January

Happy New Year! Here's what we've been doing so far. 

Ivey got a deer for the freezer... 

                               So did Sadie! Her first deer! Both thanks to our awesome game warden who took them hunting on the coldest day we've had yet this year. They were popsicles when they were through, but happy popsicles!             

Shane shot a buck in December. I'm not sure where the picture is though! It is a good bet that if you come to eat a meal with us, deer meat might be on the table. :) 

                                            

   We branded a small set of calves last week. We teased Sadie that she looked like a western clothing advertisement because she matched so well. :) 

Then on to .....our local stock show! Sadie had rabbits again this year. She isn't nearly as nervous about going in the ring now. She just waltzes in there, sets her rabbits up, and smiles. That's it!                       

                                     

                                               Except she still sizes up the competition and gives them the Stink Eye just for good measure.      

                             Touching base with her favorite fan when it was over.                      

                                                  Now, on to the pig show! This year Shane stepped out of doing pigs and Sadie stepped in. Shane hung close by for moral support though.   

                                         I thought Shane was taking one picture of us. He took about 10, and look who is coming up the back, photobombing. :) 

                                       

                                 Sadie and Napoleon having a quiet moment before the show. Oh wait, maybe Sadie is letting him sleep so he'll be rested enough to not squeal and complain when he's in the ring.

                         No more snoozing or smiling. It's all business now. To the ring!

           She was pretty nervous about showing her first pig, but she did great!            

                   So did the pig. He didn't squeal and carry on like he is prone to do.                                 

They got 4th place in their class. 

                                                    

Now onto Ivey and Vincent. First, it is important to note that Vincent caused considerable stress to Ivey by being too big. She had to put him on a strict diet the last week. She held her breath when they weighed him in, and he was under the limit - whew! Then she had to work hard to feed him back up and even gave him Gatorade to help him fill out again. By the time they were going into the ring, these two had a lot of history together.            

 He was one of the biggest pigs there - but they did great. Ivey absolutely loves pigs. She always has.

 Showing pigs is simply one more venue for her to indulge in her love for pigs.

 She proudly walked him all around the judge with all sorts of confidence...

 and they made 3rd place in their class. For a pig that almost had to go home before the show because he was too big, she was elated she got to show him and they placed. :)

The last show of the day is where Shane showed up.....heifer time!

 Shane had two heifers to show. He enjoyed showing pigs for a few years - until he tried a heifer. Now he's hooked. He named these heifers Molly and Margaret. Molly was  nicer. :) Margaret was a little ornery.

 All the guys showing heifers are the same age and good buddies. Here they are, bringing them around the ring.

Standing them up....

 Watching the judge like a hawk....until he looks away, then scramble to place a foot a little better. :)

Here comes the judge. Serious business! He got 2nd with Molly and 4th with Margaret. Quite pleased.

Now the heifers are back out to pasture, the rabbits back to the breeder, one pig went to a new home, and the other will in a few days. All is quiet on the western front...until next October when it is time to get pigs, speak for rabbits, and start breaking heifers again. :)

A few moments of a year gone by

Since I was  terrible at updating the blog this year, I thought I better put a few pictures on to document 2016 in our house. It has been a great year.....

It was so great to have both sets of grandparents with the kids for a day!

Sadie has now had her dog for a year....

and they are still best of friends.

We introduced the kids to one good way to make a road trip memorable!

We thoroughly enjoyed a family trip before school started. Did lots of hiking in some of our favorite spots.

Loved staying at Indian Lodge - where Morgan's family vacationed often when he was growing up. Now our kids are hooked!

Ah.....contemplating whether to jump or not? :)

The kids discovered the fun of "jumping" pictures from a good friend of ours. Thanks, Lisa! :)

Uh.....no jumping from this guy. He likes to keep his feet on solid ground and just keep walking steadily along. :)

 The next pictures were taken yesterday....for my northern relatives. Notice the level of coat needed for a morning walk!

They thought they needed coats, but this is where they all ended up!

And to prove that I don't kill every single living thing I plant.....my decorative cabbages have almost outgrown their pots! They are really keeping our porch colorful this winter.

We finally finished the shop....now I frequently hear banging and when I open the door, this is what I see!

 Big smiles when they're helping Morgan and he has to fuel up - it means snacks and soda pops all around. He's such a softie! :)

We do take family snapshots - from the looks of it, we got two this year. :) 

We're all enjoying getting to USE the pens, after spending a few summers of "family time"building them!

And it happened.Shane got big enough to be Morgan's double.

 The kids have been wanting to make Morgan a pinata for his birthday for years - which they finally did! And yes, it was filled with candy, which they eagerly helped gather and dispose of. :)

Oh look! The second family picture of the year! Big smiles - loved being at Happy.

None of that was in exact order, but you can see that all is well here as we close out another year and look forward to 2017!

No More Frosting

 February is one big party in our house. Starting with mine.... I promised pictures....so here is the pretty table the girls set and the garden cart I was so excited about....my family made it such a sweet day that I didn't even mind getting older. :)

Since there were 20 days before Shane's birthday, we threw Valentine's in there and had cupcakes....but to Shane's delight, soon it was time for his birthday cake! Actually, we did Shane's cake after meeting Wed night before his birthday.He chose a grasshopper cake - a white cake with chocolate and mint....yum.

                   Time for gifts....and who needs wrapping paper with artistic kids in the house?

 I think you'll see by the end of this post that we currently have a major obsession with Calvin and Hobbes in our house!

I got the biggest kick out of Shane reading what Uncle Justin wrote on his birthday card....

                         Anyone surprised that Justin didn't write something serious and sappy?

                                Notice he made a grasshopper out of a paperclip for the cake topper.

Before we recovered from that round of cake and ice cream, there was more flour and powdered sugar flying around our kitchen for Ivey's birthday! She opted to make her own cake and decorate it - it is something she loves doing. Morgan confessed that when he saw her wielding the piping bag with black frosting and was going to freehand a picture, he was thought, "Oh Boy, this could be bad." She said she did too, but she went for it! Turned out so cute....

                                            Three cakes in a month and they're smiling big....

       Pictures I took on one of the days in between their birthdays....how did they get so big so fast? I now confuse Morgan and Shane at a glance. Morgan thought I had lost my mind when I called  him "Buddy" the other day.....but I thought he was Shane for a minute!

                              We had a great month.... but no more frosting for awhile, please.