On the Road Again

So, I have a little rant to get off my chest. It has to do with the myriad of treks to unknown locales in order to find my husband near some field.
Our phone convo's go like this:
"Turn where the greenhouse used to be... You know where that is? No?! Everyone knows where that is. Then take lefts on both Y's... and just try and find us... Gotta go." 
Or tonight's:
"I'm on the Sinclair blacktop, I've taken you by there. I've got to run." 
Yup, I've been by there, and where they feed cattle, and where his Dad lives... and so which of those three places am I to guess that he's bagging at tonight?
I think some husband/wife team, who is fabulous at communication -that counts us out- Need to come up with some sort of app.  The code can be written in man - language "Bring XYZ (parts, pizza, pop...) to Ervil's (some long gone, rest his soul, former farmer).  Then the app will magically translate that to Left & Right's and actual street names.  That would be pure genius.  Or we could save some money and get the men to use actual locations, and living people, and current landmarks... But it would probably be easier to create an app.
I'm of the opinion that it's another way for guys to prove themselves, how long they've lived in the area, how well they know the landscape, and how well their 1978 plat book is memorized...
In the meantime, I'm the girl backing up and turning around in all the field drive-ins from here to the Ervil place.
Farm life definitely does have it's perks... I don't want to come across as too negative, cuz I really do love it.  I like it that my kids get to go see their Daddy's work.  And everyone is always kind.  (Course that could be because I usually come with food)

Tonight Blake was wiggling and making all kinds of gestures, until I realized that he had spotted a cow and wanted to run over and see it.  You'd think two big dogs kissing him to pieces would've been enough.  And the fact that he does have cows at home, and he had just spent 40 minutes a couple hours earlier climbing gates and kissing cows.
Kamie's little guy, Mayor Moo, ducked out of the fence tonight.  She quickly stepped up to the job of putting him back in.  My heart felt like bursting with the total cuteness of watching her, in a little dress, marching along the fence shooing him back into the pasture, and yes, he's taller than her.
And I'll admit it, seeing my man in a tractor still makes my heart go pitter-patter.  So I guess I'll keep putting up with the lousy directions...  Cuz of things like that sweet smell of corn silage, red bees wings flying in the air, tractors, wranglers and a flannel shirt on my very own farm boy.

What About Now?

That Lonestar song.  We put it on.

What about now?  ~ That spin that never ends ~ How 'bout tonight? ~

Baby, for once let's don't think twice

That one.

Then we packed our bags.

(Which basically consisted of me pulling out the clean laundry out of the dryer from the Kansas weekend the kids and I just got back from.)

And we sorta did the 'Heads Carolina Tails California' thing.

Fueled up, breakfast at Mickey D's.

Bronz: "Michigan or Black Hills?"

We went West.

Lots of driving.  Stops at cool tourist spots and stops at places that had more dust than anything else.

Blake giving Bronz a little kiss during our lunch stop

 

Your South Dakota traveler guide is now going to inform you that the more billboards the less time actually spent on the attraction.

We made it to Rapid City by evening.

Stayed in a fabulous hotel.

There was a pretty sweet waterslide.

Kamie was proud of herself because she went down with Bronz and plugged her nose, and actually got her chin wet.

Blake, the water baby, never took the smile off his face. Wiped the water out of his eyes and toddled back to the ladder.  (Oh and we are talking like a 140' slide.)

We pushed the stroller down to TGI Friday's for supper.  Yummers. 

Walked around the mall area and back to our room where we tucked sleepy kids into beds.

I made a pot of coffee...

Whammo

Both were up. Like wide awake up.  Blake has no middle ground for his crying, it's all or nothing.  We tried to let him cry it out, but when I could hear him from the floor below I decided to have mercy on fellow guests.  Thus started many moons of very bad sleep. 

We saw Mt. Rushmore.

Kamie looked out her window and gasped "Mom! Look!  There's some guys up on that rock!"

 

Our Fam

Cheesin' with my princess

Love how the crayon is in mid-air

Having breakfast...

Love my boys!

We had a nice older gentleman take our picture in front of Mt Rushmore.  Next time we'll have to make sure we ask a tourist whose glasses aren't quite as thick...

(What is in the background is definitely below 'the guys')

Celebrating our 5 year anniversary

(a tad early)

 

 

I thought this quote was pretty cool.  I Love how our Country's roots are so honoring to God.

Almighty God, from this pulpit of stone the American people render thanksgiving and praise for the new era of civilization brought forth upon this continent. Centuries of tyrannical oppression sent to these shores, God-fearing men to seek in freedom the guidance of the benevolent hand in the progress toward wisdom, goodness toward men, and piety toward God.

William Andrew Burkett

 

 

 

 

St8te Fair

It's been a cram, jam packed week with a couple trips to Des Moines involved.

Bronz was dying to go to the State Fair.

We are drastically different.  And the State Fair always proves it.

So we were very intentional and proactive this year.

We both wrote down exactly where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to see.

And then wrote some kid friendly options.

I packed a yummy lunch.

This was wonderful, because anytime the kids got the munchies I had strawberries, granola bars, cheese sticks, gummies... all ready to go in the bottom of the stroller.

 

Here's Blake trying to get a closer look at the Super Bull.

He was contemplating how quickly he could scale the gate.

I know this because He tried.

 

I loved walking through the arts building...  and that painting on the top was my favorite.  Bronz and I both completely cracked up. 

(So wish that they sold more of their exhibited pieces.)

We have sat like that many times, with those very expressions.

-Apologies for how wonderfully my phone captured it-

 

It was Veteran's day at the fair, so there was a big parade.  And I'm that lady who always tears up, and gets goosebumps, and who never thinks you can over thank a veteran. 

From the WW11 veterans sitting in floats to the Vietnam Vets riding their Harleys

The active duty regiments,

Crisp, young, impressive

That crazy group of Kilt wearing Vets

The cute little ladies in a WAVES truck

The two who were Pearl Harbor Survivors

The injured.

Those who weren't there.

I especially love seeing those of a different ethnicity in uniform, to me that is the quintessential American dream.  Someone who's found freedom and is willing to sacrifice to keep it. 
Had a cool experience a couple weeks ago, along those lines

A Hispanic young man looked across the street to see a middle aged white woman taking down a flag at a restaurant,

it was noticeably dragging on the parking lot.

He called out

"Get that flag off the ground!"

She laughed and maybe lifted it an inch or two

It was still touching

"Pick up the Flag!"

He repeated.

When she still made no effort, he said:
"I took an oath to the United States Army to protect that flag.  Get it off the ground."

Now, that is cool.

We met up with Bronz's sister and her boyfriend for supper, at the Cattlemen's Shed. 

Ahhh love getting to the end of fair day and being able to sit down.

...and sitting down reminds me of that which I am doing...

I usually write when the kids are going down for naps, or bedtime.

And they are now quiet, which means my work is also quietly waiting for me.

 

Please forgive the discombobulated nature of this post. 

My brain is running on coffee.

Seriously.

We hit our warm little bed this morning at 3:30 a.m.

Then up at 7 to pick the kiddos up.

(Des Moines trip #2 for me...)

Bronz actually ran through there once more this week...

So I'm slightly fried.

 

 

 

 

My Dirty Laundry

I am getting tired of loads and loads of laundry.

What's a girl to do, but take inventory of ways in which to cut down on it.

Now that's been discouraging.

Kamie had two bathroom accidents yesterday...

inches from the toilet

Blake appears to be magnetized by mud.

and me:

I ran this morning = sweaty workout clothes

+

cute dress

--Won't admit how much Kamie and my conversation yesterday had to do with this... 

Her: Momma is that a baby in there?

>pokes tummy<

Me: No!

Her:
It just kinda looks like one?!--

Cute dress hasn't quite hit the hamper yet, I wore it for all of three hours, but in that three hours Blake and Kamie started a new game -- played like this.

Dip hands in mud

Run and pat mom

Run, run, run!

Then Bronz needed me to help him unload a rack of hay, so I changed into jeans and borrowed a flannel shirt from his side of the closet.

(Wearing your man's flannel shirts.. It's just one of those fabulous things in life)

And guess what, I'm still wearing that get-up

 

When Bronz & I were first dating I asked him what he liked about me, why he was drawn to me.

Being the ever romantic that he was, he answered:

Scene note:

Riding in a tractor on a beautiful November day pulling a ripper behind us.

"Because of how responsible you are, and then he elaborated..."

Me, I sorta chuckled to myself.

But, I was somewhat responsible.

4 star moneywise, pretty careful with relationships

It's just that I wasn't born with the innate sense of responsibility Bronz was.

He never broke anything as a child.

He could be set down and not move, or get into a purse.

(Still waiting for one of our children to get his genes.)

His first 'real' job involved riding a dirt bike at 4 in the morning to a neighbors for their morning milking. 

(Meanwhile I was very snuggled under my covers.)

(I got the early riser award in my fam, cuz I was up by 7 a.m.)

 

Well, we go back to our riding in the tractor, and have a lovely day.

Until Bronz drops me off at my car.

I knew something was wrong when I opened the door and the seats were hot.

Very hot.

Like

she-left-the-car-running-on-a-full-tank-of-gas-hot

And then he knew what he was getting into

And I knew I would be taken care of,

Because, of course he carries a tank of gas in the back of his truck.

And yes, this story has absolutely nothing, to do with anything.

Except I just told my sister

(almost 6 years later)

And you have no idea how incredibly mortified I was.

Or how many times I've laughed about it since.

 

I guess I'll go back to my laundry and be thankful I married a farmer, and have these adorable farmkids who make lots of dirty laundry.

 

 

 

 

 

Roadtripping...

 

We love a good drive, to a sorta crazy extent.  See two days ago we spent nine hours in a truck hauling cattle to Mo. 

Then we go and load the kids up after church and

drive.

Or meander, that's a more proper name.  Cuz' it's definitely not the fastest way to destination, and come to think of it we really don't have a destination in mind.

We took a pizza to the park and the kids ate two bites and took off for the slides.

Blake can now do it all by his own little self. 

Pretty cool stuff.

Then we watched big fish by a dam. Big, Big, fish.

Chatted with a lady who was obviously extremely intelligent, she took one look at the kids and told us that we had the cutest kids in the world.

(And this was after she had told us about her bicycle ride across France, so yes, she's been out of Iowa.)

 
We spent most of our time driving back roads around Dyersville and eating sour gummies and Culver's ice cream.

I fought flower envy.

Bronz fought dairy envy.

Gorgeous farm after gorgeous farm, with landscaping everywhere.  Rose bushes behind machine sheds, rock gardens by barns, carefully weeded zinnias, meticulously mowed yards, and cows. Good ol' dairy cows.

We intersected with a scenic byway... and drove along the Mississippi for some more pretty driving.

Ending in Guttenburg, where we stopped at Greaser's for supper.

It was a cute little drive-in, with homemade burgers, and a definite retro feel. 

We did all that and made it home by midnight... Not bad, eh?



Fun Runs...

Took a lovely little selfie before my morning run...

Yeah baby, I could go shopping with those bags under my eyes.

And there's nothing lovely about selfies. Period. End of Sentence.

My excuse was that it was such a gorgeous morning

cows grazing in the pasture

sun coming up, still leaving some beautiful colors behind it

tall, green, corn, with yellow tassels

 after-a-rain-shower air

 gravel road that is so not a treadmill

(and that's a good thing)

praise music

20 minutes from some fabulous endorphins.

 

I've been meaning to write a running post.  See, I've been doing it now for over 4 months.  Me, the non-runner.  And I seriously love it. (Yup, that's me the non-runner saying that)  I started running because I made a list of goals I didn't think I could accomplish this summer.  And then I checked my 5k off the list, and kept running.  I was hoping that pesky baby weight would fall off. Half of it has...  the rest is still being pesky.  But mainly I run for my own margin.  Incredibly it recharges me.  The only reason good enough to get up early and fit it in.  I run for sanity, clarity.  I run out frustrations, and I accomplish... It is often the only thing at the end of the day that feels accomplished.  Laundry is always waiting, children, husband, house all have needs that weren't all met.  Running gives me the physical/mental boost to go at it again...  I made the choice when I started to only listen to praise music.  And with few exceptions I've done that.  It's in no way a replacement for devotions, and yet it gives me that time to pray, and focus on lyrics, that focus on God. 

~I'm not one of those people that thinks really clearly while I run~ My prayers are pretty in depth. Not.  "Lord, that lady, you know the one who leads the Bible Study. Bless her. Jane! Her. Bless her."

~People talk about runners high, and just running feeling nothing~

I haven't hit that point.  Every step is hard.  Every minute is long.  It's when I get done and I hear the little voice say.  "Well done, you have completed your run for the day" That's when I feel amazing.

So, here's my quandary.  I'm fighting having it become an obsession.  I'm purposely avoiding Scheels. (I can run in $3 shorts.) I have spent too much time reading up on the mechanics of running. I want it to be kept in it's margin. Because it isn't about running this race, it's a tool to help me run The Race.  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV

 

Let us also lay aside every weight.  That's what my heart goal is.  And that's why no matter how much I like running... I can't let it become it's own weight. So like many things in life I struggle to keep it at its own tension, hugely beneficial, fun, rewarding, but not an end in itself.  Cuz' I'm looking forward to hearing a voice say "Well done, good run." And it sure won't be coming from my phone! 

Grandma Day Trip

My grandparents faithfully attend a local Bible Conference every year.  We grew up going as well, and I remember special quiet books, and lots of time spent outside the building (apparently that was when the quiet books didn't cut it.) They have speakers... so you can still catch the gist of what's going on.
This year Grandma got a girls group together to hear Kay Arthur... with the promise that she was making lunch for us all afterwards.  Of course we couldn't resist that.  I dropped the kids off at appropriate child care places and sat through the first hour.  I personally was most challenged by:


Happily recovered and drinking
juice with his Mama

Focusing on the Bible as the authority, rather than our feelings or someone else's.

Reminded that we are going to give an account for each day of our lives.  And that leaves no room for rebellious, frivolous tangents.

Her total frankness, and the fact that she genuinely loves God.

 

Blake was traumatized by the nursery so I didn't get as much out of the second half.  Kamie, on the other hand, happily told me when I picked her up "Mom, I was good for pre-school!"   And I'm like -- Whoa-- Did you just say that you were in PRE-SCHOOL! 

Then followed a fun afternoon at my Grandparents condo....

I love how angelic this photo appears... Until I realized Brock and Kamie were having some sort of altercation!

Poor Ty

Mom & Grandma