A Random Post

Chloe has recently started throwing screaming temper tantrums if I try to make her go into a store she doesn't want to, won't buy her a toy she wants, etc. I'm convinced the 'terrible twos' actually begin around age 3. After an afternoon of running errands she didn't want to go on and then having me say no to the umpteenth $20+ toy she requested, I thought a nice compromise before we made the trek home would be to go to McDonalds. So, I said, "Chloe, would you like to go to McDonald's to get a Happy Meal?"
She glared back and me and said, "No. I will go to McDonalds to get a Mad meal." I just finished reading this book. It was awesome. If you have time on your hands being snowed in or hanging out during the holidays I would recommend this. It was an excellent read.

It's historical fiction that takes you from the 1600s to present time. Living in a rural area requires me to make long drives just to get to school, the store, the doctor, pretty much anywhere. I have noticed that audio books make the drives bearable. I just purchased this one and it is great. I really like that it is read by President Bush. It adds something to hear it in his voice. If you are making a long drive, I recommend this. I was planning to read the Laura Bush book, but now I'm definitely getting the audio version.

Autumn on the Farm

I pulled off to the side of the road to snap a picture of the orchards and fields. Each type of apple tree must also produce a different color of leaf. Some orchards are still kind of green. Others are yellow, orange, or red.

I thought these fuel tanks were cool because they are the same color as the leaves I've been seeing in the orchards. I also love the way they contrast between the golden wheat field and blue sky.

This is some of the marshy area near our home. I frequently see pheasants flying in and out as well as birds of prey.

This is a vineyard changing color.

I knew that the leaves would change colors but I thought it was neat to see the closely cropped blanket of red and gold that was developing after the field crop had been harvested.

Although I am not a photgrapher and don't do justice to the beautiful scenery all around me, I felt compelled to try and capture the essence of it. Everywhere I drive I am amazed by the vivid colors as the leaves change in the fields, orchards, and vineyards. This morning I remembered to pack my camera when I drove the boys to school so that I could take some shots of the farmlands going through the changes Autumn brings.

The unique gourds and pumpkins are at our neighbor's produce stand where they specialize in unusual varieties. I made a butternut squash bisque recipe the other day but subsitituted one of their specialty squashes for the butternut. It was really good. It's fun having access to their produce.

The Cat's out of the Bag

We have a cat. To any of you that know me and my severe allergy to cats, you will find this as a great surprise. Actually, it is a wild cat that showed up at our house shortly after we moved in. I like to think it keeps our house free of mice, so I don't mind that it hangs around--outside. Apparently, it also eats the food we throw out. Larry pulled into the driveway the other day to find our cat, affectionately named Butterscotch, with his head stuck in a Doritos bag. He just sat there meowing, and every time he breathed in the bag would suck in, and out, it would puff out. After taking a quick snapshot with his cell phone, he let the cat out of the bag. Butterscotch quickly scurried off, none the worse for wear. I sure hope none of the mice saw this--it would surely destroy his reputation as a vicious killer. A BULL STORY:
We have a bull pen with about 6 bulls to the side of our house. Lately they have been making all kinds of strange noises, stampeding around the pen, picking fights with one another. Larry said they are anxious for their lady friends to be brought around. What?!! Why didn't someone tell me we were going to have a breeding situation taking place on the side of our house? What was I going to tell the kids was going on out there?

Early this afternoon I saw a couple of cowboys riding back along the side of the house herding the 'ladies' back to the 'fellas'.

Here's a shot of the cowboys. I don't think they're used to having people run out of their houses to take pictures of them.
As for Halloween, everyone in our family except Caleb has been very, very sick. Look on the couch behind Caleb to see Larry and Chloe sound asleep. Caleb dressed up as a BYU football player (in case you couldn't tell). His cousins came by and took him trunk or treating at our church building. Thank you cousins.

The rest of us slept next to the humidifiers, pumped full of cough medicine and nasal decongestants, miserable. Living in the boonies, no one came trick or treating, so maybe we'll Corbin and Chloe dress up in their costumes, Caleb in his again, and sit around and eat all the candy we didn't hand out.