1+1 = 3

HaPPy HaLloWEeN!

Halloween will be a lot different next year in the Long household. Matt and I are excited to announce that Baby Long will be arriving April 2014!

Ashen

On Wednesday, September 18 our family grew by the size of one puppy. We got Ashen Grey Hunter, a full breed Weimaraner, from a guy in Smith Center, KS. She is currently a little over 9 weeks old and is growing FAST! Not only have we enjoyed having her around, I think I can say Shooter enjoys the company as well. We find them playing together and sometimes we even find them in the same kennel. Probably not Shooter's preference but Ashen seems to squeeze into about anywhere.

On vacation last week, we took both Shooter and Ashen on a 9 hour drive to South Dakota. We were uncertain at first on how the trip would go with a new puppy, but they both did GREAT! It was a great bonding experience for the entire family!

Xeriscape

Remember this post . .  http://lifeinwesternks.blogspot.com/2012/07/yard-work.html. I'm sure some of you thought we were crazy and half of the time I did too, but looking back and seeing the change takes my breath away. Our front lawn is a prime example of xeriscaping, a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation or other maintenance. I can't say enough how great it's been not having to mow as well as having a lower water bill during the summers! The colorful flowers are a plus!

BEFORE: Taken July 10, 2012

AFTER: Taken June 20, 2013

 

 

The Family Garden

Dad and I began planting our garden on St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) only to be followed by 3 hard freezes and 2 snow storms.  Who would have thought Mother Nature and the weather would be so crazy in Western Kansas... Anyways things are finally slowing down, most of the corn and milo is in the ground and wheat harvest looks to be a few weeks off yet so it is time to take a breather and hoe the garden. 

Below check out some pictures Jenny took last week of our garden. It consists of 11 rows of vegetables and about 40 hills of squash, pumpkins and melons. To finish it off I put in 16 rows of sweet corn!

Peas, Onions, Potatoes, Beats, and many other vegetables!

Pumpkin and Squash Hills

 Initially we were watering this whole area (about 1/3 acre) with one sprinkler and what a muddy mess it was! On a good windy Western Kansas afternoon mom and dad took up the task of laying dripline on all the vegetable rows and hills.  Thank goodness as now the entire area can be watered at one time even if it is windy!

Green Beans with Sweet Corn in the background

Broccoli

Building Project Part 3

We've made some progress in the office at the shop, but we've still have plenty to do. Below is a snap shot of the progress we've made thus far!

Matt's handy work, tiling the shower.

Becoming an expert!

Completed Shower

Take 2!

Installed kitchen cabinets

Matt's been staining trim

On April 6, we had a come and go Open House at the shop and we had a great turnout. We enjoyed giving everyone a tour! Hopefully by the end of the summer the shop office will be complete so we can start using it.

Marienthal 5K

We welcomed St. Patrick's Day Weekend with a 3.1 mile run hosted by the Marienthal Meadowlarks 4-H Club. There were 60 participants ranging in ages from 10 - 60. A little bit of training before hand would have helped but either way we all made it across the finish line. Matt got second in his age group running a time of 31:38 and I got 3rd in my age group with a time of 41:28. We've got plenty of room to improve! We did not keep up with Paul Hartley, my coworker, running a time of 23:45 getting 3rd overall!! Todd Long, Matt's dad, also participated placing in his age group too! All in all, we all did well! I can at least say, running in a 5K is officially off of my Live It List!

Jenny, Matt, and Paul with our metals.

Our official times.

The 3 Long runners!

♥FAMILY♥

Christmas was a little delayed at the Long Residence, waiting for Matt's sister and family to arrive from Africa and his brother to fly in from San Fransisco.  Finally, on January 20 we were all in one place. It was a fast, but still an enjoyable Christmas spending it with Family. We even topped with off with a homemade cream pie.....mmm....mmmmmm.

Building Project Part 2

Where did I leave off???? Oh yeah, the construction of our new shop was about complete in September. All that was left to do was the shop office, bathrooms, and apartments. Below is a quick glance of our progress.

Shop with East door open

Apartment living space above office

With the help of Matt's Uncle Steve we got the 3 rooms framed.

Building office and shop bathrooms

Insulating bathrooms

Metal was added to the exterior walls of the bathrooms

Shop bathroom pretty well complete

Matt's Dad and Uncle Larry painting the living quarters

Matt's Aunt Bonnie painting the stairway

Cleanup Crew - Matt's Mom

 We would not be as far as we are today without the help of Matt's parents and Larry and Bonnie who drove down from Nebraska. Painting was a HUGE task, using about 60 gallons of primer and paint. I am thrilled to say the painting is finally done. Now for the fun part, putting on the final touches....stay tuned.

On the Road Again...

My Grandpa Simon used to say that some people were just born with wheels under their asses, and after the last few months I would believe him.  Just quickly counting I believe we have been on the road 7 of the past 12 weekends, and have plans to travel next weekend also.  I am definitely looking forward to staying home whenever that time comes...

Our latest trip was scheduled around watching the K-State Wildcats play the Oregon Ducks in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl.  Here are just a few pictures we took during our 8 day trip across Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah...

Jenny and I at the Painted Desert

Jenny cruising down Route 66

Petrified Tree / Living Tree

Matt at Crystal Forest

Arizona DOT New Years Warning...

First glimpse of the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

Getting ready to throw a snowball into the biggest hole in the USA.

Sporting the Wildcat at the Grand Canyon.

Flagstaff for New Years Eve.

Preparing for tailgating at the Fiesta Bowl.

Fiesta Bowl 2013

National Anthem before the big game.

Go State!

Jenny Sporting the Wildcat at the 4 Corners Monument.