Update!

Jeremy is stuck in Amsterdam. Not sure of all the details but there was a problem with flights and they have put Jeremy and Kasey up in a hotel in Amsterdam. They fly out of there and head to London where they will spend several hours.....then to NY, Minneapolis and finally SF. They will not return until Saturday about noon.....Bummer!

*Heard from Jeremy this morning (Friday) via e-mail.....he has made it safely to London. They were told there that they fly into Newark, NJ (after many hours in London)...he can finally call with his cell phone when they get to NJ (should be sometime this evening as they are putting them up in a hotel there).

Excited!

I am so excited......Jeremy is supposed to be home tomorrow (Thursday) evening.

The mechanics for the airline that they fly out of Norway on (Lufthansa) are on strike and they have had to cancel several flights but so far the flight he and Kasey are on is scheduled to leave. They should fly out about midnight our time tonight. The first flight takes them to Germany, they have a short layover there and then back to US ground....Chicago. They have a 5 hour layover in Chicago and he is supposed to call me once they land there. They should fly into SF from Chicago at 7:30 tomorrow night. I am hoping that all flight are on time and they have safe travels. Hopefully he can catch some sleep on the long flight (9 hours). On the way over there he did not and he was pretty tired when he got to Norway.

They have been gone 16 days and I have missed him and thought about him often (although I think I handled it pretty well). I can't wait to hear all about his trip and see all his pictures!

Hot!

It has been hot, hot, hot.....and humid, humid, humid!

We cleaned a bin out yesterday and it was so miserable....almost unbearable!

This time of the year with the heat and the humidity here in SD, we usually end up with some pretty bad storms with hail, tornadoes and wind. We have been lucky so far and are hoping the crops make it though with no damage again this year.

Been Busy!

I haven't had time to blog much lately but will try to get around to everyone yet this week. We have been busy with 2nd cutting of hay, hauling grain from the bins, replacing fences and lots of odds and ends. I did manage to slip away a few evenings to attend a Lia Sophia party and a Pampered Chef party.

Our 4-H county fair is next week so Courtney has been working on getting her projects done. Jeremy finished his before he went to Norway because he knew he wouldn't have time to get it done once he got back. Thank Goodness....I hate last minute projects!

Jeremy returns from Norway on Thursday. We haven't heard from him much which probably means he is having a good time. I can't wait to see him on Thursday and hear all about the trip and Karianne.

Sad Day

Just got back from the funeral for Laurel Smith, our little neighbor girl that was killed in the ATV accident.

What a sad, sad day! Such a tragedy to lose such a young child.

The church was filled with community members and the service was very nice. The parents seem to be doing pretty good, but I have not personally talked to them yet. Please continue to pray for them.

The poor young boy that hit the ATV was having a hard time...please remember him and his family in your prayers too. Both families are very nice and very good people!

Everybody please hug your children a little harder today and remember to tell them how special they are!

Prayer Request

Our neighbors 3 kids were involved in an ATV accident yesterday. They were hit by a pickup. The 7 year old girl has died and the 4 year old and 2 year old remain in the hospital. Please pray for these kids and their family and for the driver of the pickup. They are both very nice families and I am sure they are suffering greatly. Your prayers would be gratefully appreciated.

Jeremy

We heard from Jeremy about a half hour ago. He is having a great time! They are in the Fjord region (mountains) right now and he sounded pretty excited about that. They climbed one mountain that was really high-so high that they were in the clouds. Karianne's family has been really great to him and Kasey and he is having a wonderful time with them all. He said her parents are super nice. He only met them briefly when they were in the States to visit Karianne just over a year ago. We are grateful for them allowing Jeremy and Kasey to stay and travel with them thus allowing them this awesome experience! They have been gone a week today and will return home next Thursday, the 31st.

MMMM!

My new favorite thing! Bud light and Clamato juice.

I was a little leery of trying this but I did and found that I really like it. Has anyone else tried it? Any suggestions on something else to try?

Games!

Courtney was gone to a 2 day volleyball camp on Wednesday and Thursday. Today (Friday) she spent all day at a basketball team camp. I didn't go watch the volleyball since it was a 2 day event and an hour and a half away but I did get to watch her play 6 basketball games today. I am tired just watching today, I don't know how she can keep up. She also played league volleyball Monday night and league softball on Tuesday night. She is hardly ever home and thus I have partly taken over her mowing responsibilities here and at the hog site.

Ahhhhh.....the joys of being young and active. She is really enjoying her summer even thought it is going by quickly.

They Made It!

We heard from Kasey and Jeremy this morning via e-mail. They made it safely to Norway. Kasey says it is beautiful. Jeremy didn't have a whole lot to say yet...he is a man of few words. I am hoping to hear from him by phone some time in the next few days.

Courtney is gone to a volleyball team camp today and tomorrow. So.....I had the house to myself today. I got a few odds and ends done around the house and finally got my words that I bought from an uppercase living party hung up on the wall (with some help from Laurie.....thanks Laurie). If you have never been to an uppercase living party, I would strongly suggest going to one...they have awesome things.

Norway

Jeremy is on his way to Norway. I drove him to the airport today and he is on his way right now. He should arrive in Norway sometime tomorrow morning. He will be gone until July 31.

Chad and I bought Jeremy a ticket to Norway for his graduation gift. He and his cousin Kasey are taking the trip together and will be staying with Karianne, a foreign exchange student that went to school here 2 years ago. Jeremy and Kasey were very good friends of hers while she was here in the States and Jeremy even took her to prom.

This is going to be such an exciting adventure for them and is a trip that I am sure they will treasure forever (I am sure hoping so anyway)! Please pray for Jeremy and Kasey while they are there and for a safe journey there and home.

Party!

Chad threw a surprise birthday party for me on Friday night. It was so much fun! There were lots of my family members here (including my mom from Rapid City....a 5.5 hour drive) and many of my good friends too. It was a good night. Thanks to all of my friends and family for helping Chad with this and for making it a memorable 40th birthday!!!

Chad also surprised me with a new digital camera! It's a Canon Rebel XT and it is awesome! I have been wanting one for some time now. So, it may be awhile before you have any more pictures from me, I have to figure the thing out and download all the software for it yet. I also got some other very nice gifts and some um....interesting gifts too!

Thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes! It was a great day!

This and That

Courtney got her wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. Not a lot of pain and no swelling or bruising. She is doing really good. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. She has to take it easy until at least Saturday and she is taking advantage of that!!

Got the second barn of pigs in on Monday night. They are a little sick too so we are treating them through the water. The first barn we got in is doing better and we did not have to treat them so we will still be able to sell them as antibiotic free hogs.

We hauled out the last barn of butcher pigs on Tuesday and Jeremy and Kasey have that barn washed already. We just need to get it put back together and disinfected for the next pigs to arrive. We get them in on Monday.

It is my 40th birthday today. I asked the kids if I looked 40......what a dumb question, what does 40 look like anyway??!! Do I feel 40? What is 40 suppose to feel like??!! All I know is my body definitely doesn't feel (or look) like it did when I was in my 20's!

Behind Again!

We took the 4th of July off and didn't do much on Saturday or Sunday so we are really behind in things again.

Got the second barn of pigs in tonight. These and last weeks pigs that we got have sick ones amongst them so they require a little more attention...less time to blog.

The last barn of pigs go out tomorrow starting at 5am so it's time to get that barn washed and ready for new pigs.

We are working on cutting the road ditches and putting them up. I love it when the ditches get cut, can see better so there is less chance of hitting a deer.

Courtney gets her wisdom teeth out tomorrow so I will have to leave a little early from loading pigs and get her to town. She is being sedated....good choice for her.

I promise I will try to get around to "visiting" all of you as soon as I can.....I miss hearing what you have all been up to!

Catch up!

It's been one busy week again. Chad got the spraying caught up (well, as caught up as you can be this time of the year). He got a little behind since we were gone most of last week so it's nice to be caught up.

We got the hay put up before we left but it's time to cut the road ditches and put those up so that's next on the agenda.

We emptied one barn of pigs 2 weeks ago and we got the new babies in that barn on Monday night. The kids got the barn washed out before we left last week but we still had to disinfect that barn and put it together when we got back from Nebraska.

We emptied out another barn yesterday so Jeremy and Kasey (a cousin but more like a sister to both of the kids) are washing that barn right now. Kasey is such a hard worker and a really great kid (if you can call her a kid-she's almost 20)!

Got all 8 bulls turned out to pasture. Chad is bringing salt and mineral to all the cows and bulls right now...that's why I had time to finally catch up here. He took our nephew Booker with him. Booker is 6 years old and quite a funny kid so I imagine they are having a good ol' time right now.

I have tons of housework and laundry to get caught up on too....hopefully I can manage some of that today. I hope you all have a great 4th of July and a wonderful weekend!

No Bull!

It's that time of year again - time to turn the bulls out. Jeremy and I hauled 4 out to pasture to join the cows today, the other 3 will go out tomorrow after they get tested. So....there are a few "lucky" bulls at the frazzled farm today and a few not so lucky cows...ha ha!