Birthday Chaos!

This afternoon Emry had her seventh birthday party (May 3rd is her actual birthday!).  She was allowed to invite 7 of her friends from school, although she also invited her cousins (all the cousins who live close by) so that makes 14 kids here, chaos barely scratches the surface when describing the antics that took place!  The kids were only here for 2 hours, and I think they all had a good time.  First they decorated a picture frame, and I took a picture of Emry with each of her guests so they had something to put in their frame, I took a group picture for Emry to put in her frame.

They played pass the package, where they had to unwrap a box of smarties with oven mitts on their hands, it took some time, but finally they got it open, the next round went much quicker when they could take the oven mitts off.  Next we sang happy birthday to Emry and had cupcakes, and wow did they ever have cupcakes!  They ate all 42 big ones plus that same amount in small ones!!

After cake they played another game, pin the flower on the stem (a big thanks to my mom for bringing that game out and putting it together!).  While the kids did this I printed off their pictures, and when they were finished their game we had just enough time to put the pictures in the frames and say good bye before their parents came!

The kids were fun, a little energetic, but what seven and eight old isn't energetic!  I really enjoyed making Emry's cupcakes (another big thank you, this one to my other mom, Myrna, for making her delicious butter icing!  Mine never turns out as nice as hers), to go with a spring theme I decorated the cupcakes as ladybugs and flowers!  Despite the snowy weather outside they did put a little spring in our step!!

Most of the ladybugs had spots, I ran out of black icing and only remembered to take a picture when there were only a few cupcakes left!

Tuesday we will celebrate her real birthday, she loves butterflies, so I think I may attempt to make her a butterfly cake!  Or maybe a lego cake to go along with the present Jared and I got her!  Stay tuned to see what the final decision turns out to be :)

Crazy for Cupcakes

Since Calum has started napping again, I have found myself channel surfing while I feed Armin.  My latest obsession, Cupcake Wars!  I find the flavours they combine so fascinating!

Well, this has just inspired me to try something new in the baking department!  I came across a chocolate cupcake with raspberry filling, the cupcake was made from scratch!  I have only made cupcakes with a cake mix, and they usually turn out okay.  This recipe I found from scratch is the most amazing chocolate cupcake I have ever tasted, in my opinion anyway, the real test will be after supper tonight when Jared tastes them :)

I added a cream cheese frosting to them, and on half of the batch I iced with a raspberry cream cheese frosting.  I think the raspberry cream cheese will taste better on a vanilla cupcake, but the plain cream cheese frosting on the chocolate cupcake is heavenly!  For our Relief Society Activity tomorrow evening I am making cupcakes for the refreshment, I wanted to try this recipe before I made a whole bunch.  I think I will make these as well as some vanilla with a buttercream frosting, and I will ice flowers on the top of each vanilla cupcake, a lovely treat for spring, don't you agree?!

Calving is Quite the Experience

Last night I was able to go out and help Jared tag some calves.  He had about three to do and really didn't want to get too far behind!  I went out to help him walk the cows up to where he feeds them where he can put the calves into the little trailer to tag them.  We can only drive so far out into the field because it is still too wet and Jared feels a lot safer tagging in the little trailer than completely exposed out in the field with the mother breathing down his neck!!  Anyway, with two of us walking cows to where the ground is much drier, worked really well.  We did notice though that one of the cows walking with the others did not have her calf with her, so after the other two were tagged and accounted for we went walking out in the field to see if we could find the missing little calf.  We were able to find her and she looked dry and alert.  We nudged at her to get up so we could walk her to the Jeep and tag her and then take her to her mom.  Well, she would not get up yet she looked really alert, so Jared decided to pick her up and carry her some of the way, the decision made as the sun was slowly making its descent behind the mountains!  He carried her about 50 feet and realized she was a rather big calf, about this same time she started to realize this was not natural for a cow and started kicking and flailing about.  Jared put her down and to our amazement she WAS able to walk, no not walk but run!  She bellowed and kicked her little back legs up and took off in the WRONG direction.  Jared decided to bring the Jeep to the gate closest to where we were while I continued to walk with her toward this gate.  Well, she definitely had a different idea.  As I was trying to steer her toward the gate she would side step in the wrong direction, toward the general area we had found her.  I even asked her if she was being stubborn because her mom told her to stay exactly where she left her until she came back from eating!  This stubborn little calf and I made it the fence line, totally not where we were supposed to go, I was sure I had her now because there was no way she would go through the fence, right?!  As soon as I had that thought I knew she had me again!  She did go through, I watched her walk a little ways into our neighbours field and made a mental note of the general direction she was in and I continued on to the gate where I was supposed to meet Jared.  This field happened to be much wetter than ours and again we had to walk to look for her.  Jared finally spotted her, I still couldn't see her until I was almost on top of her, and this time we carried her together to the Jeep, at least 200 meters away!  If anyone had seen us they would get quite the laugh!  Jared carried her front end while I carried her back end, where is the fairness in that!?  With three rest stops, mostly because she would start to kick and we would lose our hold on her, we made it!  Talk about the ultimate workout!  I really enjoyed being out with Jared, I love working alongside him, even though more troubles seem to arise when I am out there, he remains generally patient with me!  These calves are the prettiest colour, almost blonde.  The bulls that bred these cows were charlais, white in colour, so mixing with the red has resulted in quite the combination!  The only downfall with this colour is the calves blend right in with the dried grass and stubble making them much harder to see, especially from a distance!  When Jared writes the calf up in his book he always makes a note whether the calf is small, medium or large, I told him he had to write HEAVY for the calf we carried halfway across the field!  We are up to 15 calves, only one has died (of course on my watch :( ).  It has been quite the experience, one I truly enjoy with Jared by my side!

I have to thank Myrna for watching the kids for us while we were out doing this!  What we thought might only take an hour ended up taking over two!  When we came in the kids were in their jammies ready for bed!  I also felt bad for Emry, we had to have a super quick family home evening so we could tag calves with a sufficient amount of sunlight!  Jared got Emry on her bike to practice riding, and put training wheels on Emry's old bike for Calum to use!  It was a frustrating experience but at least we were able to incorporate a lesson.  We told her that with lots of practice and patience she would soon be riding all over the farm!  Jared even taught her proper bike safety and how to use hand signals for turning and stopping!  It was a great evening, a memory that will stay with me for quite some time!

Poor kid, a pink bike, hopefully he won't develop a complex!

A Beautiful Easter

What a beautiful day it was on Easter!  The weather was so calm and so bright!  I am so thankful for the opportunity we have to celebrate this wonderful season!  I wasn't sure what to type, I didn't want to say the death of our Savior, that sounds horrible, but what we are ultimately celebrating is His resurrection.  I always get goose bumps and tingles all across my body whenever I hear songs about our Savior, and just knowing that he made this ultimate sacrifice for each of us individually helps when life gets overwhelming.  Since the beginning of April our Relief Society has been taking a journey, a 21-day journey closer to Christ.  It goes along with a book by Emily Freeman called, "21 Days Closer to Christ", we are going to have our celebration of our journey this coming thursday.  But as I did this I truly have felt closer to my Savior.  I have always had a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel, but I have never had the assurance of KNOWING that it was true, until I have taken this 21-day journey.  I felt that reading the specific scriptures of the life of Christ and praying about specific things, I have come to know Christ on a more personal level.  Something I feel truly blessed to have experienced in my life!

As tradition would have it with most North American families we spent Easter with my mom, my sister and her little family, and her husbands family!  It was a wonderful day with great food and lots of laughs.  The kids went on an egg hunt, and had so much fun, Calum looked as though he were on cloud nine running around looking for plastic eggs filled with candy!

Calum, Emry, Lily Anne, Gilbert, Rachel, Sarah and Amanda

The meal was soooo good!  My mom and sister have always had a talent with making delicious food, especially meat, I think it has a lot to do with how they marinate it!  The ham my sister Arren made was amazing, it had a bit of a kick to it!  And my mom's cabbage rolls were as yummy as ever!

After a delicious and very filling dinner we all ventured out for a walk!  The kids had a blast when Grandma started blowing bubbles for them to catch.  We went at least 1/2 a mile from the house and ended up having to piggy back or shoulder ride kids back!

Arren and, Buck's sister, Jessica

 We hardly saw Emry and Lily, they were outside most of the day playing with the baby kitty's!

Calum and Jared played with the police and robber lego the Easter Bunny brought him, and Gilbert played lego and shot nerf darts at Jared.

I always love spending these special occasions with family, it always feels more fulfilling to be with those we love.  It was a beautiful day all around!

A Day on the Lake?!

This afternoon Jared took the kids canoeing on the dugout!  I called this post a day on the lake because the dugout is so overflowing it really looks like we now have lake front property!  They had a blast, Calum even behaved himself and just sat there for the 2 hours they were out there, he did have the whistle from his lifejacket in his mouth the entire time!  They saw lots of ducks, mallards, little birds with really long beaks, and a goose nest complete with eggs and the mom and dad!  Sadly Martin also saw the goose nest and ate the little eggs, witnessed by Emry who innocently said that hopefully the mommy goose will lay some more :(  It was so not worth what Martin did to that poor little goose family because just as soon as he demolished them he threw them all back up including the afterbirth he ate from a cow earlier this morning! They even saw an otter!  We thought how weird it was to see an otter in the dugout, usually you find them in rivers or lakes!  I guess even the little critters are confused where they are with all the water around!  Jared said they were chasing the otter, they would see him dive under water and then they could follow him because they were able to see his air bubbles.  At one point they were right behind him and all of a sudden he poked his little head up right in front of Emry and Calum at the front of the canoe!  How neat for them to do this together and see all that they saw!  Jared said canoeing was great, he was able to check cows and the fence line, something he hasn't been able to do in some spots because of all the water we have.  He spent time with our little boogers and got some work done at the same time!  I hope this is a tradition that sticks, the canoeing, not necessarily through our fields, but canoeing with the kids none the less!

The Holy Terror Strikes Again!

This really is not an uncommon occurrence!  Calum seems to love being naked!

 Last night our Home Teachers came to give us their monthly message!  Calum loves them, and always seems to perform for them when they are here, he always manages to get a laugh out of them which just encourages his psycho behaviour!  Last night was no exception to the way Calum behaved!  To begin he found Jared's toque, put it on his head and just went and stood in front of Brother Denis with the most adorable grin on his face!  He stood like this until he was acknowledged, finally Denis couldn't resist, he burst out laughing and even lost concentration on the message he was giving us!  For the next episode Calum decided to lay on the floor in front of the fireplace with his feet on the glass.  Both Jared and I got after him, but instead of listening he decided to start kicking the glass.  Instantly Jared got up, swatted Calum on the bum and took him into the kitchen for a timeout!  Calum was being really good sitting on the timeout chair, almost too good, and too quiet!  We soon found out the reason why!  All of a sudden Calum came bursting into the living room completely naked!  He knew exactly what he was doing, because as soon as he saw our stunned faces he giggled and quickly covered his little boy parts with his hands!  Jared scooped him up, took him back to the kitchen to at least get his diaper back on, and let him go again!  Not two minutes later he did it again!  We are so hoping he gets this streaking stage out of his system before its not cute anymore!  The other horrible thing with what happened is that Denis brought a member of the Bishopric with him to be his companion!  Oh the stories I am sure get told in those early morning Bishopric meetings!

The First Calf!!

Jared went out quite early to feed the cows this morning, in hopes that the ground would be significantly harder than it normally is!  He finished in time to leave for work, but quickly turned his car around when he noticed a teeny tiny cow standing all by itself in the field!  By the time he came back into the house to grab his record book the calf was busily drinking from her mother.  We bundled up the entire family and headed out to see the little miracle!  Jared was so happy that the cow had no trouble having her calf, he hopes this is sign for the 50 something more to come!  I forgot how much I have missed being around cows on a daily basis, the new little calves bring new life to the farm, it has always amazed me how quickly the little calves are up and around, jumping and frolicking!  Emry and Calum sure liked seeing the new little calf!  I foresee a great spring ahead!

Family Fun!!

The other night we watched "Tangled," I was able to take the kids to see it in the theatre just after Armin was born but Jared wasn't able to come with us.  When it came out on DVD last week I couldn't pass it up, and it was me who couldn't wait to watch it when I got it home!  Well I am happy to say that I resisted opening it until Jared could watch it with us!  Sunday night Emry and I made caramel popcorn while Calum went out with Daddy to check on the cows, and when the boys came in, I made super yummy chocolate milkshakes to go with our caramel popcorn and we all headed downstairs to watch "Tangled!"  We even got Grandma Puzey in on the family movie night and treats, good thing too or Emry and Calum would have had no where to sit!!

It was as cute as I remembered it being and even Jared liked it!  I am so happy our kids get to be so close to Grandma!  They absolutely love her and the example she is in their lives truly is a blessing for all of us!

I also want to include our family home evening last night!  Jared's truck broke down on the way to work yesterday morning so I had to go and rescue him and drive him the rest of the way to work.  Later that afternoon the kids and I piled into the van to go and pick daddy up!  We made it a fun little adventure, we had to get gas for the truck in case that was the problem (which it was!!  Jared is notorious for running out of fuel!  I wonder if it has something to do with the gauge not working?)  Emry came into the store with me to pay for the gas, and the man who helped us out was a Siek, after we paid and were walking back to the truck Emry asked me if that man was a wizard!  I found it so funny, the perspective little kids have and the innocence they carry with them, I often forget that they are learning everything that we are so familiar with or used to seeing that we act oblivious to those around us!  Anyway I told her to ask daddy!  When she asked him he answered her much better than I could, he told her that what he wore on his head was called a turban, and he wore it because of his religion.  He also explained that underneath his turban he had really long hair, and then wrapped it up into his turban, something I didn't know!  It was neat to be able to teach her something about another culture, something we don't get a lot of opportunity to do in a small town!  

So, when we got home that night the kids went wild on Jared, wrestling and tickling him!  It was so much fun to watch, even if it did get them riled up before bed!  Armin's face was priceless, he would watch the antics with even wider eyes than usual and a look on his face that said, what have I gotten myself into with this family?!  We have fun together and I am happy Jared is so involved with his kids, he always makes time for them even when he has a list of things that need to get done 1000 miles long!

Hard at Work!

Jared and Dave are getting ready for calving to start!  A fun yet scary adventure ahead!  They decided they needed to get something for the new calves to huddle into WHEN the weather turns bad, and by the looks of today there just might be a bigger need for calf shelters than we could even imagine!  Jared priced out what it would cost to buy pre-made shelters at UFA and then priced out the lumber it would take to build one!  To buy it was around $600, and make $300!  You can guess what they decided to do!  Jared had the Young Men out for their weekly activity to start the framing, they did a good job and had a lot of fun, and they all left with 10 fingers and 10 toes intact!  Dave came out the next saturday and together he and Jared finished one shelter!  It looks great, the calves will be nice and toasty warm!

Last night Jared started working on the second shelter, when he thought he had better take a survey of the land to see where they could actually calve the cows out safely, without the danger of water!  The one side of the corrals where the cows come in to get water is completely full of water and the field is about the same.  IF a cow has trouble calving and the guys have to bring her into the barn they would have to trudge through knee deep water, not ideal!  So Jared decided the best option would be to move the cows into the corral where their last year calves are, and move those calves out into the field.  That side of the corrals is much drier because Jared has been feeding the calves in there so the hay has built up the ground nicely, it also has great access to the barn if needed.  It was funny how Jared came up with this idea.  He went over and stood by the barn, just leaning against the fence post, there were a few calves in the corral eating and looking at him, by the time he came out of his trance, 30 minutes later, all the calves were in the little corral surrounding Jared in a semi circle just looking at him, the closest ones only being an arms length away!  I know Jared is really enjoying working with the cattle, and they sure seem to like him, they aren't jumpy around him when he goes in to cut the strings on the bales.  The one thing he would like to be able to control though, is all the water we have sitting EVERYWHERE!  We now own lake front property!  I have never said this before but I truly wish we could have a huge wind to dry everything up, preferably before April 20, when we are expected to start calving!!