Friday, April 29th

The 24 hour bug went through our house this week. Cy & Isaac got it Weds and Thurs. I got it Thurs night. I was hoping that by Friday morning I would be all better... I woke up and was not better until right before we left. We had a big day. Isaac's graduation and my first violin recital.

Cyprus loved seeing her Nonnie, Grammers, Papa Doc, and Papa, Aunties Mindy and Chelan and Uncle Scott, and her cousins Gage and Landon. By the way, this photo is the only good one of Cyprus I've gotten since she decided she has her new smile. that looks more like a painful smirk.

Isaac was so excited (as was I) to get his B.S. in English Literature. The convocation was pretty good and not toooo long. There were some interesting speeches from the valedictorian and a strange poem recitation too. Oh well, it was all worth it.
Thanks to all those that came to support Isaac!
I started taking violin lessons mid January. I really love the violin and am really thankful for the opportunity I have. I played Minuet 3 by Bach and a Vivaldi Concerto for 2 violins (pretty simple one). It went so well excepting the part during my first piece when both of my daughters literally started to scream at each other! I guess it was just like my practicing:) They were good for the rest of the recital. At least it was during my song that they freaked out and not one of the others'.

2011 so far

So, I go through phases of blogging and not blogging. Here is my attempt to play catch up.

There have been a lot of fun things we are doing now. Mostly just living though!

Here is Mercedes hurt feelings face:

Mercedes loves fruit smoothies... I even added spinach to this one and you can't even tell!
My girls' dress up box has a variety of strange costumes... Harry and the Hendersons, Princess Aurora, Belle and Nacho Libre. Not such a great costume, but hilarious when your 18 month old comes out of her room with it on just to show you how cute she is!
I've been able to collect eggs from the neighbor's chickens and ducks. Look at the beautiful natural rainbow! I blew some of them out and made a pretty Easter/Spring decoration I'll post a photo of later.
Mercedes found Cyprus' lip gloss. Yes she did that all by herself.
Amanda and I bonded over building this funny teepee in the back yard. It was pretty cool. As soon as we left it, all the goats went inside it. After a few days, they had knocked the whole thing over. Now it is a pile of sticks.
My girls love the tub. Check out those cute red lips! They didn't get those from me!
On April 9th we went to the Carl Bloch exhibit. It is amazing! You have til May 7th I think, to go! His work is so beautiful. My favorite was the one of the Angel comforting Christ in Gethsemane.
Peace at last!
Makeup dress up day: Cyprus LOVES make up. We did all of it but mascara on her. This was my last day as a 29 year old. I am now 30. Feeling good though! I remember when I thought 30 was ancient. My perspective is constantly changing!
Congrats to my Mom! She got her Associates in Nursing. She has worked hard for 3 years to do all the prerequisites and required nursing courses. She blew all the "young" ones out of the water with her amazing grades and test scores.
We got chocolate covered macadamia nuts from Mindy... Mercedes found them!
So excited for 2011. We've had a good first 4 months.

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.