Agri-Action happened this weekend, our annual event which is at the college expo center. Agriculture dealers are in vendor booths, and there are rows of them. And as you can see, the kids get a bag, and start gathering up 'stuff' from their booths. Mostly pens & pencils, and candy. Most of them also have peanuts, in a shell. Perhaps its a 'farmer thing' to shell peanuts and chat. It also means boats appear in our bathroom sink! (half a peanut shell sitting in water). They also haul in huge equipment, I should point out how nice and clean it is too, (but when they cost more than a house, it's smart to keep it clean.) The boys love it....and normally don't bother the equipment until they find themselves waiting on their dad. Tilmann informed me that "dad has too many friends"....which seems to be true, since he is always talking with someone.You guess it! Here is the other photo that I said a few post back would be in the newspaper. Only this time, my picture is HUGE! Even the article title is referring to my picture (the other four pictures in the article didn't really have much to do with 'woods'). 
Here is what the article says (for anyone who would care to read it):
You saw some of our favorites last week in Country Roads. Today--with our thanks to all who submitted entries--we present more of our readers' best winter photography. Times-News Chief Photographer Ashley Smith, who helped choose today's photos, was struck by the texture and lines in Tearsa Williams' sunburst picture.Here is what the caption says:
"It's just a nice winter shot," Smith said.
Okay, now the article doesn't have anything to do with me, so I won't bother typing the rest of it.
On a church youth trip, 17-year-old Tearsa Williams of Twin Falls took this photo in December at the South Hills' Diamondfield Jack area. 'I took a few pictures as I was walking,' she says, 'and when I saw this clump of trees covered in snow with the sun shining through, I thought "Oh, perfect!" She made the shot in color, then opted for black and white. 'The sun doesn't look as harsh this way, and I think it gives it an old-fashioned feeling of winter in the woods.'Notice that the last four words are the title of the article? Pretty exciting, n'est-ce pas? Well, I'm excited. I think this is the last time they are printing readers' photos. So out of the ten photos printed, two of them were mine. Not bad, not bad.
Here is the original:
If you are really terribly interested in this whole thing, you can go to the Times News website and read the whole article and see the other pictures.
Happy Presidents Day! At school on Friday we had two important guests that came and talked with the children. I came and listened, which was informative and fun. To the left is Tucker's father, and to the right is Shelby's grandfather...if you need more info, ask!
A few weeks ago, the paper published an article about winter in this area, and then invited readers to send in their photos, sort of like a prizeless contest. Aunt Carole convinced me to submit a few, and guess what? They chose two of my pictures! On Tuesday, the newspaper published one of my pictures along with four other pictures. The article says that next week they will publish another five photos. I guess my other photo will be in that round.
Here is the picture and caption: 
If you can't read the caption here it is:
The South Hills form a backdrop for this November photograph by 17-year-old Tearsa Williams of Twin Falls, depicting a cornfield across from her house. 'The repetition of the stalks and the straightness of the rows inspired me,' Williams said. 'I love the optical effect in the middle of the photo, where the row becomes smaller the farther away it is. I took this picture around 4:30 in the afternoon so there would be lots of shadows from the stalks.'Here is what the article said about my picture (basically just what I said in the above caption):
Here is the actual picture (it looks better this way, rather than in the newspaper):
By the way, did everyone notice the lovely changes to the blog, like the gorgeous header?!? I must say that I am very proud of it. I got the basic picture from a magazine advertisement, and subtracted the unwanted information, and then added my own touches. If anyone wants to comment on it, well, then you are more than welcome! ;-)
Yesterday Taft was able to have more x-rays taken of his hand. (Yes, the above photo is of the fancy x-ray machine, and yes, that was the first pose he had to hold his hand in) The cast has been on for one week. The Doctor said that because the swelling has gone down, there is a chance that the bone can do some shifting inside the cast. He will also be taking weekly x-rays because he has broken the bone all the way across, which is another reason why it could shift.
(Friday the 9th) Poor Tilmann, he's at the doctor's office. He now weighs 59 pounds and is 4 foot and 3/4 inches tall, 7 years old. We are here because he was up and down all night long crying about his ear. Motrin is wonderful, but it sure didn't help enough! Come morning he was feeling much better, but complained about his ear 'sweating'. His ear was draining alright. I called the office just as early as the operators would answer for an appointment (8:00)....the first one (and not even with our doctor, but any doctor) wasn't until 3:45. Which meant that I could go to Tavin's basketball game (see below post) but was cutting it close on getting to the Progressive Dinner on time (see below post). The verdict on his ear? Well, I just expected to hear that he had an ear infection....well he had that, but it had enough pressure that it RUPTURED HIS EAR DRUM! Of course, that is why it is draining...and still draining for the last two days! So what does this mean? It means we hope that the ear drum broke down low, for there would be less damage to his hearing, from less scar tissue. What can we do now? Not much, but let it heal on it's own.(& pills to clear the infection) I've had kids with ear problems before, Drey went through two sets of ear tubes, but I've never had a ruptured ear drum. There wasn't even warning that an infection was developing- he doesn't have a cold, no cough or snotty nose. You know how you've heard over and over, "turn down that music, you want to break your ear drums?" well there are other ways. Now we are just praying for his ear not to have damage. What a medical week!
Drey turned 15 on Friday the 9th! He is now 5' 10 1/2 and 120 pounds. Which I don't know if I need to point out- that is taller than his parents. He is a Freshman (9th grade). That is a pan of blond brownies....it just wasn't the day for the angel food cake he had hoped for. His favorite birthday gift was the chin-up bar that is now in the hallway door frame.
Tavin's Principal (who is also the 3rd grade teacher) has decided to teach the 4th & 5th graders how to play basketball. He does so starting in January, 3 days a week, during the lunch recess. Starting in February they have games every Friday for the last half hour of the day. (6 games)Which the whole school turns out, (that number is up to 71 students) and sits in the wooden bleachers. They sell popcorn, inviting parents to join in the festivities. It's great fun! And it's surprising how competitive the game actually is! The above photo isn't the best, but that is Tavin in the camouflage pants. (yes, and a girl in a skirt!) There is 3 teams, and they each have their own colored shirt. This game Tavin made 4 baskets Ya-Hoo! The score was 22 to 23. Tavin's team almost won, but in the last 15 seconds of the game a foul was made, and 2 free shots were allowed...of course it was bad luck that the red team's player made both of those shots.
On Friday, the 9th- yes, the same day as the other three posts events were happening....I was in charge of a Progressive Dinner for our church. We had three stops (thankfully none at my home) and it was a great event! It is a lot of fun to be hopping around to people's home, and eating! And more entertaining, since at each stop you'd sit with a different group of people. At this house, the main course, they have a lovely log cabin type home. (the Bracketts) Here everyone is around the large living room, (too big to fit in to one photo) but I decided to post this photo, so you can see the walls, and Aaron is at the far left.
When Taft was a "Tubing Tornado" on Saturday, (see below post) injuring his hand, little did we know that it was actually BROKEN! It was swollen, and he put ice on it, not using it. By Sunday night I had decided it needed to be checked. Taft isn't one to complain, so it is hard to figure out what kind of shape it is in.
The doctor took a look at it, and said there was too much blood in the area, which caused him to think it was broken. X-rays are done. Did you know that they don't develop x-ray film any more? It's put on computer. That way the doctor can bring it up, (there is a computer in each patient room) and can enlarge, and move around the picture easier than ever. He can also send them to another doctors office with a click of a button, which is what he did. The break is right below his thumb, it was on an angle, and he decided we needed to see a bone specialist, who might want to 'pin' it.
The Specialist took a look at the x-ray and moved around his hand. He couldn't believe the high pain threshold that Taft had, saying he would be gushing out tears if someone did that to him. He decided if Taft was older he might pin it, but it was on a border line to do so. But he didn't want to do it to Taft since he would have to pin it across his growth plate for his thumb, which might cause Taft to have a short thumb as he grew....smart idea. By the way, Taft is now 5 feet tall (actual 60 inches) and 104 pounds. He is a 7th grader, 12 years of age.
On with the casting. It's fiberglass, and when they wrap the fiberglass strips on his arm, it is first dipped into cold water, which activates it. Taft said it got hot, as it dried and harden. The cast will be on for at least 3 weeks. Next week they will take another x-ray (with the cast on).
One of the first things Taft said when the cast was put on was "I guess I'm not going skiing this weekend". The doctor quickly informed him that he was right, and asked if he had P.E., which he wrote a note for that teacher. Darn, he finally got go roller skating with his P.E. class, once- now he will miss the rest of that activity.
This is the first broken bone for any of our children, of course they have all had stitches, but first on breaks. Aaron said it's a first on his side of his family for broken bones too.
I like the photo of Taft trying to do his homework. He is working on his math. Before the cast his handwriting wouldn't win any awards....but now? He wondered if the teacher could even read it. Well his sister did help, by writing out his work, and later his brother Tavin helped too. Perhaps three weeks won't seem so long to him?
Tilmann, Tavin & Taft went 'Tubing' with their Cousin Carrie on Saturday. This is up by Magic Mountain, near the ski area. How was it? DANGEROUS! Oh sure they had a grand time.....but Tilmann got a bloody nose, from wreaking....Taft injured his hand, from wreaking, Cousin Carrie injured her finger, from wreaking and Tavin he had aches and pains for days, from wreaking. Taft says "Tavin was insane, he'd just go over those high jumps like nothing". Tilmann said, "Next time I think we need to bring some Tylenol with us", I'm thinking they are hurting!
Yet they loved it, Tilmann begging to go up again next weekend! I sent the camera with Cousin Carrie,(she needs to have one of the boys take a photo of her!) and it sure looks beautiful up there. I like the 'action' shot of Tilmann flying in the air. 
