The Muench Bunch

My good friend Paula had a rough week similar to what I went through. She lost her Grandma Oskvig and a few days later lost her grandpa Neubaur. She had funerals back to back one day after the other, and her grandma's visitation was on Paula's birthday.I knew Paula's Grandma Oskvig. Growing up close to Paula i went to her grandma's a few times. She was a sweet lady, very kind and funny. I liked her grandma a lot. Sadly, her family did not have a funeral for her. She was very involved in a church in Iowa Falls, so I am not really sure why.  I made sure to make it to one of the events, I was able to make it for her grandpa's visitation.  I wanted to be there for her Paula like she was for me. Jess was there too. These girls have been special friends since pre-school and I will be there for them too. I love these girls like sisters.

Jayden had a couple of her rodeo team members leave their horses in our stalls Thrusday night so they could leave first thing Friday morning. It saved them all an extra night hotel and expenses. The girls left at 6:30AM friday morning headed for Lincoln Nebraska's college rodeo. I left at 8:30AM with my traveling partner, Luke. The drive was 3.5 hours, ours took longer with our stops. Traffic was heavy in Omaha, the speed limit was 75. The slack started at 1:00 and we arrived around a quarter till. Jayden was 38th to go. The arena was a good sized indoor with the fastest time being run by Alyssa Lockhart. She is leading the region and her mother is an NFR Pro barrel racer. She won the weekend rodeo with a 15.08. Jayden did not have the run she hoped to end her college rodeo season with. Astro always has a great first barrel, however her second was a little wide and third he went really wide. We are always amazed at her time, a 16.0, knowing the potential. If she could run a perfect

John Jones made plans to visit several family members and planned a stop at our home. Mark was busy in the field planting, so I fixed lunch and visited with John. He is such a kind man and it breaks my heart to see him without Rose. It was hard to see him get out of the car without Rose. I miss her and I know he does too. I cannot imagine how hard it is for him. After lunch he rode in the tractor with Mark for several hours. He takes such an interest in everything Mark does in the field. he is genuinely interested in everyone and takes notice in all the details. It was such a beautiful day with great weather. I had ordered a few dozen cookies from the Hidden Acres camp and we enjoyed those today too.

We see Jayden more this semester than last. Lately she has been staying in Ames three nights out of the week. She goes to class on Tuesday and heads home on Thursday evening. Jayden is a social person, likes people, is friendly, and likes to talk. She has had a hard time with getting to know people and having friends. She was most looking forward to making new freinds at college. It has not been easy.  She goes a little stir crazy and I cant say that I blame her. Her roommate keeps the blinds closed, lights off, and spends a large part of her day in bed. If that's not depressing enough, she now has all her belongings packed up, things off the walls, and stored ready to move at the end of the semester in a little over two weeks.  I can't say that I blame her for not wanting to stay in Ames. She seems happy to be home, she is her shinning self, making us laugh, being silly and just doing her own thing. She will ride her horses every day that she is home. She sometimes gets toget

He is risen!! Jesus Christ has risen form the grave as our savior to redeem each and every one of us. It is a great time of year to be reminded of that sacrifice. We celebrated Easter this year and Ryile had spent the night. He got to wake up to our crazy morning with easter candy and baskets. There was candy for Rylie too.    Later I let the boys be boys and tried to stay out of their way. I just wanted them to have fun together and I think they did. Judging by the mud, maybe too much fun.It makes me happy when these two boys can spend time together It reminds me of the special bond I had with my cousin Angie.

70 and Sunshine.... April 15- When it has been 6 long and deadful wintery weathery months since we have seen 75 degrees, you saok it in. Ok so maybe Mark and I cheated a little when we stayed in Florida. But, in Iowa after a long winter you throw open the windows and let the breeze fill the house. We listen to the birds chirp and open all the curtains so the sunshine fills every room. We spend all afternoon outdoors until the sun starts to go down. Two days in a row we got to experience sunchine and warmth. Sunday after church I rode a horse, bathed a horse, and lunged a horse. I did some outdoor spring cleaning in the shop and garage. Since the whole family was home and the weather nice, I chose to take the time and bury our sweet Daisy's ashes. I walked around thinking of a good spot and chose under the tree by the snadbox where the kid used to play. Daisy spent lots of time by that tree watching all three kids play. She was often beside my lawn chair with her head on my lap want

Its cold again. I had to pull out my winter coat again. Last night and this morning I did horse chores and put on a heavy coat. I didnt think gloves and a hat should be necessary, but wish I had them. This is getting ridiculous. We get one nice day for every 5 bad. Come on spring, please show yourself and stay here! Soon it will be summer and then it will be heat on. Mark and the guys, Tony and Mike, have been working in the field putting on nitrogen and spraying the cover crop. At least they are making progress and getting field work done. The rain held off yesterday and we didnt get any of the expected storms. That is a praise.

Jake took an online class Financial Literature. Unlike the typical online class, I am the teacher, so I do the grading. I have to read his answers to any typed questions. He always answers these questions silly. It is hard to get him to be serious. Here are examples Why do citizens pay taxes? Jake- Because the Obama Lama association likes the whirly twirly windmills, they like seeing them go round and round and round and round and round and... because the government needs cash to build bridges and pay for schools and other boring things. Jake has been trying out some new hair styles. He sees the guys in his youth group with different looks and thought he would try a new style. He is such a a handsome guy! I personally like a little shag in the back.We even get a look into the future to see what he will look like with a beard thanks to the snapchat filters.

On Monday we were sporting shorts. On Wednesday we pulled our winter coats, carharrts and gloves out once again. The Dakotas and Minnesota are really getting hit with snow. We are just getting heavy winds. We had thunder and lightning a couple nights this week but only light rain. The wind is what is keeping MArk out of the field. On Tuesday Mark's head was spinning he was so busy. He has been getting a lot of Salford calls, guys who couldn't do field work in the fall are scrambling to get it done now and in a hurry. He spread nitrogen and AMS over 1100 acres with Mike and Tony's help. He had 8 semi's to load hauling beans. Tuesday and Wednesday Mark showed Jake how to haul manure and set him loose. Jake not only hauled the manure in the field, he had to load. He did it all under no supervision and worked for several hours two days in a row. Thursday and Friday the wind has been so strong. Mark cannot spread due to the wind. It is drying out, but too windy. He is anx

Jake is growing up, no doubt. In the past year he has grown in so many ways, he is much taller, his voice has deepend, he has gotten more muscle, and acts older. Growing up also means more responsibilities. Jake likes to take on jobs around the farm and he is happier and more satisfied when he has a job. Mark showed Jake how to haul manure, then turned him loose. His job not only included hauling a full manure spreader down the road and into a field where he spread it, but also he had to load it. He used one tractor with a big loader to scoop the manure and load it into the spreader. He did it load after load for many hours on Wednesday and Thursday morning. I was there when Mark walked back to the tractor with him and caught a great picture. Mark was proud of Jake and told him many times. He also told him how great it is that he can rely on him, how that takes the work load of him, and he taught him the importance of manure in the soil and microorganisms. It was a good day for Jake an

You just drove 208 miles one way to a rodeo to watch your daughter run a 14 second run? Are you nuts? I am sure that is what many non-rodeo person would say or think. Rodeo is a sport you have to know it by doing it or know and follow someone that does. There is a drive that these athletes have, and yes they are athletes, rodeo is a sport. Some start very young, barely walking and they are in a saddle, running ponies and growing up in a saddle. They train and practice and compete just like any other athlete, only they do so with a horse. The horse is fed, cared for, conditioned, trained, and exercised. All of these things are an expense they pay for. Horse and rider spend hours together forming a bond and becoming almost one. They know what the horse is going to do before he does it. They know when their horse is on top of his game, also know when he is not. They are determined to reach their goal, the goal they set for themselves. Maybe to improve a little each run, to get a youn

Saturday morning Luke went with Grandpa Wahlert (Peepaw) to a Sportsmen's Retreat. Mark took Jake a previous year and they got rained out, only getting in on a small part of the weekend. Luke had wanted to go every since. He wanted to stay the whole weekend. He made plans with Grandpa and early in the morning Saturday the two of them were at Hidden Acres starting with early breakfast. The retreat was a packed weekend with workshops, speakers, food, shooting, and all kinds of activities. I know Luke wore Grandpa out. In fact they came to the house for a brief rest and returned for supper. Luke did a lot of shooting, found a boy named Charlie who goes to our church and did a lot of target shooting and clay shooting with him. Luke said his favorite was the stunt shooters. He later showed me videos on youtube of the famous shooters. It was crazy what they can do!! Luke brought home a golf ball and a softball they shot and autogrpahed. He was so excited when he came home tellling us all

There is a new potential rodeo coach for ISU who has come into the picture. He is a motivated former Nebraska team coach that knows rodeo. He has competed and coached in Nebraska. He recently moved to Iowa and wanted to apply for the coaching position at ISU. Of course the two dictator women coaches wanted nothing to do with him, turned down his application, and tried turning him away. Fortunately the team members caught wind of him, contacted him and encouraged him to continue to pursue the position . The current women have caused lots of chaos and division in the club and tea,  havent helped in any way.  In the past couple months, the team has had meetings with the potential coach, Cliff and formed their own team meetings with officers and plans. Cliff wants to help the kids raise sponsorship money, get scholarships made available, schedule practices, and he is willing to give of his time and money to help. Everyone is super excited except for the current women coaches. It will be in

On April 2, 2019 we got snow enough to cover the ground in white. It was a pretty snow, however it is not welcome in April. We want spring flowers and warmer temps please.