Late Nights and Falling Stars

I have started running again. With a new pair of shoes professionally selected for my special-needs feet I have hit the road with Okie at my heels. So far so good, no pain. I love to run at night. It gives me a chance to enjoy the quiet and the sky full of stars. Last night was a spectacle of falling stars. One of God's little treats. My ipod and I drum along down the road...listening to anything that might keep my feet moving. Justin Timberlake, Usher, Tom Petty, Korn and God forbid Britney Spears to name a few. It feels good to be out and moving.



Doug's hunting trip turned farm vacation will be ending soon. He heads back to work this week and I will miss having him home. After 18 years he is still my best friend.



Saturday was the day my brother in law had awaited for almost 2 years. His ex-wife finally came to pick up all of her belongings. Her Jeep, camper, huge table, clothes, tack, etc. had been constant reminders of a marriage gone wrong. The end of their marriage was sad on many levels. Probably the biggest disappointment for me was that I let Doug take the fall for delivering feelings I had been feeling instead of doing it myself. Therefore he took the fall and was the one that she directed her hate and anger. I won't let that happen again.



We spent a beautiful evening watching the sunset at Dean's place. His life long friend, Jeremy, Betty, neighbor Amber were also in attendance. Dean has a nicely stocked spring fed pond on his property that he has stocked with a variety of fish. He brought out the fishing pole and promptly hooked a small mouth bass. Then I gave it a turn and had about 5 bites but failed to hook one. After giving the pole back to Dean I realized what a graceful fisherman he is. You know, fishing is really a beautiful sport in many ways. The setting, the grace of tossing out a line and reeling it back in, the quiet and getting a chance to see some different types of fish up close is a little addictive. With Dean behind the jig he pulled in a large mouth bass and a blue gill. All catch and release. The girls and their mom loved the chance to see the fish and feel their slippery scales and then watch them swim away after our examination. Thanks Dean. Glad you are going to keep your little slice of heaven over there!



Doug's mom joined us for breakfast this morning. I love to serve up a man meal of a breakfast. Bacon courtesy of Katy Sue. She made a trip over to Costco with Doug last Sunday and bit into a large package of bacon so he ended up buying it. Not soon after she stuck her fingers through the plastic wrap of a huge EXPENSIVE salmon. So we grilled that beauty up Friday night. Salmon is probably Hadley's favorite food so she was tickled to see we were eating it for dinner.

With Doug being home it gave me the opportunity to host a ride at my place with my mom and her friend Penny. Penny is getting to know her know Icelandic pony and it is fun to see the progress they have made in such a short period of time. His name is Rimzee and he is 12 years old yet quite green under saddle. Penny dedicates a lot of time and attention to her horses so I know she will have him right where she wants him in short working order. Our ride through the fields was a nice little getaway. I ponied Cruiser off Elvis and had the most solid ride in a long time. Elvis is steady and confident. We saw no fewer than 10 deer and countless pheasants. We also saw 6 badger dens, I am hoping that is the work of 1 or 2 badgers instead of 6. Badgers intimidate me for good reason. I have seen a couple on the farm in the last couple of years but have no interest in a close encounter. The holes are big enough to lose a small child in so I have to be careful when loping my horses through the fields.

When East Meets West

My husband is the best. I asked him if he could take a couple pictures of me and Cruiser because I never have anything to post of me. So not only did he readily agree but he loaded up both kids and followed me all around the property taking pictures. I don't have any pictures of me riding Cruiser other than show pictures so I appreciate the different scenery. And you can see what a beautiful area I have to ride in. Our ground is almost entirely flat so I just trot across the road and head up the hills belonging to our neighbor. The hill tops provide beautiful views in every direction. I haven't actually ridden Cruiser out in these fields until this week. I had a very informative visit with the chiropractor on Monday and he suggested doing some hill work to condition Cruiser with hopes this strengthening work would help his stifles. So I have been saddling up daily and taking the most enjoyable rides. I had been riding him in my western saddle but decided I would get in better condition posting his trot if I was using the saddle I actually show in. So hence the English attire. Note my trusty partner, Okie, always by my side. And to finish off a lovely ride I am riding west into the sunset.

So back to my husband. Believe me when I say you have never met anyone like him. Aside from his gig as a doctor he also does a major amount of work on the farm. I swear he can fix or do most anything. His brain works in ways most people can't even imagine. And so does his heart. I suppose by his very nature he is a giver and a healer. Just in the past two days he managed to completely redo the starting system in the pellet stove we recently bought. The method he used is too complex for me to even explain. And today he decided he wanted to get my arena in the working order it should be so he spent almost the entire day discing, watering, leveling, watering, packing, watering and then repacking. It is 100% better than where we started and I am so thankful. As Hadley would say, he rocks.

When it rains...

Doug has an obsession. It is irrigation. He spends countless hours every spring and summer working on the irrigation system on the farm. It is used for watering the crops and the yards and pasture. In the past year he has been developing a nice motocross track and he needs to keep water on it to keep the track in good condition. So this has been a challenge. Getting water delivered to where it needs to be is something people in town don't give a lot of thought to. You just move your sprinkler a little to the left or a little to the right and manage to get the entire yard watered without much more thought. And the extremely fortunate don't give it any thought at all because of the underground watering systems. This year we indulged in a really nice reel sprinkler system called microrain. The one we got is specifically designed for horse arenas, sports fields and hobby farms. It takes care of up to 4 acres. Doug has toyed around with it and perfected it's pattern of spray every since the day it arrived about a month ago.

He must have been on a roll because after he got the microrain running and moving around the farm he also picked up a 2000 gallon water tank from my dad. We put it on our Chevy 10 wheeler (a large wheat truck) and he set it up with a booster pump and outfitted it with an impressive design of PVC pipe running here and there out the back end of the truck. This sucker can pump some water! I feel fortunate that he has spent a good amount of time trying to get my arena back in working order. Last summer we had a problem with gophers so he plowed it up to break up their underground network and getting it back to a smooth, level surface has proved to be a bit of a problem. But the thought is we can get some moisture on the ground, pack it and then just drag the top layer for riding. And what a nice surprise! The water truck works great for watering his motorcycle track. In addition to the suburban/lawn mower we can use this "water feature" as some billy bob entertainment when visitors come to the farm.

This morning after Hadley headed to preschool for the day Kate and I headed out to work on replacing the top layer of hot wire around my pasture. Cruiser has NO respect for a hot wire and takes full advantage of a fence when it is not working properly so I decided to replace it with new wire to make sure it was in good shape. After completing it I turned him out and he did exactly what I thought he would. Took a few laps around the pasture at the gallop and then settled in on the north side for a snack on the OTHER side of the fence. He reaches over and pushes all of his weight into the white tape but imagine his displeasure when he got shocked. HA! Why is it such a sick sense of pleasure to see a horse get shocked when they have been pushing on the fence for months?? So he took a large jump back and seemed to think the grass looked pretty good on his side of the fence after all. But given enough time he thought he might give it another chance, just in case there had been a mistake. HA! Shocked AGAIN!! So I think we can safely say he will be minding his fencing manners for some time to come.

Jesus Gets a Hair Cut

Who am I to mess with Jesus? Who am I to think I know what is best for Jesus and what might make her quality of life better? Well, I am the all knowing chicken wrangler, that's who I am. So Hadley and I rounded up the ol' girl and Hadley provided a squeeze chute of sorts in her arms and I got out the goats hoof trimming scissors (the sharpest scissors known to man kind) and I started cutting and shaping. My goal was to remove some of the excess "baggage", if you will, from the top of her little cabasa and let some light in to her world. Was I successful? Hmmm....I would have to say no. I think it just made it fluffier and I still think her world is just as small as before. What can I say, I tried.

Monday I took Cruiser to meet with Jeff Moore of Equine Rehab and Therapy. I had been patiently waiting for Jeff to make a trip through Walla Walla since July and was not disappointed. This guy was fantastic. He is a chiropractor and it is rare to find someone who understands movement like him. I arrived for my appointment at 3:30 and unloaded the big guy from the trailer, gave him a brief history of my concerns and then walked him away for Jeff to observe. My chief concern with a change in his canter in both directions and some tail swishing. He watched him move again and asked me if he ever sort of stumbled in the back end during downward transitions. Well, in fact he does. His feelings were that Cruiser had developed a way of going to protect his stifles (a horses knee) from slipping out. He is not uncomfortable, for the most part, but is just taking care of himself. He provided all over body work but said it would be secondary to what I needed to provide at home which was some serious conditioning hill work. How convienent to live on a wheat farm with hills right outside my front door! He said conditioning it most likely going to fix this issue but I should also consider a set of exrays to make sure there is no OCD going on in his stifles. I will more than likely be taking him to Nampa, Idaho where they specialize in performance horses and have them take a look a little while down the line. The information he gave me really put some pieces together in the puzzle. Cruiser's lack of ability to do a sharp 360 on the hind quarters is probably based in his desire to keep from working off his hind end as well as the on going issue of getting him to elevate his shoulders and drive from behind while doing rail work. My goodness it was refreshing to get some good insight into what is going on!! Thank you Jeff!

Well, our friends/neighbors have closed on their home in town and moved into it. It feels very quiet and a little lonely out here without them. Tara and her family were a real blessing to have out here for the past month. The girls had so much fun playing and riding and just having another mom to visit with. We had a lot of fun and am sure those memories won't stop with the short distance it takes to get together now that they live in Walla Walla. The picture I have included is from a wild ride the gang took through the irrigation on one of our last hot days on the farm. Everyone was soaked but full of smiles.

So fall is officially here. The nights are much cooler and Doug has spent some time getting the pellet stove we bought at the end of the season last year ready to serve us on many a cold winters night. We bought a great new stove called a Quadrafire and in addition to burning wood pellets it also burns wheat. It is set up in our living room which feeds right into our hallway and bedrooms. Doug and I simply love woodstoves and pellet stoves. This year we might even get a potbellied gas stove for our family room. The biggest draw back is our location which requires us to have an actual outdoor propane tank to run it because we don't have access to a gas line like they do in town.

My grandma is recovering nicely from her knee replacement surgery from almost a month ago. She has good help from Lori, a woman who stays with my grandparents during the day. Lori helps with some of the physical therapy in addition to doing all the cooking and cleaning and anything else they might need. My grandma is an amazing woman to take on a knee replacement at her age but she is tough and we all knew it. I am so thankful to live in the same town as my grandparent, who are both wonderful people. I have so much admiration for both of them and always love it when I get a chance to stop by when I am in town. Kate (Kathryn) is named after my grandma and I can't think of a better namesake.

Doug has been home this week on vacation and that gave me the opportunity to go riding Tuesday with my mom and friend Penny. It is not very often that I get to trail ride and it was the most beautiful afternoon so I jumped at the chance. As always, I rode "my"trail horse Keeper who actually belongs to my mom. She is my horse of choice when we hit the trails. My mom was on her soul mate in the form of a horse, Skipper, and Penny was riding her brand new trail horse Rimzee. Rimzee is an Icelandic horse which is a really interesting breed. They have 5 speeds and the one I believe is perhaps the most amazing is called the tolt which is this speed of light walk/run they are able to perform. Rimzee is very small, 13.1 hands to be exact, and he is bold and cute and Penny will have him polished up in every way before too long. I have included a picture of my mom and Skipper.

A River Runs Through It

Big Creek runs through the border of the Frank Church Wilderness area in remote Idaho. That is where we spent the past 5 days. Kate, Hadley, Doug and I loaded up the trailer and headed south to spend the first week of elk hunting season on the front lines. Doug purchased an elk tag for this hunt on New Years day and has been looking forward to it ever since. So we made the trek. Our journey would take us into Lewiston and then down through the Camas Prairie and finally arriving in the beautiful country of McCall where we would eventually turn off and head towards the wilderness. Now, on Mapquest it looked like our trip would take an estimated 9 hours. I am always amazed and surprised at how much longer things take when traveling with children. 13 hours later we arrive, in the dark, into Big Creek lodge. 13 hours sounds like a long time doesn't it? Imagine the last 3 hours of it on a bumpy gravel road. Yes, 3 hours. When I read it on the mapquest I thought surely it was a mistake. There aren't gravel roads that take that long to cover are there? But in fact there are. And let me say I wasn't a bit sorry to have Doug driving the truck and trailer (30' long on the deck) when we made this long leg of the journey. There were too many steeps spots to count. And numerous sections which required the truck being in 4 low to climb. My mom would have had to have been heavily medicated to drive in some of the sections we drove. Long drops offs that led down to a rocky river below. But anyway, we finally arrived and settled in quickly for sleep.

When we awoke it was cold. Much colder than we are used to. Things were covered with frost but Doug and I were out of bed and out the door to see what the country looked like. It was beautiful, as promised, and rocky and really amazing. We spent a good part of the day scouting the area and realizing just where we really were. Backcountry Idaho. It soon became apparent we were really going to be at a loss because motorized vehicles were not allowed back into the wilderness. The only way to access it was by foot or horseback. And it also became apparent that the elk were no where near our camp. Doug saw no sign of elk. Bummer.

In addition to this discovery, I had a good chance to watch the outfitters at the lodge preparing to take a couple of hunters back into the wilderness for a week. A week at $5000 a person. This outfitter, based out of McCall, was made up of a nice group of young men who seemed to enjoy what they were doing. It was interesting to visit with them and watch them prepare their packs and animals for the trip. Only the outfitters ride horses, the rest of the team is made up of mules. They seemed to know all of their temperaments well and had a nice way of handling them. One of their pack string was a Hafflinger that was named Captain. He was quite a character. He rubbed his bridle off 3 times while I was standing there. I said he must be good on the trails but they replied "no, he really isn't." I had to laugh. Sounds like the kind of horse we all want. I also have to laugh at the picture of the guided hunt heading out, I swear it looks like a inner mongolian pony and rider. The guide (who I later found out was a saddle bronc rider and not necessarily a horseman) was wearing this large steel frame on his back for packing out meat that looked like it was a modern day rig to pack around a papoose which I pointed out to him. One thing I can say for sure was it scared the crap out of the horses and mules. When they had the train all ready to go he walked through a couple of horses and they all freaked out and pulled back and broke apart with mules scattering everywhere.

The girls had a fantastic time. I am willing to bet they were not only the only two little girls up there but certainly the first "butterflies" the mountain had seen in a long time. I had picked up a couple of butterfly wings at the store before we left and they were thrilled with them and wore them all over. Taking rides on the quad through the forest service roads was especially fun. Kate sat in the bucket holder on the front of the quad and hollered "I YIKE ICE CREAM!" (translation=I like ice cream) at the top of her lungs over and over to whomever might be listening. What triggered this no one knows. Hadley and Kate also had an opportunity to go fishing for the first time. There was a pretty little creek called Lick Creek that fasinated them. It was shallow enough and quiet enough that they could wade in it and throw rocks when they were fishing. The first day we went there Kate and Hadley both were sopping wet from the creek. It wasn't until the next day I stuck my own feet in there and discovered just how cold this water was. Truly, like ice! It is amazing how tough those two girls can be.

Although we brought enough food to eat at our trailer the entire trip we treated ourselves to breakfast in the lodge a couple of mornings. There is a couple from Michigan who run the lodge and she serves up a huge man breakfast which makes sense because we were the only women around. Her husband, Dan, didn't even know what month it was. They have been back there since May and are very removed from the "real" world. They have Internet access but no phones and no television. Electricity is generated by a hydroelectric generator that is situationed on a creek that runs next to the property. The creek is actually a spring which spouts out water pure enough to drink. Just across the dirt road from where we camped there was a remote mountain air strip that is pretty heavily used considering its location. We saw a number of planes coming and going. Most come to have a bite to eat in the lodge and then head out again. This is also the primary means of getting supplies for the area and also for the US Mail.

In the evening, I wandered out to the camp fire and shared a beautiful time with some of the people from the lodge. I met a few really nice, interesting men. John and Rich are from the LA area and they were there for a guided fishing trip. We had such a great talk, John is originally from Dublin and he and Rich have been going on annual fishing trips for the past 43 years. They met in their work place as engineers many moons ago. They told me about some of their adventures together and about their families. I returned the favor. Leon, the guide who was taking them up to Lick Lake the following morning, joined us. He was a very interesting guy. One thing all three guides shared was a quiet, kind demeanor and it was fun to learn more about him. Earlier in the day he had told me he was from Ohio and it popped into my head that perhaps he was Amish but I quickly dispelled that thought after he said "shit". Certainly he couldn't be Amish and swear!? Well guess what! He was in fact Amish so with that information I had about 2000 questions for him. The first and most important question was "Do you say shit in front of your parents!!??" The answer was YES! He was raised on a farm that raised hay, wheat and livestock. They use draft horses to work their fields. His education was completed in 8th grade. He was able to get his drivers license and drive at age 18. Pictured above from left is Leon, Rich with safety orange tied around his head so he wouldn't get shot in the woods and John from Dublin.

While scouting on Tuesday, Doug came across a large male moose dead in the road. It had been shot and he spent the remainder of the day tracking down fish and game guys and whoever else could help deal with this tragedy. Eventually he was able to get the Fish and Game Department in on it and they try to retrieve the bullet to help determine who might have shot the animal and then if it is too old to use for meat (which this one was by the time they got there) then they blow the remains up with dynamite to prevent bears from feeding on the body. Interesting even if it is a little gross.

When it became apparent there wasn't going to be any elk within a realistic distance to hunt then we decided to pack up and head home. The trip home was not quite as long and probably just as interesting. We trade the kids back and forth between our rigs. I had taken the Forester in case he wanted to stay longer then I could head back to the farm. When Doug had the girls in the truck it gave me a chance to listen to a book I downloaded on my ipod called The Divide by Nicholas Evans. I don't often read fiction so it was kind of a fun change. The book was unabridged so even after so many traveling hours I still haven't completed it.

We stopped in New Mountain Idaho to eat dinner at a nice bbq place and then the girls had to get some ice cream for the road. Watching Kate eat ice cream in the back of any vehicle is enough to make anyone's blood pressure rise. What a mess! But how can you deny a girl who loves ice cream so much??

The sun was going down so we decided to camp on the Salmon River at Skookumchuck Park. How can you pass a place called Skookumchuck!? They had a fantastic beach and the girls bid the day farewell by taking an invigorating swim in the river with Doug. It never ceases to amaze me how brave and bold those two girls can be. They certainly didn't get their boldness from me.

On our final morning we headed into Grangeville Idaho which is up on the Camas Prairie and stopped for breakfast at a place called the Hilltop Cafe. Now make no mistake. Idaho is a Mans state through and through and I think this cafe pretty much summed it up. I was the only woman other than our 65+ waitress who knew all the men by name. A table of 6 or so men sat and bs'd before they headed off for work. The conversation never strayed far from fuses and electrical current to what kind of elk John Boy shot during archery season. Yep, I was in Idaho.

We made time to stop in Cottonwood to say hi to some of Doug's uncles and his grandma and then headed into Nez Perce to stop by his Great Uncle Dick's. We hadn't seen him in 13 years and it was nice to say hi. His health is failing but he remains engaged in life and seems to enjoy some of the things he has available in the small town. While Doug and Dick visited, the girls and I crossed the street and had sprinting races across the football field where Doug's dad used to play.

With the visits behind us we made a bee line for home and happily arrived in the early evening and started getting back to the real world but not without some nice new memories of a beautiful wilderness where a river runs through it.

Cock of the Walk

With the fair and trip to Hood River behind us we start the school year. Hadley started at Betty's preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. This is the same preschool that Doug and I met at so many years ago. She has one day under her belt and seems to think it will be a good place to go. She is also returning to Kids Place on Monday and Wednesday's which is a great school that we already know she loves. It was easy for her to head back to Kids Place and see her familiar teachers and play ground and toys. There are new faces in her class but she will meet them soon and it will be old hat before long. I am having to adjust to having Hadley gone during the days, I really miss her and can't believe how quickly she is growing up.

Thursday night my neighbor Melissa called and said they were available to help round up their chickens. They got a flock of chickens back in the spring for their daughter, Kylie. All was well until they realized their lab wasn't going to get used to the chickens and stop waiting for someone to slip up and let her out when the chickens were in the yard. So, after losing a few chickens, they did the merciful thing and asked me if I would take them. Hadley and I loaded up in the truck as the sun started to set and headed over to their place. I needed Hadley, my chicken whisperer, to help me catch them. There were only 3 but they had a reputation of being pretty wild and hard to catch. Thankfully, with dusk on our side, they were relatively docile and we got three caught without much trouble. From left they are named Annie, a Rhode Island Red; Bitty, a Black Rosecomb and the rooster is possibly a Wyandotte that Hadley named Gallo. As you can see, he is missing his brilliant tail feathers. Thankfully the dog didn't kill him. Hopefully he will fit in here.

Hadley and Kate had a play date with Kylie Friday morning. They played inside with Melissa and I visited and then we moved outside for a wagon ride. We sure appreciate having such nice neighbors. They have us some of the best corn I have ever had. It was so a treat to get corn that was fresh picked from their friends field. I cooked it up just as soon as I got home and I swear we all enjoyed it as much as a bowl of ice cream!!

And lastly we have our token horse riding photo. This time we see Kate in the saddle.

Labor Day Smiles

This is such a fun time of the year. Our weather has awarded us a break in the temps so being outside is much more comfortable and we are spending even more time outside. We have been looking forward to a trip to meet our friends in Hood River but before we could go I knew I had to take Hadley and Kate to the long awaited fair and carnival. We met up with her good friend, Luke, and his mom, Carolyn, and a fantastic time. Not being a real carnival ride enthusiast I had to think long and hard about how many rides they could go on but the fun side of me won and I bought each of them the bracelet that allowed them to go on as many rides as they wanted and they made good use of it. Kate and Hadley went on just about every ride in the kiddie section with no hesitation. They both favored the carousal horses/merry-go-round which I thought was rather sweet. Doug met up with us after morning clinic and we indulged in fair food while watching the pig races. Kate and I checked out at 3 but Hadley, Luke and Carolyn partied on until dark. While we were at the carnival we got to see my friends Mika and John Frostad from Maui. Their two boys, Rai and Kai, were going on the rides and taking things in. Very cool boys.

When Hadley rolled back home I was down with the horses riding. Tara and Ashleigh and I were making good use of the remaining daylight and agreeable weather. Hadley saw that Ashleigh was riding so she decided she wanted to ride too, only this time she didn't want any assistance (mom leading). So I hoisted her up into the saddle of Cruiser and away she went. I can't tell you how much fun it was to see my sweet, trust worthy show horse pack her around for her first solo ride. He had never been ridden by a child but he was as safe and quiet as he could have been. He even gave a ride to Hadley with Luke riding double. Ashleigh was riding Elvis while all of this was taking place. He is amazingly responsive and quiet with a youngster on board. It was awesome. Cruiser doesn't neck rein so that makes it pretty challenging to navigate around but Hadley managed to get him directed where she wanted him to go. With her new found confidence in the saddle she told me she is going to start going to rodeos. Ummmm.....this should be interesting.

So that wrapped up on Thursday and now we had to start getting ready for our short getaway to Hood River. I had been looking forward to this all summer. We were meeting our great friends Colleen and Damon. They were our neighbors in Yakima when Doug and Damon were in residency. We really enjoyed living next to them and don't get to see them nearly enough now that we live in this corner of the state and they live in Seattle. They have a little boy named Milo who is just a little younger than Kate.

After a late start we rolled into Hood River about 4 pm. This gave us plenty of time to head down to the Columbia and watch a little wind surfing and let the kids play on the shore. What a beautiful site to see all of those sails! Kate, Hadley and Milo had a fun time wading in the water and playing around the rocks while I got to visit a little with Colleen. She is expecting their second child in October and is the epitome of a beautiful pregnant woman. Absolutely radiant. Damon finished up an afternoon of wind surfing while we were there but was kind enough to go out again so we could watch. It is a pretty awesome sport to watch and the navigation on the water with all the other sailors is a challenge too. There were a lot of kite sailors too. The kids especially liked those.

Before we got to Hood River, Colleen had told me Milo was a little ladies man. She wasn't kidding! His adorable looks and sweet disposition was an immediate attraction for Kate who stole a kiss while they shared a view from the rocky shore of the Columbia. As the weekend progressed she did decide she was jealous to Milo and didn't like it if I gave him any attention. At one point when I was holding him she broke into tears and repeated "Baby Down!! Baby Down!!" Jealousy is an emotion I was not experienced with from Hadley so I had to chuckle a little at being her object of affection and not wanting to share.

Saturday morning Colleen and I with the kids in tow headed the 4 blocks to the downtown farmers market. Being within walking distance of shopping is a real treat for me. We picked some yummy fruit from the area and 4 t-bone steaks from a free range ranch in Eastern Oregon. We knew the guys would love this to bbq for dinner. Colleen and Damon's friend, Tim, was also spending time with us along with his girlfriend.

Sunday morning came far too quickly and it was time to pack up and head home. Being able to spend even a couple days in a different town and visiting with friends was a great time for us. I appreciated the fact that even after 4 years of not seeing each other they are still the same fantastic people they were before and we are looking forward to seeing them again sooner rather than later. We even talked about renting a house boat to tour Lake Roosevelt on. Sharing parenthood with them makes it even more sweet because the kids all loved spending time together. Can't wait to meet her next baby!!

Shortly after we got back to the farm our neighbors called and asked if they could come down with their family and friends and ride motorcycles on the track. Of course we were happy to see them and it ended up being impromptu party. There were 4 or 5 kids riding their motorcycles around along with 4 dads and then the mom's gathered and then the grandparents....it was really fun to see the kids and visit with everyone. Wish I had my camera with me!! As the sun went down they loaded up and headed back to their farm and then Doug built a fire on our patio to fight off the cool edge of our pre-fall evening. The girls sat around and watched the fire while Doug and Mike and Trey stoked it with branches gathered from the last wind storm. Tara and I headed inside to get the fixings together for chili burgers and I made a peach cobbler with home made ice cream for dessert. So we enjoyed our visit over a few beers and then called it a night.

Why can't every weekend be a 4 day weekend?