On the Home Front:

Happy Monday, lovely readers! 

Blogging has been scarce around here because last week was insanely busy.  It was so hectic that my husband and I had the "talk"...the one where we re-evaluate our activities and threaten to quit everything so we can just raise cattle in the quiet countryside, sipping iced tea on the porch in our rocking chairs as the sun goes down.

Since we have a good 25-30 years before retirement age, and three active kids, I just don't see that happening anytime soon.  The good news is, we got through the madness unscathed.  Here's the run-down of our week.

On the Cow Front:

Last week, we moved cows and ran them through the chute to start the breeding process.  We artificially inseminate our ladies around here, and it involves a three step process over a week and a half.  

Our nine year old daughter was the photographer that day, and subsequently, we have 23 photos of extreme close-ups to the rear-end region of various cows, and not much else. LOL!

 OK, I think you get the point.

Moving on now....

On the baseball front:

Last week, our boy had a week-long baseball clinic. On top of this, our three children had a combined total of NINE baseball games for a grand total of 60 whopping hours spent on the baseball field!!!

When I look at this picture, it feels like my boy has grown up over night. I remember when he was still in diapers dragging a plastic bat around the house, and breaking things by throwing himself pop-flys in the living room. This year he was drafted up to majors. Although he was the youngest on his team, he earned his starting position on the in-field, playing first, third, and pitcher.  He also made the all-star team.

Our oldest daughter played her last two regular season games last week.  She transferred over from baseball to fast-pitch softball this year.  

Even though it was her first year playing softball, she pitched and played short-stop, also earning a position on the all-star team!  It took us a while to get used to the world of  girl's softball. The constant chanting in the dug-out, girly socks, and funky rules made this season a hoot to watch. Girls are so, so very different from boys!

It was also the last week of Tee-ball. My husband coached our baby's team this year, and everyone was hitting well without even needing the tee. Way to go, coach!

Our baby was such an intense player! Just look at her form!

We ended the season with a pizza party and prizes on Thursday night.

Bottom line: Regular season is now over, and all-star practice begins tonight.

On the church front:

Our girls had Vacation Bible School last week, and my nine year old got top honors, winning a Bible, and ribbons for saying the most verses. 

On the 4-H front:

We taught the girls to make pajama pants in our beginning sewing class on Friday.  They were so easy to make, and very comfortable!

We also had our annual 4-H Barn Dance and Silent Auction on Friday night. It was the most fun I've had in quite a while! There was a live band, and people from ages 2 to 92 were out dancing the night away. Our son had a baseball game so he couldn't make it. Bummer for him!  My husband twirled me around the dance floor all evening, and our girls danced with some handsome young gentlemen. 

Cute  little phone pic!

 There's nothing quite like a good old- fashioned barn dance!

We rounded the Father's Day weekend off with church, lunch and a movie at the theater. It was a great way to end a hectic week!

Dreaming of nap-time,

Nell

 P.S.- Thanks for all of the sympathy and allergy medicine tips.  I'll be visiting my health food store this week for some local remedies. I'm hoping that these allergies will go away completely when the wind stops blowing and we get a good rain. There's just so much junk in the air right now. Thankfully, our rainy season is just around the corner.