Our Busy Life update

Sunday, I texted David that we were on our way to the E.R. and had I not told him, he would've assumed it was Hannah! That's usually who it is!!! He couldn't believe I was taking Joshua this time!!!
Just recently, Joshua's Webelos den had a campout at Inks Lake with a tour of Longhorn Caverns. That was lots of fun, and the weather was PERFECT!!! We took Buster, and he was the wonderful old dog, as usual! Just before the skit Josh was to be in, and before the final hike, Joshua crashed his mountain bike, and we headed to the nearest E.R. Luckily for me, it was only about a 15-20 minute drive! We were in and out in 2 hours! I believe that was a record!!! The Dr. was very good, and made Joshua feel a bit better about getting 5 stitches in his thigh. He landed on the gear shifter, which tore a good size "V" shape out of his upper thigh. He was tough as usual, and when David supprised us by meeting us in Burnet, we took him out for a BBQ lunch. After all that, we was ready to go home, and rest!!! 10 days, of dressing change, and some pain, then the stitches will come out!
2 weeks before Josh got hurt, Hannah fell and we thought she might have broken her arm again! We went to the clinic, and after x-rays, were sent home to allow the swelling to go down, and to await the "reading of the x-rays" They called us the next day, and told us we needed to re-do the x-rays, as they were not clear enough. So, back home to wait out the weekend. After a week and a half of waiting, she took off the brace they had her in, and said it was starting to feel better. So, turns out it was not broken, only badly bruised. Yay!!! Keeping her down is no easy task!!!
David is working full time for SafeSite, and off site secure storage for companies like the Vetrans Administration, IRS, doctors offices, lawyers etc. After a long day of loading and unloading his box truck, and driving all over Austin, he has just enough time to drive the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school to take his classes from 5:30 - 10:30, then drives the 45min-1 hour home. He is also preaching on Sundays for a small congregation in Strickland Grove. It's an hour from home, so we stay up there all day. It makes for a long day, but we are enjoying working with them!
Matthew has been working for Asplundh - the tree trimming people- He is enjoying the job, just not the people too much! It's been up and down for him. He turned 19 in September. As our social butterfly, he is rarely home for very long!
David Robert leaves early December for Colorado to attend the Colorado School of Trade, for their gunsmithing school. I am having a hard time getting use to th idea of him leaving! I will miss him so much, but know this is what he's been wanting to do for a long time. He will love it there, I know!
We had a nice field trip to Crows Nest Farms in Manor on Thursday. Another very nice day. The flower pics are from there, along with some others-
Me? I just try and deal with it all! Sometimes that not easy! But, life goes on, right???

Snakes

I'm blaming the rain for this one!!!
The kids got the wonderful idea the other day to go check the pond since it was finally full after 3 years! That was the beginning! They brought back various critters, and of course set up the aquariums for viewing! Then, naturally, they needed something to eat, and then water. That wasn't good enough, and they needed dirt, and bedding. That's all easily caught or gathered outside. No problem; so out they go again! This time they came back with snakes! I have always said no to snakes! David said they were fine, but had to stay outside. The next I hear, they've set up an entire snake/insect/lizard vivarium!!! Complete with lights, and heat-for proper digestion of course!!! So now, I'm being asked to look up what wonderful creatures they discovered...and what I am supposed to be BUYING them to eat!!! Buying???? They are snakes, they find their own food!
Turns out, Hannah has caught 4 very pretty Checkered Garder Snakes. I must admit, they are very pretty, if not somewhat creepy to watch. They eat mice, of course! We have plenty of those, being that we are surrounded by corn fields! But with hard work, we have ridded the house of most- Now we have to buy these creatures??? So, while out and about we buy 3 mice. One male, and 2 pregnant females. 3 bucks, not bad! So our thought is, since no one in Lockhart sells pinkies, we'll just produce our own. Well, over night, Hannah's cat Jazzy, found her way to them, and ATE the very prego female! So, now we have to find a bucket with a "snapping" lid, so the cat can't get to them! Hopefully, we are on our way to responsible snake ownership! Hannah's friend has a snake, so how bad could it be???
Along those lines...While out looking for the critters, they came across a large rattler! Western Diamond Back to be correct- So, being the smart (?) kids we've taught them to be, they covered him back up with the tin, and left him alone, only until David Robert drives up and they run to him and tell him of their find! So off go Hannah and David Robert to the last know sighting of the deadly rattler! Gun raised, David lifts the tin, and blasts the head of the snake almost completely off! Mission completed, they bring the snake up to the yard, for Hannah to try skinning for the first time! She's a bit jumpy at the still slithering DEAD snake! She manages to clamp him to a long board, and starts cutting down the center of the belly, all the while the snake still tightens as she "tickles" his belly!! So now, she's got him open end to end and she notices the heart still pulsing away! A full 30 minutes after the snake is completely cut open, his heart continues to beat! She even lifts the heart out of the body cavity and it is still beating!!! AMAZING!!!
She managed to finish cleaning the snake out, and throws the meat and all to the dogs. She tacked the skin out flat, and salted it in preperation for preserving it!
It was interesting to watch the different animals who walked up to the porch, and caught a smell of the snake, and crouch down, on full alarm! Even the Sheldon (the pig) knew enough to not mess with this enemy!
We'll see how this goes. LOTS of people have snakes for pets-how bad can they be????

Beach Trip

In August, some good friends of ours (thanks Matt & Tricia) took Hannah & Joshua with them to the beach! The kids were so excited! They had a great time, and brought back lots of treasures! Hannah found a live sand Dollar, as well as a live Star Fish! She accidentally left the sand dollar there, but the star fish made it home! The hermit crabs they caught, didn't live long, barely a day! :+(
They came back wiped out and a little red, but they had a blast!

Birthdays!

Everyone in my family has a birthday within 2 months except me.
Hannah's is first on Aug. 28- she's 12 now! Joshua's is today, Sept. 5th, and he's now 9! For their birthday with the S.A. grandparents, we opened presents in the morning then we toured the Alamo, ate lunch at the River Center mall. We went in a couple other shops, but were really tired, and hot, so then headed back to my parents house.
Today we gave Joshua a new bike. He loves it, and was very surprised! He had accidentally seen the bike a few days ago in the barn, and just assumed it was a friend of the boys'- Well, it was his, and he's says it's "AMAZING"! Thanks to Wes, and my parents who made it happen!!!

Our New (to us) Tahoe

A very sweet friend of ours, (thanks Karen) GAVE us her unused Tahoe! She no longer had a need, and it was just sitting around. She knew we were in need, and again, she came to the rescue! Right now, with David out of a job, having a car payment and full coverage insurance was just to much!
She is a true example of a christian woman, mother and friend! She is someone to look up to for a good example! She's always got a sweet smile, even though she'd been through the ringer, and always ready to help a friend in need!
I hope if life deals me as rotten a hand as it dealt her, I will come through it as well as she has, and continues to! Like she said, "you can't do it on your own, you have to rely on God!"

Our Personal Chef!

David had had an opportunity to help out at the Life Emporium here in Lockhart. He was the first on the CHEF SHOWCASE, where they invite local cooks/chefs to prepare healthy meals of their own, and add them to the menu! His speciality food was Sushi, and included a Tuna Roll, and his own creation, a Cowboy Roll, which included steak, smoked cheddar, tomato and onion with no Nori wrap, and is served with his own BBQ sauce. It was a hit, and he loved doing it!

Thursday Co-op with friends...

This summer we've strayed off our history path a bit, and are learning about the native americans that Lewis & Clark met on their trail of discovery. So far we've identified at least 21 different tribes, made authentic fry bread, crafted pinch pots & medallions, and had a great time researching the different tribes and the way they live, and then making a diorama that included what we learned. They turned out really well! We learned about their sign language, as well as their symbols and cave drawings! We made a story cloth using the signs we learned. Last week, after coop, we headed over to a Bamboo patch, and cut about 70 long pieces, removed the leaves, and cut them all to about 6 feet to fit into the car. Boy, was it hot! So, this week we all made our own usable Tipi's! They are great! We found the directions online, but they didn't work out too well, so we come up with our own, and love the results! The kids helped, and they worked VERY hard all day, and most of it in the sun! They assembled, painted, and set up their own tribes! Several neighbors drove by very slowly to see our indian village!
We gathered items we found as well as made, and used them to trade for the things we needed. It worked really well, and believe it or not, there was no fighting! 12 kids and nothing! They all get along well, and are a lot of fun to learn with!
Next week, we'll be making flutes and wind chimes out of all the leftover pieces of bamboo!