Swing

The hunts have been going on recently. All of the hunters, so far, have shot pretty nice bulls. The kids love to go and look at the Elk as they are getting skinned. The big cooler keeps them very cold and so that is where all of the hunters hang their Elk. Most of the Elk have scored about a 330, but one score 340 so far. Denim thinks it stinks.

With the hunts going, Ace has been trying to stay off the ranch as much as possible. He took the time to start the kids a swing set. He has worked very hard. He hauled in sand first.



The big sand piles were a big success.



I learned a little trick from mom. You make a triple batch of cookie dough, then you put it into balls and freeze the balls. Once they are somewhat frozen you put them into big ziplock bags. Then, fresh homemade cookies every night. I only take out about 8 and cook them. So fun! Ace thinks I am the best wife ever. Cookies for Ace every day!



Ace is working so hard welding.



This is some hot business.



Ace became quite the mathematician during the building. He hauled out his old geometry books.



The kids are helping build where a big sand pile will go.



Helping paint.



Darlin Dawn is growing so fast. She is so cute all dressed for church. She is really a mommies girl, she hardly let anyone else hold her. Ok, I will be honest, she doesn't let anyone else hold her. I have to admit I am not mortified as I LOVE to hold the little toot. Who wouldn't, right.



Denim and Blazen gave their first talks in primary. I was so proud. We practiced all week long. They had them memorized. They gave them on their favorite prophets. Blazen chose Joseph Smith and Denim chose Daniel. Ace was teaching Sunday school and there were only about 10 people so he invited the "primary" in, to give their talks. The kids thought they were major big stuff getting to stand at the pulpit.



During Sacrament Meeting, Blazen drew a picture of mom and dad.

Here it is.....



He was explaining the picture to his dad. "This is dad, and this is mom. (pause) Mom looks really mad. Dad is happy." Ace and I busted up laughing. It is such a little boys perspective. Mom is big and always in his business and in everything in his life. Dad comes home and plays for a few minutes and he is little, in the background and happy."


We also started school. It has been going really well. I was so excited to get on a schedule and I really enjoy it. Denim is using the Funnix program for reading, which I LOVE LOVE. I am also doing some of the Starfall Kindergarten Curriculum for Language Arts and some various math things. Blazen is doing Your Baby Can Read. I haven't decided if I love it or not. I also spend a 1/2 hour with him reading or doing puzzles or coordination games. He learns a sound and a rhyme a week. I am so much enjoying my time with Denim. She is growing so fast and I am glad that I chose to keep her home this year.

Funny Stories:

*The kids and I were going to pick Ace up in the backhoe. It was getting late and the moon was out. It was a half moon. Denim asked, "Why is the moon sometimes whole and sometimes a part? Do they cut it up and then sew it back together?"

*A few minutes later I was wishing upon a star. "I wish, I wish, upon a star, the wish I wish is wished so far." "Ok, I made my wish." Denim said, "What was your wish mom?" I said, "I can't tell you. If you tell your wish then it won't come true." Denim thought about it then looked up and said, "I wish, I wish, upon a star...(thinking)...I wish my wish will come true....(thinking)....even if I tell!"

*Blazen was sitting at the counter top looking not very happily at his uneaten burrito when he asked, "Mom, can I have a snack?" I said, "Hmmmm, you 1st have to eat your burrito, then you can have a snack." He thought for awhile then said, "My tummy doesn't want the burrito, it wants a snack." I said, "Well, then you'll have to tell your tummy that it has to eat the burrito first." Sniffling he looks down at his tummy and says, "Tummy, you have to eat the burrito first before a snack." Then with alligator tears in his eyes he looks at me and says, "Mommy, SEE, my tummy is crying."

*Denim and Blazen were playing in the sand pile. I was helping Ace and listening in the distance. Denim was bossing Blazen around and pestering him. Finally Blazen had had enough. He snowplowed Denim into the sand. Denim started bawling, "Mom, Blazen hurt me." I asked, "Why?" She completely stopped crying and crinkled her face thinking (a very sheepish look because she didn't want to admit to what a stinker she was being). Finally she said, "JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TOO" I started laughing which did not make her pleased.

Pie Festival

Today was the Pie Festival in Pie Town. It is such a fun event for the kids. We look forward to it all year. It is a carnival like day. The community puts on a festival one day a year. We have pie eating contests, kids games, pie test tasters, award for the best baked pie, lots of random venders, barbecue food, toys, crowning of the pie town queen, and last but best of all the horny toad race. It cracks me up because it is so hick, but so wonderful at the same time that you just have to love it. It is actually gaining a lot of popularity. This year there were tons of people from Albuquerque who had heard about it, who came and camped for a few days. I kinda liked the smaller community feel, but whatever.

When we got there, we started out with the kids games. Sack race, three legged race, water balloon toss. ect.



Blazen kicked butt in the sack race and placed 2nd. He was stoked. He got a head start because they called out, "If you are 2, go......if you are 3, go, ect."



Denim was having some major fun here. 2 seconds later she and Ike collided and we had major tears.



She finally got over it and did the three-legged race with this girl.



Blazen sat back and enjoyed a snow-cone. Blue, OBVIOUSLY!!



Blazen with Pops McKee. We love Pops. He has been in Pie Town his whole life. He has the nickname Pops because when he was younger he could fight, and fight GOOD, like Popeye the sailerman toot toot. Anyway Pops walks everywhere, it is fun to drive down the road and see him walking. He is very gently with the kids. He is a great gardener and surviver and has a wealth of knowledge.



A girl from a Scientology school out here painted faces. She was awesome. Turns out she used to face paint at Disney World.









The Pie Eating Contest gets a little messy. Your hands are tied behind your back.





It was a pretty hot day for Darlin. I fed her carrots in her stroller under a tree.



We looked for three days for horny toads and never found one. On the day of the festival a little girl found three for us. Thank heavens.



"All right little buddy, get ready!"



1st. Each horny toad gets a number marked on their belly. That same number gets marked on the owners palm. That way, you know whose horny toad wins.



Then all the horny toads get put in a big basket.



A small and large ring are made. The 1st horny toad to cross over the big ring wins.
"Off with the bucket, CHEER, and let's go."



Denim named her toad, Rainbow Diamond, and Blazen named his something like pookie (can't remember). Anyway basically you holler your lungs out and tell pookie to get a move on. The toads stay clumped up for like 5 minutes before they move an inch. Finally when one does move the crowd goes wild. On and on and finally one toad wins after about 10 min. It is really good fun. Then the kids get to go find their toads and return them to their natural habitat. That is the idea, however, our horny toads usually get abused at least the rest of the day before I make the kids release them.



And the Pie Town Queen is.......



Just kidding, but she did really start to take her 1st little crawl today.



This evening there was also a dance with a local (Bill Hansen) band. They play old country music. We love to go and have fun and two step and swing and cowboy waltz. This is how we went with the whole fam. We took the knomemobile and parked it next to the pavilion for the kids. Blazen was a toot and after one dance wanted in the motor home. Denim danced with Ace quite a bit. Ace and I dance a little together. It was fun.



Something a bit new and strange. Fire dancers on the b-ball court. Denim was amazed.



Darlin crashed and it was not a safe place in the motor home with Ike, Denim, and Blazen. She got to sleep under the picnic tables at the dance. AWESOME!



I just love these girls. They are all grown up. I taught them a few years ago in dance. Autumn is almost a nurse, Stormi is a world traveler, and Shayla just graduated and has a boyfriend.



Gotta love the Pie Fest.

Greg and Syringa

This past little while has been fun packed with visitors for us, which obviously I absolutely love love love.
1st mom and dad came through. They were on their way to pick up bulls in Texas so they got to stop for an evening and visit.

Story: My 1st cousin, Erin(Sister Jones) is serving a mission in the Mesa, Arizona mission. It just so happens that she got transfered recently to serve in Springerville, Arizona. This area actually covers Pie Town. Their whole district saved up gas miles to be able to come out to Pie Town and have Pie. It just so happened that they were coming out on the same day that mom and dad were going to be here. They were also scheduled to be here within 10 minutes of each other. By the way none of us talked or planned any of this. Pretty crazy hu!! On the drive to my house my mom called Sister Jones to see if they could take her and her companion for dinner. She told mom they were coming to Pie town. Mom said, "Great, we can have a member in Pie Town feed you all pizzas." I was in Socorro so I picked up pizzas, but on the way home, the knomemobile broke down. I was stressed out. Anyway, mom and dad met the missionaries in Pie Town and took them to my house. (They ended up not getting pie because the Daily Pie was closed, so they were bummed. Also they were starved because they had been fasting all day) They ended up raiding my peanut butter, which was so awesome. Dad came and got me and the stranded kids and we met the missionaries on their way out and gave them pop and pizza. I did get to see Sister Jones and give her a hug, which was fun. I was just bummed to not get to talk to her. When she was talking to my mom she said, "Dixie, what did my mission president say when you talked to him about us meeting." Mom said, "I didn't talk to your mission president." Sister Jones, " What? Then how did you get my number, and how did you ok this meeting?" My mom said, "I didn't, Ace gave me the number." Sister Jones said, "Oh great, we might be in big trouble, but I guess the damage is done." The funniest part was all 10 missionaries were crowded into a little mini-van. Two of them scrunched in the back. It was hilarious. Sister Jones looks happy. She is serving the Lord. She told me to find a Spanish speaking person to teach so that she can come back. I haven't found one yet.

Mom and Dad took a very long drive into the middle of Texas to pick up bulls. I enjoyed the time they were here. I just didn't get any pictures.

Story: We were all loaded in the truck going to pick Ace up. Blazen mispronounces some of his sounds, but often times I just don't hear it because as a mother I know exactly what he is saying. He was blabbing on to Grandma and Grandpa and my mom started giggling, (he was saying something about a truck). Then he said it again and my dad tried not to laugh. I couldn't figure it out. Finally I got it. Blazen uses an F with no R to say truck. Finally Denim says, "Grandma he can't say truck, he says ----." Poor Denim, she had no clue. I hope it stays that way.

Granny bought Denim a little cheer outfit. Go New Mexico. She loves it.



We had birds hatch just outside our kitchen door. It was so cute.



Here is something that is commen sense but I didn't know it. Mother birds teach their babies to put their little butts out of the nest and poop. This way the nest stays clean. Pretty nifty. Thus the poop on my little porch.



Syringa and Greg took a few days off of work and drove all the way from Spanish Fork to see us. It was so awesome to have them here with us. I hope they enjoyed their time away from the BIG CITY!! and the BIG JOBS!! We did a lot of just visiting and hanging out.



We climbed the feeding bins. That was fun, but about gave me heart failure to watch my kids.



We took a little tour of the general area. I took them to see the old mission ruins and along the way we stopped by Robbers Roost. About 10 years ago a few men (very normal looking) moved out here and started building a cabin. They were in and out of the community, but mostly to themselves. A few years went by and the authorities came and arrested them. So happens that they were BIG bank robbers, and had gotten away with millions. The authorities had been searching everywhere for them and had finally caught up to them here in Pie Town. They had laid pretty low, but apparently it is hard to lay low enough.



We took a day and went and toured the VLA (very large arrays). I had never actually been through a tour. I have to admit that it was very educational and neat. My kids actually really liked seeing the arrays close up. They are impressively massive.







Here we are. This part was fun, it showed how the arrays work, in a sense. It catches the sound waves. Two small discs are facing each other. You talk into one, and you can hear from the other....even a whisper.



Blazen is running the around half of the size of one array.





Darlin did pretty good in her stroller.



Sister time.



Me time. That only lasts for one click of the camera, but Ohhhhhh how I enjoyed that 2 seconds.



Next was Greg and Syringa's favorite part. We drove on to Socorro where we picked up green chilies. They loved watching the process. Here we are at the little market.



Dried Red Chilies.



Here is how getting green chili works in New Mexico.

1st. You pick out the level of heat you want (the type of chili)

2nd. You pay for it. (This is the most important part if you plan on taking it home)



3rd. They roast it.



4th. They bag it.



5th. You cry from the smell of it.



6th. You load it in the truck and DRIVE.

It was a fun experience for Greg and Syringa. When we got home, Syringa helped me put it up. Meaning.....shove it so gently in zip lock bags and throw in the freezer. I used to be an overachiever and can it all, but I am not an overachiever this year. Sorry everyone who enjoyed the canned chilies, I have a child attached right now. Maybe next year.

I loved the visit from Greg and Syringa and hope to see them soon. Love you guys mucho much and I am soooo sorry Greg did not get to see and Elk, and we did not swim in the stock tank.