New 'kid'

We never dreamed that the kids would love their meat goat project as much as they have. Cameron was extremely sad to have to sell Gotis at the fair.  He used part of his auction check to buy a new doling whom he has named "Totes Magoats". She is a year old boer and ready for breeding.  We are excited to have her here with us!  I think I might be as excited as the kids, there is seriously nothing cuter than a smiling goat face!

Blue white scrimmage.

Colin and Cameron kicked off football season tonight with the annual blue/white scrimmage.   Colin (53 in white) and Cameron (74 in blue) were not on the same side of the field tonight.  It was a fun night and awesome to watch them both on the same field!  We are excited to get the season underway! 

Front and back

My front yard....why yes those are barnyard animals on our front porch.   

And yes, that is a cow drinking from the dog's dish.   They come to see the kids when they get off the bus! 

My back yard.  The sunrises have been absolutely beautiful this week.  

I feel so blessed and overwhelmingly thankful for this life.  

Quiet

Fall ball games haven't started yet, making for quiet afternoons where we do not rush off to anywhere.  That is going to change in about 10 seconds!   

Turning the goats loose was both good and bad....good in that they have done a lot of trimming around trees and sidewalks.  Bad in that they love flower beds!  I do find them amusing and I am especially amused by them standing on their back feet to eat tree branches! 

Having my office to herself, all the toys and books with nobody to have to share with, I thought would make for quiet mornings!  I was right!   

Since school started....

Saige has been a bit lonely.  She took up a new cause.  She is the spokesmodel for skin protection from sun damage.  Especially important are your hands and legs.  

I made an executive decision that cows and goats should be allowed to roam the yard in the afternoons.   I just open the gate and then keep an eye on them.  They generally do not go far.  Flashy likes to dig a little hole in the cool sand under the pool deck and lay there.  He was whining and acting weird.  That is when I discovered Ryan MOOler had taken over his spot!  Flashy is a lot like Sheldon. Nobody sits in his spot!  

Despite going school shopping with the lists provided by the school, Colin and Cameron came home with a list of things they 'need'.  I made a quick run to Walmart this evening and came back to find this little guy in between the flower beds on our driveway.  I seriously have spent my life preaching to the kids not to kill snakes, but somehow seeing a rattle snake 10 feet from my front door didn't set too well!   I tried to hit it with the van.  I missed.  I didn't want to let it out of my sight, so I called first Jim, who didn't answer his phone and then Colin, who was fresh home from football and was in the shower!  Colin came out after a minute wearing underwear and flip flops.  Perfect rattle snake killing attire.  He killed it with a shovel.  I made the kids study it.  We shook the rattles so they could hear the sound it makes.  I pray we never see another one, but realistically, we live in a rattlesnake habitat here!  

And being Colin, well then you have to fry it up.  Colin and his friend Matt breaded it, fried it and yes they did, they ate it.  Rednecks!  They said it tasted like chicken. 

First for the rest

The 2014-15 school year started this morning. 

Quincy is in 3rd grade at Scranton.   She has Mrs. Arb as her teacher.  Preston talked a lot about how nice she is and how much fun stuff he did last year, I think Quincy's general disgust for summer ending had diminished significantly in the past couple of days!  

Preston is in 4th grade at Scranton school this year.  He has Mrs. Bolz as his teacher.  He was excited because he heard a rumor that she loves science and  does a lot of experiments!  

Their bus comes at 6:55.   They were up and going early!  On the first day, the bus did not have to wait for them!  

Cameron is a freshmeat at Santa Fe Trail high school this year.  He was up early so he could look this good!  He was super excited to be in high school!  

Colin is a junior.  He was not up early, he was not overly anxious to get going today!  He is looking forward to football season though!  

Harper went off to her first morning of preschool this morning.  Excited would be an understatement!  She was up, dressed, brushed and nagging Jim to hurry early this morning!  

I thought maybe she would get shy or scared when we dropped her off.  She absolutely did not!  I hope she has as much fun as she thinks she is going to have!

Not to be outdone, Saige had her first morning back at story time today!  She was pretty happy with that too!  

I hope we have a great year filled with new experiences and learning!  

First day for college girls

Mallory and Madison both started classes today.  Yes, even in college your mom makes you take a first day of school photo.  And yes, they do believe me when I say you can cooperate or I will hunt you down in your class and get the photo anyhow!   

Mallory had to take her own photo this year....so glad I didn't have to drive to Emporia to track her down for it!  

Moving day for Mallory

We took Mallory to ESU today am got her all moved into her dorm.  We are so very proud of her and wish her the best of luck in her new school endeavor.  

That being said, the mother of this family says it is much easier to bring kids home than it is to let them go!