The Lumberjack's Wife

I am sorry for the lack of blog posts, but, as I inform David daily:

“I work now.”

Ha!  Poor guy.  All those years of me begging, nay pleading, with him to stay up late with me when he was tired from work . . .   And, since I have been subbing nearly every day, I am tired and ready for bed before he is.

Life is better.  The kids are still in school and doing well.  I feel better about the whole situation, although I sometimes still can’t believe I went through with it all.

It was like “Homeschool Moms Gone Wild:  Put them in school edition.”

Surprisingly enough, I am NOT subbing today.  I did not get the 5:50 am call this morning and I am enjoying my day home alone.  I have been catching up on laundry and house cleaning.  I paid the bills (which is always a total downer) and fed the horses, rabbits, kittens, dog, and chickens.  I make my wannabe farm and ranch husband proud.

I thought I would share with y’all the kids’ school photos:

Sweet Pea, 5th grade

Sweet Pea is doing very well in school.  I am proud of her because she has been sticking up for a girl at school who gets teased very badly.  The staff have told me that she is a very positive influence in her class.  Sweet Pea would prefer to homeschool, but she is being a trooper throughout this ordeal and doing her very best.

Daisy Mae, 4th grade

Daisy Mae is loving school.  She fits in nicely with her 4th grade class, which is a fun group of kids.  I was able to tag along with the 4th grade during a field trip.  We had a blast and it was fun to see her enjoying her classmates and the time they had.

Handsome Dude, 1st Grade

Switching to public school has been a very good change for this little man.  He takes pride in his schoolwork now and is winning the class reading competition (reading minutes earned).  He comes home from school everyday and gets to work on his homework without me having to remind him.  He is proving to be much more responsible at home and is excited to read and write.

This was not the Handsome Dude I homeschooled.

Trust me.

Little Dude, Kindergarten

Little Dude’s favorite parts of school are recess and lunch.  So you can see where his priorities are.  He is academically done with Kindergarten, but I don’t want to move him up. (He did Kindergarten last year with his brother) A team of teachers at his school are working on a plan for him so he does not get bored.

He is not bored, yet, however.  He is excited to go everyday.  He never remembers what they learned at school, but he does like to inform me of what color of pants his very stylish teacher wears everyday.

His future is bright.

***

Halloween!

Here is the obligatory kids in costume photo for you to all enjoy.

Sweet Pea-Native American.  She was a cowgirl/western girl for school and decided to change it up for the evening.

Daisy Mae-Cowgirl/western girl

Little Dude- Monkey

Handsome Dude- Cowboy

I am a grinch for Halloween.  I hate coming up with costumes.  We opened the dress up bin and I told the kids to “have at it.”

Mom.

Of.

The.

Year.

Friends of ours surprised us with the Native American costume, so Sweet Pea was excited to try that.

So.  We spent $1 on the vest for Handsome Dude’s cowboy getup.  We got it at the Dollar Store, hence the price.  And this may shock you, but the vest is not as durable as you might think and has already ripped.

So, there you have it.  An update on all things Maliblahblah.

Happy Weekend!

We started homeschooling this year the day after Labor Day.

I was one busy lady trying to manage the education of each of my children.  I don’t know why, but this year seemed so much harder than any other year.

Homeschooling was starting to become a burden to me.  And that burden seemed to be more than I could bear.

I felt trapped.  And I hated that I felt that way.

I prayed about it.  I tried to change my attitude about it.

But I was miserable.  And that burden just did not go away.

Now.  I know life isn’t all about me, and I truly want to do what is best for my children.  David and I did a lot of talking and a lot of praying and we decided to look into enrolling our kids into school.  Because of where we live, our options are limited.  I could drive 45 minutes one way to a pretty good school district.  But this option seemed less than ideal.  I did not want to be forced to drive that far daily, even if the roads were bad.  Besides, that school district couldn’t accommodate all of my kids at the same school.  Private school is financially out of the question (as well as 45 minutes away), unless I were to get hired as a teacher at one.  So we looked at the school in our district.  This school district is not as good as the 45 minute away one.

However.  I met with the principal, who is newer, and he was very honest with me.  He showed me all the ups and downs of the school, as well as the steps they have taken to improve the school.  Next, the principal invited the kids to spend the day there before we committed.  The kids all enjoyed themselves and the staff was very friendly and welcoming.

And, on October 7th, all my kids started attending there.  I was still in a state of panic/denial, but I did have the presence of mind to remember to capture their “first” day of school photos.

Sweet Pea, 5th grade

Daisy Mae, 4th grade

Handsome Dude, 1st grade

Little Dude, Kindergarten

I dropped them off.  And I went home.

And THAT, my dear friends, was the absolute worst day of my entire life.  I know that sounds dramatic, and I am sorry it does, but it was truly awful.

Crying.

Hyperventilating.

Wondering why on earth I did this.

And more crying.

Oh!  And while I was home alone, for the first time, in like, forever, the horses decided to break through their fence and flit about the neighborhood.  So that was fun.  Calling my neighbor to come help me and having to explain why I was crying.

Because, seriously.  I was crying.  All day.

A lot of my identity had become wrapped up in homeschooling.  I had too high of expectations of myself, and of my children, and I was making myself (and probably my children) miserable.

I was always worried that I wasn’t doing a good job at homeschooling.  Turns out I did just fine!  All of my children are performing in the top percentile of their classes and Little Dude has blown everyone out of the water with his stellar knowledge of math and reading.  I was worried about him not really learning anything this year, but his teacher caught on right away and has scheduled a meeting with a special curriculum assessment team at the school to determine how to best challenge him.

My kids are doing great at school and have done well with the adjustment.  Sweet Pea has had a bit of a hard time with this new thing called, “Girl Drama.”  Both girls have been asked out “hundreds” of times by boys.

BOYS!  REAL BOYS!  Asking MY girls out.  The nerve.

Sweet Pea made the comment,

“Mom.  It is really dumb.  Like where are we going to go? We can’t drive.  We don’t have anywhere to go.”

Ha.  She also told one persistent boy that she would not go out with him because if she did, she might not have as much time to spend with her animals, and she likes her animals more than boys.

One of the hardest parts for me was letting go of the control over the education.  I know EVERYTHING that they know.  I know what they don’t know.  I know what they need to learn.  I know where their strengths are and where their weaknesses are.

And I have just placed (some of) that control in the hands of four other people.

It is all very stressful.

But here is the best part of all:

I am there everyday.

Thankfully, I kept my teacher certification current so I am offered a sub position daily.  And ever since I was hired as a sub, I have been there everyday.  I am enjoying teaching in a classroom setting and remembering why I went to school to be a teacher, all those years ago.  The staff is amazing at this school.  They do a great job in their rooms and have been so welcoming and encouraging to me.  I am enjoying being there.

This has been the hardest trial of my life.  I know God is leading me through something right now and I am trying to be patient and trust in Him.

We might go back to homeschooling one day, but for now, I believe we are doing what God wants us to do.

***

On a much lighter note, look at what we found in our hay barn:

Kittens!

Mrs. Poppers was apparently quite UN-faithful to her husband, Mr. Poppers (of whom we stripped of his manhood) and had babies with an unknown cat of the male species.

This has all been very exciting.

So.  We have four baby kittens.

Presh.

***

Want to hear some crazy, fantastic, exciting news?

David is getting out of the rabbit biz.

He listed them all, along with all their paraphernalia, on The Craigslist.

Want to know why?

He’s making room for pigs.

Happy Sunday!

David and his dad both put in for a moose tag this year-and they each drew one.  Apparently, each hunter is allowed one moose in his or her lifetime.  You have to pay to be put into a lottery.

And they won!  They won the lottery!

I would rather win a different kind of lottery.  But to each his own.

David’s dad was able to harvest a moose on his own property a little awhile ago.

And, yes.  I just said “harvest.”  That is what the hunter-men say.  I used to say “catch.”  You know, as in,

“Hello, honey!  How was hunting?  Did you catch anything?”

Hunter peoples do not like this.  They prefer “kill” or “harvest.”  Consider yourselves informed.

Anywho.  David, his dad, and Sweet Pea all went out hunting last Saturday.  And they were successful!

David sent me this picture of himself after he had caught harvested his moose.  You know.  THE picture.  THE harvest picture.

THE harvest picture of David with his ONCE IN A LIFETIME MOOSE!

He looks ecstatic, does he not?

He claims it isn’t very big.  I think it is plenty big and now I have about 350 pounds of moose meat in my freezer.

Don’t be jealous.

The day after he caught slaughtered the moose, we all went to his parents’ house to cut up, grind, and package the meat.

Be warned!  These pictures are gross.

This was the cutting table.  The moose was hanging near by.  I won’t show you that picture.  It is a bit too much, if you know what I mean.  But the moose was hanging there, and they would cut off some of its flesh, place it on the table, and cut it up there.

If the meat was a roast or steaks, we would just package it as is.  But most of the meat we ground up into hamburger.  David would run it through the grinder and I would package it.  The boys would take turns labeling the meat and stacking it neatly into boxes.  It was a family affair!

I have been a bit nervous as to whether or not this moose, whom we named Henry,  was going to end up plastered on my wall.

Because we all know how much Taylor loves big game proudly displayed on her walls.

David said he is not planning on hanging it in the house.  It is too big.

Darn.

Instead, it will hang in his shop.

He is planning on bleaching the skull.  Or something.  I don’t know.  It all makes me shudder.

Here is another picture, for your viewing pleasure.

At one point, David took out the poor creature’s eyeballs and gave them to Handsome Dude.  And, of course, Handsome Dude chased Sweet Pea around with them.

***

I cooked Moose Spaghetti last night.  It is just like regular spaghetti, but instead of ground beef, I used ground moose.

I even tried a tiny bit.

I lived.

***

The vast amounts of moose meat came in handy this week!  While we were almost an hour away from home at church, our neighbor called to let us know all three of our horses were running amok.

Yay!

David headed for home, but while he was en route, our neighbor was able to get them all put back into their fence.  And to thank her, we sent her off with some of her own moose meat.

Moose!  It is a gift to be shared amongst redneck neighbors, such as ourselves.

***

David got me up on a horse today.  He was pretty shocked.

I lasted for about 5 minutes.

This might shock you, but I am not really the “horse type.”

***

I have some shocking news.  You better sit down for this.

The boys let all the hens out the other day.

I know, I know.  I was dumbfounded myself.

We thought we had gotten them all in, but Sweet Pea found this one seeking refuge in the Bobcat.

We found it humorous.

We got the little lady back into her coop and went to town for the evening.  When we returned, we found another hen had taken refuge on our fall porch decor.

It is hard to see, but she is kind of behind the pumpkin.  She is black with white spots.

The kids thought it was hilarious.

So I am sharing it with you.

Alright.  Happy Sunday!

It’s been awhile and much has happened.

Here’s a list.

1)  Homeschooling is taking up most of time.   Hence, my lack of blogging, as well as sanity.  I did want to share with you this cute picture of my kindergartener extraordinaire, Little Dude’s, phonics page.

When I went to check it, I noticed he had already found a red pen and had given himself a 100%.  And a star. (The check mark was my doing.  It was so he knew what pages to complete.  If you must know)

Such confidence!

2)  On our way to town the other night, the song “You Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer came on.

Sweet Pea:  Oh, I love this song!

Me:  You do?!?

Sweet Pea:  Yes!  Wait.  Is this the “Ice Vanilla Ice Baby Vanilla Ice” song?

Me:  No.

Yes.  It is sad that my 10 year old knows of this song.  A little while into “You Can’t Touch This”, she shout/asks me:

“Mom!?  What can’t we touch?”

And I truly do not know.

100 (meaningless) point to anyone who can tell me what MC Hammer insists we do not touch.

I hope it’s not naughty in nature.  That would be awkward.

3)  Sweet Pea was discussing college with her Grams and Handsome Dude pulled me aside.  He looked very concerned.

HD:  Mom?  Is college good or bad?

Me:  Good.

HD:  Why would I need to go?  What is it?

Me:  It is just school.  Most people go so they can learn more and get better jobs when they grow up.

He thought about it for a minute.

HD:  What if I want to be a dump truck driver?  Do I have to go to college then?

Me:  I don’t think so.

HD:  Oh, good.

And he walked away, full of relief.

Go homeschool!

4)  So, remember our Wood Cutting Adventures, gone bad?  You can read about them here and here, if you so desire.

Last Saturday, David and his brother, Alex, went wood cutting at the exact spot we have been going the past couple of weeks.  I was at home with the children.  We also had an extra kiddo, because the girls’ friend stayed over.

All the kids were in swimsuits and ready for me to take them to the pool when I got the call from David.

David:  Yeah.  The truck broke down.

This did not shock me.  Have you met us?

So, apparently an axle and coupling broke. Don’t ask me what this means, for I do not know.

David and Alex hiked 3 miles to the top of the mountain to get cell service.  I had to inform the children that instead of swimming, we got to drive to the top of a mountain and save Dad.

The drive was about 2 hours and we had to stop and get a new axle and coupling on the way.  I was a bit worried that I would not find my brave Lumberjack, but I did.

Alex and David hopped in my car and drove back to where the truck was.  They got right to work on putting on the new parts.

How much faith should we put in car jacks, I ask you?

Terrifying.

I enjoyed the fact that the brothers were wearing matching brown Carhartts and gray shirts for their day of wood cutting/truck repair 101 fun.

Matchy-Matchy!

This took them about an hour and half.  The kids entertained themselves by building a “toilet” in the woods.

They spent the entire time building it, yet no one used it.

As soon as the truck was put back into order, the Lumberjack Brothers decided to try and get some wood in the truck and trailer before it got too late.  They had already cut down a tree, so they attached a cable to the truck to pull the tree down onto the road.

About 30 seconds in, the axle broke.

The very axle they had just put on.  And I know that’s what it was because I had just spent the past hour and a half watching them put the new axle on/praying the jack would not break and make me a widow.

The manly men assessed the sitch and determined that even though the axle was broken, the coupling was not and the truck was ok to drive in 2 wheel drive.

I know.  It didn’t make sense to me, either.  But it did to them.  And that’s all that matters.

The boys got into the truck, which was towing the trailer, and headed down the road.

The truck looked pitiful and bereft of wood.

I, like the dutiful wife that I am, followed behind in my Envoy.

Which was not bereft of children.  Or noise.

All of a sudden the truck stops.  I see Alex get out and look at the front, left tire area.  He throws his hands up, almost as if he is confused and looking for something.

I, being the helpful gal that I am, noticed the tire that SHOULD have been located in the front, left spot.  It was in the road, behind the trailer.  Which is less than ideal.

I roll down the window, point to the tire, and shout to Alex:

“I found it!  Here it is!”

Alex looks at me like I am the world’s dumbest person, and then busts up laughing.

You see, dear readers, he knew where the tire was.  He was just looking at the NEW damage the truck had.  Now, I don’t know all the technical words for it, but whatever you bolt the tire to on a truck . . . that was basically destroyed.  Pieces of brake pads and all sorts of other fun stuff were all over the road.

The bottom line?  The wheel was not going back on and the truck was going to be stranded in the middle of a narrow, logging road.

I did not take a picture.  There are times in life when a wife just should not be just standing around, snapping pictures with her phone.  This was one of them.

We had to use the Envoy to pull the trailer away from the truck.  Then, David managed to get the Envoy around the trailer and by the truck, hitch up the trailer, and pull the trailer out with the Envoy.  It was quite scary on the narrow road.  Little Dude summed it up when the experience was over by shouting joyously:

“And we didn’t even die!”

When we made it back into cell phone range, my phone went all crazy-like with 5.2 million notifications of people wondering where we were.  A search party consisting of my mom and dad, lots of coats, and a box of saltine crackers had even already been dispatched.

It was fantastic.

David and his dad were able to go retrieve the truck the next day by using two trucks, two long trailers, and our Bobcat.  The Bobcat was used to push the truck onto a trailer.  So, I guess it is a good thing we spent ALL our monies on a Bobcat last spring.  It came in handy!

5)  Item number 5 on my list went excessively long.  My apologies.

6)  On Monday night, I took the kids swimming.  I drove the Envoy and locked the car in the parking lot.  When I went out, none of the three keys we had for the Envoy would unlock the car.

David called his friend (of whom we bought it from) and he stated he had no idea what was wrong, since he never locked it.

I did not know I could not lock my new car.  I usually find the locking mechanism in a car to be an asset.  But that’s just me.

David had to come pick us up and a locksmith had to come out the next day.  Apparently we need to have someone rip open the door and put new locks in.  Or something.  I don’t know.

But I do know this!  We know how to spend money, people.

Yes.  Yes, we do.

7)  The kids and I went for a walk on our property this afternoon.  It was lovely.

We found this antler shed.

So, basically I have successfully harvested a bigger rack this hunting season than my beloved.

Har.  Har.

We also found this bone.  We think it is a knee bone.  But, really.  What do we know?

Handsome Dude:  Mom?  Do I look like I live in the “crunchie?” (country)  Because I am eating grass?

Yes, son.  Yes, you do.

Happy Thursday!

Last week, I shared with you David and I’s failed wood cutting attempt.

This past weekend, David and I, along with the four cherubs, went back up into the mountains to retrieve the precious tamarack we had to leave behind.

Remember the tamarack?

It is like precious rubies to lumberjacks, such as ourselves.

Anyways.  Our chainsaws broke two Saturdays ago and we had to foolishly leave the tamarack behind.  And if you are confused, and you know you are, tamarack is a type of tree and it is my husband’s fave.

Personally, I don’t have a favorite tree.  But that’s just me.

So, we had to go back and get it.  And this time, we brought our children.

Good times, my friends.  Good times.

So, David and I started where we left off.  This time, David remembered spray paint and I did a mighty fine job measuring out the log lengths, if I do say so myself.

David then makes cuts, but not all the way to the ground.

Chainsaws cannot touch the dirt!  Don’t ask me why.  All I know is one time I was in charge of the chainsaw and I kept hitting the dirt.

There was a lot of sighing from David that day, my friends.  A lot of sighing.

So I don’t do the chainsaw anymore.  Better for the marriage.

After he makes the first cuts, we have to roll the log so the bottom is now at the top and he finishes the cut.  Then we load the rounds into the truck.

We filled the truck and the trailer.

Handsome Dude was eating chocolate pudding.  Hence the messy face.

Driving on windy, narrow mountain roads with David is terrifying.  He is always looking off to the side to see if he can find:

A)  Deer

B)  Elk

C)  Moose

D)  Bears

E)  Dead Tamarack for future joyous wood cutting adventures.

I am always looking out my window hoping we don’t slide off the edge of the road.

As you can see (maybe), there isn’t much of a “side of the road” type of area on a logging road.  Gives me the peepee shivers.

David is a bit of a crazy driver.  Some of his electrical apprentices at work told me that they jokingly say they “get ride with God” on a drive with David.  David thinks his driving record is stellar however.

We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife on this adventure.  We did, however, see a grouse.  Which is like a wild chicken.

So, there’s that.

***

News!

David bought me a new-to-us winter rig!  My minivan does not have 4 wheel drive, which is less than ideal for winter driving.  So, we got a GMC Envoy for when the roads are snowy.  On Sunday, David was moose hunting so I went to my parents house.  My dad and Daisy Mae detailed the Envoy for me!

It was super clean and lovely.  Yay for dads who enjoy cleaning cars!

Thanks, Dad!

Things are a bit crazy here, what with the schooling of the children and all.  Just the other day, Handsome Dude looked at me during reading time and asked,

“Mom, did you just wake up or sum-fing?”

Of course, we all know that he meant to say, “something.”

Homeschoolers.

Me:  No, why?

Handsome Dude:  Because your hair looks really crazy.  Like you didn’t even comb it after you slept.

And on that note, let us make a list!  A list of how I am losing my mind.

(For the record, I do regularly cleanse and groom myself.  Thank you)

1)  Little Dude.

Dude needs to learn how to focus, man.

Let us take this morning for an example, shall we?

Little Dude was told by yours truly to please clear his cereal bowl and get his cute hiney into the bathroom for his morning shower.  Little Dude runs past me, so I, the ever trusting mother, assumed he had did as I had instructed.

I was mistaken.

So, I head into the bathroom to inform Dude that he needs to CLEAR HIS BOWL.

He is naked, but I do not care.  So off he goes.  He leaves the shower running.  I, assuming he would be quick, let it run and began to dry my hair.

I was mistaken.

A few minutes later, I noticed my hair is nearly dry and the shower is missing one easily distracted 5 year old boy.

I head out to the kitchen to see Little Dude, completely naked, sitting on top of the kitchen table while trying to watch Handsome Dude dude one of his reading games on the computer.

Me:  Dude!  What were you supposed to be doing?

Little Dude (looking bewildered):  Oh, right!  Shower!

And off his nekked hiney skipped to the shower.

2)  And, yes.  I had to remind him to turn the shower off.

And, yes.  I had to remind him to actually step out of the shower (this part is always tricky for him.)

And, yes.  I had to remind him to actually use the towel to wipe the water droplets off of his body.

And, yes.  I had to actually beg him to get his clothes on.

And we all made it to school on time.  If you can believe it.

Later that day when we were reading, I told him he smelled nice.

“That’s because I used TWO GALLONS of shampoo in the shower this morning, Mom!”

The boy has a good handle on “units of measurement.”

Homeschool.  Math.  Check.

3)  Tuesday was a bad day.  A horrible, no good, very bad day.  Everyone was either crying or cranky, with yours truly being the crankiest.

So, at 10 am, I broke out some banana cream pie and we took a break and visited our kitties and horses.  Worked wonders.

Until we had to go back to school.

4)  Zumba!  I have now been to TWO Aqua Zumba classes and ONE Zumba toning class.  As if I can’t get any cooler.  The Aqua Zumba class works because I can have the kids near me in the pool.

I am not saying I WANT them near me.  But I probably should, you know, care for them.  David does not get home in time to watch the bambinos for the Aqua Zumba, so we all go.

After the class, I let the children swim for a bit.

Homeschool.  P.E.  Check.

After a bit, Handsome Dude got out of the pool and led his siblings in his own version of Zumba.

Homeschoolers.

I feel pretty lucky that we have a nice gym about 15 minutes away from us.  Tonight, David was able to get home in time for me to go to a Zumba toning class

All.

By.

My.

Self.

It was pretty fantastic.

5)  Guess how many times a day I have to correct my boys when they say the “d” sound for “b.”

Go on.

Guess.

Happy Thursday!

It’s that time again, folks!  The time when all good Lumberjacks scurry to gather enough wood for the winter so they can heat their homes.

Have you been wondering why I call myself the Lumberjack’s wife?  Do you think I am crazy because my husband isn’t a lumberjack at all?

You are not alone.

He is not a Lumberjack.  He is, in fact, an electrician.  But he really likes to go wood cutting.  And build things.  And go hunting.  And go camping.  And raise pigs.  And raise rabbits.  And raise chickens.  And, most recently, raise horses.

He’s a busy guy.

We have been married for 13 years and I have gone wood cutting with him once.  It was a disaster of epic proportions.  My parents watched the girls for us (Yes!  Once upon a time, we only had two little girls!  Imagine that!?!).  We went up into the mountains and loaded our truck up with wood.

Tamarack!  For that is my Lumberjack’s firewood of choice.

On the way home, David saw a deer.  This might not seem like that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.  But seeing wild game gives life to David’s bones.  So, we followed this deer up into the mountains.

This was all in February of 2005.  There was no snow on the roads where we were cutting wood.  But, alas, the further we climbed, the snowier it got.

The snow was deep.

The danger was great.

But follow the deer we did.

And we followed that deer until our truck was stuck in the snow.  Completely and utterly stuck.

So we had to hike down the mountain 10.2 miles with our dog, Mabel, following faithfully behind.  We had no phone service, so our families were quite worried about us and we caused some stress.  We had to wait about 2 1/2 hours for our rescue team and there was only one place to go in this small town filled with about 200 people.

The local bar.

We were filthy dirty.  But we cared not.  We tied our dog outside the bar and went on in.  Because that is what classy folks, such as ourselves, do.

So that was the only time I had gone wood cutting with my beloved.

Until yesterday.

My parents, bless their hearts, took all four kids overnight on Friday and we assured them we would pick up our little angels by 1 or 2pm.  David and I woke up at 3:45am so we could head off into the mountains.  We took our truck and a trailer in hopes of filling it with 3 cords.

Tamarack!  We were looking for tamarack!

I saw several of these nicely stacked piles of logs on the side of the road, but my husband would hear none of it.

Because they were not tamarack.  He is such a picky-pants.

We finally found a dead piece of tamarack on the ground, cut it up, and loaded it into the truck, but we still had half of the truck and the entire trailer to fill.

So we kept driving around.  David would say stuff like,

“See those two tall trees over there?”

And I would try.  Really, I would.

But, seriously.

I would just say, “Oh, yeah!  I think so.”

And he would tell me how his friend shot a moose right between those two, specific trees.

And I am wondering how it took him 8 years to learn my birth date.

(Side note:  Do we not live in the most beautiful area of the world? I ask you?)

Anyways.  We are driving, driving, driving.  Looking for Tamarack.  And I am pretending to know how to identify a tamarack.  But, well, have you met me?

And then he finds it.

I know.  I can’t see it either.

But for those of you who are smart with such things, it is the one that looks dead (because it is) in the middle-ish.

So, we have to cut it down.  I removed myself to a safe distance and took some photos for your viewing pleasure.

You’re welcome.

I even added a large, blue arrow so you could see just which tree I was talking about.

Just in case you didn’t notice it.  It’s a blue arrow.  Pointing at the tree I am speaking of.

Look at me with my big-girl-photo-enhancing-pants on!  Holla!

Ok.  So, here we go.

Wait for it . . .

Wait for it . . .

And-

Bam.  Nailed it.

Look at my husband, felling trees like it ain’t no thang.

And it didn’t even crush the truck or anything.

So, now we have this enormous tree that we must cut down into smaller sections and pull them down the hillside.  David cut the tree and then hooked a chain around the small sections.  He attaches the chain to the front of his truck and then he pulls the tree down with his truck.

My husband is all that is man.

And we wonder why our truck oft breaks down?

So, while David worked on getting all the sections of the tree down, I got to work on measuring out lengths on the logs so he would know where to make the cuts.

Wood Cutting 101: You first cut the tree into rounds.  Then you split it into logs.  Consider yourselves informed.

The size of the rounds will be important later on because if the logs are too long, they won’t fit into the wood stove.

Ask me how I know.

So, I would measure off 16-18 inches and make a mark with that little axe-doo-hickey-thingie-ma-bob there.  And I am pretty sure that was just busy work, seeing as how he could have just screwed that ruler onto the chainsaw and done it all at once.

But what did I care?  I had nothing else to do.

Oh, I did the world’s worst job with it ever.  Seriously.  I cannot aim that ax worth a dime.

Spray paint would have been the smarter choice.  Or having him actually screw the ruler onto the chainsaw.

Either way.

So, David got to work making the cuts when tragedy befell us.

Both of his chainsaws broke.  That’s right.  BOTH.

He spent about 45 minutes taking them apart, but they were beyond his expertise.  So we had to try and roll all of our precious tamarack off the road.

Which was not as easy as you might think.

Trees.  Heavy.

Defeated and discouraged, we got into our truck with only 3/4 of a cord of wood.  It was an epic wood cutting failure.

But, wait!  There’s more!

As we were coming down the mountain, the steering on David’s truck went all crazy like.  Apparently something called a tie-rod was bent or broken or, well, I don’t know.  But it was not an ideal sitch.

David:  Yeah.  We are going to be late.

Me:  Oh, really?

David:  Truck is going to break down.

Me:  What’s wrong?

David:  Steering problems.

Me:  Are you going to, like, lose control at some point?

David:  Maybe.

He is always so reassuring.

So, we were about 40 miles from a phone service and a town.  David did not think the truck would make it to town and we would probably have to ditch the truck and hitch a ride into cell service.

Which sounded super safe and enjoyable.

But the truck kept going.  The tires were making some odd screeching noises.  But it kept going.  We had to drive about 25 miles an hour the entire way, but we made it.

Now, this town is nowhere close to where my parents/children are, so my poor parents had to keep the kids extra long while we waited for our truck to get repaired.

And while we were there, Charlie, one of the mechanics, noticed our nice load of Tamarack.

Tamarack!

Charlie:  Nice load of wood you got there!

David:  Thanks.

Charlie:  I haven’t been able to find tamarack this year.

Then Charlie was basically hinting that he wanted to buy it from us.  And I was like, no way Jose.  That is the most expensive 3/4th of a cord of wood known to man.

Plus it is TAMARACK.  And in case you haven’t heard, it’s all the rage.

David is anxious to get his chainsaw returned so we could head back up and get our precious tamarack that we had to foolishly leave on the roadside.

We must get there before Charlie the mechanic does.

And then when our truck breaks down again on the way home, and we all know it will, we can gloat to Charlie.

Tamarack!

Raise your hand if you think we actually save ANY money by heating with wood.

Mmmm-hmmmm.

Later, gators.

I have (barely) survived three days of homeschooling.  The first two days went fairly well.

However.

This morning I woke up with no energy.  Probably because yesterday I decided to throw in a little Physical Education to the mix.

We loaded up and headed to the gym.  Did you remember I foolishly purchased a gym membership?  It’s true.  I did.

Anyways.  We decided an afternoon swim would tickle our fancy, so away we went.  As luck would have it, the Aqua Zumba class began about five minutes after we arrived.

And I was like, “Yes!  I should do this!  This will totally work out!”

So I joined.

You know what is not so easy?

Doing Aqua Zumba whilst trying to keep an eye on your four kids.

It went well for the most part, but towards the end Sweet Pea tried to help Handsome Dude with something and he was basically breathing murderous threats to her for hindering his freedoms.  So, I had to monitor him in a time out while I Zumba-d it up.

But I did it!  And no one drowned!  It was a banner day.

So, today I woke up tired and wishing I could call in sick.  Homeschooling makes my brain hurt.  It is not the actual teaching, but more the juggling of the different subjects along with the different grade levels.  We still made it through and did everything but art.

Art.  Every year I think I can do it.  Why?  WHY?  WHY?!

I can’t.  I wash my hands of it.

So.  Here are some photos.  Because . . . why not?

Handsome Dude was ueber proud of his number towers.

And rightfully so.

He claimed he turned into a mechanic.

Little Dude’s shirt was itchy.  Would you like to know a perk of homeschooling?

It is clothing optional!  Rest assured-he is wearing pants.

Or

Is

He?

After school, we needed some fresh air.  We checked on our “friends.”  Because we are weird, unsocialized homeschoolers and animals are our friends.

I kid!  I jest!

Daisy Mae and the rabbits.

The boys have names for the rabbits.  Actually, they named one white one, Ellie.  This came as a huge disappointment for them when they discovered that Ellie was really a Man-Rabbit.

Yet, Ellie he is.

All of the other rabbits are called “Tiny Tim.”  Even though they are not at all tiny and mostly all female.

What can I say?  My boys are weird.

Here are the boys gathering eggs.

Ew!  They are wearing flip flops in the chicken coop.

Oops.  Oh, well.

Sweet Pea and Mr. Poppers.

I don’t know why, but I just love that cat.

Isn’t that sad?

Our two newer horses are still being mean, old snobs to Ruby, the girls’ paint mare.

When we come to the fence to pet them and say hello, they chase poor Ruby off!

Meanies.

As if I have time to figure out how to make horses get along . . .

Happy Thursday!