BOW FAMILY ADVENTURES

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Cabbage!


Remember Sadie's cabbage plant she brought home from school last spring? Well, today we picked her cabbage.

It weighed in at 3 lb. 4 oz.
It's a pretty nice cabbage. It probably could have gotten much larger, but we were afraid it might split. She has certainly enjoyed watching it grow.

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Week in Review

This week has been busy to say the least:
  • Monday--Robby had the privilege of playing golf at Amarillo Country Club with one of his former students
  • Tuesday--Sadie and a friend (and I) enjoyed a fun day in Amarillo. We took in some local culture: ceramic painting, a museum, art galleries and Chuck E. Cheese's.
  • Wednesday--Sadie had FLIP (Future Leaders in Progress) Camp. The whole family enjoyed an evening at Wonderland Park with our church youth group. Sadie, April and I even rode the "Drop of Fear."
  • Thursday--Sadie finished FLIP Camp, Robby and T.S. plowed, I went shopping.
  • Friday--ALL of the lawn mowers are out of commission, I went to Amarillo for a part. Sadie is swimming at a birthday party and Robby and T.S. are gathering mesquite for a BBQ cook off Robby is competing in next weekend.

Whew! I'm about worn out!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Another Addition

Meet Annie:

She's the newest addition to our zoo. She's half border collie and half Australian shepherd. We think she is pretty cute. We are hoping that we can train her to run the show sheep. Robby says I can probably teach her to herd the chickens back into their pen in the evenings, too.

So how did we end up with Annie? On Saturdays, a local AM radio station hosts Tradio--a program where people can call in selling things or seeking things. Robby was plowing and heard that a man was giving away puppies. We've been talking about getting a dog to run the sheep, so he and the kids wasted no time heading to Amarillo to check out the offer of puppies.
Annie seems to be settling in well. She isn't taking much off of the cats, likes to have her tummy scratched and seems happy to see us.
We still have Petunia, she is really showing her age (15 years). She's still a great dog.

Friday, July 17, 2009

T.S. Says...

T.S. has really come up with some doozies lately.

First, he has noticed that adults have "fur"--you know on their tummies, chest, under their arms. He is very intrigued by this and is now looking forward to having "fur like daddy's."
Second, we kept two of our cousins the last two days. The youngest isn't talking--well, she talks, we just don't always understand. Anyway, T.S. is very intrigued:
"Do you think Texie will speak English?" He asked this yesterday, must have thought about it all day and asked again today.
Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure she will."
Later in the day, "Mom, she'll probably speak English and we won't understand a word she says."
Me: "Yes, she'll speak English. You speak English."
"No, I don't speak English."
Me: "Then what do you speak? You speak English."
"No I don't and quit saying I do."

Not sure what language he speaks, but it sure has been funny lately.

The Winners

Robby and T.S. went to the scramble at the golf course last night. T.S. came in the door proudly displaying a one dollar bill. He announced they had won third place.

I said, "Wow, a dollar!"
To which he replied, "Yes, that's Abraham Lincoln on the front."
Me: "No, that is George Washington."
"Did you know that Abraham Lincoln is famous?"
Me: "Yes, he was a president."
"No, he was in a movie. He was in National Treasure and he got shot in the head."
Me: "No, he wasn't in a movie, but he was shot."
"Was George Washington in a movie?"
Me: "No, but he was the first president."
"Did he get shot in the head?"

After replaying all of this to Robby, I found out:
  • They placed second.
  • They did discuss that it wasn't Lincoln on the dollar.
  • Somehow they did discuss that Lincoln was assassinated in a theater.

Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in Kindergarten in August?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

We are still here...


Monday, the kids jumped on the trampoline--I know, no big deal, but I'd like to point out that Sadie is wearing one of Nonnie's Eastern Star dresses. She really got good at making it balloon (no pictures--she wasn't very good at not showing her undergarments).
Today, T.S. made a "square driver" and another golf club out of a coke can and old wooden handles off of who knows what. He is pretty inventive.

Overheard from T.S. in the car yesterday:
Mom, I think I'm melting.

I want to explode water. I wonder how you explode water. Mom, do you know how?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Project


This week, the kids and I began painting shelves and picture frames. The shelves and maybe a frame or two will go in Sadie's room. The rest of the frames will go in our "art gallery" on the stairway. The kids did a great job for their first time painting something besides a wall.

(Rest assured, we will post finished pictures if we ever finish the projects.)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bath and a Shave

Yesterday, Robby and Sadie gave the lambs a bath and sheared them.


Oscar waits patiently.

Edward got to go first.

Come to find out, our lambs are white! Here's the final result:
Edward--I'm pushing to call him Prince Edward.
Oscar--yes, his legs are clean, since he is a cross, they have a touch of brown/red.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Fourth of July

Our newest cousin enjoyed the festivities in the house.
Texie thinks she is as big as all of the other kids.
No, those aren't deer in headlights, just Jay and C.W. cooking their hot dogs.

The Fourth of July is a big deal around here. We've been celebrating with a hot dog cookout and fireworks at the farm for as long as I can remember. To see a step-by-step demo of what the kids and my mom do with firecrackers every year, go here. This year, since the Fourth fell on a Saturday, we had a three-day celebration.

We started with a shrimp and clam boil Friday at Shipo's barn. Saturday the kids had fun jumping on the trampoline, playing in the clubhouse, holding kitties, meeting lambs and watching chickens. Then, we had our traditional hot dogs and s'mores before the kids' parade and fireworks. The kids reminded us shortly before dark that we'd forgotten the most important part of the night--the parade. This year was particularly special, because Jay actually lined them up and we started with some since of order.
The cousins patiently wait for the signal to start the parade.
Evan impressed us with her ability to ride with no hands.
Saxie is looking good on a trike I think I may have ridden as a kid.

We didn't decorate this year (usually we decorate the vehicles in red, white and blue and promptly undecorate so we can use the decorations the next year). The kids ride up and down our lane as we stand on the side cheering. They ride back and forth until they get tired of it. After that, the kids and a few adults entertained with a pretty good fireworks display--this has scaled down in recent years. I think it has something to do with the fact that we all have children and can't seem to stay up as late as we used to.
We had plenty of smoke bombs and firecrackers for the kids to set off on Sunday. We met back at the barn for another fabulous meal. The kids enjoyed bubbles, water guns and more fireworks. We all can't wait to get together and do it again next year.
(Hopefully by then I'll have a better camera)