Happy Birthday Snort!

Happy Birthday Daughter Dear!

27 years old . . . man you're old!

Beautiful Mom

Married to a wonderful guy, who thinks she's swell.

A very happy little girl who loves her mama.

As she ages, she gets more and more like her mother.
When her brother reminds her of that he gets slugged!
What's up with that?

She has always been a daddy's girl!
As a little girl she would go to the dairy with her dad;
I would have to hose her off with the garden hose before she could come into the house.

She loves her little brother greatly, although I wonder why sometimes.
Word of warning - don't hurt her brother or she will come after you!

Misty, her little sister, I mean horse.
She loves her horse, she even gave her horse baby doll bangs once.
I guess we should of recognized the signs of things to come . . .
Cosmetologist!
She said to me one day,
"Mom, let's color your hair purple."
Eek!!
"Okay if you promise to fix it in a speedy fashion if it goes south!"
My scalp was purple, but since my hair is dark you couldn't tell it was
purple, unless I was in the sun.

Here is her favorite little guy. They are best buddies!

Here she is trying to teach him to fish, just like her dad taught her.

Before the digital camera age,
I had tons of photos of her and her cat, Princess.
They would always be napping together,
especially in front of the fireplace.

She even raised a herd of registered Angus cattle
with her dad and brother.

I wish I was there to wish you a happy birthday.
I would sing to you - YIKES!
I would make you your favorite meal,
and then I would give you 27 spankings
and a pinch to grow on!

Love You!

Clearing out the Junk!

This past Saturday our children came over to help us go through the collection of 27 years of marriage! That is a monumental task! They were good sports however, and worked like troopers the whole day. Thank goodness!

Here is beauty and the beast. I don't think I need to tell you which one I think is the beast but it isn't Snortney.

I can't believe we have let stuff pile up like this. Nothing like a move to help you de-junk. Really it is the best way to get rid of stuff. Our unfinished basement had become the catch-all for stuff. Anything we didn't want to deal with or knew what to do with got put in the basement.
We also had to go through the garage outside. We worked inside until the weather warmed up. We still have part of the basement to go through but Snort and I can tackle that after I quit work. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate my daughter. She has been such a support to me during this move thing - Jake thing. She is my very best friend. It has been such a blessing to me to have her friendship. WAY TO GO SNORTNEY! HIP HIP HOORAY!

Back to the garage, we pretty much have it cleared out. If any of you saw it, you know what a chore that was. We took two pickup loads to the dump, my car full of stuff for D.I., Snort's trunk full of things she wanted and about three loads to the storage unit. Having the kids help us was huge! I think if Bud and I had to do it we would still be here this spring.

I can't believe my last day at work is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I have been working at that job for the last 16 1/2 years. I love it. It has been a wonderful opportunity and I will miss those I work with immensely. My co-workers are like family and we have a great rapport. Since giving my notice, however, I have found myself quite relieved. It was an unexpected feeling. I was dreading quitting - not knowing what to do with myself, missing my friends, etc. I will still miss them but it feels good to know I will have some time to get ready for the move and to spend with my kids and other family members. You never know how things are going to turn out but I am feeling very optimistic about my future!