All alone

Well, Dan and Georgia left! I milked the goats all by myself today. It went well too. Whitey was not cooperating. I had to drag her up onto the milking stand by her collar and one leg. I tried to do it as humanely as possible:) The other 2 just walked right in there perfectly!

I got the siding for the chicken coop (more like a shed) and will start today. It's so nice outside.

I just finished casing the windows in the soon to be kids room. More on that project later!

ON THE FARM

So, I decided to start up blogging again. We moved... and have changed plans 50 times. Isaac decided that in order to finish math, he is living at the math lab at school. He will be tutored by the teacher who said that if he does this, he will make the deadline for graduation. Anyway... since he will be gone, his parents are leaving to serve a mission on monday, that leaves ME to care for everything! That means, I MILK THE GOATS. Yeah, thought Isaac would be doing that... nope.

DAY 1:

Did laundry. Went out to the barn with Georgia to learn about the goaties. Helped milk each goat a bit. The goats are named Whitey, Canella and Tsunami. Whitey and Canella are shorter and light peach in color. Tsunami is taller, makes more milk, and has little ears. They are all dwarf goats.

Took hay/alfalfa out to their feeder. It fell over. I caught it and learned that it is supposed to be stuck about a foot into the ground. I dug 4 holes and stuck it in. Now the little goats can reach their food!

DAY 2:

Vacuumed all the floors. In the barn I milked Tsunami and Canella the entire way. I am actually ok at it. My hands get tired though. Georgia thinks that since I play piano (which I have done almost daily since moving here) my hands are stronger. I still need to work them out. Too bad I don't rock climb any more. I took Straw bales out to the goat shed (3 of them) and spread them out a bit. This keeps them warm. Helped Cyprus give them grain. Fixed part of the shed that was coming apart... used lath screws, they looked like the type that would work! So far so good.

I am tired!

January Fun 2010

We spent a few days with Cam & Tim in Washington. Harrison and Cyprus have a love-hate relationship... mostly love! They are both such nuts. We had a great visit with them and Grandpa.

Uncle Stuart & Scott came to play one day. Cyprus loves them. It's fun to have Scott close and we can't wait til Stu moves close too!
Mercedes is a little afraid of them... she needs to spend more time with people besides her mom!

Finished Quilt

Nonnie (my mom) decided that instead of a knitted baby blanket, she wanted to do a quilt for Mercedes. Being in school, she didn't have a ton of time, so she got me some fabric and I did my first pieced quilt! I think I picked a cute pattern, a little intense, but really fun.

My mom did most of the hand quilting. I did some of it, and you can tell the parts I did. My stitches aren't nearly as small and uniform. Then I added the ruffle (that was kind of a pain, but totally cute) and finished it off!
Tadah!
Mercedes loves it. The fabric on the back is what I used to make their Easter dresses.

Over due Mercedes update

Mercedes is 7 months old now. Time goes so fast. She sits, army crawls, is up on her hands and knees, tried to climb the book shelf, giggling, smiling, copying sounds,... Here she is at Isaac's cousin Donavan and his wife Amanda's apartment. The little knitted outfits are made by Oma, Donavan's Grandma, our adopted grandma. Mercedes is such striking eyes and the cutest little mouth... we aren't sure who she looks like in our families. She is just an original.

Mercedes eats everything... paper is her favorite.

She has a ton of hair and the tips are brown and the rest is blonde, but she looks like a red-head in the right light.
Funny shot.
She is a happy girl
So beautiful, sweet, and usually happy.