It's a~MAIZE~ing!

Both hands on the cob!

Do you eat corn like this?

Nom, Nom, NOM!

I...love...lamb- A Victoria & Leelee Bonanza



Bus Ride to the Ranch tour! SO FUN!





Grrr baby, very grrrr!





She's a filthy little lamb, that Lamb Chop



It's LAMB CHOP!




On de plane, boss





BOOT SHOPPING GALORE, we hit every store





Grandpa's chore

My momma's favorite picture of my Grandpa. Why? Sheep!!!

I wish I could have met...

Thelma, my Grandpa's sister. She was a beautiful woman, wasn't she?

Magestic Steeds

Meet my Great Grandfather, Earl Carroll. He's on the right....I believe. (Carroll children, correct me if I'm wrong).

I love our family's visual history. This picture came from my Great Aunt Fleeta's collection, the one in the red expandable file folder that my Grandma has stored in the bottom drawer of her curio cabinet.

Boy toes

I couldnt help but notice this boys toes as he eagerly awaited opening Christmas presents....

Back where I come from- Nebeker





Quayle, Leona (with Arlene), Libby, and Golden

Twin tutorial

Not Twins

Shall we call them twins by choice?

Not Twins either

Twins by ribbon connection?

TWINS!

Real ones!

Aren't they precious?

Aunt Leelee sure thinks so.

Lovey Love

All of God's Grace in one sweet little face.

Isn't that a lucky job, to be loved so by a little boy?

What little Boys are made of... a pictorial

Happy Mothers Day!

Victoria, Queen of the Sheep!

You will hate this picture, I'm sure...but I love you so very much and I love this picture too.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Lambs love you too!

Helping a mother feed her baby...I can hear your chatter in my head :)

Happy Birthday Courtney

It's your birthday today. You'd be 30 finally, just like Lindsay and I.

Memories come flooding in...
Snoop Dogg blasting in The Flying Pickle with the windows down and the heater cranked in the dead of winter
Viva La Towel Band! and tan Wranglers
Getting lost on the back roads while laughing and talking about EVERYTHING from sweethearts to secrets, horses to hair styles
Spinning broadies in the fresh gravel at McGregors and then STRESSING about getting caught!
The Bach-lo-ette party....AH YES, that was classic
Wearing candy necklie
My birthday, the one where you made it SO SPECIAL by making a huge dinner, a funfetti birthday cake, and potato salad just like I like it...JUST FOR ME
Bunny Ears in triplicate
The love you had for your Coug hoody (hey, the one in this picture) and how completely upset you were when it was thread bare, see thru, and you couldnt wear it anymore (even tho you did)
The pink store in Spokane, the inappropriate one, and mentally scarring a very pregnant Lindsay with certain specialty items , heehee
Chubby bunny- I wasnt there for the original but I loved every minute of the dramatic reenactments
Your signature dance move
Goldie Honda
PINK BOOTS!!! and matching Pink horseshoes for Milly
Walking you to your car in the dark to check for strangers in your backseat
Gangsta Names and catch phrases
Hand signals that made NO SENSE for the words you used...like sticky rice...and a half scoop of caramel.

...The list goes on and on, and differs for every life you touched. I miss you every single day!

Friendship

Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you.

A random share

Our brand. Isn't this great???? My DH fabricated it out of stainless steel rod. It's about 12" tall. LOVE IT!

A glimpse of the round table meetings at our house. Seed catalogs for the man and I, rubber tire toy for Cheyenne.

Last but not least- meet Howly Berry! She's our new farm kitty. I don't know where she came from but she arrived in the barn one night while the coyotes were howling in the distance. Hence the name Howly :)

Making Sausage

FIRST... you grind the meat. We used pork for all but one flavor of sausage. "Hot Beer" flavor called for 2/3 beef to 1/3 pork. No, it doesn't taste like beer that's been warmed up. The guys tell me it makes them *want* a beer because it's kinda spicy.

THEN...you mix the seasoning in with the pork, adding a bit of water to moisten the meat so it can go through the stuffer.

AND THEN...You fill the hopper with the seasoned meat, forcing it down the tube where the machine shoots it into casings or bags. Most of the sausage we processed was in link form. The guys rolled the links, making sure to turn every other one the opposite way, to form the links. There is a bit of art required in making each link fairly uniform. As the day wore on the link legnth got a bit...random.

AND FINALLY... taste every variety in both patty form (to test the flavor) and link form (to test the tastyness??) I had my fill, for certain! YUM!

Some special side notes-
It's wise to have a pot of warm water for cleaning hands and tools, and access to running water for rinsing pans, etc. Even wiser- Clorox wipes.
Sausage making is best on a cool day so the meat stays at a refrigerated temp.
There is a bit of table mess, hence doing this process in the shop. NOT the house.
Sausage testing is an EXCELLENT way to season cast iron skillets on the BBQ.
Enjoy the sausage you made on sausage day, you won't want to eat it for a few days/weeks after!

Cody and Xander

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.  ~Marc Brown

Adoration

&

Trust

They hiked and biked over hill and dale. No bickering- just brotherly love.

These are the best days, ones they'll remember forever.

Aren't we VIBRANT!

Jalayna, Lindsay, and Wraylee- "A Matched Set"

I believe that people come into our lives for a reason, a season, a lifetime. It is rare to find a true friend, and even more rare to find two. As luck would have it, Lindsay and I get to be sisters! Jalayna is the Royal Icing on top of the sugar cookie!

Thumbs up for you

I've had one of THOSE days. 

I desperately need someone to throw me a thumbs up-

 BUT not just any old thumbs up....FOUR thumbs up!

These are just too good to keep to my little ol' self...

4 THUMBS UP for you, Sister. You need it too.

Hey Mommacita, can't forget you! Here's 4 THUMBS UP for you too. Can't WAIT for Denver!

Angela, Mandy- you get 4 THUMBS UP to share with your Mom and Amy...no fighting!

Linda and Laurie ( I know you two are out there...) 4 THUMBS UP each! Awww, heck, double it!

Carol, Jacqueline, Leila, Aunt Sal, Suz, Janet, Stacy, Peggy, and Diana- You each get 4 THUMBS UP for following me publicly...OH and Kevin, who ever you are...thanks for following too! The ten of you also get one set each of 4 THUMBS UP to share with whomever you choose.

And just in case there are any anonymous followers... Here's a bunch of extra 4 THUMBS UP! Share the wealth!

Sisters

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.

~Barbara Alpert

These are....

This week's theme shall be **drum roll please**

...A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS... Here's one now!

Today's favorite thing comes from my country kitchen! It's an old wooden Pepsi crate that I mounted picture hanging hardware to, hung from the kitchen wall, and use to store all my spices and bullion cubes. OK, (because I know Angela and Lindsay will read this) not ALL my spices, just the most used. I have a thing for spices, what can I say!

**********

Christmas is upon us. Our family has already celebrated as a whole, complete with screaming stomping elephant footed herds of children,
food, food, and more food,

*Xander munching some John Deere pop corn and packing TWO drinks around*

presents of course,

*Cody and Zacky unwrap gifts*

and tons of family to share the warm and fuzzy feelings.