With only two weeks left of school, my kids are getting excited. The mornings are full of lots of ruckus! So the loud hooting and hollering as they ran for the bus did not catch me by surprise, until we looked out the window and saw what all the to-do was about. 

There was our Boar happily following them down the driveway to the bus stop. The kids were obviously concerned for his safety but were not about to miss the bus. I give extra chores for that...but would have let this one slide ;) No amount of hollering would deter Boris and he watched his "friends" leave on the bus then made his way back down toward the house.

This mornings antics seemed a perfect beginning to the fun of the summer season for our family. Summertime is what we wish for all year long. Time by the river, bbq's, picnics, working in the fields, and the long day light hours we enjoy in the north. So I say "Let the Wild Ruckus Begin! (Now if only the weather would cooperate!)

A very popular event here in North Western Montana is always an auction. I have been to quite a few of these things, and yawn.....they are usually all about the farm/ranch  equipment. My husband usually grumbles about how much the prices of things go for, and we walk away with a few items. In the last few years I have attended as few of these things as possible, however with Seth's work schedule I felt I needed time with him, so off we went to the auction. 

The directions we were given led us through some beautiful country but I felt a little jostled from the state of the road by the time we arrived. After a bit of a walk, as there were a trucks and cars and trailers parked a ways down the dirt road, we made it to the auction site. One man even brought his four wheeler to drive back and forth with. My first thoughts were the auction was going to be my day from the underworld watching people get all sorts of excited over the trucks, tractors, lawn mowers, saddles, gates, pens, and all manner of things you find on a working ranch. Just as we were about to leave, yes there is a God, because Seth said there was nothing of interest to him, he heard there was a whole other section. Low and behold there was a covered area full of household and garden items. 

Whoever this woman was who owned this farm, she had taste. I walked up and down the rows of items, collecting a list in my head. Low and behold there it was. THE TV stand. The EXACT match to my set we had chosen not to purchase when we bought our furniture. My husband is a frugal one and wanted to wait and see if it went on sale, it did and they sold out. It has always been a little of a sore subject. I looked at him with big eyes and said "I'm bidding on that and Ill go to this amount expecting a resounding "Excuse me?" I was very matter of fact, which I am so proud of myself for. He must have understood the gravity of the situation, and agreed. However, the equipment he wanted to bid on was being auctioned off at the same time, so I suddenly found I was going to have to do this myself. However, thankfully, my mother in law decided to stay with me. 

Two minutes into the thing and I had bought a chair for a $1! Woohoo...nice little wood thing will look great on the porch! It never ceases to surprise me how people will pay almost retail for used items and spent a lot of my time shaking my head that EVERYTHING sells at an auction. It took hours to circle around to the side of the structure I had been waiting for. After a few successful bids, I was ready for the TV cabinet! I waited for the auctioneer to start with a decent price and off we went. I had been discussing the cabinet with a few friends and they were all crowded around in hopeful anticipation for me...low and behold I won! Woohoo!!!! For half of what I was willing to pay. I could not wait to tell Seth, but that would have to wait until I found a few more treasures to bid on, such as the lovely set of top of the line baking items, two Pier One mirrors, a set of Pier one dishes, and a Frigidaire mini refrigerator. This could become addicting!

After loading all of our treasures, I commented on my state of tiredness. A friend of mine asked if my arm was tired from bidding and I just grinned. I do not think I'll be dragging my feet anymore when Seth says there is another auction...I think I have caught the fever! Look out!