Waxahachie, American Girl, and Our Frozen Sewage

Waxahachie (wax-uh-hatch-ee), located south of Dallas a couple hours, was our next stop. Since we joined the Mission America Placement System, or MAPS, lots of other volunteers have told us that we just had to visit the Lake View Assembly of God retreat center in Waxahachie! And at last, we found out why they recommended it so highly. The center covers hundreds of acres and has a hotel, indoor pool, gym, exercise center, cafeteria, RV park, game room, playground, water park, cabins, and it’s own private lake. Unfortunately, while we were there it snowed, so obviously we weren’t able to use the lake or water park.


I was pleasantly surprised to see some good friends of ours that we met last Winter while building a church in Phoenix, AZ - Boyd and Diane. I spent five months hanging drywall with Mr. Boyd, so him and I talked a lot about where we’d both been in the year since I’d left the project at Phoenix.

The first couple days that we were there the weather was perfect – in the 70s and sunny, so we took the opportunity to walk around the camp and have a picnic by the lake. The kids really enjoyed playing on the playground a lot, also. Now this isn’t your typical city park playground – this monster looks like they pulled it right out of Chuck E. Cheese or something! (ha ha) Dad attempted climbing through the tunnels with the kids, but with his hurt knee (see Adventures at the Lee’s Ranch) he had a hard time squeezing his way through to keep up with Josephine.



Josephine and Tytus had fun watching us
play racquetball! Dad, being... well Dad,
kept throwing the ball against the window
to make them jump - but they kept watching
anyways.

 Well, after the first couple days were over it went right back to some nasty Winter weather. As in, 30 mph winds, six inches of snow, and thick ice that caused the interstates around Dallas and Fort Worth to close down. We were pretty much snowed in! The good part of it was that we were snowed in at a place with a huge indoor gym, exercise center, and swimming pools. We had a blast, and went over there almost every day! I learned how to play racquetball (a sport I never even knew existed before), and figured out how to use some of the strange, torturous, weight-lifting equipment that littered the second floor.

Through snow and rain, sunshine and darkness, freezing cold and blistering heat – the sewage will be dumped! That’s like the motto for dumping our black tank around here, because that’s what I have to do. And I have actually dumped it in all those conditions, because… well, somebody has to do it! This time was no different. The sewage tank and valves were frozen (our “heated tank” system didn’t get “heated” enough), but with a good ol’ hair dryer and some persistence, I finally got it to drain. Funny thing is, for some reason I didn’t dress real warm to do it even though the 30+ mph winds were making the wind chill near 0 degrees! I had shorts and a t-shirt on, because we’d been over at the gym, so I just slipped a big Winter suit on over it all. Unfortunately, the neck and legs on it didn’t seal at all, so when I laid down under the camper I could actually feel the wind blowing up my pant legs, though the suit, and out my sleeves or neck. Every once in a while, just so I wouldn’t completely freeze to death, I would blow the hair dryer down my suit to make it warm for a minute or two. (ha ha) I hope I never have to do something like that again, but if I have to I will, because “through snow and rain, sunshine and darkness, freezing cold and blistering heat – the sewage will be dumped”…



Here's me posing with my favorite American Girl.
(just kidding!)

 On Super Bowl weekend we went to Dallas! Now, if you’re not going to see the game, wouldn’t that be the last place you’d want to be that weekend? Yeah, we were on our way to the American Girl store right downtown, and figured the traffic would be horrible and the stores packed. I have to admit, I was totally wrong. The interstate going into the city only had some straggling cars here and there, and the store was almost empty. Of course, it made sense! Everyone was either at the game or at home watching it. So don’t listen to any lies about not going to Dallas during the Super Bowl because it’ll be packed and busy – what a load of malarkey. Anyways, Naomi and Josephine had a lot of fun at the store and we all had fun walking around with them. They each picked out a new doll, and Naomi had been saving her money for months to go there so she ended up having about $140 of extra money to spend! Of course, at the AG store that amount of money will go fast. I personally think even Hanna had almost as much fun as Naomi and Josephine! She had always wanted to go to one of the American Girl stores (which are actually more like a mall) when she was their age, but the closest one was a long ways away. After a few hours they had combed the store from one end to the other and it was time to head back and open it all!



This is part of the big water park at the retreat center that
I want to go back to when it warms up some!

 The weekend we left, MAPS had a convention, and a lot more volunteers showed up a couple days before it started to attend. It was great getting to see Mr. Jerry Bell, the director, and several others who we hadn’t seen in over a year. We all played games, had an awesome church service, and got to hear The Harvesters (a quartet). It really was a good way to end our time in Waxahachie, because the next morning we headed back out on the open road.

Check back soon – new adventures await in San Angelo!

Adventures at the Lee's Ranch



This guy didn't fare so well at the Cowtown Coliseum.
The bullfighters are always right in there helping get the
cowboy out of harm's way and distracting the bull so the
rider can get to the fence after his ride.

 Mike Lee. If any of you reading this are bull riding fans, then you probably recognize this name immediately as belonging to the 2004 World Champion who is still one of the top bull riders in the PBR. Mike’s been a friend of ours for about a year and a half now. When we went to the PBR event in Springfield, MO, Mom told him we were coming down to Texas after Missouri. Mike kindly invited us to come stay at his family's ranch in the Fort Worth area when we did.


So, after driving about nine hours and making one overnight stop, we finally made it! Mr. Dennis Lee, Mike’s dad, came out to meet us at the gate, and after shaking hands we followed him down the long winding driveway to their RV hookups. I could tell this was going to be great, and we hadn’t even parked yet! Mr. Lee and Mike helped us get the camper set up and then we talked for a while and walked around the horse corrals. All the horses that they have are being trained as cutting horses (horses used for separating herds of cattle). It was amazing getting to watch them train the horses in their big arena with a thick sandy bottom.



Here's Mr. Lee getting one of their horses saddled up to
go train in the arena.

 We went with Mike to the New Year’s Eve PBR event at the Cowtown Coliseum that weekend in Fort Worth. It was a lot of fun and it was amazing learning some of the long rodeo history of the Coliseum. That week I mainly helped do chores around the ranch which included: feeding the beef cattle about 2 ½ tons of grain mix every couple days, giving hay to all the horses a couple times per day, moving hay bales around with the skid-steer, saddling and unsaddling horses, and cleaning stalls while the horses were being trained.

Whenever the cattle ran out of feed we would hook up the trailer to the tractor and pull it up alongside the feed troughs. After we filled the ones next to the trailer I would run up and drive the tractor and trailer back to the next empty ones. I thought that I’d figured out the quickest way, and would run along the top of the trough to get up to the tractor. I kept thinking, “Boy, if I trip, this is going to be ugly.” Well, guess what happened when Mike and I were unloading the trailer one time; I tripped! Luckily, it was at the very end of the trough so I didn’t hit my head. Instead, I fell off and landed face-first into the cow poop/mud mixture. Right after that Mike slipped and hit his face on the shovel handle. We were just having it rough that day, I guess! (ha ha)


Here's me plowing near the horse corrals.  I have the
arms up high like that so on corners I can get closeer
to the fence before turning.

 The next week Mike and Mr. Lee showed me how to start plowing the fields to prepare them for planting later this Spring. I used their 75hp Mahindra 4WD tractor pulling a 10 foot (I think) chisel plow. Mike was driving the tractor showing me the boundaries of where they wanted plowed, while I stood on the step on the side of the tractor. He was driving and then without saying anything, he just jumped off! We both laughed as I scrambled to get in the tractor so I could drive it, since nobody was in the seat anymore! That tractor sure had to work hard to keep traction going up some hill in the sandy Texas soil. It was great learning how to plow; I’ve done a lot of work with tractors before, but never any plowing. There’s an old homestead with a couple barns near the front of the property that I had to plow around. When I did, the plow dragged up quite a bit of old metal, pipe, and brick that must’ve been from another building (maybe a house) that used to be there also.



That's me on Black Plague. (ha ha)  She did pretty good to
have all fours off the ground!  Contrary to what you might
think, that is NOT a calf I'm riding...

 Before we went to the ranch I had quite a few of my friends ask me, “You’re not going to ride any bulls, are you?” And I always replied with something like, “Oh, no. I’ll stick to riding horses and four-wheelers.” Well, that lasted about the first three weeks at the ranch. Mike and I were saddling up some horses to ride while Gabriel watched. Out of the blue, Mike told Gabriel that if he wanted to ride one of their cows, he could try it! Mom was a little nervous about it, so Mike said, “Well, I’ll put Cody on one first, if that’ll make you feel better.” Without realizing it, I had just been talked into trying bull riding! (ha ha) There’s a big pen with four bull chutes near the horse stalls that we’d do it in. After getting several cows into the alley, and bringing the rest of the family out to watch, Mike rode one to show us how it’s done. Of course, he made it look so easy!


That's me opening the gate, Mike grinning ear to ear in the
background, and Dad just coming out of the chute! 

 Next was my turn. The first cow was so excited that it got itself backwards in the chute, so we went to another one. Once he opened the gate it was a blast! I only rode for a few seconds, before falling off the right side. Mike said I did good, but fell off so early because I was leaning into it to the right too much. I looked down after I got up and realized that the cow had ripped the back off the left leg of my jeans! When we watched the video later, we saw that the cow’s sharp dew claw had done it when it kicked at me after I fell off. Next, Dad rode. His cow took off across the arena, bucking the whole way. Dad rode all the way across, and then the rope slipped up on the cow’s neck, making him fly off the front! He ended up with road rash up his nose and forehead, a huge swollen knee, and poop on his lip. Mike said he was really surprised how good Dad did on his first ride!  Gabriel ended up not riding, after we saw what happened to Dad and I; which was just fine with Mom…



This is Mrs. Steph and Mr. Dennis standing
by ol' Moe near the training arena.

 Mr. Lee’s wife, Mrs. Steph, is a professional horse chiropractor and knows a ton about horse nutrition and horse health in general. She took a lot of time showing me how to watch a horses’ eating habits and body to see what kind of grain and how much hay it needs. I learned that feeding them, and even giving water, is something that has to be thought through for each horse. They have a whole feed room with several kinds of grain and minerals that are given in different amounts to all the different horses of different age, gender, and build.

One evening I went with Mike to go to a smaller bull riding event so he could practice for the PBR that weekend. We ended up driving an hour and a half only to learn that the event had been canceled. Undaunted, Mike made a few phone calls and found another event about an hour the other way. We drove up to that one and Mike rode four times in the chilly outdoor arena, before heading home at about 10:30pm. It was a lot of fun and we sure had plenty of time to talk while we drove!



Here's Mike and I moving some stuff around with the
skid-steer while Elisha, the horse, watches from behind.  I'd
never driven a joystick controlled one until then; it was a lot
easier to handle than the other ones I've used before. 

 Mr. Lee told me that him and Mike would teach me how to ride their cutting horses. I was excited to learn, because it’s really a special skill to know. They both spent a lot of time showing me how to ride high in the saddle, control the horses movements with my hips, and keep all tension off the reigns along with lots of other little things. It took hours and hours of riding in their arena, but finally I started getting the hang of it. I rode my buddy, Tomcat, every time and we worked together really well. I’m really glad they taught me how!

Mrs. Teri, Mike’s mom, who we’d met a couple times before, came over pretty often and we really enjoyed visiting with her. She’s the managing editor for Quarter Horse News magazine, so it was very interesting talking to her about her job and writing. We went with her, Mr. Lee, Mrs. Steph, and Mike almost every time to their church. It was a great, and they let Hanna and I play music for their Bible studies on Tuesday evenings, which Mr. Lee leads.



You know you're in Texas when there's a statue of Ronald
McDonald getting ready to do some calf-roping in front of
the restaraunt!

 Time fly’s when you’re having fun, and this was very true while we were at the ranch. Before we knew it, it was time to head out so we could go meet up with our grandma farther south in Texas. Being there was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done, and I’m really thankful that they all let us stay with them for so long and spent so much time teaching me things. There was a lot more stuff we did, people we met, and stories I could tell, but if I told everything it would end up being the size of a small book!

Before driving out, they told us to make sure and come back as soon as we can.  I'm sure we will!

Closing Up Our TIme In Missouri With Christmas At Grandma's

This was the "Christmas Room".  My grandma decorated the
walls with lights, set up the tree, and put all the presents
in here.

Christmas time! What are the first two colors that come to mind? Red and Green. What’s the first song that comes to mind? Twelve Days of Christmas. What’s the first food that comes to mind? Spritz cookies!


Yes, Christmas brings lots of unique joys that only come once a year. This Christmas has been unique for us in that it’s the first one spent with our family in Missouri in the last three years. My grandma, Juli, and grandpa, Tom, let us park our 42’ “house” in their driveway for the couple weeks we were there. It was definitely a fast-paced two weeks!



Here's Hanna and Adam playing a fierce game of tennis,
while Jackie and Cole watch from behind.

 Some friends of ours from Arkansas happened to be staying about 10 minutes from us at their uncle’s house for Christmas, so we were able to get together with them a couple times, which was great! We brought our cousin, Cole, to their house and had a huge Wii tennis tournament one afternoon; ending with my friend, Adam, beating us all relentlessly. He somehow was still able to win, even while his brother, Brian, was throwing stuff at him! Adam also shared some of his “delicious” authentic Mexican candy with us, which tasted like chili powder and had the consistency of half dried glue. Their sister, Jackie, decided to skip out on the Wii tournament, and instead sat watching from the back. So, I guess we’ll never know who the real champion is since not everyone competed! Sorry, Adam…



Here's Cole taking Naomi, Tytus, Ella, Josephine, and Gabriel
for a joy ride around the driveway.  With him behind the
wheel, it's not "EZ-GO" at all! 

 We had a blast at my grandma and grandpa’s visiting, sitting out by the bonfire, and doing Christmas activities. Oh, and driving the golf cart! This little golf cart has probably had 500 miles put on it by us and our cousins Cole and Ella. Cole and I have done some of the coolest stunts probably ever attempted on a golf cart! (ha ha) For some reason, though, I always end up as the driver while Cole does some crazy stunt; which, to tell ya the truth, is just fine with me!

On Christmas Eve Grami said everyone could open all the presents from her and grandpa Tom, and then on Christmas morning we opened all the ones from Mom and Dad. I always stand by the side with a garbage bag and practically grab the wrapping paper as the kids tear it off. Between fourteen people all exchanging presents (my aunt and uncle were there, too), there was a lot of wrapping paper! Soon, my job changed from “garbage man” to “present opener”. The rest of the day was spent slowly opening different presents and having fun talking and joking and then eating Christmas dinner that evening.



Naomi and Grami loved playing problem solving games
on the computer together.

 We did a lot of work in the camper while we were there, too. Our camper hadn't left the southern Missouri area for about eight months. There was a lot of reorganizing, packing up, sorting, and cleaning to do! It was great to get it all done, though, and we knew our time in Missouri was coming to a close.

We had an incredible time staying at my grandma and grandpa’s twice that year, working at Camp Eagle Rock, going to two church camps and putting on one ourselves, spending some much needed time in Wisconsin, and getting to spend time with lots of friends and family from Missouri that we hadn’t gotten to see much for about two years; among lots of other fun things that are too many for me to mention. We even, surprisingly, made new friends while we were there that I keep in contact with now.



Grami with all her Smith grandkids the morning we left.

 It was really sad saying “good bye” to my grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and cousins (who are more like a brother and sister rather than cousins). I can’t wait to see you all again! We’ll be back soon…

Now, on the road to Texas and our friend, Mike Lee’s, ranch. Keep up to date, I have a feeling there could be some more exciting adventures coming soon!