What Sayre Does for Fun!

Sayre called Momma, Trevor, and I down to the pond last Friday for an "exhibition" of his newest pond feat!!

Sawyer was a willing accomplice as you can see! He was prepared for anything that might come his way with his helmet and life jacket on!

Sayre has found that sliding the canoe into the pond is tremendous fun!!! He pulls the canoe to the top of the dam and balances one end of it. Then he gets in, starts rocking back and forth, starts sliding down, tries to avoid a tree, and then makes it into the water!
I heard Momma saying several times "my baby, my baby" (meaning Sawyer) while the adventure was going on!! Ham man enjoyed himself as he went on several rides without complaint!
I don't know if you can see Trevor in the above picture, but it sure looks like he's enjoying himself!!!

"Gliding Along"
Did I ever mention that Sayre is quite ingenious when it comes to figuring out things to occupy his time?

Somehow Sayre was able to convince Momma that she really wanted to go for a ride in a canoe that leaks! I will never cease to be amazed at what this boy does!!!

What I Sometimes Find...

There are definite advantages of being the oldest in a family. I get to experience first hand the "antics" and the creative games that the younger ones come up with!!! All but two of my brothers are in the "teenage years" which makes life interesting at times!
Sayre and Sawyer on the other hand are twelve years old and two years old and keep us laughing all the time! Here are a few ideas of what I find in my room at least once a week.....

Where did the child go????
I walked into my room one evening and found Sawyer's clothes laid out on the bed just like he had been laying down and then had his body evaporate! I had to laugh!!!!!

The cat is not related to anything that Sayre and Sawyer come up with. However, I do find her sleeping in my drawers (she climbs in before I can get all of my laundry put away!) or sleeping ON TOP of the things I'm working on!

Normal play for Sayre and Sawyer!
On Monday Momma had to run an errand so the boys and I were left at home! I was busy cleaning the bathroom when I peek out to see what Sawyer is doing and I find Sayre "bundling him up" on my bed! As you can tell, his teddy bears are also included in their play!
Even though there is an age difference of ten years between S&S, they are still good buddies and incredible playmates for each other!

Another thing that I have been finding lately, are at least three of the five boys "crashing" on my bed around nine o'clock in the evening!!! I'm not sure what the draw is, but I can guarantee you that if one of them appears in my room, the others will soon follow!!!
I think I have some really neat and special brothers!

Guest Post

Since I have finally succumbed to the sickness that has been making its' rounds through our family, Sayre kindly agreed to do today's' blog post! He took all the pictures and is doing this himself so that I can run to the Post Office and then go "take it easy"!
So with out any further ado....... here is his post!

He has fifteen rabbits and they are all mini Rex except unless otherwise stated.

This is Stormy. She is the rabbit Ashley gave me for Christmas a year ago. This is the rabbit that started my colonies. She has had two litters in the past year. She LOVES to eat and likes boxes in her cage so she can sit on top and get away from the babies.

This is Stormy's' second litter (there is a brown one missing). Their hair doesn't lay flat and adds to their already funny looks! They are very friendly and will greet you at the door!

This is Ruger. He is the Daddy rabbit. He is shy but likes to sniff everything.

This is Maxy Mag- she was Ashley's' rabbit at one time. She has had two litters but the most recent one didn't survive due to the cold weather. Her hair is long and soft. She likes to be held and is very friendly.

This is Maxy Mag Jr. and she looks and acts like her Mom. She's adventurous and likes to be with small dogs. She likes follow her sister around their cage!
This is Teddy and is Maxy Mag Jr. sister. Her fur is white on her stomach and chin, and has a cotton tail. She LOVES to explore and is funny. She really like to jump out of the cage so that she can get out and explore!
This is Doe-Shot. She is the from Stormy's first litter. She like to run and loves to be pet.
This is Smokey and she is a Lion Head. She likes to greet you when you come up to the cage. She's easy to scare though. She likes to jump out the cage door whenever it's left open.
This is my un-named rabbit. She is a Lion Head mix and looks like she could use a haircut! She is shy and likes her hay in her food bowl.

This is Lila and she is Ashley's Dog. She likes to play and is not obedient when she's happy and wound up! She waits for me to come into her pen and get the rabbits water every morning!

I look forward to doing another post whenever Ashley lets me!

Bunny Happenings

A week ago yesterday, Sayre's "mama rabbit" had her second litter of babies! Sayre had been watching her and was beginning to wonder if she was really expecting as she was several days over her due date. Imagine his surprise when he went out and checked on her after church!

"The Nest Box"
Daddy helped Sayre build this nest box soon after he lost a baby to falling out of the cage. This is probably the second litter he has had in this box.

"An Afternoon Nap"
This is what I found when I opened the cage this afternoon! The nest must have been to hot for the little guys!

"In the Tunnel"
I have not exactly figured out the anatomy of a rabbit nest. I usually just pull hay and fur off until I find the babies. It's really warm in there too! This little guy looks like he's coming up for air!
Baby rabbits do not have fur when they are born; they either pink (white fur), gray or black (same for the fur), or tan (brown fur). This litter has three black and three brown babies. See the brown baby on the bottom????? His eyes are just beginning to open!
"Momma Rabbit"
I think her name is "stormy" and she is the rabbit that I got Sayre for Christmas last year! You can see where she has pulled our her fur to line the nest with.

"How Cute is This?"

Sayre also bought several rabbits Friday night. These are two female "Lion Heads".
They are rather skittish but knowing Sayre, he'll have them tamed before very long!

"Look at that Hair!"
Yes, this rabbit has WILD hair!!! It has longer hair and is pretty soft. It looks like it has an attitude most of the time!
Sayre built new cages for these guys over the weekend and I must say that he did a pretty good job!
Well, to coin a phrase, "That's All Folks!"

Birthday Boy!

Momma and the Birthday Boy !

My younger brother Sayre turned twelve years old last Friday!

"I know it's a gun, but what kind?????!!!!"

His Birthday will be one that he will remember with fondness, as Daddy gave him his first gun!!! Sayre had picked it out quite a while ago and Daddy found it when he and the older boys attended a "Gun and Knife Show" about a month ago. The gun is a semi automatic Ruger 10/22 rifle and Sayre has been honing his "shootin" skills ever since he got it!!

He's Thrilled!

Look at his smile!! He was so excited!

Unfortunately, some of us had a "goofy" streak running through us while Sayre was busy with his gun, and the camera operator had fun!

"It's really mine!"

"Don't Ask me what they're doing........"

I just love Tristan's' expression in this picture!!

Blowing out the candles

Sayre didn't request a birthday cake, instead he wanted a chocolate torte which requires refrigeration. Not a problem!! It was interesting with the candles burning as the top layer is whipped cream and very soft!

More goofiness....

Happy Birthday Sayre!!!

Boys

Sayre doesn't have very many friends to play with but, there are two boys who happen to live ten minutes away from us, and it just so happens that we've known them most of our lives! (how's that for moving out to the country??!) These are the only boys that come over and goof off with him.

Left to Right: Luke, Sayre, and Samuel after making cookies. When these boys get together, you just stay out of the way and let them have fun! They go creek stompin', swimmin', fishin', roll in the mud, play with the rabbits, barter, and the latest and "greatest" craze is cooking Mac and Cheese over a campfire!

Yes that's right, these boys COOK!!! Sayre has made a small fire pit up on the "dam" and that's where they cook. I have no idea what the food actually tastes like (Does it count that I like the smell of the smoke?) and I have no desire to taste it!

They conduct a raid on the kitchen soon after Luke and Samuel arrive and manage to get out of the house with elbow macaroni, block cheese, milk, water, and whatever else they say goes in the concoction! Sayre has a stock of "Sayre sized wood" at the pond plus matches so they're set for action!

It's so neat to hear the shouts of laughter, the constant chattering, and to see the remnants of what they've been up to! Think of all the memories they will have! I think it's really neat!! Have you noted the "Sayre sized wood" up in the right hand corner? It's only six inches long, and for whatever reason, I think it's pretty cool!

Editors note: Sayre and Samuel, Thank You for letting me take pictures of your cooking!

Goin's On at Our House!

This past week has been filled to the brim with busy-ness. I had allot to do and catch up on since I was gone the week before, and one of those things was making soap like crazy. It amazing how time consuming it is, but thankfully the "panic time" is past and I can get back to a "normal" and less demanding schedule again! One of the items on my "To Do" list was to take the marigolds and wildflowers out of my garden. The wildflowers were dead and very unattractive, and the marigolds were becoming long, gangly, and laying over into the path. I decided to just take them out; I had three wheelbarrow loads and two bench full of flowers! Yes, I did save the seeds and now have a 12x12x12 box half full of them!
Mowing is a full time job around here. It seems like one of the boys uses the lawn mower at least once a day. Sawyer loves to be taken on rides especially as the levers are at his level and he can move them! Oh, notice the porch???! Trevor built it on to the addition quite a while ago and I just recently hung some of my plants in the hanging basket!!! Sayre just cleaned the windows on the back door today (pictured above) and the place looks quite "dashing"!!!

The Butterfly bushes are beginning to put on flowers in earnest! All of our bushes have flowers that are the purple pictured above. Well, maybe we also have a pink one.... I can't remember. The bushes are so fragrant and attract butterflies by the dozens!!

I don't know what kind of a flower this is, but it's just started blooming and I remember seeing quite a bit of it last year.

Trevor and Collin went in together to buy a four wheeler from one of Trevor's' friends. He brought it home Friday evening and they have been having a blast on it!! Sawyer wishes he was one of the BIG guys! Did I mention that he loves keys and motorized vehicles?!

Here, all of the guys are riding at once as Trevor attempts to dump Tristan into the pond! As they were coming through the woods toward the pond, I could here a certain person (who will remain anonymous) screaming!!!

With all the four wheeling and dirt biking that was going on on Saturday, Sayre thought it was high time to learn how to operate Collin's dirt bike. He rode around for at least an hour and seems to have gotten the hang of it!

The dogs were feeling neglected..... They don't normally sit that far apart. You'll notice that Lila has her mouth open..... I'm not sure if she's yawning, barking, or chewing the fence. It's most likely chewing the fence as she does that when she's tired of waiting for me to come pet her!

That's pretty much the highlights of last week. I wonder what this one will be like???

Creek stomping with Sayre!

Yesterday, Sayre took me creek stomping! This included walking in the creek, in fields, and in general taking a tour of the immediate country side!!

This is what the creek pretty much looks like. There is one spot where it's really rocky and it makes one wonder where all the rocks came from! There is about three to four inches of running water in it!

This is "Sayre's pool" where he spends most of his time catching crawdads and fish. He also tell me that he's seen snakes in it...... See the gap between the two rocks? That is where the water runs down.

Here's a picture from the front! Isn't it neat!

Here is what he has constructed further down. He's "hauled" all the sand in, built up the bank with rocks, and built a "bridge" with rocks!! It's incredible what he's done!

Looking the opposite way. This sand path takes you under a barbed wire fence- He is so creative and I can't wait to see what else he does to the creek!