I'm still alive!

Decker clan in CO sledding.

Murdock a little too excited over his Christmas presents!!!

Christmas deer.

Just pretty. (Colorado)

Dream house/dream location.

Emma/Tracy

Denver

Sydney "the singing girl" and Travis

KC Wolf giving me the "eye"

Chiefs before the 4th quarter loss.

Gratuitous cheerleader high-kick shot for all my guy friends.

If you can get past the first couple of guys ladies, you'll see Ladainian in center. Travis's fave!

Cliff Notes on why I haven't blogged for 3+ months:
In September (shortly after my last blog) we found out our old farmhouse was full of toxic mold. So, we moved out. Into a trailer. On a hill. Overlooking rolling hills, and complete with fake concrete deer. My trailer name is Flo. Jim's is Hank. Kids are now referred to as Bubba1, Bubba2, and Jethrene. Tomorrow, a gigantic dozer comes and tears down our old house in preparation for the new house. SO, there you have it. Chaos in a nutshell.

SO, now that we have that out of the way, let me catch you up on some recent fun stuff....
First, there's football! Travis's favorite team is the Chargers. His ALL TIME fave player is of course, LT, only the best running back EVER....(travis's words). In mid-December a dear friend of mine scored some free tickets for Travis and I to the Chiefs vs. Chargers game....5 rows from the home bench and a schweet parking pass.

Then, two days later, we road-tripped it over to Colorado with my dad to visit Dusty and his family. What a blast! The best and funnest thing ever was seeing all the cousins playing together like they've been around each other forever. I really miss Sydney's opera!!!

Then it was Christmas. We were back in Kansas by Christmas and spent our first Christmas in the trailer. Ah, nothing says family like "Christmas in the trailer". Makes me tear up just thinking about it. But the cool thing was on Christmas morning after opening gifts, Jim looked out the South window and saw 7 does walking across our yard. I took pics through the window so I wouldn't disturb them. Jim refrained from pointing his 30/30 out of the window blinds and shooting the poor things.

So, there you have it. My life in 100 words or less (or more). Enjoy the pics and be looking for the exciting demolition pics to come very soon.

Happy holidays everyone!
Question: Are you still WT if your trailer is a double-wide? 8-ball says: Git-r-done!

HIKE.

Football season has officially begun. Travis played in a pre-season tourny this past weekend. They came out with a second place trophy. Not bad for pre-season! I'll post a schedule once I have one for the regular season.



The 5th grade runners-up. (Travis is second from left on bottom row...#20).



Victory huddle after beating the Topeka 5th grade team in the opening game.

Championship playoff...Mill Valley 7, Eudora 6.....OH SO CLOSE!


QUESTION: Should players wear white jerseys?
8 Ball Says: No way....mammas have to wash them!!!!!

My FAIR lady!

I'm sure most of you have heard the fair results already, but I just have to brag for a little while. My kids rock! They did awesome at the Douglas County Fair and I'm so very proud. How do you make your daddy cry? Bring home the Overall Grand Champion hog. And that's exactly what Tracy did this year. That's kind of a big deal in the "rural" community.

But that wasn't all! In total, Tracy secured 6 championship ribbons, a handful of purples and blues, and one red. Travis, well, he brought home 3 Reserve Champion ribbons, a fist full of purples and blues, and one red. But here's the rub...the Reserve Champion ribbons are pink...Champion ribbons are purple. So Tracy is jealous because her ribbons weren't PINK...and Travis is miffed because in scores, Tracy totally womped all over him! But he's ready to pull a Michael Phelps at the fair next year so watch out!

I'll spare you the gory details but I did have a 10 minute moment on the local radio station visiting with the British reporter. Loved it! I wowed him with my knowledge of pork and rising costs of farming. If I can get a hold on an audio clip I'll post it for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the pics and here's to another excruciatingly exhausting 4H year!


Redneck and proud of it! (note the gray in the stache!)


What little boys look like at a demolition derby....

You can't see it here...but that black car has "Neis Bros. Farms" painted on it...talk about some niche advertising!


A moment of silence please for Joe. May he rest in pieces....of BACON!

A night at Great Wolf Lodge, a well-deserved reward for a great week at fair!


Katelyn, the Californian rabbit, living up to her Championship status....she also won best in fur class for normal white fur.


What a sweetie! The rabbit's pretty cool too.


Showing off rabbit showmanship skills. It's a lot more difficult than you think. Tracy won champion in her age class.


Travis and his buddy Jazz waiting to go in the show ring.


Are we about done yet?


Daddy helping get ready for the pig show.


Brett watching from the best vantage point. Note: Brett will be in 4H this coming year. Someone get me some Valium.


Overall Grand Champion market hog. Note: picture is shaky because I was so excited...and daddy couldn't take the pic because he was teary. (But don't tell anyone I told you so.)


Frankie needs water.


"You did a great job Kate-Kate!"


Tracy's champion cake decorating. We now refer to her as "Top Chef".


Such a domestic one. She wins champion on low-acid vegetable preservations...beets.


Travis's Reserve Champion model rocket....replica of the US Bull Pup.


A severely proud moment for artist mommy: Travis's Reserve Champion award for scratchboard illustration. *sniff*



Photo manipulation...another of mommy's prides. Travis wins Reserve Champion for manipulating a photo he took at our Lebo cow pasture.

QUESTION: Have I recuperated from 4h 2007?
ANSWER: Yes. (But it took 3 weeks to wake up.)

Ahhh summer. *sigh*

I just love relaxing summers. What would be great, is if I could really HAVE one! Let's see here, summer is almost over and so far my legs have seen maybe 3 hours of sunlight. I've visited the pool 2 times. And vacation is only a word I've used in crossword puzzles.

What I HAVE been doing, is feeding calves, pigs, dogs, rabbits, toads, frogs, turtles, kids, husband and sometimes even myself. I've been struggling to help the kids start and finish (mostly start) 4H projects for the county fair. I've managed to put up a little sweet corn and green beans in the wee little hours before the sun breaks over the horizon (breaks, not sets). And, I've woken at 2am various mornings to let the dog out and then fold clothes or sort socks since I can't get back to sleep.

Ahhhh, summer. Oh Ee Oh, it's a farmer's life for me! (but it does make for cute pics!)
Question: Are sunchips healthier than Doritos?
Answer: 8-ball says.....sort of.

Photoshop Candy!

I love Photoshop! (So, why don't you marry it?!)...
Seriously, I love Photoshop and thanks to my friend J9, I have found a new website that touches every one of my interests....well, MOST of them : )

It's called Thepioneerwoman.com and there's a section of Photoshop quick tips that is to die for. So I played with it this morning and very quickly (talking 2-3 minutes) I found a photo that one of my kids had taken during a fit of boredom at a graduation reception. And I applied some of the quick tips to "enhance" said photo. And here are the results:

BEFORE:


And AFTER:



Pretty cool don't ya think? Anyhow, if you're bored, or just looking for some photo fun....or like looking at pics of cowboys. Visit the site above and have some fun.


Question: Is Photoshop just for geeks? 8 Ball says: Not in this lifetime!

Toad Jam

Toad lesson #1: TOADS POOP. A lot.
Last night Brett (boy 2) became best buds with a fat toad he named "grumpy". Boys and toads have a long history together. But my son is unusually attached to his. Here's how our night went....

Setting: living room, hot wheels car track, two boys, one toad, 4 hot wheels. Put them all in a bag, shake it up and you get one very traumatized toad who now has an unhealthy fear of hot wheels.

Meanwhile: Boy 2 is running a sink full of water in the bathroom in order to give toad a bath. Bath is given, toad is dried off with mom's good bath towel.

Boy 2 wants to eat a piece of freshly baked banana bread...wants mom to catch a fly so toad can also have snack. Mom catches fly...gives to boy 2...tells boy 2 to wash hands before eating banana bread.

Dad is working on important paperwork. Has eyes in back of head. Sees boy 2 running upstairs. Tells boy 2 to stop in his tracks. Tells boy 2 to drop his pants. Boy 2 is hiding toad in pajama pants to sneak him up to room. Mom, in awe, asks dad how he knew that. Dad says "I've done it all....I KNOW."

Boy 2 is forced to keep toad in mom's new rubbermaid clothes container purchased for winter clothes. Winter clothes are now stacked in living room and toad is living in container. Boy 2 goes to bed very distraught over not being able to sleep with toad.

Mom tucks in children while boy 2 writhes in despair saying "my heart is broken, I can still feel him moving in my hands, I miss my toad, why, oh why can't he sleep with me". Mom tries not to wet herself laughing. But assures boy 2 that toad is safe and he can pick up where he left off in the morning.

Morning comes. Boy leaps out of bed to check on toad. Comes running in saying "Mom! Grumpy pooped! Looks like he pooped out another toad!" Boy 2 is surprisingly accurate. Grumpy was backed up like sour fish and pooped a large, very large, brown pile that eerily resembled another toad.

Grumpy is now an official Neis.

Question: Is mommy insane?
Eight ball says: Absolutely!

Travis and Murdock play catch with Murdock's soccer ball. I might add that ALL balls left outside now belong to Murdock. As well as toy cars, golf clubs, baseball bats, etc.

Travis's 10th birthday was themed after "Survivor...Play to Win". It was a blast. And it included an intense water fight among the hay bales.



Travis's school musical was last night. He busted out the moves. He played the part of a farmer...imagine that! The second pic shows what Little Brother thought of the performance.

It's deadline week at work so I'm few on words today. You'll have to suffice with what I've provided. The morsel is sweet! Taste and enjoy. Now go forth and watch some funny videos on YouTube. My newest fave is a chase scene from Star Wars set to the tune of the Benny Hill theme song Yakety Sax. haha hoohoo haha....oh, the snorting never ends.

Question: Will my gas light come on in the Honda on the way home?
Eight ball says: YOU BET SUCKA {ka-ching}