Eleven - Really?

Wow, time goes fast. Jake is 11 today!

2 Months

1 Year

2 years

3 years

4 Years

5 Years

6 Years

7 Years

8 Years

9 Years

10 Years

11 Years

Just Livin' the Dream

Someone asked MaKenna one time what she had been up to. Her response "Just livin' the dream".  Well, that is pretty much what we've doing.

 This past weekend Steve decided to cut and bale the top 20 acres.  I was rather impressed when we got 70 small bales. I was expecting 10 or something.

As for the calf... we still don't know his name. Its between Pecos Bill and Crazy Cooter. Pecos Bill because he was born the night after all the Tornado warnings and watches. Pecos Bill would be followed by other Folk Tale and historic names such as Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Paul Bunyan, etc.

Crazy Cooter because Steve loves Dukes of Hazzard. We've had a Basset Hound named Flash, black and white cat named Roscoe, another cow named Daisy. This would mean that the next calf (girl) would be Lulu.

Even though Colorado is on fire - both figuratively and literally - I love it here. It has been hot the past couple weeks, mix that with an occasional lightning storm and you've got a crazy fire season. We know some folks that have been evacuated and some who have lost their homes. It's sad and makes me so thankful for my safety and what I have - a home, family, friends, health, etc.

Our Fire Pit at the property. Yes it was so big Shawn could stand in it.

Kyler headed to church

Another fire in the mountains...

Here is a link to a forest fire up Rist Canyon / Buckhorn.  It was 2 acres this AM and then grew fast today to about 5000 acres.

http://www.coloradoan.com/viewart/20120609/NEWS01/306090010/Fast-growing-wildfire-burning-northwest-Fort-Collins

Here are a couple pictures I took this afternoon from the back yard.

 

It's a boy!

Get your attention - ours too.  Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time in a land far far away (called Pueblo) we bought 2 cows - Copper and Moon. Copper is Moon's mother. Copper had recently had a miscarriage (or still born calf), and Moon had recently been exposed (to a bull). We were told that Moon would most likely be pregnant and in a few months, Copper would be ready to try again (to get pregnant).

Fast Forward a few months - we took the cows in to have halters put on them since we don't have a squeeze chute. We also wanted a preg check on Moon. There was no need to check Copper, she had just lost a calf when we bought her.  We were disappointed when our vet told us Moon wasn't pregnant. We eventually decided that was fine and we could try to get Moon and Copper both pregnant in July / August sometime so they would calve early summer (not in the middle of Winter).

Skip ahead to today... Steve went to check the cows, give them water and hay and was surprised to find this....

Copper was pregnant. Guess I should have listen when MaKenna mentioned a couple days earlier that Copper had udders and she hadn't had them showing before.

He had one leg stuck in a prairie dog hole for a couple hours and got pretty hot in the sun. We called our awesome vet and he came and checked the calf out, fed him a bag of milk and gave him some meds for his fever. We watched him today, didn't see him eat anything and he wouldn't take a bottle... so I got nervous and called out vet back out tonight and he fed him again. Hopefully in the morning the calf is sucking and eating from Copper.

Kids are arguing over names... what do you think???

Blackjack
McBean (Sneetches)
Sunny Jim (Too Many Daves)
Puddles (Oregon Ducks)
Lightening (big storm on Thursday night)
Twister (Tornado warning Thursday night)
Tornado  (Tornado warning Thursday night)
Pacos Bill (Tall Tale - Roped a Tornado)
Twilight (born at night)
Double Stuff (Oreo)
and a few others...

Teacher Gifts

The end of the school year gives me another reason to get creative and give teachers a thank you gift. I love the teachers at Range View. The kids are so lucky to have teachers that are dedicated and go above and beyond just teaching. They truly care about the students and want them to succeed. 

Jake had two teachers this year. One was there Mon - Wed AM and the other was there Wed PM - Friday. That is why there are 4 sets.  Each set had a beach towel, a magazine, sunscreen, and candy. The card said "Life's a Beach! Enjoy your summer!"

Last Day of School 2011 - 2012

Well, it's here... As a mother, I have a love/hate relationship with this day every year. I love summer and no homework, deadlines, projects, etc., but I don't look forward to daycare, I'm bored, can I blah blah blah... I am looking forward to time with the kids, camping, vacation, family visits, etc. The end of one school year means the beginning of another - or at least preparing for another. I no longer have a baby in Kindergarten - I have a 1st grader! I no longer have a little girl in 3rd grade - I have a "upper classman" in 4th grade! I am no longer a young parent - I am old and have a child in Middle School!!!

Here are the kids' pictures on the last day. (you can see their 1st day pictures here...)

last day

Last Day

Last Day

Continuing with tradition - the school has an award assembly on the last day. Jake, MaKenna, and Kyler all got Perfect Attendance certificates. MaKenna got an award for her Learners Showcase project on Oil Spills.  It was also an assembly for the 5th graders to show off. I love how all the other classes / grades (even preschool) line up in the hall to give the 5th graders "5" as they walk down the their last assembly. It's pretty cool how all the kids get along and support each other. Its a great school and you can feel the energy and support.  Here are some pictures.

Hallway with all the kids.5th grade "hall" is at the very end

Jake

Jake

Mother's Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I had a great day. My only real desire was to NOT do any errands. It seems that lately all I do is run around picking up stuff and dropping off stuff. 

I was awoken Sunday morning by a lot of ruckus. I could hear the kids stirring about and of course arguing about who should do what. The natural noise that comes with this arguing is telling each other loudly to be quiet and not wake up mom. They did a great job decorating with streamers and balloons.

Mother's Day Decorations

Saturday, Steve and I had to run into town at the last minute and pick up my car from the shop (finished 30 min before they closed). We called Anya to come babysit. Her and the kids made a colorful cake. Some white, some pink, some purple... Given the special occasion - we had a piece of cake for a pre-breakfast snack.

Colorful Cake

Steve surprised me with a new knife set. I've always wanted a good knife set. This one is awesome. We used them as i finished off my special day with Steve cooking steak and baked potatoes.

I love my new knife set