What more could you ask for?

Bryon decided to put our canoe out on the pond Friday night and let Grace try paddling around a bit. She loved it and was excited to try paddling. She sat really still and did a good job. He was going to take her out on the water last weekend but with the high water and an unknown stream we decided we'd better wait for another trip.


We are going camping this weekend for Bryon's birthday at Bennett Springs sans cushy camper for the first time in five years so we'll see how all that goes. Bryon wanted to just take our little two man Walrus tent along with the screen house and put our blowup queen size mattress inside it for all three of us to sleep on. That was until Saturday morning when Grace woke up at dawn (which of course is around 5:30 am now) and he put her into our bed until a more respectable hour. He lasted about 10 minutes and bailed for the couch. There were three in the bed and the little one said, I'm crowded, roll over and they all rolled over and one fell out....DADDY.

He decided three in the bed was one too many so looks like he'll be making a trip to Bass Pro for the giant family size tent this week.

Saturday morning the post office called and my new queen bee had arrived so I ran over and picked her up. The Niangua Post Office is open for exactly one hour and forty five minutes on Saturday morning from 8:30-10:15. Ridiculous. They called at 7:30 to tell me so I made a special request and asked if they would just mind opening the door long enough to give her to me so I wouldn't have to wait. When I got there I heard them all talking behind the post office boxes and say, "The Bee Lady is here."

So that's what it's come to. I'm Grace's Mom, The Blood Lady and The Bee Lady. Hmmm. Never saw those things coming.

I got the queen installed (she cost $29 with shipping and handling!!) and Grace and I went to the Fordland Small Animal Swap meet to check things out. Bryon went to Lebanon with the Huggler Men to shoot sporting clays and stumbled upon a big Ducks Unlimited event. They had a lot of fun. We were on the hunt for birds because Bryon wanted some quail to raise to train Ruger (you can't imagine how many times I've almost typed and have called him Briar). At the swap meet they had about a bazillion different types of fowl and puppies. They had some ADORABLE labrador pups, both yellow and black that were just lazing around the back of a pickup truck. They were all calm and laid back and fat and adorable. Whatever.

Grace pet EVERY animal with fur there and some with feathers. I had planned to get a couple of ducks but ended up talking myself out of it because number one, I had the CAR and they would have pooped all over my trunk on the way home and two, I think they would have lasted exactly eight minutes in the back yard with Ruger. We stuck with the quail and carried them home in the backseat of the car in the cat carrier next to Grace.

They are pretty neat. We put them in the rabbit hutch and they seem pretty content. I'm not sure I want Bryon to kill them or use them now. They are neat. I got half boys and half girls and they should start laying some eggs in a few weeks.

These aren't our quail but here is what they look like and their cute little eggs...



Bryon got the hog pen dismantled this weekend and now the next thing will be to try to get our electric fencing around the paintball field so we can get some GOATS! I'm hoping they will be poison ivy eating machines. I have a feeling there will be a lot of goat chasing in our future.