Kelsey Breaks the Wagon

Hello all! I hope you had a most relaxing and calorific Thanksgiving holiday.

I spent most of last week in good ole Lost River. Wednesday morning I helped Mom make pie crusts and I made the first layer of my pinata for the next day. Trisha and Mitzi arrived and we ate wonderful pie and watched several movies that night.

On Thanksgiving I helped Mom make dressing while we watched The Proposal. She had everything ready by 10:00AM! Our family is so weird with Thanksgiving. We eat it between 11:30 and noon every year. We all complain to my mother about how early we always eat it, but at the same time we really like it. We can have left overs for dinner the same night, and while the men folk get their dose of football, the rest of us nap (unless you're me, in which I am busy putting Christmas decorations up all afternoon).

But this year was different. Thanksgiving happened to fall on the 24th this year, and that's my big brother's birthday! The week prior to Thanksgiving I was preparing what I would do to celebrate.

First: the pinata. I only did one layer of the newspaper-flour-water goo, so it was pretty pathetic. As soon as I popped the balloon inside, the outer shell likewise deflated. But I was not to be discouraged! I painted it to look like a rainbow trout (because Chase is big into fishing) using silver, red, green, and blue paint.

yes, that is my rainbow trout pinata. Can you see it? ...me niether

When it came to actually hanging the pinata: forget it. Once filled with the contents of the candy and his gift from me, it couldn't sustain the weight without ripping. So much for my brilliant idea of blindfolding my nieces and nephews and letting them bust it up with a bat. I suggested maybe the grankids could kick it around until the contents fell out, but I sensed everyone just wanted to get to the candy inside, so I took the finished product down to Chase in his signature position on the couch and let him "open" it. Sure, there was great candy, but I also got him some boss headphones which he liked.

I finished my book Ender's Game that afternoon, and that night we watched three movies back to back: What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Super 8, and When Harry Met Sally. The first movie, I hate. I hate that movie so bad. Give me How to Train Your Dragon or something with a happy story. Super 8 I liked. There was a lot of language, but I was sure jumping at all the scary parts. I seemed to be the only one so engrossed because I let out a few squeals while everyone else in the room seemed lethargic. When Harry Met Sally... I loved it! And I'm surprised we actually watched three movies back to back. That never happens.

On Black Friday my dad took me across the desert to Best Buy to get me a new phone. Last Friday night (as my friend Katy Perry will tell you) after playing the Spartans, my phone cracked out and died for good, so it was time for a new one and what better time to get one than on Black Friday with all the sweet deals? I got an HTC Android Thunderbolt 4G for free! I don't know how a $700 phone was free, but it was. Dad paid for a protective screen, a protection program, and their buy back option where they will buy back the phone two years from now for 20% of the retail price. Translation: in two years, Dad makes $140 off Best Buy. I don't know how it works, but that's how it works!

As for me, I had 19 text messages waiting for me once my phone was activated, and I love it to death! Merry Christmas!!

We also bought Christmas lights for our white tree. I'll tell you what....putting together our tree is mega frustrating when on every string of lights, only half the lights work. At the top you can tell where I started using those lights...don't worry, once I took the pictures I fixed the problem. ;)

I put up our other Christmas tree with my nephew Corbin the night before. There was once a time when I was Corbin's favorite, but over time Keaton (twin brother) has won the hearts of all my nieces and nephews. Oh well; I'm over it.

Saturday I was home alone with my parents. I read Bill O'Reilly's book all day long. What a treat! I loved it. I would recommend "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" to those who are inclined toward O'Reilly's bold, fresh way of thinking.

I also strawed down the cows with my dad. He had me drive the huge Case tractor instead of the Oliver, and I was having issues shifting gears in that thing! I helped Dad load the straw onto the wagon and then I drove the tractor through as he emptied the straw out for the cows to stay warm.

In the north corral I went to turn around too quickly for Dad's liking. He whistled at me and signaled me to straighten out. Since I was basically at the end of the fence, there was no room to "straighten out." I turned and gave him a look that communicated that, along with a look that said, "You should just let me turn it around now, but whatever." To straighten out he motioned for me to back up. I did that, but once I pulled forward again, the part where we hitch the tractor to the wagon busted off. It must've got twisted or something for it to break like it did. Dad looked at the wagon, then the tractor, back at the wagon, then up at me and declared, "You broke my wagon!" Haha. I just laughed while he ordered me to keep the cows away from the wagon of straw while he got a chain to temporarily fix our problem.

A cow snuck out of the corral on our way out, so we also had the joy of herding it back. It's a delicate art, because our gates swing wide and it takes careful timing to get the cow back in without letting more cows out. Maybe that's why I was so good at the press in basketball in high school. =] Good bonding, I'll tell ya!

I'm so mad I didn't take my camera for all this. I love doing farm stuff and proving to my friends that I do indeed live on a farm with cows and poo and hay. Just because I don't wear wranglers and speak hick doesn't mean I can't be a farmer's daughter. 

That pretty much sums up my Thanksgiving break. Oh--one more important thing. My friend Grace went to NYC during the break, and she brought me back the BEST GIFT EVER! She bought me the cutest scarf in the whole world. She surprised me with it and I almost cried I was so excited! I decided I get really excited when I get surprised with gifts because all growing up I never got surprised with gifts. In my house, we heard, "Pick out your own Christmas because I'm not surprising you with anything." I don't blame my parents; heaven knows they tried their best. But me, being the picky child that I am, never liked what they picked out, so after so many years they gave up! Now that I'm older I can be mature about it, but let's just say, it may have had a permanent affect. I wonder what I'll be like the day I get proposed to...=] Here I am sporting my new scarf.

And I don't know if I want to dye my hair or not. I want to, but then I don't, and I just don't know! I think my hair looks great now...but it could look better. But which way is better? Dark, or highlights? Is it worth the risk? The world may never know.