Meet Dozer

Dozer (short for Bull Dozer) is Chase's 4-H project this year. Pappa Don was kind enough to let Chase use one of his bottle claves to show at the county fair.

Saturday we went and picked up the not so little guy.



He needs some lessons in leading.



But he already knows where to find his food.



I think everyone on the farm is enjoying him so far.

Iowa Deer Classic Results

Well they finally posted the results for the archery contest on-line so I thought I'd share.

Brandon got 22nd out of 105. He shot a 283 / 5 (not sure what that means) but I though he did well.

Chase got 17th out of 22. He shot a 196 / . I was very proud of him. He was one of the only (if not the only) kids shooting without a release and this was his first competition.

He wasn't very thrilled with his placing until I told him he beat dad.

All I want for Christmas..................

Is my two front teeth!


Unfortunately this song now rings true for Chase.

Last Sunday after returning from drill practice Chase and his cousins decided to play ball. Pappa Bob had taken away all of the bats so he decided to use an old banister railing instead. Of course it would have taken too much time for him to take off his glove so he propped the railing in the glove.

Hey batter, batter, batter…………swing!

That’s when I got the call to come to the house. As Chase swung the banister it popped out of the glove and into his mouth. Needless to say I wasn’t a very sympathetic mother when I learned how this all happened.

Brady, Mason and I spent some time looking for his teeth. We found his baby tooth and part of his permanent tooth but not all of it as it had been broken in more then one piece.



The front tooth was a permanent tooth. The one next to it was a baby tooth.

We went to the dentist the following day and they put some paint on the tooth to keep the exposed nerve from bothering Chase until the swelling goes down. In about 3 weeks we go back to see if the tooth has grown out enough for them to try to put a cap on it.

Iowa Deer Classic

This past weekend was the Iowa Deer Classic. Brandon took his buck in for the “Big Buck” contest and both Brandon and Chase participated in an archery tournament on Sunday.


Brandon’s Buck

Brandon’s buck received a ribbon stating he was a true trophy buck. Brandon said this qualified him to be listed in the Pope & Young Record Book. I’m really not sure what all of that means but I’m sure if someone wants to know Brandon would be happy to explain it to them.


His Score Card


Here is a picture of Brandon’s buck amongst the competition

I learned that archery tournaments last longer then 15 minutes. I about died when Brandon said it would take nearly two hours. It was fun watching at first but quickly reminded me of watching paint dry. Chase tends to show off in public and not do as well as he does at home so I was very proud of him when he shot better at the tournament then he did at home.


Chase on the line


Chase’s target (top left)

Brandon on the line

Unfortunately that kid draws kids that get him into trouble like a magnet. He somehow befriended a little boy during the shoot. This little boy decided to go up to the line with Chase and talk to him while he was shooting. He even went as far as patting Chase on the head while he shot. This happened during 3 rounds and those where the worst three rounds Chase had. I finally said something to Brandon who asked one of the officials to remove the boy from the line and after that Chase’s shooting went back up.


Ty and Grandma (Ty was about as bored as I was)

He shot a 196 out of 300 and Brandon shot a 285. I don’t think Brandon was too proud of that number as he says he normally shots around 295.


Chase smiling with his target (I told him if he smiled I’d buy him a four wheeler – that didn’t happened)


Ty trying to carry the bow cases so we could get out of there.

As soon as we know the results we’ll be sure to let everyone know.

Ty's Birthday

I’m not sure how I missed blogging about this but Ty had a wonderful party and he was surrounded by family & friends.



Aunt Heather made him the cutest tractor cake!



Time to blow out the candles!



What more could a birthday boy want? Why presents of course!



No birthday would be complete without presents.

Guess who is 2!

That’s right! Ty turned 2 years old today. Can you believe it? Neither can I. When people say that time flies they aren’t kidding.

He was tickled to death last night when I told him he got a card (from Val & Phyllis). He got mad at me when I didn’t get it open and to him fast enough. I think he probably held onto it for 3 hours and finally ended up falling asleep with it in the car. It is a bit wrinkled now.

I’m sure we’ll have lots of party pictures to share but thought I’d throw in some of his “baby pics” in this post.

Ty over the years

(I don't want to resize these top two pics so you can click on them to see the entire pic)

Grandma loved it when he wiggled his toes



The cutest little Santa I’ve ever seen!




An empty box and a cookbook (upside down). What more could a kid want?



1st Birthday pics







And here he is from last night. I’ve decided he’s going to either be a manager or a supervisor. When we get to the horse barn the first thing he does is grabs the crops and starts barking orders.

Trip down memory lane

As I was looking through my photobucket account I ran across this picture.



Boy that was a trip down memory lane. How long ago do you think this was?