The Muench Bunch

6/30/17 When the weeks are so busy you cant remember what you did two days ago and they all blend, its time to slow down. I don’t like to be so busy I cant keep my head straight. I keep trying to de-clutter my life, my home, my schedule, but it never seems to happen. We cut out more things this summer, yet still the days are filled. I think a big part of our busyness is our animals. With 7 horses, their injuries, and farrier needs, it seems never ending. Throw in a dozen chickens, a new kitten, plenty of cats and a couple dogs and you never have a lack of things to do. This week I took Eagle to ISU for a vet appointment and ended up injecting both his front feet in hopes that he can stay sound enough for light riding, kid lessons, and for the boys. That made 2 trips to Ames in one day. For the past 2 weeks the boys had swim lessons at 1:30 each day. That meant lunch eaten and swim trunks on and out the door by 12:30. The swim lessons are going well. Luke loves to jump off the diving b

250 amazing proofs, how does one choose! TP Creations sepcializes in photogrpahing horses and Jayden wantedx her to do her Senior pictures. She did a wonderful job and we love them all! Here are a few favorites.

Mark's Uncle Norman Erickson passed away. Luke took it very hard and cried for him. He was very sad and spent time getting to know him making trips to the nursing home with his Grandpa. Mark was unable to go to the funeral today because of his recent surgery. The kids and I went and were part of the family. Norman is now with his beloved Margaret. The two of them did many duets together and loved to sing and play piano. Norman liked to play his harmonica. He was very lost without Margaret. He was sad to be in the nursing home. He tried to leave and beg people to get him out as soon as he arrived. He told everyone he felt like he was in prison. He is no longer in pain and no longer without his Margaret. Later, Luke had placed a photo of Norman in his wallet and told me he was afraid he would forget him. He is so tenderhearted.

6/16/17 We went to the IRCA rodeo in Adel to watch Jayden run. Jake had other plans, but Luke is a rodeo fan and likes to be part of the action. Ace was sporting his new halter with "IRCA Barrel Horse of The Year" on it. Jayden had high hopes and was excited and ready to roll for another rodeo season. Unfortunately it was a knocked barrel and not the night she had hoped for. 6/23/17 Jayden went to the IRCA rodeo with Tony as the driver. The rodeo was in Lake City and Luke went too. She had a good run, kept the barrels all up, but didn’t push and it was slow.  I stayed home and was the nurse.

6/21/17 Mark went in for hip surgery and had to be at the hospital at 6AM and was in surgery by 7. I made numerous trips to the clinic pharmacy that was on the other side of the hospital down a long hall. Throughout the day, the pharmacy caused us the most delays. The nurse had us expecting to leave around noon and it ended up being 2:30. Finally we were headed home. Mark didnt lose his appetite and ordered a full Chik Fil A meal and milkshake for the ride home.  He rested the rest of the day and slept pretty well at night. I was surprised at how well he was getting along. Jayden was my taxi for the day and took her brothers to swim lessons then to the Ames water park for awhile. She is so responsible and such a great big sister! 6/24/17 Mark hasn’t had to take any pain medicine for 24 hours. That is great! I am so glad he is doing so well. 24 hours after his surgery he was getting in and out of his chair and was feeling pretty good. He says his pain is at a 4, but I think 4 for h

When the wind blows, it can really blow. Doing horse chores, pitching hay from the round bale to the horses, can be a real challenge in the wind. When you lift the pitch fork with a load of hay into the feeder, it all goes straight in your face. Sometimes the wind is so strong and powerful you physically cannot lift the hay and it pushes back at you. I took this selfie of Jayden and I trying to face the wind and do chores. We discovered tying a hoodie sweatshirt is the best at keeping the tiny bits of alfafla hay out of your hair. Pitching hay in the wind is not fun at all, today we were laughing at each other. Jaynie recenlty came and spent the weekend with Jayden. For fun, they got out some canvases and painted. We recently talked to a man in our church and lined up guitar lessons for Luke. We bought a youth guitar for Luke and he was so excited about his lesson, he came right home and practiced over and over. I think it will be neat to see him learn and play. His instructor,

6/20/17 A couple complaints. I rarely watch the news on television anymore. I haven’t much since the last presidential elections once Trump was elected, the news has never stopped complaining. Not one day goes by without hearing about Trump. The media is so saturated with democrat liberals and their strong opinions. Its constantly democrat versus republican. I feel the media has caused so much hate. Every day there is more and more media brain washing people into seeing how bad things are and pointing the blame. It scares me to see the hate people have developed towards one another. We have political views, racial and homosexual views that are so very different. Mark compares the media to a group of terrorists trying to destroy our country. If it continues at this rate, we may see a civil war. How terrifying. On a lighter note, fidget spinners. I just don’t get it. The latest fad is a little trinket that spins. They hit the shelves in mass quantities and you can find them in any an

For Father's Day, we invited our parents over to honor our Dad's and fix them a steak dinner. Mark helped grill. After we ate, Allie, Blake, and his kids came out. This is the first time we have been around Blake's kids. They are sweet and cute. They liked to see all the animals and follow Jake and Luke around. Allie seems so happy and more mature. She has had to grow up and become more responsible with a job, boyfriend, and kids. Blake and Allie each got something for Mark and each a nice card. He got a nice heavy duty tool box and a gerber knife. Later I got to read the card from Blake and it was super thoughtful. He thanked Mark for bringing Allie into this world. He was so kind and wrote a lot from the heart. I really like Blake and that even added to it. I pray that they can get married. The sooner the better. Their living arrangement is that of a married family and I sure wish they would seal the deal! We enjoyed a nice evening outdoors with smores.

Wednesday and Thursday we gave riding lessons. Luke is more excited to ride when he has a friend to ride with, so we saddle up Eagle when Cash comes for lessons. Luke is braver and will ride longer. He trots all over with Cash and they have fun. Its like he is getting riding lesson and he doesn't even know it. Cash has a great sense of humor and imagination. He likes to pretend they are outlaws or cowboys chasing Indians. He makes me laugh.  On Tuesday Jayden drove the truck and trailer all by herself for the first time to a barrel race. I was a little nervous about the idea. It was so hot and the heat index was above 100 for the day. She is a true cowgirl to go in this heat. She took her two horses Ace and Joker. She left at 5:30 and got back at 10:30. It was only in Dayton, a 15 minute drive so I felt ok about it. She got along just fine and I knew it was one more step in being independent. She has been driving herself to doctors appointments for the last two months for dermatolo