Off the grid

 Wow!  It's been so long since I've updated.  First, a disclaimer:  Blogger = being mean to me, so I only uploaded a fraction of my pictures from the last few months.  So I can't show how Lexi is a giant now, and Summer is a teenager.  There's so much to talk about lately.  This time I'm only going to update on the time that we were "off the grid". 

 Let me think if I can recap everything from the last few months:
1. Goodbye Duplex, I shall never miss you
2. Welcome to the country (hello skunk in garage on day 3)
3.  Skunk was later topped by "hello snake hiding behind borrowed van when I was trying to go somewhere at night"
4.  That would have been the heighth of our drama if I wasn't married to Scott Hartzler, which means it's not uncommon to have an event like......Scott brings home a bathroom vanity that he made at work for our bathroom.  Since the babies were being wild when he got home, he forgot to bring it in.  At 1 am, Lexi woke us both up, he remembered the vanity, we went out to get it, to the howling of wild animals right in our yard.  I suggested that I would take the front end - mostly because I didn't want some wolf to come up and bite me on the backside as I was carrying some very heavy seven-foot vanity.  (Most women don't do jobs like this.....)
5.  Skunk was later shot seven times.  Or more rather seven shots were fired to eliminate skunk ("the sight on this thing is like looking through a windshield")
6.  I think I will have never-ending wildlife stories for as long as we live here.
7.  Some of it might be the wild life of our neighbor who lives behind us.  Later maybe I should dedicate a whole post to him.

Summer feeding Lexi - apparently she's feeding her nail polish with her measuring spoon out of the measuring cup. 

For some reason, we've been calling Lexi "cupcake". 

Even Summer joins in.  The other day I heard her yelling at Lex "No, Cake, no!!"

We had a near separation in our family over the last several months.

I shall never forget our first night living in our new house.  Scott and I were looking out the patio doors off our bedroom.  Soft moonlight.  Warm breeze, stars, cattle on a thousand hills, neighbor's solar-powered Confederate arms factory (oh wait, save that part for another day).  Anyway, so I say "What are you thinking about Scott?"

"That hissing cat under the dresser."

Oh, seriously.
Harsh accusations were made.  I defended Penelope.  He called her a "dirty groundhog". 

A few days later, I agreed we could try to sell her. 

She moved to the garage and outside.

For now, we're keeping her. 

I think I shall save this picture as a perfect reminder of this last year of my life.  This is Summer's birthday.  Opening a gift from a dear friend from church.  (Summer got zero presents from us.  We were too busy, and she doesn't even know what a birthday is yet.)  But anyway, this is the extent of Summer's birthday celebration.  Summer opening present, Lexi flying around all over the place.  Scott dead tired.  Sheets in the wash again because Lexi pooed on them.  And if I could find the time stamp on the photo it would probably be sometime in the middle of the night.

Summer's self-portrait.

I'm not even sure what to say about this one.  Yes, that's Red Bull, and yes, she's the person who least needs it in the whole world.

Lexi's new favorite thing - climbing up the stairs.  One day she was standing here by the bottom of the stairs, and I said in a week or so, she'll probably be able to climb them.  The next afternoon, I found her halfway up the stairs.  Oh dear.

Wildflowers were beautiful this year.  I will post the rest of my pictures sometime.

One of my favorite new pictures.

 Favorite Lexi picture.

Summer - prouder than a peacock.  (the day before I put batteries in this little table (they went in the middle there, if you can see it, so anyway, the next day, she went and got out the batteries, and put them in the little hand holds (interestingly enough, they fit, she felt like a genius.)

Anyway, many more pictures to catch up on sometime, and maybe I'll tell about the neighbor, about the wild hogs, and about everything else.