The Muench Bunch

 I am not a fan of masks. Do they really help, is it really necessary? Why is it being forced on us instead of being a choice? I saw a quote that said, "If masks work, why aren't we allowed to visit our loved ones in a nursing home with a mask? IF they don't work why are we making our children wear them in school? So many things about massk just don't make sense. We see signs like these everywhere we go anymore. There are a variety of masks, i have seen all of these worn in public. The face shield, i don't understand how that keeps germs from spreading, only keeps you from spitting on someone. I have seen people wear respirators and all I can think is, you have got to be kidding me. The chin plastic shield, really what exactly is the point here? The gaiters have been proven to do very little, yet they are the most popular because they are comfortable. The last one with spikes, yep I saw this on someone boarding my plane. Truly frightening, not only is it strange, c

                  Each year for school is different from the last. This year came with it's own changes and challenges. I am so thankful that I have been homeschooling my kids. As the end of the Spring 2020 and the beginning of fall 2020, I am happy that things won't be changing drastically. With the pandemic , so many families are struggling with the new schooling. Some schools are starting 100% online, some are doing hybrid learning, which means they go some days in person to the school, and some days online. Then there are the smaller community schools, like Ogden that are 100% in person. With the new term "Hybrid Learning" being difficult enough, throw in the fact that all students and teachers are required to wear a mask. That just seems ridiculous. It is crazy, chaotic, and stressful for teachers, parents, and students. I cannot imagine how difficult this school year is going to be. There is nothing regular, or a normal schedule to fall into and so many unknowns

 Our dogs are entertaining. Tuff would do anything and everything for you to kick a ball for him. He runs and attaks it shakes it around awhile, then runs it back and drops it in front of you. he could do this for hours. Buster, He is just a big floppy silly dog. He is a socail dog that loves affection and attention. On a hot day, he will jump into the cattle tank for a quick dop. He loves water and we leavea tub of water for him to cool off in or he will put his front feet in his drinking water. They will often give you their biggest sad puppy dog eyes standing looking into our deck window begging to come in or for us to come out and play. Although they have never been allowed in the house, I know they would love it.          

 We attended Cornerstone church in Ames for the first time today in a long time. This was our family's first time attending church since Mach 15 when the pandemic started. We had cousin Karla meet and sit with us too.  It was strange walking in and standing on a circle on the floor and waiting to go to the next circle in order to keep the proper distance. There was hand sanitizer all along the walk and orange cones to keep you walking straight forward. Once inside the sanctuary, a greeter escorted us to our seats where everyone is strategically placed in order to distance from one another. All church members, except those on stage are required to wear a mask. It was an odd experience, but at the same time it felt great to be back within the walls worshiping, praising, and praying. The message was great, Pastor Mark V explained the importance of continuing to gather and why we need to wear masks. It kind of broke down some of the irritability we all have in wearing them. He emphasiz

 Jayden has been spending more time with Noah. They like to make meals together which I think is very sweet. They also take frequent rides in the dunes on his Can Am and sometimes will ride horses together. He goes along to barrel races too. I like that they support each others interests. On the way back from the barrel race, Noah took Jayden to a shop where he had ordered a ring for her. He gave her a custom made promise ring!! It is so gorgeous, silver with turquoise and a big square rock, no it is not a a real diamond. That would be crazy! It is definitely Jayden's style and it looks great! I wanted to know their definition and so I asked. Jayden explained that it meant you are serious, loyal to one another, and plan to get married someday. Oh be still my heart. So many emotions. She seems so happy and that makes me happy. They are awfully cute together. 

 People are still slowly recovering from the derecho storms. Many are without power and water after several days. The damage and destruction will take weeks to months to clean. Our neighbor asked if we could help haul some of her large trees away. Mark, Mich, and Luke spent a day working, cutting limbs, and hauling away brush with the tractor and straight truck. She offered to pay, but Mark was happy to help.  President Trump visited Cedar Rapids and is providing disaster relief. I was anxious to watch the news to see all the coverage of the storm damage and hear how Trump's visit went. WHO 13 started with the top story about Drake college students signing contracts to say they would not attend large parties and would turn in others if they saw large crowds in order to stop COVID spread. It was completely absurd. The second story was about Trump's visit and lasted only 2 minutes long. They quoted Trump for a few seconds and made him look bad. If a president visits our state for

 Mark took the boys to Clarion for one last chance to see Big Bud, the world's largest tractor. He has been sitting at the Heartland museum for a few years and in just a few days, he will go on to his home in Montana. We visited Big Bud 5 years ago at the museum and saw him at a Farm Expo 10 years ago when Luke was still in a stroller.     The Big Bud tractor has been in Clarion for about eight years, but it’s going back home to Montana this fall. Big Bud is a 900-plus horsepower beast with a 16-cylinder engine and can farm three acres per minute. He’s 27′ long, 20′ wide, 14′ tall and comes with a 8′ tire diameter. This awesome monster holds 1,000 gallons of fuel and weighs 130,000 pounds. It is the largest farm tractor in the world! On Tuesday, July 14, Titan Tire, Goodyear Tire and others showed up to put the new tires on Big Bud. Titan worked with others to make these special order tires. Once the tires were on, Big Bud went for a spin thru Clarion on Highway 3. Big Bud took up

 I copied this from the internet.  A very good point and a very real problem. How is this thing ever going to end, what is the exit strategy!?     What is the end game with the ‘rona? Anyone?                         What is the magic formula that is going to allow us to sound the “all clear”? Is it zero cases?  For a while, the goal was to simply “flatten the curve,” but now that we are disconnecting utilities for gatherings in California, setting up check points in New York, and recommending goggles (what’s next?), it seems as if there is, in fact, no end game. And, truthfully, the only way that we will see numbers drop is if we cease testing and stop reporting. Bear in mind that hundreds of thousands have shown up to be tested, registered, left due to long waits, and still come up positive when they received their results. 🤷🏼 ‍ ♀ ️ Is it a vaccine 💉 ?   It took 25 years for a chicken pox vaccine to be developed. The smallpox inoculation was discovered in 1776 and the last known

Jayden hit her one year mark before Christmas with her Rocking J. She had an amazing year in sales and made some great profit! The sales continued into the weeks following Christmas. The sales were actually picking up into the New year. Jayden posts something on social media and it goes wild. She is great with sales, marketing, and strategizing her media feeds.  It has been great to see how well it has gone and Jayden's ideas for new future merchandise and products. She has done amazingly well with her little business. By June, Jayden started selling cute t-shirts. She would order them, post them, and have them all sold before they arrived in the mail to package and ship out. The shirts were a big hit. She had so many adorable ones. Her bags continued to sell not long after she would list them. There are a lot of online shoppers in this COVID time. Business is booming. In order to boost sales and promote new items, Jayden will often do a photo shoot. This was a fun one she did wit

The boys both have a dirt bike and really enjoy tearing it up around here. The mostly ride in the hay field. I like that and feel like it is the safest place, no traffic, no ditches, no rocks or debri. They each have a helmet and we try to keep them safe. Ever since Noah was here, they seem to think they don't need to wear their helmets. Jake doesn't ride his bike as much as Luke. I have seen Jake zip around on Luke's bike a lot. I can tell he feels very comfortable on the old bike. I suppose it is like Jayden and her horses. The first horse Ace is like Jake's first dirt bike. The second bike is made for speed and racing, it would be like Jayden on Astro. She never was comfortable on him and a lot of the time she was scared. I think Jake's bike is a little more than he hoped for. Luke zips around on Jake's old bike and they both enjoy it the most. Jake took his bike up to Rylie's one weekend to ride the timber trails. HIs bike was hard to handle, big and so

. Ali Blake and the kids came to spend the day with us Sunday. We invited Blake's parents to come too. They had never been to our place, so we were cleaning, tidying, and grooming the outdoor trees, patio, and yard. We planned to grill out and enjoy the beautiful day. Last minute, Blake's grandmother fell at the nursing home and broke her hip. She is going on 90 years old. It was sad to hear of her fall. The kids still came and we rode horses and the boys ran all over the yard playing hide and seek. Ali even made a couple laps on the horse, the kids did some roping, and swinging on the tire swing. Mark's parents came and joined us for supper too.                   Alivia was riding in the Hamilton County saddle club, so Luke and I went to watch. That is my old stomping grounds. I was a member for many years and rode many horses in that arena. I have good memories of those years. Alivia rode her horse, Doodlebug in several events. She had a fan club with grandparents, Luke a