4-H & FFA Fair 2011

For fair this year-Andy baked and Apple Pie and it was considered for State Fair!  Jacob made cookies and got a blue ribbon.  They both took crops to the fair and Andy came out with the top overall crop win!

Greta took a bucket bottle calf that she named, Curly!  She did great handling him in the ring!

Andy and Jacob both took pigs and chickens to the fair.  The boys got several awards for Showmanship and overall Market bird with their chickens.  Andy placed first in one of his classes with one of his pigs.

Jacob made this dresser in woodworking class and took it as a project.  He gets to take it to the State Fair!  :) 

Their are more pictures that I will be adding in further posts-this is just getting started!! 

An assortment of thoughts:

Lately, I have been finding myself having a lot more time on my hands.  It's been nice, really nice.  The laundry doesn't pile up, the dishes don't pile up...near as much, and I have more time to clean/organize/relax. 

I have been cutting my spring flowers that are blooming in the backyard.  They really brighten up my desk at work...doesn't flowers in a Mason jar just scream country living...I love it.  :)



For Mother's Day, I got my mom a canvas that has the picture of our entire family they used for their Chritmas cards.  I found a coupon code online for a FREE one!  All I had to pay was shipping and it was like $15 for that of course, but originally without the coupon code, it would have been nearly $40! 

I have been going for walks lately after work, since I have time, at the park here in Nashua.  It is so nice to just get out and walk by the lake.  I really enjoy it after being inside all day!  Also, for you Nashua locals, one loop all the way around the park, as in down and around the volleyball nets, and through the camping area, and back to the entrance to the park by the beach is very close to a mile for each loop.  I have been walking 3 loops a night.  My shins hurt a bit.  :)

I have a new blog that I really enjoy following...thought I would share it with you.  The blogger's name is Ree and she makes all kinds of yummy food!  Her photos are amazing.  Here is the link- http://thepioneerwoman.com/  I am making a recipe from her blog called Pig Cake for Mother's Day.  It has fruit in it so it must be somewhat healthy right?? ;)

I have several friends/family that work out of town and I can't imagine how much they will be paying for gas this summer!!  It was nearly $4 a gallon last time I looked this week.  Jason and I both work in town and I am so thankful for that!  I can't imagine commuting to work EVERYDAY and paying that much to fill up your car.  Jason is thinking about taking an online summer class instead of commuting to Mason City twice a week for a class he had been looking into...makes sense to me!

I have been just ITCHING to get out to a greenhouse and get our garden in!  We have a few peas and other veggies that I may put in tonight, but I really want to get some tomato plants and flowers! :D

I just have to share this with you...my little sister, Greta...can send a picture message.  No she doesn't have a cell phone, but she sure knows how to use my mom's!!  Seriously, I was blown away when I found out it was her sending them!  I figured Jacob had gotten ahold of her phone and was just messing around...but nope...it was Greta! She is so young...yet so smart at the same time!  I can't imagine what she will be like when she is a teenager!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  I have two graduation parties to attend!  Jason is excited....free cake!! :)

Scenes of our backyard...

Flowers are blooming...

This one is gorgeous.  It's the only red one that has bloomed so far.  The picture does it no justice!

Our tree is blooming too! :)

I can't wait till all of these little buds open up! 

The rhubarb is looking fabulous!  Jason and his brother Andy are going to try and make Rhubarb Wine this summer!  We will FOR SURE have enough rhubarb!

This, right here, is Jason's pride and joy!  His asparagus!  He goes out there every single day to check on it!  We were blessed to have a large area of this already going strong in the backyard when we moved into this house.

My tulips that I planted when we moved in...tulips are SO easy, just plant the bulb and every year after that, they come up and are simply gorgeous!  These are about to bloom any day now!  I want to fill my backyard with them!!  But I have a feeling Jason won't be so crazy about that...maybe just a corner? ;)

The daffodils are also coming in stong!  The weather has sure been harsh on them though!  Notice they are all kind of leaning over, it got a little windy the day I was taking pictures.  But nevertheless, they prevail, through wind, rain, snow, and continue to bloom!

I would totally pick some and put them on my kitchen table, but my cats would eat them!  Yep, my cats are cool like that! :)

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We went to the Fireman's Dance last night after going out to eat with some friends in Cedar Falls.  Have you ever been to Sakura?  Great place to eat and have entertainment too! :)  They have a big grill you sit around and they make your rice, noodles, veggies, and meat right their in front of you!  The chefs, grill masters, whatever you call them, make it really interesting with their spatualas and do all kinds of tricks with the food!  It's a little more expensive, but totally worth it! 

I also wanted to let all my readers know that my friend is now an salesperson for Miche!  I had never heard of this brand before, but it is a bag that you can buy different shells for!  If you want to match your purse to your outfit, just change the outer shell!  And the bags are so so CUTE!  She gave me a brochure and I really want all of them!  She hosts parties too, so let me know if anyone is interested and I will tell you how to get in touch with her!

Now I just have to convince my husband that I "need" to get one! :) 

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We are off to Jason's brother Adam's college graduation ceremony from Waldorf College this afternoon! Stay tuned for some pictures of the proud grad and all the happenings!

Enjoy your weekend!

One.Tired.Monday

Good afternoon! 

How did you all like that snow we got on Saturday!?  I took pictures of it, but do not have my camera on me at the moment...at least it melted right away! 

Whew...we had a very busy weekend!  Jason and I, along with his parents and brother traveled down to the SouthWestern area of Iowa to see his grandma!  It takes about 4 hours to get there and I have found that by watching a movie on a laptop or portable DVD player makes the time fly by!  I DO NOT do good with long car rides...I have ZERO patience...don't you ever wish you could just snap your fingers and be there?? But, that's the way it goes!

Movies I watched this trip:

Great. Movie.

Nearly had me crying in some places from sadness and hilariousness! <--Not sure if that's a word?

I really liked it a lot.

Next up....

Two words....RENT NOW! 

I seriously was cracking up in the backseat on the way home while watching this one!!  Anything with Steve Carell, in my book, will probably make me laugh. 

The normal 4 hour drive was actually 5 hours back since we went a little farther on Sunday to Omaha to see a relative who was in the hospital there.  Then we also made a pit stop at my future sis-in-law's parents' home to pick up a few bridesmaid dresses for Bridget's wedding that they had picked up for us in DSM.  Shout out to the Kelly's! :)

  Long long looooong drive home...we rolled into our driveway at midnight-Jason had to be up at 5:30am.  Yep...sucks to be him!!

My last night for Religion Classes for the year is Wednesday this week.  It was a fun teaching this year, but being head coach for cheerleding next year is going to take a lot more energy, so I probably won't be teaching next year. 

Have a fantastic Monday everyone! :)

Outside updates!



This weekend Jason and I did some updating to our front yard...It might not look like a lot, but it made a big difference to us and updated our home a lot. 

Before...

We dug up all this old lawn edging and replaced it with new.

Here is the spot right in front of the rock wall that we just used regular lawn edging and mulch.

Jason punding the edging in...

After!  Notice the fancy edging!

We also updated our solar lights so they are a little brighter! 

It was a good job done and we are very pleased with how it turned out!



Introducing Winny Mae Herrick!

She. Is. A. Doll. 

All 7 lbs and 13oz of her is pure baby sweetness....

She fits right it!

Congrats to Holly, Andy, Titus and Cici!

Our boring lives :)

Well...Jason and I have not been up to too much lately, other than working and such.  I started my new job, and I am really liking leaning the ins and outs of selling monuments.  It's challenging, so I am always learning something new!  Jason has been working 4 days a week and has Fridays off, so he gets to have a man day, at least that's what he calls it!  I have been busy with coaching the cheerleaders, their first scrimmage is tommorow, so this will be the first time they will be performing in front of an audience this season!  It's weird to be on the other side of the spectrum and understanding all of the things that go into being a coach, but I am getting used to it!  I have also been taking a class in New Hampton on Thursday nights called Zumba!  It is an exercise class that incorporates dance moves and salsa moves.  It's super fun and makes exercise seem easy! 

This weekend we have a wedding to attend on Saturday for a friend of mine that I went to Upper Iowa with.  Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!!

Happenings at the Herrick home...

Well, this week is starting off kind of interesting...I put in my two weeks at Sherwin-Williams! Yes, it was a very hard decision...but I am content. We had recently been told we now had to be open on Sundays. This did not sit well with me. I have a rather large family, whom I like to spend time with, and weekends are one of the only times I get a chance to do this. I decided to start looking the same day we were told we had to be open, and by luck their was a sales/office manager position for Nashua Monument Works in Nashua! How lucky could have I been! It seemed to good to be true, but I applied. Out of nearly 20 applicants, I got the job! It didn't take me to long to decide to take it...no Sundays, and a 8:30-5 workday during the week, and 9-12 on Saturdays. It was perfect. I am really excited to get into something else and learn another trade. I will of course miss a lot of the contractors in Charles City, and my boss, Jen. We have joked that we are sisters in a different life, and I honestly believe that is true. She was a great boss!! Anthony, our part-timer, wasn't to bad either! =)

In other news...I'm going to have another sister-in-law!!! My brother-in-law, Adam asked his girlfriend, Bridget, to marry him yesterday! How awesome is that! They are the sweetest couple ever! I have gotten really close to Bridget these past two years, and I am soooo happy to be able to call her one of my sisters! They have been together for almost 8 years! WOwza! It was about time!! Best wishes to the both of them!! They have decided to get married in the summer of 2011...can't wait!!

Adam and Bridget :)

A post of no pictures...

Helloooo! 

Jason and I have had a very busy week and weekend.  On Friday, I walked in a kind of mini relay for life at the park in Nashua, with my mom.  It was Water Over the Dam Days in Nashua, so the park was buzzing with people and music.  Then I walked back to the house and enjoyed a yummy sub from one of my favorite restaurants, Jimmy Johns!  Jason had been down to Menards and stopped to grab some food, and brought one back to me.  It was delish....I really like Jimmy Johns because of their bread and the bean sprouts :)  We did end up in the basement for a short time due to a tornado spotting north of Nashua, which luckily broke apart before it touched down...whew!

On Saturday, I headed over to the high school to meet up with the cheerleaders and Kristi, so they could ride on a fire truck in the WODD parade.  Kristi and I then high tailed it up to the park to set up the food stand for the girls to run.  They served pop, popcorn, and pizza.  It was sweltering for most of the time, so we were lucky to be under the shade of a shelter house. 

Later that day we headed up north to Jericho to my cousin's wedding.  Jim and Lindsay got married in a little church out in the country...it was a really nice ceremony, and then we moved on to the reception which was at the Starlite ballroom.  It was a lot of fun to see all of my cousins and aunts and uncles.  We left a little early and caught the tail end of the fireworks in Nashua, they were bright and beautiful! 

Today, we headed out to church and then went to Jason's parents' house to eat some dinner and then Jason helped his dad put in a new patio door.  Holly and I took Titus for a walk around the block in a red wagon, and watched Dick, Jason, and Andy work hard. 

My brother, Andy, is participating in a Wartburg wrestling camp, so I went down with by brother and Dad to watch him wrestle, and he won both of his matches.  My uncle Gerard and aunt Angela were also their, and their little girl Sophie was so cute running around the track!  :)  Jason stayed home and cleaned up his fish tank...ewwww :)

It was a great weekend!  I love having summer days like these!  BTW, sorry their were no pictures in this post!