Here we go

Ball season kicked off tonight with Quincy’s team having a double header against Burlingame.  Her team lost both games, although I was told the second game, which I was there for went a whole lot better than the first game.  I’m afraid this team has a long way to go if they want to have a decent season.  Of course, the practices were mostly rained out, a couple of the girls could not practice until high school season ended, and a few other things.  I think they have potential,  but lack working together.  We shall see.  

Saige’s team was also supposed to play tonight, but their game was rained out.  Or perhaps mudded out.   We were also supposed to have the farrier out today, but that was also mudded out.  The good news?  I procured eye exams, dental exam appointments, physical appointments and a whole lot of other nonsense for all of us.   The bad news?   June is now a complete fiasco.  Get in, buckle up, and hold on, it’s gonna be a wild ride!   

Holiday?

One more photo from the wedding.  Andrew took this one.  I love it.  

Whenever we leave for a few days, then come back, we have to catch back up.  The yard grew about 2 feet, and we wanted to get the pool open this weekend.  We started in mowing, weed whacking and trimming brush.  I’m not sure we could ever be done.  I’m in favor of building more fence and just buying goats to do the work.  

Preston hopped to work on hooking up the pool filter.  Unfortunately, we seem to have missed a drain plug and our filter basket holder thingy (I’m pretty sure that is the scientific name for it) cracked.   We ordered another one, but it won’t be here until next week.  Getting the pool open is out for now.  Sadness abounds.  With that project out, we turned our sights to cleaning the garage.  Although I am happy that this job is now finished, it wasn’t as much fun when it was done.   I hate cleaning the garage.  For one thing, mice always seem to find their way in.  I hate mice.  The other thing is, besides grabbing stuff from the freezer, I rarely go in the garage, so the mess doesn’t bother me.  Why is the garage a catch all?  Where does that stuff even come from?   What even is that stuff?   Seriously.  Oh well, it’s an annual job that is now finished.  Maybe this time it will stay clean. Hahaha!  

After finishing the garage, and declaring the yard “good enough for today,” Jim and Carlos took a nap.  Saige and I ran to the first day of the farmer’s market in town.  Maybe I am getting old, but people seem to be more rude than I remember.  The farmer’s market was too peopley so we came home and made calzones. I am not sure this is what I wanted to do with my holiday, but I am thankful that we got so much accomplished.  This week, we start ball games and kiss our evenings goodbye until mid July.  I’m looking forward to watching the girls play!  

Our other Cam got married

Mallory and Madison’s best friend Camryn got married today.  She looked absolutely gorgeous!

Mallory and Madison were her bridesmaids.  Our Cameron was the minister.  We are very excited for Camryn. We wish her and Justin a lifetime of happiness.  

New friends and vacay pics

Still looking through pictures and reflecting on our vacation.   I don’t think I posted these earlier.  Evelyn loved being at the lake.  She was so sad to check out of the cabin.  She’s been talking nonstop about Beaver Lake since we got home. She’s planning our next trip already.  We did have a great time. I’m happy we had the chance to go and hang out.  I feel more relaxed.   We squeezed a lot into a few days. I’m not sure when we will get to go again, but I’m thankful we made it this summer.  

A few weeks ago, we re-homed Frankie.  It was a decision I didn’t come to easily.  The problem really was not having a bird, but that the bird was so loud.  Unless you’ve had a parrot in your house, I cannot explain how loud he was.  It was honesty ear shattering.  He screeched for attention, he screeched to be left alone, he screeched at the tv. I pulled in on the bus one night and could hear him inside the bus, with the windows closed.   He was insanely loud.  And we didn’t know what to do with him.  We took the advice of several people we know who raise parrots, trying to train him.  Basically, the noise just got to be too much.  As soon as he was gone, I missed him.  I didn’t miss the noise, but I liked having a bird.  Today, I hopped on Facebook to update the 4-H page, and happened to notice the Humane Society had a parakeet surrendered.   I talked to Jim who mentioned that he had promised Evie we would get a quieter bird.  I called, and he was still there, so Saige and I ran to town and adopted him.   His name is Rico.   (According to Saige his name is Rico Cheyenne). He is just a baby.  He looks incredibly dinky in the parrot cage, but he definitely has plenty of space to stretch his wings.  I can’t wait to show Evie!   

We also got a couple of new fish (because we were at the pet store to buy bird food).   I can’t be trusted.   

Home Again

We had to be out of our cabin this morning.   We got the check out list done in a pretty quick amount of time. I was impressed.   The kids were all ready to head back to civilization.  Except for Evelyn, she did not want to leave our cabin!   She and I have been talking about, looking at things to do, and planning this trip for quite a while.  She was having fun!  

We got everything and everyone loaded, and then had to go across the lake to the public boat dock to get Andrew’s boat out of the lake.  While we waited, Jim couldn’t resist one more attempt at catching a spotted bass.  

It was foggy and chilly.  We had decided I was driving, and I was not looking forward to driving in the fog.  Turns out, the fog didn’t last long and we made good time getting through Arkansas and Missouri.  And then we hit Kansas, and the rain.  We didn’t make out as good on time due to heavy rain and what seemed like a crazy amount of trucks.   I was very, very happy to be home today.  

Landrie did chores for us while we were gone.  There was a terrible duck tragedy (not uncommon around these parts and totally not her fault) but other than that, everything was kept happy.  The dogs were relieved to see us.   I am pretty sure they thought we left permanently. Carlos and Ollie haven’t left our sides since we walked in.  Poor, silly dogs.   

We came back to the beginning of summer ball season, summer activities, a list of home improvement projects that we are knocking off, and some big projects at work. Reality that isn’t bad, but I'm thinking the summer is going to be insanely busy.  I also made a promise to Evelyn that we would get the pool up and running this week.  There’s no place like home right?  

Day 5

The cabin we rented was on a cove of Beaver Lake in the Ozark Mountains.   It is beautiful there, and we found ourselves in awe of the scenic drive in and out of the cabin. Until about day 2.  You see, we are flat landers.  I have always known this about myself. My kids are starting to realize why i say this.   A five mile drive should not take 45 minutes.   Curving around and around tends to cause carsickness, and steep drop offs cause all of us anxiety.  Not complaining at all, just saying that when you live where the land is flat, these things tend to not be comforting.  Even an idiot can look past all of that and see how beautiful it is at Beaver Lake though!  

For our last full day, we decided to go back to Eureka Springs and tour the Turpentine Wildlife Rescue. Jim, Andrew and Quincy opted to stay at the lake and fish.  I am so glad that we did went on this tour. This place is amazing.  Maybe partially due to the fact that during the pandemic we all got caught up in the Tiger King Netflix fiasco.  Some of the cats from that show were rescued and are now residing here.   

They mostly rescue big cats, however they also have a funny bear named Bam Bam, a monkey, some smaller cats, and a few other interesting things.  Each animal has a story.  Some are really sad.  We all liked hearing the stories and seeing these amazing animals.   We also somehow lucked out and didn’t get rained out.  This whole vacation was plagued by rainy cold weather.  

Sometimes, when the weather doesn’t cooperate, the best stuff happens though.  Last night, I looked around me. The internet was down, we were all sitting around playing trivial pursuit and laughing and visiting.  It was such a nice evening.  I couldn’t even post this blog post because the internet was down and there was zero service.  My younger crowd hasn’t ever really lived in a time without WiFi, streaming services, instant entertainment at their fingertips.  I don’t think any of my kids lives without taking a break from their devices, but it was good for them to play a game and sit and visit for an evening.