Trunk or Treat

Friday was the Fall Fest at Blockhouse and Allie was invited to go with Vivian & Julius. She was very excited to see some of her old classmates and to do some "trunk or treating".


Vivian was a "Fairy Princess", Julius was a dog named "Dog" (wonder where that came from)and Allie was a "Drama Queen". Not really much of a stretch there! :)

Afterwards we had a nice dinner with Markus and Constanze and the kids spent some time playing.

Man Allie looks a lot like Shayne. Or maybe it is that they both look so much like David.

A sleepy fairy princess!!

Markus smoked brisket and Constanze made the sides. Including her mom's recipe for potato salad - It was so good! I would love the recipe. It was great to catch up as we had not visited in a few weeks.

Saturday night David had a 50th wedding anniversary party to shoot photos for. It was at Chez Zee in Austin. The place was very nice and the event went very well. David's photography business is steadily growing even though we have not done any kind of advertising. It has all been by word of mouth - the best kind!!

Greenhand Day

The Greenhand Degree is the first degree that you can earn in the high school FFA program. To be a Greenhand you must have recited the National FFA Creed and you must be able to describe and explain the meaning of the FFA emblem and colors. Emily completed her Greenhand degree and celebrated with her classmates by wearing “Greenhand” shirts to school.

Future Farmers of America changed to just FFA in 1989 to reflect the growing diversity of agriculture today. There are over 300 career opportunities in agriculture today.

Emily is doing so well in FFA and really loves it. I am so glad we moved to a school with a strong FFA program. It will really help her with her desire to become a vet.

Photo from the paper so it is not too clear.... front row third from the left

Not too shabby for the 2nd show

We had our second show on Saturday. It was the "Cedar Park Jackpot" put on by the Cedar Park High school FFA. This show included pigs (98 of them!!) and it went on forever. We arrived at 7:30 and did not leave until almost 6 pm! Both girls had a few issues with getting their goats to walk and brace but overall it was a great show.

Allie got 8th place in the medium weight class (her goat needs to put on more muscle) and Emily got 2nd place in the lighter weight class. These jackpots are a great learning experience for us and help the girls understand what they need to be working on with their goats. Hopefully this is just the beginning to our winning streak!!!

Shingles, and not the kind on your roof

I just found out that my Dad has shingles. I guess they run in our family or something as my Mom and Emily have both had them in the past.

I looked shingles up on Web MD and found out they are a form of chickenpox and can be contagious to people who have not had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine. They are also very painful and can take a long time to clear up.

I hope he gets better soon and is not in too much pain!

Our first goat jackpot

Today was Emily & Allie's first goat jackpot. We had to be at the show arena by 6AM! I am not completely sure this AG thing is any better than swimming after all!!!

They were both very nervous; as were the goats. This was a first for all four of them! Thanks to a lot of coaching and advise from one of the other FFA members the girls looked great. I am very proud of both of them as they have worked really hard in a very short time training their goats. We still have a ways to go before the big county show in December but today was a huge success. We over came the first-time jitters, learned a lot and neither came in last!

Allie getting ready to go into the ring

Emily getting her goat to Brace

Check out her face.... that makes every bit of work & money worth every bit!

Homecoming 2009

Because we moved this summer, Emily and Allie both attend new schools in a new district. Amanda wanted to finish up at her old school since this was her last year - Still can't believe she is a SENIOR! Even though they attend schools in different districts homecoming fell on the same day ~Today!!




Amanda was a super sweet big sister and made a mum for both Emily & Allie. She insisted she did not want one of her own, but I could not resist. After all, it is her senior year and this is the last high school mum she will ever get. Amanda's colors are green, black and white while Emily & Allie's are purple & white.






Now we just have to make it thought two football games and two dances....

Shutterbug

Amanda has developed into quite the photographer. At the end of the school year she competed in the UIL "Vase" competition and won first place. She likes to shoot from a different view point and it really shows in her photos. Here are a couple that I really like!! What about you??

A little Australian ingenuity....

We have lived on our land for just over 6 weeks now. Thanks to a lot of creativity and hard work (mostly from David) we have made a lot of progress. Here are some photos from the "major" transformations....

Drilling of the well...

David and Chuck putting in the road...

Driving the water truck...

Allie and Mark (Chuck's son) had a great time running (playing on) the roller...

Emily helping cover the new water line...

Running the electric - It works great. It even supports our little "RV Park" when we have friends come over!

Building the goat shelter

Burning the many piles of brush now that the burn ban is lifted!

We still have a LONG way to go but have really make a lot of improvements over the past 6 weeks and it has actually been very enjoyable. This is a journey and we are savoring each and every step along the way!

A Beautiful Sight

A great shot David took after a rain shower this weekend.

A weekend in the country

A group of firends (Jared, Felisha, Hayden, Eric, Lisa, Ethan, Austin, Markus, Constance, Julius & Vivian- Whew!!!) came for a visit this weekend. They wanted a little time in the "country".

We spent the day doing all kinds of fun things....

Hanging out the in the goat pen


Shooting the pellet gun (and lots of skeet too)

Cooking & eating yummy food - Thanks Markus & Constance!

Playing with the baby chicks

Riding on the tractor

kicking back a little....

and walking in the "woods"

We always have such a great time with friends. We all get along so well. I can't wait until we do it all again...