Fire at the White House

Kevin called me at work today. He said, "Can you come home?" I said, "What's wrong?" He said, "We've had a fire, the whole back deck is gone." Turns out Esob dragged a log from the fire pit up onto the deck where his dogaloo is filled with hay. And you can imagine the rest of the story. He's living up to his namesake.

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On a brighter note...

Last week Kevin brought home a HUGE box that held a new printer for the office. The kids have played with it until it has turned into a mashed up, marker laden blob in the garage. They even put part of it onto a skateboard and fashioned a go cart of sorts, which they rode down the hill of our street, at speeds that make a mother cover her eyes and clench her heart and go swearing into the house. It was a great thing while it lasted though. I told Kevin that I remember playing in a big box in our backyard as a child. It couldn't have been more than a day or two in my entire life, but there it is, standing out in my memory, a marked occasion. Kevin agreed and summoned up such an event from his childhood. Ahh, to be a kid again.

Rough week

Well, without the love and support of friends and family this week, I may have actually attempted to eat my young. On one foul day, Travis got kicked out of school for three days for rubbing hand sanitizer on his hand and lighting it on fire on the bus. Yes, you heard me right, he lit his hand on fire. By some miracle, his hand was not burned even the slightest bit. Later that same day the baby sitter called to say that the little boys weren't home when expected. A few minutes later she called back to say that Ethan was home, but Brian still wasn't. The neighbor down the street said her daughter texted her saying the bus was "stuck" in another part of the subdivision and a police car was there. I thought to myself, PLEASE don't let it be Brian who is the cause of all of this. The next call I got was from a police officer. Indeed, Brian was the cause. Apparently he had raised a sharpened pencil in a threatening manner toward another child for the crime of not sharing Halloween candy. Now, I truly believe that he would not have carried though on his threat and he's been sufficiently scared into never acting that way again. But, he was kicked off of the bus for two days. Now in my day, it would have taken A LOT more than these two acts of childhood behavioral transgressions to get yourself suspended from the bus or school (well maybe the fire thing may have done it), but today's world is a different place. So, privileges have been removed and chores have been doubled, and parental speeches have rung through the halls of our house, and in general, as parents our nerves have nearly been shattered. I think things will begin to be better, I hope. Some days though, while you love your children, you still count the days until they will be moving out.

Kid updates

It's been cold lately, so I had told Ethan to dress warmly one morning. He took this to heart and slapped on 3 pair of underwear, 3 pair of pants, 4 shirts and two pairs of socks.

Rylee is going to be a good Mommy some day...

Brian, my little boy is growing up....

Helping Dad and wooing Mom.

Travis's new hair cut. No need for a before picture, it looks just like this.

Ethan turns 7 etc.

Well, my littlest boy turned 7 on September 25th. I can't believe it. I HATE that he's so big ALREADY. But it is fun to watch him develop into his little self. He received about $50.00 in cash for his birthday from various relatives. He asked me if that was a lot of money. I said, "Yes baby." Then we went to the grocery store so he could spend some of it. He eyed some gummy bears and asked, "Do I have enough money for these?" So sweet and innocent. He bought his gummy bears, some gum (which I usually don't let them have - it sticks to carpets and many, many, many other things) and a package of paper umbrellas. You know the kind, they stick them in fancy drinks. I tried to get him to forgo that purchase, but he was determined. "Mom, it said they are only one oh, oh. I can afford that." I persisted in the what are you going to do with them vein, but he was clear, "I just want them." Well alright. It's your birthday, you can buy a package of paper umbrellas. I've certainly spent more on useless things in my lifetime.

The rest of the weekend we spent visiting with our friends Kathy and Hunter at the fall festival at Wilson Rutledge Farm and cleaning and preparing for the next week, which is here and in full swing.

Again, I've disappeared from radar for awhile. No real reason, other than the piles of laundry and dirty dishes keep me far far away from the computer. But will try and catch you all up on life in our world a bit.














We've been to Silver Dollar City a few times. Always fun, but the real reason I go is for the food. Love those fried taters!



Stopped by Lake Taneycomo, did some hiking























Rylee turned 2 on September 13th. She wasn't sure what to do with everyone singing to her, but she figured it out with a LOT of help from her brothers : )





We went to Arkansas on Labor Day weekend. Kevin took photos of the MSU vs. Arkansas game (in Little Rock), where we got our butts kicked. but oh well. The next day we all went on further into Arkansas to Crater of Diamonds State Park. The kids had a great time on the hunt!








We've also been on several weekend hikes. This one is at the Bois d' Arch Conservation Area. We usually pick up a geo casche or two and have fun hanging out as a family.




That's about it. I've been baking a lot of bread and shifting our food to more organic foods and meats that aren't injected with antibiotics and hormones. Makes me feel better about feeding my kids. Also buying whole milk from a dairy farmer when I can. There are some great house cleaning and personal hygiene products out there on the green market as well. The kids aren't even putting up a fuss about whole grain breads and organic yogurt!

Kevin is VERY busy with the athletic schedule for the fall. He rarely gets any down time, but tonight he's watching football. I can hear him cheering in the basement. The Cowboys must be loosing.

Rylee growing up

Rylee dressed herself for school this morning

Mr. T

When did this happen? It scares me sometimes how fast they are growing up. It is weird to look at Travis sometimes, it can't be that cute little toothless boy from days gone by...

New Puppy

Well, we bit the bullet and bought another English Mastiff. And he's a biggen'. We got him on sale because he's nearly 5 month's old (next week). At 5 months old, he weighs in at 65lbs. Yes, that's right 65 lbs. That is 12 lbs. heavier than my 10 year old child. He's a sweetie though, very calm and lovey. We just have to find a name. Kevin's been calling him Esob and it is starting to stick, however I am not too too fond of it because it stands for something, that while funny for adults, not so much for kiddos. In case your wondering - Expensive Son of a B----. So after my objections we've been on the hunt. My brother's family has thrown in a few suggestions, Apollo, Jacob, BigMcLargeHuge. I like the last one, but I don't see it sticking either. So the quest is on for a fitting name (Kevin also thought of "Spec"). Also if you have ideas for house training a 65 lb. dog, it would be appreciated. He makes some pretty big piles of poo and seems just as happy to do it in the house as outside.

The wisdom of children

Yesterday Kevin showed me that some bag worms were making their home in our big cedar tree in the back yard. I love this cedar tree and wasn't about to stand by while pests destroyed it. So, I pulled the bags off as I found them and threw them in the fire pit. Well, first I tried to torch them on the tree, but some lived anyway. I know, a bit morbid. Anyway, in the midst of this momentary obsession, I found some little round green bugs crawling around on my big cedar tree. I envisioned some infestation of cedar killing insects and snatched one up, drove a pin through it's torso and sat in front of my computer for a half an hour trying to figure out what it was after my insect identification books failed me. Along about this time, Ethan happened by. He took one look at the bug and said, "Cool stink bug."

No.

It is not possible that my 6 year old could possibly identify this insect before I could. I have studied this stuff at the college level no less.

With some amount of resignation, I Googled "stink bug". And there it was...

Green Stink Bug Pictures - Adults and NymphsTrue Bugs (Hemiptera) / Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae) / Acrosternum / Acrosternum hilare

Dang it. Bested by a 6 year old. Again.

Canoeing

We recently returned from our third float trip of the year. The Jack's Fork river is the river we float the most and Kevin's favorite by far. We know every curve, every gravel bar. We know where the jumping rock is and the river cave, the cabin along the bank. It is a calm river that winds it's way through beautiful bluffs and along farm fields. Wildlife are so prolific that you seem them even with the kids shouting and the drunks are banging their metal canoes into every rock along the river. It was also nice to float along with the comfortable group that Kevin is lucky enough to call his co-workers. After we parted with the group on the second morning of our camping/canoeing adventure, our family took a little detour to sit by the river just a few more minutes before returning to reality.

While we sat on the gravel bar, we saw several groups of boats go by on the beginning of their day of floating. It occurred to me then that anyone can float down the river. Anyone can walk up to the counter of any outfitter, plop down some cash and be granted the use of a boat, a raft, an inner tube. They are then ushered onto a bus, their trusty cooler in tow, filled with some alcoholic beverage no doubt. No one asks them if they have done this before, offers any advise or seems to have a care in the world how they manage their way down the river. "Floating" may be a bit of a misnomer. Perhaps in an inner tube or raft you may actually be able to "float" down the river without much effort or concern, but in a boat, long and narrow, this is not the case. As these thrill seekers plunged their boats into the river and climbed in, the first turn of the day, a gentle 60 degree brought many of them in backwards, spinning toward the bank and crashing into each other. No one tells them how to hold their paddle, how to "dig in", no one tells them the importance of the "J" stroke, that the person in the back of the boat (if you are sitting in the boat the right way to begin with) is actually the person steering, that they should center their weight, that lawn chairs are a bad idea. No one tells them that they should lean TOWARD rocks and logs that they may inadvertently be rammed into or they will tip their boat. No one tells them that if they fall out they should keep their feet down stream or that they should NEVER get between a swamped boat and a fallen tree. And yet, hundreds of people take to the rivers each year. Some romances will not survive, many beer cans will be lost, and some will ward off this adventure for all time to come, but for the most part, with the river doing most of the work, boats, rafts and tubes alike will make it down the river with passengers intact and at least two thirds of the gear they started with. But perhaps, just perhaps, these outfitters would do well to provide a bit of guidance to the travelers that pass through their doors. Just a thought.

Mid Summer Updates

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes...

Annual float trip with work - Gasconade River

Fun at Lake of the Ozarks with the Ericssons

4th of July


Table Rock Lake with Grandma & Grandpa White


Picking Blueberries

Travis turns 13, and dun, dun, dun... gets a cell phone (photo's later - this is a photo of his new watch)

What kids say

Ethan asked me the other day if he could go to his friend Zach's house. "He lives on Highway U -but Zach calls it U Highway-, then you turn onto a soft road (He illustrates this by turning his hand) and then onto a bumpy road with rocks on it." I can see this little conversation between two 6 year olds. I wonder where Zach thinks we live?

Busy times

Well summer is upon us and although the school year has come to a close, the activities seem to have picked up. We spent a great weekend floating the Buffalo River the last weekend in May. We planned to camp in a campground, but they were all booked up by the time we arrived, so we piled our stuff into the canoe and headed down river in search of a gravel bar. It is one of my favorite rivers to float because the water is so clear and the bluffs are so beautiful. The water is low though and there were a lot of little rapids which scraped the heck out of the bottom of the boat, so we may not return for awhile, but it was a beautiful time. Brian and Ethan had promotion ceremonies on June 2nd, Ethan moving from Kindergarten to 1st grade and Brian moving from 4th to a new school for 5th. On Friday June 6th we went on a hike at a nearby conservation area - Cedar Gap and were enchanted with this new found place where Bryant Creek begins it's journey. Later that night we headed to the drive in in Aurora for our 2nd annual end of the school year celebration. They open the gates at 7, we didn't get there until nearly 8:30, waited in a line of cars a half a mile long, crept our way into a crowded, and I mean CROWDED lot and finally meandered our way into a parking place pretty much on the driveway near the front of the lot. We ripped into our goodies and watched "Land of the Lost" with glee. Beyond that we've been watching Brian play baseball every Monday night and the boys are enjoying their summer at the YMCA. That's about it for now. Check out the Family Photos link for more photo details : )

Strawberries

Brian woke me up at 6:30 this morning, fully dressed, "Mom! I thought you said we were going to get up EARLY and go pick strawberries!" No rest for the wicked. By the time we left the house - 7:15ish, everyone was awake. Rylee and Brian and I headed for the strawberry patch which it turns out, I had no idea where it was exactly. I called a friend from bookclub who lovingly gave me directions and we turned into the patch and came home with a whopping 14 lbs! Sounds like a lot, but really, by the time we ate and will eat a couple of pounds, it only adds up to a frozen lot of 7 quarts. Not quite enough to see us through till next year. Don't know if we'll hit the patches again before the season is over, or just make due. From there we went to see my friend from book club who lives on an enchanted acreage with her husband, two mules, a Saint Bernard named Millie, several cats, several ducks and plenty of wildlife. Her husband took the kids and I to get fresh milk from a Mennonite dairyman - 2 gallons of the good stuff, yum! Then back to the enchanted acreage for some snacks and oh yea, a kitten. I'm telling you, if Brian looked at you with those big brown eyes pleading for the kitten clinging to him, you wouldn't be able to say no either. I tried, several times, but to no avail. So now Brian is the proud parent of a tiny kitten. He has named her Cinnamon, or Puma, we aren't sure, but probably Cinnamon. He's changed her litter box already without being asked - I actually can't believe that she figured out how to use it already. He also gives her fresh food and water on the quarter hour. I think they'll do well together. More on that later though. I should write more, much more has been happening, but it's 11pm now and I've been up since the 6:30am Brian alarm went off, so I am starting to feel dizzy with exhaustion, so more later...

Books and the way they move us

We are reading this book for book club. Not this month, but sometime this year. I randomly found the audio book at the library and glommed onto it. This book is changing me. It tells tales of eating locally grown food and avoiding the over processed, nutrient robbed foods of our general consumption. These concepts are not foreign to me. I come from farmers. I have canned tomatoes and made jelly. I have made bread from scratch and my family currently keeps a compost pile and we grow a tomato and a summer squash or two. Still though, the ideas in this book are changing me in a way that moving across the country would change me. The way you are required to look at all your stuff and evaluate what you need and what you don’t. They way you stand back at that new place and quietly observe things that under normal circumstances you would just ignore in your daily rush to touch all the bases you have to touch in a day. The way you have to make new friends and find new stores. The way you hold your family dear, the only constant in an ever changing landscape. There are 12 CD’s in this audio book. 6 CD’s in and life is shifting before my very eyes. http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

Well, today was kind of a rough day at work. My staff are looking like slackers in the eyes of upper management and I am having to make excuses for them. Alas, the excuse bucket has run dry and the cries for pity will no longer be heard. It is time to pay the piper. I was feeling a bit inadequate as a supervisor and came home at lunch nearly at the point of tears. But I have a teenager AND a toddler, so I can surely handle a bunch of unmotivated 30 somethings. I switched the laundry, fixed myself a salad of fresh baby spinach from the farmers market, pulled up my big girl underwear and went back for more. The afternoon was spent mostly gathering data to see where to go from here and to show the ones in charge all that I have been doing on the treacherous front of supervising burned out government workers. I have neither a stick or a carrot, but somewhere, somehow I need to find a way to jump start the battery of the overworked and under appreciated. Maybe I can threaten them with chili peppers.

Meanwhile on the home front, here's a little of what we've been up to lately...

Ethan was the "Kinderstar" or "Proud Mountain Lion" for a week

Uncle Gary and Aunt Vickie (not pictured) came for a visit from Michigan. Uncle Gary is a wiz at the guitar and helped Travis with his.

Brian caught the biggest fish of the season so far this year. He always does.

We went on our first campout of the year 04.24.09

and Ethan played another great soccer game, he even kicked a goal!

There, I feel better now, don't you?

Bees

Life at our house is never boring. Tonight we found a bee swarm in the tree in the back yard. We tried to call some local bee keepers to come and get it, but to no avail. So we will hope they move on tomorrow.

Big Plans

Well, I had big plans for my Tuesday evening. I was going to fill out the growing pile of papers the kids need for various activities, read my book for book club (well not all of it), write a letter requesting a new pediatrician for the kids as I detest ours, clean out my car which has developed a peculiar odor (I am pretty sure it has something to do with the 4 small people who shove uneaten food between the seats and drag bones and turtles and lord only knows what into it). But alas, I planted flowers instead. I love flowers and digging in the dirt.

Sydney, Sida, Sidalouise, Syd

Sydney passed away a few minutes ago. She has been acting normal and fine. She ate, hung out outside, snuggled with Rylee and the rest of us today. She came to bed in our room as she always does, layed down at the foot of the bed and didn't wake up. We heard some strange noises coming from her and when Kevin got up to check on her, he said in a half panicked, half unbelieving voice, "She's dead." He tried to resuscitate her, but it was not to be. We stared in disbelief at our silent (she usually snores -loudly) and still dog. We snuggled her and cried, and stared some more at the surreal scene before us as she slipped further away. She has been a great companion, loving and patient, loyal and sweet. We loved her with the depth of our hearts and she loved us back with the depth of hers, which was always, always true.

These pictures are from today...