Aaah no! It’s over!

I sometimes flash back to when I was a kid and remember how long things took.  Sometimes the school day felt like it would not end.  A week took forever.  A month - eternity.  Now….well I must be either having a lot of fun or getting old.  This week flew by. 

We accomplished a lot. Harper had fun on her band trip to Tennessee. Saige had a friend over. We worked on gardens and cleaned some things in the yard.  We worked the goats over.  We were blessed to have visits from some old friends.  We saw all of our children. It was a great break!  

We finished up with a fun weekend. A trip to Wichita to see Colin, Spencer and Easton.  This little boy has grown so much since we saw him only a couple of weeks ago!  He is at the best age - where they talk and coo and smile at you, but don’t go anywhere when you put them down.  And let me tell you, he put on quite a show. We are all smitten- including his cousins!  

It was pretty hot- 91 degrees!  But the breeze was nice and if you stayed in the shade it was delightful outside.  The girls had a great time challenging their uncles to all sorts of contests.  Andrew did a little fishing. Colin and Spencer cooked us an amazing lunch.  It was a really great day! 

We got home late enough that Cameron spent the night, went to church with us and then ran on to Manhattan to meet up with Preston and go to the KSU baseball game.  It was significantly cooler today than it was yesterday!  Kansas is a weather mess. 

Maude has officially been with our family for 1 year.  When I tell you that this dog is hilarious, I mean it. I love her so much.  She is also incredibly stubborn. I’ve never seen anything quite like her.  She challenges my dog training skills to the limits, but then turns around and is the sweetest, most complaint dog ever.  No rhyme or reason. She’s growing on Jim, and I find him more and more with her loaded in the truck taking her places.  The only real problem with her is that she loves to eat poop.  Goat, rabbit, chicken- all of the poop is her favorite snack.  It’s not pleasant.  We do not let her lick us!  

Jim and I did something today that felt both good and terrible. We purchased and marked out a cemetery plot woth the cemetery board.  Knowing it is taken care of, that the kids won’t have to have the burden of wondering what we want, is a relief.  Finalizing your finality feels sort of creepy though. I get why it is necessary, and if I have learned anything in the last 6 months, it is that we all have no idea how much time we have. I am thankful that Jim and I, although we are not like minded on most things, worked through this with minimal stress and no disagreements.  And I am thankful for him doing most of the research and paperwork on it.  As for picking a partner to run through life with, I definitely got the cream of the crop.  

The upcoming weeks are busy, but I know that once spring break is over, the end of the school year generally comes up pretty quickly.  After a hot couple of days, I am fully ready for summer!  

 

straight from my brain (welcome to the inside)

Spencer had to return to work after her maternity leave.  She said she was sad to leave Easton, but she did enjoy being back to work.  Which led me down a rabbit hole of thoughts.  First, it is sad to leave your babies.  I am thankful that Spencer's mom is helping them out so that we all know he has the best amount of love and attention while Colin and Spencer are at work.  And I am thankful that my mom watched our kids while I was at work too.  I never had to wonder if they were safe or loved.  I never worried about them at all.  They usually didn't want to leave when I got there to pick them up.  They were happy, loved and spoiled.  Later, when I switched jobs, I was allowed to bring the babies to work with me.  I felt blessed to be able to do so.  I was also able to watch Evelyn when she was tiny.  I loved every minute of it, and missed all of them when they went off to school.  

Speaking of Evelyn, she returned from her trip to Disney World with her grandma Rachel yesterday.  That was after a 2 day delay with cancelled flights and travel drama.  Of course, if you are going to be stuck someplace, I can think of worse places to be stuck than Orlando.  :)  I can't wait to see her so I can hear all about her trip!

Yesterday, I had to run an errand.  I let the dogs all go with me.  My car now has a funky dog smell, and is full of dog fur.  But my windows were down, the weather was beautiful and my heart was happy.  And the dogs love to go!  :)  Well, except for Ollie, who always jumps in, but then lays on the back seat or the floor because he doesn't really like riding in the car, he just wants to go because everyone else is doing it.  I had to snap a photo because their faces were cracking me up.  What a crew.  

Quincy and Landrie went to a concert together yesterday.  It is good to have a lifetime friend.  They were seeing Dream Ivory.  If you have never heard this band, don't bother- they are a$$.  But I do love that they find things in common, hang out and have fun together. 

I am both thrilled and cautiously optimistic about the state of my projects.  My elderberries are getting leaves, all of my fruit trees seem to still be alive, and yesterday, I planted 2 cherry trees in my "orchard."  I also planted 4 metric tons of garlic.  :)  We may not have much luck, since it should have been planted in the fall, but I followed advice from a master gardening friend, and I am hopeful it will work out! Today, I am dragging out the hoses, because carrying buckets of water to this stuff is hard!

We will also be relocating my blackberry bushes, planting more raspberries,  and acidifying the soil for blueberries.   And I am not kidding when I tell you that when I play in the dirt, my soul is happy.  I also have an order in a cart to get baby chickens, but haven't broken the news to Jim yet.  I am currently getting 2 dozen or more eggs per day.  We have been eating eggs for dinner, giving away eggs, making every kind of egg dish I can think of, and still have eggs!  And so I need more chickens?  Well, yes!  The thing is, some of the hens are aging, and need to be replaced if I want a steady supply of eggs.  Plus, I really like raising my own meat birds.  And, if there was accidentally a "hatchery surprise" box added to the order, I am sure it was not all my fault.  

Harper and Clayton made it home from their band trip.  Harper said she had a lot of fun, but was more than ready to be home.  I have yet to sit down and look at her photos.  I am glad she went, and I am glad they got back here safely!  We are enjoying spring break and a little relaxation from harsher schedules.  Next week, I have an appointment to enroll Saige in high school.  Time goes by too quickly!  It is surreal to me to think we are already at this place.  I guess I blinked.  

I have always loved spring because of the babies.  I love this picture of my brother, Brian with one of dad's calves.  I am thankful to Brian for helping dad during calving season (and more).  I am surrounded by amazingness.