Just like camping!!!

After a busy week my hubby and Marissa were so sweet to surprise Bec and I not only with a yummy turkey dinner but a fire in our fire pit out front ready for us to make some yummy smores after gym tonight!!! What a sweet hubby and father to be so thoughtful after working so hard today around here! We have always said that although we work very hard around our home inside and out we try to be sure and take time to spend it with our kids and enjoy the time we have; they will be out of the house before we know it!!! We are very fortunate because we have this wonderful fire pit in the front and we live in such a beautiful area it is just like camping all the time out here! Needless to say the girls had fun and we had some tasty dessert this evening! On to a fun and exciting weekend as Marissa has a very big horse show on Sunday! Will definitely post pics of that!!!! Wish her luck since she is doing not only the 2 tests she has studied but another one she has never done, should be VERY exciting!

How does our Garden Grow?

Every year I am late planting my garden. Seems like everyone else has theirs going strong or at least going and I am saying "oh should I have that planted already?". Well this year I decided I would get on it right away and see what happens. I figure if it freezes again and I lose stuff no biggy I will just replant and if it doesn't well I am ahead of last year! So, I had purchased some plants a couple weeks ago and just kept them inside in my garden window (my "greenhouse" so to speak) and needed to get them in the ground before it was too late. I managed to plant some seeds as well and let's hope something decides to sprout or it's back to the nursery and we'll go back to purchasing plants (which is what I have much better luck with). So far we have planted: Lettuce, Romaine, Green Leaf and Red Leaf, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Spinach, Cabbage, Broccoli, Cucumbers (lemon and pickling), Onions (Walla Walla and Green), radishes, Corn (Yellow and Bicolor), peas, Zucchini and beans. I will be planting tomatos when it warms up a bit (too early for those) , peppers, watermelon, potatos, of course pumpkins and I still have to get some carrot seeds in the ground. We have a nice grape vine (it lines the garden) and we are gonna take a stab at making some wine with some help from our neighbors. I am hoping to get my spices planted this week still or weekend. Anyhow, not much to see but here is the garden as of now :)

Strength in Faith

So, this weekend we attended the memorial for our dear friend Joyce. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about attending this and having my girls come as well, but in my heart I knew it was the right thing to do. We arrived about 2 minutes late, thank goodness they hadn't begun yet. We were going to sit in the back and as we were arranging some chairs Buck, Joyces' son motioned for us to come over in his direction and he proceeded to sit us at the family table where he, his two sisters (Robin and Lori) and his father (Larry) were seated. What an honor it was to be called to sit with them as we just met this family 4 years ago when we moved in our home in Wimer. I can remember the first Christmas here when we wanted to give them a gift but decided to bring them some cookies instead as we weren't sure if they celebrated Christmas or not; you just never know and we wanted to be respectful if they didn't. It's crazy now to think about that because the faith in this family is incredible and the strength they have obviously is because of that faith! The service was beautiful, sad, happy, enlightening, uplifting and just a bundle of emotions. I think it was probably the most emotional ceremony Rame had ever been a part of. It brought back so many emotions beginning with the loss of my dad, my brother, grandfather, aunt, Tina and of course the years we watched Jim fight for his life!! We remembered Joyce and actually got to know her so much more through the service and realized just how much the family means to us and how much we mean to them! It's a bit crazy as we casually say our hellos through our fences always there to help one another with their animals and sometimes going several weeks without even a hello, but the strong friendships/bonds and feelings we have for one another are there without any words being said, they are just known in our hearts. They have touched our family in a way that I can't describe and I know they have had so many tough times over these past years we have known them, but the love and family bond they have always come through . I know this family will do just fine but just have that small hole in their heart, that empty chair at their table and longing to see that smile each day that only Joyce can fill and give. They will have their time again together shortly as our time here is really so short and our eternity in heaven is really when our life begins!!!

We love you Joyce you are an inspiration to us all and you live forever in your children!!!

4-H Stuff

One of our favorite things we are involved in is 4-H, the girls love animals and so this was a perfect fit for them when we moved out here! The girls projects are mainly rabbits, but Marissa has added Poultry and both girls have also added photography to their growing projects! We joined this group when they first began 3 years ago and at that time there were only 6 members including Marissa and Becca! Our group is growing and we now have 13 members!! The first 2 years we were learning the ropes and just trying to keep our head above water so we didn't take on any service projects or community service! This year as we have grown our group is getting older and wiser and they are very committed to giving back to our local community! Our group has adopted almost a mile of our road by our place which we clean up quarterly, the kids are mentors at the local elementary school to 1st graders, we have worked for Salvation Army during the holiday season as bell ringers and most recently visited the local Retirement home to spend some time with the older generation and let them hold and pet our adorable animals!!

We are rapidly approaching the most important time of the 4-H year and that is our spring fair which is when the kids get to show their animals and hopefully take home the champion showmanship award or breed award! The kids work very hard in preparation for this and keep very itemized and detailed records of their projects including inventory, balance sheets and financial statements; it's really quite involved, but a great learning experience in my opinion! My girls love 4-H probably more than they loved Girl Scouts and I didn't think that was possible. I am happy that they are able to continue participating in this wonderful club and I am pleased to be helping as their co-leader!

Fun Spring Break :)

Okay, so we enjoyed a fun week and even if we had wanted to get some schooling in we probably wouldn't have had time. First off Bec's gym schedule was changed and she attended on M/T/W/TH and T/TH were 11-3 so that kinda took up those days. Marissa enjoyed spending some time at home alone just doing what she wanted and what 14 1/2 yr old wouldn't enjoy that?
Unfortunately her bunny was due to have babies during Spring Break and although she did none of them survived with this cold weather; it was very sad! Marissa has decided after trying to breed this bunny so many times that breeding just isn't her thing and she plans to fill her empty (baby) cages with new bunnies of different breeds to add to her 2 other rabbits and leave breeding to some others as it's not her thing.
We had a fun filled weekend planned to end our Spring Break as Marissa headed off to work at the ranch (her full time passion) Bec and I headed into Grants Pass for friend fondue party! What fun, I have never had a fondue party and it was a hoot!!! We had so many wonderful foods to dip in our yummy cheese and chocolate sauces and the girls were just as hyper as could be! It was fun for us moms too as we had a few hours to just hang out and visit (a rarity for us).
Saturday we were up bright and early to Grants Pass (yet again) for our car wash. We put together a fund raiser car wash (we are doing as many fund raisers as we can...bake sale last month and another this coming month) to raise money for our kids competitive fees and for me I am hoping to raise enough for Marissa show fees as well. Anyhow, we set up at Abby's Pizza from 10:30 until 4 pm and made over $100. All in all it was a profitable day, but a bit cold.
So, now are back to reality of school and baking for our upcoming bake sale Easter weekend! Marissa has a league horse show at the end of this month and between those things and 4-H we should keep pretty busy I'd say!
Have a wonderful week and let's hope we get our plants in our garden this weekend as they are taking over my garden window!!!!