New Kittens and Dallin's Antelope

Oh this little boy has a cat heart! He begged and pleaded ALL SUMMER LONG to get some kittens.  I kept trying to put it off knowing that Diesel probably wasn't big enough to understand kitties, but after several begging and pleading sessions and maybe a few tears these 3 little girls came home with us.  Dora (Dallin's), Muffin (AKA Muffy...Rhett's), and Popo (Laiklie's). They were SO LOVED! It took them a little while to adjust and settle in.  Diesel had to be constantly babysat to protect the kittens.  He liked to play with them....he just didn't know how to play gently.

 

These darn kittens learned how to climb up under Ryan's truck and went on several field trips.  Much to Ryan's dismay. The first trip was to the shop where Ryan discovered them. The next was to Bone.  When they got to Bone they only had one kitten, we only had one here at the house, so we knew the other one went with them.  We still have no idea where Dora climbed/fell out....BUT about a week later she showed up here at the house! Crazy kitten!! The last trip was when they discovered Muffin just as Dallin was getting ready to shoot his antelope.  So Muffin went hunting even. What a pain! HAHAHAHA!! If you look close you can see Dallin holding her in one hand and the antelope in the other. 

When we went on our trip in September/October back east two of the kittens disappeared.  We aren't sure if Diesel got them or if they climbed up under a vehicle or what. The neighbor kids that were babysitting felt TERRIBLE and Rhett was devastated.  Poor kid! After about a week of being home Dora disappeared too.  Not sure if she was lonely and went looking for friends, but that is our guess.  So we are done with kittens again for a little while.  Hopefully I can hold Rhett off until Diesel is big enough that it isn't so much work to have both! 

More Lagoon

We absolutely love our Lagoon trips each summer with our Hawkins cousins.  We have so much fun together.  This was the only time we went this summer that Oakley and Dallin were able to come with us.  It is so fun to watch them interact with their little cousins.  These babies love them so much! We also got to bring Tyce this time.  Rhett doesn't have a Hawkins cousin his age so we love to try and bring Tyce at least once each summer with us.  So much fun!

The Grain Crew

We are always short handed during harvest time.  I was so glad this year that Dallin was able to drive the grain truck so that I didn't have to.  It isn't the driving that bothers me.....its the fear of seeing a mouse in the nasty grain truck that does!!!

Ryan and Dale were cutting our pivot one night and Jason was driving the grain truck with Dallin and JD helping by running the auger.  I hurried to get dinner ready for all of them and run it out as they were unloading.  As I got over there I saw very quickly that there was NO JASON! It was just Dallin and JD, because when you are 14 years old you are old enough to dump the grain truck BY YOURSELF! AHHHHH!!! Talk about scare their mom to death! So I stayed back and out of their way and watched them closely.  These two are seriously some of our best help.  They knew just what they were doing. They had watched their dad's very closely and did a great job.  I assumed they had been sent to unload it while Jason rode with Dale.  Just as they were finishing unloading it my phone rang, it was Dale.  He asked if those boys just unloaded that truck all by their selves?? The men were as shocked by it as I was.  Those two sneaky boys had made that decision on their own.  They are such hard workers and I am so proud of them!

Bike Rides

This summer we bought two new bikes and the kids LOVED them! We definitely got our moneys worth.  I absolutely LOVED going on one-on-one bike rides with every one of my kids.  Seriously one of my favorite summer activities! 

Hiking with the Greats

On August 5th Great Grandpa and Grandma invited the great-grandkids to go hiking with them.  I had already committed to Yvonne to watch her babies (these 2 crack me up!) and so Rhett and Laiklie went with Grandma Hawkins and the cousins hiking.  I was sad I missed it, but glad they got to go and that they sent me a few pictures. 

What a blessing Max and Ramona are in my kids lives! They are INCREDIBLE! I don't know many 80 year olds out hiking with their great grandkids.  We are so blessed to have them as such a big part of our lives! 

Dallin

I forgot to post about moving pipe with Dallin on August 2nd.  So these posts are out of order, but I didn't want to leave this story out.  Dallin is a hard worker.  He always has been, but this is the summer that Dallin really learned how to work like a man.  This summer he learned the valuable lesson that we don't quit when we are tired, we quit when the job is finished. 

On August 2nd, Ryan and Dale were getting started with grain harvest and there was plenty of work to do and not enough help to get it done.  So Dallin and I were sent to Bone to move the pipe first thing that morning.  We knew we had to hurry so we could get back and help with the grain trucks.  So we got up there quickly.  Both Dallin and I have moved pipe in Bone before, both several times, but never alone without Ryan or Dale.  We are smart people though and knew we could figure it out.  We had EVERYTHING that could go wrong GO WRONG! It was AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE! We had entire lines blow out, we had riser/valve issues, grass up to our waists and cuts and bruises by the time we were finished.  We were finally able to get the job done after working our guts out, alot of yelling at each other, and some tears.  Dallin learned that day that he had to focus on the job at hand and not worry about what was going on at home that we weren't getting to.  It was a good lesson to learn.  

As we left the ranch that morning I sent Ryan and Dale a text letting them know just how bad things went that morning.  Over and over as we worked I heard Dallin say, "Dad and Dale are going to be so mad about........" and the list went on and on.  I made sure Ryan and Dale knew that my 14 year old boy works as hard as a full grown man and if either of them said ANYTHING to him about how we did things that morning in any way other than a teaching moment that I would be LIVID! They actually were super understanding and I think felt bad we got the crappy end of the stick that day. :) I am grateful for this farm life we live that teaches our children how to work hard, set a goal and do all you can to accomplish it! 

My Birthday

Ryan was amazing this year and even though he was swamped with harvest he took the time to order me flowers for my birthday.  It meant the world to me.  Sure love this guy!

Oakley Turns 17!

Oakley has a great best friend! While Oakley was out on a date the night before her birthday Lauren snuck over and created this outdoor fort and then came back at midnight and was here to meet Oakley as she got home from her date and was the first to wish her a happy birthday.  They stayed out in their fort eating cupcakes and giggling for over an hour.  I love these two girls! What a blessing a best friend is!

We are sad that we are running out of birthdays with this girl in our home.  Life will be very different after she graduates this year.  We are enjoying every day (well...the ones where she isn't grumpy anyway! hahaha!) and soaking it all up as she starts into her senior year of high school.