A new addition to the farm...

The word is out that the family made a little road trip last weekend.... to a CHICKEN SALE!  I know you are all just dying to know what the heck a chicken sale is so you'll have to check back soon to get the full story, complete with pics.  It's pretty much what you are already imagining but I do have proof in case you think that might be too hard to believe.  In the meantime, I had to share my cuties with their new pals.  I never knew chickens could be "tame" but these certainly are.  The kids are already talking about taking them to the fair next year.  I just want to have scambled eggs between now and then.  We'll see how it turns out!  

Chicken Sale post coming soon.  You know you want the scoop! 

Horse Show...the last summer fling

One final horse show of the summer. One final fling before the tack is stored and the horses are ignored allowed to roam free in the pasture.  One final gathering of new friends made over the summer.

I guess all that is true but it doesn't seem possible that it's September already.  This was more of a relaxed, fun show up at the Curtis Ag Tech School.  It was so cold that week I couldn't stand the thought of giving Sonny a bath with ice cold water so we did a "brush and go" this time.  And FYI...I could get used to that!  The nice thing about the smaller show was that they let the little kids do a walk-trot pleasure class so Nate actually got to show a little bit this time.  As usual, he was all smiles and he did great.  Ally had a great day too and competed against some much older kids so it was a good "learning" experience.  All in all, it was another fun family day and we are glad Gail got to join us fairly early. I'm not the horse person in the family so we are all relieved when he shows up! Especially when he's there in time to back the trailer out for us!! 

 Have a great weekend!!

Horsin' Around

Yesterday Gail and the kids had the horses out messing around and I was loving the view from my kitchen window.  Everytime I looked up I would see them weaving in the trees or chasing each other.  I couldn't resist grabbing the camera and capturing a few moments.  Wish they would stay little forever...

Ally decided to ride bareback.  It does wonders for improving balance and riding skills... plus it saves a lot of time from saddling him up!!!

Throw 'em on a horse and they turn into best buddies!

My little one looks SOOOO Big on his paint horse!

Nate was all smiles yesterday.... the horse must have been cooperating for him!

Every little girl's dream....

Sonny has strict instructions to take good care of her... So far he has listened well.

Hope you all have a GREAT labor day weekend!!!

Fair Daze... Part IV - The Bike Rodeo

When you hear "rodeo" in this part of the world, you think bulls and cowboys and bucking horses and lots of ropin'. So when I heard so much about the bike rodeo these past few years, I was envisioning some crazy kids ropin something or other while trying to stay upright on their fancy BMX bikes. Which of course is exactly what Nate-Dawg does on a regular basis around the farm, except he has a Wally World version of the BMX bike... and an ice-cream bell attached. So.... when 4-H enrollment time came around last spring and the kids just had to do the bike rodeo we had all heard about, I figured why not. How bad could it be?

Turns out it had nothing to do with ropin and wranglin stuff.  They just had to ride patterns around cones and do straight lines as fast as they could and as slow as they could without breaking pattern or falling off.  Come to think of it, it was a lot like the horse show!

Ally on her hand-me-down recycled bike.   Complete with ice cream bell to warn the dogs to get out of her way!!!

Why do those helmets make them look like little aliens?!

If you look close you can see the little wood boards they have to ride between and go as slow as possible without falling over!

Turns out country kids seem to be better than city kids at riding bikes in funny patterns.  Must be all the dodging pot holes and rocks and dogs in the driveway.  Paved sidewalks and streets are BORING.  Give 'em a hay bale and a board and they turn it into a jumping ramp.  Creativity and athletic ability all wrapped into one!  Anyway, both kids participated and had a great time with their friends.  They also walked away with more ribbons.  What do you do with all those ribbons anyway??? 

Fair Daze... Part III - Nate-Dawg Style

Nate isn't old enough to be in regular 4-H but at least he gets to particpate via Clover Kids.  This year he did the bike rodeo (another post coming), cookies, flowers, and a poster on caring for his dogs.  He has been extremely patient this year following us around at Ally's activities but I know his 8th birthday can't come soon enough so he can show horses and cattle too!  I'm sure it will be here before we know.  However, I might just be too tired to do it all by then!

Ribbon from the bike rodeo.  He kicked butt!

At the fair with his cookies!  They were delicious!

Here he is with his poster on caring for his dogs, Lexi & Trapper!

Another ribbon for his flowers and homemade container.  He also took some flowers to the open class and got a purple ribbon!!

Fair Daze... Part II - Girls and Guns

I know... it sounds dangerous, doesn't it??  When I asked Ally what projects she wanted to take last spring, one of the first things out of her mouth was "Shooting Sports"!  This is odd because a) we don't own a gun, b) neither Gail or I shoot anything, and c) I expected her to say "baking cookies". 

Being the supportive, open minded parents we are, we said no sure of course you can! First step was safety training, next step was BB gun purchase, and third step was practice practice practice... all of which we did about 2 wks before the contest!  She did great and it was fun for Nathan to do too.  We spent several nights together out shooting targets in the back yard.  They had to shoot 4 positions... prone, standing, kneeling, and sitting.  They get 10 targets per position.  Boy did we learn a lot!  I think we might just do it again next year!! 

I have to give the county and the volunteers credit for the program.  There must have been 30 kids shooting that morning at the fair and I think 20 of them were beginners.  It was fun to watch them and they all had a great time!!!

Loading the gun... one BB at a time!

Practicing in the sitting position.

Checking out the results!!

Shooting at the fair - kneeling position.

Some of the kids waiting on results!

Ally and two of her friends showing off their targets and ribbons!!

Fair Daze... Part I - The Cattle Show

Things are still a zoo around here with trying to recover from the fair and also cramming two months worth of activities into the remaining 9 days before school starts!  I have LOTS to brag about from the county fair so it might take a few posts.  Allison did an awesome job with her first year of 4-H and Nathan had a blast participating in Clover Kids (pre-4-H) for the first time too.  These are just a few shots from show day.  All the 4-H kids worked so hard all summer getting ready for the big day.  I'm proud of all of them!  Hopefully I will get more posted soon, but this will have to do for now!  We're off to a bridal show in central Kansas today!!!

Here she is with Nila.  And for those of you that know cattle, Nila is only 1/4 Hereford. The rest is Angus and Simmental!

Ally and Rocky.  They don't get any cuter than this!!!