FRAZZLED FARM WIFE

Camping

2011-07-16T21:41:00.001-05:00

We went camping for the very first time on Sunday.

It was my birthday and hubby knows that I really want to start camping so he left the farm for a few days to make my wish come true. We were going to camp overnight Sunday night and Monday night but we were having such a good time we spent another night. We borrowed his parents camper (thank you so much Al and Sharon) and had a wonderful time! We are now looking at campers and hope to buy our own.

Jeremy's girlfriend Stephanie fishing and Jeremy looking on....he was our helper (and boy did we need his help, broke several lines and he was kept pretty busy fixing those for us).

Courtney....pretty proud that she put the bait on her own hook!

Celebration

2011-07-05T17:09:00.001-05:00

One of our local small towns (Bryant, SD) held a 125th celebration. The weekend was filled with many activities, visiting with "old" friends and lots of fun.

The great-grandchildren of Clifford and Betty Noem (hubby's grandparents) that were around for the celebration rode on a float in the parade. Our daughter Courtney is in the front of the float in a green "gnome" hat and son Jeremy is driving the ATV pulling the float.

Hubby's dad Al and siblings Sally, Win, Larry, Rollie, Harley and Avis were all raised near Bryant, the town holding the celebration. Here are all the siblings on a float in the very large parade that was held.

Here I am with classmates and very good friends, Jodi on the left and Michelle (also a cousin of mine) on the right. We were best friends in High School and hung out in Bryant lots in those days. Michelle has since moved to Minnesota and Jodi to Watertown but I still do lots of business, go to church and spend lots of time in the town.

Me with cousins Michelle (left) and Staci (right). The were raised just outside of town and their dad was also raised in the area. We spent lots of time with them when we were growing up. It was great to have them back to help celebrate this wonderful small town.

Lots of fun was had by everyone.

I love this little town and LOVE living in this area!

Summer

2011-06-17T20:49:00.009-05:00

Wow, this summer is just flying by!

It has been such an unusual farming year so far. With all the rain we had, it took FOREVER to get the crops in and sprayed and now it's taking a long time getting our first cutting of hay put up. Chad is finishing up baling the first cutting as I type this...whew!

Normally we have a little spare time to do something fun for a day or so but have been so caught up with the farm that we really haven't had much time for fun. I am hoping that will change soon! We are trying to plan a family vacation but really difficult with all of our schedules.

Courtney is working 2 part time jobs and is also filling in when needed for her uncle's business. His secretary had a baby a few weeks ago and Courtney has been so happy to help him out. She is also selling Avon and taking 2 summer classes for college.

Jeremy has been home for the summer helping on the farm and has been such a blessing around here. Some days there is so much to do, it is almost impossible to keep up. The extra person around here helps out so much! I do feel sorry for his girlfriend, he has been so busy helping us out that he hasn't had much spare time to spend with her.

To sum it up, I am really hoping things slow down a little here so we can find time to enjoy some family time and enjoy the summer! Life is too short to work all the time, we really need to remind ourselves to stop and enjoy life and each other along the way.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

2011-06-05T11:12:00.002-05:00

We are finally starting to see the "light at the end of the tunnel"! If all goes ok (no rain or breakdowns), we should finish planting the beans tomorrow. We do have some to do for a neighbor yet but at least ours will be in.

The cows are all moved to pasture, what a relief that is! That takes days and days of hard work and is always a relief to have them eating fresh green grass instead of having to feed them hay (which the supply is usually dwindling down about this time of the year).

The hog barns are all washed and filled with pigs again. We do have to vaccinate them all yet but at least they are here and all sorted.

I did get the garden in finally....it isn't looking too good right now since the last round of hard rain and little hail we had this last week.

We are getting everything caught up just in time to start cutting hay and spraying the beans. Onto the next phase of summer!!

We do plan on trying to get somewhere this summer to enjoy some family time....I hope you all are enjoying your summer and families!

EXHAUSTED

2011-05-15T10:58:00.002-05:00

One word describes how I have been lately....EXHAUSTED!!!

We are trying to get the crops in right now which has been mentally and physically exhausting. We get a few good days of planting and then a few days of rain. Between loading the seed tender, helping to load the planter with seed and liquid fertilizer, running equipment back and forth to the fields, running after chemicals etc., I am trying to take care of the livestock. We are almost done with the calving, which will be a relief this year with all the mud and rain we have had!!!!

Jeremy, Courtney and I have been trying to get the pastures fenced and ready to move cows to. I even hired a few of the kids' friends to come help with that project. With all the snow we had this winter, we have lots of fences down and lots of repairs that needed to be done. Chad has helped on the rainy days when he is not able to be in the field. We have got most of the pastures ready, one more to work on and will start moving cows out tomorrow.

Our pigs are butcher size right now so we have been taking loads of them out as well and getting the hog barns ready to be washed. Jeremy has spent several days washing the barns this week and will wash the last one this coming week as we empty the last barn out at 5am tomorrow.

The garden is not planted yet, am hoping to maybe get that in this week sometime.

And....the house....um yeah, is a disaster right now, but that is the least of my worries.

Spring Work

2011-05-09T18:56:00.002-05:00

We are finally in the field and getting some of the crops in!

Please pray for some much needed sunshine! It has been a trying spring with all the moisture and mud and now the rain that keeps coming.

So far I have pulled Chad out 5 times this spring.
I have not had to pull him out in the field yet but where the silage and hay piles were that he fed from all winter and spring....he keeps trying to dig it to dry it out but just keeps getting stuck.
I just hope #5 was the last time for the year and that Mr. Sunshine comes out and dries everything out.

Calving

2011-04-26T11:12:00.003-05:00

The cows started calving a few weeks ago.

It has been a really tiring and trying calving season so far!

I am really getting tired of fighting the mud....and my body is feeling the impact of all this mud! Once the cows calve in the lot we have them in, we move the cow/calf onto grass in the pasture (which means having to handle every calf that is born).

Here we are moving a pair to the pasture.

Chad built a calf carrier for the back of the 4-wheeler.
Here is one of the calves on the carrier.

Chad has been stuck 3 times already this year....and I got stuck once.

MUD, MUD....everywhere!

We have about 85 calves so far....almost half done....YEAH!

Flooding

2011-03-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

We have had some flooding in our area with all the snow that we have had this winter finally melting.

The creek runs right behind our barn.

We usually drive through the creek to get the the cows to feed them but cannot get the tractors through because of the flooding. So....we are driving the tractors to the half mile line and around. Takes quite a bit more time and requires both of us so it has been an interesting few days for this frazzled farm wife!

The road South of our house we drive on to get to the cows.

The water (and ice) rushing to the culverts under the road south of us.

We are hoping for some nice sunny days to dry some of this "mess" up!

Road Trip

2011-03-17T08:45:00.001-05:00

We took a road trip this last weekend to the western part of the state.

We started out in Deadwood and spent the night there Thursday night. Hubby has always wanted to play blackjack at the tables but has never felt comfortable enough. There were so very few people there on Friday morning that we both tried for the first time. Our son was playing too.....he was giving us pointers (does anyone else find that weird?). I enjoyed a few very good bloody mary's while playing black jack that morning! Ahhh...gotta love a mini vacation.

We headed to my moms just outside of Rapid City late Friday afternoon. We enjoyed the evening with her, my stepdad and my brother and future sister-in-law. My hubby talked mom into letting him paint her entryway, hallway and bathroom that she wanted painted so Saturday morning we all headed to Lowes to pick out paint. My mom and Stephanie (Jeremy's girlfriend) and I did a little shopping while Chad headed back to the house to paint. Chad finished up painting the second coat on Sunday and we headed back home.

Was nice to get away before it gets busy here with calving and spring planting!

Spring Break

2011-03-08T17:23:00.002-06:00

My college kids are on Spring Break!

Jeremy went to the Black Hills last weekend with some buddies of his but decided

to come help us the rest of the week.

Courtney has been home since the weekend but had to work all weekend and

one day this week (she works at the local Cenex).

They have both been so busy with college and friends that we haven't seen much of them lately so I am happy to have them both home!

We are hoping to get some fun family time in this week!

SNOW!

2011-03-04T15:52:00.007-06:00

In one word....SNOW....that is what our last few months have pretty much consisted of!

We have been busy blowing snow, shoveling snow, pushing snow and now...praying for NO MORE SNOW this year. We have survived it pretty well so far with only a few sore muscles, but looking forward to what the spring is going to bring is a little scary. We had some major flooding in the area last year and it looks like it's going to be a repeat, only worse.

So....here's a toast to NO MORE SNOW

Wow...it's almost Christmas

2010-12-21T11:35:00.004-06:00

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just yesterday we were harvesting and now here we are...the week of Christmas.

When I was younger I remember the time going my so slowly, just waiting and waiting for Christmas to arrive and now as I have gotten older, the time just seems to be passing by so quickly! The kids are both home from college for their Christmas break and I have been enjoying (for the most part) having them both home. Courtney helped me wrap gifts and get a little Christmas baking done and Jeremy has been helping Chad with chores and moving all the snow from the most recent snowfall we had. I am so blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful husband and am so thankful that we all get to be together during the holiday season.

One of my Christmas wishes is for you all to have a very blessed Christmas with family and friends. Stay safe and have fun...and don't forget the most important part of all....

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Cattle

2010-11-18T10:30:00.002-06:00

Fall is a busy time with the cattle. They all get hauled home from the pastures they have spent the summer in and they all get worked (shots and pregnancy test for the cows...shots, implants and castrating of bulls with the calves).

Fall is also when we wean the calves from their mothers and start feeding them and we put the cows on corn stalks for feed if the weather allows. I took a few pictures of the cows with my cell phone to share with you.Getting the cow herd rounded up to move to the corn field across the road.
We have to water the cows in the corn field daily so I have plenty of time to think and take pictures while the water is draining from the tank we haul from the the stock tank.

They were really thirsty this day....

They don't wait very patiently for their turn!

Girls Day!

2010-11-11T09:34:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago one of my best friends from high school (Jodi) was back in the area after having moved to California a few months ago. One of my other best friends from high school (Michelle) drove from Minnesota to my home too meet up with us for a fun girls day. We had serious talk and a lot of laughing and a bunch of fun!!!!!

High School (and Middle age) best friends....Jodi, me and Michelle

The "real" us....being goofy!

Courtney was back from college to vote and hung out with us for a few hours.
She loves her "big sisters".

Elections

2010-11-04T09:52:00.004-05:00

We had the privilege of being at the South Dakota Republican site the night of the elections.

Wow, what a night! We have never experienced anything like this before so it was all new for us but such fun night and a great experience for the whole family.

Our sister-in-law, Kristi Noem ran against the incumbent for the United States House of Reps. and WON! We are so proud of her!

She is such an amazing woman. She is a smart, kind, honest, loving, hard working, christian woman. She has been a great aunt to my kids and has always been there for me. She and her husband Bryon and kids Kassidy, Kennedy and Booker are just one totally amazing family and we love them so much!

Courtney with her Aunt Kristi

Halloween

2010-11-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

This year we actually carved a pumpkin!

We have not carved a pumpkin in a LONG, LONG time!

We are usually really busy working on the harvest on Halloween but this year we have had a little time to do some fun things. And....the kids are old enough now that they don't get overly excited about carving pumpkins, or so I thought. We made it a family ordeal and we had many laughs and an all-around good time.

The finished pumpkins. Chad carved one and Courtney painted one.

Courtney working on her pumpkin.

Chad carving away!

Corn Harvest

2010-10-18T12:17:00.004-05:00

The corn harvest is going well!

We have had beautiful weather and so far no major breakdowns. The sunsets have been gorgeous.....

My father-in-law in the combine, we keep movin' along.....

A must to get through the harvest, lots of diet coke!

My bubba keg full of water, on top of my grain cart scale monitor.....

My gauges and controls.....

My sirius radio....nothing like listening to 80's music all day!

and the buddy seat right next to me....anybody want to come ride along in my buddy seat??

One more down, one to go!

2010-10-12T18:28:00.005-05:00

We have finished up the soybean harvest!! YIPPEE

Now we only have corn harvest to go. We started the corn harvest yesterday, hopefully we continue to be blessed with the wonderful weather we have had so far this fall.

Soybean Harvest

2010-10-04T10:14:00.000-05:00

We have been busy working on the soybean harvest.

Things have gone great so far, only a few minor breakdowns.

The sun has been shining and the days have been beautiful!

Each year I am in awe of God's awesome creations...one of them being the colors of fall....

...and am thankful for God's gift of a bountiful harvest...

....and for this wonderful life!

Checking Cows

2010-10-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Chad and I checked cows again this last week. Hopefully one of the last times we will have to before moving them home in a few weeks.

We have got cows spread out in 5 different pastures around the county throughout the summer months and we move them home the middle of October. We have one pasture moved home already and one of the pastures is here at home so we have 3 more to get moved home.

Me on my ATV

Chad and his ATV

the cattle grazing

enjoying a little treat....salt

How do you like Mr. Bully's hairdo?

A full shot of Mr. Bully!

Vacation

2010-09-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

We were able to take a vacation in August.

We didn't think we were going to get it done but we squeezed it in.

We went to the Black Hills (again). My mom lives out there so we visited her and got some site-seeing in too.

Family picture taken in Deadwood at Woody's Wild West.

Very fun experience!

We brought Jeremy's girlfriend Stephanie along with us. We left the day of her birthday so we grabbed some birthday cupcakes along the way to celebrate her birthday.

Jeremy and Stephanie rode the 1880 train from Hill City to Keystone.

Courtney, Stephanie and Jeremy enjoying ice cream in Deadwood.

Chad and me taking a break to have dinner in Deadwood.

Courtney...real impressed that I am taking her picture!

Stephanie and Jeremy

Jobless

2010-09-17T10:37:00.001-05:00

Ok, I am not totally jobless but I have decided to resign as daytime waitress at the "Bullpen" restaurant where I have worked part time for the last year. I loved my job and enjoyed interacting with the customers, especially the seniors that I served the 60's Plus meals to.

After much discussion and with both kids gone to college, Chad and I decided that I was needed here on the farm much more. It was a hard decision to come to but I do realize that my job was creating more stress on Chad and the farm (and me on occasion) than I realized. You see, I have been at home raising kids and helping on the farm for the last 19 years and although I do enjoy being home, I thought I was missing out on something. I will always treasure my time I spent working off the farm and they have asked me to fill in when I am not crazy busy on the farm (those of you who farm, know that is rarely). Anyway, I am now back to being full-time Frazzled Farm Wife again.

Empty Nest

2010-09-14T16:28:00.004-05:00

Both of my kids are now at college.

Chad and I are officially "empty-nesters"!

So how has it been?

So far I haven't noticed a huge difference, only that they do NOT come home at night. They were at the age where they were out working or doing their own thing but managed to come home some time during the night, anywhere between 10pm and 3am *yawn* to sleep. I don't think is has totally hit me yet, when it does, I am afraid it is going to hit hard! So in the meantime, Chad and I continue to farm and enjoy each other.

*Courtney is having a hard time adjusting to college life as I am sure most freshmen do. I hear from her often via phone calls and texts (several a day). So, I am trying to enjoy those moments as I know some day I will not hear from her very much at all!*

State Dog Show

2010-09-13T14:31:00.003-05:00

I finally got my pictures downloaded from the State Dog Show held several weekends ago.

Courtney and Madyson and Nolan and Chips in the ring for TEAM. Team consists of 4 kids with their 4 dogs doing synchronized tasks.

My niece Kennedy showing Maggie in OBEDIENCE.

A friend's daughter Chloe showing her dog Tinkerbell in RALLY.

Courtney showing Madyson in SHOWMANSHIP.

Nolan showing Chips in SHOWMANSHIP.

Dylan and Cooper, Courtney and Madyson and Nolan and Chips during TEAM. Not pictured is Ryder and Tess, also part of the team.

Courtney and Madyson (can you tell she loves her dog and her dog adores her).

Courtney showing Madyson in RALLY.

It was once again a very long, hot day (not as hot as the county show though, thank goodness).

It was a new experience for us and Courtney had fun showing her dog at the State Show. She ended up with blues in TEAM, RALLY, and SHOWMANSHIP and a purple in OBEDIENCE.

Achievement Days 2010

2010-08-12T21:26:00.004-05:00

4-H Achievement Days are being held this week in our county. This is the week all the kids get to exhibit their homemade projects and show their animals that they have been working on all year.

Courtney did very well on her projects. She received 14 purples and 1 blue.

The dog show was yesterday.....

My nephew received purples in Rally, Agility, Obedience, Showmanship and Team!!

He also received Grand Champion in Obedience, Reserved Champion in Showmanship and Reserved Champion in Agility.

Here is Courtney with her dog Madyson.
Courtney received purples in Rally, Showmanship, Obedience and Team and a red in Agility. She also received Grand Champion in Rally.
It was 95 degrees out yesterday and we were at the show for 9 hours. Even with the heat, all the dogs and kids did GREAT!

*

The cat show was held today.....

Here is Courtney playing around with her cousin Nolan's cat aka her moustache!

Nolan showing his cat.

He received a purple on the cat and also Reserved Champion Showmanship!

Farm Life

2010-08-05T09:58:00.002-05:00

We have been crazy busy here on the farm!

We got second cutting of hay put up and road ditches cut and baled.

We have vaccinated all 3300 pigs TWICE now....wow, what a job!

If only they would stand still like this when we vaccinate!

Don't I look glamorous after vaccinating? NOT!

We started the spring wheat harvest yesterday...

after a few minor problems were solved.

4-H Achievement Days are next week so Courtney has been busy getting her projects done and practicing with our dog Madyson, getting ready for the dog show.

We were going to try to take a family vacation this summer but it is looking kind of bleak now, the summer is almost over for the kids, they both go to college at the end of August.

Window Wells

2010-07-26T18:25:00.002-05:00

We had two of our window wells fill up with water during one of the many rainstorms we have had this summer and one window leaked water into the spare bedroom in the basement so we had a little investigating to do.

We dug down to the tile line to find out what the problem was....

Chad is 6' 5 " and when we got done digging, he could not see out of the hole...
and of course he picked one of the hottest days of the summer, also my birthday, to do the work.

We had no pea rock down to the tile line (just mostly clay) so we filled it with pea rock so it could drain properly....and have not had a leak since, even though we have had several more rain storms since, so I think it is fixed.

I did not take pictures of the other window well. That one was under the deck and was a PAIN to work on!!!!!

Hail Damage

2010-07-20T09:34:00.003-05:00

We had some really bad storms roll through the area on Saturday. We were pretty lucky, only have one corn field damaged, one bean field destroyed and a window cracked in the house. Some people were not so lucky and had a lot of their fields destroyed. Please remember them in your prayers.

Our corn field that was damaged.

One corn field that was destroyed in our area.

Trees blown down all over the county.

Girls Camping Trip

2010-07-14T11:28:00.002-05:00

I went camping with 3 of my best friends from high school last week. Jodi is moving to another state so it was our farewell/send off party for her. Jodi, Michelle and Michele

Jodi, talking on the phone to her "love".....she spent a lot of time on the phone to him!

Michele "helping" me with the fire.

Jodi and Michelle getting the fire going.

*

We had such a good time even though we got stormed on one night.

We spent hours reminiscing, laughing, telling stories and listening to music. Michelle downloaded 5 hours of 80's music onto her Ipod touch. It was so great to listen to music from our era. It brought back LOTS of good memories!

Thanks girls for the great time and best of luck Jodi in California!

"New" Tractor

2010-06-28T15:22:00.003-05:00

We got our "new" (new to us but it is used) tractor delivered today.

We traded in one of our other ones on it, one that I drive alot. I am kinda sad to see the old one go but Chad and the salesman both tell me that I am going to LOVE this one. I will let you know if they are right after spending some time in this one.

New pigs have arrived!

2010-06-16T19:45:00.004-05:00

We got our first group of wean-to finish pigs on Monday night.

The pigs all settled in and ready to sleep....and I was too as it was about midnight at this point.

Frazzled Farm Family.....Chad and Jeremy in back, Courtney and me in front.
We are a little worn out and sweaty at this point. It was 84 degrees in the barn and we had all been up for 17 hours at this point.

Courtney thought the little pigs were so cute.

And so did Jeremy's girlfriend Stephanie.

Piglets

2010-06-13T14:23:00.004-05:00

We are getting some itty bitty pigs in tomorrow. We usually get them in at 40# but are trying the wean (around 14#) to finish option this group. It has been a little extra work getting the barns ready for smaller pigs but that's where the industry is going so we are giving it a "trial run" before signing any new contracts. It's been so long since we have had pigs that small around here but I do remember how cute they can be. I will try to take some pictures to post.

Lets see....other things going on around here:

Crops are planted and the corn is sprayed. Working on getting the beans sprayed if it would ever stop raining.

Started cutting the hay but once again, the rain has been ongoing.

Courtney has orientation tomorrow for college and needs at least one parent along. She will learn about the classes she needs to be taking, financial aid, food plans, dorm life, etc. I am hoping we will be done in time to get home and help get the pigs in.

Jeremy took a short trip to the cities with our seed reps (thanks Win and Wayne) and a few other farmers. They went to a Twins game and then toured a Syngenta place. Jeremy had a great time and he really needed to get away, he has been working really hard for us lately!

Most of the cows have been hauled to pasture. Still have a few more to haul and would like to buy a few more pair yet too but haven't had time to hit the sale barns.

I am still working as a waitress and helping out on the farm. It gets really hectic at times and I don't know if I can keep doing both but for the time being I am going keep trying.

Courtney got a job in town at the local Cenex and loves it! She isn't around to help on the farm as much which has put a strain on the rest of us but her heart just isn't in the farm and we know that.

Well, until next time.....take care!

Fishing

2010-06-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

We had a couple of days with a few hours to spare so we took the kids fishing.

We took Courtney's best friend Tayler (who is like a daughter to us) along with on our fishing expedition. She did not have a license so she was the official "net girl". She would run the net when we caught one and was determined to take them off the hook too. Here is a picture of Chad helping her get one off the hook.

Here is Tayler with her first fish taken off the hook. She was so proud of herself.

Here is how Courtney spends most of her time fishing....trying to get her line out of the tree.

Here she is standing a the front of the boat while Chad tries to get her close enough to get the lure out of the tree. One thing is for sure, ever since Courtney was little, there has never been a dull day of fishing for us.

We are hoping to have a few more hours spare because Chad loves to go fishing and it is so nice to get off the farm and be together as a family.

Track

2010-06-05T19:08:00.000-05:00

Courtney had a pretty good year at track again. She didn't make it to the State Meet again this year but she had a successful year. Throwing discus at the Region meet (she got 7th place).

Courtney right before her very last shot put throw ever.

Throwing the shot put at the Region meet (she ended up with 5th place).
She also placed in 2 relays at the region meet.

It's going to be weird next year not having all of these sports activities to attend.

I am back!!!!

2010-06-03T09:22:00.004-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted until my sister very tactfully reminded me that it had been awhile. I have not intentionally been ignoring my blog, I just got caught up in life. Between the farming and the cattle and the pigs and the kids and my job, I haven't had much free time lately.

What has been going on????? Well, lets start with Courtney's graduation. She graduated from high school on May 15. It was a nice day and we had alot of people stop by to congratulate her. It was fun getting to visit with all the people.

I did manage to take a few pictures that day so here are a few I will share with you......

Courtney and her cake. It was YUMMY!

Each year a poem is read about fathers and then each graduate brings their mother a rose while a very touching song is played. Here is Courtney bringing me my rose and both of us crying.

Courtney and her friend Tayler before the ceremony.

Graduation

2010-05-10T08:25:00.002-05:00

Courtney graduates this coming Saturday. I can't believe my youngest is graduating from High School.

The years sure have gone by fast. It seems like just yesterday that I was taking her to preschool crying like crazy (both mom and daughter).

Just a reminder for those of you with young ones, cherish every moment because before you know it, they will be all grown up.

All-School Play

2010-05-03T10:26:00.002-05:00

Courtney had a part in this years All-School Play.

She has done make-up and hair for the play the last 3 years so this was something new for her.

It was a really cute and funny play "The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon". We have so many talented kids and they did a great job!

Courtney aka the princess, kissing Kyle aka the frog prince

Courtney aka the Princess and Eli aka her dad

State Shooting Sports Match

2010-04-30T09:22:00.002-05:00

The State Shooting Sports Match was held last weekend in Pierre once again!

Courtney was in the All-School play this year and had to rush back to perform in that so she only shot three things at the Match this year.

She did well, placed 1st with her compound without sites and release (cwos-r) and shot very well in compound without sites (cwos), I think she ended up with 4th and she tied for 6th and 7th in Air Pistol rapid fire.

Here she is loading her bow for CWOS...

Shooting CWOS.....

Her cousin Nolan, Courtney and her Uncle Eric (who is an instructor with the Sturgis Club)

Track

2010-04-27T09:11:00.002-05:00

It is once again track season.....
Courtney has been throwing shot put and discus again this year and running the 4x200 relay and the medley relay. She has "senioritis" pretty bad right now and is so ready to graduate.

Pops Concert

2010-04-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

The high school choir held it's annual Pops Concert a few weeks ago. The All-State Choir members singing California Dreamin'

Courtney and Cassie

Courtney singing her solo

Prom

2010-04-19T11:32:00.003-05:00

Prom was held on Friday night!

Courtney went with a good friend of hers (Davis) and had a great time.

Courtney dancing with her dad for the Father/Daughter dance

Courtney with her flowers from Davis....aren't they gorgeous!

Grand March....Courtney and Davis

Courtney and Davis...getting ready to leave for the banquet.

Courtney and her best friend Tayler.

Spring

2010-04-12T09:15:00.000-05:00

Sure sign of spring...... Lots of baby calves being born!

Girls weekend!

2010-04-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

I spent last weekend with my best friends from high school.

Jodi, Michelle and me...

We went to Northern Minnesota for a Night Ranger concert.....
the guitarist....he stood right in front of us most of the time

The band....

The drummer (he was directly in front of us).....he is also lead vocals on a few songs, including Sister Christian.

We had 3rd row seats and could see perfectly....it was such a good concert and I had such a great time with my high school buddies!

Calving has begun!

2010-03-31T18:24:00.000-05:00

We had our first calf on Monday.

We aren't supposed to start calving for a few weeks but we had 2 born on Monday. So....calving season has officially begun!

YIPPEE

2010-03-30T19:03:00.004-05:00

Courtney was named Taco John's Athlete of the week at Taco John's in Watertown (about 30 miles away). They pick a local athlete of the week and a surrounding area athlete of the week. Courtney was picked for the surrounding area.She was nominated for making the LCC all-conference team for basketball.
She was pretty excited....and so are mom and dad!

Night Ranger

2010-03-26T09:11:00.003-05:00

Night Ranger

Two of my best friends from high school and I are going to see Night Ranger in concert Saturday night....YIPPEE!

Jodi and I are going to meet at Michelle's in Minnesota tonight and spend the night with her family. Tomorrow morning we will travel to northern Minnesota together for the concert and will spend the night there. Girls night out!!!!!! We will return home Sunday....after a VERY LONG drive.

I am excited for some girl time and to spend the weekend with some very good friends!

2010-03-24T10:32:00.002-05:00

Nothing much going on here on the "Frazzled Farm".

Now that basketball is done, our evenings are spent at home. We have been playing Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros.! Never thought I would hear myself say this but we have had SO MUCH FUN playing video games with each other. I am terrible at them and come in last most of the time but I am ok with that, at least we are hanging out together. Chad and Courtney are pretty competitive with each other and it makes me chuckle every time they are fighting each other for 1st place.

Courtney has a part in the school play this year (she has always done make-up in the past). That is coming up in April, along with Prom and Shooting Sports state match. They will start having late practices and she started Track this week so we won't be spending as much time together now but it was fun while it lasted.

We have not started calving yet but are expecting calves very soon....then it will get crazy around here again and back to a "Frazzled Farm"!

Spring

2010-03-20T19:08:00.002-05:00

Looks like spring is well on it's way!

We have had lots of melting and thawing going on here which ends up with flooding when you have this much snow over the winter. Creeks and rivers are coming out of their banks and water is flowing everywhere. We have had some much needed sunshine this last week...YIPPEE! Just makes a person feel better when the sun is shining. Hopefully we can get lots more sunshine, especially with calving season just around the corner!

Trip

2010-03-17T10:17:00.002-05:00

I had a great time on my trip to the Black Hills with my sister and my son Jeremy! We had some fun times with my mom and my brother. It was good to get away and relax a little.

We visited a "Hookah Bar" while out there. Hookah smoking is using an Egyptian bong and flavored Egyptian tobacco that is filtered through the water in the bottom of the bong (and totally legal!). I was really leery about the whole thing at first but ended up trying it. It was nothing like smoking and ended up being really fun because we were all laughing at each other. They give you bubble liquid to try to make bubbles with while "hookah smoking".

My mom trying to make a bubble. Hookah bong in front of her.

Me trying to make a bubble.

Me "pulling" on the bong and my sister beside me being goofy!

We did lots of other things on our trip but this was a "different" experience that I wanted to share with you.

And I am OFF!

2010-03-12T15:06:00.002-06:00

I am heading to the Hills this weekend to see my mom and my brother. Gonna be a good road trip with my sister and my son. Hopefully the snow is all done....I really don't feel like fighting the weather while traveling too.

Goofballs

2010-03-09T21:29:00.001-06:00

My goofballs........ Jeremy

Courtney

Prom

2010-03-03T09:36:00.002-06:00

Prom isn't until the middle of April but over Valentines weekend Chad and I took Courtney and her friend Tayler to Sioux Falls and spent the night. It was a Valentines/Courtney's birthday getaway. Our goal was to find a style of dress that Courtney would like and to help Tayler get an idea too. This was the first of MANY dresses that Courtney tried on and instantly fell in love with it. So, we came home with this dress. It fit her perfectly so we were able to bring it home instead of having to order it in her size.

The color is called blueberry, it looks bluish-purplish and is shiny!

Tayler found a dress she loved too but they did not have her size in the dress and was told that she had to contact the main company directly to order it.

Chad was such a trooper throughout the WHOLE day of prom dress shopping. He would drop us off at stores and then go do his thing for awhile and come pick us up when we were done. The girls and I then went to a nail salon and the girls got a manicure/pedicure and I got a pedicure. When we got done at the nail salon, Chad picked us up and took us back to the hotel to have a drink while we waited for our supper reservations (at Texas Roadhouse, love that place). He had some roses sitting in the hotel waiting for me when we got back there....what a sweetheart!

We had a super weekend and we really needed it after the fall/winter that we have had!

March

2010-03-01T10:29:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it is March already! Hopefully March brings us more of this.....

And less of this.....

Tattoo

2010-02-25T21:10:00.003-06:00

I got my very first tattoo last week! I am so happy with it, it turned out really good. I have

been wanting one for a few years now and I finally had the guts (and the friend there to help me through it).

Right after he got done doing it....Jeremy's name is on the right hand side, you can't see it very well in this picture.

Adding the color....

Right before he started....I was a "little" nervous at this time.

My friend from high school that I have reconnected with was there holding my hand. It was so fitting for her to be there, we experienced a lot of our "firsts" in life together.

During the process....it was just a little painful....ok, a LOT painful!

Basketball

2010-02-24T08:53:00.005-06:00

Courtney's basketball career has come to an end.

They were beat out of the first round of districts last night.

I have one really sad girl here!

I am trying to convince her (and myself) that there is life after basketball.

I'm Here!

2010-02-22T18:09:00.002-06:00

I had some computer issues but I am back now!

We caught an ugly virus and my computer spent the last week+ at the computer doctor but now it is up and running.....YEAH!

Whew

2010-02-10T10:54:00.003-06:00

Things have slowed down here....a little bit!

We got all our new baby pigs settled in and doing well. We have had them a few weeks now and they are growing like crazy.

Chad has been busy hauling corn. He will be working on that for quite a while yet. He hauls for a few days and then takes a break from that for a few days while the roads clear up a bit. We have had several snow storms move through and it makes for dangerous traveling on some of these roads. I have not been much help to him with the corn hauling as I am working 4 days a week now while one of the other employees recovers from a surgery.

Basketball is winding down. There are only 3 regular season games left and then on to Districts. The girls have played very well lately, hopefully they can keep it up.

Shooting Sports started a few weeks ago so I guess that is one more thing to add to our agenda. This will be my 5th year as an instructor and Courtney still wants to participate so we will spend most of our Sunday afternoons in town practicing. We have a great group of kids so it's really fun to spend the afternoon with them.

I hope you are all doing well. I have the day off today so hopefully I can "check in" with you all. But.....I have got to get some cleaning and laundry done first!

Happy Birthday Courtney!

2010-02-08T19:05:00.002-06:00

Today is my precious daughter Courtney's birthday. I cannot believe that my baby girl is 18 years old today. It seems like just yesterday I was holding this little blonde haired, blue eyed baby in my arms.

Happy Birthday Courtney....I love you!

HSBFF

2010-02-04T09:17:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I got together with my high school best friends forever (HSBFF), that's what we call each other. Kinda brings us back to our teenage years. Me, Michelle and Jodi....after eating pizza.

We just spent the day in Brookings, SD hanging out and hitting some stores. If you are ever in Brookings, you have to to go to Funbags and Accessories! Jodi owns the store (and also the one in Watertown)! They have such great purses...you can see Michelle's newest purchase in front of us.

It's funny, we went years without seeing each other and now in the last year we have gotten together several time. We reconnected in a heartbeat. It's like we never went those years without seeing each other!!!

I have got the best HSBFF! Thanks Michelle and Jodi for another great day!

Thank-You

2010-02-01T18:14:00.003-06:00

Thank you for all the prayers!!!! Things are looking up but if you could still remember us in your prayers, we would appreciate it very much.

We have a week filled with ballgames, work, doctor appointments and hauling corn.

I will try to post more this week. I was a pretty bad blogger last week!!!!!

Courtney is playing the National Anthem on her trumpet tonight at the boys basketball game. She makes me so proud when when does things like that!

Prayers

2010-01-27T10:01:00.003-06:00

There is lots going on in our life right now.....

just wondering if any of you can spare a few prayers.

Winter Blues.....

2010-01-25T17:10:00.002-06:00

I am feeling the winter blues........... So I thought I would post a picture of the winter sun.....haven't seen it it quite awhile again.

Birthday

2010-01-21T09:37:00.001-06:00

It is Frazzled Farmers Birthday today! Happy Birthday Chad!

Busy!

2010-01-18T11:05:00.005-06:00

Between getting ready for our new batch of these......

and attending all of Courtney's these.....

We haven't had much time to do anything else.

More Baskeball

2010-01-16T13:20:00.002-06:00

I FINALLY remembered to take my camera along to another basketball game.

Thought I would share a few pictures with you.

Courtney takes time out during a free throw to make some faces at me.

Trying to block a shot.

Taking a shot.

Another Blizzard

2010-01-11T09:37:00.003-06:00

We got hit by another blizzard last week!

School was let out early on Wednesday and called off Thursday and Friday. Part of the reasoning behind school getting called off was the bitter cold temperatures and the wind.

We "got" to send our remaining hogs (1600) to market on Friday....one of the coldest days (if not the coldest) of the season so far. One good thing was that since school was called off, we had some help. Courtney was just thrilled that she didn't have school but got to load hogs..lol! She called two of her friends, Tayler and Hannah, and they came out and helped us. Thank God for her friends!

It was one LONG day, we started loading about noon (well the kids did, I had to waitress until 1:00) and got done about 11:00 Friday evening. The drift beside one of the hog barns.

I was the lucky one that got to go to the barns early that morning to shovel out the load out areas! Here is what I looked like after I got done shoveling.

I can't believe I still had a smile on my face after shoveling!
Notice the frost on my hair!
*
I am so thankful for my kids and their friends for their help....I don't think I tell my kids often enough how much I appreciate them and the hard work that they do for us!

2010

2010-01-07T16:57:00.002-06:00

Ok, so far I am not liking 2010 any more than I liked 2009!

2009 was a very trying and stressful year for us here on the farm. The weather determines alot of how our year goes and so far 2010 isn't giving us much to look forward to yet! I am already tired of snow and cold. I sure hope this isn't an indication of how the rest of the year is going to be!!!!!!!!

BRRRRR!

2010-01-05T18:31:00.002-06:00

It looks like we are going to get some more frigid temperatures this week. They are forecasting 35 below zero on Thursday, brrr! Also, looks like we have some more winter storms on the way and are expecting several more inches of snow yet this week too...ugh! I am ready for winter to be over with and it just basically started!

Basketball

2010-01-03T16:35:00.002-06:00

Courtney's basketball season began about a month ago.

I have only brought my camera to one game so far but I did get a few decent pictures.

The varsity team.

Guarding Madison's "big" girl.

Getting the ball in the middle.

Their record so far is 4-3.

I'm Back.....I think!

2010-01-01T19:03:00.002-06:00

Whew....what an ending to a year! A stressful year at that!

Got the crops all harvested. Could have been better crops but we will take what we got and be thankful! It's always a gamble in this line of work. Got the crops in just a few days before major snow storms. We are still working on getting dug out from the storm. Lots of snow to move to get at the livestock.

We had a good Christmas...strange but good. Lots of plans had to be rearranged because of the storms but my mom, step-dad and brother made it from the other side of the state and were able to spend some time with us for which we are thankful too.

I hope you all had a good year and I wish you the best in the upcoming year!

2009-12-24T09:19:00.003-06:00

The crops are out of the field!

We still have some drying to do and some other odds and ends but we made it.

We start hauling a lot of it out of bin in January.....so.....no break for us!

We started emptying out our hog barns last week...so far we have taken just over 1000 pigs out, about 2000 more to go. We will send the rest of them out on the 7th and 8th of January.

Christmas gifts are bought and wrapped...whew!

Christmas dinner groceries are bought....whew!

Now....if only the snow would quit coming down!

My wish for you is to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God's blessing be upon you all!

UGH

2009-12-17T09:09:00.003-06:00

We are still working away at the harvest!

We had some problems with the corn dryer and that was down for a few days last week....bummer! We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel though and hopefully we can finish up next week.

Courtney and I sneaked away to Sioux Falls last weekend so I finished up the gift shopping, what a relief! I have my family here for dinner on Christmas day and still need to get the food bought for that and have to get the house cleaned. I wanted to do some baking too but I will do that only if I have some extra time. I am hoping everything falls into place but if it doesn't, I guess I will have to deal with it!

Stay safe and warm!

Update

2009-12-05T09:04:00.004-06:00

Just a little update on what I have been up to.

We are still working on the harvest. We are combining the corn yet, which has been a really slow process since it all has to run through the corn dryer. It just takes time which we are slowly running out of. Mother nature is bound to open up on us one of these days. We got a little snow the other night which makes it a little more difficult but we are thankful that we are still able to keep working away at it.

We did take some time off on Thanksgiving day which was nice. So much to be thankful for, so it was nice to be able to celebrate at least part of the day.

I took Black Friday off from harvesting and went shopping with my sisters and a few good friends of mine. It was a fun day. I got up at 3:45 (no, I did not make it to the first store to open at 4 am) and shopped and shopped and laughed and laughed. It was fun to spend time with my sisters and friends plus I did get some Christmas shopping done which is a good thing, because I am not quite sure when I am going to get the rest of it done. I did work my waitress job that night ( 5-10), filled in for another girl who couldn't work so I was just a little tired that night!!!!

I am still waitressing but have cut back the last few weeks to only 1 day a week (plus I have filled in a few evenings when they need help). They knew when they hired me that harvest comes first and they have been very understanding about it! We are a farming community so they understand the importance of getting the harvest done.

Well, my tractor awaits me....I had better get to the field! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. I can't wait to finish this harvest and finally catch up on all of you!

Trouble!

2009-11-23T10:26:00.002-06:00

I had a little time this morning since we are having trouble with the corn dryer.....again....so I thought I would fill you in on what has been going on around here! Trouble I tell you, nothing but trouble!!!!!!!

We have had trouble with the dryer, numerous times, and it is a brand new dryer!!!! We have had a few combine breakdowns, a grain cart break down, we have all been sick and on antibiotics in our household. And....we have been getting stuck....the semi once, the chisel plow, the combine and last night we got both the grain cart and the combine stuck!! I brought my camera along last night when we went back over to get it out so you could see my handi-work!

My grain cart! I did a really good job at getting it stuck!

Grain Cart....different angle.

And....the combine! We were both stuck at the same time!

We had to unload both of them to get them out...which took some time but not as much time as I thought it would. Thank God for good friends! Our friend Pat came over with his grain cart so we could unload our cart and combine onto his and cart it to the semi...and it was his birthday! What a gift we gave him!

It has been such a trying year. I keep wondering if God is trying to send us a message and what would that message be? Are we not taking enough time to thank Him? Are we not spending enough time worshipping Him? Are we not trusting enough to turn everything over to Him? Hmmmmm....some things to think about.

Ugh!

2009-11-19T19:33:00.002-06:00

I have been a terrible blogger lately! We have been so busy with the harvest and with me working part time, I haven't had much time to do anything "extra". I promise I will return shortly but my posts will remain very few until the harvest is complete. I even took some time off work because it was getting to be too much for me. Please pray for a safe harvest, not only for us but for all farmers. It sure has been a trying year on all in the farm industry!

Snow Queen

2009-11-16T10:31:00.002-06:00

Courtney was in the local Snow Queen contest two weekends ago. She did not win but she had a lot of fun that day and it was a great experience for her.

Here she is announcing herself and her sponsor (which was Community Insurance, her Uncle Bryon's company).

Courtney with 2 of her favorite cousins (Kennedy and Booker) that were there to support her.

Courtney and her best friend Tayler.

Some of her best friends and classmates....
Cassie, Hannah, Courtney and Tasha, Josh and Kyle

NOISY

2009-11-13T09:49:00.004-06:00

It has been a little noisy around here these last few days! We weaned the calves on Wednesday and they are still making noise today. As soon as the calves stop bellering, the corn dryer will be a rumbling so it's going to be awhile before it's peaceful around this Frazzled Farm!

YIPPEE

2009-11-11T09:38:00.002-06:00

We are done with the soybean harvest....WHEW!

On a "normal" year, we are usually done with the the whole harvest by now but it has been one long and STRANGE year.

So.....now onto the corn harvest which is going to be one LONG process! We are going to have to run everything through the dryer and that takes TIME!

Please continue to pray for a safe harvest for ALL farmers.

All State Choir

2009-11-10T08:40:00.004-06:00

Courtney performed in the All-State Chorus and Orchestra Concert that was held in Rapid City on Halloween night.

It was so fun to see all those kids from across South Dakota come together and perform. It was a GREAT concert. The four girls chosen from our school to perform....

Courtney, Amber, Hannah and Cassie

The Hamlin group....
Eli, Isaac, Josh and Kyle
Courtney, Amber, Hannah and Cassie
*
It was a very short trip but lots of fun.
My sister (thanks Cheryl!) and I took off late on Friday night the 30th to travel to Rapid City. We got to my mom's just west of Rapid City about 2 am on the 31st. We caught a few hours of sleep and then did a little shopping with my mom and then had lunch with my mom and step-dad at "On the Border". We attended the concert that night and headed out the next day....after doing a little more shopping with Courtney. She decided to ride home with us because the bus took off right after the concert on Saturday night to head back home.

?????

2009-11-06T08:36:00.003-06:00

I have been trying to find the word to describe the last week here at Frazzled Farm Land. Crazy...Busy....Tiring....Productive....Overwhelming....Joyful....Exhausing..................how about FRAZZLED!

We have been able to resume the harvest again this week, for several days with no rain (knock on wood). We have combined lots of beans and gone over lots of acres this week....YEAH!

I am still working at the restaurant a few days a week for a few hours a day and have filled in a few extra shifts since the flu is going around.

Courtney has had a few more "lasts" in her life this week...I will get into them more when I have time.

Please pray for a safe harvest for us and that the rain and snow will hold off long enough for the farmers to get their crops harvested.

Volleyball

2009-10-30T15:26:00.000-05:00

The regular volleyball season comes to an end, first round of Districts begin next Tuesday. I thought I would share a few volleyball pictures with you. Courtney and her cousin Kassidy...right after they blocked a hit.

Courtney and Kassidy blocking...

Courtney serving...

Courtney setting...

Courtney hitting...

They did not have a winning record but it was a fun season.

Cheerleader

2009-10-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

Courtney cheered for the last time last night! She was pretty sad after the game. She decided that being a senior wasn't all that great.

After the game with her best friend Tayler, who is only a junior. They are going to miss each other next year!

Strange Year

2009-10-27T15:23:00.002-05:00

You know it has been a really strange year, weather-wise, when you see the kids mowing the lawn in full coveralls!Courtney's friend Tayler...helping us out.

Courtney!

Hopefully this will be the last time we will have to mow this year!

Warning!

2009-10-25T20:31:00.002-05:00

WARNING!This....
and this.....

Could result in this!

Yep....I had to have stitches put in today (of course, on a Sunday). But the squash sure tasted good!

Harvest

2009-10-22T09:06:00.002-05:00

FINALLY....we have harvested a few loads of beans...between the rain showers that seem to be happening daily!I was so excited to be in the field that I had to snap a picture with my cell phone of the combine rolling. It is getting to be crunch time here....please pray for some sunshine (usually we are praying for rain...quite a different story here this year)!

Workin' Cows

2009-10-20T08:53:00.003-05:00

On Friday we helped work my in-laws cattle.

The bull, waiting his turn!

The bull going through the chute.

It was a misty, yucky day but it went really well....the advantage was the homemade soup dinner that my mother-in-law made.

Friends!

2009-10-14T09:22:00.001-05:00

Just a few pictures of my weekend with my friends from High School!Courtney....our DD. She learned some very interesting things!

Me

Jodi, Michelle and Michele.

Jodi, me, Michele and Michelle....our breakfast with Mimosa's (something new I learned about...champagne and orange juice).

Weekend

2009-10-13T09:19:00.003-05:00

What a weekend!

I had so much fun hanging out with my "old" high school buds, laughing drinking, eating and reminiscing! I have pictures but I just haven't had tome to download them yet. I will post some when I get a chance.

"Old" Friends

2009-10-09T12:20:00.002-05:00

Three of my "old" friends from High School are coming to spend the weekend with me! Jodi, Michelle and Michele and of course me....we used to do everything together in high school and then we all went are separate ways and have not gotten together over the years like we should have. Now with Facebook, we have all reconnected and are getting together this weekend for some fun times!

We have the weekend planned out...thanks to Michelle, our planner! Tonight they all arrive at my home. We plan on touring the new school here (the school we all went to was condemned and a new one was built). We are going to a few cemeteries...the one that Michelle's mom and my dad are buried in and another one that a classmate is buried in. After that, we will watch the Twins game, while drinking some wine and eating lots of goodies and reminiscing! Tomorrow we are having brunch at my home, may hit a craft fair and an auction and then are meeting some other classmates for supper tomorrow night. Courtney is going to be our DD and we are going to visit some of the bars in the small towns around here that we used to hang out in.

Gonna be a great time...can't wait!

YEAH!

2009-10-08T09:31:00.001-05:00

The sun is shining today!

What a great day....thank you God!

Rain

2009-10-06T18:54:00.002-05:00

We have had rain, rain, and more rain! 3+ inches of rain since last Thursday (I quit asking what the rain gauge said on Sunday)! It let up for awhile today and the sun actually did shine for a few moments here and there throughout the day. Hopefully the sun will make an appearance for the whole day here pretty soon so we can work on getting the crops out...gonna be a hectic harvest season for sure now!

Madness

2009-10-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

The madness came to a screeching halt before it even began. It started raining yesterday morning and so far we have had about 3 inches of rain. No harvesting here for a little while.

Pictures

2009-09-30T19:14:00.002-05:00

I finally had a little time to download some pictures from last weeks Homecoming activities. The team giving Cassie her flowers on "dig pink"night. She went through ovarian cancer this summer and is now "cancer-free".

Courtney celebrating a touchdown they scored in the powderpuff game against the junior girls.

Courtney almost caught this pass...she did catch one other pass for significant yardage but I didn't get a picture of that catch.

"Babying" her sore ankle during the dig pink game.

One of Courtney's hits in the dig pink game.

What a busy but fun week!!!!!!

Let the Madness Begin!

2009-09-29T15:18:00.001-05:00

We finished up with silage yesterday and sounds like we are going to try harvesting some soybeans tomorrow! Let the Madness Begin!

Busy Week

2009-09-28T09:12:00.002-05:00

It was a busy week with homecoming activities and volleyball.

The girls played a "dig pink" volleyball game on Thursday. Both teams wore pink and the girls raised money for breast cancer awareness and research. They also gave out flowers to women in the stands that have had or are going through breast cancer, what a tear-jerker. The team also gave flowers to one of their teammates who just had ovarian cancer but is now cancer free! I really teared up during this! Our team will go to Madison next Monday when Madison hosts a "dig pink" game.

I got lots done over the weekend too. We spent all day Saturday outside getting caught up on some farm stuff that has been put off and needing to get done. Yesterday I spent most of the day in the house getting odds and ends done around here! I still could use a few more days like yesterday to get it all caught up but oh well, life goes on!

Coronation

2009-09-22T18:36:00.002-05:00

The Homecoming Coronation was last night.

It was a fun night and the girls looked gorgeous and the boys were very handsome. Courtney did not get queen but her good friend Tasha did and she is very deserving of this honor. The girls all got ready at Tasha's house. Here they are all dressed up and ready to go.

Tasha, Cassie, Hannah and Courtney

Kyle and Courtney

The candidates outside afterwards at the burning of the "H"!

What a great night!

Homecoming

2009-09-21T11:40:00.006-05:00

It is homecoming week this week here! Busy, busy and Fun, Fun! Lots of great memories will be made this week.

Courtney is one of the homecoming candidates, along with 3 of her best friends and 4 awesome boys. The king and queen will be chosen tonight and any one of them is very deserving of the honor!

Tell me about some of your high school homecoming memories!

Salsa

2009-09-18T16:25:00.002-05:00

I got some tomatoes from Chad's cousin this week (my garden didn't do too well, the weeds got away from me and I sprayed most of it with roundup). It was a a busy week but I did manage to find time to can some salsa with the tomatoes. Homemade salsa in the middle of the winter is the best!

Busy Week

2009-09-16T09:08:00.002-05:00

We have a really busy week this week. Volleyball was away last night and also away (2 hours) on Thursday night. Football is away (2 hours) on Friday night and then a volleyball tourney all day Saturday. I don't know how Courtney does it, I have a hard time keeping up and I am just watching.

We are going to start cutting silage tomorrow....yeah, finally! Should be interesting juggling that, the job and Courtney's schedule.

Chad's new baby

2009-09-14T08:20:00.002-05:00

We were at the hog barns working the other day and I had to take a picture of Chad and Mayson. He does this with her all the time. She is like his baby!