Look at what we found on a drive.  Not very far south of here is an elk farm.  What a beautiful surprise to come around the corner and find these lovely animals. 

I could have stood there by the fence all night long just looking at these beautiful animals. 

Their velvet is sold for the vitamin industry in Korea, or so we are told.  They are also sold as "starter" packages for others who want to start elk farm.  One bull and four cows is a starter package.  I just like looking at them.

Last evening we had a few friends over to bid Mr. Best adieu.  He has left today to spend his summer at his family's summer home at Cape Cod.  His company and humor will be missed and will be looked forward to in the fall. 

So we enjoyed dinner together and friendship and talk and then some of our company went into the pool and the rest of us enjoyed watching the fun that was had in the pool. 

Phoenix went in the pool and how proud we are of his improvement in that area.  He goes in all by himself now and no more tears or screaming.  He is a brave boy now.

Matthew went in and we all enjoyed his antics.  Great farmers tan.

Mary-Kate went in and enjoyed being without her brace for awhile. 

Stephanie helped make a whirlpool.  She's like on of the kids.

Even Ian came and we enjoyed seeing him for the evening. 

Summer is here and so is Phoenix.  He came last night and was thrilled to be allowed to help Jason load round bales on the bale wrapper.  He likes nothing better than to help one of my farmers going about their farm work.

Imagine the happiness of the boy when Jason let him steer the tractor and actually pick up the bales from the truck.

He has decided that the Kubota is his favorite tractor.  I think that his mother is happy that he slept well last night for all the excitement last night.

We went to the neighbors Thursday night for a bonfire.  It wasn't a very big one.  You know Ian's policy, if you can't see it from space it isn't a bonfire.  But we had a good time.  Ian and Jason gave tractor driving lessons to the babes that were there.  Isn't that just like them.

Of course no one can wait until the fire burns down far enough before they start to roast their marshmallows.  So of course they got roasted too.

Our first bonfire of the season.  A good time was had by all. 

She's back.  Yesterday Elizabeth came back into our lives.  We started babysitting her again.  As you can see she is well equipped to help Matthew to feed the "piggets".  She is wearing her "glubths" on her hands and her "booths" on her feet.  She also has her hat on her head.  She has her trusty dog "oopuths" to help her and off she and Mary-Cake went to feed the "piggets".  She speaks well and is very opinionated and is a force to be reconned with.  

Hopefull Mary-Cake will not get too tired out with having her around.  Time will tell.

I have kids who like a good storm.  I don't know where they got that from.  It didn't come from me.  I dislike thunder and lightning and wind.  Give me a nice gentle rain and I'm ok.  If it must snow make sure I don't have to go anywhere first and I'm fine.  My kids don't like my poor attitude about the weather.  I told them it was related to getting my drivers license.  Actually I have never liked thunder and lightning and wind.   

These pictures show how it looked the night the storm came up when we were making hay.  It happened very quickly.  One minute it was bright out and the next it is dark and the wind is blowing fiercely and it is raining very hard.  One town near us got golf ball size hail.  Our neighbor called us from work and asked if someone would go up to his house and help his wife get the horses inside.  It was hailing where he was and so he assumed that it would do the same here. 

Ian called and had us drive out the cover the intakes on a tractor that he had been working on.  That was kind of hard to do in the wind but we managed to do it.  What a cloud of dust the wind and the truck kicked up on the way out and back. 

But fortunately that was one of those storms that was over almost as fast as it came up.  By the time we got the hatches all battened down, the wind had died down and the thunder and lightning had passed us by and all it was doing was raining.  We got and inch of rain from the whole thing when all was said and done.

Matthew managed to get these pictures though before it was all gone.  And of course I managed to post them in reverse order but you get a good idea of what it was like and how fast it all came up.

Well, we are deep into the madness known as making hay.  For those who are not familiar with farming, something happens mentally to farmers when they start making hay in the summertime.  Men who ordinarily walk slowly and are slow to make decisions.  Who are easy going and pleasant to be around suddenly become machines.  They eat sleep and breathe hay making.  Their only interest is the weather channel and when to mow, rake, and bale hay.  Don't get in their way and, God forbid, don't make any kind of appointment or engagement of any kind during that time. 

Here is my husband cleaning all of the loose hay off of the wagon.  For some reason the baler wouldn't make good bales on the last load and there were a lot of broken bales on that load.  So off goes all the loose hay onto the ground to be baled again.  Mary-Kate lays on the ground to take a break after walking out to the field to watch the guys work.  She's getting stronger everyday but in the evening she still pushes it too hard sometimes.

Matthew loves running the Kubota since it has air conditioning and a radio.  He works very hard so he deserves some creature comforts.  The baler worked better for this load and he really sped around the field for this load.  We got some serious storms that night after we got that hay in.

Doug takes the full wagons back to the shop because his wife can't back up a tractor and wagon, yet.  You'd think after 24 years I'd be able to do that but I haven't got the trick of it yet.  Matthew can back up anything so can Jason but I am a failure in reverse.

Matthew finished up the last load just before the storm hit.  At one point he drove up and jumped down and told us he had heard the emergency broadcast alert go off on the radio.  There were severe thunderstorms forecast for that night.  The next morning we heard that several funnel clouds were reported in Verona.  All we got were high winds and severe lightning.  That's enough for us.

Everything is cleaned up and put away and we can go in and have supper and go to bed.  That was an early night because of the storm.  We managed to get to bed by 10:00 that night. 

 Today was our little Saint Rebekah's 14th birthday.  Fourteen years ago today I gave birth to our youngest daughter.  Her light shone very brightly but very briefly in this world.  I like to believe that she was so beautiful and so precious to God that he couldn't stand to be away from her for very long so He called her back home to be with Him right away.  She suffered briefly but she suffered bravely and offered it all, I'm sure, for her family.

My dear Pappa Buehner and dear Pappa Vito made up these prayer cards and prayer for me when she passed away two days later.  Every day I pray to her to preserve the members of her family and to keep us all close to Our Lord and Our Lady and to someday bring us all home to be with her and them in heaven.

The Madonna of the Streets is my favorite image of Our Lady, how fortunate for them to be inspired to use that picture on her holy cards. 

Saint Rebekah Ann Kraeger please pray for us.  Especially your brother in the army.  Keep him safe and close to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph while he is away from the sacraments.

While taking a walk we discovered a large puddle with frogs living in it.  Lupus likes to jump at the frogs and see them hop back into the water.  Everyday when we walk up the road to see the neighbor's horses she comes with us and jumps at the frogs.  Someday she may learn that she can't catch them.

We all like to go up to the neighbors house, especially since they brought the horses home.  Jason and Matthew like to go into the pasture and just sit and look at the horses.  It is hard to believe that Matthew can sit still like that

 but he actually can.  Even though I don't particularly like horses myself, I sure do enjoy watching them and the kids with them.

Chris and Stephanie gave the guys roping lessons and then gave them the rope to practice with.  It was fun to watch each one learn and practice what they were taught. 

Can you detect the look of determination on Matthew's face as he tries to rope the block of wood that is on the ground in front of him?

Jason is, of course a little more scientific about the whole operation.  He listens carefully over and over to the explanation and makes his adjustments.  He has been practicing too.

No moss growing on the back of my boy.  He keeps trying and trying and finally ropes the block after much persistance.  I guess he is living up to his theme song, "Should Have Been a Cowboy"

 Mary-Kate gets a little more attention and TLC from Chris.  (could it be because she is a girl or her recent surgery)  He is always sweet to her and so kind.  Anyway she has been practicing too and soon she will be roping anything that stands still too long.

Mary-Kate is up there everyday visiting with the horses and getting them used to her presence.  She is determined that they will know her so she can ride next year when the Dr. releases her from his care.  She talks to them and pets them and feeds them.  She asks Stephanie all kinds of questions and is learning all about them so she will be knowledgeable when her time comes. 

She and Lupus are also very good friends with their dog Laddie.  They play together everyday.  All of this newness has been very good for her healing both of body and mind.  Thanks be to God for sending us such good neighbors.  They have been truly helpful in many ways but mostly in helping our girl heal from the fire and from her surgery.  We couldn't have hand picked better.

24 Years-ago we were married.  All of the trite sayings do apply too before anyone asks.  But they also don't apply.  Time is a strange thing.  It both goes by quickly and slowly depending on your perspective.  Although my poet son would say that it goes by at the same rate it is only our perception of it.  (which is perfectly true)  Still all in all it has been both a quick 24 years and a slow passage depending on how it is looked at.  Are you viewing the wonderful good and joyous events that colored our lives together?  Then it flew by much too quickly.  When viewed from the sorrowful, painful, or frightening happenings in our lives then it crawled and was almost cruel in its slow passage.

Would I do it again.  You bet.