Kids are so cute.

Before I forget...I wanted to write down a few of the things my kiddos say that are cute...wrong, but cute. For example, when we get to the grocery store and there is an empty parking space close to the entrance, they say..."Look the handy captain space is empty!" And when they want to throw a frisbee...it's really a "crispy". C'mon, let's go play crispy. And Terra always calls an umbrella a "Dinderella". Cute!

So, we did NOT celebrate Halloween. We have every year until now...but I just do not like the holiday. I mean, why go out into the cold, dressed in creepy costumes, just to collect sugar from our neighbors? Then, while everyone is feeling screamy, I have to somehow convince the kids that they really don't want that candy...uhhh...not a good idea. So this year, I never even mentioned it, and no one knew the difference, until we had a trick-or-treater come to our house. That kind of spoiled it...but then I told the kids about the Harvest Festival that we would be attending the next weekend and they were allright with not getting any candy. At the festival we made applesauce, apple cider, some soft pretzels, painted pumpkins, listened to stories being told, and had some homemade butter on cornbread. Yay!! No candy at all this year. I think we'll make that a tradition.


Here's Garrison and Aila after a good night's sleep, just having fun with each other. They really get along well. She turned 2 and he turned 8 this last month. So now all the kids are even...2, 4, 6, and 8.



This was Garrison's Birthday. We went down the road to Sand Creek Ponds. It was really beautiful with the changing leaves.



This is just a picture of some baked oatmeal I was making, but I was amazed at the difference between the 2 store bought eggs and our last 2 eggs from our own chickens. Can you guess which is which?



And this is my 4 year old Terra really concentrating on her painting.



And this is the very last picture I have of when our garden was green this year. Now it is covered in snow.

Finally...sort of.

No pictures...I am having camera problems. Mostly it's that my camera is never where I want it to be when I want to take a picture...and partly because my rechargeable batteries are getting to have a very short lifespan.

But anyway...thought I would just update that we did finally pass our inspections and got to move into our house. We got our official Certificate of Occupancy, which I really thought would be an actual certificate that I could frame and put a back light on or something. But no, nothing... Just a pat on the back...wait, no...didn't get that either. I am feeling pretty proud that we actually pulled it off. Now I plan to spend whatever good weather we have left (by "good" I mean not horrible) to finish up the siding and the attached greenhouse. After that I get to focus on the finish work inside like mudding and texturing drywall, tilework, trim, painting, etc. Hopefully I will have that all done before spring comes and I want to be outside all the time. (Uh, oh...I am already looking forward to that.)

As much as I hate winter, I think I have decided that I DO like the changing of the seasons and that I AM looking forward to a more restful winter. I plan on reading, catching up on schoolwork with the kids, actually getting to play my cello and maybe my guitar...oh, and I guess all the finish work on the house. Maybe it won't be restful after all.

I am Shaking in My Boots.

I don't really have boots on...but I am shaking. I'm a little cold, but I'm REALLY nervous. Today I have the rough electrical and plumbing inspections scheduled. They'll be here sometime today...don't know when. I am terrified. What if they say we did it all wrong?!?!? What if they say we have to rip it all down and start over?!?!?

I guess it's more likely that they won't say those things, so I should just relax. This is worse than going to the dentist. I always get nervous at the dentist...the kids have dentist appointments coming up...hmmm.

So we did end up moving from our house to an apartment in town. We are right above a bookstore, overlooking the main street. It's kind of fun. It's kind of like going to a hotel room every night.

Okay...I should go. Wish me luck today.

P.S. Okay, I am silly. Just found out that I messed up the Inspection Requests, but I cleared it up and they WILL be tomorrow. So a whole day of pacing back and forth and not eating and biting my fingernails was for nothing. We'll start that again in the morning.

I Just Can't Sleep

Okay it's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep. Ughh. Well, it looks like we are going to have to move out of our home for a month or so. We lasted as long as we could and now the Planning and Building people have caught on to our plan. Darn. Now we have to waste money on renting another place just so we can say that we "officially" don't live here at our house. Hopefully it's only going to take a month of hard work to finish up...

Anyway, this month will be hectic.

My Plan is Working!

I am sneakily trying to get us all to eat better. And it's working! Today for lunch I was eating a salad and Terra started begging for some, so I made her her own salad, and then Garrison and Emery wanted their own as well. They were bickering over who got their salad first!!! Yay! Love it. Of course...they still had to have some cheese and croutons on it, but we are getting better. I usually have to hide the greens in a smoothie or some kind of sauce.

Just Some of the Little Moments

It's the little moments in life that make it all worth it. Life has been really good lately. Really, really good.
And then the Planning and Building Department decide they need to get more involved. But, we'll make it through this little adventure too.
The weather is just starting to really cool off at night. I am now in fast forward to get things done before winter sets in. I have sold a lot of trees...at least enough to pay for most of the expenses this year...which means our own trees were paid for by the ones I sold.


Here's a picture of us at our favorite place to be on a Sunday afternoon. Sand Dunes Lake. Love it. We always have the place to ourselves on Sunday. There are trees to shade us, the water is clear, and we get a great parking spot.


This is my newly installed kitchen sink. I still have to figure out what to do about the walls in the kitchen...the "backsplash" area.


And This is Emery with one of my Roses in her hair. She always has a flower in her hair these days.


Some more pretty flowers in the garden...these are hollyhocks.


And this is after a fun filled day in town. Garrison sits up front so he chats with me on the way home, but the girls all zonked out.

Just Some of MY Great Outdoors

I LOVE having a garden of my own. I LOVE having the kids roam free and wide. I have an elderly lady that lives down the road who is the same age as both my grandmother(s)...she is an avid gardener and likes to come and visit and walk through my garden. She doesn't understand why I can't "just plant in rows", and "keep things weeded", and "why, oh why do you have to use all that mulch everywhere". I think she is just trying to be helpful...

This is one of my rosebushes that Joseph bought me for my birthday last year. Aila just ripped off all the blooms last night.

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And this is inside my little greenhouse...should be getting tomatoes anytime now...



And this is right near our front door. That is all the lawn that I want to ever have. It only takes about ten minutes of maintenance per week and I just use a human powered push reel mower. It is just enough, but not too much.



And this is a section of my wildflower garden. It is in FULL bloom now...I've got to go take another picture...QUICK!

The Beautiful Ranch

Joseph was bribed with brownies to go and spend the day trying to get his parent's fifth-wheel trailer up and running. We haven't been up to the ranch since early this spring. I sure miss the beauty and simplicity of life up there.


For example...need a drink? Just take a sip from the creek. (Ummm...you said it wrong. It is pronounced "Crick"...just thought I'd let you know.) That is Attley(cousin)and Garrison.



And Grammy took the girls for a couple of long rides on the 4-wheeler.



Joseph took this picture...beautiful photography.






And a few pics of the kids...the last is Aila with her "Grandad". She LOVES her Grandad.

Long Time Coming.

I know...I'm slow. I am finally posting something. We've been trying to get more organized and "structured" around here. So far it's been great. We've had time for the important things, the kids are helping out, things look slightly more clean and less cluttered, and everyone is getting more sleep. I hope it lasts for more than a few days.

Here are a few pictures of some stuff that's been going on.


Here we are at the County Fair this last weekend. I love going to the fair because we get a free Sloppy Joe lunch. I go almost anywhere for free food. Aila was just enamored with this horse. Whenever she saw it she went running toward it with obvious excitement.



This is Aila and our newest kitten. She loves it...(Just in case you were wondering, yes, it is really hard for me to keep my kids clean.)



And this our newest addition to our chicken flock. I know it is kind of hard to see, but there is a little chick there. Just one chick hatched out of the clutch-the last living descendant of Crazy Rooster Head (you know-the rooster with the top hat feathers). He was killed about a month ago by a raccoon (we think that's what it was).


And these are our little pigs who have doubled in size since we got them a month or so ago. We've been feeding them spoiled produce from the local grocery store and we also have them in a movable pen where they can eat all the clover we have planted. We plan on keeping them as a breeding pair and selling the babies in the spring. All I know is that I don't want to eat them. Joseph asked me again today if we wanted milk goats and I almost thought we should for a minute there. Then I thought about it...ummm...no thanks. Then I'd get addicted to milk again.



Hmmm...none of that sounds very exciting, but we've been staying busy.

Lots Going On Around Here!

That is a lot of trees. It doesn't look like it. This last week I planted or potted up over 500 trees!!! Some are for us...some are inventory for my new home based nursery...Springtime Nursery.

Here is a picture of Garrison pretending he is dying of thirst in the Sahara..actually just the Sand Dunes down the road.

And how sweet is that little face...aaahh. She is a handful though...I think she may be entering the "terrible twos".

Our first Shitake mushroom sprouting. Two months behind the scheduled emergence...but it is here at last. We ate it on pizza last night after it had quadrupled in size.

Our new chicks...I REALLY don't know how I got tricked into getting these...again...and in the last few days one of our neighbors gave us another 12 chicks because they didn't want them. Ughh...So we have 22 more chicks and we've got a hen hatching out a clutch as we speak. Yep that's a lot.

And our full grown chickens...we had to build a cage for that CRAZY rooster after he attacked our little Aila. And the duck (Dudley) has stepped in as the dominant Male around the yard.

And this was after 3 days of nothing to eat after a bout with the stomach flu...both of them.

Yes...that is a lot of eggs. Why do they all choose the same nesting box anyway?

Love This Book!

Food Storage Made Easy by Crystal Godfrey

Just thought I'd put it out there that I found a really great book on how to use food storage. I learned quite a few new things from it...like that you can use powdered eggs to make scrambled eggs. I was skeptical, but tried it and they turned out well...they aren't too different from fresh eggs! Great book...too bad nobody else at my library has had a chance to find the book cuz I keep renewing it! Hah...

And here's her website...lots of good info.
http://everydayfoodstorage.net/

New Countertop

This is my first attempt at making a concrete countertop. It was so fun. I love, love, love the finished product even though I made quite a few mistakes on this first section. I'll redo this section later when I have more time...or maybe not. I have just unveiled my second section and it is much better than the first. I am glad I chose this option as it gives me the classiest look for the least amount of money. A 3 foot section of countertop (this would be about 6 square feet) cost me less than 15 dollars! What I love most is how "alive" the countertops feel and look. I can't walk by them without touching them!

Beehive Is Almost Done!

All I have left is to "paint" the exposed wood with some beeswax, and finish the bars that go inside. I think it's cute, and although it isn't perfect or beautiful...IT WAS FREE!!! Everything was scrounged from leftover past projects. My favorite part is the little observation window on the side, so we can satisfy our curiosity without bothering the bees.

Cute Kid

I just thought this was so funny. The other day I was in the kitchen and heard, from the next room, the kids playing a game...I think they were playing house. One of them said, "You get to have one baby, but I get to have two babies growing in my tummy." I yelled in to them, "Do you remember what it is called to have two babies growing at one time?" Since we had just talked about twins a few days earlier, I was expecting that answer. But Terra immediately responded with, "Yah, a PARTY!" I think she is probably right.

Baby Ziyel...er...Aila

Garrison drew this on Aila one day when they were playing. She was supposed to be half-Bjorn, half-Cardassian-Baby Ziyel. Guess you can tell that we watch too much Star Trek.

Guess I asked for It.

I guess I was tempting fate when I decided to take advantage of this beautiful day and hang laundry OUTSIDE. Just ten minutes after I got done hanging everything on the line I felt the wind shift directions, and I knew what that meant. Within about two hours it was blustery and snowing...again!

These are The Last Days!

Yah...what I mean is the "last days" of winter. We thought this would be the last we'd get to play outside in the snow...but now it's two weeks later, and it is colder, with the same snow. That's okay though...there's still so much to do before spring comes.

Terra-Berra

Just look at this little 3-year old concentrating. Wish I had that kind of discipline!

I just listed myself in a database online for collecting a wild swarm of bees! And I hope that someone calls. I actually hope I "get" the opportunity to catch a swarm...cuz it will save me about a hundred bucks!

Teaching Valuable Life Skills.

Garrison passing on his Great Knowledge.

Hair Be Gone!

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

My BEAUTIFUL Emery Darling

May Your Spirit Live On.

Rest In Peace Mr. Chick Rooster. May the dog next door digest you well.

Shooty, shooty, bang bang.

I was extremely intimidated when a .22 rifle was brought home one evening. I was told I needed to learn how to use it. I was NOT excited. So when Joseph went out with Garrison and said for me to meet him out there in a few minutes, I feigned sleep...then I pretended to be sick...the baby needed changing...okay...no more excuses. I went out to see what was happening since I hadn't heard any shots. Cool...it's not even loud(very much). All right...I watched Garrison shoot it once and it didn't knock him over, so I gave it a go. It was actually fun! I hit my target on every shot (since it was only 15 feet away)...maybe this will be a good way to butcher my chickens when I need to. Or at least I can keep the jackrabbits out of my garden this year. I wonder if I could shoot that crazy chipmunk who keeps stealing all of our strawberries.