My Boys!!!

Today I decided I needed to start making cookies for the kindergarten fundraiser! I am in charge of the dessert and I decided to put together a cookie bar!! There will be different kinds of cookies in different cookies jars!! I think it will be lots of fun! Today I have made two different batches of cookies, snicker doodle surprise and oatmeal chocolate chip!! I had the boys help me unwrap the caramel filled Hershey's kisses that we would be putting inside the snicker doodles!  Many more got eaten than I had hoped but I guess that is to be expected when I inlist the help of a three year old and a five year old!!! They also helped me roll the dough into balls and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture!! We ran into one snag, I used all my cinnamon when we had French toast for supper last night! Though I found some cinnamon sticks so Calum ground them in the mini food processor, the snicker doodles were saved!!!! Armin insisted on wearing an apron like momma, and Calum played Lego between batches!!! They were such big helpers!! I love those boys so much!!!

A Day in the Life....

Since I fed cows for Jared last week and did an exceptional job :) he asked if I could do it again this week!!! He had planned on doing it himself yesterday morning before he left for work but it's still dark when he leaves and that's what he was trying to avoid! So I said Armin and I could do it once the other two kiddos got on the bus! We got our working clothes on and headed out! First we stopped at the fencer to unplug it and then into the shop to get the tractor! I remembered everything I needed to do to start it and engage the hydraulics without having to call Jared!! Armin was pretty excited to be in the tractor ( NOT a beebee!!!) we had a bit of a deadline as my visiting teacher was coming at 9:30 and Armin and I had to be in Vulcan at 10:45 for a doctors appointment! We finished and were just driving the tractor back to the shop when my visiting teacher drove into our yard!

I had no trouble picking up the bales this time, I really got the hang of it!! We carried in six bales and then turned off the tractor and cut the strings!! Armin held my hand as we walked toward each bale and he would say, "look out cows!!" I would cut the strings and he would grab one and walk around the bale to get it off!  It was much more fun having a little helper, he chatted my ear off and pointed at which bale we should pick up next!!  It's a good thing I was able to feed for Jared in the morning because the ground was still frozen, by the time we got back from Vulcan the surface ice started melting and our yard became a mud pit!!! It would have been a messy nightmare if Jared had to do it in the dark with all the sticky mud!

After my visiting teacher left I put on Toy Story 2 for Armin while I put the tractor away and plugged the fencer back in! Armin and I then headed up to Vulcan for my appointment, got groceries and then shared a giant slice of "pineapple" pizza for lunch! Once we got home I cleaned and reorganized our entry closet!! Much better!!  Today I decided to rearrange our bedroom!! I love moving furniture around, it always feels so fresh and new!!! I think we will tackle the music room next!! Jared got a gun safe from John Deere and he put it in "his" room but it needs to be better organized so his beautiful safe can be showcased!!!  Tonight we are having roasted short ribs (courtesy of one our nerd cows) with asparagus and baked potatoes!! And Emry made a vanilla cake for dessert!! Her first attempt ever at baking all by herself!! And she did a fabulous job!!

It has been a great week so far!!! I'm thankful for all I am blessed with everyday!!

Annual Cattle Drive

This past Saturday we moved our cows back to the home quarter.  This has definitely been the coldest year yet! We decided to do it with fewer people and it actually worked pretty good!  We used our neighbour girls who have horses and usually do most of the work! We borrowed Myrna's explorer because it has 4x4 though it didn't make a whole lot of difference since I still managed to get it stuck! Char was riding with me and our job was to pick up anyone who got cold or stuck...oops!! We caught a ride with Jared and Blake on the quad until he could go no further because of the snow! He ended up retracing back around to the road while Char, Cora and I walked! I seriously thought I was going to die, trudging through the snow all bundled up, one thing was for certain, I wasn't cold anymore! 

Once caught up with the herd and the horses we were able to stay up on the road, a much easier trek!  It only took us just over an hour, the sun eventually came out and even though it was still very crisp it was a beautiful winter day!  Unfortunately I had to spend the rest of it at work :( 

I love having the cows home, I love being able to look out the window and check up on them! Like yesterday for instance...since we moved the herd home a couple of calves would get out of the field they were supposed to be in and into the bales spread out for when we start bale grazing! Well, yesterday every time I looked out the window more and more were out! It wasn't just the calves now, but cows too! I finally called Jared at work when more than 30 were out. He thought they would be fine until he got home but as I watched them get closer to an open gate that was actually broken I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands!  I had Jared talk me through starting the tractor and I was off! After struggling a little with the first two bales I managed to feed six bales and get the stragglers back in with the main herd, all by myself!  It felt so good to be able to help Jared! I know how tired he is after putting in a full day at his full time job just to come home to another full time job, COWS!!! I knew he would be needing to feed the cows once he got home, so helping him really gave me a sense of satisfaction!  The state of our house was a whole different story!  Though I was proud of the boys for not physically destroying anything especially since I left them alone in the house while I was out feeding cows! Maybe I will be able to make this a weekly tradition, I'm sure the boys would also thoroughly enjoy it too, I could have them help me pull all the twine off each bale after I cut the strings!!  Now if only I could get someone to do my household work I would be totally set!!!!!!!!

This is the view from our dinning room window the cows gathered around the stacked bales steadily increased as the morning wore on!  

A Year in Review

This past year has been just like many before, new challenges, lots of experiences and many wonderful memories made!  It was the first full year in our new house!  The walls have been nicked, a window was  cracked, and the carpet got stained!  But nothing that couldn't be fixed!  On top of all the minor blemishes made to our house many memories were also made!  I love that our house is "lived" in, there are however many times in the day when I wished it was more put together and polished but what fun would that be?!!

We took our little family camping this past summer, it was the first time for both our boys!  Even though we just went the few miles to Little Bow we had a blast!  Calum was terrified of the boat, which made us laugh because he is so rough and tumble!

We sold our Jeep, something that has been with us since our first year of marriage!  It was with mixed feelings we let it go!  Jared pretends to tear up every time he sees a Jeep, which I find quite humorous!

I started working at a Pharmacy in Vulcan a couple days a week and I love it!  Calum started Kindergarten and he loves it too!  Jared was called as the Primary Music Leader and after the initial shock he has come to really love teaching the children all the wonderful Primary songs!  And it shows too, because the children did an exceptional job singing for the Primary Sacrament Presentation, even with only 10 children!  Emry started Craft 4H with the hopes of going into Cattle 4H next year!  She has made some really cute Christmas decorations so far and absolutely loves it!  Armin is still tiny...though his attitude more than makes up for his littleness!  Maybe because he's the youngest he feels like he isn't being heard so he gets louder and louder and is really quite demanding!  But we love him and wouldn't change who he is for anything!  I especially love how afraid of mannequins he is!  I love taking him up to one to see his reaction of total fear!  I also love seeing the complete look for sheer terror on his face when Jared throws him up into the air!  I know we are terrible parents but there has to be some reward for the insanity these kiddos cause at times!

Christmas was lots of fun!  The kids were all so excited and still believe in the magic of Christmas!  I love seeing the wonder and excitement in their eyes!

We had a super fun New Year's Eve too!  We did the traditional movie and Chinese Food with the Puzey clan!  Though we had to go to the movie at different times to accommodate mine and Jared's work schedule that day we still all met for Chinese Food after!  We saw the movie "Frozen" and even though Calum was nervous (again, totally mind boggling!!!) he still really liked it!  The snowman made the show with his funny comments!  It is by far my favourite Disney movie!!  I can't wait until it comes out on DVD and I might just take the kids to see it again once it goes to the cheap theatre!

I am truly looking forward to what 2014 has in store for us!  I am excited to learn new things and face new challenges!  I am so thankful for what I have in my life, most especially my family!  I love Jared so much and I truly am thankful for all he does for me!  I am thankful for his friendship, his support and his guidance!  I am thankful we work together in every aspect of our lives.  I love seeing the look of total awe when he sees our children!  I love the example he is to us!  I love each of our children more than words can describe.  I love their curiosity, their love of life and their desire to do their best!  Yes, there are most definitely times when they exasperate me and I would love to just go and hide, but they teach me so much each and every day.  And after they have all fallen asleep I love to go in and watch them sleep, I love seeing how peaceful they can be!  Being a mother is truly an experience, good and bad!  But the good far outweighs the bad, I am thankful I can experience the bad so that I can learn.  Even though I am only aware of what I have learned when I look back, and not so much when I am in the moment!

I am thankful for my mom and dad!  I am thankful for all they do to give me support and show their love!  I am thankful for all they taught me growing up and for the examples they are to me now as I struggle with being a parent!  I am thankful for a mother in law who only lives across the yard!  I am thankful I have her example to guide me through the experiences of life!  I am most thankful to her for the wonderful son she raised and for the opportunity I have to raise my children with her wonderful son!

Another year gone, and a new one just beginning!  I know that whatever may come will only be as good or as bad as we make it!  So I intend to make this year a great one!