Antelope Hunt in Wyoming

Well, we got home about 8:30 last night from our antelope hunting trip in Wyoming. We are back a day earlier than we had planned, and it feels good to be home, as always.

We left early Wednesday morning. We = Brent, his buddy Mike, and me. We got to Upton, WY about 2:00 mountain time, checked into our hotel and then went to find the rancher whose land we had permission to hunt on. Thursday morning we were up and ready to hunt at 6:30. I need to mention that it was about 35 degrees, snowing / sleeting, and 30-40 mph winds while we were hunting on Thursday. Not the weather I had anticipated hunting in - I mean it's October 1!!! It should be at least 5o or 60 degrees, right? Anyway....

There are so many antelope out there, it didn't take us long to fill all 3 of our tags. We were out of the field with 3 buck antelope by 11:00. Now what do we do? We had planned this to be a 4 day hunt! So, the guys each bought a doe antelope tag and went out Friday morning, again they were done by 11:00. So, each afternoon we drove around some of the Black Hills and got to see some beautiful, amazing country. Friday afternoon also involved a look at Devil's Tower. So Saturday morning (22 degrees) we decided to head home, pick up the kids in Edgerton, and sleep in our own beds again.

It was a very fun trip! Seeing other areas of the country and how different it is from where we live and have lived is so interesting. There was so much sage brush there that if we drove through the pasture (1600 acre pasture) with the windows open, we'd have to close them due to the sage dust coming in the windows! We also had to crawl through some prickly pear cactus, well, actually I tried my best to avoid the cactus, but Brent ended up with a bunch in his elbows and even a couple on his chest. Not pleasant! The snow made the Black Hills absolutely gorgeous, and we saw more wildlife than ever before! Antelope, whiletail deer, mule deer, buffalo as well as elk! Brent was so excited to see the elk in the wild. We had our binoculars along, of course, so we pulled to the side of the road countless times to watch wildlife.

It was good to get away from the kids for a few days as well, although I was very ready to see them again when we picked them up Saturday night. I missed them!!

God's creation is so amazing, and I'm very thankful to have spent the last 4 days exploring it!

I'll try to post pics in the near future.

Crib Independence

About a week ago, Wyatt learned how to climb out of his crib. We had been camping and he was sleeping in a pack-n-play, which he figured out was VERY easy to get out of. Then I think we got home and he figured - hey I should try getting out of this bed!! Stinker. Naps are not as easy and bedtime is tough too. Then last night he decided to come into our bedroom at 2:30 and again at 3:15. I'm hoping he gets over the newness of his new discovery soon and goes back to good naps and sleeping through the night again. Mommy can't handle a 2-year-old sleeping like a newborn. :-)

On a different note, we continue to get 2-4 eggs each day. Ava loves going in to find them. Some are dark brown, some are light brown, and some have what look like freckles on them with dark brown spots. Very fun! We are thinking of getting more chicks next spring - probably a bantam breed of some sort (small chickens).

Ava's last day of swimming lessons is today. These were Ava's first lessons, and I think she's learned to try more things in the water. Hopefully today she'll even try putting her face in the water!!

One Less Hen

There are a couple of our Rhode Island Red hens that like to get out of their pen. Usually if we see them out soon enough, we can guide them back into the pen before our dogs get to it. However, this morning I noticed Jetta with a large, lumpy shape under one of our big pine trees. I went out there, and sure enough, it was one of our hens. It was bound to happen, let's just hope the rest of them learn their lesson and stop trying to get out!

7 hens left + 1 rooster = still a lot of eggs for one family!

Camping awesome, but missing my brother

Just returned from yet another awesome Van Nieuwenhuyzen family camping trip. Beautiful weather, fairly cooperative children, fun tubing/skiing, and lots of games. It's so much fun, but when it's over I always feel slightly depressed. I love spending time like that, even amidst the chaos and stress of it all.

On the way home today, I kept thinking about my brother Brian. He used to be such fun on these vacations, and it really made me miss him.

Here's to more years of wonderful camping with family and friends!

First Egg!

Finally, after 4+ long months of waiting, we have our first egg! It's brown and more oblong than a regular egg, but it's still our first egg. We still have 11 chickens, but it turns out we have at least 3 roosters, all of which start crowing by 5:00 a.m. So, unless we have more roosters "in the closet", we should have 8 egg-layers.

Rabbits say "NO" to salsa

Well, you can't say I didn't try. I bought 5 tomato plants (two different varieties) and 4 pepper plants (2 varieties). Within 2 days, they were all completely gone, eaten to the dirt in my garden. So I thought I'd try one more time, this time buying deer/rabbit repellent to spray on my new plants. The repellant is 100% guaranteed to work, so I was feeling pretty confident that I'd be able to make salsa this fall. I bought 9 more tomato plants and 5 or 6 pepper plants. I sprayed them, no COATED them with the repellant, hoping for better results.

Well, I guess the rabbits (those that have survived our hunts) have decided to make it very clear they don't like salsa.

STUPID rabbits!

Cinco de Mayo

Next week Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo. It also happens to be my little boy's 2nd birthday. A lot has happened in the 2 years since he was born. We've moved, made new friends, got chickens, bunnies, another dog. Lots of changes!

But, this weekend should be a lot of fun as Wyatt and Bea celebrate their birthdays together at our place on Saturday. Looking forward to it!

Bad luck lately with technological devices

Within the last two weeks, I have cracked/broken the glass on my Blackberry screen (hit a door handle while it was in its holster on my jeans), the clip on the holster for my phone broke in half last night, and today, my Nikon Coolpix S10 fell out of my jacket pocket while I was bending over and onto concrete (NOT GOOD).  I can get my camera to work, but not like it should.  I’ll get by for a few more months with it.  Thankfully, we had already agreed that I’d be getting a new dSLR-type camera sometime soon.  I just hope my luck changes before a TV or something really expensive gets involved.

Frustrating Day

I really, really, REALLY dislike days like today. You know the kind. It just starts off poorly. Breakfast didn't go well with the kids. An extra errand was added to our grocery shopping trip. One child cried at almost everything, which in and of itself wears on my nerves. Husband had a VERY busy day, then got called back to work not once but twice in the evening. I feel at a loss when it comes to getting respect from my kids. I don't want to constantly discipline, but on the other hand, if I let things go, behavior and lack of respect will get worse. To top it all off, hubby and I discussed money/spending, which is never a fun subject to tackle.

A day like today makes me wonder, who am I? What are my goals for myself, my children, my marriage, my walk with God? Do others ever really know me? How do I convey myself to others?

There are so many more thoughts that I want to get out, but they are such rambling thoughts that don't make sense to me, that it wouldn't be helpful for anybody to put it down in writing.

I'm hopeful that going to MOPS tomorrow will start my day off better!

Ava’s 1st dentist visit

Why, oh why, do kids behave worse and act up when Mom is around?  Ava wanted me to come with her to the dentist chair, rather than let me sit and wait for her in the waiting room.  I know she was very nervous, so I thought I might be able to help calm her down if I went along.  Well, she was crying and wanting to go home.  Finally the hygienist told me I should probably just leave Ava in the chair and go to the waiting room.  Afterwards, the hygienist came out and said that as soon as I left, Ava did great.  Little stinker.  At least she has no cavities!

Spring – it is coming, I just know it

After the past few days of snow, wind and cold temps, I needed a reminder that spring will be here soon.  It’s mid-March, so warmer temps and green leaves will arrive in only a few short weeks. 

In my efforts to cheer up, I found the following poem.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. If we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet (1612?-1672)

Preschool Registration

Yesterday was a very busy day. Here's what my day consisted of:

9:45 a.m. - Jetta vet appointment
10:00 a.m. - run Jetta home, drop her off
10:15 a.m. - drop kids off at Moeller's
10:30 a.m. - ultrasound to check soreness/pain in left breast
11:15 a.m. - back to Moeller's for lunch
12:30 p.m. - head home for naptime
1:15 p.m. - naptime for kids, work/phone calls for me
3:00 p.m. - get kids ready to head to Mellema's
3:30 p.m. - drop off kids at Mellema's
3:35 p.m. - arrive at OCCS, stand outside in line for preschool registration in 30 degree weather. I was #22 in line, and the doors didn't open until 4:30 p.m. Three ladies arrived at 1:15. Silly...just plain silly. There are two sessions of preschool - one morning and one afternoon - Monday through Thursday. 20 children per session. 40 total. They have received a government grant which funds the preschool program - that is the reason for the limit on students allowed, which in turns creates the "competition" and need for a line up at registration.
4:30 p.m. - doors open to school and we all get in and sit on chairs.
5:00 p.m. - registration opens and starts. Paperwork is handed out as clipboards become available.
5:20 p.m. - I receive paperwork to sign Ava up for preschool. No instructions, just a paperclipped bunch of papers. I weed through the papers trying to decide which ones I need to fill out NOW in order to get her signed up. I've got about 5 people in front of me and very little completed on my forms.
5:30 p.m. - my turn to register. I sign Ava up for the morning class - she is #17 out of 20 available spots. Remember, I was #22 in line! I head in to the library to sit down with a board member and go through the paperwork. I need to finish completing the one piece of paper (out of the entire bunch) that actually HAD to be completed for registration. I write a check for the $25 registration fee and gather my mess of other forms and papers and leave the room. As I leave the room, I stop by the first table where I signed Ava up for the morning class and tell the lady at the table, "If someone absolutely has to have the morning class, I could switch to afternoons if you need us to." She thanks me and I leave.
5:45 p.m. - I head back to Mellema's to pick up the kids; my mind is in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.
6:00 p.m. - head back to Moeller's where Brent is helping work on their new shed. We stay for supper.
9:30 p.m. - head home; put kids in bed. Check answering machine and learn that we indeed did get switched to the afternoon session. Called the school to confirm we received the message and that it was OK with us, then called a friend to see if she got her daughter in the afternoon session as she had planned.
10:30 p.m. - got ready for bed

2:20 a.m. - woke up restless. Stayed awake until about 5:00 a.m. Couldn't stop thinking about whether or not I did the right thing by volunteering to switch to the afternoon session. When I considered which session to sign Ava up for, I waivered back and forth between morning and afternoon. If I did morning, it would more than likely mean waking Wyatt up to get Ava to school. Now that she's in the afternoon session, I will probably have to wake Wyatt up from his nap to pick Ava up from school. ARGHHHH!!!

This morning, I feel a little more at peace with the whole process, but am still quite frustrated. There's got to be a simpler way to register for preschool. I realize having the government grant that restricts the number of students creates the need for the "first-come, first-serve" registration style, but maybe email the paperwork out ahead of time, indicating which papers are REQUIRED to be completed at time of registration, rather than just a clump of papers with no instructions.

Here's hoping the first day of preschool isn't this stressful.

Weekend Away!!

A weekend away! YEAH!!! Brent and I are heading to the Cities with our friends, the Moeller's, for the weekend. We are leaving Friday evening and staying until Monday. NO KIDS. I can hardly believe it's really happening! Real conversations without constant interruptions from children, good food, shopping, staying in a hotel (again without the kids)....did I mention the kids won't be coming along? My parents have graciously agreed to watch Ava & Wyatt over the weekend and then on Monday my two amazing, wonderful, awesome sisters are splitting the day watching my kids. I cannot convey how much I appreciate their help. I really need a break and am so very grateful to them for helping to make it happen.

So, here's to a weekend of fun and hopefully staying healthy to enjoy it!!

13 Gallon Tall Kitchen Garbage Bags

I need to ask a question - does anybody really make a tall kitchen garbage bag that actually fits a tall kitchen garbage can?? I currently have three different brands of tall kitchen garbage bags in my kitchen closet - hoping one of them would fit my garbage can. But each and every one falls short - they don't reach the bottom of my garbage can, so as soon as it gets about half full, the bag falls down into the can and the sides of the bag sag inward, so that when I dump new trash in, I have to be sure to hold the sides of the bag out to be sure the trash ends up in the bag. I feel like I'm packing leaves into a bag as I do in the fall - maneuvering the bag, the leaves and my body so that I end up with more leaves in the bag than out. And there's no other option for bag size - it's either the tall 13 gallon size or 30 gallon size. You mean to tell me nobody needs a bag size between 13 gallons and 30 gallons? REALLY?? I have a hard time believing that.

Is cold season over yet???

Wyatt has yet another cold. Poor kid. I don't think people take me seriously when I say that if there's a bug or germ to catch and it comes anywhere near Wyatt, he gets it. It started on Monday with a little cough, and each day has gotten worse. Today he looks just miserable, despite his mostly cheerful attitude. He's got runny eyes, runny nose and a very moist sounding cough (couldn't think of a nicer way to describe that without being gross!).

It feels like spring should be just around the corner - but knowing that March is typically one of the snowiest months of the year reminds me that winter will be hanging on for at least a few more weeks.

On another note, Jetta has adjusted wonderfully to her new home. It's been two weeks now, and she absolutely loves it here. Both inside and out. Too bad outside will be her only home in a couple weeks! I love dogs and having them around me, but I'm already sick of cleaning up dirty feet, pee spots and keeping two dogs away from each other's food and water bowls. Daisy and Jetta are quite fun to watch though. They chase each other around growling and pushing the other's head around, or playing tug with a dog toy (hopefully a dog toy! -- although Jetta has become famous for finding any kids toys she can to play with).

One week until Brent and I spend an entire weekend without kids! We're heading to the Cities with our good friends, the Moeller's, to do some shopping and good eating.

Jetta

We picked Jetta up from the breeder yesterday afternoon at about 5:30 p.m. We already love her, even with the chewing things and whining in the kennel. Daisy isn't so sure, although she does play with her well.


Jetta follows the kids around too - it's so cute.



Jetta is much bigger than Daisy was when we got her. She's so sweet!

Daisy and Jetta checking each other out.

Jetta enjoying the warmth of snuggling with Brent.

So, now we have a 6 member family. Brent (daddy), Anita (mommy), Ava (4), Wyatt (21 months), Daisy (7.5) and now Jetta. She is 9.5 weeks old.

Texas Trip 2009

We got home last night about 8:00 p.m. Our flight left Harlingen TX at 11:45 a.m. - 15 minutes late. We arrived in MSP at about 2:45 p.m., grabbed our bags, then hopped a ride on the hotel shuttle back to our van at 3:30. We left for Orange City right away, but had to stop a couple of times along the way for food and potty breaks.


We had a wonderful trip. Thursday, we went to Mexico for about an hour and a half in the afternoon. Friday, we went to South Padre Island and walked on the beach, picked up shells and played chicken with the waves. Ava had a blast but Wyatt wasn't so sure about getting knocked over by a wave! :-) Saturday, we went to the Iwo Jima memorial, then on to the Brownsville Zoo. The kids loved the zoo. So, that's 3 days in a row that Wyatt took a shorter than normal nap in a car seat. Sunday was a beautiful day! 80 degrees and sunny, albeit a bit windy. After dinner, we went swimming with the kids, but Wyatt didn't last long. He was too tired. I layed him down for a nap about 12:30, then went back to swimming with Brent and Ava. At about 1:30, Brent and I went for a long bike ride - very fun! When we got back, Ava was resting but not sleeping. Of course she was ready to go swimming again, so we waited until Wyatt woke up, had a little snack, and all four of us went swimming again. It was so much fun to just hang out for the day!

When we arrived back in MSP, the temp was about 5 degrees with NW winds of over 20 mph. It was a cold welcome home, and the trip home was cold too. It was good to get the kids back in their own beds.

Anyway, I finally have a pic of my new haircut. I do have regrets about cutting it off, because it's tough to keep it out of my face all the time. But, it's something different and hair always grows back.

7+ inches - GONE!

I am gradually adjusting to my impulsive decision at the salon yesterday to cut my hair into a stacked bob again. I always think about having my hair this way, but now that I've done it, I do miss the long hair and being able to pull it into a ponytail! The stylist cut off over 7 inches, so it was a MAJOR change. I do love the new look, but need to find new ways to do this do. :-)

4 days until TX!

I've been counting down the days until TX for a couple of weeks now, but it's getting so close I can smell the warm, humid air....mmmmmm. I'm so excited because Brent is coming along this time, so it will be a much more enjoyable flight having an extra set of hands to help with the kids.

4 days.....I'm praying the weather stays warm in TX. The first year I went highs were in the 30's - and I think MSP was warmer than that!

Ava is 4

Today is Ava's 4th birthday. What an amazing journey it's been so far as a parent. I know she teaches me as much about myself as I try to teach her about life, right vs. wrong, etc.

Ava woke up wet again today - that's 3 out of the last 4. She had been doing so well staying dry at night, but now I'm wondering what I can do to help her master this.

Ava's gonna be 4...really?

Can it really be that it's been 4 years since I gave birth to Ava? Since I went through 9 hours of pitocin only to gain 1 cm?? Then the wonderful epidural, sleep for 2 hours going from 3 cm to 10 cm, and then push for 30 minutes to welcome Ava into the world. It's really been 4 years?? Doesn't seem possible.

Ava will turn 4 on Thursday, January 22. She's growing up in lots of different ways - no diapers at night, helping out around the house and with Wyatt, and slowly emotionally maturing (some days!). It's easier to reason with her, to talk through difficulties with her, to calm her down. She's such a joy and blessing in our lives - I'm very thankful God gave her to us almost 4 years ago. :-)

Wednesday was good

Yesterday was a good day. Brent stayed home with Wyatt while Ava & I went shopping to Sioux Falls. We stopped in Rock Valley to have dinner with Janet and Grandma Rose, then on to Sioux Falls. We didn't get to Sioux Falls until after 2:00, so the day went quickly. It was almost 8:00 by the time we left Sioux Falls, and there were several more stores I wanted to go to, but time ran out. It was wonderful to spend time alone with Ava. She enjoys shopping and was such a trooper. She did a lot of walking, and by the time we were in the van on the way home, she fell asleep almost instantly. Ava picked out a cute pink with black polka dots suitcase for our TX trip in a couple weeks.

Anyway, it was nice to just have one kid along, and we had a lot of fun together. It was bitterly cold, and I was very thankful the van started at 7:45 p.m. with temperatures at -12 degrees!

Dug myself out this morning...

Today had a wonderful start. Ava didn't wear a diaper last night and she woke up dry! She said she went potty two times before we were in bed, and then she went right away when she got up. So yea! Hopefully this will continue and be an easy transition for her.

Then, we got ready to go to our monthly MOPS small group social. We were already late, and I backed out of the garage and turned the back end of the van a little, but realized too late I had backed into snow. I spun in reverse and I spun in drive. So, I go get a shovel and start scooping. After several minutes of scooping and getting in and out of the van several times trying to move it, it finally broke free and off we went, 30 minutes late.

Tomorrow looks to be a promising day - Ava and I get to go shopping by ourselves while Daddy watches Wyatt. Should be fun!

Momnesia

I first heard the term "momnesia" on a TV sitcom. If this word is not yet in a dictionary, I really think it should be. It's such an accurate description of how I feel most days. For example, when I went to add our trip to TX to my calendar this afternoon, I see that I scheduled Ava's 4 year well child check for the day we are to fly out. And I made the doctor appointment after I made flight reservations. Seriously, how did I forget a 5-day trip?

Feeling out of the loop

It's just been one of those days when I find out things about friends and family that I feel like I should have known. One brother-in-law needs knee surgery, another brother-in-law will be having hernia and tonsil surgeries, a sister-in-law's friend lost a baby after weeks of struggling to keep him alive in-utero....

Is it being a mom that makes it so hard to keep information in my head? Or does having kids around make it harder to hear what people are telling me because I'm trying to concentrate on what the kids are doing and saying AND trying to concentrate on what someone else is telling me AND probably doing something else at the same time (laundry, cooking, cleaning up, etc.)????

I feel like I should have a pen and paper with me at all times so I can write things down because my memory doesn't seem to be functioning at it's utmost right now.