SPRING BREAK 2011 AT TRAIL DUST RANCH

Since Hank's dad, Darrell, passed away 10 months ago, there has been a very visible absence at the ranch. Sam has had a hard time going up there - we all have. But spring break 2011 was a turning point. Sam took his friend Michael with us. Hank and the boys had so much fun hunting, fishing and getting dirty. I have not seen Hank and Sam spend that much time together in years and it was so good for them. I know Sam will never forget this spring break. Sam is growing up and as I sit here filling up with tears...I really understand why our parents and grandparents always say "it goes fast!"

TA - DA! Through the magic of digital photography...we had fresh fried fish in minutes...not really. I bet Wanda is still applying ICY HOT to her arms after cleaning fish for hours!

Stella had the right idea. After a busy morning of fishing she and I went back to the house while the rest of the crew cleaned the fish for our HUGE fish fry. She napped and I made potato salad. YUMMY!

me taking credit for all of the fish I DIDN'T catch....not everyone seemed as amused as I was?

Hank did toss me a pole and said "here - my arm is getting tired from reeling all of those fish in, so why don't you take a turn." Good one Hank.

Sam and Michael

Although it was a little chilly, we had great success so we fished on!

Shelby -that girls LOVES fishing!

hank getting a little R&R:)

Stella outfished Michael, but don't tell him I told...ssshhh

Yes, I was there...always the photog.!

look into my sunglasses - this was me stuck in the mud up to my knees, while holding onto Stella, (after I knocked her into the water as I fell) so she could document the whole thing...haha! We caught it all in the reflection of my glasses.

THERE WAS MUD!!!!

and me falling into a mud hole clear up to my knee...

and the girls playing in the mud...

and LAUNDRY for miles...more than even we are used to!

it's Oklahoma in spring so, of course, there was a hailstorm just as we pulled up to the pond to fish. I looked at my weather app. on my iphone and told Hank "it's getting ready to storm really bad." His exact words were "this is going around us - I PROMISE." That is why he and the older kids had to wait out the storm in a little hut on top of the hill with a horribly STINKY wet dog...while we sat in the truck. While they were in the shack Sam said to Hank "mom's going to kill you for not listening to her, esp. if we blow away."

Wanda scared me a little bit when she said "we will never be able to drive out of the this mud." So we started videoing our own episode of I SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE with my phone while we were sitting there. The storm passed, we got a little stuck trying to get out, spun the tires for awhile and made it home safely. All I had to say to Hank was "I WAS RIGHT!"

There was baiting...

and stalking the beavers at night....those destructive beavers!

and the thrill of finally catching them...even if they were 50 lbs., have razor sharp teeth that can cut through steel, and are charging towards my loved ones who happen to be VERY inexperienced hunters - YIKES!

looks like an ad for Bass Pro Shop in his walking shorts:)

everybody watch out - tough, wilderness guys coming through...

HAPPY LEPRECHAUN'S DAY - as stella would say. This morning she and I made green eggs and toast for the kids. Shelby already had green on, but Sam and Michael didn't. We pinched them to wake them up...they were a little mad for a second, until they got breakfast in bed!

AAWWWW:)

WOW - Don't hurt yourself Sam...

YO...

yes, sam loves his hat....wears it all the time....the same hat that he thought was horrible when he opened it on Christmas morning. Mom "what is this?" I remind him that I'm trendy:)

GO GIRL!!!!

Val brought Hank's grandparents up for a surprise visit during spring break. Too bad Hank didn't get to see them, but we had fun visiting with Pete and Jewell. They traveled many hours to see us.

Nana came and helped us with our yard sale...went pretty well. Only problem is that I have a garage full of junk that didn't sell and I have no idea what to do with it??? Stella was finally feeling better and joined nana for some coloring in the driveway.

Spring in Oklahoma means grass fires everywhere. I was standing in my front yard so this one made me a little nervous. Mom said "if a fire gets close to your house do you know what to do?" I said LEAVE!!! I know I'm a smart eleck.

This rash (that covered her entire body) is what eventually led us to the E.R. last night. You have to know Stella's medical history. She's anaphylactic and we take every rash/hives seriously. They thought this was viral and spreading because her fever was so high. They got her temp. down to 102 and sent us home.

Right before we left for the hospital she said "this day is not the way I planned it!"

I said "amen sister."

My arsenal of meds. to make Stella feel better. She disagrees!

SICK BAY:( Another round of illness has struck the Hubler household. Why does mom have to get sick when the kids are sooo sick??? Tuesday night was one of the hardest nights I've had with a child in a long time. I was sick with fever while Stella cried all night from various ailments, fever, nausea, ear pain, etc.

SOUP FOR DINNER

Shelby pulled a molar during D.E.A.R. time at school

while....

Hank was at the dentist getting 2 crowns put on, teeth drilled and gums sliced open - OUCH! In usual Hank fashion, he went straight to work after having all of that done. How does he do that?

Mario lost his manhood today...he can join Hank in taking pain meds for the next few days:(

* CAR PICS *

Aren't they cute?

Today I had to take stella to the doctor (in Tulsa). That long drive on the turnpike is just tranquilizing....zzzzzz.... I'm thinking the seatbelt in this situation (top pic.) is probably more life threatening than life saving. I don't have super-stretch arms to adjust her head...although there have been times where I almost tore my rotator cuff trying to reach sippie cups, and pacifiers.

As a matter of fact, there is a dent in my front fender (with Riverfield blue paint on it) where I reached back to grab a sippie cup for a child who was going to die if she didn't get a drink RIGHT THEN!!!

You can always tell when spring is arriving in Oklahoma...

1. The constant smell of grass fires burning

2. wind and more wind

3. frogs croaking at night

4. ticks (i pulled 4 off of Stella the other day)

5. POLLEN COUNT IS THROUGH THE ROOF!!!

OH - how could I forget tornado season???

After getting our garden ready to plant and working in the flower beds....I took 2 Benadryl, did a sinus wash and laid awake all night sneezing and holding a kleenax up to my nose:(

Further evidence that we do, in fact, live in the country:) This is the scene when you walk into my garage from the kitchen. I try, try, try to keep it cleaned up...forget it! Muddy coats are very common around here also - as you can see. This is why I got rid of my water efficient front loaders and went back to the old, cheap top loaders that fill the tank with water.

The girls are into pillow making these days. I guess they didn't like the variety of pillows we have in the house so they cut open a bunch of stuffed animals and made their own filling!

Today Stella had to dress up for the career she wants someday.

DOLPHIN TRAINER....and yes I let her take the whistle to school...and believe it or not, she still had it when I picked her up. I thought for sure it would be on the teacher's desk!

My 10 year old daughter who now has "side bangs" for the first time ever....looking waaaayyyy too old:(

WAY TO GO BRISTOW!!! Shelby's team just won GRAND CHAMPION at the academic bowl this morning... I had to brag a little. She did GREAT. Guess what question she missed? Hank needs to get his oxygen mask on - "What does www stand for in computer terms?" I kept waiting on her to buzz in....nothing....silence. She looked at me as soon as they read the answer like dad would die if he were here right now!

This is Hank's new obsession...checking our internet speed. We are trying out a new wi-fi company here in town. They promise a certain speed so Hank is holding them to it by gosh! Every time I sit down at a computer this is what I see (above). As you can see from this test we were getting a lousy 1.32 mb download speed. We were so spoiled in Tulsa.

FYI - we are bandwidth hogs so they are going to put us on our own tower.

I found this on the counter when I got home from Wal-Mart. No one told her to write this. Maybe she did learn her lesson. After she wrote her 100 sentences I said "what did you learn?" She said "not to write that many sentences because I can't feel my hand, " as she picked the pencil splinters out of her fingers:( I said "it looks like you need to write another 100 after dinner then becuase you didn't get it. All of the sudden she positively knew the lesson!

She's a really good kid, I'm surprised by this whole incident.