What up Spruill Family?

Hey! I wonder what the Spruill's are up to? Give us a call! 

5 Toddler Ducks

The ducks have doubled in size!! 

J Bar W Ranch Rodeo

We went to the J Bar W Ranch Rodeo at the Carrol County Ag Center in Westminster MD. The indoor arena is only about two years old. It is a really nice place. As soon as you walk through the front door the smell hits you and you know there are animals near.
The show started at 7pm, there were 32 riders. It was the last night of the winter season, so the 32 cowboys were the top points scorers for the season. This was my first rodeo, so I was a little nervous, I did not want to see any injuries. The first couple of guys got tossed and a few were hit. It scared the crap out of me. No one was hurt very badly. They all got up and walked away. All of the bulls were from the J Bar W Ranch in Union Bridge MD, and some of them were HUGE! You can visit their site at http://www.jbarwranch.com/. They have a summer series, so I think we will be going back.




Tanner and Brett got all of the cowboy's autographs. They even got to say hello to the clowns. There were two of them, and they did a great job!

Rodeo2

This bull would not leave the ring. They had to bring out a second bull that he started to follow around. When that wasn't working, they let a dog come out and chase him around. After several minutes he finally followed the other bull out. He was a scary one. He was chasing everyone in the ring. 

Rodeo3

This Cowboy got his face banged up by this bull. He got stomped again on his second ride. We saw him later in the autograph line and he seemed ok. He said to ask him again how he feels in the morning, it will probably be a different story in the morning. 

Tanner, Brett and Chuck.... we had a good ride. Now we are all hungry and cold. 

Tanner's First time on the four wheeler. 

5 Baby Ducks

Charlie brought home 5 baby ducks today. So far their names are Abe, Gus, Bob and George. Tanner will get to name the fifth when he gets here tomorrow.

My Little Tree Monkey

This is where we put our berry bushes. We put in three rows with 7 plants each.

Garden Prep

We hit a small boulder right about here. I dug it out for Charlie. I might wash it off and put it in the flower bed in front of the house, that is if I can pursuade Charlie in moving it up there for me.
We are going to grow corn, tomoatoes, squash, green beans, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers. Brett plans to grow watermelon and cantelope in some patches next to the main garden. Charlie and I drew up a plan on how we should plant everything and we are going to keep a garden log so we can track our progress.
We also got our berry bushes and strawberry plants on Saturday, so we wanted to put them in the ground today, but it is raining. I have an awful sore throat, so I don't want to be out in the rain. We may have to do that later in the week, unless Charlie wants to tackle the job alone.
Charlie and I took a break yesterday and just laid back on the grass, the sun felt soooooo nice on our faces and I'm just so thankful for everything that we have right now. I couldn't ask for anything more. Except maybe for my family and friends to be here to share it all with me. Well, that and for this darn sore throat to go away.

Mike's Goat Manure

Charlie went to Mikes and pitched up a load of goat manure to spread into the garden.Mike had 89 goats when we moved out here. Since then he has sold nearly 30 of them. Now with 16 does having babies, his herd will be back up to 90 in about a month. We went over there yesterday to get the manure about an hour after another pair were born. We didn't get their names this time. They were so cute. Their little legs were still wobbly and they were only about an inch shorter than the older ones.With the tiller that Charlie's Mom gave us, he tilled the manure into the garden soil. Hopefully all the vegetables will grow well. I can't wait to have tomato sandwiches and sauteed zuchinni!We would like to try to can and freeze some things also. So, if anyone has any canning jars that they want to get rid of, we will gladly take them off your hands.

Poncho

I made a poncho for Audrey, but when I was done, I realized it was sized more for a five year old. So, I made another one more her size. If anyone wants the bigger one or thinks you know someone who would want it, let me know, it's free to the first taker.
I got the pattern from the website listed below.
http://www.luv2crochet.com/lacyshellponcho.pdf
It was very simple to make. The small one took less than an hour, the larger one took just over an hour to make. I would happily make more if you have any yarn laying around or wouldn't mind buying the yarn. I used worsted weight for these two.

George Jones

We went to see George Jones at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall last night in Baltimore.
http://www.georgejones.com/home/index.htm
It was really good! He was celebrating 50 years of hits. He has been making music since 1955. A tear came to my eye when he sang "Choices" then again when he sang "He Stopped Loving Her" and then yet again when he say "How will we fill their shoes." I was impressed at how well he sang and how energetic he was. Although, he got a lot of help from his back up singers. Shelly Copeland stepped in as Tammy in a couple duets. George rested and had some water while his fiddler played a few breakdowns. It was awesome. He saved the best for last and was really rockin' when he sang "I don't need this rocking chair." Oh... and the "No Show" tee shirts where for sale as well.

Amanda & Kenny Smith Band

Ok, it's really the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, but I think girls should go first.
http://www.kenny-amandasmith.com/
They opened for George last night. They are great bluegrass band. I recognized their music from the bluegrass station on the satellite radio. The only problem was that they only played for about 30 minutes.

Baby Goats

Two of the neighbor's does had their goats and they are all boys. One of them had triplets and their names are Clay, Wade and Troy. Since it was 60 degrees out today, we thought we would walk over to see them. They are so cute and soft and playful. Brett loved them.

Let there be LIGHT!

Adrian and Scott came over on Sunday to help with the electrical in the basement. In a couple of hours they had all the outlets and can lighting all wired up. We added a few lightbulbs, we now have light in the basement!!! It's really coming along! So, thank you Adrian!!

Over the last couple of weeks Charlie put in about 95% of the insulation. He has a few more pieces to put in then we are ready to drywall!

Berry Plants!!!!

Charlie and I are proud to announce that we have placed our order for blueberry, raspberry and strawberry plants!!! We are so excited to get our berry patch put in this spring. I know that we may not have fruit until next season, but we are finally getting started on the vision and dream we had when we bought this property last August. Maybe you will see me at the farmer's market in a couple of years... Shelby, are you with me?
We still have to get all the seeds for our garden. I can't wait to grow rhubarb so I can make all the things that Grandma used to make... and of course my favorite: zuchinni!!!!!!

What are you all planting this year?

College Bound

Good Morning!
I just wanted to let everyone know that today is my first day back to school... and honestly, I really wanted to sleep in today. Four Saturday's of class, then I'll be attending class on Wednesday nights. So, here goes the beginning of a four year program... again...

This time I'll be working on a Master's Degree in Engineering Management and Systems Engineerying with the George Washington University. http://emse.gwu.edu/emse/index.html I'm actually really excited about it, I just hope it's not super difficult.

Ok, the truth is... I'm hoping to get a better job and a huge raise out of the deal. I guess time will tell.
Wish me luck!