Uncle Axel Donut

Axel and Maddy came this past (long) weekend. It has been a long time since the kids and I have seen them. It brought back a couple memories. Axel has been to Idaho to visit us a number of times. First in 2003 with Betsy and her family when we went to Yellowstone. That seems like it was just yesterday (for us older folks). You can notice the poor digital quality in the first picture. Axel is the one in the middle on the top row with the red shirt. He was just a little kid. Then he came in 2004 for Thanksgiving dinner. I think Hannah can remember the ride up. I wasn't there but I heard about it. Something about Jake's truck and his mom, brother, and sister. Also Copper was there if I remember right. This was a "different" but fun Thanksgiving.Then Axel in the summer of 2005, the independent stage. Jake wouldn't let him ride four-wheeler without the helmet. In fact, we bought this helmet just for him. He wasn't too pleased about that rule. Next, Axel came in the summer of 2006 again. After promising the previous year that he wouldn't help Jake again. He came out of a kind heart (and sweet parents) after I had my accident and Katanya was premature. He was a huge help that summer. I noted a small change. He had gotten a little taller.Finally, the summer of 2008. Axel isn't a kid anymore. I was shocked to see how much he had grown up and what five years can do. (P.S. A brownie point, Axel (and Maddy) were a big help. They did dishes several times and Axel helped Jake out around the "farm". Maddy was a great aunt and played very cheerfully with the kids.)
Although, after all this time, Kirsten still remembers his nickname for her Uncle. I don't think it will ever be forgotten. (Play)

Cruz altered it this year and stuck "stinky" in front of it. Kirsten countered it by saying "pretty". I think she wanted to stay on Axel's good side.

men are from mars....

I'm going to take you back to Mother's Day. Jake bought me a cultivator. When I asked what it was for and why he said " You are going to love this. It will save you so much time."

Skip ahead three weeks. One Saturday morning he got it out and put it together. I go out ask him to show me how it works. As he is tilling he mutters "This is crap. This will never work for what I need it to."

A week later he takes it back to Lowes, returns it and gets his money back. That was the end of that.

Now fast forward again to last Friday. I am still struggling with a gift idea for Jake. I ask him if there is anything he wants or needs? These are his words. "The cultivator that I want is on sale at C-A-L Ranch. I really need it for the job I'm working on. BUT.... I don't want that for my birthday. I'm tired of getting work stuff for gifts."

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I'm still (sorta) smiling and shaking my head.

One year older and wiser too?

Jake turned the BIG "32" on Sunday. How many blows did it take him to blow out 32 candles? TWO!

Now, we all know that Jake is probably the hardest person I know to buy for. So this year it took me a little longer to think of a gift. So obviously the day before I finally remembered some hinting he had done several months before about a color printer he wanted. Even then I wouldn't know the correct model he wanted. So it was a gift he gets too order himself. At least that way he won't have to take it back. Kirsten on the otherhand went thru three stores to find the perfect gift. And she found a pretty good one too...... I guess she knows her dad good enough.

Hard Headed

Take a look at the first picture. Do you see the missing purple hair? The big bald spot where normally her part is? Can you take a guess what happened? No it wasn't scissors nor had anything to do with scissors. It wasn't Katanya either (lately hair pulling has been her forte). It was self inflicted if you are wondering.... Now take a look at the toy. By the time I got the picture, that was only half of the hair. It was late last night and the kids were playing trucks while I worked on entering all of last year's invoices into the new QuickBooks so we can finish our taxes. Let me clarify, the kids were in the living room and I was at the Bar. We were in the same room. So, Kirsten some how got her hair stuck in the wheels. Now instead of saying "Mom, can you help me?" She just yanked and pulled til it came free. Not an "ouch" or any mutter of discomfort. Then she came over and said "Look mom, it's my hair." You can imagine the rest from there.
So after inspecting the damages and calming Kirsten down (She freaked from my reaction....it was a lot of hair!!!!) It's not so bad after all. It's a good thing that she has the Kerksiek gene for hair and she has a lot of it!!!!
So, we changed her part and all is good. What isn't showing isn't knowing.

My Week in a Nutshell

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my week. Other than this is how I felt by the time Friday came around. To stick my head in a hole and hide.

I'm tired of the goats being on the top of the blog and this week has been nothing but busy and crazy so I really don't have much to blog either. Although what I realized this week was that being a single parent(the second time around, since I have been a "real" single mother before) with three kids almost 6 and under is a tough job. McKay's in Utah and I have noticed that she is such a big help when she is home. I think I take a lot of that for granted. I think my kids are going thru a phase of teasing and whining and that just doesn't go very far here. Anyway, back to my work. There are the kids. Then you have to add, taking care of over 10,000 trees and shrubs and making sure the sprinklers are working and watering all of the sections. Then add a business and a phone line that when ever it rings your kids decide that is the time to start teasing and yelling. Not done, then you have to add the driver that is working and getting him invoices or directions or whatever he needs. And on top of this I am entering in all the checkbook, credit card, and invoices for last year so we can turn in the taxes and get our refund and stimilus check back. What a nightmare. Then I'm in the middle of working on my own yard. It's in need of a little landscaping itself. Also, don't forget the animals, but I won't go there. By the time Friday rolled around, I was ready to leave for the weekend and leave Jake with the kids.

Now reality hits in and we all know that would never happen. Although come to think of it, I have never gone anywhere for more than a couple hours or so without the kids by myself. Jake and I have had a few nights away (the marathon this year).

P.S. Now I realize Jake is not off having fun, he is working all daylight hours. But there is something to a nice full long night of sleep that makes you handle a day better.

Fanny the Nanny (goat)

I always, emphasis on "always" get sick when Jake is gone. I don't know why that is, but it's not very much fun. So while my day has been very lazy and the kids have watched way too much TV today, I'll hurry up and finish my goat saga from last week.

We were missing the big goat. Her name is not Franny, but maybe it will be now. She's not a very nice goat. I really don't like her that much either. I'm not sure to this day why I really thought to get goats, other than it was a quick fix. Didn't think that one thru.

So (last) Sunday morning, around 5 a.m. I hear a goat bleating. As I lay in bed I noticed how loud it was. I got up and went to the window to listen. It was too loud. I figured the big goat had come back to the smaller one. I woke Jake up and told him if I'm not back in a half hour to come find me. I'm not sure if I was really thinking clearly other than that goat had caused us a lot of grief. So I get on the four wheeler and grab the lasso (not really awake and thinking) and go off to where the little goat was. Lo and behold, there is Franny. Looking at me like she wanted to run into the barley fields again. There was no way I was going to let her get past me. As 20 minutes go by I am chasing this stupid animal on the four wheeler thinking my neighbor is really going to HATE me now and wondering why Jake hasn't come out yet.

Finally after what seemed like an never ending and pointless scenario, Jake shows up. In the back of his mind he thought he would find me asleep. Little did he know, how much adrenaline can keep a person awake. So now both of us are chasing this nanny. Not really knowing how we are going to corner it. Finally it ran over to the dirt piles. It was trapped. At this point, Jake and I are off the four wheelers and it was now or never. Franny ran under the wheel loader and Jake grabbed her leg. I ran around to the other side and leashed the beast. The chase was over. I really would have loved pictures or even better footage of this event. I felt like an idiot.

Although, I was pretty sad I never got the chance to try to lasso the critter. Did I mention that Jake doesn't know how to lasso? Someones gotta teach this country boy a lesson. : )

Here's your sign

Tuesday: I'm getting ready to leave for Utah when the county shows up and says that we have noxious weeds in the back acres of land that we have. I ask her "so in reality terms, my husband is leaving out of town, what am I really suppose to do?" She replies, " Get two goats, it's considered pasture and I can't touch you." I scrambled thru the thrifty nickel and find two half pigmy goats. It's taken care of.

Thursday: As I am stuck in Salt Lake's wonderful traffic, Jake's dumptruck driver calls. This is his conversation.

"The weirdest thing happened. You know that stake you have out by your trees? Two goats wondered by there and got tangeled up with their leashes. So I undid the collars and let them go thinking they would find there way home. (Here's your sign.)

Jake: "WHAT!!!!! Did you not notice the collars and leashes on the T-post. Did you not stop to think they were mine?" He then proceeded to tell him what a headache and a mess he had caused.

We have neighboring endless barly fields, not too mention over 10,000 trees and shrubs. Also one neighbor who tends not too like us that much. I think he was the whole reason we had to get the goats.

So a couple of quick phone calls from Jake and I to neighbors and friends and they were able to catch the smallest (baby) goat that evening. The other goat was full grown but not the mother to the baby. I guess we were out of luck.

....to be continued.

A picture would be worth a 1000 words....

....make that a 1000 laughs.

I wish I had a picture of the two idiots that were chasing their goat at 5:30 a.m. this morning. What in the world were they thinking?

P.S. Did I mention that last Tuesday we got two new pets? I'll have to post a picture soon.

"This summer...."

"....I'm staying at home more and not going down to Utah as much." I say this every year. Does it happen? So far, not yet. This summer out of 6 weeks already, I have made three trips. I'm not saying Utah is bad, I'm just saying that sometimes it's nice to stay home and do other things. So while my blogging has been a little shaky and sometimes non-existent, this is the reason.

The first week of June, baseball started. The girls wanted to do some kind of sport, and this happened to be the one of choice. So for 3 mornings a week, I had to juggle six games. Fun but as a parent, you wonder why you do this to yourself. (We all know the reason, it's for the love of our children, but you still ask yourself).The only trick was, keeping the little kids happy and close by why I watched the older kids play. We all know how two year old's work.The only unfortunate thing was in the first two out of four weeks. Only two days were played because of weather. It was still mighty cold, wet, and windy in the land of Idaho. The good thing, this baseball league is played more for fun than anything. It makes it so the kids really enjoyed it.Then came the first trip. My sister's wedding. I'm not going a lot into detail here because it was (and still is) a very complicated soap opera. My dad came back for two weeks. My kids always love it when he comes up.(Our second trip down) Mike and Haley got married on the 24th. They are a cute couple and this was a fun gathering. We also had to take Grandpa back. From the time they got engaged, my girls were excited Haley would be there aunt. They love to tease and play with Mikey.You would think that they actually love each other. This is a favorite pic.Sam spent a good 7 weeks with us. He learned how hard grunt work really is. Also just how important sleep is when you have to get up early and start a long day. Although his appetite is one of a horse. : ) He is a great kid and my kids really like him.. All of the grandchildren with the grandparents.After the reception, we headed back to Idaho that night. I really wanted to just keep on going and go to Robbie and Hannah's reception in California, but work and the trees just made it impossible. But on the other hand, Betsy and her kids were almost to our house! This is always fun when she is here and she is a great friend. I am always saying how lucky I was to marry into a great family! I wish I were closer to her too. Betsy stayed with us for a week like I said before. So at one point there were 12 in our house. It never seemed like that many at all. Believe it or not, everyone had beds except two. Isaac slept on the couch downstairs and Toby got two foam pads on the floor. (I tried out the foam pads and I thought they were more comfy than the couch personally.) Hint, hint, anyone is always welcome to visit us up here and we have plenty of room.

We all know Betsy is one of the photographers in the family, where I really struggle. I didn't even pull my camera out at all. We played a lot in the water, and whenever this happened Katanya had the desire to be undressed. I'm still shaking my head and smiling.

Our third trip was last week. McKay goes to her other dad's for the 2nd half of summer and Jake starts a project in Salt Lake. We spent a couple days with Erika and pictures are still in the camera. That will have to be a later post.

So as you can see, this summer won't be the one either.

PROVE IT

I bought THIS CAMERA last August. I finally got the guts to try it underwater by itself.

I love it! Now I need to invest in a pair of goggles.

GROWING UP

McKay wanted a blog also. Sometimes I swear she is too little to grow up this fast. Although, since she is going to be away from home for the next 5 weeks, I figured it would be a cute way to keep in touch. To see her blog click here.

SUCH A SAD MOMENT

Betsy and her kids left today. It's always sad to see them go. The kids always play well together and we enjoy Betsy's (and Nate) company. McKay always has a hard time when Aspen leaves. There was no exception today.
We didn't do much. In fact we didn't even go anywhere to go do anything. We just treated them to some good ol' Idaho (tree-country) fun. The kids rode four wheelers and played in the backyard with water for hours and hours and hours. They also couldn't stay away from the dirt and mud. Not to mention the little kids loved the kittens and Sam made sure that none of them were abused too much. He's taken a liking to them.

And just for those who were wondering....No, I didn't make Betsy plant any trees. Jake only made us move about 6000 of them in a day. True story. (Okay he didn't make us, I didn't have an option and Betsy was a true sister and helped. Besides working all day always helps the exercise factor.)

STRIKE A POSE....

Here is the other half..... I didn't post so many pictures to show her hair off, but because I just love her modeling skills.

In church on Sunday because of our large crowd, Kirsten, Katanya and I sat on the bench infront of Jake and all the other kids. His teaching partner in class asked him, "Did you see that girl with the pink hair?" (Jake) "Yep, it's my daughter.