Boys will be Boys (so they say)

Seriously, it was a crazy day with MOPS and making jam and trying to catch a nap since I started the day with a migraine. Well Noah is always a bundle of fun and ingenuity, so to speak. I found more things today that made me go "Huh??" and "Seriously!" It began with Noah taking a trip out to the garage and back into the house holding two eggs. He said, "eggs, Mommy." I said, "did you break any?" Noah replied, "yep." I was so mad!!! And sure enough, there were three broken eggs trailing out of the carton up the stairs into the house and the fridge door was wide open! So after scrubbing the garage floor and stairs I came in to start dinner.

Well, it wasn't long when I heard Alexa scream from the toy room, "Mommy, Noah peed in my doll house!" I said, "what? He peed?" "Yes, in my doll house," Alexa replied. Now, Noah is potty trained and knows better than that, so I scolded him and swatted his hinny and he went crying down the stairs. I gathered up the "lil green" machine and headed up to the toy room to clean up the mess. It appeared that he stood in front of the doll house and peed, but actually he peed in the teeny tiny potty that is furniture for the doll house. The doll house toilet was overflowing!!! I was still upset, but had to chuckle at the fact that Noah thought of this all on his OWN!!! So, tomorrow will be a better day, I hope, and Noah is going to the sitter!! Maybe I can actually get some work done in the office. My life is certainly touched in many different aspects as watching a little boy grow up enjoying all of life's offerings...

Garage Door Scare

I think I finally figured out why I couldn't upload this hilarious video for all of you to see...I needed a faster DSL, so I am trying it out for a couple of days. I hope that you enjoy this video. I had previously tried to upload it, but no avail. The story goes like this...There was a period there when Noah always wanted to be like Daddy, with the boot, and hat. One evening after bathtime, Noah toddled out to the garage and Haylee was close behind to help keep an eye on him. Just in time for Derek to come home and scare the pj's right off of her.

First Day of the 2009-2010 School Year

School commenced Tuesday and both girls are so excited about school this year. I am pleased to report that Haylee is in first and Alexa is in kindergarten. They barely had enough time to turn around for the photo.

More Fair Photos

Chase County Fair 2009

This year we enjoyed the fair with cousins from Alma. The kids had a blast riding endless lines of carnival attractions--over and over. And once again, we had to visit the face painting lady (who is extremely talented). You can see her creative hand working on Alexa. There isn't anything better than an evening at the fair with rides, food, the expo and cousins.

Haylee's Locks of Love

This year or all year Haylee has been growing her hair to donate it to the "Locks of Love" philanthropy/cause. She was able to donate 10" of hair the middle of August. Her hair will be used to make a wig for a child that is fighting/living with cancer. It is so awesome to see our daughter understand the concept of giving to a worthy cause. She is ready to grow it again!! Cheers to Haylee.

2009 Born to Win Womens Conference

Here are a couple of photos of Pam Thum and Stephen Marshall as they presented the Born to Win Conference for women. It was hosted by the Hamlet Church and over 90 women were present to learn how they are "Born to Win". If you ever have the opportunity to see them, do so. It will forever lift your spirit and improve your outlook on life and your relationships. God bless Pam and Steve for offering to present this conference and thank you to all the women (young and old) that attended. Oh, and the women of HUC, thank you for the fabulous food and hospitality. It was greatly appreciated and we are forever grateful.

Wheat Harvest 2009

This year seemed to follow suit like last year. Meaning that harvest took an entire month to complete. The kids loved to ride the combine and tractor with grain cart again this year. It is even more fun in a new one!!! Noah is following his daddy's footsteps and his grandpa's and his great grandpa's--he loves to farm and everything that goes with it!! What a blessing it is to have a child so interested in the farm and ranch.

Fun In Texas (at the pool, where else?)

We (the kids and I) made the 11 hour trip to Texas in July for Tami & Gregg's baby shower. When asked what the kids would like to do for fun while in Texas? The only response was play at the pool. So we did just that everyday!! Thanks to Auntie Ane, Aunt Tami and Uncle Gregg-O for a fun extended weekend. We love you all!

Beatiful Rainbow

I nearly had forgotten that I was able to catch this photo at 5 a.m. one morning. It is so peaceful and you can almost smell the rain.

Hanging out with our new cousin, Madison

My brother, Van, recently married a very nice young woman, Christina, and she has a sweet 9 year old daughter, Madison. Our kids are thrilled that they have a new cousin to hang out with, but I think that Madison is even more so. After the engagement was announced, she said that she wanted to move here!!! She is delight and we are blessed to welcome her to the family. And her mommy too...

Upgrading Weanie Status

Well folks, I have officially upgraded my weanie status from weanie to no longer a weanie!!! I killed, with a shovel, my first rattlesnake today just off of our front steps in the grass. Noah found it and said, "snake, Mommy." While we were walking off to feed the calves and Haylee said, "Mom, Noah says there's a snake!" I looked around the corner and sure enough there was a rattlesnake peering it's head up and I was praying, "Lord, please do NOT let that snake bite Noah!" I kept yelling at Noah to run away and get to Mommy, but he just took his time. I grabbed my yellow shovel and sent the kids inside. Let me share that my adrenaline was racing or boiling and I was freaking out. So I smacked the snake with my shovel to try to break its back, I kind of missed so I cut its tail instead. But then I realized that my Mom was right about my shovel needing to be bluntly sharper, so I used the side of it like an axe and voila, I had managed to chop, in two whacks or maybe three (I really don't remember), its neck off about 7 inches from the the head. It was similar to an out of body experience, I just remember thinking, I have to protect my kids and I will NOT let anything harm them. Then I made the important call to my Mom to confirm that now I am no longer a weanie and to verify that I had done the job completely right. She reminded me that I needed to cut the head off right at the neck so that it wouldn't/couldn't have the reflex to bite anything or anyone and to bury it in a hole. Good point, I thought and did just that. It came complete with 7 buttons! This my trophy for the duty of protecting my family. I think that I need a shower to remove all the nervous sweat and to calm my nerves. My parents told me that my first would be the hardest, I am hoping that I don't have to find any more in my yard. That makes two rattlesnakes at the Sandman home thus far for 2009.

Pool Fun

Spring 2009 Concert

Here are some photos of Haylee's spring concert and the production of the "Three Pigs Opera". It was so cute to see the growth of the Kindergarten class and how much they have matured in just a few months of school. Haylee was the pig that built the brick house and her pig sisters are Maycee and Kendra (her good friends). The boys were the wolves. Haylee is really blessed to have such a great class of kids for her friends.

Alexa Graduates from Preschool 2009

This entire year Alexa has been ready for Kindergarten, but we told her that she couldn't go to Kindergarten until she completed Preschool. Here are some photos from Graduation night. During the program each class sings songs with the actions and sometimes sign language too. Each child receives a folder with various writings, stories, pictures and crafts to commemorate the year. This is a nice tool for Mom's especially when deciding what to keep from year to year. Alexa is definately ready for Kindergarten to begin in August (goodness, less than two months away!).

Elementary Field Day 2009

Easter Party 2009

I am a Weanie!!

At least I can admit it!! Right before school was out I had returned from McCook and my Mom brought by our new addition to the family, BG (Baby Girl). I didn't pick the name, but she is 2 and I cannot train her to come to anything else!!! That's another story, but during the time that my Mom took BG to the clinic and returned to our home for coffee, I went out to plant my tomato plant. In my quest to multitask...I came around the south side of the garage and looked down next to the foundation where my plant was and saw a HUGE rattlesnake enjoying the cool location between a planter and the foundation. It wasn't bothered my presence, but I was shaking in my flip flops!!! So I told Haylee to go inside because there was a rattlesnake and she proceeded to lock all the doors! I got my shovel and turned the car around to kill it when it came down the drive way (I am not a weanie in a car). And all the kids came running out to sit in the safe car while we waited for the snake. It was pretty happy where it was and wasn't moving, so I called Derek (my hero) to rid the snake and told me to kill it and I said, "I haven't ever killed a rattlesnake with a shovel, so I am a weanie." He wouldn't be available for a while so I called my Mom to find out where she was...enroute to our home. I needed her snake killing experience to rid the snake. She willing came to the rescue (my other hero). With the shovel, my Mom moved the planters and killed the snake (YEA!!!). It had 6 buttons and was 2 1/2 feet long, at least. I keep the rattle on the kitchen window sill to remind me to always be looking and keep the shovel where it is handy for snake killing.

The next day, I was out watering the planters and other plants and our cat, Ink, pulled out a gardner snake from the same spot!!! Seriously, I don't need any more snakes. I did grow a little bit of confidence to kill that snake. All the snakes need to know that they are not welcome in my yard, after all I have three children.

Too Many Commitments, Too Little Time

For those of you that follow our blog or just check in from time to time, I sincerely apologize for the lack of posting any thing on this wonderful tool. I have decided that today I would catch all of you up on our "Crazy Life". A lot has happened since Easter and I need to share it with you. And I for the life of me cannot get any video to upload. I will work on that or maybe I should learn how to operation YouTube? Any constructive thougths there????

My life is seriously a crazy one, but if it weren't I wouldn't know what to do with my life. I love being busy and haven't learned how to say NO yet, I could use some coaching there too...

Flying Kites on Easter 2009

Just Foolin' Around...

I recently got a new digital camera because I lost the memory card to my old one behind my desk and it would take an act of congress to move it to retreive it. I know that you would tell me to go purchase another memory card...Well, I did try three different cards and no avail, so I broke down and bought a new one. So far I am getting used to it and like it. The best part is that my children haven't figured out how to run it yet so it is still intact!!

We were outside enjoying a nice, but windy, day with the swing set and new baby calf, Juliet.

Uploading Issues...

So it seems that I am having a technical difficulty when it comes to uploading the video of Haylee and Noah in the garage, I am still trying and hope that I can please everyone with the video soon. Keep checking back, it might be there...

Noah, Unlock the Door!

So, I ran into a friend at the local grocery story and she commented that she loved the story about Noah and the counter. I said thanks and that there were several other stories that I hadn't taken the time to share on our blog, but needed too. Then I rounded another aisle and yet another person asked if Derek had made it home? I was a little puzzled and couldn't for the life of me think of what she was referring too...
Here's how the story goes...
One Sunday after church we decided to grill steaks and enjoy the afternoon with the family, of course, I never know when the grill will run empty on propane (today was the day) and I sent Derek to town with Noah to exchange the tank because after all I couldn't watch him and get the rest of lunch ready when he is continually sneaking out the locked doors and into the steer pen. So off they go in Derek's pickup and it was taking at least 30 minutes or longer when the phone rang and it was Derek asking if I could please bring the extra set of keys in because Noah had locked the pickup doors as soon as Derek got out! And Derek kept coaching him to please hit the button on the door to unlock, but Noah could only lock it!! And with everyone enjoying the laugh Derek called for the keys. Only in a small town could so many enjoy the comedy at the local gas station!! As I am on my way to town, I met Derek coming home. So when I got back I asked how he was able to get back into the pickup? Just by chance, Noah hit the unlock button on the remote which was on the keychain with the keys in the ignition. And that is why several were concerned about Derek making it home since he was locked out of the pickup for 30 minutes in front of Crossroads and the staff there were still laughing about it two days later.

The preface to the story...
In January I volunteered to help take tickets at the theater and then the girls could watch the show Despereaux and Derek would take Noah since he can't sit or stay still for more than a minute. So off to the movie the girls and I go and while I am finishing up the tickets, Derek calls on his cell phone but I cannot hear him because there is something seriously wrong with his phone and I told him that he would just have to call me when he got home. About 10 minutes passes and he calls back while I'm getting refreshments at the concession stand and asks me if there is an extra set of keys to his pickup? And I answer of course, but why does he need them? He said that as soon as he put Noah in the pickup and shut the door that he locked all the doors before Derek could even get around the pickup! And to top it off he coached Noah for over 30 minutes hit the unlock button but no luck. So he was planning on taking the feed truck home to get the set of keys and return to unlock the doors when suddenly he hit the unlock on the remote! All is well and Noah was having a swell time playing inside the pickup, driving, turning etc. Daddy wasn't so pleased, but enjoyed the laugh!!

I think that we might have to invest in those spare key holders that you put under the carriage of the vehicle for easy rescue or it is time to enroll in OnStar!! You can all be the judge, but I think that Noah is pretty inovative and FAST!! It seems that he can't be trusted really any where, literally.

Silly Noah

I wanted to share some photos of Noah and his cute little antics. The first one here is a time when he painted himself with the glitter paint of stars and other shapes and colors. It took several baths to get all of it out. I think at least three days passed before it was all gone! Then he took a little tumble down the stairs because his sister were playing rock star concert in the dark and he couldn't find his footings coming down the tile stairs! I was so scared that we would have to violate my "NO ER" policy, but all turned out well. I just bank on a permanent bruise on his forehead. Then there are some photos of Noah goofing around and they always make me smile!!