Fall is in the air!!

It has been over a month since my last post...where has the time gone???? Fall has finally arrived and with that comes football and county fairs. The boys showed their goats at the local county fair Labor Day weekend. They had a lot of fun! They were so proud of the ribbons they won. I have a feeling those are the first of many.

The boys are going to be in Boy Scouts and guess who their leaders will be???? Louis and I. We have our first camping trip in a few weeks. I'm sure there will be many stories to share! Until then, enjoy the beautiful weather.

Pumpkin Farmers!

We have our first pumpkin! The boys are growing pumpkins to sell at Kristi's shop this Fall. They are SO excited about setting up their "pumpkin patch" and earning some money! This is a great sign that Fall is slowly getting here...can't come any sooner!

So Long Summer...

It has been a VERY fun summer for us all! We ended it with a trip to Beaver's Bend. We enjoyed going boating and tubing on the lake and relaxing in the cabin~ playing games and eating! The boys start First Grade tomorrow...they are now Stratford Bulldogs. It is a little weird that I won't be at school with them. We are so lucky they have two great teachers and are looking forward to a great school year!

 Two of my favorite pictures from Summer...

First time tubing!

Feeling a little brave...

Laughing the whole time!

Mr. Tough Guy

What a breathtaking sight! Looking forward to Fall and cooler temps.

Peaches, Rodeos and Bling!

It has been a very busy 2 weeks since my last post!! Stratford held their annual Peach Festival last weekend. There were many festivities in town~ a parade, fun activities for the kids, great food, and lots of shopping! I enjoyed working at "Uniques", the family shop, painting, mod podging, and organizing jewelry...every girls dream!!! We had a busy weekend at the shop which was wonderful! Saturday night we went to our first Rodeo. It was a lot of fun! The barrel racing and bull riding were our favorites for sure! Unfortunately we left our camera at home so no pictures. We are headed to the lake at Beavers Bend next weekend so I will have many pictures to share! 

Please say a prayer for rain...it has rained only once since we have been here for about 10 minutes. Our beautiful ponds are drying up and many farmers are losing their crops and cattle.

The Three Musketeers: Devin, Cade, and Hunter at downtown Stratford.

It's a Boy's Life!

Our week is off to a great start...the boys picked out their goats yesterday! Meet Molly and Missy. They are 3 months old. We are SO excited to have them! Over the next few weeks we will be busy teaching them (and myself) how to walk with a halter so they can be shown at county fairs this fall.  

 My favorite time of day is right before the sunsets each night...it is an amazing sight to see here!! Not only that but the temperature is MUCH more tolerable! The boys enjoy riding out on the mule into the pasture to feed the cows and then...it's time to run and jump. No trampoline needed here thought....they have hay instead. What great memories.

Love this picture of Devin and the moon...

Kansas City Here We Come...

We spent last week in Kansas City at the Jr. Nationals Cattle Show. We had a lot of fun and the boys and I learned A LOT!!! From how to blow out a heifer, (blow them dry) what breaking them down means after they show (washing and blowing out), how to lead them, and how to set them up when showing. I have to say I was AMAZED watching the boys take it all in...they wanted to know how and why about all of it. Hunter took on the job of keeping the stalls clean if you know what I mean...see picture below. Not only were our stalls VERY clean~ everyone around ours were as well. They were certainly appreciative of that. :) Devin became friends with  Buttercup and Peanut. He enjoyed her eating from his hand. It was a busy week and a lot of fun!

Hunter drying Buttercup.

Devin and his new friend Peanut.

Headed to the pins.

After MANY attempts we have the right stance...back feet apart, front feet together, head up.



Keeping the stalls clean!



Swimming and Cows

Here is a video of the boys letting the cows out...be sure to notice the attire...swimtrunks and boots! Gotta love it :)