Family Matters

An afternoon sledding on the McKee's hill

Today after church I went over to the McKee's house.  I was in the mood to do a little sledding on their fabulous hill.  Karsten and I got to the house first and there was no talking him into sledding.  Wimp!  And would you believe that they hadn't been sledding at all yet with this snowfall?  Unbelievable.

So finally Kristie got home with Kaden and Kasen; they wanted to eat before they would go sledding.  So I waited around for them to eat lunch and then had to practically beg to get them outside with me.  What's up with these yahoos?

Kristie basically dressed the boys and after much arm twisting I got them outside.  It was AWESOME!  The snow was perfect and after we went down the hill a couple of times, the snow was packed and it made for some seriously FAST sledding.

The only downside... this 46 year old body doesn't recuperate from a backwards somersault downhill like it used to.  LOL... I was riding one of the boys' saucers cross legged and ended up going backwards down hill, the saucer dug into the snow and sent me tumbling downhill backwards.  Thank heavens for ibuprofen!  ;-D

In order to get the boys outside, I told them we'd only be out there for 15-20 minutes; just enough time to go down the hill two or three times.  While we sledding downhill, a car drove up the driveway.  It was Dina (Scott) Kricher and her family (husband, Dennis and kids - Kacey, Colton and Conner).  Dina is a former classmate of Kristie's.  She and her family saw the boys and I sledding and decided to stop and see if they could join the fun.  So our 20 minute outting turned into about an hour.  I don't know about the boys, but I had an absolute blast! 

Since I was sledding I didn't take too many photos, but I did capture a couple and I even convinced Kaden to take one of me.

Kasen going downhill standing up!

Kaden going downhill standing up, too. 

Yep, that's me heading down the hill and trying not to run over the photographer (Kaden)!

Here's to all you middle agers out there who refuse to act your age!  And feeling very grateful to God for giving me a healthy body so I can play with the kids in the snow.

XO
   

It truly is a small world

So if you are a Facebook fan you might have seen my status this morning.

Laura Umphenour is on the couch with some snacks, a diet root beer, laptop on and the TV tuned into the disaster movie marathon on SyFy... doesn't get much better than that! (I know that makes me a total geek.)

Okay, so I haven't been a complete slug today.  I did get out and shovel the snow off my sidewalk, go to the church and create the PowerPoint for tomorrow's service and stopped at Baker's for groceries - mostly snacks!  ;-D

During a commercial I decided to change the sheets and do some laundry.  (I figure I can fold and watch my disaster movies at the same time.)  When I took the fitted sheet out of the linen closest I looked for the tag to see if I had the right size and I noticed the tag had a "Springs" logo and further down on the tag it read "Springs Industries, Fort Mill SC". 

How cool is that?!  Same place the Cooney's live.  The "Springs" have stuff everywhere in Fort Mill including parks, houses, the greenway (great walking and biking paths), and a lot of other stuff.  But I had no idea I had one of their products in my house. 

Yeah, I know it's not earth shattering news... but I still think it's pretty cool!

Thank you, Dad!

Thank you, Dad, for taking care of Grandpa's cattle.  Thank you for going out every day to make sure they have water, feed and hay.  Lord knows 1.5 days was enough for me and I'm so thankful you will be home tomorrow.

Let me see...

• Friday - the auto waterer float froze and the basin was completely empty.  My gentle tapping - I didn't want to damage the valve - did absolutely no good.  So I had to haul water to the bull.
• Saturday morning - I took a blow dryer and portable heater to the auto waterer and got the thing thawed out enough to start running again.  Hallelujah!  The only downside, my hair dryer quit working, I thought it might have gotten too cold.
• Saturday evening - the large water tank with the float heater wasn't working, the water was frozen.  Crapola!  That made me think maybe my blow dryer didn't quit working, maybe I tripped a circuit; sure enough checked the lights and they were out too.  Okay, now where would they put a breaker box?  LOL...
  Figure it's gotta be in the big barn... sure enough it was there, I found the tripped circuit, reset it and everything was back on.  Thank goodness, I don't have to buy a new hair dryer.
• Next I fed the cattle that are pinned up by the big barn and headed over to fill up the large water tank since the frozen layer was starting to melt.  I went to attach the hose to the spigot and the hose breaks in three pieces... just great!  Can this day get any better?  I did find an old pipe that was made just for this purpose (i.e., connecting the water spigot to the water tank) and got the water running into the tank.  The only downside, I couldn't turn the water on high so it took twice as long.  I wimped out, climbed in my truck and turned the heater on high!  The tips of my fingers and my toes were totally numb. 
• Finally, the tank was full, got the pipe put away and everything put back where it belonged.  Next it was in the house for my next big adventure, trying to get Grandpa to take his medicine.  LOL!  Thank you, Kristie.  Thank you for taking care of Grandpa everyday... okay, that's a story for another post!

Here are some pictures from my adventures on the farm...

The bull that I had to hand water because the auto waterer (seen in the background) was frozen.
 

The auto waterer is working, thank heavens, and the cattle from the timber are taking advantage of it. 

The cattle that are in the big barn pen.

This is the large water tank that froze over when I tripped a circuit using the blow dryer.  It's the same water tank that I broke the hose on and you can see the pipe gadget I used to fill it up.  Not pretty, but it worked!

The broken hose.  And I did check, none of those hoses hanging in the background would work!
 

These look like pretty decent boots, looks are deceiving, they did not keep my tootsies warm at all.  But at least I didn't slip and slide all over the place like Friday night... 'bout wound up on my tush a couple of times in my cowboy boots.

I didn't completely lose my sense of humor, I did remember to take my camera and capture some of what I've come to think of as my "chore challenges."

Ya know, in my heart of hearts I still consider myself a country girl; however, after this weekend's experience I'm starting to think I'm a sissified townie!

The next time Dad asks me to do chores I'm going to make sure it's not going to be coldest weekend on record!  LOL...

Just wrong...

This is the gift I received from Bret and Katie's family for Christmas.

I love that they want me to be "part of the fan club" at Quentin and Mollie's events.  But me in a Jayhawk shirt... that's JUST WRONG!  I have a hard enough time reconciling the fact that I'm SITTING on the Jayhwak side of the court/field.  I thought I was doing a good job wearing my red jacket to the kids' events. 

I opened the present at Jeannie and Dad's Christmas party, when PJ saw it she just shook her head "no" and said there was no way it was going to fit.  Even she has a hard time with me wearing a Jayhawk shirt!  LOL...

Oh my... do you realize I have over 16 years of events to attend at Jayhawk!  I guess I better get used to wearing red, but I still think it is... JUST WRONG!
  

Brrrrrrrrrr...........

I still cannot get used to the cold... spending the last four winters in South Carolina has completely spoiled me.  If I ever complain about wet 40 degree weather, just slap me!

I'd complain about the weather we are having now, but I visited with Cammie and Joel yesterday at Aunt Sheilah's and they had 14" of snow earlier this year and school wasn't canceled.  The only time they cancel school is if it gets to -15 degrees or it's down in the teens and the wind is blowing really hard.  Then it's dangerous for the kids to be waiting for the buses.  I think 14" of the white stuff is reason enough to cancel snow... they must have some amazing bus drivers not to mention four-wheel drive buses! 

But I think it's still cold around here, that's why I've taken to wearing long underwear even at the house!  LOL...

Thursday 12.24.2009 - This picture is of the solid sheet of ice on my front storm door - minus the melted area where I put my hand!  Took a few nudges to get the door unstuck.

Saturday 12.26.2009 - The snow drift on my back porch.  (Ignore the dirty siding... I have an excuse for not washing it - it's COLD people!  LOL...)

 
I can't wait to see what the world outside my front door looks like in the morning.

Stay warm.

Love Laura 
 

Pictures from Breanna and Brenton's Basketball Tournament

Recently, I drove to Yates Center to watch Breanna and Brenton play in a basketball tournament.  Denise and Kallie Jo traveled from Cheney to watch the game, also; so it was really great to see them, also.

Brenton is a freshman and didn't start the game, but he got to play probably half of the game.  He is a great player.  He is a very good rebounder and is not intimidated to go up against the older players at all.  He plays underneath so he was fouled several times as he took the ball up for a shot in the paint, which meant he also got to shoot quite a few free throws.  He's pretty good at that, too.  (Better than I ever was... lol.)

I couldn't tell you the score, but Brenton's team won by a lot.  Congratulations, Brenton!

Breanna's team played for first and second place.  The game was nip and tuck throughout the first half and the first part of the second half... then the other team made a run and pulled ahead.  The Eagles were never able to catch up after that run. 

Breanna's team won second place in the tournament.  Sorry you didn't win the game, Breanna, but congratulations on winning second place in the tournament.

Quentin, Mollie and Ty spending time together

A couple of times this month Quentin and Mollie have ridden the school bus to my house and Ty's Grandma Sherri has brought him over to hang out. 

The first time they all came over we went to the school and played basketball.  I think the boys were a little surprised that I could play.  I thought Ty was going to pass out when I made a hook shot from the free throw line.  ;-D

The last time the kids came over we played hoops until the gym closed, then the kids walked to the library until it closed.  Then it was back to my house for pizza.

It was a couple of great evenings spent with the kids!

Preview of Thanksgiving pictures from the Fuhrmans

Here are a few pictures from the Fuhrman's on Thanksgiving Day.  (I have 215 pictures to go through... oh my!)

 

It was a great day at the Fuhrman's.  Thank you - Deanna and DeWayne - for hosting the days events!
 

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving

I'm a couple of days late, but still wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Of course, it's never to late to be thankful for the Lord's blessings!

More photos from the Fuhrmans

Here are a few more photos from the afternoon at the Fuhrman's last May.

 
Brena

 
Cassidy trying to wrestle Quentin to the ground and Brena cheering her on.

 
I cannot believe how much Breck has changed.  And you won't see her fussy this way, especially when she's in Mamma's arms.

 
The horses getting a break, too.

 
Quentin

 
Quentin took this shot of us on the fence; Quentin's taking photos and I'm shooting some video.

 
Brothers catching; Bret on the head and Jed on the heels.

 
Dalton going for some heels.

 
Quentin showing off his antique holster that Uncle DeWayne gave him.

 
Dad, Quentin and Dalton (driver) on a surrey ride pulled by the halflingers.

 
On the surrey, Mollie sharing her beautiful smile.

 
Here's a happy Breck

 
Breck having fun with Quentin and his cowboy hat.

So very blessed to have this wonderful family!