Yesterday, my boys met up in Austin to go to the KSU game together. It was an interesting game - KSU battled back from being pretty far down, ended up in over time (shouldn’t have been but they missed a short field goal) and then ended up losing. Jim has been taking the boys to a KSU game at least once a year since they were tiny. There are so many funny stories (funny now - like the time he lost Cameron) and they always had such a good time going. It makes me so, so incredibly happy that they found a way to go this year. Meeting Cameron halfway so they could do this together. When they were all small, I used to preach and preach to them about your brothers and sisters being your best friends. The people you could count on when you were older. The people who would be the shoulder to cry on when the people you grew up with get old and pass on. The fact that they get along, and do things together, and legitimately love each other makes me feel like I accomplished something in this life. The younger girls are still a work in progress on the love your sister part, but the older crowd makes me believe there is hope! Also, I am hoping that within 6 months Cameron and Lauren will be done down south and living back a little closer to us. (Yes this is my pathetic attempt to drop hints at Lauren who I know reads this blog- love you Lauren).
Yesterday, I drove junior high girls basketball to Tonganoxie. If you are looking for top contenders in a contest of which sports are the worst to go watch, junior high girls basketball is a pretty high contender. Of course, I don’t have a child playing, but I do have girls this age, so I knew most of the kids. That didn’t help. These girls scores are in the high teens to low twenties - for the game. It isn’t for lack of trying. I bet they threw up 5-6000 shots. And they won. I think one of the game’s final score was 21-14. It is brutally awful. And don’t even get me started on the fouls- junior high girls are a different breed of mean! I think watching paint dry might be more entertaining. Which is why I was excited when it was the final game’s halftime I could leave to go start the bus at the exact time the KSU game was kicking off. Although, as I mentioned before, that game was hardly worth the effort to watch. I was home a little after noon. I had work to do, but instead I sat around watching Jim turn himself inside out over the game. I was also watching for the boys on tv, but never saw them!
When it went to overtime, I threw in the towel and went outside to get back to the quail pen fixing. Harper and Saige helped me, although at one point i had to stop to cut a zip tie off a finger that was turning purple, at one point i had to stop a chihuahua from chasing a pony, and at one point I had to stop to look at one of the wild kittens who is “sooo cute.” I also spent some time noticing that I ended up with 5 roosters in the batch of strange chickens I bought last spring, and they are excessively aggressively mating my hens. I think I found someone who wants a freezer filled with roosters, and we will take care of that this week. I would much rather have a pen full of peacefully living hens.
Even after all of the work stoppages, we managed to get the quail into their new digs. They look soooo tiny in there! Saige was in charge of building hides for them. Harper was in charge of finding sticks and branches for them. We were trying to mimic their native ground living environment. It is a good start, although I have plans of adding a few more things, and I am going hunting for a large tarp to put over the top because the old tin I used didn’t quite cut it. Since they immediately came out of the kennel and started hiding, I think we accomplished our goal! I sat down there watching them for a very long time. If you didn’t believe I was a nerd before, you should have seen me watching these babies yesterday. All they were doing was hiding. I’m down there, sitting on my upside down bucket with tears in my eyes at how beautiful they are, and what good little hiders! I was also playing with goats and a pony, watching the chickens eat some grubs I found, and would probably still be sitting down there, except the sun went down! The barn has always been my happy place. Jim should be careful indulging my little farming fantasies, he will have to come down there to see me. Orrrr maybe this is his way of having the house all to himself?
I am equally happy to see my grandkids playing outside. Too many kids with their faces buried in the screens in my opinion.
Know who else loves to watch birds? Ollie. Although he also loves to eat them, and I have no doubt he was trying to figure out how to get a tasty snack out of the new project!
It is now Sunday. I was up early not because I have to be, but because when the alarm went off so we could get ready for church, I realized I never set the clocks back. If I used my phone as an alarm like the kids do, it would not be a problem, but I am old school! Early isn’t bad, I have my chores done, got my laundry started and updated the blog. I am always early, it is one of my fatal flaws. It came from my father, who had this law if you’re late you’re left, and got us everywhere we needed to be at least half an hour early. We were always the people who ended up having to help set things up because we were early. In my adulthood, I am still doing it. However, I married a man who is chronically running late. (Remember when I said opposites attract?). I have found myself lying to him about what time we have to be places just so he will be on time. I love him, but his time management skills give me anxiety. I should know by now that everything always works out, but it is just too ingrained. So when the alarm goes off, I get up. I won’t go back to bed because, I’m up. Jim rolls over and back to sleep he goes. It sort of makes me jealous, to have the ability to say “I have an hour I can sleep” and actually go back to sleep. If the alarm goes off, I am up. No more sleep for this brain, it goes straight into a list of things to accomplish, lists of things to make other people accomplish, places to be, food that needs to be cooked, lists that need added onto. Such is the life of a crazy person I guess.
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