Somewhere, Over the Rainbow.

On the way home from picking 4-H pigs, we saw this beautiful little sliver of a rainbow in the distance below some serious rain clouds. Of course, I had to stop and snap a picture, although my crappy little point-and-shoot barely does the view justice.


Hope someone found the pot of gold!

Fire and Friends

We've been making very good use of our fire pit this spring. Have I mentioned the new fire pit we have thanks to Glenn's ingenuity? It's made out of caterpillar track. It's welded together between each joint to make a solid ring. Glenn figures it only weighs about 1,000 pounds, so we won't be moving it around much!

We had some friends over for another fire and hot dog roast at the end of one of our recent beautiful sunny days. Nothin' better than sitting around the fire with friends!

Except maybe sitting around the fire with friends and a Mike's Hard Lemonade!

Another Date

Glenn and I have done remarkably well with the whole "Date-a-month" plan that I dreamed up back in January. In April we even managed two dates on one day! It was crazy!

I had planned a day off from work because I had worked extra hours that week and he offered to take me out to lunch. Then we were discussing that we should go out to dinner sometime soon with some friends. He asked me when we should schedule it and I said, "tonight!" No time like the present, right?

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant which was fitting since this couple joined us on our favorite (and only!) trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was just like Mexico, except the weather wasn't as warm, we didn't drink as freely, and the food wasn't quite as fabulous. Other than that, it was exactly the same!

16 Hands Tall

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved horses. . .

She looked so little next to these big animals.

Now she's so darned tall that she can actually see over them. She was startled to realize this just the other day. You know you're horse-crazy when you measure how much you've grown compared to the horses in your life.

G for Girl

This was my favorite piggy at the pig farm. She was longer and taller than all her siblings. It didn't hurt that her markings were unusual, but mostly she was just well put together.

Ellea prefers girl pigs. Pig lesson of the day: Girl pigs are gilts (g for girl), boy pigs are barrows (b for boy). Got it? There will be a quiz. So I thought I could convince her to pick this gilt by pointing out all her positive attributes. But, alas, Ellea is a little discriminatory when it comes to pigs. She's convinced that "pink" pigs are meaner. As you can see this pig is only about half pink, but that's enough in her mind, so the answer was no.

Well, it turns out, we were enjoying the pig barn without Glenn for the first 20 minutes. He was meeting us there after track practice. He gets there and tells Ellea he likes this particular pig and what happens? She picks it.

Now, one might think I'd simply be pleased that the pig I liked was going home with us. But, mostly I was wounded that when mom suggests a pig the answer is no way. Dad suggests the same pig? Oh, okay, I'll take that one.

Humph!

Maybe I should grow up.

Piggy Time

The girls picked out their 4-H pigs a couple weeks ago. If only I could share the smell of pig-farm with you. Count your lucky stars that I cannot. And don't tell me you know how stinky pigs are until you've been in a smallish building with a few hundred of them. Then, and only then can you truly know the joy of a pig farm.

So after the pig-picking process is over, it's time to load up the cute little guys in the stock trailer and drive home. At this point, you're grateful to be away from the pig farm smell, but realize quickly that you can hardly stand to smell yourself. We've learned to bring clean shoes to change into because you don't want to track anymore piggy smell into the vehicle than absolutely necessary. But it doesn't seem to matter because the odor has permeated every article of clothing and every strand of hair on the body.

So you just breathe shallowly and run for the shower as soon as you get home. I had to wash my hair (with liberal amounts of shampoo) three times before the smell of (wet) pig went away. I kid you not. Three times!

I am eternally grateful that Glenn raises cows rather than pigs. Next time I am tempted to complain of his cows stinking (and I will be tempted), I will try to remember how lovely they smell in comparison.