More Company!

We always enjoy having our friends some visit us!  And Jake especially likes it if they enjoy fishing!!  It was so good to catch up and have a relaxing few days before Easter.

You may recognize this from our previous company.  If you can't tell, there isn't a whole lot to do around our parts and this free zoo comes in handy!

Then we headed to a local park and burned off some more energy.

And before you knew it, it was bedtime.  Jake and Ty have a special bond going on.  It is so adorable!  And Jake absolutely loves it!

Spring Break Company

My brother's family came and visited us over spring break.  It was so good to see them!!  I miss these kiddos so much!  My brother, Wyatt, also came to see us.  It was long over due!

We had to send Grandpa Knapp a picture of his two little girls getting spoiled with candy at Aunt Krystal's.  He gets to spoil them all the time and likes to send me pictures, so I returned the favor.

We went to the local zoo on Saturday.  It was a little chilly, but we had fun!

And this is the reason you haven't seen any pictures of Drake on my blog yet... he is hard to catch!

Finally he cooperated with a little bit of bribing.  We loved having you come see us!!

And of course, no photo session is complete without one of these.

And I promised my bro I wouldn't put his picture on social media if he took one with me... so you will just have to imagine what a great brother/sister and spouses picture looked like.

Wyatt delivered a package from my northern niece and nephews.  They did such a great job on their art work!  Packages make me feel so special... and miss them so much!

We can't wait to see you all again!

Spring Busyness

Flowers are in full bloom.  My crocuses and hyacinths are done at this point due to freezing at night.  And my tulips are just going wild!  They are so pretty! 

Jacob's brother, Nathan, had a birthday and we gave him this gag gift.

We have been sorting. banding, and working cattle.  They are getting all geared up to go out to pasture in April.

Skipper and I have been going on lots of wogs. (walking/jogging)  When we get back, we hang out on the porch swing for awhile and he gets some snuggles.

He now claims the swing as his own.  He knows if he sits here and looks all cute, I can't resist sitting with him and petting on him.  Smart dog.

5 Random Things

We are gearing up for a busy spring, friends!  We are getting ready to start burning pastures, getting the planter ready, and spring break visitors.  We will be having company the next couple weekends and are really looking forward to it!  I have been keeping busy selling scrap booking supplies on eBay.  Yep!  I have made the leap to digital. I am still keeping anything that I could also use for regular crafting, but anything that is specific to card making and scrap booking, I am selling.  I have also been selling other random household stuff on e-bay that we don't use anymore.  Jacob is worried that one of these days he is going to wake up with a price tag on him! 

I am going to enlighten you with a list of 5 random things about us because I love filling out surveys and this was on another blog that I follow.  My answers are on the left and my not-so-voluntary hubby's answers are on the right.

5 Random Things

5 PLACES WE ARE DYING TO VISIT

*Alaska- I would love to take a cruise                             *the morgue (what? you said, dying!)

*Switzerland- the Alps amaze me                                    *Crematorium (me- seriously?)

*Australia                                                                         *Cemetery (do you see where this is going?) 

*Oregon- the Pacific coast                                               *Mortuary

*Smoky Mountains- been here, want to go back!            *Pyramids

So after that first round of questioning, I have made an appointment with a counselor for my husband.  

5 FOODS WE EAT (ALMOST) EVERYDAY

*Green Smoothie                                                              *Oreos

*Chocolate                                                                        *Peanuts

*Apple                                                                              *Dried fruit (either raisins or cherries)

*Gum (does that count?)                                                  *Candy Corn

*Cucumbers                                                                      *Pop Tarts (by his own choosing!)

5 THINGS WE WEAR (ALMOST) EVERYDAY

*Maxi Skirt                                                                       *Underwear (everyday, not almost :)

*Fleece jacket (always cold at work)                                *Deodorant (also, everyday)

*Glasses                                                                             *Hat

*Sandals (in the summer. every. single. day)                    *Pocket Knife

*Tennis shoes                                                                    *Ink Pen (there is always one in his pocket)

5 BOOKS WE ARE READING CURRENTLY

*Tundra comic book                                                          *How to Work Smarter for Dummies

*Taken by Dee Henderson                                                 *1001 Things Not to Say to your Wife

                                                                                                (it must not be sinking in very well :)

*Book of Samuel- KJV                                                      *Louis L'Amour

*Food Network magazine                                                  *Handyman Magazine

*The Help- Kathryn Stockett                                             *Seed Catalogs

5 RANDOM FOODS WE ATE WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS

*Blood orange Greek yogurt                                             *Nut Roll bites

*Avocado/Bacon Chicken Salad                                       *Sugar Cookies

*Quinoa                                                                             *Spinach Wrap

*Spinach Wrap                                                                  *Sweet Peppers

*Cinnamon Toast Crunch                                                  *Spinach

5 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT US

*My middle name is Brooke.  Krystal Brooke.                *I want to build my own airplane

  My mom had my name picked out since she                  *I enjoy learning.  I love museums.  

  was in 7th grade.                                                             *If I went back to college just to learn 

*I like to mow.  I think I will be starting this week.            and not for a career I would go for Biology.

*I enjoy listening to ragtime music.  Seriously.                *I went to college on a livestock judging

*I can't parallel park.  I will park a block away so               scholarship.

  I don't have to parallel park.                                            *I played the trumpet in band.

*I want one of these...

Golden Cocker Retriever... it looks like a puppy when it's full grown!

Per Jacob's request...

The above answers were issued under duress and therefor are not permissible as evidence in the court of law.

Spring Has Sprung!

 Spring is just around the corner!  Although it appears to have made it's way to Kansas a couple weeks ago and we couldn't be more thrilled!

My mantel.  Most things are the same as last year.

 On top of the china hutch.

 On top of the piano.  I took an old frame that I had a spray painted it, stapled some cream colored burlap to the back, and layered this printable that I designed in Photoshop.

On this piece, I found an old piece of wood shingle in the barn that was just begging for some pretty floral design.  I took a napkin, peeled off the 2 white layers and mod podged the thin floral piece to the wood.  Then I sanded around the edges, cut some vinyl, and presto!  A free spring accent!  This sits in my window sill in the kitchen and is a cheerful reminder in my early mornings.

Spring Canvas

With all this nice February weather, I have been in the mood to get my spring decorations out.  I found a 20 x 20 canvas on major clearance last summer and knew it would eventually come in handy.  I created a design of what I wanted to put on the canvas and cut out my vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo.

 This is the canvas I bought, not exactly my style, but I couldn't pass up the bargain price.

 I cut out the circle frame first and weeded all the parts out that I didn't want.

 Then I transferred it to the canvas.

 It is super important to brush a thin layer of mod podge over the vinyl to seal the edges.  This helps keep the edges down so when I paint, it doesn't run under the vinyl.

 I spray painted the canvas with Krylon Chalky Finish Colonial Ivory and made sure it was completely dry.  Then I peeled up the orange vinyl to reveal the colored circle design.

 I chose to cut the word design out of a darker purple and centered it in the middle of the circle.  At least I think it's centered... I always have a hard time with that part!

 Tada!  Here is the finished canvas that will join my other spring decor on the mantel.

Keep checking back for a post on my spring decorations!  My goal this afternoon is to get my winter stuff put away and my spring stuff out.

Beautiful February

It has been gorgeous this week, so I have been seeing a lot of this as I get back into running this year.

This is my cheer section...

 I just love being able to see what seems to be endlessly.

These three keep me company in the morning hour (and protect me from all the scary mountain lions.)  At least I feel safer with them tagging along.

 One February morning at 7:00 it was already 64 degrees so I was able to run in short sleeves, in the morning, in February!!

 I get a kick out of Ozzie.  Whether we are on our way down the driveway or back up he makes a pit stop at these trees lining the driveway.  They have little shoot branches that are growing from the bottom and he loves to walk around the tree several times to scratch his back.

On Saturday Jacob worked putting anhydrous on the fields and since it was so beautiful, I took advantage of the weather and cleaned out the garage and my freezers.  We have our spring flowers already out of the ground about 2 in. so we are planning on the weather staying nice... cross your fingers.  Sunday, Jacob & I and his cousin Aaron & Maria went to Wolf Creek's Environmental Area and walked several trails there.  Did I mention the weather has been supreme?!  We then hit up Pizza Hut for supper.  We are looking forward to another week!