Sorry to those of you that actually come by on purpose, and how lucky you new ones are.
I didn't mean to be gone so long,
But early summer in Northern Arizona is beautiful,
no daylight savings, so we get to enjoy a full day.
Light hot days to play in, and nippy nights to snuggle in.
The super strong winds of spring have died down to gentle breezes,
and evenings are spent barbecuing and playing baseball,
Spying on baby deer, skittish elk calves, and tiny jack rabbits in the backyard.
Rushed mornings due to later more exhausting bedtimes,
and extra laundry from those late night barefoot walks
that result in dirty foot print sheets.
Cookie baking has turned to ice cream making,
and unfortunately laundry folding has been turned to
porch swinging and Popsicles.
So again I am sorry to have left you all,
but maybe you should all just come on by.
We'll save you some ice cream but until then please read on.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Just for Kellie McCarrel
I am sorry, we live in the MIDDLE OF FREAKING NOWHERE.
If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon, once you get off of I-40 you take an extremely boring, long, two lane highway, known to the State of Arizona as highway 64, locally we call it the extremely long death trap,or just 64.
On either side of said highway are row upon row of mailboxes that all European tourists stop to take pictures of , and BUMPY dirt roads, proof that some people love privacy, I can walk out to the car naked, I mean if I wanted to, and have no care for their suspension(on there vehicles that is).
While having few neighbors is on the plus, along with abundant wildlife, fresh air, and for a few, the chance to hunt off your front porch(hi honey). The downsides include no high speed Internet, no plowed streets, being snowed in a lot of the winter, no, no wait that goes on the plus list, but mainly there is NO WATER, every drop of water that we use, must be trucked in.
So three to four times a week I load a couple of the kids and usually a dog and once in awhile a cat and we head to the water plant, for ten dollars I fill the tank with 425 gallons of water, drive it home and then with the help of gravity and six feet of three inch hose empty the water into a 1800 gallon cistern underground which is then pumped into the house. Yes we all bathe everyday(well most of us I mean really what do husbands have against showering on their days off?) do lots of laundry, and run the dishwasher everyday.
The only downside that I have found is during extremely cold weather everything freezes, from the tank lid to the valve on the tank, and then one must use some creativity, or a blow dryer.
So sweety does that answer your question?
and if you havn't seen the Grand Canyon come on down,
I can get a great deal on helicopter flights!
If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon, once you get off of I-40 you take an extremely boring, long, two lane highway, known to the State of Arizona as highway 64, locally we call it the extremely long death trap,or just 64.
On either side of said highway are row upon row of mailboxes that all European tourists stop to take pictures of , and BUMPY dirt roads, proof that some people love privacy, I can walk out to the car naked, I mean if I wanted to, and have no care for their suspension(on there vehicles that is).
While having few neighbors is on the plus, along with abundant wildlife, fresh air, and for a few, the chance to hunt off your front porch(hi honey). The downsides include no high speed Internet, no plowed streets, being snowed in a lot of the winter, no, no wait that goes on the plus list, but mainly there is NO WATER, every drop of water that we use, must be trucked in.
So three to four times a week I load a couple of the kids and usually a dog and once in awhile a cat and we head to the water plant, for ten dollars I fill the tank with 425 gallons of water, drive it home and then with the help of gravity and six feet of three inch hose empty the water into a 1800 gallon cistern underground which is then pumped into the house. Yes we all bathe everyday(well most of us I mean really what do husbands have against showering on their days off?) do lots of laundry, and run the dishwasher everyday.
The only downside that I have found is during extremely cold weather everything freezes, from the tank lid to the valve on the tank, and then one must use some creativity, or a blow dryer.
So sweety does that answer your question?
and if you havn't seen the Grand Canyon come on down,
I can get a great deal on helicopter flights!
And lightning strikes again
Well its back to the seven of us,
we were cautiously excited for a week.
Turns out you second miscarriage does not hit as hard,
it hurts just as bad,
and you cry just as much,
but in a way it gives relief that now
there is proof of a problem.
So this week I begin testing, blood draws and ultrasounds.
Because it is amazing how much you wanted that baby
when you find out you don't
get to keep it
after all.
we were cautiously excited for a week.
Turns out you second miscarriage does not hit as hard,
it hurts just as bad,
and you cry just as much,
but in a way it gives relief that now
there is proof of a problem.
So this week I begin testing, blood draws and ultrasounds.
Because it is amazing how much you wanted that baby
when you find out you don't
get to keep it
after all.
Our day at whup a kitty
Mikes parents came to visit us in late April, it was really nice to see them as we don't go to Colorado anymore. Mike had to work that Monday but took Tuesday and Wednesday off.
We let the kids stay home from school and indulged Mikes mom, and went to some Indian ruins.
I hate looking at ruins, its like going to the Parade of Homes a thousand years late.
And hot and dirty.
We went to Walnut Canyon which is a pretty good hike, and has some nice views of the mountains and really old broken homes, I figure they left it for a good reason,
like fallen walls, crappy ventilation, no indoor plumbing, and most likely the fear of your kids falling hundreds of feet every time they went out the front door. But hey that's just me.
It could have been the constant threat of enemy attack, lousy harvests and constant droughts. Or maybe they just didn't like the neighborhood.
We also went to Waputki, it was like a master planned Anasazi community, nicely spread out so you could see the enemy approach, and large spacious rooms to store your beans and gourds.
Again I think they left because of water issues(there is none) or maybe the lack of marriage prospects.
Unfortunately my children have not learned a second language and therefor entertained themselves and me by butchering the name of for said community and turning it into whup-a-kitty. Some people in the flyboat were not amused.
Grandpa thankfully was a super trooper and treated us to Chinese at our favorite restaurant and the next day helped Mike build a baby chicken house and fence.
Mikes mom however was not thrilled when I offered to take her to town and drive through the local trailer parks to look at the Mexican ruins.
Maybe next year.
We let the kids stay home from school and indulged Mikes mom, and went to some Indian ruins.
I hate looking at ruins, its like going to the Parade of Homes a thousand years late.
And hot and dirty.
We went to Walnut Canyon which is a pretty good hike, and has some nice views of the mountains and really old broken homes, I figure they left it for a good reason,
like fallen walls, crappy ventilation, no indoor plumbing, and most likely the fear of your kids falling hundreds of feet every time they went out the front door. But hey that's just me.
It could have been the constant threat of enemy attack, lousy harvests and constant droughts. Or maybe they just didn't like the neighborhood.
We also went to Waputki, it was like a master planned Anasazi community, nicely spread out so you could see the enemy approach, and large spacious rooms to store your beans and gourds.
Again I think they left because of water issues(there is none) or maybe the lack of marriage prospects.
Unfortunately my children have not learned a second language and therefor entertained themselves and me by butchering the name of for said community and turning it into whup-a-kitty. Some people in the flyboat were not amused.
Grandpa thankfully was a super trooper and treated us to Chinese at our favorite restaurant and the next day helped Mike build a baby chicken house and fence.
Mikes mom however was not thrilled when I offered to take her to town and drive through the local trailer parks to look at the Mexican ruins.
Maybe next year.
sleeping in a red light district or(satan lives in my bathroom)
Growing up I always wanted a St. Bernard, I don't recall why but they just seemed so cool, and they were huge. I never got one, my parents always told me "when you grow up and get married then you can have one". Jokes on them by year number two of marriage I got one, his name was Bubba. We got him through St. Bernard rescue in Phoenix and he was a great dog, he went everywhere with us, he just wasn't to smart. Poor Mike had to teach him to drink out of a stream and that it was okay to eat snow, mostly he just slept, let Braxton sit on him and once even set himself on fire.
What a strong man he is/was because he held out for seven years, but finally this year we became CHICKEN FARMERS!!!
After we moved out to the FREAKING MIDDLE OF NOWHERE our animal collection grew, we brought two cats with us to outer darkness and after Bubba passed, brought home a Great Pyrenees puppy we named Delainey, a few more cats came and went, two more joining our permanent ranks, got another dog, a little one this time, and the child count grew by four also.
Well as the child count went up so did the "Please, please, please, can we keep/get its" and the "it/they followed me/us home". Poor Mike sometimes it is just not fair when the kids look on with sad wanting looks while I do all of the groveling.
What a strong man he is/was because he held out for seven years, but finally this year we became CHICKEN FARMERS!!!
Well the kids and I became chicken farmers, Mike just bank rolled us.
It took two days but I finally got them all home safe and sound, 40 chickens and six turkeys, they are so cute, the kids and I fell in love with them, the cats looked on with snackers glee, and poor big dog looked on, sighed and and I swear rolled her eyes.
Really I did not set out to procure that many fowl, but so many people including Mike told me that chickens die, so get a few more than you think necessary. I figured that as a family we would need two dozen, you know eggs for us and some extra to give away to friends.
Turns out I am a super chicken farmer. We still have 38 of the little feathered dingbats.
One it turns out was blind and had to be put down and just this past week we had one get crushed in the huddle heap. We also lost a turkey, I am pretty sure he was a failure to thrive.
As budding fowl farmers I discovered that our feathery little babies must be kept indoors under(bright red glowing) heat lamps for the first 3 to 4 weeks, so as you can see they spent their first three weeks living in Rubbermaid totes in our bathroom. Yeah that's when I discovered to Mikes everlasting glee that chickens and turkeys are dirty, and noisy, and most of all they stink. I spent at least an hour a day trading out their bedding, feeding them, watering them and as I am such a weird person hanging those cute little scented trees off of their heat lamps(peach was our favorite).
Mike on the other hand walked by shaking his head, muttering "I told you so" under his breath, making snide comments about finally being in the "red light district" and still not getting any, and building their "baby coop" and fenced yard for me.
Well, all is well that ends well, so they say, and the kids and I are still in love with our feathery friends, and they now have an amizing coop painted a lovely light yellow. We have six white black crested polish(they look a little like Phillis Diller in a top hat of feathers), 5 feathery legged Cochin's, 6 Rhode island reds, two silver wyandottes, 8 Buff Orpingtons(they are little loveys) and lots and lots of Easter Egg chickens that will lay green and blue eggs, Our five remaining turkeys have all been named after Mikes 5 brothers, and are a lot of fun to play with as they will follow us around the yard and are very friendly.
We have also discovered that we have at least 1 rooster and have suspicions on two more, and yes our little roosters name is Cogburn.
So eggs anyone?
P.S. anyone have an extra St. Bernard?
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