BOW FAMILY ADVENTURES

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snow and Sledding



Yesterday was gray and cold. I talked the kids out of sledding, so they played outside for a long time.

Today was sunny and warm (if you call 34 degrees warm). I took the kids to the overpass to sled. We started out on the north side which was very rough and icy. We then moved to the south side which was more snowy and eventually slushy. What a fun afternoon with what seemed like half the kids in Happy! I was again reminded why I'm glad we live where we do. We get to "sled" on overpasses with kids ranging in age from 3 to 18. Everyone takes care of each other. They all shared the various sledding devices and had a great time.

This is one of T.S.'s trips down the north side. When he finished his run, he got up and announced, "That was wicked."

He caught some serious air on the ramp the kids made on the south side. The high school kids were very impressed.
Here is Sadie on the south side. Apparently, psyching yourself up to go down is serious business.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Afternoon Update




The sleet lasted until around noon. It has switched over to snow--fairly light. We had to go out of the front door and dig out the back door to get out this afternoon. Sleet (and a little snow) had piled up and we couldn't open the door. Sleet is way harder to shovel than snow.


We just got word that we won't have school tomorrow. We're hoping we can do some sledding--either at the overpass or down the dam in the pasture. Maybe we'll even pull the car hood behind the four wheeler.

Snow Day (More like Sleet Day)


It is sleeting today. Supposedly it is supposed to turn to snow soon. We don't have school today and probably won't tomorrow. Here are pictures of the day so far (these were taken a little before 9:00 this morning). I'll try to take more when it is time to feed this afternoon.

We had trouble opening gates this morning because of ice buildup. Sleet stung our faces. I'm not looking forward to helping feed this afternoon. I'm glad we just have the pigs, chickens, lambs and a dog to feed and aren't having to take care of cattle, too.
The kids have already painted and played some games. Puzzles are next on the list. I'd like to cook some chili, but we're not sure how much longer we'll have electricity. I'm pretty sure if I start cooking it'll go out half-way through. When we were kids, Grandma and Granddad would send us a puzzle from the hardware on snow days and mom would usually cook chili.

We're prepared for the electricity to go off. We have a fire going, lots of bottled water to drink, and water drawn up for flushing if necessary. We can't see out of the north or east windows because of the coating of ice. It's kind of odd to not be able to see out.
I'm planning on posting more pictures on my "Thoughts" page--weather permitting.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Fire

My thoughts on the hotel fire are here.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Randall County Stockshow

Finally--here are the pictures from Randall County. Sadie had a pretty good day:
Lambs: Edward (black faced)--2nd, Oscar--4th
Pigs: 4th and 5th (I honestly can't remember which was which).



As you can see, Robby gets a little nervous/anxious when Sadie is in the ring.
See if you can spot him in the picture of her showing the York--white pig.
Robby's parents came up to watch Sadie show. T.S. stayed with GeGe because of his asthma, but had a ball with the Tirey cousins. Sadie made the sale with all of her animals and "sold" Edward (it's a premium sale which means people aren't really buying the animal, they are just donating to the kids' projects). She's planning on taking him to San Antonio. We're not sure which pig gets to travel to Fort Worth yet, we're waiting to see how they look after being on feed a little longer.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

T.S.'s Week in Review




T.S. spent the latter part of the week doing breathing treatments. He thought it was pretty funny on Friday when he shot me when I came to check on him. His breathing is much better, but we're still doing treatments every four hours or so.

County stockshow pics to come...

Monday, January 11, 2010

A Summary of Sadie's Day at the Happy Stockshow


Sadie had quite a day at the stockshow Saturday.

By the end of the day, the front of her pants was covered in poop and she'd ripped them as well. It's not always glamorous.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

stock show pictures







Before the show, Sadie's cousin C.W. helped her walk her lambs and do a little practicing. He was a great help and had lots of questions for Robby.

Happy International Stockshow


Sadie and Robby at the end of the day.

Sadie and the judge with Edward, Reserve Grand Champion.


Sadie did end up showing yesterday, and what a fantastic job she did! She started with her lambs. Oscar, her fine wool cross, won his class and was breed champion. Edward, the medium wool, won the light weight class and was reserve breed champion. He ended up being named reserve grand champion.

Sadie listens to the judge talk reasons after showing Oscar. She has Edward set up and ready for the judge in the second picture.
Next came pigs. Sadie's cross, Champ, was put in the Hamp class. He placed second and ended up being reserve breed Hamp. Her York, Steel 13, was first and breed champion. She had an outstanding day, not many kids end up with all four of their animals in the grand or reserve grand champion drive.

Sadie showing Champ.


Showing her York, Steel 13.

Friday, January 8, 2010

The Week in Review

We started back to school on Monday. Sadie had her fiddle lesson and her first little dribblers practice. Tuesday, Sadie and I worked her lambs and prepared the pigs for the Arctic air that came in Wednesday. We put a lot of hay in their houses. Wednesday, Sadie had another basketball practice. Yesterday, I took care of feeding and watering everything in the sub-freezing temperatures. Sadie seems to be sick, so she and I are headed to the doctor today with the hope that she will be well enough to show Friday.

Robby has been overseeing washing and clipping of all of the pigs and lambs in preparation for the Happy International Livestock Show on Saturday. He has actually been making it in fairly early--by 9 or so each evening. Thanks, in part, to some great students who are willing to help everyone out. Hopefully those same guys will be willing to help wash Sadie's lambs and pigs today since Sadie can't.

The weekend looks to be a cold one. Hopefully I'll have pictures of the show on Saturday or Sunday.
Stay warm!!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Great Marshmallow War of '09

We gave the kids marshmallow guns for Christmas--they shoot mini-marshmallows. T.S. was also the recipient of a Nerf gun. Robby gets to shoot it when they have their battles. The last few mornings of '09 were epic battles. T.S. has perfected the art of falling/being injured when the Nerf bullets hit him. Our house is littered with the aftermath--smushed marshmallows.