Indian Summer

But is it still really an Indian Summer day when the wind is blowing 40 miles per hour and you have to wear layers and layers of clothes? That's okay, we'll still take a decent day, anything to delay the propane man from driving up our driveway. We did take advantage of a nice day to play at the park before swimming lessons. Speaking of swimming lessons, it's still just warm enough that they don't have to cut holes out of the ice for the kids to go swimming.

The kids love to go to the park. We usually go twice a week before lessons. Anything it takes to just burn off some of their energy. Trust me on this one... there is LOTS of energy to burn off!

Is it because of their dad that they aren't afraid of heights? Must be because they sure didn't get that trait from me.

I really enjoy this picture of my middle boy. Being the smaller kid on a teeter totter certainly does have it's advantages. First off he does absolutely NO work on the teeter totter. Second, he basically gets all the fun. Fair or not? Not sure on that one.

The Little Man is really getting in to an age that I love. I love my kids so much but the baby stage is pretty hard. Now we get to see personality, energy, playfulness, the list goes on. Oh, he is Lineman's son so we must also add to the list: stubborn and ornery. Thankfully he got a lot of my genes so he's a real sweetheart.
It was off to swimming lessons next and we had quite the driver. Hey, in the country you gotta start the kids young!

I do not allow it

I do not allow it. Racing. Racing on our property. As much as I say this I think it falls on deaf ears. So as long as I don't allow racing and they are still going to race anyway, I might as well have my camera out and take some pictures.

Here is Lineman and the oldest boy racing up the drive way. They always start down by the road and race up. Lineman usually give him a little head start.

That boy of our cracks me up. He has his head down, throttle pulled all the way and is giving it all the machine has. He is usually yelling too. Or laughing. Or giving the play by play about how he is beating his competition. I can hear all this over the sound of the bikes and from quite a distance too. Cracks me up I tell ya.

They are racing to get to the top first. But what's this I see? I think Lineman should be disqualified for going out in the pasture. Hey, you're racing a 7 year old kid, no cheating!

My turn

After watching Lineman do wheelie after wheelie I thought I should at least give it a try. Let's just say I certainly did NOT master it. I had plenty of trial and error. Of course it's not like the "error" part was that bad. I never did go over backwards. I pulled and pulled on those handlebars, giving it throttle just as Lineman had instructed. Most of the time I probably looked like a turtle with the hiccups - that's about as high as I got.
Apparently there must have been at least a few times I got a little air. And by little, I do mean little. This time I think I may have actually been able to clear a turtle with the hiccups.
Even though I didn't get too high it sure was a lot of fun just trying. The weather was pretty nice and it was just fun playing together as a family. Our oldest boy was giving it a try but wasn't having any luck. Really I wasn't having any luck either, I think these pictures all must be an optical illusion.
Optical illusion or not it was fun just giving it a try. Wether we're 7 or 70 we need to keep getting out there and trying new things. Wheelies - Check. Skydiving - Next

Wheelie Time - Lesson Time

Saturday morning after we got the Little Man to take a nap we went out to the garage to work on a few projects. Lineman had to move the 4-wheeler to get at some things. He started it up and the boys flocked to him instantly. He took off on a little ride with them, I grabbed my bike and the next thing we knew our projects were on the back burners. Then the oldest and middle boy got on their bikes and Lineman took my bike. Next thing I knew they were all racing and I was going gray instantly. Then Lineman started in with the wheelies.....
I think he would have preferred the power of his bike over mine for the wheelies but he sure was fun to watch. The oldest boy came over to watch and get a few lessons on how to do a wheelie. He tried and tried but couldn't quite get the hang of it. I'm sure in a few years he will be doing them and I'll be wishing he didn't know how. Then I'll yell at Lineman for teaching his kids how to do wheelies.
The kids weren't the only ones getting lessons on how to do a wheelie....

More pictures coming tomorrow - I wonder who else could have given it a try???

Soothing Sunday Pictures

Sorry, but there will not be a Sunday Sunsets post today. The sunsets seem to have faded with the cooler weather approaching. So instead today I will just show you some pictures I took a few days ago of some soothing waterfalls. I think I could just sit by these all day and just listen to the sound. Enjoy the pictures.

Milk cow anyone?

I went to Sam's club today for one thing and one thing only. MILK. Not just a gallon, not two, not three, not four...... but FIVE gallons of milk. And we have two open gallons in the fridge already.

So, my questions for you......

1. Is this a lot of milk for a family with 3 boys? Or is this normal?

2. If we are going through this kind of milk now, what will happen when they are teenagers?

3. Would it be good for our family to get a milk cow?

4. If I had a milk cow I could spray milk at the kittens while they try to stand up and lap the milk. I know that's not a question but it sounds like fun.

5. If the cost of milk is based on the basics of economics - supply and demand - is my family partly to blame for the high cost of milk?

6. If I put milk mustaches on each of our family members could we be in a magazine ad?

Now, go bake some cookies and serve them with a tall glass of cold milk!

Where's that bus at already?

Oh, bother.... I dropped that kid off at the bus hours ago. How much longer does a boys best friend have to wait. I'm tired of waiting. At least the sun is shining today. How much longer do I have to wait? Huh! I hear something! Is it the bus? Could it be? Oh, not yet you say? Well, I guess I have to just wait a while longer then.
Oh! This waiting is just driving me crazy! I don't know how much longer I can wait.
Oh well then, I guess I might as well relax a bit longer...............

Baby C

These pictures were taken for wonderful friends of ours. This baby is their fourth child. They are such wonderful, loving parents and their children are all so fantastic. Unfortunately we don't live very close to each other but when we do get together we always have fun and the kids hate to leave. Thanks for letting me take your baby's pictures.

None too soon

Remember my very last post? The one with the geese? More importantly, the one with the geese flying south. Well, they were definitely none too soon. The very day they came flying above our house is the very same day I called my mom to hear that it had started snowing, and snowing, and snowing. In two days she received 32 inches. 32 inches! Wet, heavy snow. The kind of snow that likes to break branches. The kind of snow that likes to break backs from shoveling.

Well, we didn't get near the storm they got up north in Montana but we did get some weather. Friday night it started to mist and there was a dense fog. By the time I awoke in the morning everything was iced over. The trees looked pitiful as they mourned the burden of the heavy weight of the ice. The limped over as if almost ready to admit defeat.
The beauty was bountiful however. Spiderwebs turned into works of art. It's occupant long gone in search of a warmer home for the winter.
The pines refused to fall victim to the weight of the ice. They instead stood tall in their beauty but beckoning the sun to show itself.

By Sunday the ice was abundant and we only had about an inch of snow. The roads were icy as proved by the skid marks going off of our road (not made by me). By the afternoon temps rose enough for the ice to start cracking and breaking off the limbs of the aspens. They began to stand tall once again. Now it's time for a few days of Indian Summer. Time to enjoy our days before we are to become the hermits of winter.