The small things

Sometimes it's the small things that bring a smile. That red barn makes me smile every time I see it. 

 Funfetti birthday cake for Ben - it's his favorite and the simplicity and color works for me (thanks mom for making the cake this time around!).

 The variety of color our tomatoes give to the top of our washing machine. I pick them as soon as they start to turn from green to orange and let them ripen inside. The cantelope in the background doesn't make me smile - I accidentally made it partially detach from the vine and knew I had to go ahead and pick it - way too early.

 I found a lid for one of my sugar bowls for only $5.  It was such an exciting find!

 Sometimes, it truly is the little things in this world that make all the difference.

Mutton Busting

Last week at the Marion County Fair, Noah surprised knocked-my-socks-off when he decided he wanted to participate in the Mutton Busting competition during the rodeo.  When we left home that evening, it hadn't even been a topic of conversation, wasn't even thought of by any of us.  So, I left my camera at home figuring I'd taken enough rodeo pictures and with it being so hot why should I lug my big ole camera around anyway.  Not to mention, Ben was traveling home from a work meeting out-of-state!
Well, fast forward an hour or so and I started to realize that the other kids we were with were talking about riding sheep in the rodeo, but they were sad that they were too old.  Well, Noah wasn't too old......so they asked him if he wanted to and he said, "Yes!"  Holy moly.
We got to the rodeo and the announcer said to go behind his stand to register for the Mutton Busting, so Noah and I did.  I am not comfortable around horses and walking around behind the announcer's stand at a rodeo really pushes my comfort zone. I signed Noah up and paid the $10 entry fee and he was set!  His friend Kacen was also riding, and he's a professional Mutton Buster so he had all the appropriate gear to protect himself from getting hurt if the sheep stepped on him.  Noah was going to borrow Kacen's helmet and his protective vest - and they were going to hang out under the announcer's stand (right in the thick of the action) until it was time for their event.  Ok.... I left them feeling like I wasn't really supposed to leave Noah there but also knowing that Kacen (at age 7) knew more about what was going on than I did.  Plus, Kacen's dad Kirby was around and said he'd keep an eye on the boys.
Before I knew it, it was Noah's turn to ride.  The announcer did a great job of making each cowboy feel important and I know Noah was listening to the way he talked because I've heard him talk that way when he and Levi do pretend rodeo at home.  My stomach was in knots while I waited for Noah.  I wasn't worried he'd get hurt. I was worried that he was nervous and unsure and that he'd hate it and be scared.  But I was wrong.  He talks about it like it was no big deal.  He says it hurt his stomach when he landed on the ground but that it was awesome. He didn't last long on the sheep - it gave a pretty big jerk when the gate opened - but Noah wants to do it at every rodeo he can from now on.  We'll have to see about that.  For now, he and Levi can pretend at home in the living room.

Corn Harvest

I heard on the radio yesterday that this is the earliest corn harvest on record in Kansas.  Makes sense since we had the earliest wheat harvest, too.  

Levi helped get the combine ready for harvest. It was a team effort.

It's amazing how the boys can sometimes totally ignore how hot and dusty it is.  Thankfully they just go on  playing and having fun no matter what.  The adults, however, notice the ridiculously hot weather.

And the boys are thrilled (that's an understatement) with the harvest action that they get to participate in.

Last night we hung out at the field for a while.  It was a comfortable evening of riding, looking for missed ears of corn and more riding along.

Just before dark they wrapped up at one field and my dad had enough time to move to the next field.  Since he planned to leave the combine out there, I stuck around to give him a ride back to the farm.  So, while he picked one round around the edge of the field I spent time snapping more photos.

This was the lone flower in sight from where I was.  There was dried out corn all around me, a dirt road and weeds in the ditches and just this one flower.  Ok, so technically this flower is a weed as well, but I enjoy a ditch full of these sunshiny beauties so I consider it a flower.

And so harvest continues on today...an underwhelming harvest, but with the heat and drought we've had we're happy to have corn to pick.

Giddy-Up

What a weekend!  Thursday evening I took the boys to see the Newton Community Theater's production of "The Wizard of Oz."  It was Levi's first live musical experience and we had a wonderful time.  As we walked out, Levi asked how the Wicked Witch of the West came back to life?  He believed she had melted on the stage and then didn't understand how she could appear on stage to bow at the end of the performance.  :-)

Friday night was rodeo night!  We were pretty excited to take in the Canton Rodeo for the second year.

There was quite a crew of boys taking in the action.

Besides for horses and bulls, the best part of the rodeo for the boys is getting to play with their friends!

Team roping - the guy on the right is our friend Kirby.

They got the calf!  That team roping happens so fast, it would take me at least a day to actually rope a calf.

All the boys got a streak of pink hair paint sprayed on their heads by the rodeo clown.

At one point during the evening, they invite all the kids out into the arena and then they let four chickens loose.  I had trouble keeping track of where the boys were out there in the mob of children.  So when Levi came back, I asked him if he caught one of the chickens and with the most innocent and slightly confused look on his face with his hands up and shrugging his shoulders he said, "They never let them out!"  The poor kid was out there just running around following the mob of children and never actually saw a chicken - he must have been so confused.

The bull riding was fast and furious and crazy.  We ended up going back the next night so we could watch our friend Joni (Kirby's wife) do barrel racing.  Kirby and Joni both took the time to let our boys ride on their horses and we are so thankful that they're patient enough to do that with our horseless boys.

Needless to say, Friday and Saturday nights were late nights.  Rodeo's start at 8, which is just about the time we start putting our kids to bed usually.  Sunday was a late night too with a church swimming party that went until 9 in Hillsboro.  And wouldn't you know, the pool is right next to the fair grounds in Hillsboro and there were steers and bulls out there in preparation for tomorrow nights rodeo!  Yes, yes in fact within one week, the boys and I will attend 3 rodeos.  Giddy-up.

Around the farm

Summer is speeding right along here.  The days are terribly hot.  The ground is dry.  Yet, life marches on.  

The barn is certainly a bright spot on the farm this summer.  She's never looked this good in my lifetime.  

Thanks to the borrowed bucket truck, Austin and my dad were able to finish up working on the north side of the barn.  Currently, there are only a few more pieces to go on the south side and a couple doors need to be hung and she'll be all done!

The garden is working hard to keep growing despite the heat and bugs.  Our zucchini bit the dust thanks to an army of squash bugs, and two of our three tomato plants look ridiculously terrible.  But, I still think we're doing pretty good for our first year gardening. 

The boys got new bikes!  Their old bikes were handed down to us by others and we were grateful for them.  But, time had taken its toll on those bikes and it was finally time to upgrade for the boys.

Remember that patio I mentioned a super-long time ago?  Well, we've been enjoying it for months now, I just never took any photos of it.  My friend Karin graciously sewed some cushions for our chairs.

The fabric was called Farmers Market I think.  I love the blue and yellow in it.

We've been playing a lot of hide-and-seek in the big white shed these days.  The boys are really good at hiding and keeping quiet, so it's actually quite a bit of fun.  The sun turns the she into an oven, so we only play in the morning or late in the evening.  Friday morning, I was hiding right next to this bucket of corn seed.

Friday morning the boys and I took a little bike ride to test out their new bikes.  It was a beautiful morning for a short ride!

The corn is dry......we just hope and pray for the best when we start harvesting in a couple of weeks.

Oh, and the kittens!  They're growing and are so funny to watch.  I haven't been around kittens for a long, long time and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching them play together.

Levi said, "Take a picture of me and George." So, I did.  Nice smile kiddo.  Once I figure out all of their names, I'll have to introduce them individually to the blog.

Well, that's what we've been up to....or at least some of the stuff that's been happening around here lately.