To lock or not to lock, that is the question.

ACK!! its been months!! :) Bertha Sue got her a pretty shotgun for her birthday, Bow is growing every day, my boys have decided to break the 'texts per day' record set by a teenage girl, and I am slowly loosing what little sanity I have left. well, things are the same here- still working on JYSSA, and still homeschooling kids. We had our big 4-H banquet the other night, my boys racked up on awards- I was very proud of them- they were awarded rockers and pins for the advancements they have made in the marksmanship programs with their shooting, and both were awarded most helpful for shotgun. I gotta admit, BR and I rely on them ALOT- they really do work hard for 4-H and JYSSA. And then Hoover got the biggest award our club gives out- The Community service award, He was awarded a gun case with his name on it and what he won it for. I was reading his application for the award (even though he told me not to) and one line really jumped out at me. He said that 4-H had taught him that you never fail until you quit trying. - I was impressed After the awards were over we walked out to my new expedition, one of the kids had turned it on, and put their stuff in there, and BR was bringing out some more stuff so we could go- THe doors were LOCKED- the car was running and the doors were LOCKED- My F350 would NOT do this- PERIOD- if you left the key in the ignition and tried to shut and lock the door (even with it off) the lock would pop right back open the second you shut it. (it took me hours to fiqure this out why I couldnt lock the door one day) you COULD lock it WITH the key fob, even with the truck running, but not by clicking the lock button. SO, we were flabbergasted. and of course I have been so scatterbrained lately I couldnt remember my cotton picking code for it. I HAD had the card with the code on it on my display, so I could look at it and try to memorize it, but it had gotten moved into the console and was covered up by a business card. There was NO WAY in. we called the brother and sister in law, they were riding around and went to the house and got us the spare key- bringing it half way to town where we were at. I was so agervated. A brand new car and it gets locked with the key, (which IS the fob) IN the ignition. My 04 TRUCK wouldnt do this. Of course, it was my fault, because I hadnt learned the code yet. UGGGG. Eventually we got in- THEN, Today I was running erronds- since this is a gas rig, and it uses ALOT of gas, I turn it off everytime I stop- My deisel I would let run, just jump out with the fob, lock the doors and run in whereever- but, this has the fob ON the key- not seperate, and it really does suck the gas when sitting still. SO, I kill it- BUT, I was JUST running into Lowes, checking ONE price and running out, the car was still hot from being in walmarts parking lot while I was shopping and I saw no point in turning it off. SO, I grabbed the card (I still havent memorized it, but did put it in my phone) and clicked the lock button and slammed the door to run into Lowes. It clicked unlocked. I did it again. It did it again. Here I was cussing a door in the middle of a parking lot. SO, I went to the passenger side door, thought maybe thats how the kids managed it. NOPE- same thing I would click it locked, shut the door, turn to walk off and 'click' it would unlock. I seriously have NO IDEA how in the heck they did it. NONE. So, I turned off the car/truck thing, and went inside- coming out to a hot car that now confounds me totally-

A new kind of Chronicle....???

Habits are hard to break, but harder to keep sometimes.

I dont know why I have been so lax in writing, my kids STILL do crazy stuff EVERY day- sometimes its just funny- sometimes its enough to drive a saint to drink, but instead of writing it here, I put it on facebook- I guess its just easier- and gets more 'airtime'. This blog is kinda out of the way and not as visable.

BUT, truth be told, I was rereading some of my facebook posts the other day trying to put a date to something and realized how much I had already forgotten- since I am not sure how long facebook stuff sticks around, I think I am going to try something new-

Nothing real fancy, BUT, I will try to compile all my facebook posts in a weekly post, and of course add anything that I feel might be relevent.

Well here is March-
Not ALL of March- but some of it.

Parenting Fail # 456 - I decided to watch Rattlesnake Republic- about rattlesnake hunters. Bow just got dressed and said "I be back waiter, I am fixin to find me a stick and catch a few snakes- you can sell dem AND wear dem!! "

Free to a good home: I have ONE teenager and his dog- Both are cantankerous, condesending, rude and lazy. Unless there is a chance of a fight- Then they will expend ALL their energy defending their selves to prove that whatever stance they took is the the correct one. They also like to pick said fight. I will even provide clothes that currently fit, and might or might not be clean BUT are NOT in the laundry room.


you know you are raising your kids right when you take a shortcut through walmart and your precious little girl says "BUUUT MOOOM- when you go this way I cant look at the guns!!!"


Dang, its raining hard out there- I even got up and counted kids and dogs- Lord knows if any of them got caught outside in something like this they'd float off....


There is nothing like wearing a jacket and freezing your rear off while installing an A/C unit! Story of my life..... like to have sweated to death last night and refused to even cook now I am shivering so much I cant hold a screrwdriver! -


Seeing how long it takes for the Byerly and Roff boys to get kicked out — with B R Billy Byerly and Kathleen at BASS PRO SHOPS. Pearland TX.


‎16 hours, 35 minutes, 446 miles, and all of it was well worth it! So proud of how our boys represented Jasper 4h gun and bow, plus they learned so much! Just wish more kids had gotten to come! We also got to visit with family, had a blast with the Roffs and met 2 different people with ties to Jasper


taking a 4 year old ALL the way to Lufkin to the dentist today for a major repair- cause Mondays are not fun enough with out dealing with dentists and screaming kids!! yeah me!!!



okay, I just spent 45 minutes trying to shove an electrical wire into the breakerbox in a hot, humid, little room with no airflow, working every way possible to get that wire shoved into a small hole just another half times its size 4 foot above the small hole I shoved it into to start with- AND wallering on the dirty, wet, muddy ground, when I FINALLY got it done, I went to change clothes because I was soaked through- and that does NOT work well with someone who has as much product in their hair as I do.... I had JUST peeled my skin tight jeans off- and was TRYING to kick them off my feet, somehow even my socks were wet with sweat, and the kids come running in the bathroom that "someone in a minivan just drove up" - WTF? So I had to wiggle and jump and fight myself BACK into those jeans, rebutton my shirt, and walk back out of this oven I call a house, into the humidor that we call my yard, to tell a census worker my address! We were not even COUNTED this year IN the census... Come to find out our address didnt exist... so in essence neither did we... wonder if I can get my taxes back...

Is amazed by a kids ability to be sent to the farthest corner of the yard to get a peice of trash and pass 8,539 other peices of trash but blissfully be unaware they are there and get annoyed when you point it out to them! -



has just installed a 220 line and plug- so now I have AC blowing in my house!! whoo-hoo!!! :)


For weeks i have been on my kids to leave the door open for the breeze since the ac was broke Today i got the new unit working and guess what? The door knob has decided to boycot and keeps locking us in or out everytime we shut it. Seriously- Murphy loves me and has made me the luckiest person on earth- unfortunatly his law sucks and its all bad luck! Lol -

I just caught my kids trying to sneak outside wearing baseball helmets with all the pillows in the house stuck under their clothes.
--- Since they fixed all the bikes earlier, I have a feeling I know what they are up to.
------ SOOO being the loving and concerned mom that I am- I told them to put my freakin pillows back on the beds and get the hell out the door-
..........
Yep- they were jousting on bikes- with cane poles and helmets... THEN, they decided to make a slip and slide out of a mud puddle- They would throw bow and see how far he would 'slip and slide' through the mud....



I consider myself a fairly intelegent human being I mean I can use deduction and common sense, but I just spent 30 minutes fighting a door knob that is locking me IN my house- when it dawned on me: Alan wrenches! So I jumped up from my hardwon battle of jimmying open a grade 1 security knob, -and ran outside to get said alan wrenches carefully shutting said door to keep the newly installed ac from having to cool the who, outdoors..... -


--------------- and yes I am intelligent enough to know that intellegent is mispelled... UGGGGG I give up.... LOL lock is currently safely enclosed in a bag, looking much like evidence from a homicide- which, had I had to deal much more with it this morning, it very well might have been.....



Has decided to institute a new rule.
IF I walk in and the door is open because you failed to shut it on your way out- I will deadbolt it.

Its not even 10 and I cant keep my eyes open- so, if you are waiting on a drawing or words with friends from me- Keep waiting- LOL- Hard to believe my grandmother would be 77 today- and harder to believe she has been gone almost 8 years.


Doors (cabinet, outer, bedroom, bathroom, closet, microwave, fridge, freezer) are an amazing invention that have been around for centuries, and there is an even more amazing invention attached to doors- hinges-- these make opening and even shutting the said door amazingly easy and convienent. A slight push usually works- no more than a flick of your wrist in most cases. Tomorrow i will be explaining this phenomenon to my offspring in detail. -





Somedays I think I dont run a household, I run an insane asylum. Other days I KNOW it without a doubt! -


Teaching my kids to make dressin, We were mixing up the cornbread and eggs and such to let it set for a while when I said "you gotta boil some eggs" --- "hoover boil some eggs" THEN, as an afterthought said "LEAVE them IN the shells!!" whew! That was a close one...

UGGGG got my 'work' done for JYSSA, FNRA and 4-H for the day, so now I have to pretend to be a good wife and mother and clean and cook... I should also go find my two eldest kids... They said Petey had something 'treed' this morning and were going to go get him. That was hours ago and they are still gone and Petey is right here in my lap... I think they are just hiding from that mountain of laundry that was pulled out of their rooms yesterday...LikeUnlike · · March 21 at 12:22pm



Nice quiet evening, waiting for the nyquil to kick in and i find out my 2 elsest idiots trecked off today with 2 dogs, and forgot to bring them back- jumped in BR's truck, drove to get them, got a charlie horse in my clutch leg, 2 dogs who are NOT good car riders and managed to grab the one truck on the place under empty so now i am barefoot in a closed gas stations parkinglot- sneezing my hair off repeating 'but i love my kids, i love my kids, i love ny kids.......'

Why is it my kids can only shut a door that was a) open to start with, or b) the one a sibling is coming through RIGHT behind them.???

I am still thinking low voltage shocking wristlets for kids would be beneficial...


I swear i am going to tie my bedroom tv remote to the bedstead - i just spent 30miniutes trying to quietly search a room with a sleeping husband who has to get up in 5 hours, a kid noone wants to wake and a dog who thinks if he is awake i am his personal scratcher- -all the bed clothes, dirty clothes, under everything, in drawers, under pillows and the bed- finally found it in the kitchen by the sink- -i had given up and was heading to get some peanut butter on a spoon got so excited about the remote, i forgot my snack- -



March 26
OMG- I finally know why my kids brought home crawfish and fish from the pond and stuck them in my fish tank... so they could fish when I wouldnt let them go to the pond!! UGGGGGGG


March 26, 10:35pm My sweet and loving baby boy just crawled in the bed with me, snuggled up and said 'brett and matt are mean' - i patted him on the back and was going to give him some motherly advice and try to make him feel better when he followed up with 'they must take after you' -
The warning "Full Metal Jousting is a dangerous, Extreme sport. To protect the horses and competitors trained professionals followed strict safety guidelines. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" just came on my TV. to which my kids said "fffttttt, its not THAT dangerous, and we aint even professionals. " and "yeah- like we are going to listen to someone who has to have a professional train them on HOW to fall"

Y'all think i am kidding, they woke up before me this morning, and this is what they were doing.




I had to send brett back to the pond to let some fish go, and he brought back a dadgum turtle. You just cant turn them loose with out a keeper...

Thursday : seriously, my boys play with and hunt any animal, reptile, bug, or aquatic life they can find, with their bare hands, and bring all of them home, mostly dead THANK GOD- and I just witnessed one say "oh crap, its after dark and I forgot to bring up the turtles tank- Come on Rayley".... THEN, BOTH boys come inside, leaving HER at the barn, ALONE, to get a towell- cause neither one will come back alone.


First of all- WHY? why bring home a turtle? we dont need it.

growing and learning, loosing and winning-

Well, its been awhile-
JYSSA is coming along great- we had a tournament and it was a huge success- We got a $4,000.00 matching grant from the local economic board to purchase a thrower and some 3D targets and we are planning a tournament in Feb.

The kids have been normal kids. Bow turned 4, and Brett turned 13. I think my biggest fear of them growing up is wondering if I have managed to instill enough into them that they have a good foundation.




Christmas was all about the weapons- Rayley got a pink bow, and arrows and release and case- a real one.
Bowdrie got a toy bow and shotgun-
Matt and Brett both got double barrel shotguns for their skeet shooting-



But before Christmas we went down to Kenedy for Bretts birthday-

We all hunted and everyone got a kill- Hoover got his first deer- a nubbing buck!
we were all in differnt stands and heard the report of his rifle, then almost imediatly we heard another! he had shot his deer on the run, and it fell, but was still alive, and so the second it lifted its head he jacked another shell in and hit it in the head. That kid is a pretty good shot.

Brett and I also got a little one, nothing special but some real good eating.

The next day BR and both boys went and set up on a feeder, they set up two blinds, both looking at the feeder- Brett was alone and BR was with Hoover. Some turkeys came out and BR has really been wanting to get one, so he took the first shot- He was deer hunting with a .270, so any shot was a kill shot. It fell to the ground, but was flopping a little.

Well Brett, being the helpful little soul he is, decided to help his dad out by shooting the bird again!

Since the Turkeys stuck around, Brett was also able to get one for himself. And a coyote come through a little later, which BR was also able to get a bead on.



Notice how skinny BR's bird looks? thats cause Bretts shot literly gutted it for them. It was a miracle that he didnt blow off the feathers, so we can still have it mounted.

All in all, we had a blast- Hoover wants to go back in April for his birthday, he wants to get a turkey during spring season.

And Rayley has expressed interest in hunting with us. She has hunted with the boys before- but we all knew that was just a waste of time. heck, I was always suprised when they all came home and noone had pushed the other one out of the ladder stand.

School is going good- As good as it can be when you are dealing with a 4 year old, the Princess of Whinesalot, a preteen and a teen. Lord knows they will try anything to get out of it. But for the most part I think they are doing well.

Rayley has been practicing alot with her bow, and I am very proud of her- when she first got it she had a little trouble pulling it back, but within 2 days she was pulling it back with no problems. I think she might give the boys a run for their money.





Here she is getting it fitted, She only has a 17 inch draw- her arrows are SOOO tiny!! But she really enjoys it.
BR and I have one more aspect of our training for 4H, we are going this month to get our archery certification. I really hope this class is as fun and informative as the shotgun was. We took Rifle back in October and it honestly wasnt anything to write home about.

Eventually we will do pistol, simply because its not fair to exclude kids who prefer one weapon over the other. (yes, I am sooo over the PC crap- I will be honest, in my opinion if you just buckle under and sugar coat crap, it just attracts more vermin... )

We had a pretty sad Decemeber, we had to make the decision to put Duke down. This was VERY hard on me and BR. BR had brought Duke home and given him to me when the doctors told me I would probebly never get pregnant. he was a mean old fart, but I still loved him. BR burried him under the magnolia tree in the front yard, and I made sure he had a pillow to lay his head on.


I also had to purchase a new TV. See, I got up out of the living room during class time one day to go pee. Its a normal function and as the mom of 4 kids I have to do it quite often. Usually I never get to go alone. My kids think the bathroom is a portal to another universe or something and I will disapear if they dont watch me.
SO- I wasnt gone 45 seconds and in comes Brett-
"Dont be mad, but I was walking by the TV and saw like a little crack"
uhhh we JUST bought that TV in September.
so I came back in here, and all 4 kids are sitting quiet as church mice.

Indeed, in the lower corner was a slight crack, and when you turned on the TV it crackled adn popped and no picture would show.

FINALLY I got the story- or two versions of it.

Seems a kid, (Bow or Brett, depending on which one you ask) had a penny (or a starbucks coffee lid), and chunked it INTO the ceiling fan, because thats fun right?
and it became a projectile and hit the screen. thus cracking it just a bit, but turning my 700.00 42 inch plasma TV into a very large, very useless peice of furniture.

I was NOT happy.

THen, in the infinate wisdom that is a grandmother with little to no concept of my kids inability to maintain control of items in their hands, my Mother in law purchased a wii for my kids for Christmas.

I dont like it, and they dont play it very often. They have to earn the time on it. And since it didnt come with the wrist straps I wont even let them play it until they come in.

I also insist that the games be educational or sweat inducing.

OHHHHH and on January 2nd, I was informed that I was ALREADY the worst mom of the year!!

I went to bed, told the boys to pick up the kitchen and take the trash out to their dads truck.

Instead they did a FEW dishes, and left the trash on the porch. BR let the dogs out when he went to work and I got up at 4:30 to my porch full of trash. NOT a good combination. So being me, I woke up a teenager to clean up that mess.


OH and I have a new baby- She is ADORABLE.





And here is what happens when you tell Bow to 'get dressed'....

overalls, dirt and red wagons....

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Well, its summer- we have been enjoying it, even though its been pretty hot. When we were in South Texas my dad sent home an old red wagon that he found. and Bow immediatly latched onto it. Its now his 'agon' and he loves nothing more than for someone to pull him in it. Or he will just pull it himself.

Other than me working on the new association, BR working 6 days a week and the kids snake hunting everyday nothing new is really going on.

We have been doing alot more skeet shooting, the boys enjoy it so much, and BR is trying to get them used to the skeet coming from different directions. It doesnt take them long to master a new shot, I guess as a kid you are so adaptable to things. I cant do the ones with the skeet coming RIGHT at me, I am afraid I will get hit, but not the boys, they just raise the gun, pull the trigger and let the broken peices rain down on them!

I really dont have much to complain about, whine about or even tattle on the kids about, but I couldnt resist showing off these pictures.

Build it and they will come----

Ugggg maybe I need to discuss God and such with Rayley a little more- 11 at night, she gets up and comes back in the living room:
"hey mom, you know when you have the holy ghost in your heart?"
"yes Rayley, please go to bed"
"well, mine keeps saying "you need to EAT- please eat, its time to eat- my Holy ghost doesnt shut up- and he likes ice cream" -------


How do you respond to that?

BR and I went away for the weekend for the first time in 10 years. We went to Kenedy to see my dad, then to San Antonio to take a course for teaching Skeet and shotgun to 4H kids.

We had a good time, But I will admit, I am NOT made to drive 450 miles a day. and I HATE traffic, and I DESPISE other drivers.

Luckily even though he just sat in the passenger seat, BR was able to work enough during the day that he was exhuasted by the time we got to San Antonio- He wore himself out changing the channel on the satalite radio and griping at me for my driving.

I love him dearly, but he is NOT a quiet or stress free passenger... He is like a rabid driving instructor.

We had a BLAST at my dads, we were only there a few hours, but got to see some friends, and sat around and laughed the ENTIRE time.

The national shooting complex was nice, we didnt get to see much, we were in class ALL day, till almost 9 that night, and then for half a day Sunday, but it was still a good time. We learned alot, and cant WAIT to get everything on track to take our kids back to state next year.

we came back on Monday, and the trip wasnt bad- well other than the driving instructions, and the hollering.

We got the kids back last night and I swear they had grown a foot- The boys said they had a good time at the banquet they worked for 4H and Rayley and Bow had a good time bouncing from one house to the other.

Today of course started off like any other- getting up, working on cakes, and the foundation. I got a great phone call during class this weekend from someone who is interested in working with us that the kids will LOVE. I am keeping it under my hat for the time being, but JYSSA will benefit from him- and I hope him from us.

Anyway, I found out that we are on the Agenda for 2 differnt board meetings to request money, and so I spent all day making sure my proposal was well rounded and correct. This is really coming together and I am getting feedback and people interested that I never realized where even there!! Everyone at the class this weekend was interested in it and more than willing to help us- and since one of our board members was able to put an article in the newspaper about us we have gotten some good publicity.

My cousin brought over some chickens he no longer wanted, and the kids took care of that, and then I spent the rest of the day trying to fiqure out how to get the door knob off the door-
My kids somehow broke the durn thing. seriously- they had us LOCKED in the house. Well, 2 of them were locked outside and wanted in, and the 2 kids who wanted outside were locked INside...

Finally I opened a window and let them crawl back and forth. And low and behold, we had a visitor. or two. My sister in law and mother in law came over. They thought I was kidding when I told them they had to crawl through the window.

We did finally jimmy the door open. And Bow promptly closed it. ALL day long I holler "SHUT THE DOOR" and noone listens... say "DONT SHUT THAT DOOR!" ONE time and they will break their neck getting it shut.

I got it open AGAIN- and a little while later sent Brett out to make sure the chickens had water- He didnt feel that was the right job for him, got mad and ... YOU guessed it- slammed the door- locking us in AGAIN. I didnt bother to re jimmy it open until I saw BR coming up the driveway. Finally we got the knob out of the door- it was NOT easy. I tried for over an hour. and I get to take it back tomorrow. I swear that thing is less than 6 months old!!

I just honestly, dont quite understand how this happens... seriously.. I swear my life is like a country song.. I never did work on the two cakes I have due- and Lord KNOWS I gotta get them done- but there was just NOT enough hours today...

But its all good- I have got everyone asleep and am finishing off a gallon of Blue Bell Happy Tracks ice cream.... Life is goooood...

When the going gets tough- Shut up and work harder !!

~ Troy Landry

Thats my new motto :)

Tonight we were sitting here watching swamp people and Bow starts saying "..... IF YOU CALL ME ELIZABETH ONE more time!" I was thinking if that's the worst thing he quotes off swamp people we will have it made. LOL

We have been busy these last few weeks.
The wedding was a success! Rayley did great, and looked adorable!




I was very proud of her.





And we had another surprising twist... Matt asked if he could weedeat. Seriously. So BR taught him how. Unfortunately, he got about half way done and the weedeater messed up. I had to take it to the shop and have gas lines changed. *again, THANK YOU to the federal government and the EPA for putting ethanol in the gas- it raised corn prices AND is eating all the parts used in engines..... *





But, the biggest thing around here was:
BR and I have always felt that although our shooting sports was a wonderful thing, we needed more- We needed an actual skeet range, a trap thingy, and an archery range- (we lost ours last year that we borrowed), plus a a rifle range and classroom, and all the other elements that combined make for a great time. Something that belonged TO the kids. Not just a borrowed gym that we had to restore all our stuff every night, or a hay field with a skeet machine on a trailer.

We have helped a little through the years, doing whatever was asked of us always helped with the fundraisers and worked hard to get more money for the club, and have got ourselves signed up to go to San Antonio next week to take some instructor courses. Eventually we talked about it enough between ourselves that we decided it was time to talk to everyone else. So we did. And everyone else felt the same way!!

So, the next logical thing was to look into buying some land and getting the fundraisers started to pay for it and build the complex. Then we found out the 4H couldn't own land.
So, we decided to start a non profit foundation, named it the Jasper Youth Shooting Sports Association, and got to work. We put together an awesome board; Parents, civic leaders, business owners, elected officials, and everyone in between, even me.

We had our first meeting a week ago tonight- and I swear, I don't think I have ever been that excited- I was supposed to let BR run the meeting, he is the chairman after all, but honestly, I was just so gung ho I couldn't stop. We presented the bylaws, mission statement, general ideas, job descriptions, and even a plot of land to buy. Everyone loved it. - I had worked on it for weeks getting it together, and once everyone got on the same page, we came home and I got busy again.
I have read more about non profits, and 501 (c)'s than I ever knew was possible, am learning to form a corporation, reading tax law, and insurance policies. By the time we left, we had voted to not only acquire the land offered to us, BUT, on our first fundraiser and had raised almost 300.00 from the very room that comprised the board!

The land is PERFECT. its half cleared, half still in woods, is way in the country, has a creek running through it AND is surrounded by hunting land where we can take the 4H kids hunting!!

BR was off all weekend, and ended up telling me "ya know, I took off all weekend, you could do the same" . BUT, we would end up talking about the association anyway.

The worst thing was- Monday was a holiday and I couldn't conduct ANY business!! So, I opened a PO box online, and STILL had to wait until Tuesday to get the number.

I spoke to some other people who had started complexes and couldn't wait to meet with them to see their facilities. Of course, my days were still full of trying to figure out the 501(c) and trying to decide between a corporation and an LLC.

I still haven't figured that part out yet.

We are just so blessed to have a board of 20 people who are as excited about this as we are. People who are willing to work hard, put their necks and reputations on the line, and MAKE something- Not just a bunch of folks with ideas, and talking about it, But people willing to knock on doors, write letters, learn rules and read legal papers.

BR has been such a great help too. He calls me all the time with a new idea, something else to research, encouraging words, or just to add to the dream. Not to mention; he hasn't complained once when I worked strait through till 7pm and forgot to cook him supper, or wouldn't talk about anything except form 1023, EIN's, grant proposals or fiscal sponsorships. He wants this as much as I do, and we KNOW that time is of the essence. Brett is already 12- we want him to be able to compete on a state level for a few years. Its not fair for him to watch all this happen and only Bow get to benefit from it.

I'd like to see at least one 5 man stand, 1 complete skeet set up, and 1 trap setup in place before this time next year.

Anyway, yesterday BR and I, and 2 others from the board went to the closest gun club to us to learn about some of the ins and outs. We came away from it with alot of valuable information, but more than that with a sense of pride and knowhow. we CAN do this.
Unfortunatly, we also came away from it with some information that we didnt want to hear. The words "gross negligence" and "liability insurance" are never fun to hear. But its something you have to always have in the back of your mind anytime you allow the public onto a site that you design and construct, especially for the youth to use.

And more especially when there are firearms and archery equiptment involoved. ( I am not allowed to call them 'weapons' around the 4H kids- which makes no sense to me, a weapon is only a bad thing if you use it for a bad purpose. I really have no easy term to use. "instrument for expelling projectiles" seems too long and cumbersome. )
anyway, the concept of liability is something that does scare me. I can ensure safety in the way our kids USE the Instruments for expelling projectiles or IFEP's, and I can make sure that they are maintained. But you cant inspect every shell that comes through, arrows are known to break from a hairline fracture, wood and synthetic are not made to last forever, and strings get frayed and can snap; mechanical failure on a brand new item is a very distinct posibility. And here was a man who had done this for decades, who was on the state boards, wasnt just an instructor for KIDS, but an instructor FOR instructors, telling us " you DONT want to be the ones supplying weapons to kids- PERIOD. you CANT afford the liability"
He said no insurance company would touch us with a 10 ft pole, the kids MUST supply their OWN IFEP's and Projectiles. UGGGGGG
the WHOLE point of our entire club is its FREE. The parents and kids work our tails off all year to raise money for all the IFEP's and Projectiles and targets (I wonder if I can still use the word target.... to have a target you need something to aim AT the target, and that is traditionally a weapon.....)- anyway, we work hard to make sure that anyone with a finger and a shoulder can shoot a gun. You dont have to have your own, you dont even have to know which end is the bad end when you show up. We are trained to teach you every bit of that. We provide ear plugs, glasses, skeet, heck, we even provide the water to drink! All we ask of the parents is "Bring them, and watch" If a parent WANTS to help- we LOVE it. if they dont, we are okay with that.

But, now that part of the dream, the one for all the disadvantaged kids who dont already HAVE a shotgun or bow at home might not work out for us. Thats the kids we wanted to be sure got to hunt, and were able to shoot to their hearts content. Its heartbreaking. But, Its NOT going to stop us. PERIOD. One dog doesnt stop the show. We can fiqure out ways to get around that. But, now we have to break it to everyone IN the club. And sad thing is, folks think I am being the bad guy.
It doesnt matter though- we WILL prevail, we WILL still have that range by this time next year, and we WILL work to make sure anyone interested is able to shoot in all the disaplines we offer. It might just be a little differnt than we imagined.


The actual association is fine, its not affected by this. Its just an entity to facilitate the act of expelling projectiles (shooting seems just as unPC as weapons and targets....)- it will simply be like any other gun range in the state- and allow the 4H to utilize the facilities.
Its the Club that worries me. Oh not that we wont still have one. Most of our kids have their own IFEPs, so thats not the issue. And this is East Texas- most folks know someone, who knows someone, who has a cache of guns. Its the strife it might cause amoung the adults that is bothering me.




But alas- that's neither here nor there, the point is- we HAVE an association- We WILL have an entire shooting complex, and we are going to have it SOON!!


I am just thrilled to be a part of something so great- And the other night, I went to the NWTF chapter meeting to discuss our banquet, and our field representative has his own 4H gun range too! Its way up in North Texas, but its great to know someone else has done this.

And I know we have a great board, I didn't have a single person hear about it that didnt want to be a part of it immediately!!

The boys have been picking peas all week, getting up and getting in the fields right after daylight because its so hot, and then picking a few bushels and selling them. And the other day we sold 4 hogs, after I took out the money for feed, the boys got the rest for feeding and watering them.
I am hoping this will teach them that hard work DOES pay off. And if it doesn't pay off, maybe it will teach them to get a good job and pay others to do the dirty work.

I will close with a video of Bow,

the first days of summer-

Its still HOT and DRY- we have had wildfires all around us- pretty scary stuff- Luckily God saw fit to send down some rain, and what the Volunteer fire depts hadnt already put out, was put out by His rain.




well the first day of summer arrived and Rayley turned 7- OMG- what happened to my teeny little mini monster that weighed 4 pounds 13 oz at birth and had to wear cabbage patch kid clothes?? I cant belive how grown up she is.
and yes it sucks to be the kid of a custom cake baker- LOL she got a Big Red icebox cake with cool whip frosting. But it was homemade!

For her birthday she got lots of stuff- but her favorite BY FAR, was her pocket knife her dad gave her- its pink of course- and she hasnt been without it since.




The day she got it, the boys were putting together a dog pen- it said "put together in under an hour" on the package- They underestimated the ability of my children to not be capable of contstucting a box with wire on it.




SO, They were opening the box, and Hoover says "we need a pocket knife" He doesnt have his, and Brett doesnt have his, well Bertha Sue reaches in her pocket and says "here, you can use mine- but dont loose it"

She has slept with it curled in her hand every night since her party.

My dad came in- He and I went to get him a gun like mine, and low and behold, there was a pink one- so he bought that for me and took my black and silver one. I am SOOO thrilled!! I love it!





Our house has been pretty hot here lately, by afternoon its hitting 80 with the AC running full blast. So, we decided it needed new ducts- I went to Lowes and bought the duct, and some tape and came home- first of all, I HATE wallerin around in the dirt- second, there are LOTS of spiders and other bugs under my house, third, I REALLY hate it when my skin cries.

BUT we got it done- Me and Bertha Sue- BRett helped a little, but she was right beside me the entire time-
One time I lost my knife and she said "here, use mine" - yep, she DOES come in handy-
Then she said "I better not break a nail or someone is gonna pay for this" ahhhhh my little princess. It was kinda funny to see four hands with pink american tips covered in dirt and grime taping and cutting on the duct work. or at least thats what Brett pointed out- He said "y'all are too girly to be down here doin this-" I told him he was right, and offered to let him do it- he said "NO, his point was we needed to quit being so fru-fru....

I let her get some artificial nails for her birthday, she is going to be a in a wedding on Saturday, so she got her hair redyed and got tips. She is THRILLED!

The airduct fix actually did what it was supposed to for the most part- But alas my house being cool just wasnt meant to be.....

Right now, its 7am and 84* in my house- see yesterday the fan on the outside condenser unit stopped working- the motor somehow burned up- I am QUITE sure it has NOTHING to do with that string wrapped around the shaft- and I KNOW my kids didnt see a fan blade spinning real fast and decide to see if it could cut a string in half- I know they wouldnt do that sort of thing...

BUT that means I have to replace that fan- I am trying to decide if I should tackle it or wait till BR gets home and let him do it. But I dont think we can wait that long- the coolest it got here last night was about 82*- It was SOO hard to sleep- For everyone except the boys- they slept on the porch- it was in the 70's out there and they slept like babies.

Of course that isnt all they broke yesterday- somehow, they managed to bust up the entire filter part of my dryer- not just the lint trap, but the peice that HOLDS the lint trap- The dryer quit working, so I took it apart, yep come to find out, there was a sock stuck in the fan motor- I have to buy all the pieces for that today too-

What is it with me and fans here lately? I think the fan clutch on my truck is going out too!!


Last week we had vacation bible school- I worked it except the night BR was off- The first rattle out of the box I walk through and there sits BRett and another boy on a pew in the foyer-
Come to find out, the other kid, well known for starting crap, had pushed him - so Brett rared back to 'take care of the problem' and got caught-

They were sitting out of one of the activities- BUT, I decided that was just too much- So, I loaded him up and brought him home, then went back to finish out my night- EVERYONE up there asked where he was- they all offered to let him help them, SO- I brought him back the next night and he was a helper from then on out.

It would have been different if this child hadnt been in an altercation with EVERY other boy in the church- Literly. And my kids take the old adage "if you dont stand for something, you'll fall for anything" to heart-

Bow really enjoyed himself- and loved the crafts- Bertha Sue had a blast and Hoover was plain old Hoover-

On the second night though we had a slight... 'come to Jesus' meeting- I told the kids "load up" its time to go- I was hot, tired and needed some nicotine-
well, BErtha Sue was on the playground and just kept playing- I told her about 5 times. I even got caught up talking to someone and ended up staying longer, she NEVER came to the truck- The other boys all loaded up- but no Bertha Sue- So, I started backing up, she kept playing-
So, I started to drive off- She kept playing.

I drove out of the driveway and down the road about 25 feet till I was hid in some trees. I called the church to tell a friend of mine who was finishing up cleaning that I was going to drive around the back way and hide behind the church- to leave her. But she said "I'll bring her home, just keep going" - So I did.

When that child got home she sat on the porch for over an hour- she was mad as a wet hen. And a little scared.

Finally her daddy went out and got her- she kept saying " I was just pickin" I told her " I was too, the first time, and the second time" But I didnt say a word after that- I just told her that she was lucky someone was willing to bring her home, it was a long walk in the dark- (we live almost a mile away) -

well, on the last night, when it was time to leave I told them all, and started rounding them up- Put Bow in the truck, saw Hoover lurking around thinking he was being slick, and KNEW Brett had heard my "byerly's load up" call. well, I knew Rayley was in the church helping clean up- So, I went to get my truck, to back it up to the front door, and when I started it up and started backing up low and behold I see Brett and Matt running from different directions hollering "DONT LEAVE US!! we are coming!!!" and 3 people ran inside to tell Rayley I was leaving her again- She knew though that I was just moving the truck, she had asked my permission to help clean up, but noone else knew that.

Not sure how long it will last- they have the memory retention of a housefly, but it was funny as hell to watch that night!


Everyone was laughing about the fact that I left her- and I said "yeah- and it might have been better if everyone here didnt know EXACTLY where I live!"

And for those that are freaking out- Dont- *rolls eyes*- There were plenty of adults who I trust, all around and they KNEW what I was doing- Half of them wish they had thought to do something like that with their own kids.


Now, I am off here to go to town and get the parts for my dryer AND my AC- then its back home to work on the non profit foundation that BR and I started to build a shooting complex here in our town, and I have to alter the dress that Princess Whinesalot is wearing in the wedding- OH and fix a few of the nails she has busted off...