Anything you can do, I can do better.

This week started us off with a busy Tuesday.  Addie had a track meet in Medicine Lodge, and Weston had a makeup soccer game in Pratt. Divide and conquer.  So I went to the track meet, and Luke to Weston to the soccer match.  My parents came down and watched a few of the races. 
This track meet is the only nonleague meet our school goes to.  So Addie enjoyed seeing some of her friends that she met at church camp.  They all go to Chapparel Middle school.  Her cousin from St. Marks was there also.  Last year they didn’t race each other.  This year they competed against each other in the half mile and the medley relay.  Addie had the easy 100 meter part, while Briley ran the last leg of 400 meters. 
Luke and the guys pulled a calf and unfortunately the calf did not make it.  That is part of the game, you can’t always win.  Last week they installed a forty foot water tank in the pasture and this week they got the run-off drain attached and working.
About a year ago we had a bunch of hay bales across from where we feed cattle.  So, Luke, had me take the hydrabed and just move them with the pickup to the other side of the road.  One day I managed to load four bales onto the bed instead of the usual three.  I didn’t know that I had started a competition because Luke snapped a picture of the pick up loaded with six bales.  He didn’t go anywhere with them but mainly was just having fun with a photo opportunity.

Windy days

Wow that wind last week was just a little bit more than crazy.  I am glad that it has finally slowed.  Our farrier showed up Tuesday morning, and was able to trim all the horses in our barn.  He knew he would be able to use the barn, otherwise he would have rescheduled.
This weekend the girls had 4-H club days.  Allie is the president of our club so she was able to make it through the model meeting.
Allie also played the piano and gave a project talk on Grass Fed and Grain Fed beef.  That was a very broad topic, but we were able to help her condence it down to a 6th grade level talk.  Addie gave a demonstration on how to make a thank you card, and then write it.  She also played the piano.  Weston made a project talk on coyotes, but since he is not really in 4-H he didn't give it to anyone except us.  He made me print out a bunch of coyote pictures and he glued them onto a poster board.
Cousin Levi got to show off his weather balloon in the Show-and-Tell category for first year 4-H'ers.  He got up and shared his big smile and talked about finding the balloon out in a field with his dad.  He also gets to use it for his science fair project.
Then the boys played hard at our house all day Saturday.  They went and played in the sand pit, played basketball and just as the wind came up and the front started coming in the wanted to ride horses.  So Luke saddled up two horses.  Weston claimed Goldie was hard for Levi to ride, so next time he would let Levi ride Diamond. It's interesting that Diamond is easier for them to ride, because she is certainly the hardest horse to catch.  Not only does she know every trick in the book, I think she wrote the book.  Goldie on the other hand generally allows me to walk right up to her and catch her.

Roll or get rolled over

This week some of the girls from the office and I attended a class at KSU about Social Media Marketing.  We met around 5 AM on Tuesday and headed to Manhattan.  So, what does that mean?  The class was about how to get platforms like Facebook, and Instagram to work for you and your business.  Most of the other attendees represented some type of organization or a private business.  One thing I learned, was to roll with changes, or get rolled over. 
It’s interesting, media is changing so quickly.  How does a small newspaper keep up?  One way I think, is to offer something that other papers don’t.  The Rural Messenger offers many columnists that share a story or a humorous point of view.  Some share personal stories, and life lessons from their past. 
We also offer classifieds, that come from sellers who are from the most part from central Kansas.  Not everyone likes to point and click and read on a screen.  We offer a paper that comes out weekly so that you can sit and read the paper when you get the opportunity, rather than rush, rush, rush.
On to the kids, this is a big birthday time for our family right now.  March 1 is shared by three people, along with 3 February birthdays and three other birthdays in March.  Two of them are adults, the rest are nieces and nephews. 
Allie told me that they could not have made it one more morning without me.  Weston seemed pretty happy to have me home.  Weston got to dress up and have Dr. Suess week at school.  His favorite day was dress like a farmer.  He told me that he didn’t want to dress like an ordinary farmer, he wanted to dress like my dad.  I didn’t try and tell him that my dad dresses pretty ordinary most days.  I think Weston didn’t want to dress in overalls.  So, he dressed in a tractor shirt, some of his work jeans, boots, plyers on his belt and a ball cap.
Addie has been enjoying the new Cricut that I got for my birthday.  It is a die cutting machine.  Now we can cut paper, fabric, and wood. We can even do some embossing with a special tool.   She has made several thank you cards and other projects. I have invested a small fortune is paper to cut out.  However, this is one electronic I am happy to let her play with.   We made some birthday cards for the cousins. 
I finally got a picture of one of our road runners.  I have seen three at our house, but I don't think they all say here at once.

The last dribble

Allie's team took the court for the last time on Saturday.  The ended up in 4th place.  They ended the season 2 - 4.  Overall they really enjoyed them-selves and improved their game.  Several of the girls are fifth graders and they will be ready to play next season.  Allie will be a seventh graders so she will play at the school and not in the rec league.  She has already commented that she misses practice.  I guess she will just have to practice her piano instead.
Weston and Allie went out to cousin Levi's house.  They played hard all afternoon.  On the way home Weston was so tired that he fell asleep on the way home.  He hasn't done that in a while. 
Addie enjoyed going to Rock Springs Camp this last weekend for 4-H ambassador train-ing weekend.
Luke got me a Cricut maker for my birthday and now I need to figure out how to operate it.

no calves yet

Everyone keeps asking how the calving is going and I have disappointed them when I have told them that we have not really begun.  One cow had a calf very early but she was able to handle the situation all on her own.  Then we have had a few others, and finally the first heifer had a calf this weekend.  Luke did give the calf one bottle and it has been find with the mother ever since. 
Allie had a basketball game on Saturday.  Her team finally managed to win a game.  They won by only two points.
We all crammed in the pickup along with Hannah and we went and checked cattle.  Lucky we did, one side of the hot wire fence was down.  So after fixing that we headed back to the house to enjoy the nice weather.
The kids got some drones from Christmas but it has been so cold, or the wind has been blowing.  Finally, they got a chance to fly them on Sunday.  Weston’s would not take off.  Addie and Allie were both able to fly theirs.  The batteries in them did not last long.
Weston was sick this week and kept a little cough around.  He got to spend the night with his cousin and he informed me that he was not even scared. 
My parents came to Allie’s game and my nephew’s game on Saturday, next weekend they will be at another grandchild’s game.  They will be heading up to see my sister and her family.  They have several birthdays close together and enjoy seeing everyone.  Maybe they can take a few pictures of snow so my kids will know what it looks like.

Banquet

Most of the staff from the Rural Messenger got to attend the Pheasant’s Forever banquet in Hutchinson this past weekend.  We played games, and my kids drank as many pops as the could and we all had a chance to sit around and catch up on non-office ideas.  Steve and Joyce Gilliland were also able to join us.  I hope they enjoyed their evening.  Nick Hollister of United Country in Newton was the auctioneer for the evening.
The Atrium Hotel and Convention center hosted the event.  I was surprised how big the banquet room was.  Most of the dinner was just so-so.  But I did hear lots of people say how wonderful the brisket was. Everyone also got to enjoy a slice of apple pie.  The meal was good considering how many people they served. 
All of the kids got a Pheasant’s Forever t-shirt and free one-topping pizza from Papa Murphy’s in Hutchinson.
I just hope my boss didn’t have any surprises when he paid his tab!

Into the fire

On Thursday in Pratt the unimaginable happened.  A house fire quickly burned and because of the fast-moving fire 4 children and their mother passed away. Allie and I drove by the house Saturday and the street was still blocked off.  The fire investigators are still working to find the start of the fire.
On the news we watched as the fire fighters first pulled up to the home site.  We could see one of our friends running by in his uniform to the scene.  I thought about how most fire fighters are “do-ers.”  They DO the hard things that need done.  Most people run from a fire, they run into the fire.  When they signed up to start their firefighter training, I am sure they knew that hard days would come in the future.  I am sure this was their worst nightmare come true.  No amount of training can prepare a person for dealing with the loss of a child. I imagine that these guys could only lay their heads down, but not sleep.  As they laid their head down, the scene played over and over in their minds.  What could have been different, could they have arrived sooner?  Questions I am sure continue to troll through their minds.  Many of them went home to see their own children and shed a few tears.
On Sunday our pastor prayed that the first responders would be free of guilt.  I too hope they will be free of guilt.  Even though most people know it was no fault of the firemen, I can see how they might carry around guilt. 
Perhaps I should summarize by saying how thankful I am for the DO-ERS in the world.  I am thankful so many wonderful people are willing to put their live on the line and run into danger.  I see these guys out training and their families also give sacrificially to the community.  They have taken time away from their lives to be ready in an emergency.
Many donations have come in.  If you feel compelled to donate this is one link https://www.gofundme.com/chfcjy-help-the-egglestonwheatley-family