House update

I have had a long spring as you know if you read very far in this blog.  We had been planning to start building a house in February and life started imploding.  So house project took a very far back burner.  Almost totally out of the kitchen really.  Family came first and as we had a house that is very adequate to live in we have stayed there and commuted to take care of cows, irrigation, etc.  We think our brains are kind of starting to work now and so we are going to try to push this house project idea along again.  I got a building permit last week!  Yeah!  The road up to my house sight is almost done.  Should finish tomorrow.  I hope to meet with the contractor out there tomorrow or Friday to put new flags in the ground for our corners of the house.My husband pushed the old house out of the way, but did not light it on fire as it is SO dry everywhere.  My son and I moved some of the boards that we wanted to use to make something with or decorate with for our new house.  Maybe some trim or something.  Very neat looking.  Rattlesnake under that pile of boards.  Snake shot in a 9mm works really well.  I did put up our road address numbers at our entrance gate.  How cool is that!!  We also have the pond finished now and it looks really good.  Has been tried and tested by little boys and given two thumbs up of approval.    Now I just need to find some fish.  So I think things will be starting up with this project and get going here shortly.  Should be a fun next adventure!

Teamwork

It has been interesting, sometimes painfully so, working through the ramifications of my Dad's death.  It has been a learning curve that is painfully steep, I sometimes feel like I have been emotionally thrown at a brick wall and that is the curve I am supposed to climb.  As my siblings and I work together in a totally different capacity it has been revealing of all of us how we think and work.  All of us are very competent people.  All of us bring different backgrounds, experiences, jobs, thoughts, ideas and strengths and weaknesses to the table.  As we sort through things and jobs, life, memories, time, and events it is intriguing to watch how much different we are and yet at the core our beliefs and values are the same.  We all value and deeply love our families.  We all have a deep faith in God and a Hope in Him as well.  These are the core values that are the same in each of us.  But as a team we have many strengths and some differences in how we live out those values.  How our past and our experiences impact our worldview is an observation we don't always think about but is interesting to watch and experience.  After living overseas and in a culture I didn't always understand I find that I extend a lot of grace.  I give people totally the benefit of the doubt.  Especially if they are people I love and trust.  People I know have my best interest in mind.  If I don't understand why someone says something I try to look at the comment or action from their perspective and understand it.  If I still don't understand then I go to them and ask.  I want and seek to understand their perspective.  I think this comes from so many times not really understanding why someone did or said something that to me did not make sense coming from a different culture.  Culture is always an interesting study, even in your own there are differences and similarities, understandings and misunderstandings, words taken wrong and right.  Love and truth spoken and demonstrated though are always the knots that tie us together as a family as a unit and as a team.

Mine tour tears

Last fall my Dad was working on setting up a tour of a gold mine for any interested parties.  All of us thought it would be interesting and were on the list.  As Dad was a geologist and loved to talk about rocks and gold and deposits and all it was always educational to go out with him as you were bound to learn something.  We all made it to the tour and around.  It was interesting and fun but with a stick you with a knife type of poignancy that we were all there and Dad wasn't.  He would have loved it.  Would have found it so interesting.  Would have understood all that the other geologist had to say about the rocks and formations and ore and waste.  I kept wanting him to raise his hand and make a comment or ask a question or get us all to have a photo op with one of the HUGE 340 ton dump trucks, but he wasn't there.  It is weird.  And hard. And it is interesting those things that kind of blind side you and make your eyes water up.

Mutton Bustin'

Our town is very proud of their Oregon Trail heritage and every 4th of July they have a  rodeo and a park full of vendors which Makes for a fun event. This year we only made it to one of the rodeos but had a fun time. It was SO hot this year! As pre rodeo events they have some fun local flavor events including a kids mutton busting event. Kids under 65 pounds can  ride a sheep and try to ride for 6 seconds. While sheep don't really buck much they do have a BuMpY rUn. Kase has ridden a sheep 4 times and has really enjoyed it.  Last year he placed second. No trophy! All the kids who participate get little medals. But the winner each night gets a foot tall trophy. He really wanted a trophy and as by next year he will have gained those last 3 pounds separating him from not being able to participate this was his last chance. He rode a wool falling off ewe to the buzzer. Score of 69. He was pretty stoked about his Basque style ride. Backwards with his little chin bouncing and his bike helmet securely on his head.  As he was only third out of the chutes he then had to wait and watch as several other kids made their rodeo debut. Some in grand style and some in dusty style. No one was hurt and everyone had fun. No one had a higher score.
The announcer called him and the rodeo queen presented him with his trophy. He was SO excited! What a fun memory!