A Great Time Had by All

Yesterday our ward had a clean-up day, hosted by the Bishopric.  I didn't go in because I was sure I would be chasing Calum more than helping, but Jared and Emry went in to represent our family!  Years ago around the parking lot of the church decorative rocks were put in.  They eventually blended into the dirt and then grass clippings were dumped on top.  The clean-up day consisted of digging out these rocks so new grass could be put down.  It took 3 hours to do half way around the parking lot, with a great turn out from the ward.  After the clean up a hike and barbeque was planned by the Elder's Quorum.  We all met in Carmangay at the McFarland trail head and hiked down to the river, under the train bridge.  Again a great turn out!  We haven't done something like this with the ward for such a long time, and Jared remembers doing this same hike as a kid.  I put Armin in our snugglie, Emry walked between Jared and I holding our hands and talking non-stop, and Calum took off ahead of us at a steady run!  Thank goodness for friends who were able to keep up to him to make sure he didn't fly off the cliff!  He made it to the picnic spot long before we did!  Our meal was hotdogs, or hamburgers and salads, watermelon, freezies and ice cream sandwiches.  The kids had so much fun playing together and the Elder's Quorum planned a treasure hunt for the kids, again they had a blast doing this.  One of our Home Teachers, Dennis, gets such a kick out of Calum and took him around to look for a balloon filled with candy, he even put Calum up on his shoulders!

Thomas Smith

Grayden Stasiuk, Armin and Madison McLeod

Stephanie Janzen, Emry, Calum and Dennis Durrand

Calum and our Home Teacher Dennis

By the end of the evening Calum got ahold of a wagon and started to pull it around, it had to be quite the pull with all the tall grass and sage brush, but he was persistent and at one point he and two other little guys got the wagon to the top of a little hill and were about to let it go, Debbie saved the wagon and all the stuff inside!  The boys literally had no idea what kind of mess they would have made.

Calum and his best buddy Lincoln Stasiuk

Look at Calum's hands-he is trying to sit just like Lincoln!

Calum finally got some help from Henson Smith and Rhett Warren with this wagon!

Rhett and Henson are a year older than Calum

But these three boys could be trouble when they are all in school together!

I liked how the sun came through on this picture and it really looks like Armin is waving!

Calum has so much energy he truly wears me out just to look at him, so many ward members tell us they know how much work he must be but they all love having him around for the entertainment he provides!  Instead of hiking back out a truck with a trailer full of little hay bales drove us out, Calum had so much fun doing this too, at one point though he did say, "I go sweeep!"  We didn't even see Emry that night, she was with all her little friends playing tag!  I love watching our children run and play, it makes for a much more relaxing evening that is for sure!  On our way home Calum tried his hardest to stay awake, he was so worn out, just before we turned into our yard he was out like a light!  He barely even woke up when I put his jammies on and washed his face and hands!  Even though Jared was not able to get a full days work in around the farm I know he enjoyed himself, a much needed break from all that needs to be done at the farm!  

A Rare Opportunity!

The flowers in my Grandma's yard...So beautiful!

Last Saturday my sister and I took the kids to Coaldale for their cousin Maryssa's birthday party!  Her party was at my Grandma and Grandpa Scheibner's!  I have lots of great memories spending time at "Grandma Next Door's"!  Until I was seven we lived in the house right next to my mom's mom and dad, hence the name grandma next door!  It is funny the names kids develop for people, my older sister's kids call my mom "Grandma Big House", and my grandma next door, they call "Grandma Red House"!

Legacy, Kenzy, Armin. Lily and Emry

Following in his Daddy's footsteps!

When this Jeep wouldn't work Calum instantly lifted the hood and started to fiddle with things to try and get it to go!  It's so amazing what they pick up on at such a young age!

My "little" sister Arren and her youngest, Lily!

Rayna Lynn and Armin

Kourtney, Maryssa (in hat), Legacy, Kenzy, Armin, Rayna, Calum, Emry, Lily, Gilbert and Owen.  All the Great Grankids!

Rayna, Lily and Emry with Rayna's puppy Molly!

The birthday girl, Maryssa and her puppy Rupert!

Anyway this past saturday was a rare opportunity because all of my Grandma and Grandpa's great-grandchildren were at Maryssa's party!  It was fun to catch up with everyone and especially to see Grandma and Grandpa, they seemed to get quite a kick out of Calum and the amount of energy he possesses!  Kids grow too fast and always seem to head off in many different directions so when everyone can be together take advantage of it!  It was a great day and lots of fun, I even got to have a great visit with my "little" sister on the way down to Coaldale and on the way home, another rare opportunity even though we only live 8 miles from each other!

It is funny how literal kids take our instructions, we kept telling Calum to look up, meaning to look at the camera, but we didn't say look at the camera!  He did do exactly what we kept asking!

A Fabulous Father's Day

Jared and his boys!

Today was a great day, I love that Father's Day always is on a Sunday because Jared can actually be pampered and take a day OFF!  He did however have to go to his early morning meeting before church and he had to stay a little later after church for an ordination, Emry was so upset about both of these events, she kept saying, "But it's Father's Day!!"  When Jared came home from church, only 10 minutes after us, we had his favourite dinner, Chicken Cordon Blue, and for dessert the kids and I brought home an ice cream cake from the Marble Slab, as close to his favourite as we could get, Raspberry Cheesecake!  His favourite ice cream there is sweet cream with raspberries, needless to say the raspberry cheesecake was soooo good!

The kids gave Jared one of his favourite things, a hoodie, a John Deere hoodie!

Jared with his three favourite people!

Emry also made Jared a 3D sheep picture at school, it is really cute and truly I think Jared liked this the best!

Opening Emry's present!

Oh, Calum made Jared something at Nursery today, it is a piece of dough with colourful rocks pushed into it and on it it says, Dad Rocks!  The only problem is that Calum keeps eating pieces of the dough!  It is the type of dough that really hardens as it dries!  It has been a great day, and I think to top it all off Jared is having a really good, and very much needed sunday afternoon nap!  Happy Father's Day to the very best dad ever!

Emry with her Granda Glen when she was 2 1/2 years old!

I also want to say how much I appreciate my dad!  He is not only a father but a true friend!  I love the relationship I have with my dad, and even more I love the relationship he has with our children!  When I told Calum that Grandpa Glen was coming to see him the other day he said, "Gammpa Geln, oh yaaay!" and he would put his little hands up to his mouth and jump up and down!  I admire the time my dad takes to play with Calum!  Calum has this obsession with pretending he is Buzz Lightyear, he will run around the house and put out his left arm and with his right hand he will push his laser button and pretend to shoot people, he even makes the sound, "pewwpeww!"  One time with his Gammpa Geln, he did this for quite awhile, and when the noise level got too high my dad got down on the floor and played cars with Calum!  Since my dad is a truck driver they got out all the little semi's and trailers and had a blast driving them all around!  I am thankful for the love that my dad has for me and for all that he does for us, whether it is the much needed phone calls, the times we can meet for dinner, and most importantly the very much desired Hershey's chocolate syrup from the States, he has to keep Jared and now Calum with an ongoing supply!  Whatever it may be I am so thankful for the wonderful dad I have!

Emry and Gilbert spraying Grandpa with water guns HE gave them!

The after effects of the water fight!

Grandpa and his gang of Little Rascals!

Money, Money, Money!!

Well we finally sold some of our cows yesterday, 15 Steers to be exact!  Jared loaded them up and hauled them down to Lethbridge tuesday evening and yesterday, Wednesday, I took the boys down to the auction to see them sell!  It was a really neat experience, and yet sad to see them go!  I had my mom come with me because I wasn't quite sure what I needed to do or where I needed to be, she is an old pro and we had a blast together!  Our steers did really well, their average weight was around 500 pounds, with one really big one at 615 pounds, and his mom also happened to have the biggest calf this year, also a steer!  And they averaged a price of $1.40/pound!

Calum loved the experience, we were able to sit right against the viewing area! 

The notorious escapee, is the steer on left with the white face, Number 16!

Since we weaned the calves from their moms this past winter we have had one steer who was constantly getting out!  We eventually stopped trying to force him back into the corrals because the next morning he would be out again.  I even got him in all by myself one day only to find him out the very next day!  He always stayed on our land and would wait by the gate to be let back in when he wanted the company of other cows.  We started to put him in with the cows out in the field instead of the corral with the other yearlings, it turned out he wanted to be with his mom!  We have found him curled up right beside her many times!  We only had one neighbour call to tell us we had a cow out, and it was when he ventured onto the main road, the Fireguard Road, and was laying down in the middle taking a nap!  Otherwise I think our other neighbours realized it was a common occurrence.  The night before Jared took the steers to Lethbridge we had to get this notorious steer into the barn and locked in a pen.  It went a lot better than we were both expecting it to, but he sure didn't want to be locked up, Jared was paranoid so he made sure all the gates that could be closed were as well as both barn doors.  To get out he would have had to bring the entire barn down, thankfully he didn't!  Having cattle has been a very fun experience, yes with many challenges but ones that we have learned from and I think grown closer over.  I enjoy helping Jared when we have to work the cows, he is so calm and patient with them.  I truly admire the love he has for animals and the respect he shows them when he has to work them.  I look forward to what the years of ranching will bring!

A Busy Day

b5ffSaturday proved to be a busy but very fun day!  Jared and I went out early to separate the small steers from the big ones.  The small ones we trucked over to a neighbours to fatten them up on grass, the big ones we are hoping to sell this wednesday!  Jared took Emry and Calum with him to drop off the steers and as soon as they got home we headed up to Vulcan for the annual Spock Days Parade!  Calum was nervous of the sirens on the police car, the leader in the parade!  The parade wasn't as good as I remember, there were hardly any floats, but lots of cool cars, Calum and Jared enjoyed this part of the parade.  Emry thoroughly enjoyed the ton of candy she got, she was so sweet helping her little brother and her younger cousin Lily get candy because they were leery of the passing cars, which in all honesty they should be!

My favourite thing to see at the parade are the bagpipers!

When we got home from the parade Dave, Cora and Leah came to help move the cows and their calves down to the sand where there is a field full of beautiful lush grass!  Dave was able to get the fence finished this past week, so now Jared should have some free time to work on our house instead of feeding cows!!  To make the move easier Jared fed all the cows in the corral and was able to lock them in overnight.  He then reinforced a few corners of the barbed wire fence into the barn so the cows wouldn't get the urge to jump the fence!  Everything worked so smoothly, Jared was so impressed, he was sure they would be moving cows until well into the night, but instead were done at 6ish!  Dave and Jared would move a group of about 5 cows and a few calves at a time through the corral, into the alley and then through the barn where the truck and trailer were parked and open ready for the cows to climb right in, and to our surprise, they did just that!  The guys were able to borrow two trucks with cattle trailers from Buck and John, which cut the time of hauling in half!  It was a lot of fun and worked out so well, a few people were surprised how well it worked out moving the cows through the barn!

The Cattle Whisperers!

Last load in!! Hooray!

A dirty job....

but someone has to do it!