Cow Pictures

Old McDonald

So lately our family has felt like we've become Old McDonald because we are taking care of our friend's little farm. We are actually really enjoying it too, and I think the kids are going to miss going to feed the cows twice a day. When we do it without them they get pretty upset. Anyway, our friends the Christensens just moved to a new place where they have a barn and some land. They decided to add twenty-five chickens and six calves to their household. Unfortuneately two of the little calves got sick and died right before they left on vacation. One more of them was acting sick, so they asked a vet in our ward what to do and he gave them some pills that need to be taken twice a day, and a shot that has to be given once every other day. Guess who gets to give the medicine. Now we are not only farmers, but vets too. Anyway, it has been quite the experience for all of us. I especially enjoy watching Jeff feed the give medicine to Buddy, the little sick cow. It's cute. We are grateful for the opportunity.

Happy 4th of July!

I love the fourth of July here in Kansas. People go crazy with fireworks! It literally sounds like a war zone with zips and pops coming from all directions. There is a large fireworks show done by a lake here, but we have only go to it a couple of times. We've found that staying in our own neighborhood with friends is just as entertaining. We had fun having the Dodds, some new friends in our ward, and the missionaries over for dinner. We then did our fireworks in the cul-de-sac behind our house which is where the Dodd family lives. I don't know who had more fun with the fireworks, the men or the kids. Anyway, it was a fun day. We also had fun going to a neighborhood parade in the morning. This is the best parade because it lasts about 15 minutes (if that) and the kids get a bunch of necklaces and candy. I do wish they had a big parade with floats and all, but this one does the trick for now.

Choo choo!

Since Taylor's swim lessons were not at the same time as the rest of the gang, we had to find stuff to do to pass the 50 min wait. We were too far to go home, so we ran errands, went to library programs, and rode the train and carosel in the park by the pool. Here are a few pictures of the fun. The carosel we actually rode after Taylor's lesson.




Carter was pretty intense on both the train and the carosel. He really seemed to like them.

Swim Lessons!

Well we survived two weeks of very hot swim lesssons. Our lessons were the second two weeks of June, and I think they were the hottest days of the summer so far. A couple of the days our thermometer read 105 and 107. I think it was a little off because the weather man said it was only 102, but the humidity made the heat index a lot higher. Anyway, the kids did ok because they were in the water when we were outside at swimming lessons. Carter and I, on the other hand, melted. This year swimming lessons were a little complex because Taylor had his lessons at the community pool where he could dive and swim laps, while Parker, Emily and Ashley took lessons in a private pool. Emily made it through without crying every day which for me is a success. Parker also did remarkably well for his first year. He has no fear of water which is almost more dangerous than Emily's fear of water. Anyway, they all did great and had a lot of fun.

Play Ball!

So Taylor has been playing baseball for the last six weeks. He liked it, but I think he's finding he likes sports with a little more action. This year was the beginning of kid-pitch instead of the automatic pitching machine, so there was not as many hits to get excited about. There were a lot of walks and strike outs to watch though. When someone actually did hit a ball the crowd went wild. Our last game was last night, and I for one am glad we are done for the season. Taylor has mixed feelings. Sitting through two hour games in the heat with five kids just is not that fun. Taylor is a good player though. His favorite thing to do was pitch.

Camping with our ward family

A couple weeks ago our ward decided to have a camp out at a local reservoir. Jeff was in Puerto Rico that week and was not going to be home until late Friday night, so that meant I'd have to take the kids camping on my own. I went back and forth as to whether to go or not, but because it was our only opportunity to camp this summer and the kids really wanted to go, we went. It turned out great! We have such a great ward. I knew that I wouldn't be truly doing it on my own. We shared a campsite with our friends the Christensens which made it a lot easier. Traci is a trooper, and actually knew how to put my tent up since I didn't know. I guess I rely on Jeff for a lot. :) Anyway, we had dutch oven pizzas at our own campsite, and then joined the ward for smores. The kids just ran around playing with friends. The morning wasn't bad either because the ward provided breakfast plus Jeff joined me to help take down camp and go swimming for the second time. The only challenge was getting the kids to bed (and to sleep) all night in the hot, humid tent. There is a reason our ward were the only tent campers in the whole place. Camping in June here is just too hot. Anyway, the funny thing that happened that night is my friend Traci ended up having to do the overnight part on her own as well because her husband had to drive back to their home to be there for their 6 calves to be delivered. I felt like we were two pioneer women roughing it with our ten kids. (I guess the trek was still on my mind since we'd both been camping in tarp tents the week before.) Anyway, was a fun experience in the end.