weekend around the house and got a lot done. Moving was our theme… (No, we are not moving to another house!!!) Just moving stuff around here.

The boys spent a good portion of Saturday hanging out in the front yard while their dad worked on trimming up some trees. Still recovering the yard from the ice storm last winter. Riley and Braden were pretty engrossed in “the dirt hole”. They hadn’t been able to play out there much all winter. The dirt hole is our version of a sandbox. When you live where there is sandy soil, who needs to build an actual sandbox, the whole yard is our sandbox. This just happens to be a permanent location that is disturbed often enough to keep any grass from growing back. First on the moving list… Branches. Trimmed up our last lone Bradford Pear tree. We spared it from being toppled another year to see if it fills back in a little.

Next on the list… Picnic table. Ross’ dad built the boys a little picnic table while he was here a few weeks ago. We have a plastic picnic table, but it lives in the living room. About 5 years ago we got it and intended to put it outside. It is just too great of a spot for the boys inside though. So we talked grandpa into building a wooden one to put outside. I think it will be a hot spot this summer. =) Don’t mind the fact that the boys look less than thrilled… They were just tired of their mom making them sit there to get a picture of both of them looking at the camera. It is moments like these that I wish I had a pause button for each of them.

Move number 3… I am soooooooooo happy about this one. The swingset has a new home! I was kind of surprised when Ross started in on this move today. It is now in the front yard!!!!! YEAH!!!!! It used to live on the concrete next to our screen room. I tried to prod politely for a long time that it needed to move. I guess good things do come to those who wait. At least that is what Ross tells me all the time. I just don’t like to have to wait too long. =)

We finished off the weekend with a fire. Riley worked hard Saturday to load up his wagon with sticks and firewood so that we could cook hotdogs. He even cooked for me. Makes us want to go camping. Time to start getting the gear gathered and put back in the little trailer. Nicer days are just around the calendar. More and more time to be spent outside! We are ready, are you?

Blah!

2010-02-24T20:53:00.003-06:00

That sums up the general feeling around our house lately!!!!

BLAH!

We all battled a stomach virus over the weekend...

Blah!

It was a beautiful day Sunday, but we had no energy. Still recovering then.

Blah!

Everyone back to normal Monday, until we discovered Riley was getting strep.

Blah!

Tuesday took Riley to the doctor to confirm that he has strep.

Blah!

Wednesday Riley had to miss his kindergarten field trip because he has strep.

Blah!

Yet we are still smiling anyway. Here is looking to brighter days ahead!!!!!!!

Mixed Emotions…

2010-02-18T14:50:00.002-06:00

I know it has been a few days. Please excuse the absence. It has been a crazy week or so…

February 11th—TanMan turned one!!!! Where in the world does time go? Seems like just last week we were bringing him home! Oh, how he has grown and changed and fit into our family so perfectly. Who would have guessed that we could love him soooo much! His brothers are certainly at the top of his list of admirers. Along with his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors down the drive, friends down the road, the little ladies at the grocery store, you name it. His smile will hook anyone in a heartbeat. Just look at it, aren’t you hooked too?

February 12th-15th—Headed north. We spent last weekend in IL to celebrate TanMan’s 1st birthday. It was a good time!

He loved smashing his cupcake to smithereens! Until he discovered how yummy it was, then he wanted it back on the highchair tray. “Hey, that is yummy! Give me some more daddy!”

Braden didn’t care what was going on, at least once he got his cupcake! Talk about some intent concentration to make it disappear… Riley, our non-cake eater, was tickled to share TanMan’s birthday with a customized nutty bar. Grandma made it into a number one in honor of the birthday boy.

Ah, such simple pleasures… Cupcakes and nutty bars.

Ross, our personal cake master, did the honors of decorating Grandma Pogue’s fresh baked cupcakes. I think he did an awesome job. (I might be a little bit partial though.) Love the number one, and of course the initials. A road is a perfect addition for any of our motor head boys. They have all had the built in motor noise from an early age. After thought—could have done paper cars on toothpicks to put on the road. Oh Well, hindsight is 20/20. There is always next time. I think more cakes are on the horizon. Two more b-day’s in March. Be on the lookout for trains and dinosaurs.

February 17th—Our loss… Willow died today. We had her for 5 short months. It was a terrible accident, but she was hit by a car and didn’t make it. Crazy Chocolate Lab will be missed! She brought a lot of smiles to our faces while she was with us. Now she joins Keno and KittyKat up in heaven. Riley is glad that Keno and Kitty will be able to help take care of her. =) Love you Willow Dog!!!!!

Sure hope things calm down a little over the next couple of weeks. I need a break!

Catch ‘ya again soon!

Guys in the Ktichen

2010-02-08T21:12:00.004-06:00

We just made it through another cold, damp weekend in southeat Missouri. We had another round of snow Friday night that melted pretty quickly Saturday morning leaving everything nice and mucky. So... What do you do with bored boys? Bake a cake.

Braden was as eager as could be to help any way that he could. He found a permanent perch on a chair by the stove. Daddy was sure brave to give him the bag of cake mix! Boy did he take his job seriously though.

Yep, it's good. Stamp of an almost 3 year old's approval.

Not a big fan of cake, Riley decided to just hang out on the couch and read a magazine. He is amazing us with his reading right now. I thought I would have to help him a lot, but nope... He didn't need me. I hear him reading words like hover, feathers, and distances! My mouth might have dropped open a couple of times in amazement. Yep, I am a proud parent to a reading Kindergartener.

"Can I help? You can't say no to these baby blues! And it is my birthday cake you are practicing to make, dad."

The finished product... A cheetos orange volkswagon beetle. Watch out Ross, TanMan is going to get it!

I think they have watched too many episodes of Cake Boss. The cake was baked in a special (cast iron) pan, knives carved just oh so carefully, and the hair dryer came out to perfect the icing. But they are sure proud of their creation.

Snow Construction Crew

2010-02-04T20:22:00.005-06:00

We still have snow on the ground from last Saturday. Doesn't usually last this long around here. I know it will be very short lived now. It is raining here tonight, that doesn't mix well with snow. I still have a big bowl of snow in the freezer though. That will be a fun surprise for the boys in a few days when the snow is long gone from the ground around us.

The boys certainly had a great time with the snow last weekend. I could post for days with all the pics I took! Check out my construction crew...

He did not have time to partake in such antics as ridng in a kayak behind the 3-wheeler today....

By Golly, there was work to be done! Look at all this snow that needs to be moved. Gotta be able to get mom's van out!

Hmm.... What is Braden doing now? I might need to go check that out.

Yeah, I will just stay here and keep dad company. Gotta take advantage while the gettins good. You guys have fun though.

Watcha doin? Need a little help?

Two machines are better than one.

Yep, this is fun.

Escape from Reality: Foggy Dawn

2010-02-01T20:21:00.005-06:00

WOW!!!! What a beautiful sight. The past two mornings we were greeted with an awesome winter scene. Hoarfrost. Feathery frost crystals formed on everything! Once again on Sunday, I took advantage of a weekend morning with Ross home to watch the boys and bundled up to head outside and enjoy the peacefulness of the morning. Camera in hand and Willow at my heals we set off. You can see above the sight that awaited right outside the door.

Ambling around our little patch of trees showed that beauty can be seen everywhere. This "weed" took on a new appearance covered in frost. It looked like a beautiful crystal covered jewel. Pine trees wore coats of white fur. The starkness of a typical winter morning had disappeared for a few hours.

The morning was quiet... Pristine... Tranquil... Although I don't make it out for too many sunrises, It certainly is refreshing every now and then. This was a day that would have been wonderful to have a life remote with a pause button. =)

Ready to Go Kayaking?!?!

2010-01-30T20:59:00.007-06:00

It snowed and snowed and snowed last night! We woke up to around 5-6 inches of snow. That is a lot for this area. It is awesome! I miss getting snow like this each winter. I love to get outside and enjoy it. In fact once I woke up and started functioning a little bit, I went out by myself to take in the undisturbed beauty of fresh fallen snow. Ah! We have six acres, with about half of that planted in trees that are right at 6 years old now. It is such a cool place to just go explore.

I took my time. Remember, I stay home with my guys. I don't get much time by myself. Any time I get I try to take full advantage of. However I knew that my boys were patiently waiting for me to come back to help them bundle up for their turn, so I came back sooner than later.

We got Riley and Braden geared up and ready to go. TanMan got to stay inside with grandpa so that the rest of us could play! I'm not so sure that he thought this was such a good idea. He sure watched out the widow to check out everything going on out where we were. Next year there is absolutely NO WAY we will be able to get away with this!!!

Out we went. Jumped in some snow drifts. One in front of the house was up to Riley's waist!!! Threw some snow (couldn't really make good snowballs.) Tromped down the driveway to see how much it drifted. Pulled boys on the sled for a while. This was Braden's preferred method of travel. His little legs just didn't go in the 5 inches of snow. Watched Willow romp all over! She had a blast and is one pooped pup tonight.

Got the three wheeler out to pull the sled around for the boys. Decided it might be more fun to go kayaking instead! Yeah, I know there is 5+ inches of snow all over southeast Missouri and the water is colder than cold, but where there is a will there is a way! Kayak + three-wheeler = GREAT FUN!

After snapping a bunch of pics for posterity, I joined the ride up and down the drive. I mean after all, if you are going to be crazy enough to kayak in the snow, might as well let the whole world watch too. Next time you think it is too cold out to do some of your favorite outdoor activities, try thinking outside the box a little. You might get a few laughs and have a ton of fun!

Grab the Tent!

2010-01-29T20:58:00.007-06:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of our third day without power during the Ice Storm 2009 in southeast Missouri. Yes I remember that well... 9 months pregnant, 2 young boys, very cold temps, and no power in an all electric heated/appliances house. We were only without power for 9 days! Did I mention that I was just a couple of weeks away from greeting TanMan into the world? Yeah... Never to be forgotten. Obviously we weathered through just fine, thanks to our family survival skills (otherwise known as having as many camping gadgets as possible.)

It was an incredible sight. A once in a lifetime experience. (At least I hope.)
Mother Nature has also decided to bless us with a deja vu moment again this year. "Winter Storm of 2010." Predicted up to 7 inches of snow. Whew! Batten down the hatches. (After being this far south for 14 years, I still have a tough time getting used to how a little snow can have a big impact.) School's out! Not a snowflake to be seen this morning at 6:00 when the call came from the school, but still a snow day "due to the approaching storm." By noon there was starting to be some accumulation, and still more is anticipated through the night. We will see what morning finally brings. The boys will be sooooo excited to get outside to play for a while. I will be so excited to get them out of my hair, I mean out of the house for a while. You know, excited for them to get to play in the snow...

O.k. What about the tent?

What better thing to do on a snowless snowday morning than set up camp!?!?! Watch and wait, the snow will come. In the meantime... We grabbed the teepee and a tunnel. The entertainment began. Boys were occupied for a good while. TanMan was not sure what to think about his brothers disappearing into the tunnel at first. Made him fuss and cry til they came back out. He did hang out in the teepee for a while and finally got brave enough to go through the tunnel over and over and over.

The teepee and tunnel are put away now. All good things must come to an end. Especially when tunnels stand in the air and knock brothers over causing tears. OOPS! Tomorrow will bring new laughs and new tears.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

2010-01-27T13:37:00.003-06:00

What a mess!!!!!

Who did this? Hmm... Bet I can guess!

The face of innocence in this incident...

WILLOW

First Rabbit Hunt for My Guys

2010-01-26T21:35:00.003-06:00

Back In Time...
December 5, 2009

The big guys all decided it was a perfect day to get outside for a little while. I am all for that! Nothing like some good fresh air to wear a couple of youngsters out. Ross has been having the itch to do a little more hunting whenever he gets a chance. So....

They all 3 geared up for the big hunt. We have 6 acres with an abundance of rabbits hiding out all over the property. Each guy grabbed a gun. Ross had the real deal. Riley his bb rifle. Braden (not to be left out in any way) carried his bright orange toy pistol complete with case. TanMan waved bye-bye (he is still content to stay in the house with me at this point) and off they went into the wild blue yonder of our backyard.

After tromping around for a little while.... SUCCESS!

All three guys were pretty pleased. Riley and Braden were both pretty excited and proud of their take! Ross was telling some of the guys he works with about taking the boys hunting and they were asking him if he had a good rabbit dog. Ross' reply... "No, I have a 5 & 2 year old stomping on the fescue. That works just fine."

They have all been a couple of more times since, but haven't had the beginer's luck that they did this day. This is just the beginning! Two of the three boys are already hooked on hunting.

Color in the Sky

2010-01-24T21:45:00.007-06:00

I love rainbows! They brighten up the grayest of days. They add a pop of color to a winter scene. Today a brilliant rainbow crossed our backyard for a few minutes as the sun peeked out during a steady rain. What a nice way to end a rainy, gray weekend.

Look What He Can Do Now!

2010-01-23T20:44:00.002-06:00

The other day I noticed that TanMan was laying up on top of the toy trunk in the living room.
Wasn't long before I saw him doing this...

Yep standing to see out the window. Guess I shouldn't have helped him see his daddy the other night!

His brothers all decided to join in.
He really didn't want that.
Tried to push them off.
Didn't work, they are bigger.
Battles to be won a little later TanMan.

Back In Time: Snow Days

2010-01-21T20:57:00.012-06:00

The temps have been awesome here the past few days! These mid and upper 50's are sure a welcome improvement from the single digits earlier this month. I am getting antsy. Antsy to get outside more. Antsy to get boys out to run off more energy. Antsy to go camping or whatever the day might bring.

Since we have to wait a bit longer to do those things very often, I thought I would go back in time and share some adventures from the past year or so. Let's go back to our Christmas trip to Illinois a few weeks ago...

It isn't all that often that my guys get a chance to play in the snow. We got to go sledding on the hill that thier great-grandpa, grandpa, and myself all sledded on when we were younger. How cool to see a fourth generation enjoying that same hill.

Big or small they all like to have a turn.

Trudging up the hill for another ride down the slope. Brotherly love is expressed in so many ways. I love to see teamwork shine through.

What a great group of boys! What fun memories.

What a surprise to myself! ;)

2010-01-18T11:58:00.002-06:00

Well today I decided to jump into the era of 2010 and start a blog. And what do you know, looks like I had this very same thought almost 2 1/2 years ago too!!!!! As I logged in to blogger with my google account (that I don't use very often since I have a couple of other emails too), I discovered that I already had a blog called the growing Glenn's.

Well... As fitting as that title was, we now have another addition to the family since TanMan was born last February, I decided that this one is a more fitting title for our life's adventures. I hope that I might actually make a better attempt to post here and share all the crazy fun that we have. Ready for the trek?