Happy Halloween!

I know it's Valentine's Day, But Happy Halloween anyway!

Horse Riding with Cousins

Mr. Bechtel's sister brought her two children up to stay a few days with us.  We love having A. and E. visit.  E. is a ton of help with the animals.  A. and Granny Smith are usually in the shop making knives and weaponry of some sort.  They wanted to ride Nikita, so Prairie Spy helped them saddle up and go for a little ride. 

Nikita is such a good horse.  She is only five and has plenty of energy and spunk, but she is really patient with the little kids.

Happy Cousins.

Come visit soon, E.!

Concrete Flower Borders

After five years of living here, we decided to put in some landscaping around the house.  Mr. Bechtel borrowed a neighbors curbing machine and we rented a sod cutter and cement mixer.  First he cut out the  long strip around the house where the curbing was going to go.  And then we started pouring the cement.

Grandpa mixed the cement for Mr. Bechtel.  (notice Jack the dog just waiting to chase some cement dust...)

Golden Delicious hauled all the old sod off and dumped it.  She is so excited to help!

It took awhile to get the cement the right consistency and figure out how the machine worked.  But all in all it looks pretty good.

Mr. Bechtel had to leave the next morning for Japan.  We worked until midnight and then ran out of concrete.  (I figured the amounts...)   When he got back from Japan we never did get around to finishing the last part.  Maybe we'll do that in five years or so.

Canning Tomatoes

My tomato crop this year was a complete failure.  We had great expectations, too.  The summer started off great -  70 heirloom tomato plants that I started from seed, planted with loving care by Mr. Bechtel and the family, complete with drip line and weed barrier. We even put little arches of pvc pipe over the rows with expensive frost protection fabric to keep them warm and safe from the wind.  We should have had a bumper crop.

Unfortunately, we have dogs now:  Jack and Pete.  Jack is obsessed with chasing dust and spent the whole summer digging up my garden and  chasing the dust right through my tomato rows.  Pete thought the fabric was a neat new toy and tore it off on about the 3rd day.  I kept hoping though.  By the end of august we still didn't have any tomatoes.  I inspected and every plant was broken off and ruined.  There were a few that managed to survive, but the chickens ate the fruit off them before we could get to it.  The chickens even ate all the hot peppers I planted for salsa.  It was very sad.

So I was thrilled when Spencer (Braeburn's friend) brought me over 2 big boxes of tomatoes from his mom.  His mom has a wonderful green thumb, an amazing green house, and is a REAL gardener.

Granny Smith helped me make salsa, chili sauce, and home made ketchup.  We haven't tried the ketchup yet.  It seems strange to get it out of a glass jar somehow!

The Spy Twins Meet Football

After several years of resisting, I finally let the boys play football this year.  There are several other boys in the ward who play and one of the dads kept asking me if the Spy Twins could play. Then the boys would beg me.  I kept saying no.  Finally this year the coach called me.  I told the coach I would think about it, but that I didn't want the boys getting hurt.  When I got off the phone I looked out back, and Prairie and Nova Spy were wrestling in the back field.  I watched as they straddled the ditch full of water, and then took turns throwing each other in.  They were banging each other around and having a great time.  I thought it looked very painful, but they seemed quite happy.  I decided then that I'd better let them  play. 

Prairie Spy.

Nova Spy.

Evening Practice.

They played O line and D line all season.  They protected the quarterback, blew holes in the opposing line, and took seriously the coach's yells:

"This is OUR HOUSE!  This is OUR FIELD!

This is OUR TURF!"

Time for School!

We took Braeburn down to BYU for School.  He's staying at Helaman Halls and majoring (right now) in Advertising.

Life is very quiet with Braeburn gone, and Golden Delicious and I are bored.  We miss the late night Krav stories and all the tales of wild adventures.  Braeburn, however, is having a marvelous time.  When I asked him what he liked best about college he said.  "I really like the total freedom to do whatever I want."  

Labor Day Horse Buying

The cabin wasn't available this Labor Day weekend, so we had to think of something else fun to do.  I saw an ad posted at the feed store for a horse sale and thought that would be fun.  The boys dressed up in their cowboy shirts and boots and we headed up to Rexburg.  

Mr. Bechtel said, "I am not bringing my wallet."  And I said, "oh, of course you're bringing your wallet."  Then when we got to the sale, Mr. Bechtel said, "we are not getting a number."  And I said, "oh, of course we're getting a number".  Then when the sale started, Mr. Bechtel said, "we are not bidding on any horses."  And I said, "oh, of course we're bidding on horses!"  And Mr. Bechtel said, "we're not buying any horses."  And I agreed.  "We are NOT buying any horses!"

So, then He bought a little bay filly.

And then I bought a yearling mare.

The moral of that story is that it is IMPOSSIBLE not to buy beautiful horses unless you have lots more self control that I do.  And you should always, always, listen to your husband and leave your wallet at home.

The little filly's name (which we got to choose and register, which was very cool) is Driftwood Dancer.  She is out of Drifts Chip and Mr. San Peppy.  She is also extremely feminine, fast, and utterly adorable.  Nova Spy has fallen in love with her, and takes care of her.  The yearling is named Yankee Illusion.  She is out of Dash for Cash, and a Society Road Mare on her dam's side.  She is gentle, gorgeous, and bright as a newly minted penny.  We know we can't keep both of them, but we are enjoying them for right now.  I can hardly wait for the sale next year!  But I notice that Mr. Bechtel has planned a trip to Japan then.  Is he trying to tell me something??