April News

 

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Tuesday, April 15 - A Dose of Marian - In an attempt to cover up some of the pain and anger you're probably feeling on this dreaded tax day, how about a few pictures sure to make you smile? Remember, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...

 

Monday, April 14 - Baby Finches - On March 28, our finch pair, Fenton and Creamy, after taking turns sitting on 6 little white "jelly bean" eggs, hatched out a couple of baby birds. The other four followed in the next two days. We've been trying to get pictures of them, but it's such a jumble of feathers in their little dark basket nest that we haven't really gotten a good shot.

But today, after finally getting big enough, some of the babies have left the nest and began to hop around the cage.

Can you believe there are five more like this in that little basket nest?

Sunday, April 13 - Fun Day in Amherst - We enjoyed visiting the Amherst Church of Christ on Sunday. Several of our homeschooling friends attend there. Their kids were presenting their entries in the upcoming Leadership Training for Christ event coming up next weekend in Dallas. Puppet shows, skits, song leading, devotional speeches, scripture memory and more was presented by the kids and young adults of the congregation. I know they're going to do well next weekend.

No, this fuzzy guy wasn't at church, but afterwards we were invited to the Rodger's home and the girls fell in love with these Pyrenees cross puppies.

Saturday, April 12 -  Hog Patrol - Nathan found a large group of hogs while feeding cows this morning. He came back and got the boys and they took off to try and find them again.

Get Together in Claytonville - Homeschoolers from around the area met Saturday to hear informative speakers and enjoy some fellowship together. This was the first meeting of a new group forming. The Texas Christian Homeschool Alumni Preppers (TCHAP) will be having more events. To get on the mailing list, contact Pete and Maribell Hernandez ( peteandmaribell@gmail.com).

Cimarron and other participants attend a hands on suturing class.

They practiced on chicken breasts.

 

Friday, April 11 - Dramatic Sunrise

Hazy Skies - Today the skies were so hazy, we knew there must be a fire around somewhere. I got on google earth and checked the current fire overlay and this is what I saw. Lots of wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma must have been the main cause. If you have google earth installed on your computer (free download, just google it), then you can visit http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/googleearth.php and click on the link labeled: "Fire Detections(MODIS): Current". When a box comes up, click "browse" then Open with google. Once you've done this, then you can check or uncheck the current fire option when you're using the google software, much the way you can uncheck roads, towns, and other places. It's pretty helpful if you're interested in keeping up with wildfire news.

Burned - We had to meet the FEDEX guy down at the Northfield intersection to pick up a package. While there, we took these pictures of some of the leftovers of yesterday's wildfire.

Wednesday, April 9 - Gorgeous Sunrise

Goodies from Germany - We got a package today from my niece, Audrey Hyland and her family who are stationed in Germany. It was full of German food items. Chocolates, cookies, fruit bars and even frankfurters in a jar! The kids had such fun trying everything. What a great gift!

Wildfire! - This afternoon, amidst high winds, a grass fire got started by someone checking cows in a 4-wheeler. Grant Phipps, who works for Dish Network and happened to be traveling near Northfield, and called to see if we were okay. That was the first we knew of it. Luckily, the winds were blowing it in the opposite direction. Still, it's a good reminder to be watchful this time of year. It's so dry everywhere. The Matador volunteer fire debt. came within 20 minutes and took advantage of a lull in the wind and the fire reaching the pavement of FM 656 to stop it before it got into rough canyon land across the road.

These shots of the fire were taken on Cim's phone. They happened to be headed home in the well truck and were almost to Northfield (10 minutes from home) but couldn't get by because the fire was up to the road. The fireman were turning people back. He took a few pics and then backed up and went back across the river. They had to take a detour which meant that their journey home ended up taking an hour and a half.

Another Unique Sunset

Monday, April 7 - Morning Sky Report

The Backpack -

When I was raising my babies, I discovered that they really liked to ride in a backpack. They were always so curious as to what I was doing, and they didn’t particularly like to swing or sit for too long. However, in the backpack, they stayed very contented and happy. Since Atlanta was having trouble keeping Marian happy while she worked, I packed up my old backpack and sent it to Tennessee. She’s been sending me a few pictures of the little darling enjoying her new status as head papoose. Atlanta says the only problem is that it tends to put her to sleep every time. But if you’re careful, you can slip out of the backpack and set it down on its legs without waking up the sleeping baby.

 

 

 

 

Hint of Showers - This is about all we got out of today's rain chances. But, at least there were clouds in the area that seemed to contain moisture. That's something...

 

 

Saturday, April 5 - Eugene Pringle Funeral - We traveled to Lubbock Saturday morning to attend the memorial service for our good friend, Eugene Pringle.  Besides being Kevin’s father (Windy’s brother-in-law), he was also the father of Windy’s best friend in high school, Kayla. Over the years we’ve enjoyed visiting with Mona and Eugene at family gatherings. In the last few years, Misty and Kevin have hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers at their beautiful home and Wilson that brought both sides of the family together at the same time. This gave us lots of opportunity for getting to know the Pringle side of the family better. Eugene will be missed by everyone that was privileged to know him.

Gardski's Loft

After attending the funeral and the graveside service Saturday, we took the kids to a really good restaurant in downtown Lubbock. It brought back lots of memories for me and Nathan. We both have fond memories of eating there during our youth with family and friends, as well as a few times when we were dating.

 

Unfortunately, they didn’t still have the Gardski’s famous salad on the menu, which was my favorite, and Nathan and the boys were a little disappointed in the size of the chicken fried steaks. But the food was still good and the atmosphere inside the old house makes this a fun dining experience. It’s located on Broadway, just SE of Broadway Church of Christ.

 

 

Recital in Amarillo - This afternoon we attended a recital given by Courtney Mars. We’ve gotten to know this homeschooling family in the last year and were excited to get to hear Courtney play. She’s a very talented violinist and gave an amazing performance. Afterward, there were piles of yummy snacks and goodies which the kids launched into with their usual gusto.

Sky Pics from the Pickup Window - On the way home from Amarillo, I couldn't resist snapping these shots.

Wednesday, April 2 - Like New Pickup and Lunch-The kids and I traveled to Lubbock to pick up my pickup at the body shop. It had been there for a couple of weeks getting some dents out. (Remember in February, while on our way to Tennessee, we hit black ice in Oklahoma on I-40. see Feb. 2014 News) It turned out really well, and has a nice new paint job, too. Way to go Geico! 

 

Tuesday, April 1 - Feathery Visitor - Another little bird hit the window and got stunned for a few minutes. We always take the opportunity to get a rare close up view before releasing them again. This is one of the gold finch that we have here in the winter.

Newest Sky Pics