BLINGIN' in B-Ville

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Update

If you want to hear more about the farm and see some pics make sure to email Carolyn or Parry at pmerkley@aol.com :) I've heard there has been popular demand for a new post, but I (lauren) did it over the summer and I told them how to do it so now it's in their hands.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

owenge cOWnty fur...a summer staple

the praying mantes (sp?) that was climbing all over Carolyn

Dylan and Lexie got cards from home!! They were so excited!

beautiful VA sunset on the way to the fair!

The cool kids car going to the fair

Two little farmers. Who needs this when you actually do it anyway on the farm :)

Lexie and Dylan practicing milking a cow.

This was on a plastic cooking shield thing at one of the food stations, so I had my mom take a picture and I guess the lettering is reflective so it came out really bold with the flash! We thought it was pretty crazy.

Piggies! A few of the many animals we saw at the fair. The Orange County Fair is mainly animals from the 4-H kids. We were by some goats and the little boy who raised them was there and told us we could "climb over and pet them".

Dylan terrorizing the ducks and chicken.

Lexie was watching the cloggers very intently. We were wondering when she would just go up on stage and join them. Cheri you'll have to find a clogging class for her. She was inspired!

In a HUGE tractor bucket. My friend Susanna from high school is on the far right.

They didn't have any rides at this fair, only this rock climbing wall. Lexie got pretty far and Dylan kind of did with some help from Grandpa.

Yeah!

mmmm, mmm, funnel cake! A county fair necessity. After my mom suggested it Susanna and I decided we would get a funnel cake booth and travel one summer doing funnel cakes at fairs all across the country! It actually sounds like a lot of fun!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

love and learn!

HELLO! I let a little more time go than I should've, so this is another massive picture post!

All is well on the farm and my last day of my full week camps is tomorrow! It feels like this summer has just flown by!

The favorite job on the farm cause you just drive and listen to music and tan. Carolyn uses mowing as a "zen" thing.

Due to many requests I put up a picture of Winston. This is when we were at the river. His favorite game is trying to catch rocks you throw for him in the river. He loves going down with camp and going swimming.

Sarah is really into deep literature these days...

She's working on training her horse Titus this summer. He's a Dutch Warmblood and only 6 years old. He's Mr. Personality in the barn and we have to do an extra tricky contraption on his stall door because he knows how to get out.

This is my dad's new pride and joy. We just got these new chicks. I think they're 5 months old(?). Our chickens aren't laying like they used to and with a fox killing about half of them a few months ago it was time for a few new ones. I think they'll be laying blue eggs around October or November!

Dylan is a really good barn helper. We were getting Dolly tacked up for camp and I thought it was cute how he was carrying all the stuff and the girth draped over his shoulder.

Lexie's week at girls camp finished out really well! On Thursday while feeding the chickens she said to me "Remember I'm in this camp too!" since I was calling the other two girls names to do certain things. She was already doing things before I had to ask her, so I think that's why she felt left out. By the end of camp she was really getting the hang of posting at the trot. To practice balancing I had the girls put their hands out while trotting. They were all a little timid at first, but after they did it they were really excited and more confident on Dolly!

One night after a late swim we blowed Dylan's hair dry. This is how it turned out!

Had no idea Dylan was a huge fan of green onions. He just sat there and ate that.

Lexie learns how to make breakfast by herself:

After a few mornings of teaching, the student finally mastered the art of scrambled eggs and I was there to witness it. All I had to help her do was reach a plate. She basically makes eggs every morning now for both her and Dylan. She loves Grandpa's yummy eggs! Cheri, you'll have to have her make breakfast for the fam when she gets back home!

These are the boys in my last week of camp! Most of them are regulars and sometimes it's hard coming up with new and exciting ideas to keep them occupied. This was my dad's idea. We made shields and swords and they LOVED it! Knights in shining armor, well, almost :)