Shopping.....for Cows!

Woohoo....I am going to a cow sale today!

The sad thing is....I am really excited about it, it's the highlight of my week....I think I need a life!

Brrrrr!

It has been so cold here the last few days. Today was a little better but the wind was still blowing pretty bad! I guess it's winter and I should be ready for it but it's a rude awakening every year.

Chad spent most of the day yesterday getting the tractors and truck running (we have to have them to feed and water the cows and calves). It was cold enough for the fuel to gel in some of them. I don't know if a lot of you are familiar with the diesel situation or not but fuel is hard to get right now and is over $4/gallon. The last I knew we couldn't even get #1 fuel from our local Cenex but Chad did get some yesterday at a station in another town and I don't even want to know what he paid for that! I am just thankful that my suburban can run on E85, that helps a little on the fuel bill.

Potluck

We have a potluck tonight before the Fall Sports Awards (for football, fb cheerleading and volleyball....letters and awards). I have about 2 things I readily rely on to bring....Calico Beans or Cheesy Hashbrowns. I have tried a few new things in the last year but always end up back at the same 2 things. We have several potlucks coming up and I am looking for new ideas....I am hoping that a few of you can help me out. I really like to use my crock-pot because then I can get called away for a few minutes (that's what hubby always says and it turns out to be hours) and I don't have to worry about it. Any suggestions???

Board Games

First of all.....I love playing board games!!!

We spent Saturday night at Wayne and Laurie's (good friends of ours), drinking and playing their new board game Apples to Apples. It was a really fun game and I would definitely recommend it to those of you who like to play board games. Although I did have a liiiitle too much to drink...right Laurie.....it was a great evening and I had lots of fun!

Anybody have any other board game suggestions since we like to buy a new one every year for a "family gift".

"Black Friday"

Well.....the tradition of shopping on "Black Friday" with my sisters was once again a success.

We added a few new people on our "adventure" this year. My brother Eric and his girlfriend Dulcy were back visiting for Thanksgiving this year so they tagged along. I don't think they were impressed with the whole "adventure" as they ended up sitting in the vehicle for a lot of the morning (neither one of them are "morning people"). My good friend Laurie also went along and I think she really enjoyed the "adventure".

We shopped quite a bit (as much as you can do in our small shopping town)....laughed a lot....did a lot of "people watching" (some people can be VERY RUDE!)....and ended the "adventure" with an awesome breakfast at Perkins.

Oysters Anyone??

ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS that is......

We have never kept them and prepared them before so we decided this year will be the year to try them.

For those of you that don't know what they are....they are calf testicles and they are supposed to by yummy...I guess we will find out.

My brother Eric and his girlfriend Dulcy were back when we cleaned them and got them ready to freeze....I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of them "checking 'em out".

Have any of you had them or prepared them? We got instructions from Chad's cousin who is a wonderful cook on how to prepare them (freeze, slice thin and deep fat fry) but are always open to other suggestions....anybody have any other suggestions?

One hurtin' kid...one more to come!

No....I am not beating my children!

Courtney started basketball practice yesterday and Jeremy starts next Monday.

We had a boys and girls basketball player/parents meeting after Courtney's practice yesterday and she was one sore young lady! Her worst complaint is her shins...she had problems with that during volleyball too...any of you have ideas to make it better?

The coach (who just happens to be her uncle...tough situation) really works the girls hard and whips them into shape! They had practice after school yesterday....meeting with parents/players at 7:00 pm....supper at the school....walk through about 9:00 pm....the varsity team stayed overnight at the school with the coaches....practice at 5 am today! There are conferences after school today so they couldn't practice after school...hence the 5 am practice. The girls and coaches thought it would be fun to stay overnight at the school. I thought it might be a cool "team bonding" thing....I guess I will find out how it went when I see her after school today.

I love basketball and am SO looking forward to the season!

Fun Day!

On Saturday, a company (Midstate Agronomy) that we buy our seed and chemicals from provided us (and several other clients) with a fun day! It started with some of the women, the kids and the men going to the SDSU football game....I hear it was a great game and was a record setting game for attendance. The rest of the women..I was included in this group....went to Shade' winery and did some serious wine tasting! I didn't know you could have so much fun tasting wine (right Laurie)! After tasting many of the wines and making a purchase of several bottles of wine...Laurie, my Mother-in-Law and I went Antique shopping. We giggled like school girls, made some purchases and had a great time! When the football game got done, we met the rest of the group at the Pavillion for supper and drinks (also provided by Midstate Agronomy). We all received a gift of a wine box with a bottle of wine included during supper (I am going to have lots of fun with all this wine)! Following supper, we all headed to the SDSU Men's basketball game...once again paid for by Midstate Agronomy for evening of basketball.



It was so nice to get away for a day......Yeah Midstate Agronomy...thanks for providing us with a fun day!

Getting Old?

Does it mean I am getting OLD if I love to play Bingo?
My sister Cheryl and I played Bingo the weekend before Halloween. Jeremy took over for me in the field late that afternoon so Cheryl and I could go watch my niece Nikki and my nephew Mitchell participate in a Halloween Costume Contest. Of course we knew that there would be Bingo there too...we try to go to this every year to see Nikki and Mitchell's costumes since we don't get to see them on Halloween....they trick or treat in the town near them (20 miles away from us). Anyway....we were by far the youngest ones playing Bingo and I was wondering if it is a sign that you are getting old if you really enjoy Bingo??!!

I remember.....

Michelle tagged me for this awhile ago and I thought it sounded interesting so here goes.....





I remember...the day my baby brother was born- back then, kids weren't allowed to visit in the hospital so my mom held him up to her hospital room window and we looked at him for the first time from 2 stories down. I was so excited to have a baby brother after having 2 sisters.

I remember....days before VCR, DVD, Ipod, Computers and Remotes!

I remember...hunting and fishing with my dad- great experiences that I am glad I got to share with him.





I remember...my mom telling me that my dad had died-don't remember much the next year.





I remember...watching my sister dance with Chad at a jr. high dance when she used to "go out" with him.





I remember....Michelle getting her mitten stuck to my braces and we had a tough time getting it loose-we were on a school bus on our way to a roller-skating party.





I remember...eating tons of homemade bread that Michelle's mom made when I would go visit them (my mom didn't bake bread much)....I have always loved homemade bread.





I remember...Michelle's dad playing the guitar and singing John Denver songs to us when we were young (my dad and Michelle's mom were first cousins so our families used to hang out alot together).





I remember...getting the phone call that Michelle's mom had died...I hadn't cried that hard since my own dad had died.





I remember....when my friend Jodi found out she was pregnant-we were seniors.





I remember...my sister Cheryl and I doing everything together growing up. We are not quite 11 months apart so we shared alot of good times (and still do).





I remember....on Cheryl's birthday every year running out to tell the mailman that we were the same age.





I remember...playing sports through school...something I have never regretted and some of the best memories I have.

Do you have any special memories? Feel free to share them in my comments or share them with us on your blog.

FCA Praise Rally

I just got back from the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Rally that our FCA group at our school sponsored and helped put on....what an awesome experience! It was for kids from around the area in grades 7-12 but I was lucky enough to be one of those moms that the kids (thanks Jeremy and Courtney) volunteered to come and help serve lunch afterwards...so I got to be part of the Rally!



The Worship band from SDSU came and played songs for the group and Brian Hansen...a former NFL player and current SD State Director for FCA was the main speaker. The band was awesome and Brian was a wonderful speaker!



I am so proud of our youth that are members of FCA for helping to put on this Rally for themselves and for kids from surrounding schools and for not being afraid to proclaim their love for Jesus openly! Thanks also to our volunteer aids and teachers for giving their time to allow our kids to have this wonderful group. It was a great Rally and I hope they continue to make this an annual event.

Mother/Son Weekend!

I had a wonderful time with Jeremy and had some really great talks with him this weekend! It is so fun to talk with them as "big people". He has grown up so much and has turned out to be quite a decent young man!

Jeremy really liked one of the colleges that he toured (SDSMT) and is very interested in maybe attending it. The only downfall is the distance from home....he really wants to come back home and watch some football games and watch his sister play basketball and volleyball. He also wants to help out on the farm on weekends as that is a passion of his and he still thinks he wants to farm after college. Decisions...decisions....I don't envy him having to make this huge decision in his life!

Hallelujah!

I'm Back!

Our harvest is finished for the year! Praise God....for the good weather....for a bountiful harvest....for allowing us to be stewards of the land!

We do have one more day of work to do at the neighbors but his corn is too wet to harvest and put in bin so he is going to hold off on it for a few days and hope it dries down in the field. But....our crops are out and we are very thankful!

We finished just in time....I am taking Jeremy to Rapid City tomorrow to tour 2 colleges out there (and visit my mom, step-dad and brother who live out there too). Jeremy is interested in SDSMT (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) and Black Hills State. I wish Chad and Courtney could go with us too but Chad needs to get some things caught up around here and Courtney doesn't want to miss school. Oh well, it should give Jeremy and I some quality time together with all the road time we will have.

Almost Done!

The end is in sight....we should finish up with the harvest by the end of the week...IF we don't have any breakdowns or rain (or snow) or any other unforeseen obstacles!

Thank God we are almost done.....I really need a BREAK!

Mmmmm!

Remember Her...... Jeremy took over for me tonight and I FINALLY cooked a meal....cornbread and chili with fresh ground hamburger from none other than the cow I posted about. For those of you that didn't see that post you can go here to read about her.
She was VERY tasty!