boo hoo hoo

Bailey's gone! I hate this time of year. I finally get my girl home for the summer and she takes off to go climb rocks and zipline and have water fights. She'll sit out under the stars and roast marshmallows around campfires. She'll meet new girls and stay up all night giggling and impress the leaders with her mad hiking skills. She'll participate in archery where she'll surely be top dog since that's one of her hidden talents. (Is it weird that my daughter is freakishly accurate with a bow and arrow?) Unfortunately for me she'll be gone not once this year but three times. I guess the first one didn't count, she didn't spend the night but was gone for two days at youth conference where she ate WORMS!!!! Yes, you heard me, she ate worms!!!!!! She's very competitive and when the other team was ahead in a little game she decided to make sure they didn't win. The young men leader told me the next day that the boys then had to attempt to eat a worm as well because they couldn't stand the idea of having a girl beat them.

As if this isn't bad enough having one of my precious children gone, my sweet baby Zach (almost 16 is still a baby, right) will be leaving this week as well for a camp of his own. I have NEVER let him go to anything even remotely connected with Boy Scouts. Scouts scares me to death. They play with fire and shoot things and jump off of rocks that are much too high. I decided this year against my better judgment to let him go. He's so excited. I like the leaders and I'm pretty sure they'll keep an extra close eye on him since they all know who his mommy is :)

So if you can't find me this week its because I'm huddled in the corner counted down the hours until all 4 of my sweet babies are back home.

Should Have Been a Cowgirl

It's no secret that I am an animal lover. Just walk past my front door and see the piles of bird poop from the little babies that have made their home inside my porch because we can't stand the idea of killing them. Just last week I had a bunch of kitties rescued from under the neighbors porch in my bathroom while I found homes for them. (No, I didn't keep any!) I have two cats, a dog that I keep despite the continual stress she causes and a squirrel named George that lives in my rock wall and destroys everything I plant. I have deer that eat my bushes and something has eaten my tomato plants. As long as it has fur I will forgive it and just plant a bit extra. I LOVE animals. I wanted to be a zoo keeper at one point but once I found out that I'd have to work with reptiles I changed my mind.

I want an alpaca, a mini horse, a peacock, a jersey cow, a sheep, a goat for yard work and of course a horse for each family member. I dream of having a giant barn with a swing on the top floor that I can use to get from the upper floor to the large pile of hay I'd store at the bottom. It's a dream that I'll probably never realize because in reality, I don't really like poop all that much and I'm kind of lazy.

I mentioned this dream to my brother when he was here and I can still here his laughter. Apparently, he remembers when we lived on a mini farm as kids and wouldn't go outside for fear of getting dirty.

After going to our local rodeo last week I've decided that I truly was meant to be a cowgirl. I LOVE the sound my cowgirl boots make when I walk and how Jacob can step on my feet all night and I don't feel it. I love having wearing my hat and standing by the fence watching the cows and horses do their thing.

I'm thinking of listing my house and moving to the country. Only Bailey and Jacob are on board with this. Kaitlyn thinks I'm nuts and Zach knows that means he'll be the one scooping the poop so he's not to thrilled with the idea. My husband is all for it. Of course, he knows that Zach will be doing the brunt of the work so of course he's thrilled.

So friends, find me a mini farm where I can have my alpaca and grow my own corn.

Wonderful Way to Start the Summer

What a terrific way to start the summer. My brother and his adorable daughter Stina were able to come and visit for almost 3 weeks. We had such a great time and it was so fun to be able to be with them. Shad'o and I have always been very close. He's seven years older than me and was often the third adult in our house. I really wish he didn't live so far away. I know he loves Denmark but I can't help but secretly hope one day he'll find himself back in the states. We did all the typical American things while they were here, including eating so much that I had to pull out the jeans from the forbidden pile on top of the closet. The highlight of our trip was a local rodeo. It was more fun to watch their faces than the rodeo. When I've caught up on my sleep I'll write more about our wonderful adventures.