The 12 Pointer

My goal while the guys are gone is to take this big boy to the taxidermist. He was on my camera last Sunday morning and boy was I pumped. I plan to hunt Saturday morning as a cold front is coming thru and hopefully they will be moving. Sue -make sure you show this to your men and Melissa make sure Jordan sees it.

Off to Colorado

The guys left out for Colorado at 6PM Monday evening.They were in 2 king cab trucks with 3 guys to a truck. They make a bed in the back seat of each truck and as they rotate drivers the one who just drove sleeps. Jay, Bobby and Kevin were pulling our Cargo trailer with a load in it. They were exactly 1 hour on the road when the water pump went out on Kevin's truck which in turn caused other mechanical problems. I found a Chevy dealer for them and called a towing service. They transferred everything in Kevin's truck to the trailer except for overnight bags and hooked the trailer to the other truck. Bobby got in with them and they went ahead. The tow truck took Jay and Kevin to a motel. A friend offered the use of his truck so Amy and I prepared to deliver it pending on what the diagnosis was on Kevin's truck. We ended up leaving the next morning with the loaner truck. Kevin's truck couldn't be fixed for days. This threw Jay and Kevin about 16 hours behind without the 3rd driver. They drove to Kansas City, got a motel room and slept about 5 hours and then drove the rest of the way in. The first crew decided that since they had 4 drivers they would drive straight thru (25 hours). Jay said it was kinda nice having everything set up at camp when they arrived. He called last night. They have to take a 4-wheeler up above camp to get a signal to call. He called again this morning. He said it was a little chilly but sunny. They are expecting a storm and snow so hunting should be good. Please say a prayer that they have a safe hunt and a safe trip back. They won't be back until the 25th.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Sue to write 6 random facts about myself so here goes:
(1)As many of you know I had a B-day this past week. I guess while mom was in the house giving birth to me the sows got out and dad had to leave her and put them in. For as long as I can remember Dad would call me early on my B-day and say"Did you know that__years ago today the sows got out. I really miss that phone call but I can still hear him say it.
(2)When I was "young" in school our class went on a field trip to the Whirlpool Plant at Evansville. President Nixon flew in to the airport and we got to go see him. My picture was on the front page of the Evansville paper with him.
(3) I have an addiction to Starbucks iced Vanilla coffee. It is on my grocery list every week. Amy says if I was ever stranded on a deserted island I would die if I didn't have them.
(4) I have always wanted to write a book about all my life's twists and turns and my goal is to someday do just that.
(5) I, like my sis love reality TV. My favorite shows are Survivor, Amazing Race, Bachelorette and Bachelor, Biggest Loser and Nashville Star.While the guys are gone for 12 days I can watch all I want of it without "comments" from a certain sweety of mine.
(6) If God had given me the talent my dream would be to be a professional Contemporary Christian Singer. But since I can't carry a tune in a 5 gallon bucket I just pop a CD in my truck, crank it up and go down the road singing along with Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns and 33 Mile pretending that I can sing.Hey, whatever it takes.
So there are my 6 random facts. Since you all have tagged about every blogger I know I won't be tagging anyone.

Tristin's Diego cake

We had Tristin's party Monday night and he had requested that I get him a Diego ice cream cake. He got another "blue slip" at school this week which isn't a good thing. This time his reason was and I quote "I told the teacher that I had to pee and she wouldn't listen so I pee'd behind the tree and you aren't supposed to". I told Bob he is starting to reap what he sowed as a youngster. He was quite the ornary little fellor and I remember when he pee'd in his cousin's (from Ohio)face ON PURPOSE! He had a group of ornary cousins all about the same age. I won't mention any names. I remember a day at mom and dad's when mom asked them to gather the eggs for her and they came back with just a couple. She thought that was strange as she normally had quite a few. Their excuse was that all the rest of the eggs had fallen out of the nest and broke. Upon investigation the eggs were broke but they were up high on the chicken house walls. Wonder how that happened?

5 days

I agree with Tera that we all just seem too busy. Well hopefully in 5 days I can relax a little. That's when all the guys leave for their annual trip to the Colorado Mountains elk hunting. Amy and I just about have everything ready for them to load up. They plan to load our trailer Sunday evening and leave sometime before daylight on Tuesday. It is a 25 hour drive but they plan to break it up this year and stop and get a few hours sleep on the way. We have been working like a group of crazy people trying to get a bunch of small jobs done before they leave. Yesterday I was running from job to job and my truck was like a mobile office. I had my front seat full of file folders and was constantly on the phone(while driving) scheduling services changes with the power company or running after supplies. On one run I stopped at WalMArt (at my hubby's request) to get him a box of shells for his gun. He called as I was leaving and said to please get out of WalMart and bring some more material to the job site .WELL I would have already left but his stupid shells kept setting off the alarm(that makes you feel like a thief). The clerk kept trying to scan them to stop the security buzzer but wasn't getting anywhere. Now you tell me-she knew what the problem was so why not just let me go? I think she had a problem passing 2nd grade or maybe I was just stressed. We had to all step back and chill out by the end of the day. Today wasn't much better as we all ran again. The guys were on like 4 different jobs and I had to go to the engineers office and then had a meeting with the city manager. I was home long enough to feed my deer and then was off to a Conservation Club meeting. I am the secretary. I hope tomorrow to finish packing Jay's hunting clothes and equipment and can some beef and noodles for them to take. I need to plant my mums which have sitting under the tree staring at me for a week as I run by them and jump in the truck. Thank goodness the good Lord watered them for me today with a nice shower. He knew I didn't have time or I should say -I didn't take time.Love to all.

Happy Birthday my "Little Dinasour Man"

Today is Tristin's 6th B-day. We are so thankful for him cause when he was 2 he had multiple seizures and we about lost him a few times. He is a very dramatic child and makes you laugh a lot when he is telling a story. He loves dinosaurs and knows everything there is to know about them. He loves to fish and play with toads , turtles and worms. This pic is of him ice fishing last year on our pond and it is one of favorite pics.. He is in kindergarten this year and the first week he got a blue ribbon which isn't a good thing. When asked what he did to get it his response was "well I guess you are not supposed to go down the slide on your belly". He has had a few more blue ribbons since then. I love him so much.

The rest of my week

I needed to get a doe with my bow so I could can it for the guys to take on their Elk trip to Colorado in a little over a week. I got up Tuesday determined that this was the day to do it and I did. It was a big doe and I was able to can 14 quart plus I had 12 packages of t-loin for the freezer. Jay was so proud of my shot. It was pretty much perfect. Wednesday I worked with the guys a job we are doing for the city park. It rained and I got wet and cold. Wednesday night I ended up going with Amy to the ER with Paige. She suddenly broke out in hives and was swelled pretty good and Amy was concerned about the possibility of her throat swelling. Over the next few hours it would come and go. She has an appointment with an allergist next week. Amy is so allergic to insect bites she has to carry an"eppy pin". Thursday I officially had the day off as it was my b-day (yea right). Rob and Les took me to Bob Evans for brunch and then we went across the road to church to load up all the mums I used to decorate so I could plant them at home. After I dropped them off i stopped by the city park (BIG MISTAKE). The guys pleadingly asked me to help pull some wire in conduit. It wasn't normal sized wire. First of all each piece of wire was about 1 inch in diameter, 225 feet long and there were 6 of them that all needed pulled thru the conduit at one time. I about ran out of "Umph" til we got it all in. Jay and I were both feeling our age that night. Friday morning I cut my deer meat up and got it ready for canning in between answering business calls and scheduling jobs with the power company for next week. Amy and Heidi came at noon and we took my truck and went to Sam's Club to get everything the guys need for their trip. Have you noticed how Amy and I are getting all this stuff ready for the guys to enjoy? Something doesn't seem right about this. Any how I called Jay after we left Sam's Club and asked him how much of a load I needed on the truck before I put it in tow mode.ha! We had a load. Just before we left Sam's, Heidi managed to poke her finger in Amy's eye. It was instantly bloody looking and she couldn't see. She went to the bathroom and put a wet cold cloth on it. She called this morning first thing and asked me to call our eye Dr. as she had been up all night and was in a lot of pain. I took her and dropped her off while I went to pick up material for a job Monday.She had quite a cut in it. He put a contact patch on it (which gave instant relief) ,antibiotic drops and told her to go home an sleep fora while. Les picked her up and took her to her house while she waited on me. I went by there,ate some of Les's good chili and then took her home. I then picked up bread and juice for communion services tomorrow and headed home. Jay did 2 different service calls today and then stopped by Rob and Leslie's as the guys were putting up trusses on the garage and trying to fix a septic problem. Today is Tristin's 6th b-day. His mommy took them to the Columbus Zoo. He called me this morning and asked if I had gotten his Diego Ice Cream cake. I told him I ordered it. He then said he wanted a Diego Dinosaur toy. I sure hope WalMart has one as I don't have a clue. The kids are having cake for me Sunday night and then we are having a party for Tristin Monday night. Well I must get back to my cleaning. Love to all.

Our new Church

Realized today that I hadn't updated my blog lately so figured I would. I managed to get everything done for our church grand opening last Sunday but boy was I tired. I went out on Thursday and did some fall decorating. We have not had time to do our landscaping yet. We had close to 400 people there. Following 2nd service we had a short recognition of several people who helped to get the building project done, then we served a buffet pot luck dinner along with BBQ'd pork from a smoker and a big pot of ham and beans. It took a long time for that many people to get thru the line. It was a very special day for us as we were involved in the actual construction because we installed all the electrical and lighting. I think it made us appreciate everything more. We went from freezing when we first started wiring the church to burning up toward the end. Just as we were at the last stages of finishing the job the AC was turned on. It is sometimes hard to believe that just a few years ago we started with around 40 people and now if everyone came at one time there would be around 600. We have an awesome band, Pastor Greg is the greatest and Pastor Jamie leads one terrific youth program. The youth even have their own band. I am posting some pics

My "little girl" is 13. Where does time go?

Heidi with her first fish. She's not quite sure whether she wants to touch it or not.

Busy Weekend and week ahead

I am so looking forward to 12 days of sleeping in if I want and getting caught up. But I will probably wake up at 5:30 AM as usual while the guys are gone. That is just how my brain is programed. They leave in 3 weeks for their annual Elk trip. Paige and Heidi spent the night with us Friday so everyone could go to a home football game. Heidi officially caught her first fish with some help from Papa. He would cast the line and then she stood beside him and slowly reeled the line in. She was able to hook 2 fish this way. It was so cute. Paige is a professional fisher girl. She casts her own line, catches her fish and reels them in. After fishing they ate , then played in my big garden tub filled with strawberry bubble bath. We then read stories and were fast asleep at 9:30. Amy picked them up about 9 Saturday as I had to leave. The County Conservation Club hosts an annual Landowner and Sportsman Appreciation dinner the 3rd Saturday of September every year. I am the club secretary and Jay and I along with about 6 other guys cook all day at the club house and then transport all the food to one of the Bob Evans shelter houses at the Bob Evans Farm where we serve around 130 to 150 people Saturday evening. We serve turkey breasts, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied sweet potatoes, baked beans, dressing, green beans, cranberry salad, fruit salad , rolls and a drink. It makes for a very long day. If there is any food left we usually divide it up among ourselves but this year we didn't. The youth group from our church was having a lock in and the shelter house is just across the highway from the church. So I took all the leftovers there for them to eat. No sleeping in Sunday morning as it was our Sunday to be greeters at church for first service. After church we went to a sporting store and picked up some broadheads for our bows,(bow season comes in this Saturday) stopped at the grocery store and then home. After lunch Jay went to hook up Rob and Leslies dryer and I went to WalMart to get a b-day gift for Kelsey. We managed to watch the last hour of the race and off to Bob's for Kelsey's b-day party. I can hardly believe that I now have a teenage grandchild. This morning I was off to meet Jay at the City building to sign a contract for a job we are doing for the city. Then I got a tire patched that I ran a nail in Saturday morning. I drove 2 days without a spare and that was stressful. Then I was off to leslie's. We broke down all the boxes she had emptied and loaded them in my truck along with their bags of garbage. Their trash pickup doesn't start until Thursday. I then delivered the broke down boxes to my sis-in-laws on the way home as they are expecting to move in the near future. I returned business calls after I got home and then mowed part of my 5 acres. I have a busy week ahead of me as our grand opening/dedication of our new church is this weekend and I am responsible for organizing the dinner afterwards so I have a lot of things to get lined up before Saturday. We plan to have a clean up day Saturday plus I am baking enough cinnamon rolls for several hundred people as a special treat at our breakfast bar for both services Sunday morning. Plus I plan to get in a few hours of bow hunting early Saturday morning. So please pray that I will have the needed extra energy this week to get it all done. Must finish an estimate on a job and get to bed. Love to all.
PS: Les forbid me to post any more pics of her house until everything is put away and neat so you will just have to wait.

Finally unloaded

I took our loaded trailer to the Rider house this evening and finally got it unloaded. The carpet in the living room and family was installed today. Our trailer had their washer, dryer, dinette set, living and family room furniture in it plus the treadmill, armoire, computer desk and a shop bench. It was a fairly heavy load.Poor Les has a lot to unpack. Bob was working on the garage walls when i left. I plan to install her dining room and family room light fixtures tomorrow plus the rest of the receptacles in the living room. She really likes her living room carpet but doesn't think the family room paint goes as well with that carpet as she thought it would. They are just glad to be able to start unpacking boxes. I got back home just in time to get the trailer unhooked and parked before dark. I felt guilty not staying to help start organizing stuff. I need to work on a new blueprint Jay brought home tonight for a new doctor's office. We also got the bid today for a big job for the City of Gallipolis. God is still blessing us with lots of work. Yea God!!! I am so far behind on everything especially business paperwork. I usually use the time the guys all go to Colorado on their elk hunting trip to regroup and catch up. They leave in a little less then 4 weeks and will be gone for 12 days. Amy and I need to start canning food for their meals. Taking canned meals makes it easier for them to cook. We can things like chili, beef and noodles and vegetable soup. Plus they take a lot of canned deer meat which means I need to get a doe as soon as bow season comes in on the 29th so I can can it. Well I must close and get things ready for tomorrow. I have to leave out early to meet a contractor at the supply house. Love to all Donna

Big Buck

I am so excited!! after numerous small bucks and a gazillion does I finally got my first big buck on camera this year. Last year it was the end of October before the big ones showed up on camera.Keep in mind this camera is less then 100 yards from my house. Sue -you must show this to Dillion.

Brookes new hair "do"

Living there finally

The Riders stayed at their home for the first time Sunday night. They are all sleeping (camping) in Ethan's camo room. The cabinets are now done and Les started putting things in them today. The living and family room carpet goes in tomorrow and then they can move their furniture in. It is still in our cargo trailer. Les has been running in the mornings this week with her childhood friend Laura. Her and Laura ran track together in high school and were 2 of the 4 member relay team who were district champs. Laura was Leslie's maid of honor at her wedding and Leslie was 1 of Laura's bridesmaids. I picked her up after their run to go get a kennel for Gunner. I then had lunch with Pastor Greg and Pastor Jamie to discuss ideas for church wide fellowship events for the next year.We got a lot decided. Then I picked up Brooke after school and took her to get her hair styled. She looked so cute. I forgot to take a pic but they are going to Amy's for dinner tonight and I asked Amy to take 1 and e-mail it to me. So if she does I will post it later tonight. We then walked next door to get her a new school t-shirt for the pep rally Friday. We surprised Les by taking home 6 mums for her to put in front of her house on stands. She can't safely plant them yet because of the construction. Amy spent the afternoon with her while Paige was in pre-school. She babysits a friends little boy Jeb who is only 16 hours younger then Heidi. It is like having twins. Les said they were sitting inside one of the bottom cabinets looking so cute. Thanks for your note Stephanie- I read it to the Riders. Rob's job is going great. They are having him work days this week so he can see how the paperwork is done for the fleet of New Holland and Willis Tire trucks they service in addition to the Bob Evans trucks. Next week he will go to the 2-11 PM shift that he was hired for. He says he will like that shift as he will still get a full nights sleep and have over half the next day to do whatever he wants. He works NO weekends. I probably won't post anymore house pics until they get their furniture moved in. Well i gotta go. have some paperwork to do and I want to fish a little before dark. Love to all.