Country Life Photos - courtesy of Orange Peel Photography

Last Friday evening, the wonderfully talented Kami Van Slyke, of Orange Peel Photography, came by the house to capture our little family of six on film. I can never see what she sees through her lens, but I always love the result. I'm not sure if it's how she takes the photos or if some aspect of who we are to her is caught in translation and presented in a way I haven't conceived in these photos. Have I mentioned that Kami is a love of ours? Bubba adores her, C thinks she's down to earth and so so funny and me? I know she's the real deal and she is really the present that Tyler gave me - another story for another time for sure.

So Kami came, months pregnant, on a cold, blustery Friday evening to get us to behave on film - it doesn't really happen, but these are so great.

We live the country life right now and it really is this breathtaking. And Bubba is the twinkle in our eyes and the reason for our smiles. This is us right now and Kami got it - thank you so much!

If you want to see more of our shoot, check out Kami's blog post. And if you want to time travel, this is a post about our first photos with Kami and another with Ivan's newborn photos.

Parade Time

C and his dear friend N (yes, of N&A+C) decided to put the old Dodge Power Wagon in the pararde in McPherson, KS, on May 10th.  It was the first time C has done much with trucks since we have moved and been in such an upheaval.  The boys had so much fun!

 N is such a good prom king!

Fun times!

Tromping Through the Snowy Woods . . . Sort of

Now that C, Ivan, and I live back in M town, we try and visit C's parents (and our dogs) every weekend.  Sometimes we don't make it quite that often, but we always have a great time when we do!  And Ivan is the luckiest little guy ever, as he has two sets of adoring grandparents (and SO many dogs) very close!

In these photos, C parked the truck with a loaded trailer at the entrance to the driveway, so we all walked down to the house!

 The Jeep is finally home! Along with other . . . stuff.

Not asleep, but definitely cuddling with Daddy.  The snow was bright!

Children: Measuring Implements?

These were difficult for me to believe, but really it's just what happens when a guy like C becomes a dad. He automatically combines two things that he really enjoys: his son and Jeeps.




No babies were harmed or injured in these photos. In fact, Ivan's whopping 24.5 inches in length is being utilized to measure the flex on C's friend, D's, Jeep. The Jeep is a beast. The baby is not.




I come home sometimes and wonder how my sweet, small four-month-old son got so dirty. I shouldn't wonder. And C should probably not let friends take pictures of their outings.




Ivan's more interested in chewing on his hand/clothes than standing on a tire and I'm grateful that C was able to get him all worn out!

- Posted from my mobile phone

Eighteen Weeks: Looks Good in Yellow

After a busy [EARLY] morning of garage saleing, we needed a wardrobe change into something more appropriate for warm weather (it was cold when we left the house at 615a).




So we changed on the backseat of the Jeep (yay Jeep! So far you are family friendly!).




"Yes, I was born in a barn!" I couldn't wait until this onesie fit.




Smiling and flailing!




Hugs? Wants up? All done?



- Posted from my mobile phone

The VPW Rally / IA / June 2011

*Working on getting the videos up - right now they're just stills! ar 6/26/11

We spent June 8-11 in Fairfield, IA at the 24th Annual VPW (Vintage Power Wagon) Rally. This is really more of C's thing, but he likes me to tag along and it's nice to see him so excited about it all. Since the rally we attended in 2009, C has been keeping in touch with all of the PW guys through an online forum and they were really excited that we'd be able to make it this year (C also told me that they all appreciated the family pictures that Kami of OrangePeel Photography took last year that included the old Dodge).

I've included some videos below that really show you what the rally is all about. Keep scrolling down for more posts after this one for some big project news and other assorted details and stories from this year's rally!

Below: C is the first one down the hill and watch the others' slide - see if you can even see tires turning! Also, check out some of the changes C made to his truck!

Below: I wasn't with C for this outing, but this corner with the deep muddy ruts looks like a lot of fun!

Below: Just a trail ride. I hopped out of our truck to ride in the back of another so I could get a good shot of C going through. Those are our new friends, E&W, and their dog, Ox.

Below: This is a long video (>5 minutes) of the parade that we were in of all the Dodge Power Wagons through the town and square of Fairfield,IA on Saturday morning. The town seems really happy to have all of us there for the extended weekend.

Keep reading about our trip below!

Parade Favorites

Just a few Power Wagons for you all.


We quite liked the following one. He went on a trail ride with us and just seemed to push all of the mud away from himself. Kind of reminded me of To'Mater from Cars.

C has an ambulance front end at home, but it is the earlier, more rounded style. This is pretty cool though - we definitely looked at some of these bodies at VPW.

The cream & green truck next to the ambulance won Best in Show. It was a very nice looking truck - don't ask how much he's got in it or could sell it for.

A Town Wagon. Lovely. Very cool. Why do I think so? Stay tuned for more information about Jill's PPE and our recent acquisition.

This is a good example of the iconic Power Wagon. Very nice.

Kerr Farms Mudding

C made some friends at the VPW Rally this year. He found the guys that live to mud, and since C really enjoys some good mudding, they invited him out to Kerr Farms to join them in a run. [I stayed at the campsites and read a book. I thought C might have more fun with just the guys.]

C did some upgrades and modifications before we left for IA, including, but not limited to: roll cage the length of the truck, canvas top (cut & stapled to fit), and a temporarily bolted in backseat borrowed from a Jeep. I think he did other stuff with carburetors and brakes, but I don't pay attention to that stuff.

Now, the guys weren't sure C could hang in his Dodge because it isn't built to be a mudding vehicle (that's what we have the CJ-7 Jeep for), but he held his own (as you will see if I can load some of the video footage he shot).

The mud crew. I think those other two are M-37s, and I'm sure C will correct me if I'm wrong.





I just want to point out how this truck was built for the mud. Note the tires. Which probably have disk brakes instead of drum brakes (like C's Dodge and yes, important in the mud). And the clearance height. And ask him what type of motor he's got in there.

I know that C had a blast hanging out on the muddier trails with these guys.

I Drove This

This part means a lot to C. He goes to the rally in IA to see all the Dodge Power Wagons, talk shop with the guys, mud a little, but another big component is getting advice on some of the quirks of these vehicles (you'll hear talk of the conversion of drum brakes to disc brakes all over the fairgrounds). So when C can catch up and engage guys that have been rebuilding these trucks, there are some awesome moments - feedback, advice, tricks, brainstorming. It's a very cool process.

This truck belongs to Bob. Bob builds Power Wagons for fun, and as far as I know HE BUILDS THEM - it's an important caveat, because that's opposed to paying someone to rebuild a motor and then paying another guy to do some body work. Guys that build their trucks are more useful to C because of their intimate knowledge of how these builds go.

C found Bob. They started talking, throwing around ideas, spoke of how Bob rebuilt this beauty and how C rebuilt his. Then Bob asks, "Want to go for a ride?" And C replied, "Sure."
C came back and told me that Bob let him drive it.
Oh, dear.

This is the front of Jill's Purple People Eater. It's a Town Wagon and so very cool. I can't believe that we didn't get a better picture of it, but we love it. Not just because we're KSU fans! Jill was nice enough to give us a ride to dinner on Saturday evening and afterwards we were itching to get on the road (I missed our dogs desperately, so we came home a little early), so Jill's husband, Jon, threw us the keys. I think C about choked. So we drove the PPE back to the campsite (all of a few blocks) and C said it was very similar to driving an old five ton grain truck.

PPE in the background. Keep reading in the following post to catch the another reason that it was so cool to drive the PPE.

Our New Project: The Carryall

The guys warned C not to go to VPW (located in Fairfield, IA, sponsor of the rally). He just needed some seals for something and we walked all over their acres of Power Wagon stuff, through their warehouses of parts and spoke to all of their guys LAST time we were here. But by Saturday afternoon, C just wanted to swing by and grab those seals. So we took a few guys with us and drove over. Mistake #1 was heading to VPW. Mistake #2 was bringing enablers.

Mike (oh, you thought I wasn't going to name you?) was looking at some windshield frames and we were wandering the lot(s). C was looking at some boxy ambulance bodies that I was not a big fan of, but not seriously. We visited the yellow crew cab/utility bed truck that I love. And then C started digging around some Carryall bodies. I didn't think twice because he does that. Mike decides to get some price quotes on the windshields and grabs a VPW guy (very nice - his name is Matt). Then the boys start talking about what C could do with a Carryall body. Okay, not good, but talk like this still doesn't mean much. Except, Mike asks how much they might want for this Carryall body. You know, for C.

Yes, it's sitting between two other Carryall bodies. The VPW guy doesn't really know - could be anything from hundreds to thousands depending on quite a few factors, so he grabs the boss so he can look at it and give us a price. You all that know me know that I said no way to thousands of dollars, right? But we wait awhile and during that wait, C gets a little more serious.

See, he bought this 1940s Dodge PW ambulance front end (back of the cab forward) a few months ago. His idea was to pick up a 1990s diesel Dodge and make a cool crew cab frankentruck out of it. It'd be a lot of fabrication and body work, but it'd turn into a really cool and usable vehicle for us (modern drive train, diesel motor, modern frame, modern brakes, etc., but classic style). But if he bought a Carryall body, it'd cut out A TON of that work because he'd have more to work with. Not to mention, we love the Carryalls/Town Wagons/Panel Wagons. Just look at the light blue one in the parade post and Jill's Purple People Eater. So we wait.



Inside view. VPW has their eye on window mechanisms because they are rare. Most of the body is there and in pretty good shape. There is no floor because it was something akin to a piece of plywood even when the truck was made - much like the roof cut-out where there used to be canvas - just saying that it's not missing any metal body in those areas.

The boss came back out and made C an offer of hundreds, not thousands. I said yes, we'll take it, and go put some money down. Yes, that might have been foolhardy on my part, but it makes C so very happy and he really wants to make us this truck that we can use. Oh, and it will be massively cool - that part I'm totally on board with. It will be a lot of work - in fact, all C's PW pals said they didn't want to see this truck back for three to five years - so C would take his time and do a good job on this. So we bought a Carryall body. To graft with an ambulance front end. And place on a modern Dodge truck frame. Officially, this will not be called a frankentruck (my word) - it will be called a resto-mod (a restoration modification), but I will just refer to it as the Carryall. I get to choose the paint colors. Should be a fun ride.

If you look really close, you can see SOLD to C. R. above the door and first window. After I okayed the purchase, the VPW guys gave me a paint pen to mark the Carryall. And I did. We'll be back before the first snow to bring it home. What I didn't realize was that everyone at the rally was going to pile through VPW in the few hours before supper and see my artwork - and congratulate C. Or pity him. Or pity me. I'm not sure. :-)

The Three Bs

These photographs (all taken by the lovely and talented KV of OrangePeelPhotography last October) will not post in the order of my choosing. I completely forgot that I never showed y'all some of the great shots K took of my family!

While we were attempting to get some great shots of C and I with the old military Dodge in the setting sun, the dogs were waiting patiently in the truck. Boris and Bailey.

Boris loves the ride of an open truck with the sun on his face. He's a happy dog.

Bailey and Bella eager to go wherever it is that we are going! Loadin' up!

Pre-parenting the three Bs: look at the camera, be good, smile big, don't be in a bad mood . . .

Oh, how I love my big girl, Bella. She has my heart.

Bella smiling. Such a beautiful girl.

Bailey's half smile.

Not sure if Boris is smiling, but he sure is attentive!

I'm sure C is trying to get Boris NOT to lick him in the mouth. No worries, that comes later in the session. I'll try and post more of these as I remember - K took so many thoughtful photos that truly capture what our life is about right now.

While these three dogs are our family, we recently lost two dogs that lived with C's parents out at the farm. Read the post below. We've been holding our dogs tighter and enduring more kisses in the wake of their loss.

Family Photos/Christmas Card Non-Contenders

We are spending the weekend with C's parents. Sort of. I'm spending the weekend with C's parents and he's sleeping here when he is not hunting deer. And my parents are headed over in a bit for dinner. So really, we're one big happy family. Minus the percievably dead deer.

Which means now is the perfect moment to post SOME pictures that Kami @ OrangePeel Photography took of my cute little family.

These are the ones that C wants on our Christmas cards. These are the ones that will not be on our Christmas cards:

Boris strikes again. During a photo session, nonetheless.
Which, of course, cracks C up to no end.