The Yard

My husband has been working LOTS of hours this summer & I have been charged with maintaining the yard. I use the word "maintain" loosely because I don't even come close to keeping it up like my husband does. When he does it the yard looks like something out of a Better Homes and Garden magazine. When I do it - yea, not so much.

The heat this summer has taken it's toll on the yard and I've had a hard time keeping it watered and green. Someday we'll have a sprinkler system to do the work for us.

When you do the yard work you notice lots of things that you normally don't see.

Like the damage done to the aspen trees by our resident moose. I'm torn because I'm sympathetic to the Momma Moose. After all, she just lost her baby and I'm sure she's hanging around because she's hoping her baby will come back, but is it really necessary to destroy our trees?  There's lots more trees to choose from besides ours.  Silly Moose!

And these tumbleweeds!  Have you ever had a tumbleweed sliver?  It's painful!  I've since learned to use leather gloves when removing them from the yard.

Oh tumblin' tumbleweed. Couldn't you tumble somewhere else?

In the past when I've mowed the lawn it's taken me 3 hours because I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment from lack of oxygen and water! But this summer I've been able to cut my time in 1/2. (Except for when I stop to blog because my mind is racing with all these random, pointless thoughts.) I'm sure the reward of a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream waiting for me in the freezer helps motivate me to move right along.

The best part about mowing the lawn is this:

I HATE these! It goes back to a time when I was 20 something and my nephews were naughty little boys (ages 10, 8, & 6), and they tortured me by chasing me into a bathroom with a grasshopper. It was a terrible experience and I've been traumatized ever since. Anyway, when I mow the lawn these little suckers hop for their lives to keep from getting torn to bits by the lawn mower blade.  It gives me great pleasure! Just sayin'...

But probably the most important thing I've noticed while doing the yard work is how much I appreciate my husband. Stepping into his shoes this summer has made me realize how hard he works at keeping this place in tip-top shape. One thing's for sure, I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate him and all that he does for this family!  Love ya honey!



Watermelon Pitchin'

Some people pitch baseballs.  Some people pitch horseshoes.  But at the Battson house, we have a tradition of pitching watermelon rinds.

The object is to throw the watermelon rinds across the road.

If you stand too close to the road, Dad will call you a sissy!

And if you throw like a girl, Dad will call you a sissy!
(What does he expect from a house full of females?!)

And if it lands in the road, then you'll be forced to do the "Walk of Shame" down the driveway and throw your rind into the field.

So if you come to our house in the summer, you'll find us pitchin' watermelon rinds across the driveway.

And the more watermelon you have on your face, the better.

It's a Battson tradition!

Liar! Liar!

Last weekend we celebrated Cassidy's 9th birthday.  Dave thought it would be fun to throw her a surprise birthday party so I enlisted Kasey's help in "pumping" Cassidy for information (i.e., her friends, her favorite things).  After a week of trying to keep it a secret, I became really good at lying and I had the perfect alibi - Primary.



She thought this pile of supplies was for...Primary!



And she thought these cupcakes were for - you guessed it - Primary!  Heehee!!

Since it's been so warm (high 90's) I thought a water party outside would be PERFECT!  And yet when I woke up Saturday morning, I looked out my window and saw this:

Rain and temperatures in the 60's!!

So, again with Kasey's help, I got on the computer and found some indoor games to play.

At about 12:30 p.m. I started to decorate for the party which meant MORE lies.  I told Cassidy that she needed to stay in the basement while Kasey and I wrapped her present.  Autumn was given the assignment to keep Cassidy entertained.  (Ssshhh...Autumn can't keep a secret so she didn't know about the party either.)





The guests started to arrive and I kept them outside until it was time to surprise Cassidy.

Can you see their little faces waiting in anticipation for Cassidy?




Twister



Let the games begin!  M&M Straw Game







    



   

 

 

 




Even a few water games - water relay, water tag, and Drip, Drip, Soak  



Then it was time to shake, shake,
SHAKE your ice cream!



Always a lady!







 



   





  



The one thing Cassidy really
wanted for her birthday was
duct tape. She is her
father's daughter.



In spite of the rain I think she had a wonderful day!
I hope she's forgiven me for all the lies I told her.

Happy 9th Birthday Miss Cassidy!!

Will the Real Moose Please Stand Up!

During the month of September we had two moose encounters. The first was on Wednesday, September 22nd. The girls walked down the driveway to get on the bus and I noticed the dogs were barking. I didn't think much of it because I figured they were just barking at the bus. A few minutes later I headed down the driveway and as I came around the last turn at the bottom, a large bull moose ran right in front of me. Needless to say, when I got to school the girls were very excited and nervous about their encounter. The next day, Thursday, they headed down the driveway to catch the bus only to come back up with tears flowing down their cheeks. "M-o-o-s-e!" they said in between sobs and heavy breathing from running back up the driveway. I grabbed my camera and we headed down. Sure enough, a family of moose had moved in...Pa Moose, Ma Moose, and Baby Moose.

Our second moose encounter was a week later. Lexie Fowler, a 5th grader at Inkom Elementary, brought her puppies for show & tell. Her Mom said to me, "Do you want one? They're free!" I called Dave and after a few minor details (What kind of dog is it? Is there a male?) he said, "I guess you're bringing one home." YIPPEE!!!  By now you're probably wondering how this is considered our second moose encouter. Guess what we named him?  MOOSE!

New Beginnings

Dave has been encouraging me to keep a journal of our family activities. Since my journal is buried in a box at the bottom of a pile in the garage, I figured blogging would be a good way to keep up on the journaling and not get too far behind. Besides, it helps us keep in touch with our family and friends that mean so much to us.

As you probably know, Dave's stepfather is responsible for "hooking us up". I worked with Bill at ISU and one day he asked me if I would be interested in going on a blind date with his stepson. I gave Bill my number but in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Whatever! This guy will take me out to dinner and then I'll never hear from him again!" Well, on September 6, 2008 he took me to dinner. He also took me bowling and to a movie. He told me he'd like to go out again and, much to my surprise and delight, we did! In fact, over the next several weeks and months we went on a lot of dates. We had so much fun together and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our kids. Dave was so charming and he was always such a gentleman. He'd open the car door for me, he'd send me flowers, and he'd leave me sweet notes on my car windshield. But more importantly, his enthusiasm for the Gospel was contagious. I loved listening to him, and he made me want to try harder and be a better person. We spent MANY hours on the phone talking about the Gospel and what a difference it had made in our lives.

On February 13, 2009, Dave sent me a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day. Later that afternoon he called me at work. He was working on a job in Blackfoot and told me that he might get off early so he'd stop by my office. A few minutes later, a barbershop quartet showed up and sang "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. I was very touched and it was totally unexpected. After all, he'd already sent me a dozen roses. By this time, there was an audience standing outside my office door. I stood up to thank the quartet for the song when Dave came in to my office dressed in his suit. Now I'm really surprised! Huh?! I thought he was working in Blackfoot!! Anyway, he sat me down in the chair, got down on his knee, pulled out the ring, and proposed. I didn't even let him finish before I was saying, "Yes! Yes! YES!!"

The next few weeks were very busy. I was working full-time, going to school part-time, and I only had 6 weeks to plan a wedding! It was amazing how quickly and easily everything came together. I could see the Lord's hand in everything we did and there was no doubt in my mind that I was making the right choice and marrying the right person. However, at times I wondered if we were "blowing everything out of proportion." After all, it wasn't our first marriage so maybe we should just keep it low-key. As I was looking for a dress, I even asked Carol (Dave's Mom) if it was silly of me to buy a wedding dress. She reminded me that there were four young ladies watching us and I realized that, regardless of what others thought, it was important to set an example for them. They have an opportunity that most children don't have - to see their parents get married in the Temple, and hopefully our actions will inspire them to set the same goals.

March 27, 2009 finally came! As I sat in front of the Temple with my eternal companion-to-be, my heart was full with gratitude for the many blessings I had been given. I had finally found a man that honored his Priesthood and was able to take me to the Temple. I hope that I am worthy of his love and can make him as happy as he makes me. This is a new beginning for all of us. We know the road ahead of us will not be easy, but if we have faith and put our trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we can make it through anything. "From small beginnings come great things" and I'm confident great things are in store for the Battson family.