Washington Excursion

Mike is so great! He earned a free round trip and told me to go and see Cass with it sometime and I finally did. This post is all about my weekend trip with her. Cassie is 7 years younger than me and I feel we have a really good relationship. We fought all the way growing up but once I left home that is when our relationship changed. I guess we finally realized that we did love each other!

This is my sweet little nephew Maddux. I was so surprised to see how much he had grown! I am talking leaps and bounds. I have never really had the chance to bond with him but we sure did on this trip. I don't think I have ever meet a little guy with such a sweet, tender, little spirit like his. He has had a lot of physical challenges to deal with but you would never be able to tell with his attitude. I am amazed by him...he really touched my heart this last weekend.

And this sweet little thing is the spitting image of Cass! Bella was fun to watch. She is very independent and a little busy body. I thoroughly enjoyed her personality and can't wait till we can play again. I know she keeps Cassie and Tildan on their toes.
(I didn't get a picture of Tildan he was working most of the time.)

It was so green there! I could not believe all the plants and ferns and trees...it was truly a treat to see it. We went for a walk and Cassie took some pictures.



One of the nights we decided to color our hair together. Thank goodness this didn't turn out as bad as it could have. Cass being the trusting little sister just listened to me tell her what we needed to do. When we were on the last step I realized that I totally misread and we did a big no no. Needless, to say our hair only has a slight orange tint versus what it could have been. Thanks for not being too mad Cass!

Cassie and her family have been wanting to go to church so I was able to go with them for their first time there! It seems like a wonderful ward and the kids did really good. Granted sitting for an hour with a 1 1/2 year old has its challenges but I think they did great.

This is just minutes from where they live. Pretty, hu?


It was so wonderful to go and see where she lived and what her world was like. Her and Tildan were wonderful and hopefully I will be able to visit them again. What a great family. Thank you so much Cass for letting me come. I love ya!

Mike's Birthday Party

For Mike's birthday we had T.J. and his family come over and Brandon. We had dinner and then played outside with the goats. We had a really great time and it was so pretty outside.





I had to post this picture. Is that not gorgeous? For as dark and ominous as it looked we didn't get too wet. It just clouded up and blew over.









Mike and TJ are always messing around. Here Mike had just got his brother and he was trying to catch his breath....Brothers!

The Goats Have Arrived!

Here are our little strange creatures we own now!! Wow goats!

Mike and Brandon picked them up Wednesday evening and didn't get in until late. The kids got a chance to see them the next morning.

The kids seem to really enjoy them and the goats are really cute. They make the weirdest sound but once you get used to it its not so bad.

Well, after we all played with them for a bit Mike said he had to get to work. We all went inside to have family prayer. When we were getting ready to kneel down Mike looked out the window and said, "They're out". The little buggers had escaped! So Michael had to run to Cal Ranch and get some netting to put up so they wouldn't escape again. I am so glad he was there I would not have known what to do!

Backyard

This is Artouro with the boys out back digging holes for the post.

With posts up.


Fence up...at least in the back. We are so almost done with it now and I can't wait! Brandon and Mike put up the rails and I put up the slats.

My Life

I really wonder sometimes if these kids were not mine would I still think they are as beautiful as I think they are (did that makes sense?)? Regardless, I love them way beyond description and marvel that I was entrusted with such great kids.

Granted being a mother is trying and difficult at times but on the whole I would NEVER trade it in for anything. When I am at peace with life and I am not being hormonal I can stare at one of these little ones and get so inspired to be better for them. Because I want to be the best so they will model the right behavior and have the best chance in life! I HOPE so much for their future. I HOPE they will grow up strong in the gospel and enjoy the LIGHT that is there for them always.

I love them.

The Value of Work

Nothing makes me feel as satisfied as working hard and then stepping back and looking at what you have accomplished. I LOVE that feeling! I like being sore and exhausted to the point where you can’t give anymore and just have to sit down. This is the description of today.

We worked on getting the fence up again, along with a few other things. We are still not done…..and probably will need to put a few more days in like today before we are. I am exhausted but very happy with what we all accomplished. Even the kids worked their little bums off.

When the boys and I were loading up concrete from the goat area little Morgan saw that everyone was working and without being told she went and picked up pieces she could carry and put them in the bed of the truck. She did this for longer than the boys did. What a little trooper! And the boys did well today too. I am very happy with this Saturday.

I think to work is good and gives us a sense of accomplishment and feelings of self worth. At times I may long for a life of ease and to have everything I want but I think if that were the case I would be an under-developed person. I know I feel best about myself when I have been working and when I practice restraint in my wants.

Wanna Be Farm People

I love the idea of having animals that can produce and make it possible for us to be as self reliant as we can. Knowing you had some chickens right out back for fresh eggs or some cows that have been raised by you so you know what they have been eating. For some strange reason this sounds ideal to me. However, I was not planning on getting animals that did not contribute to our overall preparedness plan.

So when Mike sent me pictures of these adorable, little, dwarf Nigerian goats it was hard to resist. In order to justify getting them I ask, "Do they produce anything useful?"

"Yes, if you want to milk them!" I want to be prepared and all but I am not ready to take that ginormous step yet.

So in about a week and half we will be goat owners. I never in a million years would have thought I would own goats. But look at how cute they are. Could you resist?


I'm sure we have no idea what we are getting into but it will be fun to try and figure it out. Plus, the kids will LOVE them. And, here are all my justifications, this is a good practice animal. They are small, don't eat a lot, and we need our grass eaten down out back anyway. Hopefully, this will be a positive animal experience.