All the Trappings

Can you spot the cleverly camouflaged live trap in the photo below? The boys were in charge of baiting the trap daily (we used dented canned chicken) and finally setting and hiding the trap. Our hope was to snag the fox who snagged our chicken, but . . .



Instead we found a familiar face chilling in our cage. It looked about the age our twins would be now, had this been their triplet. It was pretty relaxed until we picked the cage up (with leather gloves) to move it to an open area to release our racoony guest.



Brennen was still eating breakfast, so the release fell to Graysen. I would have done it, but he and B had more experience with opening the trap. So, we threw a sheet over the top (so the racoon would be less inclined to see what was going on), Graysen straddled it with his rubber muck boots, popped the release, and into the woods the racoon ran. We decided not to set the trap again (which is borrowed from our neighbor's dad's farm, btw), because we don't want to capture more racoons.



This process reminded me of when my Grandpa L would trap racoons during the fall in order to sell their skins to the fur trader who came through our tiny town. The more furs grandpa trapped, the more money would be in our white envelopes stuck in the Christmas tree :) 

Flag Football

Ever since the boys heard about a local flag football league a couple years ago (at street hockey), they've been excited to join the team. I wanted them to be on the same team, so we waited until their age range dispersion caught up to the grade level layout of football. After all, I can't possibly attend four separate practices and two separate games each week-- team work makes the family work :) Same team works best!



Buck, of course, couldn't attend (but maybe next week). He asked for lots of pictures, updates, and videos. His dad was a high school football coach (and once recruited for the NFL if I remember correctly?). Buck played football in high school. Grandpa B played football in high school and college; cousin C is playing football . . . football is all "we" talk about for about nine months out of the year, so it only seemed natural that we give these boys a chance to play--but only with flags :)



Drills included: 3-point stance, wind sprints, high knees, butt kicks, bear crawls (to which Buck replied, "Ohh, the classics!") They did some shuffles and karaoke (formerly known as grapevine). They ran laps around the field, they did some strategy practice, they passed, they ran some more . . . over all it was a good time! I think, for me anyway :) I had a book, a chair, a shady tree, and a breeze on an overcast day. The boys seemed to maybe not have "fun" because they were working hard and learning a bunch of new stuff, but they certainly had an opportunity to stretch their strength and stamina to try something they hadn't tried before. 



The season will last through October with a game each weekend starting sometime in September. For now it is practice, practice, practice! 

Science!

Our garden has had its ups and down this season. While at the farm supply store trying to find a solution to our Blossom Rot, the manager pointed out this soil testing kit for just $7.99. What fun! And so many tests to perform!

The kids were super helpful and eager to dig the dirt (from four inches down), put the samples in the test tubes, cut the top off the various testing powders, just add water, shake and let settle, and we now know all about the PH balance of our soil! Umm, now what?

Tests were taken from the watermelon patch (which is also mysteriously growing pumpkin and cantaloupe), the main garden (where the tomatoes are practically exploding on the vine), and the three sisters patch--only the melon sister is looking like she'll make it; our corn crop is ugly, lol :)

We determined our PH balance is good, possibly even a bit alkaline. Our Potash and Phosphorus look pretty good, but our Nitrogen is hurting!! This is a component required for good photosynthesis exchange. How do you get more? POOP! If we can figure out how to get the chickens to poo in the garden without eating any of the stuff we're trying to grow, we'll be golden :) We are also saving Buck's coffee grounds, because they too provide the necessary nitrogen ingredient (without the mess).

Either way, it was a good opportunity for the kids to participate in what pretty much every science class across America will do sooner or later--test for PH balance. I remember doing this when I was in high school; it's so much fun to see the colors shift in the test tube! Like a magic trick--but science-y :) They had to pay attention to ratios, timing instructions, order of ingredients; they had to wait for the stuff to settle, the colors to appear, and then compare them to the included chart. All around, a pretty--patience stretching, but fun--good learning experience. And maybe next year our garden will actually grow! Lol :)

Brennen Builds a Wall

As Buck supervised from that window there in the wall, Brennen dug out, re-leveled, re-set, and re-dirted (?) the landscaping blocks in front of the house. Much like the tree circle he rearranged a few weeks ago, the pavers had shifted and settled and no longer looked very nice or neat. 

Well, Brennen fixed that problem right up! Graysen helped with redistributing/raking the rocks; I helped pull some weeds, and viola! Looking good :) 

BTW, our neighbor's house sold in less than 48 hours after only two families looked at it. There are new neighbors coming down the line! I'm sure they were impressed with our hardworking family during their visit, and that made ALL the difference in their decision to buy ;)

Red Carpet

As the fun dress up weeks at karate continue . . . the kids all got a chance to be part of a red carpet moment! Ha :) I snuck these pics over the shoulder of the camera they were looking at; I'm their standard paparazzi anyway, might as well make it official in light of their theme week :)




This is the only dress up week Caelan has thus far participated in--because she had an opportunity to wear sparkly prom jewelry and make her hair fancy; too good of an opportunity to pass up! :)

An Unusual Anniversary

Knowing our anniversary would likely not be a big to-do this year, we took the opportunity to grab dinner out (thanks to a card and gift from Buck's dad) the night before surgery. Buck fit right into the hipster scene of the trendy restaurant we visited. I was too nervous about the surgery to eat much, but the kids took care of my leftovers the minute we walked back through the door. We also forgot to take an anniversary photo in a cute location, so here's one in the car and then one at home . . . same outfits, but in the second one you can see Buck's eyes. I'm anti sunglasses in memory photos, lol :)





On our actual anniversary we woke up thinking more about pain killer regimens and how to fill recovery hours than the fact that it was our special day. We didn't get each other cards, gifts, or make any plans for special meals, desserts, or activities. Anniversary-ing wasn't a priority. So, we were sweetly surprised to see the kids had put a tablecloth on the table, cut out paper butterflies, made us cards, and even gathered us a bouquet of wild flowers--awwww! They are so thoughtful ❤





Gabby's new signature single page greeting card



Brennen's thoughtful remarks



Graysen's colorful cuteness 

Surgerical Recap

It seemed like a huge fight to get this surgery to the point of approval--and in the end it happened just when we thought it would originally. Thankfully, Buck is thinking ahead and figuring out all the loopholes and questions to ask. His diligence and a lot of prayers from friends and family made this happen when we hoped it would happen. 

Another hiccup we're working on--the supplementary insurance thought his leave ended yesterday--ummm, nope, you're about two months short on that. Yikes! That section of stress is still in the process of being smoothed out, but we're getting there.

So, while he's been home and waiting for surgery to happen, Buck has been keeping himself busy personalizing a cane. Now, the cane itself is meant to prod hogs at the county fair, but it works just fine for his purposes too :) More detailed pics are below.



Surgery day: We were up before seven and at the hospital not much later . . . I thought their bear-themed apparel and surgical gear was pretty cute--right up Graysen's alley! We watched some Sports Center, visited with a never-ending stream of doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, pre-op, post-op, whew! So many people to trust after a quick greeting.



Eventually, it was my turn to hit the road, so off to the waiting room I went. They said the procedure would take about two hours, the doctor would come talk to me, and then I could see Buck an hour after that. I will say, the hospital was very nice, very clean, very thoughtful. When he took longer than planned waking up from anesthesia (and I was getting shaky from the wait), the receptionist told me lunch was being served upstairs. I found this veggie-filled lentil soup, bread, sweet potatoes, and chicken (I skipped the chicken, because I was in a rush to get back to the waiting room). 



They called back and reported that Buck was being woken up, and I could see him shortly--this was about 1.5 hours after I'd talked to the doctor. Buck was wide awake and sitting in a chair, which is waaaaaay better than when they let me see him right after neck surgery. He was pretty groggy and not very comfortable, but he was alert and his color looked good (neck surgery--very pale). I guess they let the nurses see that phase and the family the more colorful phase :)

I think we were there another hour or so as they adjusted his pain meds and fed him a little something (wheat toast, and he couldn't refuse it :) Home we went to the kids by mid-afternoon, and awaited our church to deliver us some food. I didn't think we needed this extra attention, but Buck wanted to let the church love and serve us, so I agreed. The kids were thrilled with lasagna, breadsticks, salad, and cookies. It was nice to not have to worry about meals for a couple of days.



I should have switched these pics around--the promised close-ups of the cane Buck carved. The inset at the front is a dollar coin (a "buck" :) Below that is a cross he received after helping with 9-11. The arrow is from  his grandmother's collection, and the nickel is silver--super tricky! 



Our second night's meal from the church--roast and potatoes and carrots, rolls and two desserts. The kids were over the moon :)



Two days later, mom and dad came to visit us. The kids showed off their musical talents, I showed off the farm, and Buck had his first trip out of the house to get dinner at a local restaurant.

The first days were rough, with searing nerve pain (G$ and I took a bonus trip to the pharmacy to pick up three more prescriptions). In the following days, the nerve pain backed down and Buck started moving more comfortably. Sleeping the first night was really rough, but the subsequent nights, he's been able to find a way to sleep well (with alarms set for middle of the night meds). We've pretty much taken everything off our schedule for the past week--and that will likely extend some--until he's more mobile. Little trips to the library or the store are mental health helps, but require extended afternoon naps to balance. Overall, we're doing well. Glad that the surgery is over and the healing process is underway :)