Down at the Farm.

It's been two weeks since I blogged and several things have come and gone. The end of tax season. Hallelujah! Wade's 39th birthday on April 20th. Yahoo! :)


Last weekend was our first trip to Pikeville since I don't know when. Maybe January, I think? We had a fun time visiting with Wade's family and working and playing at the family farm. I also got to see my nephew, Stone, and my niece, Sarah Briley. Two cuties! Here are some photos I took of them.





Here's one of Ben and Stacy's three Airedales, Tanner and one of my sweet girl.



I ended up getting babysitting duty on Saturday. Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled. I love my kids but I'm not a big babysitter believe it or not. I don't mind for kids to come to our house for sleepovers but something about being asked to "babysit" that I don't like too much. I still think it has to do with my early teenage years of babysitting four little kids for around $2 an hour and being expected to clean their house, feed their kids and oh yeah, also babysit. LOL Sarah Briley is a sweet little girl but still at the age where she needs constant attention pretty much. It wasn't my house and the house wasn't equipped with baby toys since it wasn't her house. We made due though. I just had a sore arm the next day from holding her. ;)


I tried going to the farm to visit the boys who were working cattle (ended up being around 60). They had to give shots, castrate and brand some young cattle. Since I had to hold Sarah Briley the entire time and it was pretty windy AND Elizabeth didn't enjoy the distressed moos of the cows or the burnt hair smell from the branding, we only stayed a short while. I did manage to hold a baby and get some pictures though!


Freshly branded and freshly steer. LOL (Do you get that?)



Here he is from the front. See, he was a-okay! :)



What my boy was doing at the farm from 9 until 2. As always, all camouflage and all mud. Good times. Don't you just love that face? He wouldn't smile for this picture. For some reason, he felt the need to have the tough, mean look. He wanted this picture too. Just not the smile. Go figure!



This little one was hiding out. I think it had already had its turn and was cooling off down in the bottom part of the old smokehouse where they had a cooler for meat.



We didn't have time to go back to the farm that day to play but we did on Sunday before we left to head home. Just the four of us rode out and drove around on the four wheelers. We actually drove the truck this time so we could haul our four wheeler and then we used Tollette's so we weren't riding so tight. Unfortunately, we ended up finding a cow that didn't make it from the doctoring the day prior. I felt like a real farm girl as we had to hook it up to a chain to a four wheeler and haul it off to what Andrew and I have now officially dubbed "cow bone alley". Hope reading this doesn't make anyone freak out or anything. :P


I have to add that I have had to have that first biology lesson with Elizabeth as to why bulls are castrated. This was coming as it's spring time and we've witnessed some activity (you know what I mean!) in the pastures surrounding our house. Oh boy. Andrew got a itsy-bitsy lesson but Elizabeth had to be explained a little more later this past week. I had been dreading it and was surprised it went so smoothly and glad to at least explain a little bit. Know what I mean? Ugh!


On the Friday we left to go to Pikeville, I had also signed up to drive on a field trip for Andrew's class to Asheville, NC that day! I was happy that there were plenty of drivers and I got to be a rider instead of a driver. We went to the Western NC Nature Center like I went with Elizabeth's class last year. It was a hot day - in the 80s. The kids had a great time though. Here's a semi-group picture - seven of the nine that went. (There are only ten students in the class.)



It was reported that a deer was under the decking so they were looking through the cracks. :) Silly first graders! Hee hee! They have animals native the area at the nature center. There were around four other white-tailed deer out in the open but they had to see one more.



And, petting the friendly goat. I say "friendly" because this goat was following them around and wanting them to pet him!



By the time we got home from that trip - just as school was letting out and then immediately drove home and then headed straight to Pikeville, I was pooped! I was glad that Wade drove the whole way.


One neat thing I found out on Monday when I went on yet another field trip. (This time for Elizabeth's class.) When we went to Buffalo Mountain Camp on a field trip back in October, I took lots of pictures and told the guides that I would burn them to a CD and send them so if they wanted to use them on their website or whatever. I did. Well, Elizabeth's teacher told me that they called a few weeks ago and were going to use some in their camp brochure! I thought that was cool! I told Elizabeth and she said, "Wow! You're going to be famous!" I laughed and explained I wasn't getting paid or anything. She said, "Well, I bet they'll put 'photos by Leslie Farmer'." Somehow I doubt that will be in there but I still think it's cool!


Nineteen and a half more days of school! Yes, *I* am actually counting down the days this year. I am ready for summer and all it has in store for us!