Hey, Howdy! (do ya hear Minnie Pearl in there? <BG>) Well, this Outlaw Roundup has been a tremendous learning and life experience for me. I have met the most incredible people, learned a lot, worked my tail off (and yet still managed to gain weight? Ain't that weird? LOL) Nearly everyday, some miraculous thing takes place. For instance, I'm a big believer in "less hassle, less fuss" and simplifying things in life. Last week, before she left on a long-scheduled vacation, Dorotha Feuerborn called me. "Vonda, I've been trying for three months, and I just can't get any animals for the petting zoo. The goats I had have gotten sick, and no one wants to bring their regular farm animals, for fear of them overeating and getting the bloat. I don't know what to do." Now, Miss Dorotha is the director of the Kids' Activities for Outlaw Roundup, and she is also in the Bald Knobber Re-enactment. She has been extremely active in getting things donated for the kids' activities, and planning things for them to do. So I told her, "Look, it's two weeks off. It's not vital, let's just forget about it." So she, Jo (the historical society prez), Ingrid (my partner in nearly all these activities and a wonderful friend), and I met Tuesday night, and planned out games for the kids to play. Red Rover; Freeze Tag; Duck, Duck, Goose; kickball; the list goes on, and we only have 4 hours to worry about, right? There is a coloring contest (prizes from McDonald's); crafts in the way of making cardboard/popsicle stick fans and/or Bald Knobber hoods, and decorating them; Smokey the Bear; and so on. Them kids ain't gonna be bored, alright? Well, we'd already pretty much scrapped the hay/straw bale maze for the kids; no one stepped forward to either donate or offer to rent the necessary bales. (I'm gonna have to buy my own farm and raise and bale my own straw, I guess. uh, huh, I'm sure--NOT). Then, Wednesday (yesterday for those of you following me fairly close LOL), I went out towards Taneyville, and stopped in at a place that rents bales. We'd talked to him back in March, and the price was $1 to rent, $3.25 if any get broke. I still needed some for the hayrides, and to set about the park, even if I didn't get my maze. That nice man, Rick, told me it'd all be sitting in the barn, and to come out on Friday the 18th to get as many as I need (which I figure to be about 50 at this point). As long as I get them back the night of the 19th, it ain't gonna cost a thing. More to come... V ListMom for MOTaney and MO-AR-WRV http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~moarwrv/ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gregvonda/