My three little monkeys, And I am going BANANAS!

Who done It???

Meet the characters of our murder mystery party. A hot blooded Italian girl; a Frenchmen that knows his wine; a no-nonsense, tough talking business man; a sassy, sexy, knows what she wants, gold digger; a priest; a gypsy palm reader; a sad and desperate widow; and an aspiring professional soccer player. All in all, these characters added up to one great night of laughs, accusations, and cover-ups!

This is Rocco Scarfazzi. A very rich business man. He is dressed in none other than vintage clothing from Dwight's closet. I thought the stach completed the look perfectly.


I am Tira Misu, Rocco's fiance. I am dressed to kill in a vintage dress from the closet of Rhett's Grandma Iola. The boa went with it nicely. I then thought it would be a fabulous idea to put some fake lashes on. Well, in the process I just about glued my eye shut. Me and the lash glue did not get along. Those buggers are hard to get on! How do you do it so expertly Reagan?

How could this dashing and debonair couple be suspects in a murder! NEVER!

We don't look guilty do we???

You had a birthday shout HOORAY!

Jett waited for his birthday this year with much anticipation. His list of birthday presents that he would like, kept growing and growing. The two things that he most wanted were a grain harvester, just like Dad's, and a gun with fire on it. And as parents we will go out of our way to make all our kids dreams come true! So I set out trying to find a grain harvester that looked exactly like Rhett's. Well that was a little more difficult than I had anticipated, and more expensive of course. I looked everywhere I could think of. A week before his birthday I thought I would go to the local Cal Ranch store to see what they had. Well, I was in luck! They had any farm/ranch toy you could think of. They also had good prices. So he ended up getting what he wanted.

Then Rhett set out to make a fire gun for him. He went to a friends wood working shop and rigged up an awesome gun that shoots elastics. He even managed to get a little fire on that gun. Thinking ahead, he made two more for upcoming birthdays for other boys! I have a very handy husband. And then there is me. I am nothing like Martha Stewart. This cake was about all I could handle!

Opening presents was very serious business for Jett.

One of his favorite toys is his "life saver" that Aunt Suzie brought him. When he opened it he said "this is EXACTLY what I wanted!" He also really loves the spider man costume that is out on loan from Matthew. It was Matthew's favorite outfit to wear and now it is Jett's. Suzie couldn't get the costume off of Matthew, and now I can't get the costume off of Jett! Jett has never even seen the movie, but he is a real fan. He even knows how to throw webs.

Josh made him an awesome bow and arrow and he did it all himself. It was so cute. I have a house full of weapons now. Sawyer look out!

It took awhile for Jett to figure out how to load his elastic gun without shooting himself. So Grandpa and Dad sat down with him and figured out the best way to go about loading his gun without shooting his eye out! "You'll shoot your eye out!" this quote from the classic Christmas Story movie was running through my head as I watched from afar my sweet little boy loading his weapon of choice! And Dad looked on with a hint of pride in his eye.

At least he has a few experts showing him how it's done.

The grand finale was the blowing of the candles and making a wish. He loved his cake and asked every five minutes when he could eat it. He finally got to eat it and he loved it. The next day he also got to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Another year gone, one happy boy, and one Mom that hates to see time pass by so quickly.

You had a birthday shout HOORAY!!!

Now we Reap the Harvest

The weather turns cold. Family from all around start arriving. My favorite farm boots are put on (and no, Gary, they are not irrigation boots, and no I don't want to move pipe, they are way hip and trendy wellies!). The tractors are started up. The first whiffs of dirt and potatoes are smelled. That's right. There is nothing like the smell of a potato cellar. If it only could be bottled. Aaaah yes, the smell of harvest. Harvest has Arrived!

And there they are, Bonnie and Clyde. Always up to no good when they are together. It all started with shopping secretly together for my wedding ring, and has never stopped since. You never know what those two little devils will do next!

My Dad was going to take a crack at taking the old potato truck for a round or two. But when the Boss was floundering trying to load under the digger he decided to sit this one out. We are definitely going to get him behind the wheel next year and see if there is any farm boy left in him!

We were so excited to finally meet little Ascher. What a cutey. I think he even liked the tractor ride.

In between all the harvest craziness we decided to bless Jory and Ascher. It was a very special day. Lots of family, unfortunately we were missing my sisters and brother. The spirit was so strong. We are so blessed with such a wonderful family and kids. Thank you all for all your love and support. These moments are what life is all about.

Great Grandma LaRee with the two new additions to the family.

Great Grandma Boosa and little Jory.

Thanks Mom and Dad for making this such a special day. I could not have done it without you.

Rhett's side of the family.

And my somewhat smaller side of the family.

The two guests of honor.

Jory John and Ascher Kai.

No these are not pictures from last winter. These are pictures of Jett and Rhett making a snowman when they should be out harvesting potatoes! Mother Nature is sometimes a hard women to deal with! We can't complain though, she was real agreeable this summer. She can be unpredictable. . . . Hmmm is there a reason nature is named after a woman????

This year there was some competition over who got to ride with Dad. When I would drop off Jett, Sawyer would start crying and say "go . . go." I couldn't resist those puppy dog eyes that he so expertly uses against me. He got to be a big boy this year and ride all by himself with Dad.

One of my favorite places to be during harvest is in "the pit." I love to get in on all the action. Who is broke down, who got their but chewed by Gary, talking and telling jokes. And of course, the smell of dirt and potatoes, with a hint of fumes from the trucks. Oh yes, all those lovers of harvest know what I am talking about!

This year we had a scary thing happen to Matthew. He was working in "the pit" and he somehow got his hand stuck in the piler. It was very scary. They shut it down and had to get his hand unstuck before seeing what real damage had been done. Thankfully he had all of his fingers and no open wounds. He came out of it with only a chipped bone in his finger. Wow, that was a close one. He was blessed. That is one thing about farming, it can be dangerous.

With the same amount of acres planted in potatoes we had our three cellars filled to capacity. Plus, we had enough potatoes to fill another whole cellar. Rhett set a new record for this farm. Rhett has one big fat green thumb! He attributes his success to; great weather, good fertilizer, watering just right, and a little TLC!

The moral of this story is . . . . . EAT POTATOES!!!

More potassium than a banana, more vitamin c than an orange! How could you go wrong?

So please go to the local grocer and pick up some Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes today!