Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Not for the Squeamish

I put this in a separate post partly because it has nothing to do with the other, but also because it may not be suitable for some children.

I wanted to post it, however, because this is just not something you see everyday, LOL!


This possum managed to get into our well house (how, we can't figure out), climb UP on the BREAKER BOX and electrocute himself. ??? His feet were wet from the dew outside on the grass. He wasn't full grown. This was the strangest thing (next to being chased by a "herd" of skunks) that I've ever witnessed. He "arched" all the way across....from his left front paw to his back right paw. Ewwwww!!!!!!!!!

Tonight we went to see Roo Girl at church camp (Arkansas Baptist Assembly Grounds in Siloam Springs). I took one of her friends to visit her (was a surprise). We normally stay for the worship service, but I had fought a headache all day and I've been to the services before....an hour of screaming followed by a 30 minute sermon. Add to that the fact that it stormed right before worship and you are putting umpteen thousand wet, sweaty kids in an enclosed building for an hour and a half!!!

Most recently I've been trying to juggle the finances while hunting down the books we need for this fast approaching school year. This is quite time consuming. I've also been working out schedules/etc. OH! I've also been CANNING....very new for me. I've canned sweet pickles, piccalilli, and tonight it was "End of the Garden Pickles." I'm going to do salsa next and hopefully some spaghetti sauce as well. I've blanched and frozen quite a bit of green beans (thanks to a friend who went out of town and needed someone to pick her garden!). I still have squash and zucchini coming out my ears. The okra and corn are just starting to make. Hopefully I will have a good fall garden as well, although it's entirely new to me and I'm searching for foods I can plant and harvest in fall. Any suggestions? All advice welcome. :0)

The Ballerina finished her first baby quilt yesterday and is starting on an Americana pillow. These are items she will be showing in the fair.

Junior went to a goat workshop last night for 4H. Hopefully it will help her in showmanship with her goat, who is quite unruly.

The Benton County Fair is coming up soon and we are VERY BUSY trying to make sure we are ready. This is our first year to show and there's a lot more to it than you realize!!! I'll be entering some of my canned goods, too.

Roo Girl will be showing a goat as well, although she just has that natural touch with most any animal, so I'm sure she'll be great. Hope as many of you as can will come to the fair and watch! :0)

VBS is coming up next week...Sunday thru Thursday nights from 6:30-8:30 (I think). Cactus Canyon....YEEEHHAAAWWWW! That's pretty much par for our church, LOL. We are almost all farmers. We've got country attire and decor galore! Bring the kiddos if you can!

I'll post again soon.....haven't been remembering to take many pics! :0P

We're Still Alive!!!

Where have we been???
I know, I know....it's been forever since I posted. I'm sorry!!! Summer has been VERY busy. So, hopefully you will forgive me after getting this "update" post. :0)
Soon after the 4th of July celebrations were past, we took a much needed camping trip with just the fam. We spent the first few days at Roaring River State Park in Missouri. This is our ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE campground.

It's shaded, quiet (except the horn blowing in the early morning to signal the release of the fish), and BEAUTIFUL! One drawback....the swimming isn't great for the kiddos...they often come out of the water near hypothermia. It also isn't really very deep....which, of course, the older kids don't like. They also have a fish hatchery there. Yes...hatchery. To me, this seems to take the sport out of fishing. You go there, buy your license to fish and buy a 1 or 2 day permit with a 100% guarantee of catching a fish (usually 2 per person). They keep these fish in different tanks, where people come and feed them ALL DAY LONG.

Like Us. :0)

Then, at night...as we watched, someone comes and takes the fish out of the bottom tank and puts them in a transport of sorts.

Some fishermen come check out tomorrow's catch.

From this, the fish are released into a holding area in the river. At 6am, the horn sounds, the fishermen are ready (did I mention it's fly fishing?) and the gates are opened for the poor little fishies to swim towards their doom. They have been starved all night, so they swim so ignorantly straight to all those delicious looking flies, etc.
Now...where is the sport in that? Whatever happened to digging up worms and squishing them on your hook, casting out your line, then just sitting and waiting...watching that little orange bobber and enjoying the sounds of nature and the warm summer breeze? Now THAT'S fishing!!! ;o)
This is where you get the fish food.
Yummy fish food. It takes a lot of scrubbing to get that smell off your hands. The girls were curious as to why I wasn't feeding the fish this time. I "had pictures to take." LOL!

Since it rained all day the first day we got there it was too cool to swim. We ventured out (with the little dog, too!) and found a nice little playground near the hatchery. The girls are racing towards the swings as they come into view. :0) Guess who won?
As we did some more walking and sight-seeing I noticed that every single one of my children had to make sure and traipse through this giant puddle formed by the day's rain, even my near-13-year-old. What is so irresistable about those puddles? LOL

Walking back. Aren't they adorable?

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Independence Day

Independence Day
Family, Friends, Fun, and FOOD!!!


The day started with driving over the river and through the woods to hubby's Dad's house. It's become an annual tradition to meet there where the kids can swim, the adults can visit, and we all eat until we are so stuffed we can't move! (Our 4th of July menu ALWAYS includes shrimp and crab legs....better than any restaurant could attempt!!!) -oh, side note- the rings on Junior's eyes were from her goggles! We didn't beat her up. LOL :0)

Hubby was in charge of the camera this trip as I was too busy talking. (Who, me??? :0P )
This is a few of the family and friends that were there.
Hubby's Dad....bet ya couldn't tell, huh? LOL!

Then there's the drive back home in which all 3 kids sleep most of the way (all that swimming and eating wears them out, LOL!).
Once back home we relax and get ready to set off fireworks. Normally we go visit with some friends in our local town and watch the firework show there, but this year we were just too tired and desired a more personal time. The girls really enjoyed it.
DH (dearhubby) can make some beautiful sky shows as well. (see below ;o) ) We actually had a nice show since we could see the neighbors, a bit of the local town's (7 miles away), and some from the casino (10-12 miles away). Good thing it was such a clear night! :0)
I hope everyone had a happy 4th!!!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

New Great Site for "New" Moms or Moms-to-Be!

As most of my close friends know, I can no longer have children. However, I know many of you still can and are (and I very much love cuddling the little buggers and then handing them back to you when they cry! :0P ). This is an incredible opportunity for those of you with minimal computer skills (like myself) and family/friends that are far away. It stinks not to be able to hold those babies anytime you want, trust me, I know. This is the next best thing. The ability to hold a conversation and have your baby in your arms, all visible to whomever you choose.....right at your fingertips! You can even store those recorded conversations totally securely for long periods of time....for FREE! You can make it private or public, it is your choice. I wish they'd had this type of thing when my girls were babies. This is an incredible opportunity. Check it out!
New Baby Tool Kit


NewBaby.com is the online video resource for moms featuring thousands of mom generated videos, product Vcasts and Expert solutions segments. It's an online community where moms can learn, share and create videos in a safe, secure and Free environment. Come Vlog with us at NewBaby.com ( www.newbaby.com )!
You will find mom produced videos as well as corporate product infomercials and expert solution Vcasts. For those of you with the desire to Vlog, it's easy to do with your web cam or Flip camera and fun too! My favorite feature of Newbaby.com is the Family Video Gallery. Here you can upload videos and choose to mark them "private" or "public" and share them with select friends and family. Imagine! You can now sit with your child in front of a web cam, tape a conversation and share it with Grandma on another coast and store it for a long time in a safe, secure place for FREE! You can also customize our video widget and have your videos feed into your Blog. (How awesome is that???)
And of course, there's always free stuff involved!!! I love hooking my friends up with free stuff! All you have to do is register on the site and set up your profile. It's that easy!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Flubber Fun!

Flubber....what is it, you ask? A mix between yak, rubber, and play-do! :0) The kids love it, and it's not messy at all. Best of all, you get a science experiment out of it, as they make it themselves! Great hours of fun for those afternoons that are just too hot/humid to be outside!



I would like to thank Scribbit for supplying us with such fun! Simply click on her link for the recipe....it's very simple and quick, instant gratification. You will most likely have all of the 4 ingredients in your home! (glue, borax, warm water, food coloring)
Have fun!