The Fact of the Matter is...

Well, it's several things actually.

• If I don't stop making cookies and brownies I am going to weigh 400 lbs. Can I help it if my awesome baking abilities bring such joy to me and my family? No.

• Audrey's Bake and Buy is helping me well on my way to 400 lbs. Seriously, her baking business is good for her, trouble for me! Those no bake cookies are mighty tasty and I am awfully weak.

• I really need to get over my complete hatred of running in this heat. It's hot. Get over it. Not running is not helping me get ready for the Vegas Ragnar. It is also not helping me to not weigh 400 lbs.

• I do not understand why Grant (and all my other children at this age) feel the need to rise and shine at 5:30 in the AM. And I really, really don't understand why he is still adorable to me at such an hour. Let us not forget that I am a morning person, I just like to wake up on my own terms....even if my terms are only 15 minutes after his. ;o)

• I do not have TV recording abilities, SYTYCD starts at 7:00--mother of five not off duty by this point in time. Okay, so there is the possibility that I complete all my mom jobs during commercials. "Hurry Grant, tell everyone good night. Let's read your story, (I then skip 4 out of every 5 pages) all right, let's say your prayers, quick quick, jump in bed, night night, I love you!" All this happens in the span of about 90 seconds. There's also a chance that Elsie reads to me during commercials. That goes something like this, "All right Elsie, let's read (I mute during commercial. I am good like that). Good job, sound that one out, does the picture give you a clue? Your doing great, keep going...okay---WAIT---sshhh, ssshhh, ssshhh my show is back on." My Wednesday night mothering skills are Top Notch! Good thing for me it doesn't start until 8:00 on Thursdays.

• We are on the home stretch summer wise. How did summer come and (almost) go all ready? Less than two weeks until my little minions go back. Honestly, amazing! And, I will admit my complete and total freak outs of "GET THESE CHILDREN OUT OF HERE! I WANT MY SPACE BACK!" have been kept to a minimum. I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back now.

All right, so there ya go. You now know all the random crap that is rattling around in my head. I know, you may be slightly disappointed. Here you thought I was some sort of rocket scientist and we could solve world hunger if we could just get inside my head.
Well, we can't.
You will just have to get over it.


*You're all good with the fact that I am slightly crazy, right? I mean, that's part of my charm, isn't it?*

just a little FYI.

I miss Mike.

We are no strangers to spending time apart. He has worked out of town numerous times over the course of our marriage. I have taken many a trip to my moms without him. He has been on more scout camps then I would care to count.

And yet, I still miss him.

Here's the thing, we have no communication what so ever. That is not so strange, we never do over scout camp. But, I don't normally stay in town. I guess I never realized how much easier being away and preoccupied makes this particular week of the summer.

We have a fairly traditional system around here. I take care of the house and the kids and everything that goes along with it. That's my job. And I like it that way. I might be a little neurotic about how I like things, so it's best if I get to be in charge. I guess what I am saying is that physically it's not all that big of a deal to have him gone.

But mentally and emotionally he completely takes care of me. Like I said, I tend to venture into the realm of neurotic- he deals with all my craziness like a dream. And he makes me laugh- a lot. Laugh out loud, laugh in disgust, he laughs with me, he laughs at me, all that good stuff. That man is absolutely one of a kind. He tells me all the time how boring my life would be without him.

He is positively 110 percent correct.

My Main Squeeze

is spending his birthday 'on top of the world'
and could not be happier about it.
Mike is on scout camp-a 50 miler- in the Uinta's this week.
Today they will be climbing and conquering Kings Peak.
Mike has done it before, but he was still so excited to take these boys
and how lucky am I that 'these boys' include my own son.
p.s.
I waited A LOT of years for that.

I won't bore you all with 38 reasons why me loves him like I do.

A few years ago for Valentine's Day I made him an 'I love you because...' jar with 100 reasons
when Adam saw it he chuckled and said,
You really came up with 100, Mom? WoW!!

Life without Mike would be....well,
incredibly boring
to say the least.
Yup, I am one lucky girl.

So
Happy Birthday, Mikey!
Where ever you are.
:o)

Your a good man, Charlie Brown.

Meet Oscar.

Our new dog.

And Mike's new best friend.
I'm not joking, the man is in love.

Because,
- seriously-
how can you not love a face like this?

Plus Audrey has already trained him so amazingly well that she felt she needed to video document it.
They have worked especially hard on the "Sit...." and "Stay....." part.
Yup, she's practically the dog whisperer.
No worries, I already know she's crazy.

~Here's Da Scoop~
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Mikey.
He grew up to be, well...pretty much...just a big boy.
{Personally, I still like to call him Mikey.}
Anyhoo, this little boy never had a dog.
:o(
But, if he did...
it would have been a Boxer.
Because--Hello?-- who doesn't know that Boxers are the coolest dogs ever?!?
So,
This little boy grew up and married me...
Apparently the biggest softy on the planet.
How do we know this?
There are a million reasons.
And I do mean at least a million.
One of the latest happens to be named Oscar.

What's a girl to do when the love of her life finds the dog of his dreams for the cost of free and someone else has already dealt with the dreaded-albeit incredibly cute-puppy stage?
She caves.


Now,
are you curious to know what reason one million and one is?
I'll give you a hint....
He's named Nelson.
His name comes from whence he hales.
As in, the 'Nelson' homestead.
Can you believe this darling little thing
(I'm referring to the kitten, not the boy--although he would of been happy to live in the old barn too.)
was living in the old barn on my parents farm?
It was a crying shame, I tell ya.
A crying shame.
and
I am the biggest softy on the planet.


Don'cha kinda wish you had me for a wife and/or Mother?

Cr-EYE-ckee!

Them's some big Tomatas

So, pretty much up to this point in my life all I have successfully grown is children.
Not any more, my friends, not any more.
Can you even believe the size of those plants?
(and can you tell how excited mike is to pose for me? what? i needed a reference point)
The St. George sun has been good to us.
:o)

We have cherry tomatoes coming out our ears.
And I quite like it.

It took me over 10 years to embrace the planting season here.
I know. Sad that I waited so long, right?
My little Cache Valley brain could not wrap itself around the idea
of planting anything in February.

Can't wait for next year to roll around now that we know what we are actually capable of.

Grow your self a garden.
It's a good thing.

My Girl, Goose.

Want to know why I feel sorry for all you poor saps that aren't her family?

You may never get to experience first hand how crazy-funny she really is.
(She rarely gives a public showing)

Happy Birthday to my sweet Goosey.
She is all things kind and thoughtful.
With just enough insanity thrown in the mix
to make her one of the
most witty and entertaining
kids I have ever seen.
:o)

I think I feel a crafty moment coming on.

Audrey came into the kitchen:
Look at what I made. What do you think of my paper chain, Mom? It's my count down to school! I just cannot wait for school to start! I mean, I am insanely excited!! Do you even know what I'm talking about?!? Can you even imagine how excited I am???

Yes, Dear.
Yes, I think I can.
In fact, I might just go make my own paper chain right now.

*Andrea, I may have just found the perfect summer craft for enrichment. ;)

The Exciting Conclusion of Farmgirl's Idaho Adventures.

Or...All the rest of the random stuff I thought I should tell you all about.
Which ever title you want. Either one works.
Here you go, World, the rest of the story--in no particular order.

This is the part I like to call
*Preston Stuff*

An absolute MUST if you ever find yourself in Preston:

Pizza Villa.
Get your self a chef salad.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT forget to order the cheesy bread sticks.
(ask for ranch on the side for your dipping pleasure)

And...a new favorite for me, a fresh strawberry shake from Big J's.
(those of you not in the know--Pizza Villa and Big J's are owned by the same people and are right next door to each other so you can order your Big J shake and enjoy it at Pizza Villa!)
Seriously, they are amazing!!
Thank You, Mother!!!!
My mom and I may or may not have made another trip to Big J's for more shakes
..it's hard to remember.
She was the genius who discovered this little gem. I have been told they are only this good in the summer--so plan your trip wisely.

No trip to Preston is complete without a Kings shopping experience.

Let me tell you why...

Here is a random shelf at Kings.
The items include: glass figurines, vases, scrap book paper, fanny packs, bird houses, magic towels, pens, musical key chain, candles, Dri T shirt, and some very revealing nighties.
Makes perfect sense, right?
Only in Kings, my friends.
Only in Kings.

This is the part I like to call
*Fourth of July Festivities*

If, by some twist of fate you are lucky enough to be in Cache Valley over the fourth-
-spend it in Lewiston, Utah.

First of all, please- try to control your jealousy over our amazing running attire.
Amanda outfitted us once again. Our shirts say, "God bless this Hot Mess".
Amen to that, Amen!
I mean, that's my prayer pretty much every morning!
Life is tough, when you are as hot as we are. ;o)
Let's not forget our crowns to top off our glorious, beautiful selves.
My cute Audrey and my brother Jonathan ran as well, it turned out to be quite the family event.

The celebration started bright and early with the Lewiston 5K Boarder Run. FYI- my parents farm is located just about a quarter of a mile north of the Idaho boarder, the 5K starts at the center of Lewiston and goes to
(....you will never guess....)
the boarder.

The cheering section at the half way mark (the Utah/Idaho boarder) can not be beat.
This is a small sampling of the cousins cheering Audrey-and everyone else for that matter-on.

Next up: the fabulous parade.
Does that seem like a lot of kids to anyone else?
My, my, my---we really are a big group- all those little twerps are my nieces and nephews- minus a few.

This next part is vital.
Head back to my parents house after the parade, hang out, visit, eat, let the kiddos play and on some years enjoy the adult slip and slide.
-unfortunately, didn't happen this year :(
p. s. My mom makes a mean dutch oven full of potatoes. Mmmmm...

See all those kids enjoying the swing set and the wading pool?
See Grant?
He's the kid sitting on the tractor.
His life would pretty much be complete if he could just spend it on one of these.

He might be satisfied for a while with one of these.
My mom was kind enough to let him help mow the lawn with her on more than one occasion.

End your day-O-fun atop the haystack--
where you will enjoy the spectacular Lewiston fireworks show.
I know, the picture isn't great-you get the idea.

And, if you are part of this group you will be joining a firework sing-along.
They will favor you with all the great Americana classics + the Star Wars theme song and last, but certainly not least, you will end the night with a rousing version of "And here we have Idaho".


This is the part I like to call
*Shout out to my fabulous parents*
So, I didn't get a lot of pictures of my Dad.
It's been a really wet spring and beginning of summer. First crop hay should of been a thing of the past before I ever arrived. It wasn't even cut yet. Once it dried out and the farm work was in full swing, he was always willing to take some tag alongs out to the field with him.
Which thrilled me as much as it did the a fore mentioned tag along.
:o)

Ahhh, me Madre.
I so enjoyed hanging out with her.
Thanks for letting me and my posse' invade your life for the better part of a month.
This was quite possibly the best Idaho trip ever.

What can I say?
I just love this place.
It is what makes me...Me.
This place, and all the people there, are what made me Farmgirl.
(thank you Robyn for recognizing it)
And I could not be more grateful.
~
Going home is imperative.
Making sure my children's roots run all the way back to this Idaho farmland is one of the most important things I will ever do.

Hi, Honey. I'm HOME!

Miss Me??

I think one more installment of "Farmgirl's Idaho Adventures" ought to cover the rest of documenting my good times. No worries, it's-a-comin'.
Just need a moment or two to re-enter my life. ;o)
Thought I would tide you all over with a picture of yours truly
{in all my farmgirl glory}
sporting my new shirt my parents gave me.
Isn't it great?
Me do love me a Bit-O-Idaho life.