Well we just got back on Wednesday from our summer vacation. We went on a tour of South Dakota. We started out from our house and meandered down to De Smet first, it is one of the homesites for Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have been reading her books since I was in second grade, and to this day still read the entire series at least once a year. I told Jeff that she was my imaginary friend and I spent lots of my childhood wishing I were her. We got to tour the origional Ingalls homestead area, her parents home, and see the graves of her family. It was neat. Some day I am going to get to Missouri and see her final farm there.
Next day we took off and headed to Mitchell, there was the corn palace, that was such a disappointment, but we got to spend some time swimming in the pool so that was good.
Next day we went to Rapid City and that is where most of our time was spent, we went and saw Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, Bear Country USA, The Reptile Gardens...Went on the presidential Alpine slide, basically it is a chair lift to the top of one of the big hills, then you go down a big concrete slide in a scooter....I am terrified of heights so the ride up was pretty nerve racking, but the slide down was a hoot! I loved the beautiful scenery in the black hills, it is a world away from the flat land of our farm. I imagined what it would have like to have been a pioneer there.
We finally meandered to Bismarck North Dakota, and spent a night there in a neat hotel with a 2 story waterslide, that was really fun, and then headed home. So now we are just trying to get back into the swing of things at home. We should start harvest in about 2 weeks so lots of last minute preparations for that and I "think" our new grain dryer will be getting installed this week as well.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Home at Last
Here are some pictures from the lake...many more on FB but these are cute so thought I would share. I have always thought it was a little crazy how both for Jeff and I , going places is so much fun, but it is always just as fun to come home to our own house. We got back mid-afternoon from the lake and it was obvious to everyone that we were all really glad to be home. Big Bro and Big Sis disappeared upstairs to their space, Lil Bro spent most of the evening listening to his favorite movies and playing with his cars and tractors on the floor, and Jeff and I just relaxed.
Crops are looking decent, all jeff's hard work of spraying for weeds has helped clean up our fields nicely, and all of our wheat is headed out and some of the fields are already starting to turn from Green to Gold...that means harvest isn't too far away!
We had a great 4th of July at the lake, lots of swimming, tubing, paddleboating and sun! Lots of Good Food and family, couldn't have asked for nicer weather...well there was the 5 inches of rain on Saturday night, but we were snug in the camper so it didn't really bother us that much.
Got home and I am getting flowers on my tomato plants, and my corn is now knee high, my radishes are the size of big marbles, so that looks promising...oh and my blueberries are starting to turn blue on the tree...Little Bro is VERY excited about that.
Can't wait to see what we actually harvest from it.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Summer=Crazy
In our house nice weather equals craziness!! When the sun is shining that means that Daddy is absent and working hard, which means mommy is working hard as well making sure things are running smooth...not always and easy task with 3 kids, 8 animals, one ramshackle farm house, and a hired man. :) Some days I have time to sit and actually talk to my friends via email, and maybe read a chapter or two of a book, and there are days I am lucky if I get 5 minutes to go to the bathroom myself!
The last week has been action packed. Lots of yard work.. Got our lawn mowed again this week, which is no small accomplishment, it takes about 3 hours to get it all done on the rider, got my flower beds weeded again, and got a few more veggies planted in my garden and got that weeded as well. The garden and I are still in that hate/hate state...It still wants to grow grass and I want it to grow vegetables.
Got to spend some time with just the boys hanging out as Big Sis was gone visiting family. It is always interesting being the only female in a house full of boys!
Tomorrow am we are getting up early, packing up and hopefully going to be on the road by 10am to the lake. My inlaws have a camper across the road from my Aunt in laws cabin at a resort, and the kids and I love spending time there, we never seem to get there as much as we want, but try to make the most of the time we get there. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July and hope you all stay safe!
The last week has been action packed. Lots of yard work.. Got our lawn mowed again this week, which is no small accomplishment, it takes about 3 hours to get it all done on the rider, got my flower beds weeded again, and got a few more veggies planted in my garden and got that weeded as well. The garden and I are still in that hate/hate state...It still wants to grow grass and I want it to grow vegetables.
Got to spend some time with just the boys hanging out as Big Sis was gone visiting family. It is always interesting being the only female in a house full of boys!
Tomorrow am we are getting up early, packing up and hopefully going to be on the road by 10am to the lake. My inlaws have a camper across the road from my Aunt in laws cabin at a resort, and the kids and I love spending time there, we never seem to get there as much as we want, but try to make the most of the time we get there. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July and hope you all stay safe!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Skunks....Music....And Dad's
Well this week we had a visit from one of the lovely creatures that frequent the country....Skunks...unfortunatly for us it was not a friendly visit. It got into our barn and killed three litters of baby kittens. So sad for the momma kitty but honestly I am having a hard time feeling too bad because that makes for less barn cats and so we don't have to take care of them. We have tried to catch the females to take them into the Vet to get them fixed so that we wouldn't have to worry about litters of kittens, but they are feral and catching them is near to impossible.
A skunk also found its way into the yard of our neighbors but big brother happened to be there and he took care of it with their rifle...Pretty sure it was rabid as it had no fear of humans or their great dane. He didn't get our skunk though.
Talking about shooting skunks always reminds me of my father...He was the kind of guy that was very no nonsense...if it was a critter causing problems it had to be dealt with. When I was younger I thought this was so horrible and cried for the animals that he shot, but now that I am an adult, I understand the reasoning and the logic behind it. It has been just over a year since my father passed away and there isn't a single day that goes by that I don' t think about him in some way. And since tomorrow is Fathers Day it is fitting that I think about him tonite.
Thinking of my Father invariably leads me to thinking about growing up. My family loved music and I sang with my mom and dad all the time. My mom always had music playing in the house and I have a love for music because of that. My father only listened to Country music and considered anything else noise. I however have an appreciation for all types of music, a fact that brought me to put my ipod on shuffle this afternoon and write down the first five songs that played...This is what played:
1. Dixie Chicks-Hole in my head.
2. Eminem- Shake That A$$
3. Michael Buble- Just haven't met you yet
4. Lady Gaga-Bad Romance
5. Flo Rida- In the Ayr
So with that I will call it a night...Hope all the dad's out there have a great fathers day and for those with their dad's still with them...appreciate them even when they drive you nuts, because in their own way and in their heart they love you and when they aren't there you WILL miss them.
A skunk also found its way into the yard of our neighbors but big brother happened to be there and he took care of it with their rifle...Pretty sure it was rabid as it had no fear of humans or their great dane. He didn't get our skunk though.
Talking about shooting skunks always reminds me of my father...He was the kind of guy that was very no nonsense...if it was a critter causing problems it had to be dealt with. When I was younger I thought this was so horrible and cried for the animals that he shot, but now that I am an adult, I understand the reasoning and the logic behind it. It has been just over a year since my father passed away and there isn't a single day that goes by that I don' t think about him in some way. And since tomorrow is Fathers Day it is fitting that I think about him tonite.
Thinking of my Father invariably leads me to thinking about growing up. My family loved music and I sang with my mom and dad all the time. My mom always had music playing in the house and I have a love for music because of that. My father only listened to Country music and considered anything else noise. I however have an appreciation for all types of music, a fact that brought me to put my ipod on shuffle this afternoon and write down the first five songs that played...This is what played:
1. Dixie Chicks-Hole in my head.
2. Eminem- Shake That A$$
3. Michael Buble- Just haven't met you yet
4. Lady Gaga-Bad Romance
5. Flo Rida- In the Ayr
So with that I will call it a night...Hope all the dad's out there have a great fathers day and for those with their dad's still with them...appreciate them even when they drive you nuts, because in their own way and in their heart they love you and when they aren't there you WILL miss them.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Ramblings
Well it has been another exciting or not so exciting (depending on your point of view) week at McMahon farm. The kids and I went to Bismarck last weekend to see some friends. It was alot of fun but hectic and noisy. But I suppose that is going to happen when you have 7 adults and 8 kids doing anything as a group! On the way home I let Big Brother drive, as he said he knew where he was going, and I promptly fell asleep (2 nights up till 2am will do that to you). Well he missed a turn and we ended up taking the scenic route home. He was quite embarressed but I found it funny!
This week has been hectic with farming as Jeff has been trying to get the last of the crops in the ground, but of course the weather is not cooperating. I think we finally have everything planted that we are going to get planted though. He worked till almost midnight last night and figures we have about 70 acres that won't get put in because of the rain that has been falling all morning again. But as I told him 70 is preferable to the 300 we were looking at last week.
Big Brother has been spending lots of time being a "manny" for the neighbor so that sucks up his evenings, but he likes the money that is coming in for sure.
Big Sis has been helping out more and more on the farm and seems to enjoy it, but is worried they are going to try to make her row crop cultivate and the thought of having to drive straight is scaring her!
Drew has hit a cranky stretch and I now remember why you should have kids closer together than 3 years, because when they reach this stage they make you reconsider ever having more!! It is like living with jekyl and hyde some days! Potty training has completely stalled, he thinks it is hilarious to pee on his character underwear, so we have put that aside for now and am going to try again in a few weeks, if he asks to go to the potty I will definatly let him but I am not going to push it.
As for me I am trying to get some projects taken care of, I am thinking about enrolling drew in gymnastics so called and got the specifics on that today, also need to contact a contractor about our upstairs, we need to do some upkeep this winter and I need to get that lined up before he books too far into the spring! Oh and I also need to start looking for a new house for our students...the one they have is not adequate and so one more thing to my list....It will all get done eventually right???
Oh and my garden is sucking wind. All of my cantelope and watermelon died, as did all of my peas. So at the moment I have tomatoes, corn, radishes and one pumpkin plant...we will see how long those live!!
This week has been hectic with farming as Jeff has been trying to get the last of the crops in the ground, but of course the weather is not cooperating. I think we finally have everything planted that we are going to get planted though. He worked till almost midnight last night and figures we have about 70 acres that won't get put in because of the rain that has been falling all morning again. But as I told him 70 is preferable to the 300 we were looking at last week.
Big Brother has been spending lots of time being a "manny" for the neighbor so that sucks up his evenings, but he likes the money that is coming in for sure.
Big Sis has been helping out more and more on the farm and seems to enjoy it, but is worried they are going to try to make her row crop cultivate and the thought of having to drive straight is scaring her!
Drew has hit a cranky stretch and I now remember why you should have kids closer together than 3 years, because when they reach this stage they make you reconsider ever having more!! It is like living with jekyl and hyde some days! Potty training has completely stalled, he thinks it is hilarious to pee on his character underwear, so we have put that aside for now and am going to try again in a few weeks, if he asks to go to the potty I will definatly let him but I am not going to push it.
As for me I am trying to get some projects taken care of, I am thinking about enrolling drew in gymnastics so called and got the specifics on that today, also need to contact a contractor about our upstairs, we need to do some upkeep this winter and I need to get that lined up before he books too far into the spring! Oh and I also need to start looking for a new house for our students...the one they have is not adequate and so one more thing to my list....It will all get done eventually right???
Oh and my garden is sucking wind. All of my cantelope and watermelon died, as did all of my peas. So at the moment I have tomatoes, corn, radishes and one pumpkin plant...we will see how long those live!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
SLOW DOWN!!
My mind has been screaming that at me for a couple weeks! I just get so busy sometimes that I think it was almost easier when I had a "real" job! There is no end to the things that need to be done. Some of them I will admit are completely self inflicted. I planted our garden finally. We picked a spot and got it all tilled up, right now I am fighting with the sod...it is really tough but then so am I, we will see who wins out! I finally got a plant back in our planter in the yard. We have trouble keeping things alive in that planter for some reason.
We are still attempting to potty train drew...that has been a process. He knows what he is supposed to be doing, but has trouble wanting to do it! He thinks it is funny to mess up his big boy pants, which is very frustrating for me, but at the same time I keep telling myself he is only 2.5 years old! I have time!
It has been stressful here the last few weeks, we have had alot of rainy days and so we still don't have the crops all in. We are getting near deadlines to make for crop insurance, so jeff is going a little crazy. Not that there is anything we can do but still we worry. The added rain has added a new problem. The water table is so high that we have water coming in from the old well and basically running into our basement...Not what we were expecting after spending BIG bucks to have the basement walls redone this winter, but we will just add another #4 sump pump into the old well and pump the water level down to manageable and hope that helps!
It is our 11th anniversary this Saturday, and in true McMahon fashion, jeff will hopefully be planting and the kids and I are going to be out of town. We never actually do anything on our anniversary anyway, and we are having a get together with one of my good friends.
We are still attempting to potty train drew...that has been a process. He knows what he is supposed to be doing, but has trouble wanting to do it! He thinks it is funny to mess up his big boy pants, which is very frustrating for me, but at the same time I keep telling myself he is only 2.5 years old! I have time!
It has been stressful here the last few weeks, we have had alot of rainy days and so we still don't have the crops all in. We are getting near deadlines to make for crop insurance, so jeff is going a little crazy. Not that there is anything we can do but still we worry. The added rain has added a new problem. The water table is so high that we have water coming in from the old well and basically running into our basement...Not what we were expecting after spending BIG bucks to have the basement walls redone this winter, but we will just add another #4 sump pump into the old well and pump the water level down to manageable and hope that helps!
It is our 11th anniversary this Saturday, and in true McMahon fashion, jeff will hopefully be planting and the kids and I are going to be out of town. We never actually do anything on our anniversary anyway, and we are having a get together with one of my good friends.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Summer Fun
I am starting to think that summer has finally decided to come and stay in ND! The temps last week were gorgeous and the boy and I got some really good time outside. I think this week we are going to drag out the pool and fill it up.
Not so good part about summer is that the mosquitoes, flies, and bees are out. I hate using bug spray on myself and the boy cause it is stinky and sticky, but the alternative is swollen, itchy bumps from the mosquitoes so I guess we will be using it. Today I had a run in with a couple of bees. I was in a sweater set and was outside weeding my flower beds, I had gotten warm and took off the sweater and laid it on the lawn chair. After weeding I decided to put the sweater back on and stuck my arm in the sleeve, and BAM! Two bees were in there and decided it was theirs and so stung the underside of my right arm! OUCH! I had forgotten how much it stinks to have a bee sting!
Other big news this week is that I am kinda sorta working on potty training with the boy. He will most times pee in the potty upon request but no poop yet, and has only once told me when he has to go. But still big progress for us. Hoping by midsummer to have him trained so that we are completely out of diapers for the hot months of july, august, and september!
Big kids have three days of school this week and then they are out for summer vacation. They are very excited, me not so much! They both have summer jobs that will require some of their time, but I have a feeling there will be plenty of "I'm Bored" I don't do well with that! I have our late summer vacation planned for July. We are going down to South Dakota for about 5 days and will be visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, Pa's homestead, and all that stuff in De Smet. And then will be visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial too. I am excited, I don't think Big Brother is very excited though, he told me that it sounds like a vacation for old people....Sigh... Every vacation can't be disney you know!
So work wise, the farm is pretty well caught up, I think that in the next few weeks we should be done planting so that is a good thing, but then we will quickly move on to row crop cultivating, and spraying for weeds. Never ending work on a farm you know. Found out that we are being audited by our crop insurance company, just a routine audit, but makes me crazy, my first year home on the farm doing books and I am being audited!!
Well I think I am going to have to find something suitable for dinner, get the boy off the floor where he is whining, and clean up the mess from not cleaning all weekend!
Not so good part about summer is that the mosquitoes, flies, and bees are out. I hate using bug spray on myself and the boy cause it is stinky and sticky, but the alternative is swollen, itchy bumps from the mosquitoes so I guess we will be using it. Today I had a run in with a couple of bees. I was in a sweater set and was outside weeding my flower beds, I had gotten warm and took off the sweater and laid it on the lawn chair. After weeding I decided to put the sweater back on and stuck my arm in the sleeve, and BAM! Two bees were in there and decided it was theirs and so stung the underside of my right arm! OUCH! I had forgotten how much it stinks to have a bee sting!
Other big news this week is that I am kinda sorta working on potty training with the boy. He will most times pee in the potty upon request but no poop yet, and has only once told me when he has to go. But still big progress for us. Hoping by midsummer to have him trained so that we are completely out of diapers for the hot months of july, august, and september!
Big kids have three days of school this week and then they are out for summer vacation. They are very excited, me not so much! They both have summer jobs that will require some of their time, but I have a feeling there will be plenty of "I'm Bored" I don't do well with that! I have our late summer vacation planned for July. We are going down to South Dakota for about 5 days and will be visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, Pa's homestead, and all that stuff in De Smet. And then will be visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial too. I am excited, I don't think Big Brother is very excited though, he told me that it sounds like a vacation for old people....Sigh... Every vacation can't be disney you know!
So work wise, the farm is pretty well caught up, I think that in the next few weeks we should be done planting so that is a good thing, but then we will quickly move on to row crop cultivating, and spraying for weeds. Never ending work on a farm you know. Found out that we are being audited by our crop insurance company, just a routine audit, but makes me crazy, my first year home on the farm doing books and I am being audited!!
Well I think I am going to have to find something suitable for dinner, get the boy off the floor where he is whining, and clean up the mess from not cleaning all weekend!
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