09 December 2018

The kids stayed the night at my parent’s house so that she could drop them off at school in the morning and I could go hunting.  Since we had three tags to fill, one for each of us (Felicity, Helen, and I), I needed to take as many opportunities as I could to go out.  Kevin and I got on the hill as the sun was coming up and I spotted a group of does and within a few minutes he spotted some larger bucks on one of the adjacent mountain sides.  We were way too far away so we hiked down and around to get a better view.  They were at a bad angle so we made the decision to climb a hill opposite the face they were on and got to a pretty good vantage point.  I won’t lie, it was a hard hike straight up and I was huffing and puffing pretty badly. 

We had to be quiet as we were right across from them.  I had a few minutes to get set up and take my shot, about 460 yards.  I hit him, but he didn’t immediately drop, instead he laid down in the grass.  I took a shot into the grass to get him to stand up, which he did, and then got behind a tree and we couldn’t see him anymore.  We watched and waited for several minutes and then made the decisions to climb up onto the top of the mountain he was on and come up on him from above.  That was an even harder climb.  We stopped to look for him every now and again, making sure he hadn’t moved.  By the time we got down to him, he had expired and mercifully rolled down the hill several yards.  We got him cleaned and packed and then took the arduous hike back to the truck.  My Fitbit said we hiked seven and a half miles and climbed 90 flights of stairs…yeah, it felt like it.  It was after one o’clock when we got to the truck and made the decision that we wouldn’t go back out Monday evening with Helen.

Helen had Activity Days on Tuesday and I was asked to help drive the girls to Sister Reina’s house; which coincidentally is right across from our place, to put on a holiday talent show.  The girls did such a lovely job.  There were musical numbers, dance bits, puppet shows, and Helen did a stand-up routine that consisted of Holiday jokes, she has a knack for delivering a punch line.  We had cookies and punch when we were done and the best part was Helen and I only had to drive back across the road to our gate to get home!

I got everyone off to school on Wednesday morning and I headed to work.  My mom called me around 10:20 to let me know that my grandpa Gene had just passed away.  I left work and met my mom over at my grandma’s house where my mom broke the news to her.  We drove out to the care facility where he was so that Grandma could see him and say goodbye.  We had lunch before heading back home to talk about the next steps.  While I profoundly miss my grandpa, we truly lost him five years ago.  I was and am sad, but at the same time feel gratitude that he doesn’t have to be sick anymore, doesn’t have to be confused anymore, and is free of a body that was failing him and robbing his very sharp mind of all traces of who he really was.  I’m so grateful for my knowledge of Heavenly Father’s plan for us; for the peace that that knowledge brings.  Knowledge that these goodbyes aren’t really goodbye.  They’re more like “see you later”.  I’m sure he was warmly greeted on the other side of the veil by a mother and father, a son, and many other friends and loved ones who went before him.  I have reflected on the work that I’ve done over the years to find the names of his family and see them safely sealed together in the temple and am again reminded of why I was sent to the family I was sent to.  I think that while there are tears on earth this week, there are smiles in Heaven and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  I know when a new baby is born we rejoice and celebrate and it’s a happy event, but I imagine there are some tears and sadness when that little spirit leaves Heaven to make the journey here to join its new earthly family.  The same is true when the reverse happens.  We are sad to see someone go, but there is rejoicing and happiness on the other side when they return.

Grandpa Gene and the girls in 2010

Felicity had a soccer game on Wednesday evening at Corona, so I went to her game after getting the other kids home.  Her coach switched their positions to give everyone an opportunity to try something different.  Felicity was kind of a brat about being moved to defense, but she shook it off pretty quickly.  She had a good stop about half way through the game, but it resulted in her and the other girl falling.  She skinned up her thigh and elbow pretty good and bonked her head on the ground.  She got right back up though!  They ended up losing 0-1.

I received 27 hours of bereavement time off at work which was really nice.  Between that and the PTO I have left, I will probably not be going back to work until late next week.  On Thursday evening Helen and I went hunting one last time to try and fill her tag before her window of opportunity was up.  My friend Mike and his brother went with us.  We didn’t have to do any hiking, but we also didn’t see much.  A few does and that was about it.  It was windy and cold and rained on us a little bit.  We gave up when the sun went down and called it a day.  You know, Helen wasn’t horribly disappointed.  Over the last week she had the opportunity to hike a couple dozen miles and see some pretty incredible animals and spend time with her sister and I.  She got to feel the excitement of taking a shot and the disappointment of missing, but when all was said and done, every time we got back to the truck she had a smile on her face, so I call that a successful hunt.

 On Friday morning I went shopping to find the kids matching outfits for family pictures.  When they got home from school I drove them into Tucson to get their pictures taken.  They turned out pretty well, they are certainly growing up quickly!  They went with their dad when we were done for their visit.  I went home and finished painting Arlo’s bedroom. I really liked the way it turned out, although I probably won’t replace the baseboards for a few weeks.  I was then able to move all of his furniture back into his bedroom.

On Saturday morning I got my outside chores done and then went into town to buy our Christmas tree.  I like the ones at Home Depot and have always had good luck with them.  This year I bought a Nordmann fir, it looks like a noble fir, but is fuller.  It’s suppose to hold onto its needles better, but it seems about the same to me!  It doesn’t smell as strongly either which is kind of the point of a fresh tree so maybe I’ll go back to the noble fir next year.  I have all but made up my mind to buy an artificial tree this year after Christmas when they go on sale so I can have an easy set up tree in the living room and a fresh tree in the family room; we’ll see.  I set up the tree when I got home (which I’m almost an expert at doing myself).  Then I headed out to do my least favorite holiday chore: I put the outside lights up.  I love to have lights on the house…and a lot of them, but I’m afraid of heights so hanging the lights is always a little nerve-wrecking.  I was able to hang most of them with ladder and only had to get on the roof for a few dozen feet.  I put up lights in all the front windows as well and am really happy with how it all turned out. I did a little crocheting after hanging the lights. 

Sunday was Arlo’s 7^th birthday and it was a little sad that he wasn’t at home.  I called and talked to him in the morning to wish him a happy birthday.  We’ll have to celebrate next week.  Church was nice, I enjoy the Christmas hymns and I was able to teach Primary.  We’ll be moving to a 9AM meeting time next year and only a two hour block.  I still have mixed feelings about that!  After church I picked up the kids and Arlo got to open a few birthday presents and we decorated the Christmas tree, my next least favorite Christmas activity.  I hate that I hate it, but I do.  I didn’t set it up well this year, I just had the totes with the ornaments sitting out and within just a few moments there were boxes everywhere and the plastic forms that hold the ornaments were on the floor and it was hard to tell what boxes they’d come from so I will admit that I had a little breakdown/panic attack and sent the kids in the other room to put Arlo’s toys back in his newly painted room.  I unwrapped and reorganized everything and called the kids back in to commence with the decorating.  We have a full week coming up.  A band concert, a masonic final rites ceremony for Grandpa, celebrating Arlo’s birthday, and our 11^th annual Gingerbread House Family Home Evening.  So grateful for this busy time of year!

02 December 2018

December is here!  And so is the Christmas music and merriment making.  Well...almost.  On Monday evening we were at the school to watch Felicity play soccer and when she was done we picked up something easy for dinner and watched The Grinch as our Family Home Evening activity.  The kids love that I let them watch a little more TV this time of year so we can enjoy most of our holiday movie collection. 

I finished one of four hats that I'm crocheting for Christmas this year, far fewer than in years past.  It's a unicorn hat for my niece.  I really need to get moving if I'm going to make my deadline for getting everything done before Christmas!  Felicity had mutual on Tuesday night and enjoyed her self as usual. 

Several months ago, my mom picked up tickets to the Gaslight Theater for their holiday show.  It ended up being on the same night as Helen's band and choir concert.  So Arlo and Felicity went with Nana to the Gaslight to see Scrooge, and Helen and I went to the District Auditorium at Empire high school for her concert.  The band performed three songs and was actually not terrible.  Helen was pleased with how it went.  Then we heard a few numbers from the orchestra, and Helen sang with the choir.  They did some really cute pieces.  She's thinking of quitting choir next semester and just continuing on with band.  I'm a little disappointed, but I told her she had to finish out this semester before she made her decision.  When all was said and done, the show took less than an hour, which in my opinion, is perfect for elementary-aged kids!

Thursday evening was spent getting ready for our deer hunt.  I dropped Arlo off at my parent's house and the girls and I got our packs ready and headed to bed early.  I got a call from my mom that my dad needed to go to the ER because of an infection in his foot, so I ended up going back out to pick up Arlo.  Helen stayed home with him Friday morning and Felicity and I left the house a little after four.  We met up with Kevin at about 5 AM and headed into the Santa Ritas.  It had rained Thursday night, but it wasn't terribly cold, just a little wet.  We hiked up to a nice vantage point and were set up with our binoculars when the sun came up.  I watched a larger buck up on the ridge line for quite a while, but he was too far away and we wouldn't have had time to get over to him before he headed back over the top.  Kevin found a small buck closer and Felicity got set up to shoot.  She struggled finding him in the scope and eventually he went behind some rocks and she missed her opportunity.  We headed back home around 11 for some lunch, a nap, and to grab Helen.

My mom was able to watch Arlo in the evening and I took both girls back out a little after two.  We went into Box Canyon this time and again got to a good vantage point.  We saw deer almost immediately, but they were on the next ridge over, so we packed up our gear and hiked over a bit.  We found a few bucks from that area and Felicity found the one she wanted and took her shot.  She made a 354 yard shot around 5 o'clock across a canyon, so we had to hike down and then back up on the other side to where it had fallen.  The girls helped us quarter him and collect the meat as the sun went down.  We didn't finish until it was dark.  Felicity carried out two of her quarters and neither girl complained about the hike back to the truck in the dark.  Felicity was pretty excited because not only did she get a deer, it meant she could go to a birthday party she was looking forward to on Saturday.

We put the deer in the freezer when we got home and I took Felicity over to Nana's so that she could take her to her birthday party in the morning.  Helen and I went home and got to bed early.  We were back out before dawn on Saturday morning and hiked quite a ways in and then spotted animals quite a ways away, so we did some more hiking, but then weren't able to find anything within a good shooting range, so once the early afternoon hit, we took the long 3 and a half mile hike out of the desert back to the truck.  We went out again Saturday night and did a shorter hike, but much more of a climb to get to a little valley just out of view of the road.  Just as the sun was going down Kevin glassed a larger buck and Helen got set up to shoot.  She was nice and steady and shot at 500 yards, but missed by a hair.  Whether it was her, the scope, or the wind, its hard to tell.  But we had to make the very steep climb down in the dark empty handed.  I was so proud of her attitude though, she was still in good spirits.

We had stake conference on Sunday and were grateful for a day off.  I am quite embarrassed that I didn't prepare better for our hunt.  I am pretty out of shape right now and felt every inch of that on Sunday! 

25 November 2018

It was a glorious week...mostly because I didn't have work!  I was able to spend time on Monday morning doing my holiday grocery shopping and cleaning up the house.  In the evening Felicity had a soccer game and played really well.  She scored twice and missed once.  She was a bit of a sorry sport when coach substituted her out, so we had a conversation about that!

I had to pop into the office for a couple of hours on Tuesday for a meeting, after which, I picked up kids from the bus, dropped off eggs, picked up compost, and dropped the girls off at the church for activities.  Arlo helped me make the pie crusts for Thanksgiving.

Everyone was home on Wednesday and the kids helped me clean and prep for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Arlo and I went out together on Wednesday morning.  The little turkey snipped at his hair again with scissors and it needed to be cleaned up.  He really is too old to make that mistake twice, I was not happy.  I decided instead of being really grouchy about it, we would just make a morning of the need to go into town.  He and I stopped into Jerry Bob's and had breakfast together and then got his hair cut and did some shopping.

On Thursday afternoon we had our Thanksgiving meal.  I fried a turkey in the front yard and it was amazing, by far one of the best turkeys I've ever had.  My mom and dad came over and brought my grandma as well.  They stayed and visited for awhile after. 

In the evening my mom came with us to see Ralph Breaks the Internet at the Theater.  It was ok.  Just ok.  I asked the kids what they thought and they had the same reaction.  Everyone else I know who saw it seemed to really love it and my family was like "meh".  I don't know why that is.  We are big Ralph fans.  Wreck it Ralph was a movie that Arlo watched repeatedly when he was small and it is often quoted at our house.  So I'm not sure why we didn't love the movie, but we didn't.

Friday morning I took Felicity with me to the temple as that's what I normally do on Fridays when I'm off.  She and I did baptisms and man was it busy!  I don't know if the temple had anticipated that many patrons on Friday morning, but it was nice to see and a great experience for she and I.  Arlo went to stay with his dad on Friday night and the girls and I watched a movie together.

Saturday morning we met my friend Sadie's husband, Kevin, to go long distance target practicing and to sight in our rifles for our hunt that starts next Friday.  We had a good time and I was pleased that the girls are almost as accurate at 400 yards as they are at 150.  When we were done I drove them to their uncle's house where they were having Thanksgiving with their Davidson family. 

I got home and did some chores outside, mostly just trying to get everyone fed and cleaned up.  I went out in the afternoon for a little Christmas shopping, although I didn't find much of anything worthwhile.  I taught Primary on Sunday and enjoyed my meetings before picking the kids up in the evening.  Back to work tomorrow, it'll be a struggle, it's been so nice to be at home!

18 November 2018

I made it!  The work week before a week of vacation always seems so much longer!  We had a great week and we actually had to turn on the heater, it got pretty chilly at Two Jack this week.  On Monday I worked overtime as the kids were at their dad's for the Veteran's Day holiday.  I picked them up after work and took them for dinner before we headed home.  I had to drop the kids off at school in the morning on Tuesday because Felicity had a model of the solar system that needed to be turned in.  She worked on it over the weekend and specifically asked that I not help her, she wanted to do it herself.  It turned out really well.

Tuesday's are pretty busy for us.  In the afternoon I picked up Arlo and he and I did some chores and then drove to the bus stop to pick up the sisters.  Felicity had soccer practice and Helen had band practice.  We then did our egg deliveries and picked up compost before heading home for a quick dinner as we had to be back at the church at 7pm for Young Women in Excellence.  Felicity participated with the other girls in the Beehive class who performed a skit.  She didn't have a display to showcase because I just didn't get around to helping her with that, but it was a fun evening.  I'm so grateful she has such a great Young Women's program in our ward.

Arlo and I hung out together after school on Wednesday and then he and I picked up Helen from choir.  We headed to Corona to watch Felicity's soccer game only to find we had yet another flat tire.  I took it over to my parents to put air in it, but it wouldn't hold, so I had to change it.  We made it back to the school in time to watch the second half of Felicity's game and I'm so glad I made it in time.  She was playing hard and aggressive and within the first ten minutes of me being there scored a goal.  It was her first game goal and I was so proud of her.  Last year she was timid and afraid of making a mistake and this year her coaches have given her the confidence that she needed to really start to play more boldly.  Her team won 1-0.  We took the tire to Walmart when we were done with the game and got something to eat while we waited for them to finish, they ended up having to replace it.  I really should get a print out of how many tires I've gone through since we bought our place.  We were able to make it back to Corona for an 8PM appointment with the Bishop for tithing settlement, although I was in dirty jeans and a sweat shirt, Felicity had her uniform on, and Arlo had on a pair of plaid shorts with a Christmas sweater.  We looked ridiculous, but I made a judgement call that the bishop would prefer we come looking like a mess than not at all.

I worked late again on Thursday, but it worked out well as all three kids stayed home from school. Felicity was genuinely sick with a cold and the other two took advantage of an opportunity to be home "sick" too.  When I got home from work we did a quick dinner and then I took Arlo back to the elementary school for his first grade musical performance.  They were doing a Thanksgiving theme.  They had the option to come in costume, so I decided to make Arlo a crocheted turkey hat.  It turned out really cute and the performance was fun.  He did such a great job singing and dancing which is really out of his comfort zone, he pretty much won't sing or dance at home.  He told me in the car that he tried his hardest even though it was embarrassing and did a good job dancing although he didn't do all of the hand motions because some of it was childish.  He's a hoot!

Everyone was backed to school on Friday and I muscled through my last work day for awhile.  In the evening the kids and I went to the Family Movie Night at Copper Ridge.  We hadn't been to one, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was a little chilly for an outside movie, but we had a good time.  We pre-ordered a pizza from the PTA and enjoyed Hotel Transylvania 3.

The kids and I worked on chores on Saturday morning and in the afternoon I took Felicity to see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.  We both really enjoyed it!  I was hoping it would give us something to talk about that wasn't about The Hunger Games.  Felicity has now read all three books twice and has seen the movies and evidently when she has screen time at her dad's house watches Youtube interviews with the actors.  She talks about it pretty much non-stop.  Early in the week she started a sentence with "Jennifer and Josh did [such and such]" and I asked her who they were thinking they were friends at school, only to find out she was referencing Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, the actors  from the movie.  She ran some errands with me, including grocery shopping before we headed back home.

Maggie has one blue eye and one brown eye...its a little unnerving if I'm honest

In the evening we met my parents at Red Lobster to have dinner and celebrate my birthday.  It was pretty good and we had a very nice time.  I came home a little over-full!

We enjoyed our church meetings on Sunday and went over to Mom and Dad's to have dinner when we were done.  We had a nice visit and when we got home I started a crochet project, a hat that I'm giving as a gift, since I didn't have to be at work bright and early Monday morning.  I'm going to love being off!

11 November 2018

It was a week of milestones at Two Jack Ranch.  The weather has been so beautiful and we are really enjoying the nice temperatures.  I haven’t run the AC in several weeks and the kids are spending a lot more time playing outside.  I’m excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Since it’s an “off Friday” week, we get Wednesday and Thursday off for the holiday, and then off on Friday as usual.  Seeing as I’m getting three days off for free, I might as well take Monday and Tuesday off and make it a true break.  That being said, I didn’t want to use the last twenty hours of PTO so I worked overtime this week (and will next week) to use for the holiday.  My mom picked up the kids on Monday and then went to Felicity’s soccer game.  The girls won and I heard it was a really good game.  I got home in time to make sure everyone got bathed before family scriptures and bed time. 

 Tuesday the girls had Activity Days and Young Womens in the evening, so Arlo and I hung out together.  The kids had a half day on Wednesday so I picked them up around noon and then finished my day from home.  When I was done with work we went out for dinner and to the movies as our Family Home Evening activity.  I had a gift card for Red Robin, so we went there again.  I was actually pretty disappointed.  The kids wanted an appetizer, but they brought out their appetizer with their meals, so the chips and salsa pretty much went uneaten.  I waited and waited for my salad to come out and it just didn’t.  Once the kids were done with theirs the waitress came over to tell me that they’d given my salad to someone else, but they were making me another.  By the time it came I was pretty well annoyed and had to eat fairly quickly as the kids were bored and a bored Arlo just spells indigestion for me.  Luckily they deducted the price of the kids’ meals so we got out of there at a discount, but I wasn’t very happy.

 We went to Harkins and saw The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.  It was beautifully done, we really enjoyed it.  The kids were enamored and raved about it on the drive home.

On Thursday after work I took Arlo to one of our neighbor’s houses to help with a chore they had.  As part of my ministering assignment I look after two elderly women who live within our ward boundaries, but don’t make it to church.  They have a rescue donkey and needed some help replacing a shade structure for the donkey.  Arlo and I helped another couple with the chore and Arlo got a kick out of petting the donkey, although it made me nervous as he didn’t seem to understand how important it was not to get behind her. 

Friday happened to be my 38^th birthday.  Birthdays just aren’t as significant as they once were.  My kids don’t remember and I just don’t make a big deal out of it.  I pretty much stuck to my normal routine.  I dropped the kids off early at the bus stop and headed to the temple.  When I was done at the temple I came home and decided to put in a few hours of work.  I also was able to clean the house, do the laundry, and get my grocery shopping done.  In the evening the kids went to their dad’s for the weekend and my sweet friend Leona came over and brought me dinner.  We ate, watched movies, crafted, took a midnight trip to Walmart for some ice cream and stayed up way too late for a couple of old broads!  I’m grateful for our almost 20 years of friendship and that she took time away from her family to spend an evening with me on my birthday.

 I slept in a little on Saturday and then drove to Green Valley to meet with a friend I made when we were in the 3^rd ward in Sahuarita.  Sister Stockwell had some art glass she wanted me to try and sell for her, so I picked that up and stayed for an hour or so visiting and catching up.  When I was done there, I went to my parent’s house and set up a new computer for them.  On my way home from there I stopped and got some straw to put in the pig pen now that it’s getting a little colder at night.  I spent a few hours in the yard doing chores.  I didn’t work on the doghouse, so hopefully I will get that done next weekend.

Instead of a sad picture of the two of us today, one of a thousand happy memories together (Sept. 1985)

 Sunday morning I decided to go with my mom to visit my Grandpa Gene.  His health has been declining in recent weeks and I wanted to make sure that I was able to see him and visit with him.  When we got to Grandma’s to pick her up, the yard looked awful, so while Mom helped Grandma get ready to leave, I mowed the front and back lawn.  It didn’t take me much time, but it sure looked a lot better when I was done.  We went to Copper Canyon and Grandpa was sitting in the lobby when we arrived.  He didn’t interact much and he didn’t know me at all, which is a first.  It’s so hard to see the people you love trapped in a body that just doesn’t work the way it should.  We stayed for an hour and a half or so and sat with him while he had lunch.  When it was time to go I knelt down in front of him and patted his hand and said "goodbye Grandpa, I love you".  I helped my dad set up some speakers on his computer when we got home.  I didn’t pick up the kids since they don’t have school on Monday and I have to work.  When I got home I worked on crocheting a turkey hat for Arlo who has a Thanksgiving musical next week.

So this week not only marked my 38^th birthday, but I had two additional anniversaries as well.  It would have been my 13^th wedding anniversary and it was the 5 year anniversary of my divorce.  5 years seem to have gone so quickly and yet it also seems like this is just the way things have always been.  When I filed for divorce, I had to attend a mandatory parenting class.  During the class, they mentioned that 85% of people attending would be remarried in the first five years.  I thought that sounded comforting; reasoning to myself that I had a lot to offer in a relationship and that I felt I had been a good wife and I wanted to be married and work through life with a partner, the odds were in my favor that I wouldn’t be alone for long.  And here I am.  And you know what?  I’m happy.  In those five years I’ve been on a handful of dates.  I had an “easy out” present itself within the first few months and was so proud of myself for not taking it because I knew I wasn’t head over heels and while it would have provided me with the opportunity to have financial stability and to stay at home with my kids, I knew I would always wonder if I settled to avoid being single.   A couple of years after that I got myself into a mess with someone else’s drama and got my heart, my kids, and my good name drug through the mud.  It was the hardest thing I’ve endured, but when I came through it I was finally able to see that of the three relationships I have had as an adult I consistently pick emotionally unavailable men who use me and then walk out of my life without the consideration of an explanation.  I learned and grew and became more aware and in the end felt much more confident in my ability to recognize a poor choice.  And now at the five year mark, I have reached a place where I am genuinely and fully content to be single for the rest of my life.  I was sealed in the temple and my children are sealed to me, I have fully and completely honored those covenants and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a wife and have had the blessing of being a mother.  I fully trust that my Father in Heaven has my (and my kids’) best interest in mind and has a plan for me and if that does not include a loving and mutually beneficial relationship in mortality, I’m perfectly okay with that.  My kids are healthy and happy and are in a great school, I love my ranch, I call my own shots, and if I’m completely honest, I think fully trusting someone else would be a hard obstacle to overcome.   Getting divorced was one of, if not the, best decisions I have ever made and not one single day has gone by that I have regretted it.  I lament that my kids have to live in a broken family, but that is because of my initial deficient choice in companion, not my decision to show them a better example.  I have come to truly understand that we accept the love we think we deserve, and I'm holding out for something great.

04 November 2018

Happy Halloween from Two Jack Ranch.  It was a busy, off-nominal week.  Felicity was excited to continue official soccer practice after school this week, she was the first pick for the “B” team and we both agreed that one more year on the junior team would be good for her.  She will get more playing time and they’re starting her at center forward.  She was really happy with the outcome.  She had her first game on Monday and played 85% of the game.  She took a couple shots on goal, but didn't get one in.

We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening.  I pulled out some of my old patterns and the kids picked their favorites and set to work.  Felicity carved Maleficient (in dragon form), Helen chose Emily from The Corpse Bride and Arlo worked on Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas.  They all turned out so well, and I was really impressed with how patient and careful Arlo was; he was really pleased with his finished pumpkin.

I was able to finish Arlo's Halloween costume, Luke Skywalker, just in time for our Tuesday night Trunk of Treat at the church.  The ward did a really nice job with a chili and hotdog dinner and carnival games for the kids and then of course a trunk-or-treat.  We had a great time.



The younger kids were excited to wear their costumes to school on Wednesday and they were surprisingly willing to do homework and chores when they got home...hmm, go figure!   We went to my parent's neighborhood to trick or treat, and honestly I was disappointed, I would say only 40-60% of the houses were participating which meant we did a lot of walking between houses.  However, the kids came home with an awful lot of candy!   

Thursday I was standing in the kitchen making dinner and I watched a big coyote walk right up the driveway through the gate.  I know they've been getting in the yard because I've seen their tracks around the coop, but right in the front gate in broad daylight?  So I told Felicity to grab my gun.  I came out the front door, put my boots on.  I rounded the side of the house and here he comes trotting across the back yard.  He was moving pretty quickly out of view behind the house, so I kept taking steps around when a bigger one came out from behind a mesquite tree.  I took aim and he saw me and started to run.  It wasn't a very good shot, he was running and I was still walking, but he yelped and stumbled after I fired and then headed for the back fence.  I got him, but he didn't drop.  At the very least, he and his friend will think twice about coming onto Two Jack Ranch again.  Next time I think I'll grab the shotgun, in hindsight I shouldn't have taken that shot with the rifle. 

Helen and Arlo swapping candy

The rest of week was as good as a sugar-fueled week could go.  On Friday we cuddled together for a movie and pizza after school and were up early on Saturday morning.  The kids helped me do chores around the ranch.  One of my goals was to asses the dog house that was left on the property and decide if it could be salvaged for Maggie.  The kids and I decided to take the rotting plywood off the frame and reuse the frame.  We got it deconstructed and I'll hopefully be able to get the new plywood and roofing shingles and put it back together next weekend.  I'll also be relocating it to directly behind the house and then put the fence around it. 

When we were done with chores we met my dad to go shooting in the desert.  The girls and I need to get as much practice as we can before our hunt.  We shot for a little over an hour and then headed back home.  On the way home, we stopped at the feed store for some pig feed.  They were having their fall festival and I received three raffle tickets when I bought my feed.  When I went to put them into the raffle, they were getting ready to draw the winners.  There were several raffles going, as I recall one for pig feed, bird seed, dog food, etc.  The gal behind the table asked if I had pigs and when I said I did, she said to put in for the pig feed, no one had entered that raffle.  So I won three bags of pig feed on the spot (about $60 worth).  So it was a good afternoon!

 

We enjoyed our meetings on Sunday and I taught primary.  After church we had dinner at my parent's house which was nice.  I'm glad to have Halloween behind us.  This is always a very busy time of year.  I'll be fixing Thanksgiving dinner this year and then there's our annual Gingerbread FHE to plan and all the great things that come with the holidays.  I am so incredibly blessed and happy and there are so many good things in our life to be thankful for.

 

 

28 October 2018

It was another great fall week at Two Jack Ranch.  Arlo and Helen had “Red Ribbon” week at school that included a lot of fun activities.  A helicopter landed at the school and they met police dogs and there was always something exciting for them to talk about when they got home. 

Monday evening we went to dinner at Red Robin for Family Home Evening.  We were so excited to see that they had built one on Irvington and I-19 so we had to try it out.  Arlo created some art while we waited for our table.

 I continued to work on Halloween costumes this week, I almost have Helen’s done, which isn’t leaving me much time to get Arlo’s finished.  On Friday morning I went to the temple which is always nice.  I adore having a temple close.  I love being able to go every couple of weeks and have it only take the morning, as opposed to driving to Mesa which I only got to do once a month and it took all day.   I did my grocery shopping on the way home and pretty much finished up my household chores before the kids came home from school.

On Friday evening the kids went to visit their dad which freed me up to make some good progress on sewing.  I also had an appointment to take Maggie to the vet for a checkup and her first round of vaccines.  She did such a great job.  We sure do love having her on the ranch.

By Saturday afternoon I had finished Helen’s costume and the remainder of my Marvel Marathon.  Which ended with Infinity War and Ant Man and the Wasp.  I was surprised at how many of the movies I hadn’t seen.  I loved Ant Man and Thor: Ragnarok.  Infinity War left me definitely committed to paying to see the next Avengers in the theater.  It was really fun. 

I went to pick Helen up early from her dad’s on Saturday night since she had her field exam on Sunday morning.  Felicity wanted to come home too, so we stopped at Chipotle on our way home and then had a girl’s night in.  Felicity had just finished reading  Catching Fire so we watched the movie together.  I love how invested she gets in the things she’s reading, she is such a great example to her siblings.

Sunday morning we left for the Sierra Vista shooting range nice and early for Helen’s 8:00AM field day.  Arizona Game and Fish requires that hunters between the ages of 10 and 14 complete an online Hunter's Safety course, pass an online exam, then attend a field day where they have to demonstrate marksmanship.  They also learn tracking, matching ammo to weapons, and some other pertinent information and it culminates in a 75 question written exam.  The closest open field day to us was in Sierra Vista, so that's where the girls and I headed.  Helen did a great job, enjoyed learning, and passed her written exam.  She got a new hat and certificate and will get a card that certifies she is eligible to hunt in Arizona which will come in handy seeing as she has a whitetail tag to fill in late November.  We stopped and had lunch on our way home before picking up Arlo.