Amusement

While in the mountains... we went to a little amusement park- to be discussed further at some random time in the future when I finally get around to it.



The boys (well, most of them) decided to hop on a ride or two.



This one was called "The Tornado" and it was basically a cross between the teacup ride and the giant swing ride you see at amusement parks.



You hop inside this little round pod which has a wheel in the middle. That wheel controls how fast your specific pod will spin. Meanwhile, the entire pod is swung around in a circle along the perimeter of the ride.



Did I explain that well? No? Sorry, I haven't had much sleep and, ummm, also I don't know how to explain it.



The boys loved it...



And it looked pretty fun too! As long as you don't think about whether or not the maintenance on a machine like this is up to date, whether your pod will unhinge itself and go flying over the edge of the mountain, etc. You know, things like that.



I'm pretty sure they weren't thinking about that.



They probably weren't either

Snooooooze

We were hit with an absolutely torrential thunderstorm last night. Usually I sleep through storms of all kinds without incident but even this one woke me from my slumber. Absolutely massive thunder and lightning... I don't think anyone in the area could have slept through it. Unless you live in a bomb shelter.... but even then....



Big thunderstorm last night mixed with a gray and rainy day today means a lot of this is going on in our house.



And this.



And this. I feel sorry for this poor creatures who must endure such a difficult existence!

New Water Line!

A few weeks ago, we embarked upon an epic DIY project.

Okay. Epic is definitely not the right word. Boring is probably a better description.

Anyway, we put in a new water line to the horse pasture.




Check out this baby up close. It is a ditch digger and it makes me feel like a real man. Except that a) I'm not a man and b) I didn't use it at all. Really, I did very little for this except go "Hey, we need to go ahead and put that water line in....blah blah blah... yada yada yada" and then DM went and found the necessary parts and equipment and went about the project. I did, however, help fill in the ditch once the water line was in place. OH! And I held the spigot in place while he filled the dirt in around it. So, yeah, I was pretty indispensable to this project if I do say so myself.



The pipe had to go in the ground below the frost level which is why it was necessary to employ the services of the handy dandy ditch digger. I mean, you could try to dig a ditch 2 feet in the ground by hand, which would be great, and when you finished you would look like a magnificent god-like specimen with rippling muscles and all that jazz but.... who wants to do that? No one. Because it hadn't rained in weeks and the ground (which is already full of rocks) was like concrete.



One thing I find exceptionally annoying:

We have fifty bazillion dogs. Many of whom like to dig. So, why won't they use their digging powers for good instead of evil? Sure, they can dig a hole right in my typical walking path across the yard so that when I'm going to my car with stuff piled in my arms up to my eyeballs I don't see it, step in it, and fall down twisting my ankle, soiling my clothes, and dropping all of my stuff all over the place. They think that is hysterical. But will they help us dig a line for something useful? Nooooooo.Sheesh!

Side Note: Once the line has been put in and we have filled in the ditch will said dogs then go behind us and dig it up? Yes.



Progress made! The line goes in!



Look at him go! Have I ever told you how much he likes DIY projects? The answer is NOT AT ALL. He deplores them. Sorry, DM!

But, the good news is that we now finally have an actual spigot out by the horses' water trough!

And everyone lived happily ever after! (Except for B who will probably fall down in one of the holes the dogs left for her on the way to the pasture after they re-dug the ditch...)

Rainy Day...

It's gray and rainy out there....

Which don't get me wrong- living in the middle of nowhere I really appreciate the rain that falls from the sky. It nourishes the plants and grass which feed our ponies and it provides all of us with water to nourish our bodies. While most people complain about the rain- I revel in it because I know how necessary it is not only for us but for all of the farmers with crops and livestock.

The only thing I don't love about it is the smell of wet dog x9 and 36 wet, muddy paws! :)

Installing New Floors :: Dos

Let's see... where did we last leave off in our epic journey of do-it-yourselfness?? Ahh, yes.. we had cleared the room of all furniture, we inspected the filth of the carpet, and we discussed my pension to live more like a pre-schooler than someone of my actual age. Let's continue, shall we??

The gross carpet is on its way out!




See? Look, we are loading it in the truck!



No more carpet! Step 1 complete!

Actually, it isn't really step 1. It would really be, like step 50...but whatever.




Who wears loafers with basketball shorts and an NFL t-shirt? That guy. Sorry, ladies, he's taken! Please refrain from writing love letters trying to woo him away. It won't work!





Where's Baxter? Oh, there he is... on the couch... what a shock! As usual, he is providing no help whatsoever! What does he think this is? Just some place he can live in air conditioning, lounge around all day without putting any effort into anything, be petted and loved on constantly, and be provided with the finest food, water, and medical attention? Oh wait....





The floor is going in!!!





So much progress has been made!




Still a lot to do but it is looking good!

Installing New Floors!

So... here's the deal... Baby is on his way. I mean, we're at the 2 month countdown! So, there is nothing like a little deadline like, idunno, anewborn to really force one into action!

This is a "before shot" of our den.



And this one too.



And, this is a good example of what a weekend morning is like in maison de Mehler... FOR SHAME!!
Moving on....



Here is our den after we've moved everything out of the room (not a fun chore, I might add!)



Clearly Baxter is of no help to this operation.




View numero dos.
Note: I was not watching whatever was on TV here. If it isn't Fairly Odd Parents or Penguins of Madagascar.... Nickelodeon means NOTHING to me!!! Now, if we're talking Batman cartoons.... that's another story... I promise I'm not 6 years old.



Another shot of the glorious empty den.... just in case you hadn't yet had your fill.



See this stain? The one you've undoubtedly noticed in a few of the previous pictures? Yeah... it's gross, I know. With 9 dogs, I am always cognizant of happy (read: whipping) tails and their ability to clear a coffee table. As I was keeping an eye on my red Hi-C (What? No, I'm not 6 years old!) and holding onto Baxter's tail to prevent my drink from being launched across the room by said tail.... he head-butted it off the table. Epic fail.





Want to see more pictures of the gross carpet! Well then, today is your lucky day! Here it is again.... picked and with more stains!

While you are marveling at the utter awesomeness of our carpet, let me fill you in on what the real problem is with moving all of your den furniture out of the room in which it lives and thrives and belongs.




This...

This is supposed to be our dining room.



And this is supposed to be our kitchen.



This is supposed to be our hallway.

Just an FYI, it is not easy to maneuver around your house when your hallway is blocked, nor is it easy to sneak away from putting in new flooring in order to gorge yourself on yummy snacks when you have no kitchen. I am, however, growing partial to the club chair in the kitchen- I think it will make cooking much more comfortable and I'm looking to start a trend!

Stay tuned for the next step! In the meantime, you can find me lounging in the chair in the kitchen. But I'm thinking I should move it next to the refrigerator to maintain maximum comfort while exerting minimum effort...

Madeline

It's been a while since I've bombarded you with animals... so, there is no time like the present!



And before some of you start freaking out... she is not our dog!!



But she is quite precious, and she allowed me to snap a few photos of her before running off to find something better to do.



Not that I can blame her! I'm really not very interesting at all...



So, if you're having a bad day at work, take a look at Miss Madeline and hopefully her precious face will cheer you up!



Or eat an Oreo. Whatever works for you.