Horse Fan Club

As if it wasn't crazy busy enough at the fair with two pigs and a lamb project, we also had to bring Nicole's horse, Jasper, down for a halter class.  Because she was grand champion in her age division at the July 4-H horse show, she got to show her horse at the fair to decide the overall champion from all the age divisions. That meant he needed a bath.

And then he stood around and waited for his turn to be shown.

He passed his time by hanging out with his adoring fans.  I think he enjoyed being so popular.

They did well.  Jasper must have still been thinking about his fan club, because he wasn't paying much attention to Nicole, but she woke him up!

We were hoping for a grand or reserve ribbon, but not this time.  They were in the running, I think, but the two older girls in the class beat them out.  There's always next year.

Fair Results

The 2013 Idaho County Fair is behind us and it was another great one.  Nicole did well with her lamb.

Ellea did great with her pig.

And Morgan got through his first year of taking an animal.  They all got blue ribbons for quality and showmanship.  There were some tears over selling the pigs, but we got through it.  We might even do it again next year!

Here Comes the Fair!

This is the week of the Idaho County Fair which means we are officially immersed in the crazy, busy, fun exhaustion that is the fair!

This is the first year that we have three kiddos taking an animal.

So, say a prayer that we get through it.  Should be fun!

Buzz Cut

Glenn is now an expert sheep shearer....

Last year, we took Nicole's lamb to a professional shearer, but that wasn't an option this year.  Not only did Glenn get to shear Nicole's animal, but he also sheared all of the sheep in our club.  He's pretty good at it now that he's sheared 7 sheep!

Scary Farm Animals

We attempted to expose a couple of our little cousins to our farm animals last weekend.  Ben was mildly interested.  Will was incredibly traumatized.  He kept pointing at the pigs and sheep and yelling "no" from the safety of his dad's arms!

Nicole got her horse out, but Ben was really more interested in Morgan's Tonka Trucks.  He finally agreed to sit up there with her briefly,

But Will was not having anything to do with that scary horse.  He was willing to tell us what horses said, but also yelled "no" at him occasionally! He definitely wasn't willing to get close enough to pet him.  

Happily Ever After

Eighteen years ago today, I married a man who made me smile, laugh, and feel special and loved.  I married a man who was the funniest, happiest, most generous person I knew.  I loved him greatly, but had no idea what I was getting into.  Marriage is not the everyone-lived-happily-ever-after-without-even-trying that I imagined from the fairy tales.  We've had our rough spots, but with some work (and compromise, and patience, and prayer...) we have created a marriage that is amazing, beautiful, and joy-filled.

I will be forever grateful for the blessing that is my husband.  Thank you, Glenn for 18 wonderful years:  for the laughter and the tears; for the joy and the love; for the support through the dark moments and the creation of many bright moments; and for three beautiful, well-loved children.  God bless you always.

Mayo

We stopped for a quick lunch at Zip's in Moscow on the way home from Coeur d'Alene the day after our Silverwood trip.  We were in need of some mayonnaise, so Glenn volunteered to go find some.  This is the conversation he had at the counter:

Glenn:  Do you have any mayonnaise?
Cashier:  Mayonnaise?
Glenn:  Yes, mayonnaise.  We need a couple packages of mayonnaise for our hamburgers.
Cashier:  You need mayonnaise.
Glenn:  Yes, a side of mayonnaise.

Glenn was beginning to wonder what the confusion was all about.  Does this restaurant not have mayonnaise?  Turns out, her interpretation of the conversation was a little different from his.....
Glenn:  Do you have any Bandaids?
Cashier:  Bandaids?
Glenn:  Yes, Bandaids.  We need a couple packages of Bandaids for our hamburgers.
Cashier:  You need mayonnaise.
Glenn:  Yes, a side of mayonnaise.

We we all had a good giggle when Glenn came back with the mayonnaise and told us that she thought he was asking for Bandaids.

Maybe you had to be there, but we thought it was pretty funny!

Crazy Busy

It may seem that I have dropped off the earth.  My apologies to the select few who keep track of such things as whether I ever post to my blog.  You'll be happy to know that I am, in fact, still firmly planted in Idaho.  Life has been crazy.  Fun.  But crazy.

We were camping on the Selway for 5 days last week, made a quick trip to Silverwood in North Idaho early this week, and took me in for Lasik eye surgery yesterday.....  No more glasses!  No more contacts!  Yippee!  I figure I have been wearing glasses for about 27 years and contacts for maybe 23.  I am so excited to be free from that for a while.  I will eventually need reading glasses, but I can handle that.

So there you go.  You've been caught up with our efforts to squeeze some fun out of the last few weeks of summer.  I will try to do better at posting most every week day, but no promises.  Next week is the County Fair, so the craziness will continue. . . .

Black Beauty

My Uncle Larry was so excited to see the old black Chevy pickup that has been in the family for 50 years now!  He hadn't seen it since Glenn surprised me with an all new paint job several years ago.  He did a great job cleaning it up for pictures.

He even brought along the original old black California license plates.  If it was still located in California, he could have these original plates on it.  Can you believe it?  In Idaho, we have to get new plates every 7 years.  Those crazy Californians can keep the same plate for 50 years!

This is my dad's sister and brother taking it out for a spin.  Lots of memories in this pickup.

Isn't she a beauty?

I love this pickup.  It holds a very special place in my heart.

Screen on the Green

While we were visiting family in Moscow, we took advantage of the University of Idaho's weekly "Screen on the Green," where they present an outdoor movie.  The movie the week we were there was The Avengers.

They had this super cool blow up movie screen.

We piled up lots of blankets and pillows.

And snuggled in for a fun outdoor movie.  Who knows who the guy photo bombing my picture is?!  Peace, dude!

Arcade Fun

One of the things we did when family was here from California was go bowling and play some arcade games.

After some serious bowling, there was some killer air hockey played.

And some cooperative car driving.

S'mOreos

One of the activities we partook in when family was here was a small bonfire.

Just to be on the safe side, we sprayed down the nearby grass with water and had the hose handy.  Nothing spoils a good family visit like burning down the house.

Nicole had the brilliant idea of bringing Oreos out to the camp fire and our S'mores were dubbed as S'mOreos.  They were quite delicious.  I think we need to sell the idea to Oreos.  Marketing genius, I'm telling you!  Emily also tried roasting an Oreo with a marshmallow inside.  Gotta love anything roasted over the fire!

Family Fun

 Having my family visit from California last week was so fun.

Morgan got to play with his cousin, Dominic.  They are both crazy about all things Star Wars and Lego, so it was a good match.

We took them to our pond to catch some fish.  We caught a few big trout.  Dominic must enjoy fish because when I took his picture,  he was licking his lips!

Everyone loves our Auntie Barbara.  Even my cranky little schnauzer who doesn't like anyone outside of our immediate family!  If only she'd move her warm-weather-loving-self to Idaho so we could see her all the time. . .but that's not gonna happen until we get some massive global warming!