Spelunking anyone?

   The weather is fluctuating a lot these days.  Some really nice days with temps in the high 50's and 60's but then it can drop quick and get cold fast.  So we took advantage of one such day and went caving also called spelunking.
  This hike to the cave which is along the river is pretty rough hike.  Not for the faint of heart.  It took us almost an hour to get to "bat" cave.  (I say that loosely as I think all caves that don't have another official name are called bat cave)
   We've done this hike twice now and in the spring thaw it was even more of a challenge not to slip all they way down the hill to the river on the mud. But well worth it.

 It's hard to show the steepness of the hill in pictures but we were almost on all fours at times.

Crawling to climbing! Sassafras was being her sassy self.. but I did take a picture of her backside so I guess I'll let her slide :)

See the river in the background.  It amazes me how it is a different world with each season.  In the summer with the trees in full leaves and grown up you can't see that far in the forest.  That made finding our way easier plus fewer scratches and bugs was a nice feature too.

Drink anyone?

Okay, so this is from the 1st hike this summer... But it is a neat spot on the way. Below is Uncle Monkey climbing down the tree that's behind us.

And finally......

This cave has a huge opening but narrows and get short very fast.

This is as far back as we went.  It continues to get shorter and really crawling deeper into the dark didn't appeal to me.  But this summer we found some unique cave life..

 There is evidence of bats and we also found lots of crickets which I'm sure these guys feast on.

Doesn't this look like a mini city or maybe wind chimes?  It's a mud daubers home.. A type of wasp that make homes out of mud. Hence the name :)

 Sugar Bug was brave enough to climb into this mini cave to take pictures of the mud dauber house... Although thankfully they aren't active this time of year.

Spring is right around the corner.. Everyday I hear more birds in the trees, the sun is rising earlier and setting a little later.  Soon the trees will be budding and we will be out hiking even more.. We are anxious to take up our mushroom hunting as spring is the time for the highly prized Morales....mmmm

Horses... um No!

Now by the title I'm sure someone is convinced I'm afraid of horses.  Not so.  In fact like most little girls I dreamed of having a horse and looked foward to riding horses every chance I could. That happened in the summer for a couple years when I went to girl scout camp. 
  As an adult I'm a little more rational about the idea of horses.  While I truly do understand that some really love horses and want them they are not for us.  Now of course Sugar Bug hates that this is the conclusion that Super D and I came to. (Ok, so he's stronger than me as the little girl in me could probably be talked into having a horse)  Sugar Bug has a special love for animals.  All of them and especially horses.

This is Sonny and a mule.  Sonny is the neighbors and the mule was behind us and they both learned quickly that there is a little girl here that loves to lavish attention on them. 

  We simply have no use for horses.  We have no desire to care for them and have no real reason to have them as they provide no food source and we no longer use them to power machines.  Sugar Bug on the other hand would love to have horses around.  And takes every opportunity she can to ride them at her Aunts.  We are thankful she has horses for Sugar Bug to enjoy. 

Now the little girl in me still likes horses and I have even gone riding with Sugar Bug.

 We had a good day riding. 

Until.....  A horse I won't mention by name got spooked by the wind and tossed me off.  OUCH!  I thankfully didn't not break any bones but could hardly walk back and had the biggest bruise I have ever gotten and hurt for weeks!

Sassafras isn't into the horse thing and wasn't up for riding and after my fall won't get on a horse.  So since then these are more my style.

 

 

Ok so I haven't really gotten on a pony but these little guys are super cute and sweet.  Sugar Bug still rides the big horses and one day I'll get back on the horse but my pain is still a little too fresh in my memory.

 



 Even Sassafras will get on one of these guys.  I guess the fact that her feet are inches instead of feet from the ground helps. :) 

So Thank you Aunt J!  We'll be back for more pony/horse riding soon...

(For the record these pictures were taken this fall and over several trips to Uncle W's and Aunt J's to ride)

 





Upgrades!

I get so excited to see upgrades and changes come that I always want to yell it!  One day the girls and I went to town for laundry and supplies and came home to this.

Yeah Shelves!!!! Yes I know someone is shaking their head because I'm so excited over something so silly but truly this is a life saver.  And your getting a picture after I loaded them with clothes.  This freed up one super small closet and got my Sassafras out of her suitcase. Poor girl has spent almost 6 mos living out of her suitcase!

   This also got me thinking how we tend to own a ridiculous amount of clothes.  This is pared down from what we had in Colorado as I cleaned out our closets as I packed only about half of what we had.  With these shelves I still probably got rid of about half!  I decided I was done finding space for clothes.  If it doesn't fit on the self (we each get one) then you have to part with something.  (We all have a few items hanging in the other closet but the majority is on the shelves)  It has been a great lesson in simplifying. 

Good job Super D!  Keep up the good work ;)

 

Happy New Year!

Hope you rang in the New Year in style!  I know it's tradition to make resolutions but I have never been big on resolutions as I think good new habits can be formed at anytime during the year.  Change for the positive should be a daily occurrence not just at the 1st.

So I tend to look forward I have great hope for a good year.  Hope for a new home on our land, running water, indoor plumbing, hot water, and a garden as we settle into our new life.  I hope for more love, more fun, more cherished moments, and more time with loved ones.  

May you not lose HOPE this year.  Be content, forgive quickly, anger slowly, and enjoy the simple things of life.  Take time to notice. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 From the S family to yours have a Very Merry Christmas this year!

      For me Christmas tastes like my grandma's Christmas Date Nut Roll! When I was growing up we all looked forward to grandma's care package of Christmas candy. 10 years ago she quit making it as it was quite a chore for all she made from scratch.  I am overjoyed that this year with my help she passed on her knowledge of Date Nut Roll. It has made our Christmas holiday so special. Now I can continue to make it yearly!
      Christmas means good food with family, games together, and decorating cookies with my children.We have never been big on Christmas shopping.  We do a little but truly we are a service oriented family.  We cook extra special meals and help loved one's tackle honey do lists that are never ending. (We miss you Grandpa & Dad!)

       Our traditions were a little different this year but we did what we could and have loved time with family. First in Tulsa and then back home.  It's like two Christmases!
     So mom's get out of the kitchen, dad's put down the work, kids turn off the TV and enjoy each other today, you never know when tomorrow may be taken away. Give someone a hug today!

   May you cherish your time with family and friends. May you be thankful for gifts from God and blessings you have received. I lift those hurting up in prayer today. May you know you are not alone.

What's Christmas to you?

Our Winter Wonderland

I miss snow.  If it is going to be below freezing it should be snowing. In my opinion :) So since we can't make it snow outside we settled for snow inside.

Sugar Bug cut out snowflakes to decorate and we put up twinkly lights for Christmas.  We have no room for a tree so this is our next best.  Plus I could only access two of the Christmas decoration boxes. 

Doesn't this look cozy?  Super D is warming is feet as it was a super cold morning! I just loved sitting at the table looking in at my family two sweethearts and doggies buried in covers sleeping and the sound of a crackling fire.  How much more country can you get? :)
Hope where ever you are you are enjoying your family and friends this Christmas Season!
I'll add our annual Christmas Pictures soon! (after I take them) 

Life

So please do not feel neglected.  I haven't even touched the computer in a week!  I've been busy living life.  I have been reflecting how much my life has changed in our move.  So to give you an idea in Colorado my typical day would have gone like this:
  ~ Get up between 5:30-6:30
  ~ Make my tea and get on computer, to check e-mail, plan school, fill in work info, ect.
  ~  Greet my first child by 7:00 at the latest..I did childcare from home for years and my charges started arriving between 6-7.
  ~ Finish my computer work while charges play quietly and others arrive. 
  ~ 9:00  make breakfast and by now my children are waking up
  ~ feed everyone and clean kitchen
  ~ get my kids school going
  ~ Clean something, start laundry, teach someone
 ~ 12:00 make and clean up lunch
~ 1:00 Naps!  My favorite time of day.. I eat now and help my kids with school
~ See children off by 6:00
~ somewhere in there I've made dinner and we eat about 6:00
~ Clean kitchen again
So if you have kids you know that in this mess of a schedule you are changing diapers, feeding, teaching, preventing disasters, cleaning spit up and worse, rocking, and loving children all day. Dishes didn't get done everyday, but usually by Friday I managed to vacuum, clean 2 bathrooms, and keep us all from killing ourselves on stray toys.
I had conveniences of a dishwasher, washer and dryer, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, and a grocery store 5 blocks away.
I had 10 years of diapers, feeding, and love from 20 plus children (not all at the same time:) I usually had 6 kids daily. My days were pretty much the same day to day and yet always new.  Kids make life interesting!

Now fast forward to now and I haven't figured out what a typical day is but here's what has to get done daily.
~ Bring in firewood (sometimes requiring splitting first)
~ Get water jugs filled
~ Dump grey water
~ Feed and water Chickens
~ Get the fire started or keep it going
~ Cook meals and Dishes.
~ Sweep trailer
~ Kids School
Of course dishes are a constant.   Cooking requires more planning as I have no microwave to quickly thaw meat and no oven for baking (yet). 
I am in the best shape of my life.  Ever wonder why when you read books like Little house on the Prairie they never mention exercise as a to do? They didn't need it.  While I could lift a 40 lb kid they hang on when you get them up. Lifting 40+ lbs of dead weight is very different! I can lift a feed sack although I prefer Super D to do it.  I have to carry wood and move a 5 gallon bucket of grey water daily.  That 5 gallon bucket of water has gotten easier.  At the beginning of summer I had to use a cup to scoop almost half the water out into my water can before I could lift the bucket.  Now I can move the bucket but I still have to stop half way to my destination  for  rest.  But eventually I'm sure it will be no problem. 
I walk at least a mile daily just going to the outhouse, carrying wood, or water.
Now I'm not doing this all on my own, everyone has their jobs to do. 
Super D has been working pretty consistently away from home the last several weeks which left me to get firewood.  We had used all the smaller stuff from our stock so we were having to split the logs.  Well for fun Sassafras got some pictures of my attempts!

 Opps That's not right!

Ok that's better! Hitting these logs just right is trickier that it looks and no I didn't split this log but for the record I have succeed some.  Thankfully we don't have to rely on my log splitting skills or we might be a little cold! Super D bought a rick of wood (a rick I learned is 4ft long and 8ft wide area of wood) so we have enough on hand now.  
That box in the background is where our chickens are living right now.  I'll post more about that soon! 

For now I am enjoying what I call the simple life.  It's not easy just simple as I don't have the stress of worrying about getting paid, what bill I need to pay first, and what kid is screaming bloody murder and why.  I love not having to look at the clock everyday as I have no schedule to keep.  We sleep until were rested and work until the necessities are done. Everyone does their part to keep things running.  I have my family close and everyone is content as long as the fire is stocked and dinner makes it to the table.  I can look out side at any moment and enjoy what God created, not just the side of the house next door blocking any view of nature.
This is my life now and I am thrilled to have it. Not that I didn't have a great life before but just feel like we've finally made it home.