Big Fat Goats

It is not a fun time to be a goat around here!  We bred our two little girls, Licorice and Clover out this January.  They are very large and uncomfortable.  They sprawl out on the ground and sigh a lot.  When I come to see them, they don't always get up (which is unusual - they usually come running as soon as the back door opens).  They just lie there and grunt under their breath at me.  Now, I don't speak goat, but it's not hard for me to imagine what they're saying to me.  Man!  I feel for them!



"We are not amused!"

 They're huge, too!  And by our calculations, they have at least six more weeks to go.  I honestly don't know how they'll get any bigger!  Of course the good news is Clover is too miserable to head butt the kids any more.  That's one good thing.

I wish I could tell them to enjoy it while they can because after the kids get here, they won't get any rest!

Easter

Easter weekend was a fun and busy one.  We had several errands to run on Saturday.  Between food pick-ups, vet visits, yard work, cooking for the holiday, play dates and our weekly movie and pizza party, we never had a chance to color the eggs we boiled.  So on Easter morning, the kids colored their eggs and then immediately ate them.   Dave and I didn't.  Since our stake conference was going to be the following week, Fast Sunday had been bumped up to Easter.   I can't really fast since I'm nursing the baby, but I fasted from Easter candy and that's a real sacrifice for me!

The boys in our family are chronically sick, but that's a topic for another day.  Anyway, Dad and the boys stayed home from church, but I made them put on their new clothes for a quick picture.  It was actually really nice to go to church with the older girls.  I was able to listen as I haven't been able to for years.  It was a very nice day at church for me.  Nicki and I both bore our testimonies.



Gotta love Josh - he was not happy.

 We came home and had a feast. I love Easter dinner!  Even more than Christmas I think!  It must be the spring-y foods like asparagus and fruit.  I worked hard and cooked for two days, but Easter only comes around once a year, so I loved doing it.  

  The big project was the ham.  I watched a TV program about the right way to make a ham.  They had this terribly complex, time-consuming way to make it.  I decided to give it a try.  It involved soaking it in apple cider for several hours, letting it sit at room temperature for a specific amount of time, cooking it to a certain temperature, boiling down more apple cider for over an hour to make a thick glaze (burned the first batch, had to do that twice!) and packing it with brown sugar.  The result?  Disappointment.  Bummer!  It was so moist, it seemed almost boiled.  And we didn't love the sweetness.  Plus, the shank (which they recommended) was such a fat cut!  It sure looked pretty though.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  It wasn't horrible, we just like spiral sliced ham much better.

After dinner, we had a quick Easter egg hunt in our back yard.  I think it was the first hunt in years where we were looking for eggs in the grass instead of the snow.

After the hunt, we visited with David's extended family for about an hour at Grandma and Grandpa Gee's house.  It was a nice visit, but I forgot my camera.  I brought the white chocolate key lime mousse cake that I had made for Easter.  I love that thing so much, I didn't feel safe leaving it in the house with me.  David stayed home trying to get well.

I think we had a wonderful Easter.   For me the best parts were reading the Resurrection story for family scripture study and listening to the testimonies during sacrament meeting (oh, and the white chocolate key lime mousse cake too!)

Hot Chicks (actually, not hot chicks)

Well, chick season is upon us.  We've decided to get new chicks this year because our current hens aren't laying enough eggs for us.  I'm afraid their days are numbered.  Right now we have seven hens.  We get 3-5 eggs per day, but David eats 4 by himself every day for breakfast (1 whole egg and three egg whites) so we need more.  We decided to get a dozen new chicks.  We forked over the extra money to buy pullets (girls) this time.  Last time we bought chicks we got them strait run (as-they-hatch) and all 12 ended up being roosters.  Yikes!

On Friday afternoon, I took the kids to Valley Wide Ranch Store to pick out our new chicks.  Each girl was allowed to pick out a chick of their own (which basically means they get to name it) and I picked the rest.  David would have liked to get a dozen of the same breed, but I wanted to have a mix and I'm the one who bought them, so that's what we got.  I'm looking forward to having brown, white and green eggs in the fall. 

Nicki's chick is named Fluffy Toes.  She has feathered legs.



Ali's chick is named Adventurous.  She'll lay green eggs.




Josh is admiring Jazelle.  She's a Blue Andalusian. More of an exotic show bird than an egg layer, but I think we'll still have enough eggs.

 Somehow, after getting one-of-this-kind, two-of-this-kind, I lost count and ended up buying 13 chicks.  Oh well - close enough right?  I tried to buy a red heat lamp bulb as a back-up in case ours burned out, but they were all sold out.  Heat lamps are very important until the feathers grow in.   When we got home, we were getting ready to transfer the chicks to their cage in our basement where they'll stay for the first few weeks.  In his excitement, Josh knocked over the heat lamp and broke it.  That's a really big deal with new chicks.  They'll die without a heat lamp.  I wish I could say that I was a patient, kind mother, but I wasn't.  I freaked out a  little bit and spoke much more loudly than I should have.  Anyway, I loaded everyone up in the van again, including the chicks and we drove to another store in town.  I bought two red bulbs and two more chicks as well.  I couldn't help it.  I wanted that breed and the other store didn't have them.  So, now we have 15 chicks.  Can you say eggs? 

We just love our chicks.  They are so fun to watch!  I like to sit and watch them for as long as possible.  They're really funny.  I love how they run around perfectly normally, then suddenly they tip over forward in deep sleep.  I love how they step on each other.  I love how quickly they grow.  Each day, there is a noticeable difference.  They're so cute!

Happy Half Birthday

Happy six-month birthday, Bronson!  How did we ever live without you?

Rock On!

Wow!  What a fun weekend we had!  It started on Thursday since the kids had spring break.  We went to Idaho Falls one day, ate at Dairy Queen, and had an all-day play date with Ali's friend.  The rest of the week was spent getting ready for Nicki's Rockin' birthday party!

Rock star Nicki and her friend, Brynn.

 
Nicki's birthday party totally rocked.  We had a total of 15 kids here.  They made their own guitars and had rock-star makeovers (thanks to Kami and Grandma Smith).  Then, they each performed a number on our home made stage.  After the show, they ate rock-star treats.  Nicki opened her presents, then we cracked open a pinata.  You can see from the pictures that it was really fun.

Making guitars.

More guitar making.

Rock Star make overs.

The show.



Go Ali! Go Ali! Go! Go! Go Ali!



Rock on, Nicki!

Even Bronson Rocked!



Treats.



Presents.

Pinata!  Why do pinatas make kids so happy?!?!

Nicki made me so proud at her party.  First of all, you should have seen that girl rock!  Most of the kids were a bit stage shy.  They would get up and pluck their guitars, maybe whisper a few words.  Some of the more brave ones sang out.  I was proud of them all for even standing up there!  It's pretty scary.  But Nick put on quite a show!  She was spinning, kicking, head banging, etc.  It was fun! (Ali hammed it up too, by the way).  Nicki also made me proud because she was such a great hostess.  She really watched for anyone who needed some extra encouragement.  She was very thoughtful and kind and nurturing to everyone the whole time.  That's one of my favorite qualities about my little girl.  Finally, I was proud of how much she loves her family.  This is her once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime "friend" birthday party.  Most of the time, it's just a family affair.  Still, even knowing that she could invite friends, she initially only listed cousins as her guests.  We coaxed her into inviting a few friends and a couple of cousins her age, but her favorite guests were Isabelle, Nolan, Kami, and Payton.  And she really missed all the cousins that weren't there.  Sweet girl!

Speaking of Payton - it's not normal for him to come up from Utah for a birthday party - but he was here!  In our family, we have a tradition that whenever someone turns eight, they get to spend a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house all by themselves.  When I was a kid, we spent time in California with Grandma and Grandpa Church.  I'll never forget my eight year old trip!  It was pretty special.  Anyway, Payton was on his eight year old trip and since he doesn't live very far from gma and gpa in the first place, they thought it would be fun to spend a day in Rexburg.  We were so excited!  They came up just in time for the party.  Afterwards, the kids played for a while. Then we went to the Pizza Pie Cafe (fka: Craigo's).  That night, Payton and Grandpa swam in the hotel pool, they watched videos, etc.  They went to church with us on Sunday, then they headed back to Utah. 

Payton loves our woodpiles in the back yard!  They're like giant building blocks!

I loved seeing how all my kids interacted with Payton.  Ali and Payton are about the same age and they like to play together for a while, but there's this "girls have cooties, boys are crazy" thing between them too.  Payton made instant buddies with the boys in Ali's primary class - to her chagrin.  Now she had another boy to chase her around and drive her crazy!  Josh adores Payton like a big brother.  He chases him around ALL THE TIME!  I think Payton was getting a little tired of his shadow, but he was a good sport.  Nicki and Payton are soul siblings!  It made me laugh to watch them play together.  Start having sword fights with pool noodles and Ali was outta there, but Nicki was in heaven!  She and Payton could crack the same kind of jokes ("what if...." getting sillier each time) for ever and never get tired of it, and they both can simply stop playing with each other at the drop of a hat for no reason without getting their feelings hurt.  Funny.  We love Payton and wish he could have stayed longer.  I hope his whole family comes for a visit this summer.

Nicole's Birthday



Little ham in her new dress kissing her new Zhu Zhu Pet.

On April 5th, Nicole Rae turned six years old.  It's hard to believe how fast she's growing up!  She is such a unique, spunky, crazy little kid.  I'll have to write more about her later.  Today, I just want to report on the activities of her special day.

We let Nicki open a few presents in the morning.  She was so excited!  The best gift (I think) was a book I had printed that told the story of "Princess Nicole" along with her mother, "Queen Alison," the "Wise Wizard Bronson,"  the "Evil Cat Cookie,"  and "Prince Joshua."  She was so thrilled to be the star of a real book.  For breakfast, she got Dinosaur Egg instant oatmeal and strawberry kiwi apple juice.  Yum.

School was awesome!  She was wearing a new dress and looked super cute.  Her teacher gave her a book as a birthday present and her class sang to her.  She just happened to be the "guessing bag person" that day.  The guessing bag is a special tradition in her class.  Each kid takes a turn with the bag. They place an item from home in the bag, along with three clues about what that item is.  In class, the other kids try to guess what it is.  It's such a big deal to the kindergartners.  Nicki put her new Princess Nicole book in the guessing bag.  After the kids guessed, Mrs. Barzee read it to the class.  That made Nicki feel very special.  To make school even better, she passed off the last two items she needed on her list of twenty things Mrs. Barzee requires of her students.  For that, she got a certificate and some bubbles.   At the end of the day, she passed out birthday treats.  Can a day in kindergarten possibly get any better?!?!

Nicole played with her new stuff and watched a movie for most of the afternoon while I baked her cake.  She chose everything about it from the color to the style to the type of nose.  I was happy that it was a simple cake.  Nicki received cards, phone calls and visits from many of our loved ones throughout the day. 

Grandma and Grandpa Gee joined us for dinner.  For her birthday meal, Nicki chose "chips with cheese."   We had nachos (and tacos due to a miscalculation about how many bags of chips I had in the house - oops), watermelon, and Crystal Light.  Then, we ate cake and ice cream.  Suzette joined us just in time to see Nicki open her last few presents.  Once that happened, she was too busy playing to notice the rest of us.  I think it was a really great day for her.

I love how excited all the kids get to open presents.

Conference Ramblings

Last weekend was General Conference.  I wish I could say it was a totally uplifting, spiritual experience for me, but honestly with four kids under the age of 8, the best I can say is we all survived (barely - literally.  Read on).  I did love hearing the talks, but I'll get MUCH more out of them when I study them in writing. 

We don't make the kids listen to all four sessions with us, just the Sunday ones.  On Saturday, the kids play around the house and yard.  This time, David set up our portable DVD player in the kids room and they turned on a show.  During the Saturday morning session, David and I folded a bunch of laundry in front of the TV.  Bronson played happily on the floor and kicked his chubby legs.  However, when I left the room to put some clothes away, he started screaming.  By the time I walked back in to room, he was just starting to go.  Yep.  He passed out.  Again.  This time, there wasn't even an injury to blame it on (not an external one anyway - I guess I hurt his feelings.)  I'm telling you, no matter how many times one of my kids passes out, I still freak out!  It's not a good feeling.  Neither is the next hour and a half when he's dazed and limp.  Ugh!  We're gong to have to figure this passing out thing pretty soon or all my hopes of Bronson's NFL career are going to be shattered.

The Saturday afternoon session was probably the best in terms of being able to listen.  The girls were outside and Josh was napping for the first half.  In the second hour, the girls came in and had their fingernails painted while we listened. 

David went to the Priesthood session with his dad and brother.  While he was gone, the kids and I ate pizza and watched Tangled.  Suddenly, we noticed that something was terribly wrong with the baby.  Ali was the first to notice that his eyes looked goopy.  Within about an hour, they were so swollen, he could barely open them.  They were oozing profusely and tearing like mad.  He looked like Rocky Balboa after a fight.  I had some left over eye drops from last month when he had a little eye problem, so I dropped them in, but couldn't see any difference.  Anyway, the kids went to bed and David came home.  He was shocked to see Bronson's state.  We called his folks and they came over.  Then we called the doctor, who said that we'd better get him to the ER just in case it was some sort of deep tissue infection.  Dave's dad gave Bronson a blessing, then they stayed with the sleeping kids while we went to the hospital.

Let's hurry this story along, shall we?  When we got to the hospital, Bronson looked horrible, but within a few minutes, he started looking better.  By the time the doctor came in our room, the baby was happily cooing and looking 100% better.  It was almost embarrassing how good he looked.  Of course, we were glad that nothing was wrong, but we basically paid a whole lot of money just to show a few nurses and a doctor how cute our baby is.  Sorry I don't have any pictures, but at least I'm not so into blogging that I'd take pictures of by baby passing out or in the ER.

Back to conference.  We started a tradition a few years ago that the kids adore.  I'm sure you'll see why.  On the Sunday morning session, we lay out several bowls of candy, nuts, and other treats.  Each bowl has a word assigned to it.  If the kids hear one of the words during conference, they can have a treat from that bowl.  It sure makes them listen carefully, although I'm not sure how much content actually sinks in.  We've had to tweak it a little.  In the past, we hadn't really thought about how irreverent it can be if you use certain words because the kids shout it out every time they hear it.  (think third commandment).  Now we choose words like "faith, scriptures, Joseph Smith" etc.  Anyway, the girls had a blast.  They look forward to this about as much as Halloween (and for the same reasons).  Josh is still a little young.  He kept taking candy from various bowls without hearing the words. 

Poor frustrated Josh .  "Just let me have some candy!"

The Sunday afternoon session was Froot Loop necklace time.  In theory, making Froot Loop necklaces is a quiet activity, but not always in execution.  Oh well.  At least we all sat together and tried to listen.  And at least our home was a happy place - no threats or coercion.   That's a good thing.

After conference, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Gee's house.  There, we had a multi-person birthday celebration for all the birthdays coming up.  It was very fun.

One un-related note:  David's parents are remodeling their basement and they gave us some of their old furniture.  We got two couches, an upholstered rocking chair, an arm chair and an end table.  They look amazing in our house!  It's so nice to have some good furniture.  Any of you that have sat in our red couch can testify to how badly we needed a new one.  It practially swallowed you when you sat on it.  It was like sitting on a couch and the floor at the same time.

Healthy Self Image

Gotta love my girls for their self confidence.  As part of a district-wide program to instill respect and end bullying, each kid at the school was given a list of positive traits and asked to circle the words that describe them.  Here is a copy of Alison's.  Nicole's was virtually identical.

Basically, they circled everything except "good brother" and "good son".  Ali skipped "good at sports", but only because she thought it said "good sport."  She also skipped "leader," which I think is debatable (I think a few of the ones she circled could be argued either way too, ie"neat.")  Nicki wrote "I don't know" next to "good at sports" and "musical."  Hopefully, she'll learn about them soon.  She wants to play soccer this summer.

On Friday, the second grade students had a special animal fair.  Each child had been working for about a month on a research paper about a specific animal.  Alison's animal was the jellyfish.  She worked hard on her project and took it very seriously.  On Friday, they invited parents and friends, along with all the other kids at school, to walk around and learn about animals from the second grade scientists.  It was so fun to watch Ali.  She was VERY animated!  Her paper was three pages long - about two and a half pages longer than many of the others.  She was also holding a book about jellyfish.  I tried to make her hair look like a big jellyfish that morning, but two recesses later, it looked more like a rats nest.  Anyway, when we walked in, Ali was jittering away at a man, speaking quickly and excitedly about her project.  She was even bouncing up and down a little as she talked.  I could see the man grinning.  When she gave me her little speech, other parents were gathering around and giving each other the "can you believe this kid?!?" look.  I'm glad she gets excited about stuff.  It makes life fun.  I tried to visit all her classmates to hear their presentations, especially the ones who looked bored or lonely.  They all learned a lot and even taught me a few things I didn't know.  What a great project. 




If you want to know anything about jellyfish, ask Ali. 

 Speaking of self confidence, check out this short video of Nicki at Zumba!  She's amazing!  She had so much fun and never thought a second about what other people thought.  She would have been doing a little better at following the teacher, but she was having too much fun looking at herself in the mirror.  I love her!  At the end of the video, I scan over to Ali, who was sitting out on the sidelines with a friend. 

I hope my girls always feel good about who they are and what they are good at.  What's not to love, right?  Was I ever that confident and if so, when did I stop?