The Muench Bunch

Mark has been working on the outdoor arena all week. He ordered an entire new set of panels that are heavier built along with chutes. Now Mark will have both an indoor and outdoor roping chute setup. Lately I have only been riding once a week and light riding. It has been hard on my neck and my back, I don't even enjoy riding because of all the discomfort. It makes me sad and wonder if it will ever get better or only get worse. I would enjoy horses so much more if I could do it without the aches and pains. For Mark, the riding helps him loosen up and he feels better doing more activity. I see people much older than I barrel racing and riding often. I am not that old, but I sure feel like it. It really takes the fun out of it.  Next we will buy a few steers and start roping. 

Back in 201, Mark went to NRS in Decatar Texas to a weekend roping clinic. He got a very cool pocket knife with team ropers on it. It has always been his special knife and he carried it everywhere. At some point, it got borrowed and lost. It was missing for months, when Mark found it on the side of our gravel road. We figured out it had been sitting on the truck and rode several miles before falling off. It was luck that he found it at all. Then fast forward another year and Mark dropped his knife into a grain bin containing 300,000bushels of corn. He figured it was long gone and would never see it again. He knew which bin and the corn went through a series of augers into another grain bin. Eventually the grain went through the grain leg and into a semi and was hauled away to the nearby ethanol plant. The knife got caught in the slats while unloading grain and was picked up by a plant worker. He took the knifer in and set it on the grain buyers desk. This week, Mark went to pick up a c

Monday I took Jayden and Luke to Jaynie's Senior night baseball game. The season started and they wanted to have the senior night early in the season just in case the games were cancelled due to COVID. Some teams have already had to stop playing as a team member tested positive. I am guessing that if they were to test every team and every team member there would be lots that test positive. The whole team was in the dugout side by side, yet when they introduced each team member they spread out 6 feet apart on the field. They announced that if a ball went out of the field, nobody was to touch it except the team. Oh brother! Jaynie had quite a crowd there! The Dozier family, Karen and Orrie, the Ferrari family, and a boy that likes Jaynie.. It was a  good game and fun to watch Jaynie. I am so glad she got to participate in something for her senior year. This would probably be the last game I would attend for my nieces. They are all graduating and Rylie isn't in sports. Thursday, J

They called it the Break Out Rodeo in Adel because it was the first IRCA rodeo held this season. Its crazy to think the season is just starting and it will soon be over. Many were cancelled and there will not be a finals this year due to the pandemic. A contestant can buy their membership for $100 and then another card next season for another $100 and all rodeos will go towards the 2021 year and finals. Doesn't seem right, I don't think their should be a fee for this season's card. College rodeo members had to pay $300 for a membership and only got to compete in a few rodeos and no finals were held. Finals are the end of the season event with 3 day competition, year end awards, buckles, saddles, etc. That's a lot of money going nowhere. Saturday night Mark, Luke, Jayden and I went to the Adel rodeo. It was hot and humid as it is every year. It was nice to see the sea of trailers parked with contestants ready to rodeo. The bleachers filled as the night went on flowing o

There wasnt even rain in the forecast for Monday. Mark and Tony got started on the arena, pounding posts and setting panels. The rain came in and put an end to that. Everything had been so dry and we appreciated some rain. It cooled things off, but by the weekend, the humidity was dreadful. I went to the store a couple times this week. It is always an experience. I was near Hy-Vee and needed a few items. I had not thought twice about it and was doing my normal shopping. Halfway through the store I realized I was going against the "one way" arrows. Oops! It seems so silly to me. one way arrows are to keep people going in one direction so as not to walk and pass someone risking the spread of covid. In Ames stores, more people wear a mask than do not. I still choose not too. The boys had appointments with their orthodontist to see if braces are needed. We had to sit in the car and wait until it was ok to come inside. Nobody is allowed to wait in the waiting area and we had to

 We have so many animals, but we love them all. They require chores and responsibility, they are work, they can cause problems, they get hurt and sick, but they are worth it. The chickens will eventually lay us eggs. The horses of course we can rope, ride and compete on. The dogs and cats, they are for fun and loving. It's been studied that petting animals cause us to release endorphins, which make you feel better. In other words, they are therapeutic, they all are. Animals are a big part of our lives and they just make us happy. Thank you God for creating all creatures big and small!                

Karen had a bad back and was home resting. Orrie had to drive himself to Memphis Missouri to stay with relatives and then had Stem Cell injections in his knees. I stopped in to check on Karen. She was watching FOX news. They have the news on most of the day. I have not watched the news in over a week. In the little bit of time I was there, I got updated on everything going on. I am so much better off not watching the news. The media is causing so much damage to our world! The COVID thing has really taken the backburner to the rioting. They still want people to remain fearful, wear masks and take all the precautions possible even though hospitals are not seeing patients and there are few if any deaths. The number of cases continue to rise enough to keep people scared. The rioting and destruction in big cities continues. There are marches all across the country. In fact there was one recently in Boone and another in Des Moines. Things are not calming down. My theory is, the generation th

On Father's day, I woke early and got a big breakfast started for Mark. We watched church while we ate. While he made a quick stop at his dad's, the kids and I pulled his truck into the driveway with the double wide glider patio chair. I picked it up the day before and had it in the shop hiding. Surprise, we went all out and got the quality glider from Redekers. Each of the kids went in and contributed a little. It was a beautiful day and we had been invited to Rod and Laura's by Ali  to celebrate Father's day. Laura likes to cook and made so many salads and sides while Rod grilled pork loin, pork patties, and an assortment of flavored brats. They had so much yummy food. We all sat in their new backyard pool and enjoyed the lovely day. Mark and Blake went on a bike ride. Bryce and Devin had their little baby Caden in the water. He is 9 months with blue eyes and chubby cheeks. It was fun to be around a baby. Jayden spent her day at a barrel race.     On Tuesday we met

Wednesday Ali and Blake brought the kids to spend the night. It still seems so strange to call them grandkids. They all had supper before Blake and Ali went home. The kids ran around outside, played on the tire swing, and watched a movie until they fell asleep. On Thursday we gave them rides on the horse. Bridget is scared on the horse, but enjoys riding. Andrew talks and asks cute questions the whole time. I had them trot for the first time while I led them.  Jayden helped make cupcakes with amazing strawberry frosting. They played Barbies, Farming, and Rokenbloks, with only a little video game time. They are sweet kids and we enjoyed having them over. Bridget has changed so much in the past 6 months, She has grown a ton and looks like she could be 14. She is 11 and has had her own cell phone since she was 7. It is interesting to hear her speak about her phone, and of the movies she has watched that I wouldn't let my kids watch until they were 16. Or hear her talk about boyfreind

Monday was a quiet day at home. I spoke with Luke's friend Joe's mom to see how she felt about having him over. She, like me is over this COVID business and ready to move on. I think people are slowly coming to the realization how overreactive the situation was and how damaging it is becoming.  Luke had his friend Joe spend the afternoon and just be boys. I was so thankful for that and so was Luke. Tuesday I had lunch with Carolyn for her birthday along with Sue Ann and Laura V. We sat at a booth without masks eating and chatting. It was nice. Jacob took the day off work and got together with his youth group buddies in Ames. They played frisbee and basketball games, he needed that and enjoyed it. Jayden went to Don Williams lake with Emma S. from the Boone church. She, like Jayden has been back from college since Spring Break. She had plans to spend her summer in a third world country as a nurse. Instead she is back in Iowa with her family with free time and a job. They sat i

This is the kind of thing you see in movies or read in a book, not something in real life. Our people are coming unraveled. In Seattle Washington, an angry group of protestors took claim of 6 city blocks, claiming it as their autonomous zone, their nation without police. They first named it CHAZ Capital Hill Autonomous Zone, then changed it to CHOP Capital Hill Organized Protest. They have their own armed guards and live on the streets. They have graffitied all up and down the block and have tired to turn the police precinct into a community center. These people have gone mad. And to add to it, they have a list of supplies they are asking for and for the most part they are being supplied, things such as track phone minutes, ice, flashlights, lawn chairs, food, water, sunglasses, and the list goes on. If they had to live awhile without, they probably wouldn't last too long and go on home. They claim they feel safer without police and can freely protest without fear. Where are these

 Jayden and I went to Maxwell for a barrel race. Grandma and Grandpa Wahlert along with Lynn and Elaine E went to watch as well. Jayden likes to show up while the barrel race has been running warm-ups and be one of the last trailers to squeeze in. She had to park in a sea of trailers. Thankfully Erica's dad was there and helped her get her trailer parked. She always tells me how she never has trouble parking and there is always a spot. Parking gives me anxiety. When you pull in blind you never know how far back you are going to go before its a dead end and then you'll have to back out of a sea of trailers. I like to arrive at horse events an hour or two before it starts.  She took both Joker and Wes and they did good for her. Joker ran a clean, hard and fast run. Wes knocked the third.  It was great to see Joker run after all he had been through. I enjoyed having Jayden back in Iowa running at barrel races just like old times. I know I should cherish this time because there is

On June 13, 2020 Zach and Jossie were married. It was not the wedding they had been planning for. Jossie had her notebook writing each and every detail, planning it down to the last detail. She had been planning for several years. Sometimes plans don't always go the way you wanted. The original bridesmaid dresses she ordered became discontinued and she picked plan B. Then along came COVID, she didn't even know if she could have a wedding.  Jossie's three bridal showers were canceled and one very well planned Bach and Bachelorette cabin weekend. The wedding was going to be held at the Stratford church with Pastor Andy, who was excited to hold his second wedding in the Muench family. In the spring he had to leave the church due to personal problems, and was no longer the pastor at Stratford. Pastor Jim had returned and became the new pastor once again. Pastor Jim was Jossie's pastor for her childhood and AWANA leader, so that was even more special. Plan B was to hold a w