The Bristow Blog: Yo Shorty, It's Your Birthday!

Today, the 22nd day of April, is our birthday-Joshua and I share the same special day exactly five years apart. It has always been more of a holiday around our house, so we both took a few days off for a long weekend to spend together around the Farm. This weekend, we decided that we needed to get a landscaping rock for our flowerbed. Joshua spied the perfect moss-covered rock just off the highway about half a mile from our house. We loaded Joshua’s green pick-up truck with the “giant nail” (a/k/a spud bar) and wheel barrow and set out for our perfect rock located on our property and visible from the highway. A few minutes later, we sat on the side of Highway 48, eye-balling our rock…so close yet so far away. Joshua decided he would drive up another half mile and drive back down the fence line to the rock so he could load the rock directly into the truck without having to push it in the wheel barrow very far. Let me preface: I was opposed to this idea from the beginning. Yet, my husband proceeded to drive our pick-up in spite of said opposition down the fence line and directly into a mud puddle. By the time we put it in drive and then quickly in reverse about a hundred times, we were royally buried nearly to the axle almost a mile from our house. Confrontation ensued, and a few minutes later, I was stomping up the side of Highway 48, weeding through high grass and garbage including beer cans, pill bottles, and yes, discarded underwear, towards our house with my sheepish husband following about thirty paces behind. He insisted that we would look back on this situation and laugh. I look forward to that.

I decided to call our Bristow savior, Marylane, to help us find a way out of this conundrum. For those of you who know our beloved ML, she is a savvy lady, a master problem solver who would either help us or know somebody who could. Within ten minutes of my call, Marylane arrived with another friend, Mike, in tow. Marylane and Mike happened to know one of our neighbors, a former classmate of Marylane, who drove his tractor down to our pick-up and drug us right out of the mud pit. We are so grateful for our precious Marylane….and for our neighbor, Herschel, and his giant green tractor!

As soon as the rescue party cleared out, I looked at Joshua, and we both knew immediately that we were thinking the very same thing: We were going back for that rock if it was the last thing we did. We drove up the highway and used the wheel barrow to retrieve our landscaping rock. We placed in front of our front porch near our new Japanese Maple tree and headed directly for the carwash. The rock looks fairly good in our flowerbed now, but I am fairly confident that every time I look at it, I am going to think that it was not nearly worth all the trouble.

On Sunday, we finished out the flower beds, adding flowers and mulch. Mom and Dad came over with a birthday cake, and Joshua smoked a mean ham. The boys finished planting some seeds in our garden, and the girls did a little antiquing and bought some flowers to put in pretty pots Mom brought for our birthday. Mom also bought a beautiful fleur-di-lis clock for our patio! I am doing my best to litter our farm house with our trademark Kappa symbol!

On Monday, Joshua selected his birthday present: A Marlin 30-30 Lever Action Rifle. Throughout our entire married life, Joshua and I have hardly ever been able to wait until our actual birth date to exchange gifts. When we have something good, we simply get too excited. Joshua alleges that I peak at gifts and thus, he is better able to surprise me if he gives early when I do not expect it. Also, it spares him having to hide the gift. Although I wholeheartedly dispute this account, I am willing to acquiesce to accepting gifts early. Joshua bought me a beautiful Coach purse (Major Brownie Points)…and then I purchased my own nerd gift: All nine seasons of the X-Files including the movie in the Collector’s Edition Set of my very favorite television show of all time! We hope to make it though the entire series in time for the new movie this summer! I will keep you posted on our progress….

Today, we enjoyed an adventure at the Tulsa Zoo. I think that I can safely say that we were the oldest individuals in the entire park that had yet to reproduce. The place was literally swarming with school children with sack lunches. We had a blast seeing all the animals, including children, feeding the birds at Feather Fest, and sending the pictures to Joshua’s sister, Hannah, who absolutely abhors birds. After our wildlife safari, we went to Sapulpa on a tractor hunt, trying to find something to begin our farm adventure. We found several great options, and I have added the links to some of the brands we like on this website under the Country Living 101 section.

When we pulled in the driveway, Joshua decided it was time to shoot his birthday present, you know, instill a healthy fear in our neighbors. He walked out the pasture, looking for a safe place to shoot, and spotted a “giant” snake. I was standing in the front yard when I saw him running towards the house from the pasture. He rushed in the house and came charging back out, shotgun in tow. Thinking he might be overreacting, I followed him out the pasture, and I saw what looked like a giant black rat snake. It was about four feet long and about as thick around as a can of Red Bull. Joshua exterminated the threat with four rounds of bird shot. A tad excessive? Probably. I contemplated posting the pictures of the victim on this website, but frankly, it just seemed too graphic. Instead, enjoy some birthday weekend pictures, including a few pictures of the Snake Sniper with his birthday present!

I love that smile...Imagining Hannah screaming in the bird sanctuary

King of the Jungle...looking quite bored

Hannah Allison, is that a bird? A nasty, vile bird?!?

Another bird for Hannah!

Seeing how close I can get the bird to my face so as to royally gross Hannah out with the picture!

Is this what it means to "get a little mud on the tires?"

Working at the car wash! Car Wash, Yeah!

Happy Birthday, Joshua....We noticed after the fact that he has on his Darth Vader "Revenge" T-Shirt and his camo shorts...holding a lever action rifle. I promise, we're not crazy.