Date Night Success!!

As I wrote last week our date night turned into a nightmare!  So Jared and I tried again last night and we had a fantastic time!  He actually left work at 4:00pm to pick up the truck and stock trailer from Buck and Arren's and when he got home he and Dave loaded up the five cull cows we were taking to the auction!  Dave drove them down and unloaded them and we drove his car down so we could pick the truck up on our way home!  It actually saved us on gas money!!  We got to the city by 6:30pm so we headed over to McDonald's where we used a coupon where 2 can dine for $9.99!  When I told Jared I had a coupon he said he wouldn't really classify it as dinning since we were eating at McDonald's!  But despite where we ate it was actually really yummy, especially the fries!!  We headed over to Save-On to get milk, sooooo much cheaper to buy it in Lethbridge so we always stock up when we are in town!!  We got to the movie by 7:10pm, got a frozen yogurt and were in our seats by 7:20pm!  "Les Miserables" did fill up but it wasn't full and it was soooooooo good!  I loved every minute of it and thought it was extremely well done!  The music was so moving and so powerful, in fact I loved it so much I downloaded the soundtrack this morning and the boys and I have already listened to it!  I read the book as a teenager but I hadn't ever heard the songs and it was better than I expected!  So our date night was a huge success, I always have so much fun with Jared and I couldn't imagine spending my free time with anyone else, we fit together perfectly and compliment each other very well!

A Successful Preg Testing

On Wednesday we Preg tested our cows and finally we have faired well! Third times a charm!! The last two years we had around twenty open EACH year, this year we only had a total of four...three on Wednesday and one heifer when we tested last November at Buck's! We also included two cows in the cull pen that were pregnant but had other health concerns that really aren't worth having to deal with! It was a bitter cold and long day! It started for Jared at 7:00am when he fed some bales to get all the cows locked in the pen and then he headed over to Buck's to help them Preg test their 200 cows! They finished up around three and headed over here! We got started at 4:00pm and finished just after 5:30pm! We were very grateful to have Buck there to help us and it went very smooth! Jared ran the squeeze, I recorded, Dave moved them through and up to the squeeze and Buck brought groups into the crowding pen! We only had two cows try and escape over the wall of the alley before the squeeze and one actually got stuck just before the squeeze because she was literally too fat...I'm curious to see if she has twins!! Despite how cold it was it turned out to be a good day! I am totally done with relying on the weather report...it was supposed to be only minus three, I'm sure it was minus twenty with the wind! But after we were all done we had hot and super yummy stew, which really helped thaw us out!

We have two cows, who we have just been keeping until they get a little fatter to slaughter, that we call our nerd cows because they are really funny looking! Well the one especially, even the vet doesn't know what is wrong with her nose, to me she looks like she has a donkey head! And both are quite short! But they keep plugging along!

Date Night Nightmare

Last night Jared and I planned on going out on a date!  We had planned well in advance to have Myrna watch the kids while we went into Lethbridge to see Les Miserables.  The only showing was at 8:00pm which was actually a perfect time since it is hard for us to leave before 6:00pm, and then it doesn't make it such a late night coming home!  I did have a few groceries to get, mostly milk...on a side note, we go through about 10 jugs of milk a week, we bought 4 last Saturday, and 4 last night and we will have to buy 4 more before the week is through to get us into next week!  Anyway, we decided to grab a burger before the show, and the only place we like burgers now is at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.  Well, that is all the way at the other end of the city and even though it is just Lethbridge and only takes about 10 minutes to get to and from any place, it seemed to take much longer!  We ordered and waited and waited and waited and finally the cook told us he just put a new batch of bacon on the grill so it would be a few minutes, so we waited some more.  Finally we got our burgers and scarfed them down, I can't really even remember what it tasted like!  I looked up from inhaling my burger and saw Jared picking up a french fry with each hand and alternating them into his mouth, very effective I must say!  We ate in record time and headed back to the theatre, we got there a whole 10 minutes before the show started (which I we thought would be plenty of time since it had been there for almost a month, I guess not especially since it was cheap night), and when I asked for tickets to the show I was quite shocked it was sold out, I think I even said, "Oh, poop!" I think I hang around with Calum a little too much!!

So Jared guided me to the side of the lobby and said we needed to regroup!  We looked to see what else we could see and there wasn't a lot and they all started too close to 10:00pm!  So we decided to get our groceries and then go home and try to go to the show the next tuesday!  After we got groceries Jared suggested we go to Tim Horton's and have a hot chocolate and visit, like the good old days when all we wanted to do was talk!!  Oh, I forgot to mention that while Jared was at work earlier in the day he noticed the van tire was going flat, so he filled it up, came home and put a plug in it.  It wasn't leaking air anymore so he was sure we were good to go!  Each time we got back to the van while we were in the city he checked it to make sure it was staying up and it was...he is such a good fixer!  After Tim Horton's he checked it one last time before we headed on the highway, and it was as good as new!

Driving home we continued with our conversation at Tim Horton's and were just really enjoying each other's company...until we heard this horrible rumbling sound.  I thought for sure the travel case on the roof was coming off, Jared thought a wheel bearing was going and had actually fallen off with how loud the sound was.  So he pulled over and thankfully it was just the tire that he had fixed earlier.  Only it didn't just leak out air, it exploded!  And since we are the most prepared people on the planet, we of course had a spare!  NOT!  I actually blew the spare out at the end of November and it was on because the original tire had also met an untimely end!  A word to the wise, don't cheap out on tires!  Thankfully we knew Buck and Arren were also in the city for a cattle conference, and they hadn't left for home yet!  I called them while Jared was out examining the damage and asked if they would mind picking us up!  They were just at Tim Horton's and then on their way!  So there our van sits on the side of the highway with one sad looking tire!  So despite the nightmarish night I did have fun with Jared, we always seem to have an adventure together and I couldn't ask for anyone better I would like to experience these adventures with!  I was teasing him saying we were going to see a movie called Les Miserables, and instead we experienced a miserable night first hand!  I would actually like to video our life, I am sure it would be quite an entertaining sitcom!

Cows

This morning while I was washing dishes I noticed that the big bull, Cassanova, was stuck inside the feeder! He was pacing back and forth and finally decided to get a drink of water. Being much bigger than the momma cow that was stuck in there last week, he was able to lift the plastic feeder up onto the concrete slab and have a drink! After his thirst was quenched he pushed the feeder, with himself inside, back over to the bale and started eating! I had other things to do but while I was making lunch I noticed Cassanova was laying in the hay still stuck inside the feeder! After getting Armin to sleep for his afternoon nap I again found myself in the kitchen getting things ready for supper! I looked out the window to see the status of the stuck bull, he was standing with the feeder up on his back! Only now the momma cow who was stuck last week was standing just behind Cassanova scratching her back on the bottom of the feeder which was resting on Cassanova's hind end! The next thing that happened was very predictable! Cassanova took a step forward and the feeder fell of his rump, which spooked the momma cow, making her step forward, resulting in her, again, being stuck in the feeder!!

These cows are really entertaining to watch! I am thankful I can see them whenever I want just by looking through the window!!

Totally Unexpected

I have to take blood thinners because of this blood clotting disorder I have, Factor Five Leiden, and because of the type of blood thinner I have been on I have to have regular blood tests to monitor my INR levels. Well, throughout October and into November my INR levels were all over the place so finally I popped into the clinic to see if something else could be affecting these levels. I was totally not expecting what the result was...I was pregnant! It seems like our boys were both total surprises so why wouldn't this one be too! Calum came about because apparently birth control and antibiotics cancel each other out, and Armin came because my IUD had moved from where it needed to be to be effective! Anyway, this pregnancy did come as a surprise, but a welcome one...our only concern was that I was taking a type of blood thinner that can be very harmful to a baby. I did find out very early that I was pregnant and instantly I stopped taking my coumadin so the chances of hurting the baby in any way were very slim. I was still anxiously waiting for my ultra sound appointment to reassure me that this baby would be healthy. What I was not expecting was to not see a baby at all. It was super upsetting, something I don't think I could have handled on my own, I am so thankful Jared came with me to the ultra sound appointment. He is such a good man, full of so much love and concern! He knows just what to say to make me feel better and he always seems to know when I need a hug! I love him so much and I will forever be thankful for the man he is, and that I was lucky enough to find and marry him!

So needless to say that this year started out with some tears, I am so grateful for the three beautiful and healthy children we do have here with us! I love each of them more than I can put into words and I truly am thankful to be their mother, to love them unconditionally, to teach them to be the best they can be and to be here for them through the good and the bad!

Silly Cow

Just as we were about to leave for church yesterday morning Jared looked out the kitchen window at the cows in the corral and noticed that one momma cow was standing inside the plastic feeder!  He didn't have time to help her out but did make sure she would at least be okay until we got home, or rather hoping she would get out herself, the feeder is just made out of pvc tubes!

When we got home she was still standing inside the feeder, only she had pushed it closer to the water, hoping to get a drink, but the feeder wouldn't lift up over the concrete!  So Jared changed out of his church clothes and he and Emry headed out to rescue her!  Just as he was about to lift the feeder off she jumped through!  Silly Cow!

New Year's Eve

This new year's eve we took the kids to see "Rise of the Guardians"! It was sooooo good and it kept the boys interest the entire hour and a half!! I thought the story was actually quite heart warming a definite keeper! It was a family affair for sure all 17 of us Puzey's filled the middle two rows of the theatre! The adults are officially out numbered by the kids! After the show we headed over to New Dynasty for the annual Puzey New Year's Eve supper!! Again we filled an entire corner of the restaurant! We brought Leah home with us so her and Emry could have a sleep over! We rang in the new year with them at ten o'clock our time but midnight in Toronto! We toasted with some sparkling apple juice and then sent then to bed where we said they could talk and play for a little bit! Jared and I watched a movie and both fell fast asleep on the couch waking up at 1:30! Emry actually woke me up because she had to go to the bathroom!! The girls told us the next morning that they predicted the time of our midnight and high fived each other before going to sleep!

The next morning we headed over to Myrna's where we were again treated to a yummy pancake breakfast courtesy of Jason and Ashton! And later that afternoon Dave, Char, Cora and Blake came out and we had another traditional meal...Sour Cream Enchiladas! The kids played while the adults visited! A good way to start the new year! Jared also rigged up a sled to pull behind the quad and took the kids out for a fun ride!

I am excited for this year! I am excited to teach the youth Sunday school class, especially with the new curriculum that has come out! I love the youth in our ward and I look forward to getting to know each of them better! I am excited to do some landscaping in our yard, planting trees and seeding grass and maybe building our front deck!!! I wouldn't say I am a superstitious person but the number 13 has always bothered me, actually any odd number for that matter, but thirteen especially! But I am looking past the last two digits of this year and expecting it to be the best it can be, I am going to be positive and embrace all that comes my way!!!

Happy New Year