Pumpkin Carving

The boys were gone hunting again, so we chickens decided to spend the day carving pumpkins. Cam and Chels ripped out three carvings compared to my one. Ry showed up later and threw in his quick effort before heading back out in search of "Old Blue". I'd forgotten how much work it is to carve these puppies...and how much dang fun just to sit around the table with my girls laughing and whiling away the afternoon together. We had a wonderful time mushing the pumpkin guts up. Cam believes they are the answer to dry skin. Not sure why my hands are so dry tonight, though. :)

By the way, these are the actual photos of the pumpkins in all their glory. I simply added a border in Photoshop. Definitely an afternoon for the record books. How I adore my girls!!!

Cam's Tin Man
Ryan's Spook
Cam's Jack
My "Duke"
Chelsea's Wish for Peace

Jimmie and Groupie

Gotta love hippie day during Homecoming. Cam is a dead ringer for Jimmie Hendrix.

Pioche Labor Day Fireworks

No explanation needed.

Sienna Diane Shoars

I was absolutely honored to be asked to photograph my friend Sequoyah's new baby girl. We tried in vain for four hours to get her to go to sleep, but she wasn't having it. So, we just decided to snap away and see if we could get anything with her wiggling and fussing. I think we did okay. At any rate, it was a scream when we took her diaper off--five seconds after removal she pooped and peed all over her mom!

I looked out the window and what did I see...

Three sleeping beauties on the tramp-o-line! Don't you just love the four day school week? These three do. It equates to staying up half the night laughing like mad and sleepovers outside on the tramp.

Lincoln Vs. Enterprise, AKA Corn Fed Cheaters

Is there anything in this world that makes it right to use Varsity players against a newly minted JV? Absolutely not. I should mention that these particular varsity players were 6'3", 200lb. corn and potato fed Enterprise boys. I admit to praying fervently for the safety of my son and his fellow teammates when we arrived to see the stunning size difference. Jerky coaches!

Ryan had a really great game (even if we lost 38 to 14). The weather was absolutetly miserable within just a few minutes of start time. It was literally raining water towers (buckets are too small for the deluge we enjoyed). Ry dropped the ball one time and I hollered with all the zealousness of a Little League Parent "C'mon, Ryan, you've gotta keep ahold of the dang ball!!" Well, heck, everyone else had been yelling things up to that point, and I just got caught up in the moment (you know, when in Rome). Several people quickly turned to me and hotly advised "you have no idea how slippery that pigskin is when it's wet". I felt especially bad when, out of the blue and right after the game, these words tumbled out of Ryan's mouth: "Holy crap, Mom, that ball was slippery. It was like trying to hold onto a greased pig." I stand corrected AND apologized to Ry for yelling at him. He thought it was funny. Does anything make this kid mad?

The spit picture is really gross, but Ryan loved it--of course--so I'm sharing. Ryan's comment when he spotted the saliva expectoration photo: "Mom, that's fricken cool!"

Goodbye to a Lifestyle and a Most Beloved, Dear Friend

Today was incredibly hard. I said goodbye to one of my best friends, Cool. Some of my most carefree times were spent with this magical creature. She helped healed my heart during 2006. When the campaign trail got to be too much, Cool and I would escape by running through the hills so fast it felt like all of the bad, petty things that were happening couldn't come close to catching me in that moment. We've pushed cows together, shared many carrots, chased wild mustangs (and kept up), survived a horrible night when I was certain she would die from colic, enjoyed a wonderful sense of freedom when racing down a straightaway with the wind racing through our hair and laughter dancing wildly in the breeze, and most recently, loved a brand new baby every bit as sweet and beautiful as she is. This post is a dedication to the blessed moments I had with one of the best friends and comforters I've ever known. I love you, Cool. I hope your new home will bring you happiness for the rest of your days.

Elderberries..YUM!

We found a handful of ripe elderberries in August. The kids were really disappointed there weren't enough for a pie, but there was some speculation concerning "mini, personal pan sized pies" and whether or not it could be done. Nope. There just weren't enough. So they got eaten and we'll go back soon for enough to make a regular sized pie.

GRASS!!!!!!!

Our little yard is coming along, slowly but surely. Ryan and Danny have worked so hard this summer whipping our place into shape. First the retaining wall and gravel. Now...GRASS!!!! Yay for sod. I can hardly wait until our fence is up and we can sit in the hammock in total privacy. Hopefully a really good book, cold drink and yummy snack will figure into this situation.

Danny, thank you for all of the hard work you do. I've never seen anyone so amazing; you're a work horse. AND, your son isn't far behind you.

Things You Find When Cleaning

Again, while cleaning some files on my computer I ran across these hilarious photos and had to share. These are from 2006 and range from Girls' Weekend in Vegas, Ryan taking part in the Geography Bee, to Chelsea playing basketball. I laughed out loud when I saw some of these and had no choice but to share.

Dan's Animal Twin

I was cleaning out desktop folders on my work computer and found this picture. Cameron sent it to me awhile back because she thought it looked like Danny, if he was a squirrel.

Luck...or a lot of window time

Every once in a while you get really lucky. We've driven so much in the last three weeks I was bound to see something cool. These two young elk were chumming it up together about 20 yards from our truck. Magnificent creatures! The jugheads...well, it isn't very often you see any that are nice looking but these two were very handsome, a little camera shy, but handsome just the same.

School Days, School Days

Obviously, the kids weren't half as excited as I was that school is here. First day of school happiness is written all over their faces. Yeah, right.

Antelope Hunting

This was Ry's first antelope tag. After road hunting for several days and hundreds of miles we jumped out of the truck, ran like crazy over several ridges (me running like crazy about 100 yards behind cuz I'm old and slow), and tried to quietly stalk this bad boy. Ryan made an excellent shot--over 500 yards! Danny's one of the best marksmen I've ever seen, and Ry is a chip off the old block. He was so excited when he realized he'd hit his target. So was I. Especially since we'd both been suffering an epidemic sized case of buck fever for a couple of days. The ails of being stuck in a truck for hours on end. Talk about a good time, though. Ry's antelope was just a little over 14; pretty good for a first timer. We had so much fun together, laughing, reminiscing and eating tons of junkfood. I love my boys!

Yahoo for FOOSBALL!!!

Ryan made Varsity but was given the chance to Quarter Back if he'd stay down on JV. Bet you can guess what he chose. Ryan did really well at his first scrimmage in his new position. He's still the fastest and strongest and I AM NOT BIASED. :)