The Essary Family Daily News

Happy 10th Birthday, Ch'ree!!

2009-06-23T03:34:00.001-06:00

At 3:34am on Wednesday, June 23rd, 1999, Ch'ree Elizabeth Kate was FINALLY born. Only 9 days overdue. I had been doing everything I could think of short of bungee jumping to get that child out (and believe me, I even thought of doing that!). We bounced around choppy waters on the lake for Memorial day, I mowed, I gardened, walked all day at an air show and still nothing. Finally it was helping Jeff haul hay that got her going. I was driving the pickup around the field while Jeff loaded the bales. By that evening, we sent Shelby home with Jeff's father and we went on to the hospital.

Getting admitted was an ordeal itself. Apparently the maternity wing didn't WANT anyone else back there and threw out every excuse NOT to let me back there. While the woman at the admissions desk gave every reason TO let me back there. And even as we got back to the maternity ward, they still didn't believe I was in labor. And as a result I didn't get the epidural I so badly wanted.

I'll save you from the rest of the gorey details. Let's just say that Ch'ree arrived almost before the doctor did. All 8lb, 4oz of her. We had a great first day of getting to know her, but then developed a problem spitting up blood. On Thursday morning, she was airlifted to University Medical Center in Lubbock and admitted to the NICU. We called her a little unicorn with the IV tube in the middle of her head.

That was probably the most worried I have ever been. Having a child in the hospital and not knowing what was wrong was horrible. At first they were tossing around surgery. But eventually they discovered it was acid reflux and she was treated with meds. On Sunday we finally got to bring our baby girl home.

And now she is 10. And going into middle school (5th grade here). She's such a beautiful girl, and we are so lucky to have her in our family!!

Vacation 2009, Mesa Verde CO

2009-06-15T13:43:00.005-06:00

Last week we took a family vacation to Mesa Verde, CO. And saw some other points in between.

We took a tram ride down to one of the indian ruins called Long House. Which Drew loved, he thought it was like a train and called "All Aboard!" when it started to leave.

We still had to hike a bit to get to the ruins, and some ladder climbing to sit in the ruins.

Shelby was picked to help the park ranger out. She learned alot about the culture of these Indians, such as that she was near marrying age in their civilization, and that her mother and father were about to the end of their life expectancy.

Not sure who the man is, but this gives an idea of the vastness of this canyon and the ruins.

Alot of what we saw had been destroyed by fire. The rangers said it will take 100-150 years for the forest to recover. As you can see, grasslands seem to have taken over, and there were little to no tree seedlings.

A different view of Long House

Down in one of the canyons. The kids were real troopers for all the hiking we had to do.

The scenery was breathtaking. All the mountains and mesas and canyons was really neat. This was Shiprock.

No idea if these had any names, but were pretty just the same.

We went to Four Corners as well. Pretty cool for all of us to be in different states at the same time.

Drive By post with pictures for May 2009

2009-05-26T13:33:00.005-06:00

Alot has been going on this month. The kids are all out of school for the summer. This fall I will have one in Jr. High, one in middle school, one in elementary, and one in preschool. Wow! What will I do with myself?! Don't worry, I have that taken care of. I have lots of plans for next year and they don't include soap operas or bonbons. LOL!

So, what did we do this past month? I've already shared Shelby's 12th birthday. She loves her cell phone. And it really came in handy today at the grocery store when I sent her to pick up an item I forgot and she had to verify what flavor.

I went with Ch'ree's 4th grade class on their field trip to Santa Fe/Albuquerque. We left Floyd at 6:30 am and went to Santa Fe first, where we had a tour of the Roundhouse (capitol building). Was very cool. I have lived in New Mexico for 18 years and had never seen anything of Santa Fe except a Blake's Lottaburger. Hope to go back soon and do some more sightseeing, but there was no time for that this trip.

From Santa Fe we went south to Albuquerque and went to the rattlesnake museum in Old Town. I lived in Albuquerque for 2 years and never once went to Old Town. Sometime I would like to go back and see some of the shops.

We finished up the Albuquerque leg of the trip by going to the Zoo. It's really a nice zoo, but we didn't have enough time to see everything. Of what we did see, I think the polar bear exhibit was the best.

The girls that were in my group. There are 8 girls in Ch'ree's class and they are all very close. I love each one of them, they all call me mommy!

I took several pictures of animals at the zoo, but this peacock seemed to just sit at this one spot and pose for anyone who walked by. He'd stand there, then turn around and shake his tailfeathers, then turn back around. Almost like it was an act for him.

Though I didn't get any pictures, Shelby received some awards at the middle school/high school academic awards assembly. She got A/B Honor roll, as well as the Creative Writing award and a certificate and t-shirt for participating in an archery tournament.

Chance graduated from Kindergarten. There were 12 kids in our Kindergarten class this year, only 2 are girls (and one of those are leaving). They are a pretty good bunch of kids, too.

Instead of caps and gowns, the kids wore a special t-shirt and a baseball cap that had a tassel on it.

Ch'ree received 8 awards at the elementary awards assembly on the last day of school. She did really well this year, making A and A/B Honor roll throughout the year, awards for math, reading, and 3 for good citizenship.

Ch'ree with her teacher, Mrs. Mendoza.

Jeff spent all last week in Soccorro, New Mexico at the fire academy. He passed all his skills tests and the written exams and now has his FireFighter I and II!

Finally, Jeff taught me how to drive the swather the other day. With him at the fire department, he may need me to cut some hay if needed. It was a bit intimidating operating an $80,000 piece of machinery and remembering what all the controls do. For one, there are no pedals! Your accelerator and brake are just a joystick, and their are three different buttons/switches on it operate the header. It's like running a video game! LOL! I did finally get the hang of it, though.

It's a horrible picture of me, but there I am running the swather.

That's all going on here this month. It will be a busy summer, even though we don't have any plans for a vacation. Between the kids 4-H projects, swim lessons, VBS, the garden, the farming, Jeff working at the fire station, and possibly a day/overnight trip to the lake or the mountains, we should be pretty busy.

Happy 12th Birthday, Shelby!

2009-05-11T12:01:00.002-06:00

Shelby turned 12 on Sunday. We had a small gathering of family and friends come over for the dinner that Shelby requested: Jumbo Shells with Meat and cheese filling and a strawberry cheesecake. Also had homemade ice cream, since one person (Jeff) didn't care for cheesecake). Our friends the Deens brought some delicious olive dip.

Twilight fans that we are, Shelby loved the Team Edward shirt she got from her Grammie! She wore it to school today.But I think her favorite present was her very first cell phone. Since she will be starting junior high sports in the fall, and recently tried out for and is now on the junior high cheer squad, we decided it was time for her to have a cell phone. There may be times when I'm not always there, like afterschool practices and away games. This way we can be in touch when I'm not there.
She had a blast the rest of the day texting everyone that was in the room and aquiring cool ringtones.

Jeff's mom Linda, our friend Karen, and Jeff's sister Amanda all enjoying a margarita (nephew Brantley behind Linda)

Mmmmmm, this cheesecake is gooood!

Gracie and Drew having fun using Lindsey as a jungle gym!

rappelling

2009-04-11T22:02:00.002-06:00

Jeff has spent the last 6 weeks going thru fightfighter academy. It's just half done now, he will be done just as the kids get out for the summer.

He's been learning alot. All this week was ropes, knots, and rappelling.
His instructors let me come down one day and take pictures of all the guys scaling the 5 story training tower that's recently been built. It's set up for several different scenerios that they may face.

Jeff, how does it feel to take the difficult way down a perfectly good building?

It's Spiderman! Drew came with me (of course) and he thought all the guys were Spiderman!
Look Ma, no hands!!! This was part of what they had to do. Tie a knot then hang upside down. This was later used in another scenario to rescue someone out of a window.

I'm sure nothing compared to having both feet on the ground!!

Drive By Post 3/27/2009

2009-03-27T11:10:00.005-06:00

It's been busy around here. Seems like never enough time to post something. Or if there is some time, nothing really noteworthy to say. So I just have to save it all up for one post.

We are nearly done with basketball. We finished up city league stuff a couple weeks ago. The girls ended 6-1, Chance's team 5-2. Last week we had a Little Dribbler tourney in Dora, both teams lost 2, won one. This weekend is a tourney in Elida. Girls lost last night, boys will play today, girls and boy again tomorrow. Then basketball season will officially be OVER!
We are officially on Spring Break. Someone needs to tell Mother Nature. After weeks of 60's and 70's, we are now in a winter storm. It's been snowing all night, the temp is 24 (wind chill of 3), and wind is gusting to 50mph. Unfortunately, the tourney we have today was NOT cancelled, so we must head out in this. It's supposed to be back into the 70's by Sunday, though.
Our plans for spring break consist mostly of relaxing after our busy basketball season and planning our 4-H projects. There is a garden project to think about doing, plus various sewing/baking projects.
Jeff has been busy with school of his own. Three weeks ago he started his firefighter rookie school. He and 9 others from the Portales and Clovis fire departments are going through a 12 week school on firefighting and earning their firefighter I and II certifications. School is M-F from 7-4. Plus he still has to work his normal shift days. He's been logging in alot of overtime and is pretty wiped out when he is home. Another reason to be glad basketball season is over, no more practices 3 days a week! He can actually see the kids! They will all be done with school about the same time (end of May).
The 59th Annual Floyd Lion's Club Country Jamboree began last night. If you don't know, this is a big country music show the Lion's put on to raise money that they give back to the community in the form of eye glasses, scholarships, sponsoring sports teams, and helping families in their times of need. They also give away three musical instruments, one for each night of the jamboree. Students must submit an application and an essay of why they deserve the instrument, and a winner is chosen from three age groups. Ch'ree won for the elementary group. I knew about it, but it was kept a secret from everyone else til the big moment. Dave Nash (the MC) announced her last night at the Jamboree that she was the winner of a guitar and 2 lessons, plus an opportunity to play next year in the jamboree and show off what she has learned! She's so pleased with herself! We are proud of her, too!

Due to cutbacks at the town's newspaper, I'm no longer writing the Floyd news for them. I'm saddened by this, but in a way a little glad. No more worrying about getting that in on a deadline, no more worrying about my facts being correct (or about the paper themselves messing it all up. Something that has happened more than it should have). The village clerk and I had the foresight to start something else non-newspaper related last year. She and I put out a monthly news letter for the village, as well as making a blog for the village. This works out very well: it's not hard to do and we can say whatever we want without pesky editors cutting what they wanted to out.
New little baby calf, in case we were wondering if it was spring or not. LOL!

2009-03-27T11:04:00.002-06:00

My mother, stepfather and grandmother came out for a visit in February. We stayed busy with basketball games to play and cheer at. As usual, the visit was too short. Somehow my efforts to get them to just pack up and move out here aren't working.

Shelby showing off that she is taller than Gram

Drew, Wayne, Shelby, Ch'ree, Judy and Chance. Any more kids and I'll have to get a bigger sofa!

Chance and his Grandapa

Ch'ree, Grandama, and Shelby

Chance and Wayne riding 4-wheelers
Grandama and Drew. I had to do a doubletake at this picture. Drew looked so big I thought it was Chance for a minute!

2009-02-07T15:57:00.003-07:00

It's basketball season! No, we don't follow any NBA teams. It's right here in our own backyard!

Jeff finally had time this winter to set the girls up a basketball goal by the barn. They all have been having fun playing with it.

Somehow, a 5'2" girl against a 6'4" man doesn't see quite fair, does it?

Both the girls are on a City League team for our school. Although Ch'ree was supposed to have been in Junior league and Shelby in Seniors, the timing just wasn't working out. Nearly all their games were at the exact same time, but at different venues across town. So, Ch'ree was moved up to Seniors. Makes it much easier on me. And even though she has to work a bit harder, she can keep up with those older and bigger girls pretty good.

Ch'ree is #12

Shelby there blocking. Or something. I'm still learning the game myself.

Chance has also been playing ball. While the girls are fun to watch, Chance (and his teammates) are very entertaining as well. Though I think Chance is the most amusing. Some of the boys on his team are really good. He isn't supposed to be playing ball yet, he's actually too young. But, the coach has a son in Chance's class and is letting him play, so he said Chance and another boy could play, too. It does help that Chance is as big or bigger than the 1st and 2nd graders he is playing with anyway. At the game the other day, someone out of the blue (I have no idea who she was!) came up and asked me if that #4 was my kid. Of course, I said yes. She said, I knew he looked like an Essary! LOL!

If Chance doesn't keep his hands out of his pockets, I'm going to sew them shut!

He also likes to dance when he should be running or guarding.

And seeing me with a camera is just bad. He's such a clown! But, he's having fun, and that's all that matters.

2009-02-07T15:35:00.003-07:00

Well, we have been busy around here, as usual. Mostly everything revolving around the kids schedules. The girls are both playing basketball, as well as Chance this year (which is most amusing. I'll explain later). A couple of people have looked to buy the ranch, but so far no bites. We would really like a rain soon. It's been a long time since we had one. So long I don't remember when it was! I'm thinking it was around October, maybe November. Been a loooong time. Hopeful for tomorrow. I'm trying to help things along by washing the car the other day while I was in town.

All are well. Jeff continues to enjoy his work at the fire department. He loves to text me on his down time of the kinds of runs they have.

A few pictures to keep you updated on us.

Drew. Oh, big news with Drew. He is now potty trained! I'm so excited! After nearly 12 years of nearly always have a child in diapers, I'm almost diaper free! He still wears one at night, just in case. But all day long, even on trips to town, he wears big boy skivvies! A bittersweet milestone: he's definately not a baby anymore. He will probably start preschool in the fall.

Chance. Of course. He loves this Tennessee jacket that his great-grandmother bought him. Too bad he has already outgrown it!

Scarlett has GROWN! She and Drew have become quite chummy, as long as she isn't jumping on him. He was the one we were most concerned about when getting a new dog. After he was bit by a dog last year, we weren't sure if he would be able to handle being around on.

Scarlett has learned which side of the fence to stay on with the horses. Dude isn't very crazy about her.

Sometimes it's hard to take a picture of her. She likes to be in your face.

Or running towards you.

Maybe she thinks she is AirBud?

2009-01-23T13:54:00.003-07:00

I have received several kind comments from people who have come to my home and looked at some of the quilts I have made, or ones I have given as gifts. So, I thought I would try my hand at maybe selling some.

This quilt measures about 38"x26". It's great as a table runner or as a wall hanging. It's pieced by machine, quilted by hand. My hand stitches are about 8 per inch. Made of 100% cotton, and prewashed so it won't shrink.

You can see more pictures and more description at my Etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20016316

Christmas Day, 2008

2008-12-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

The day started early. Very early. But it wasn't white. Just brown and windy. But it was a nice sunrise.

Chance came in my room at 5:44am to inform me that Santa had been here during the night. They apparently woke up about 40 minutes before, thankfully they didn't wake me, nor did they mess with anything under the tree.

Yup, he was here. He left some presents, and also made a mess on the carpet. See the ashes he tracked out of the fireplace? (please take note that it LOOKS like a ton of gifts, but I must tell you that I do have a fake tree, and in order to fit the tree into this corner between the hearth and the bookshelf, I leave off most of the branches in the back to wedge it in good. Therefore, less space to put the gifts and they overflow into the living room).

The girls played Spider Solitaire on the computer and the boys watched cartoons to pass the time til Jeff came home. I put the sausage balls and Christmas Morning Rolls in the oven. Soon the house was filled with delicious smells.

Jeff had to work Christmas Eve. He went to work on the 24th at 7am (left the house before 6) and didn't get off til the 25th at 7am (but he rushed and made it home before 8). It was hard, but the kids did wait for him to get home before opening anything.

Then the opening commenced. Shelby found out this book was available two days before Christmas. But I found out about it a few weeks ago and snatched it up. See, I knew she wanted it before she even knew about it!!

Jeff got a coffee mug from the Fire Department of New York City, courtesy of his mother-in-law. She and Wayne went to NYC earlier this month for a little vacation with one of my stepbrothers and his wife.

Ch'ree happy to get a new UT shirt from her great-grandmother. Nearly all of us got one. I also received a Texas Tech sweatshirt from Jeff's sister Amanda. Now, which will I wear when they play each other?

Also from Mom's trip to NYC, Drew got a die cast set of rescue and fire vehicles.

All the boys (even Jeff) received LEGOs for Christmas. They enjoyed putting them together before dinner.

My niece Gracie and Drew enjoying dinner. We had a traditional feast of turkey, gravy, stuffing (Stove Top, since it's quick and easy and I think is much better than my homemade recipe), Pretzel Salad, Funeral Potato casserole, broccoli casserole, and homemade buns. Dessert was all the homemade goodies myself and mother-in-law had been fixing for the past couple of weeks.

After dinner, this bunch had fun playing a new board game. It was called Life on the Farm, and according to them was pretty realistic. It's a combination of Life and Monopoly I think. They played for a couple hours, so I'm glad I didn't begin. I can't sit long for a board game, there is always a child that will need me at some point.

We all had a wonderful Christmas, spending it with family is always the best.

Hope your family had a wonderful Christmas as well!!

Christmas Letter, 2008

2008-12-27T17:36:00.002-07:00

(picture taken November 19th on Drew's 3rd birthday. Only recent picture I had with all the kids in it. Myself and Jeff just an added bonus. LOL!)

Dear family and friends,

Merry Christmas, 2008!! Y’all might have thought we dropped off the face of the earth, or that we didn’t like you anymore since you haven’t gotten a card from us is a few years. But to tell the truth, things have just been so CRAZY around here, I haven’t had time to DO Christmas cards! Who knew!? And like other years, you again won’t be getting a card from us this year. I’m convinced that someone has took a few hours out of the day and we no longer have 24 hours. Or the calendar is obviously lying to everyone. So, HERE is your Christmas letter.

First off, the kids are all GREAT! Shelby is 11 and in the 6th grade. She is a cheerleader on the Junior High and Elementary squads and plans on playing basketball for our school’s Little Dribbler team. She has hit the 5 foot mark and her foot is nearly as big as mine; she is always in my closet stealing my shoes and boots! She still loves to read, has learned a few chords on her guitar, and her brother Chance is her biggest worry in her life (he annoys the crap out of her!). Next year she will be able to play volleyball and basketball on the Junior High squad; I can’t believe my little baby is growing up on me.

Ch’ree is 9 and in the 4th grade. She was the only kid in her class to be on A honor roll the first nine weeks, but had a B in Science the second nine weeks. Which is ok, she still had the highest grades in her class. She is still cheering on the elementary squad and will also play Little Dribbler basketball. She is a pretty good kid and seldom have to get onto her. Though she does seem to be in her own little world sometimes. That’s ok, they know her there.

Chance, on the other hand… LOL! No, he’s really a good kid, too. He just LIVES to annoy Shelby, but I think even she will admit that he has his good moments. He is 6 years old and in Kindergarten. He’s nearly a head taller than a few of the kids in his class, so I guess we can say that he IS an Essary!! In fact, he is nearly as tall as Ch’ree! He loves to play Playstation, especially Star Wars games. He is really starting to read a lot and likes math. And you should see the kid dance! He sure can get down and boogie, as he showed everyone at a wedding a couple of months ago.

Drew just turned 3 in November. He is working on getting potty trained, and is such a little snuggle-bug. He loves all of his siblings, and likes to act like a puppy or a kitty, or lately just act like a baby and demand to be held and his sippy cup fed to him. Good thing the other kids don’t mind catering to him. We don’t understand much of what he is saying, but is getting good at playing charades with us.

Jeff has been very active in the community lately. After the big fire 3 years ago he joined our village’s volunteer fire department. Soon he decided that he would be a better asset if he got his EMT-Basic license. Then decided he would be an even BETTER asset if he got his EMT-Intermediate license. Before long, he decided that doing all this as a volunteer was great, but would be even better to be paid for it! So, he applied and was selected to be on the city of Clovis Fire Department. So far he loves it. It took them three weeks to find out his nickname, Jelly. We will see if they stick to using it, since it didn’t seem to upset him that they knew about it. He works 24 hours on, then 48 off. In his off time he still plans on farming and doing custom swathing and baling.

As for me, I just lay around at home. LOL! I’ve been taking 9 hours of online classes from ENMU this semester and made As in all of my classes (History of Western Civilization, Anthropology, and English-short stories). I am still coaching the elementary cheerleaders, as well as taking some of the duties of the Junior High squad. I took them to a 3 day cheer camp this summer and we had a blast! I still run errands for Jeff, help out with the kids classes at school by doing some of the parties and bake sales, driving them around to various activities like games and 4-H. I haven’t had much time for many hobbies, but they will all still be sitting there for when I do have time.

The farm front was a bit dreary this year. Not enough rain and when it did rain it wasn’t at the right time to help out the crop. Add to that the fuel prices and seems everything else shot up. But we are still hanging on. The custom work is still going strong. We lost our beloved German Shephard Tex this past summer, as well as Jeff’s horse Blue in the spring. But we did add to our fold a beautiful Golden Retriever puppy named Scarlet. Drew was attacked by a dog over the summer and was afraid of any dog for a while. But he does love Scarlet.

We only got to go one trip this year, our annual reunion in Mora. It rained most of the time, but we all still managed to have fun, and I managed to keep most of the mud out of the camper. My mother and stepfather and grandmother visited in the Spring to come see the annual Floyd Lion’s Club Country Jamboree. Jeff’s parents were named Floyd Citizens of the Year, which was a big surprise to them. It was difficult keeping it from them, especially since Jeff’s father is on the Lion’s club. Mom and Gram got to come back out this fall and my aunt joined them this time. They got to see Shelby cheer her first Junior High football game.

Jeff and I decided to try out hand at remodeling some of the house earlier this year. I’m happy to report the marriage survived it. Haha! We enclosed the garage, since it was too small to park a pickup in, and turned it into an office. It also houses 4 guitars, 2 amps, the stereo, loveseat, and a treadmill. Hours after we completed that project, Jeff got out the crowbar and started literally attacking the kitchen! Initially we thought we could just reface some things, but soon became evident that it needed to be gutted. We discovered some of the cabinets and sub floor were rotted from a long ago water leak. We really enjoy that space now.

All is well around here. We hope for a bunch of snow to help the ground this winter. We also hope all is well with your lives and families, and hope to see some of you soon!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
With Love,
Jeff and Jenny Essary and family

Happy 3rd Birthday, Drew!!

2008-11-19T14:31:00.002-07:00

Our baby turns 3 today.

3 weeks old

One year

Two Years

Brandin cows, August 2008

Roosevelt County Fair, August 2008

New Job

2008-11-13T21:02:00.004-07:00

Jeff finally decided what he wanted to be when he grew up. Besides being a farmer, that is:

Yup, he decided that he really loved doing EMS and firefighting. So he is now the newest member of the Clovis Fire Department.

Last weekend he went through a written test, then a physical agility test, and finally an interview. Today they called to let him know he got the job.

He will still be farming, and we can still live right here where we are (though the ranch is still for sale, we don't see ourselves moving to Clovis. It's about a 40 minute drive). Not sure exactly when he will start, but he imagines it will be week after next; he told them he can start immediatly. He will work 24 hours on, 48 hours off. In the spring he will have to do 8 weeks of training and his hours will change for those 8 weeks.

He's so excited about this! We all are. So, congrats Jeff!!

Halloween, 2008

2008-11-03T14:29:00.004-07:00

We were torn on what to do for Halloween this year. Our football team was playing a BIG game that night in Melrose, but the kids HAD to go trick or treating!

We found a happy compromise.

The 3rd and Kilgore Church of Christ in Portales had a Trunk or Treat complete with 2 bouncy houses. It was early enough that we could do that and still make it to Melrose for the football game.

Trick or treat!!

Ch'ree was a pirate, Chance Commander Rex (a clone trooper from Star Wars), Drew obviously Darth Vadar, Shelby a cheerleader from High School Musical (NOT Elida, as everyone seemed to think, even though their colors are purple, not red), and Jeff was a Confederate officer. I was...the cheer coach photographer. LOL! No, I didn't dress up. I actually do have a big ol' Southern Belle dress I made a few years ago to go along with Jeff's costume (which I also made), but my waistline isn't quite back to that size yet. Maybe I need a corset for it?

Drew was supposed to be a cow, but saw Darth hanging in the closet and HAD to be it. He also insisted that he carry Cammander Rex's gun (which wasn't interesting to him til I put batteries in it). Never mind the fact that Darth Vadar only used a light saber. A red one at that. But he misplaced the red lightsaber sometime that week and I could only find the green one, which is the one that Jeff is holding. No, I don't think they had lightsabers in the Civil War, did they? (Alas, I haven't been able to find a proper sword for Jeff, either).

And the only reason why Jeff was dressed up at all is because we stopped by the fire department that night, and one of the guys there is from up North, Jeff calls him Yank. So, there ya go.

I haven't posted pictures of Scarlett in a while, and she wasn't feeling very photogenic today. But you can see she is filling out nicely and GROWING!!

There's her puppy smile!!

This cat has been hanging around for about a month. He (I'm assuming he's a he) is wild, runs whenever he seese me. I took these from my desk in the office. Our lonely female had been howling like crazy right about the time he(?) showed up. I'm hoping kittens are on their way. A farm can never have too many barn cats.

Fruit Flies

2008-10-23T12:25:00.002-06:00

For the past two months, flies and fruit flies have been horrible around here. They are attracted to any food I leave on the counter. Not that I'm just leaving stuff out there, but things like bananas, tomatoes. Stuff I think belongs on the counter or there is just no room for them in the fridge (besides, you're not supposed to put bananas in the fridge, right?). I don't know if it's all the dairies in this area of the state or what. This place once was a dairy, so maybe they are just here because their great-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g grandparents were here.

A few fun ways to get rid of fruit flies:

Your mother comes for a visit and left half a bottle of wine. You don't drink wine (you prefer beer or margaritas). Poor a little bit of the wine in a cup and add a couple drops of dish soap. Within minutes the fruit flies will be attracted to the stuff and will land on the wine for a sip. but the dish soap has broken the tension of the wine and they instantly drown!! Dump and repeat once or twice a day as needed.
If you notice a concentration of them in an area, but don't want to spray chemicals around your kitchen, try this. Get out the vacuum cleaner. Turn it on and with the wand attachment, just hold it near the suckers. They are too weak and slow to fight that kind of suction. This also works most of the time with regular flies. Just wait til it's night time and they attach themselves to the ceiling for the night. Again, get out the wand attachment and walk around the room sucking them up. If you live in the middle of no where, it provides a form of entertainment that husbands especially enjoy. Also teaching them the skill of how to operate a vacuum cleaner.
If you are the compassionate sort and wouldn't even hurt a fly (you are probably a vegetarian too, aren't you?), try this: put something they like in a bowl. Leftover bits of salad is good, so are a couple slices of apples, maybe a banana peel. Cover the bowl with a clear cling wrap. Sometimes putting a rubberband around it helps keep it taught and in place. Next, poke a few small holes in the wrap. Flies get in, can't get out. When you have collected enough to ease your mind, take outside and set them free. Doesn't that make you warm and fuzzy inside? Peace, man.

Hope some of these help you out as all those tomatoes you picked from your garden before the freeze sit around and try to ripen, a haven for those nasty flies.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-10-19T09:31:00.004-06:00

Ok, it's my birthday (34, I mean, 29. Again). And since I do it to the kids, I might as well do it to myself, too.

First Christmas, 1974. Ain't I a cute fat thing. Just how many chins do I have? I still have that doll, BTW.

Me and the Bratty Brother Brian (hey Brian, how ya doin'? Call your sister sometime).

1st grade, 1st softball team

1988, freshman in high school

1994, our wedding day

1998

Whole family, 2007 (which is about the best recent picture of me, I couldn't find anything for the last few months)

Laugh now, dad. Remember that yours is next and Aunt Sue sent me a really cute one of you the other day! LOL!!!

Mom's visit and Shelby's first Junior High game

2008-10-08T11:32:00.003-06:00

Jenny's mother, Gram, and Aunt Jan came for a visit in September. However, all were camera shy, and we were really busy; we just didn't get alot of pictures done.

Aunt Jan (left) and Mom had fun playing Candy Land with Chance. However, Chance likes to cheat and goof off.

Shelby's first Junior High game cheering with the 7th and 8th graders (ok, and one 9th grader).

When a player is down, everyone takes a knee.

When we get a touchdown, we do jumping-jacks, 6 of them, one for each point.

Halftime show. When we went to cheer camp this summer, we had 6 kids and one stunt group. But when school started, 2 8th graders and a few more 6th graders decided that they wanted to cheer. We know have enough for 2 stunt groups!!

Drew just wanted to show off his bod running around the track.

Shelby happened to see this outside one day and snapped a picture of it. It's migration time here.

August/Labor Day pictures

2008-10-08T11:22:00.002-06:00

I told you I was behind! Here it is October and I haven't even put up any pictures of the kids at the county fair in August, or of the annual Labor Day Family Reunion in Mora!!
Jeff had to work at the EMT tent at the Roosevelt County Fair. Their trailer was parked right next to the Sheriff's office trailer. The Sheriff's office had a cool 4-wheeler that would seat 6 (or more, depending on how many kids you could actually squeeze in there!). Well, Drew was just obsessed with it! He wanted to ride in it so bad, it didn't matter if Mom and Dad weren't there. He just buddied up to Sheriff Darren Hooker and rode all around the fairgrounds, without us. As you can see, Chance is in the back. Hope that doesn't beome a habit. LOL!

The boys were dying to get one some rides. They had a ball on this one.

The girls were excited to go on some bigger rides. This one whipped them around a bit, but looks like they enjoyed themselves.

As usual, on Labor Day we go to the Sangre de Christo Mountains and enjoy the tranquility of camping. We arrived on Friday; it was nice and sunny. That night, it not only rained but hailed. Here the girls are showing off the hail-drift that piled under our awning. Also on display is her magazine that was in her tent (while I prefer the warm and cozy queen sized bed in the camper, the girls wanted to stay in a tent). The turd floater of a storm completely washed through the tent, leaving all bedding, Barbies, magazines, and library books soaked. Luckily it wasn't bedtime yet, so the girls weren't in there at the time. The hail pile didn't melt away til Sunday.

We all enjoyed the culinary skills of Jeff and his brother-in-law, Jason. Here they are cooking us all some bacon and eggs.

Scarlett is right at home!

2008-10-08T11:13:00.002-06:00

I have a bunch of pictures that need to be posted, but I'll try to break it up a bit. Here is a bunch about our new puppy, Scarlett.

She is making herself at home here with us. She is even allowed in the house sometimes!! But she loves to play with the kids outside. Or to chase the cat.

Or charge the camera

She is a terrific gardener. She attacks and pulls weeds for me.

Sometimes she just needs to roll around and stretch out!

She IS a Golden Retriever and likes to help retrieve the ball with the kids.

Or help serve

Or just look totally adorable!!

Scarlett is here

2008-09-20T18:51:00.002-06:00

We brought home the newest member of our family today.

Meet Scarlett (picture stolen from website of the breeder).

Over the summer we not only lost our beloved German Shephard Tex, but Drew was attacked by another German Shephard and since then has been terrified of dogs.

This needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

I did some searching, but I didn't want to pay a fortune for a dog. I also didn't want to get another German Shephard. Nothing will replace Tex for me, and after Drew's attack, I wanted to get something more gentle. Not that GS aren't gentle, but would Drew ever trust one again?

My father has the sweetest Golden Retriever, and I decided that this needed to be the breed for us.

I scoured the Internet for the perfect one. Not a rescue or pound dog, I don't want a dog that may have a problem, not for Drew. Not an expensive breeder, I just can't afford that.

Then I came across a blog from a couple in Amarillo. They had a blog of their dogs that had just had puppies. And I was in love. They were 5 weeks old at the time, and I immediately contacted them. After some emails on what we wanted, they carefully selected the puppy for our family. I don't think they could have picked a better puppy for us.

She is 7 weeks old and is so sweet and snuggly. And soft. Did I mention sweet?

Even Drew is quickly getting over his fears. He insisted on holding her leash when we stopped for a potty break earlier today.

She has spent most of the day sleeping in my lap, or in someone else's lap. She has been so good with her potty breaks thus far, no accidents in the expedition or in the house yet.

There will be many more pictures and stories of Scarlett to come!!

Happy 6th birthday, Chance!

2008-09-06T07:36:00.001-06:00

Drive By Post, 8-21-08

2008-08-21T07:18:00.007-06:00

Things have been busy around here, but at the same time nothing really big to post about.

We have received lots of rain, a very good thing. All of our haygrazer crop is up and growing. The grass at the ranch is green, I can hardly keep up with the mowing around the house!

After Jeff got all the hay seed in the ground, we needed to brand cattle. Since we got a later start on branding this year than last, we had a bunch of last year's late calves to brand as well as this year's. Pictures of the event to follow. After we branded, we took the mamas and their calves to the pasture down the road. Talk about happy cows! That pasture hasn't been grazed on in nearly 3 years. It was completely burned by our big fire in November 2005, and it took us a while to get miles of fence rebuilt there and new water tanks put in. The yearlings we kept here at the house. As soon as the brands peel we can haul them off to the sale.

School has started. I think the kids were happier to go back than I was to see them leave. It was a boring and uneventful summer for them, with no trips, no swim lessons, or other things most kids get to do during the summer. With fuel prices the way they are, we just decided to stay home. Shelby started the 6th grade (her second year of middle school); Ch'ree is in 4th; Chance in Kindergarten. Drew still has another year at home before he can start preschool.

I'm back to school, too. I'm taking three online courses this semester: English 201 (short story); Anthropology 233 (People and Cultures of the world) and History 122 (World History II).

For sale. It's official, we have put our ranch on the market. In the last 2 or 3 years, land values have gone up, up, UP! We had the place appraised and it looked so good, we have decided to try and sell it. Just the ranch, not the farm. So, if anyone out there wants to buy a ranch with 1,141 acres, nice brand new barn and a 2,150+/- sq.ft brick home, just come on by! We plan on building a home on our farm if it sells, so we will still be around here. I'll put a link to the realtor up when he has it listed online.

Jeff has been busy finishing up things for his EMT-Intermediate license. He went to Las Cruces last weekend for the written and skills test. We know he passed the latter, watching the mailbox to find out the former. He is volunteering at the county fair today in the EMT tent.

We will be hitting the fair on Saturday. All the kid events are that day. I found a good turtle for the turtle race, and the boys can participate in the greased pig chase and stick horse race. I purchased tickets for the arenacross already. The boys LOVE to watch the 4-wheelers and motorcycles race. But I'm sure Chance will be upset that he can't bring his 4-wheeler and race, too. He wanted to really bad last year.

The big movie event for the summer wasn't in theaters, it was in our living room! The Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert on Disney Channel was THE thing to watch this summer. Had we lived in a big town, we could have seen it in the theaters late last winter. But the nearest theater that had it was 2 hours away in Amarillo, and our school/basketball schedule wouldn't allow it. Poor country kids. LOL!

They also passed away those hot summer days learning to play chess. While Chance (barely pictured and barely dressed behind Ch'ree's head) played PS2.

Mamas and babies sorted away from each other. Do you think the mamas are telling their offspring, "Don't worry, it will only hurt for a second"?

The kids got a good position out of the way.

One of the teens, Addison, we had come help us. I think she's just bossing her big brother around up there.

The other two teens helping us. Seth in the red, Garrett in the grey.

Jeff branding, Don welding a knife (he's going to go notch an ear) and Alan (Seth and Addison's father) on the far left vaccinating.

First day of school!! Chance would not give me a decent smile for the camera.

Ch'ree will, though. Such a little princess.

The only picture I got of Shelby all day. With her cheer squad (she's in the back). First day of school starts off with a pep rally. The cheerleaders do some sideline chants to get the student body into some school spirit. Then the teachers are announced just like the starting line up at a game.

At the pep rally, the picture of our state champion cheer squad was presented. The girls on the right with the knee high black socks, camo shorts and tanks: some members of the varsity squad. That was their outfit for their hip hop dance routine they performed, they don't really dress like that for school.

Awww, poor Drew. So sad that everyone else got to go to school and he had to stay home. Well, not really. He was mad I told him no to something on the computer.

Attack of the giant zuccini!! LOL! Just kidding. With all the rain we had, I hadn't had a chance to go check the garden in a week. When I finally got out there, this is what I found. Not sure if it is edible or not, but sure is big!!

UCA Cheer Camp 2008

2008-07-22T12:53:00.004-06:00

One of my childhood/teenage dreams was to be a cheerleader. My preteen best friend was a cheerleader and she taught me all of her cheers; we would practice all day long in the yard. But I was either too involved in other activities or at one school it was something we just couldn't afford at the time or there was no way I could get to and from practices and games. By the time I had my own vehicle, I had to work to keep it full of gas and insurance, not to mention the payment. So my dream was never fulfilled.

The dream never left me, and as soon as I could I signed Shelby and Ch'ree up for cheering on our school's elementary squad. A couple years later I found myself being the sponsor for that squad. And now I'm going on my 5th year in that role. Cheering with the girls in the stands is probably the closest I will get to being a cheerleader without actually having to don those skirts. Which, I'll admit, probably wouldn't look as good on me now as it would have in high school when I was a size 1. LOL!

This year our school's varsity coach cleared it with our principle to allow willing 6th grade cheerleaders be on our junior high squad (which only consisted of 3 members before). The condition is that they only cheer at home games. We did some fundraising and got to go to cheer camp. The varsity squad had so many girls make that squad that it was going to take two coach/sponsors to take them to their camp in Artesia, which happened to be the same days as the UCA cheer camp here in Portales. So I got to go to cheer camp with the junior high squad held at Eastern New Mexico University's Greyhound Arena.

We had so much fun and I think we learned alot. There were 13 squads there, most of them Varsity squads from around New Mexico. Here they were learning some sideline cheers.

The camp lasted three days. We not only learned sidelines and cheers, but alot about stunting, two dances (Extreme Routine and HipHop), jumps, etc. Here was our private coaching lesson with UCA coach Tyrell.

We came so far in our stunting during camp. When we got there a thigh stand was about as difficult as we could do. By the end of the third day we could do a half extension (shown above) and working on a full extension (same as above but the base girls holding the top girl ABOVE their heads). We learned several other stunts in between those, too. Like going from a handstand to a shoulder straddle (I'll have to get some pictures of that one).

Here was UCA coach Kimmie doing a motion class (learning how to really stick those movements and what they are called).

Kimmie also helped us a bit on our stunting.

Shelby was the only girl in our group brave enough to try out for AllStars. Winners would get to participate in parades in Houston (9th grade and younger) or London (10th and older). Shelby, being the youngest at the entire camp, didn't make allstars, but I was so pround of her for trying out (the girls on her right were Clovis Varsity cheerleaders).

"Bring it on in, bring it on in, bring it on in...HEY, BRING. IT. ON. IN!!" This is what they would chat when it was time for the UCA instructors to talk to everyone. Cheer camp is very peppy. LOL!

By the last day we could really stick our half. Oh, and to get the girl down we learned to toss her up a little and catch her in what's called a cradle.

Group cheer last day of camp.

We won most improved squad (the Spirit Stick on the right shows that). I was so proud of these kids. They worked hard for three days from 9-4. They were real troopers, and have bruises to show it. The girl on top of the stunts from the few tumbles she took, the "road rash" girls on the bottom of the stunts from the top girl standing on their shoulders. The boy for putting up with us girls (it's our first year having a boy cheerleader).

4th of July, 2008

2008-07-05T10:29:00.006-06:00

Our village hasn't done anything for 4th of July since...well, since I've been around here! Jeff said he remembers when he was little someone used to do something. So this year, the fire department and the Lion's club decided to do something. A community event centered around food, fireworks, and good ol' American country music!

First the food had to be cooked. The fare was simple: hamburgers, hot dogs and chips. Served with iced tea and lemonade.

Followed by some homemade ice cream. This ice cream maker should make enough for this crowd.

Some good ol' family fun and games on the track, too. Drew is ready for the stick horse race, while my niece Gracie is getting some last minute tips from her mother, Amanda.

And their off!! Chance (middle boy in red) was ready to go! My nephew, Brantley, was too (2nd on the left). Unfortunately, Chance went down in the middle of the race, injured with skinned knees. He made a trip with daddy to the waiting ambulance to get cleaned up and said, "Daddy, please no needles. Ok?"

The girls had their turn, too. Ch'ree on the far left, Shelby on the far right.

It didn't end there! Even the big boys got a turn. Jeff, right in the middle. I think the high schoolers were having fun, even if they won't admit it.

Other races like the sack race, a dunking booth, and egg toss, went on until sunset.

Break here. I didn't have a chance to take any pictures of the fireworks because Drew, aka Hodini, kept trying to escape my sights. He loved the fireworks, just felt he needed to find another seat to view them. That seat being away from me. So, I held onto him and not the camera. But the fireworks were awesome. Some said they were better than the one in town the night before (Portales had to do their show a day early due to some problems with the pyrotechnic company being understaffed. We tried to make it to see them on Thursday, but was detained by a vanful of senior citizens that had run out of gas on the highway. Jeff, being the good sam that he is, stopped to help them out. We pulled up to the house we were crashing to watch the fireworks just as the last one was lit. Oh, well). Jeff and I spent all week pouring over all the songs on our iTunes library to pick the perfect ones to dance to. We tried to get just the right amount of songs from several decades. A little Bob Wills and Johnny Cash and a couple other old artists, a bit of 70's, 80's, 90's and the latest to keep everyone happy. Even a bit of the new hip hopped version of Cotton Eyed Joe and the Cha Cha Slide for the teens. There was much Alan Jackson, because you can't go wrong with him. He's traditional enough for the older folk, but new enough for the younger ones. The playlist we narrowed it down to would have took 7 hours to get through, so we didn't get to hear it all. Maybe next time.

There's Jeff working the playlist. Not sure if he was actually working on songs, or playing Spider Solataire. LOL!

Even Drew got in on the dancing! I think he's the cutest thing with his boots and wranglers on, but what happened to his shirt?

40 Years of wedded bliss for Don and Linda (Jeff's parents)

Ch'ree stealing a dance with Granddaddy

I know Jeff's mother took many pictures with her camera, and if I had some of those, I might be in one or two. But I don't, so you won't see me. haha!! Maybe if she sends me one or two, I MAY post them.

If I had to take a guess, about 150 people came for the festivities. I don't think Floyd has that many people, so a few probably came from town that had ties to the community (family or school). It was alot of fun, at least for our family. We didn't come home til 1am. Hopefully next year we can do it again!