Sweet and Sour Chicken

This morning the girls were out feeding the animals. They came running in saying "Mom, Mom, we have a rooster!" I wasn't sure what they meant -because we have already spotted at least 2 of our chickens that are probably roosters. This wasn't new news. Then they said "No, it was cock-a-doodle-doo-ing!" Sure enough, when we went outside, Rainbow's twin (Rainbow is the one that died) was perched up on the edge of the chair in the middle of their pen, cock-a-doodle-doo-ing. We've tried to warn Ash over and over that the roosters will most likely turn into food for us - or someone. We can't keep roosters in this neighborhood that will wake everyone up at the crack of dawn. I light-heartedly turned to Ash and said "Well, I'll make you a big plate of sweet and sour chicken." (That's Ashlyn's favorite dinner.) She didn't think it was very funny. Unless we can find someone who wants a rooster, Dave will be quietly taking care of things.

In the Olympic mood

The next bobsled women's team...starring Jamie, Emily and Melissa.



Dave's brother got married this past week in Utah. With some last minute arrangements, we were able to go out to Utah while leaving Ashlyn and Sadie with a babysitter. Emily got a great deal for us to have some fun at Olympic park. The ziplines were super fun (the picture below is the only one I had of the zipline), and the alpine slide was a fun little rush...but we had no clue how wild the bobsled ride would be. If you wanted to scream, you couldn't - because you were going too fast for air to come out. We went 68 miles per hour, and I swear we went even faster on the turns. It was far more intense than any roller coaster I've ever been on. I sat behind the driver, and it was a little scary to hear the rules: don't squeeze the driver's legs because he drives with is knees, and don't let your helmet bonk into the driver's head. Well, that was all fine and good while we were sitting still...but once you're going 68 mph, you can't even think straight. Hold on to your head and neck if you ever try this (and by the way, you can't hold on because your hands are holding on to straps for dear life).

Dave's brother Scott and our nephew Gibson getting ready for the door to open and the zipline to start movin!





No picture of the next event:



On the way to the wedding, a lovely HUGE piece of metal (someone's guess was 5 x 3 feet??) decided to fly up and slam into our windshield (or should I say, Emily's windshield...it's always a nice feeling ruining someone else's car). Thankfully it didn't come through the windshiled and slice me up...but it did shatter glass all over mostly me. Dave got a bit of glass in his mouth, and there were a few pieces around Nate's carseat. Other than that, all of the glass landed on my lap, in my arms, mouth, hair, and all over my feet. I was glad I was wearing my sunglasses. Too bad I didn't know that I had glass all over the bottom of my feet (how did it get under my feet anyway?) when I slowly stepped out of the car to get the glass off. Ouch! So Dave carried me to another car (Dave's 2 brothers were in cars ahead of us) to pick out the pieces of glass from my feet. I was amazed and so grateful that I didn't even have one big cut. I didn't even need a band-aid. I was a bit shaken up, but it all happened so fast that I never had time to be scared. I just had time once it happened to be glad it wasn't worse. And I'm so glad that Dave was able to keep driving safely through it all.





Sadie sending "Strawberry Shortcake" down for a ride on the slide. You think the chickens like living on our farm?
Ashlyn letting "Bombaya" having a turn.


Mr. Tough-guy Dave didn't know I was taking this picture. He's spending some time with his chicken "Ned-featherhead". Isn't his head cool looking?

Dave made us a milking stand for Buttercup. This way, if necessary, it can be a one-man job. We just started up milking on a regular schedule. Our milk is slowly accumulating in our fridge and as soon as we get a gallon, we'll be on our way to making our first batch of chevre. Can't wait!

Nate thought it was soooooooooo funny to eat the goat's food while we were all busy milking. He even got it in his mouth once or twice...and with all of the things that Nate spits out of his mouth, I would think goat food would be in that category. Maybe it's because I kept trying to get it out.

Sweaty, scabby, blue-eyed Nate - enjoying some goat pellets. If you're wondering about Nate's nose...we're not quite sure either. He had some sort of bug bite or poison ivy...that healed nicely 2 days before getting a sunburn at Olympic park (I'm the queen of putting sunscreen on, but I had no idea we were going to be at the park all day long - but I still take credit. Sorry Nate!) The next morning Nate's sunburn was blisters along the exact spots of the previous bites. So our guess is that the skin was fresh and easily burned.

Soccer in the rain...my kind of afternoon

This afternoon the girls ran around the neighborhood inviting kids to come play soccer at our house. We had so much fun! It rained for most of the game - but that just made it more fun. None of the kids seemed to mind so we just kept playing. It brought back lots of memories of soccer games and practice in the rain - I love it! Nate played with us and did quite well...our little soccer player in training (Dave held Nate while they ran around, and Dave would let Nate kick the ball and get in on the action)!
The girls brought snack for their classes today. We made little happy apple faces.

Do you get butterflies in your stomach for school to start?

I always did, and so did Ashlyn and Sadie. I loved school as a kid, and always got so excited for it to start. I loved writing spelling words over and over (crazy, I know) and loved to change my handwriting according to my mood. I loved teaching school, and that's why I did for 10 years! I got just as excited every fall when I would get a new load of students that I could teach. I love newly sharpened pencils, and new books to read! So when my kids were little (really little), and I wasn't teaching and they weren't in school... I still got butterflies just thinking about school and that other people got to start school in the fall (these days they seem to want to start school while we're still in the middle of summer). Dave thinks I'm crazy for loving school so much. He's a little burnt out of school at the moment. The girls couldn't wait for their first day of school! We went shopping the day before to get a new school outfit and they insisted on matching...even their hair style. I teach them at home in the morning, and then they go to school for the fun stuff like recess, music, art and pe, from 1-3 in the afternoon.

Nate and I waited on the front lawn for the girls! It seemed to take forever for the bus to finally come to our house!!! They ride the bus home and Sadie thought it was a blast, while Ashlyn thought it was scary. Scary? I asked her why...and it was because the bus driver went too fast. That's my Ashlyn for ya!
The other night Dave went to tuck in the little friends before we went to bed. He called from his cell to come out quick and to bring the camera. The goats have their own side...and this is not it. This is the chicken/turkey side. There is a little chicken door, and I guess the goats have figured out how to squeeze in. I guess all of the animals want to snuggle together. The other night they snuggled a little too close. One chicken came over to the goat side, and snuggled in too tight...and we woke up to a smashed chicken. Poor Ashlyn bawled for a good half hour...and was upset for the next 2 hours. Then she called everyone she could think of to share her sad, sad news.

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Nate! Checking on you last night before we went to bed, I just cried thinking about how much joy you have brought to your family this past year. You sure know how to make a mama's heart feel better. Do you have to grow up? Just not too fast, ok?

I guess I've "matured" in my own way over the years. I remember other first birthdays and doing big cakes and parties that took lots of time and energy. This year I made Nate's cake earlier in the week and through it in the freezer. We had a simple meal, and I spent the day on the floor with Nate, trying to soak in every bit of him that I could. I loved it.

Nate is so excited about his new tractor with farm animals. He loves to push it all around the room and stop once in a while to check on the animals. Thanks Karla!!

Sadie gave Nate a box of tissue. How cool for a baby to have a whole box and be allowed to take every tissue out, one at a time. Nate loved this! We had tissue and Nate's b-day toys all over the floor, and it made me smile so much that I wouldn't let anyone clean it up tonight. It just reminds me of a fun one-year-old life being excited about tissue and that wrapping paper is cooler than the present! I love to sit and watch Nate's face and try and wonder all that's going on in his little mind.

Oops- forgot to turn this one. And it's too late (meaning, I'm tired and need to go to bed) to go back and fix it. A while back, Ash bought Nate a cowboy gun with her own money. Nate kept sticking the gun in my mouth and Dave kept take pictures of that. Hmmm...

I love this boy...more than words.

And now for the fun. Nate was a bit shy of the cake at first. He hasn't had any treats yet (that I know of) in his long 1 year of life. He started by poking at it, and then just staring at it. But once he got going, he kept going. Although I don't know how much actually went in his mouth. He loves to feed us, so some of the cake went in our mouths, and Nate loves to send his food on rides to the ground through various cubby-holes in his high chair. It makes him so happy to look over the edge and see his food that landed on the ground.

By the way- this is one of our new favorite recipes! It's a chocolate-zucchini cake recipe that we got from Jamie - thank you for introducing it to us!

I better hurry and post this before I cry too much. I just enjoyed the day and tried to not think too much about my baby growing up. But looking at these pictures for too long is reminding me and making me sad.

Thank you Nate, for brightening our year! We all love you so very much!

Future Dentist?

I'm starting to get a little sad that my baby is turning 1 this week. So I'm trying to focus on all of the cute things an almost 1-year-old does so I can stop boo-hoo-ing about my baby growing up (sniff, sniff).

Nate brushing little puppy's teeth. I wish I had a picture of Nate with the 2 dotson puppies that our neighbors had by the pool the other day. Nate couldn't stop chasing them around, and the twin puppies were equally interested in Nate. They climbed all over him and Nate just loved it all. I wish I could be the kind of mom that liked indoor dogs...but I'm not.

Making sure Daddy is cleaning his teeth well these days.

Checking his own teeth.





Future Vet?
Nate LOVES his little baby Jude.

I couldn't quite capture all of the snuggles and loves Nate kept giving to Jude. This is the best I could get. It was much cuter in pereson.

Life is good when you're almost 1, and have a nice daddy's lap to sit in.

Not your every-day scene, is it?

Had to throw in this cute picture of Nate in his new shirt and tie from Grandma Shelly (we opened his b-day package a little early). He looked so handsome at church! Thanks Grandma!

Future Pianist???

This is a common place to find Nate. He loves to hear himself play. He's even happier if you'll help him sit on the bench to bang out a tune!

What we've been up to...

All week long the girls have been getting ready for our San Francisco friends to come visit this weekend. We made rooster, chick and egg cookies to decorate with Courtney and Lizzie!
This is our meatloaf/mashed potato cake for dinner tonight! Did we trick you? Grandma Shelly taught us how to make this!

We had sooooooooooooooo much fun learning to milk Buttercup. We each took a turn milking. In this picture, I'm holding her legs down, and the girls each have one side to milk. We felt like real farmers!
Just a sweet picture Dave took of our little guy sleeping.
Nate has lots of favorite activities these days. One is to help Ashlyn with her morning job of emptying the dishwasher. Nate takes out one piece of silverware, hands it to Ashlyn, and then Ashlyn puts it away. He is so happy when he's near the dishwasher.