As you can see from the picture below, we got another new horse. This is NOT the Quarter Horse Mare that we got a few weeks ago. This one is a Mini-mare that I just found on Saturday evening. She is only about 32 inches tall. I called up Dave all excited and asked if I could just go look, well by Saturday night we were driving back out to pay for her. Dave and Autumn picked her up Sunday morning in my mini-van. Mini-mare in a mini-van. How appropriate...or not?! She is awesome with the kids. Logan is stoked to have his own little horsey, just his size that he can ride. She is also "knocked up" so come summer sometime, we will hopefully have a new little one. (Darin - you get to be the midwife!)
We went in half with my Sister-in-law and her husband on the mini-mare so both our families will share her for the younger kids. Since Ruthie and Darin are moving here this week from Ketchikan, it is totally convenient!
Her name WAS Teeny Turner (Tina Turner - if you see her mane you will know why!), but we have decided she needs a new name, so when Hannah and Callie get here, we will put it up for a vote. Or us parents will just decide and let the kids know!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Time for a post or two again....but what do I have to say?
Nothing, really. Or a lot, I just can't think of it. Can't pluck it out of my over-tired, over-worked brain right now.
We bought a horse. Did I tell ya all that yet? Well we did. Her name is Brandy and she is a Quarter horse. We are in the process of putting up our fence....still! We have most of the wood posts in and a few of the t-posts in. We are hoping that the excavator will be available this weekend to finish clearing the area for the back fence line and to clean out all the dang trees that remain. Now we have 2 horses. The other horse we own is Cisco, an 8 yr old Morgan/Quarter horse....untrained. Someday we plan on getting him trained. For now Brandy is totally rideable, even for the kids. Dave's aunt Chris gave us Cisco last summer. She was hoping someone would do something with him cause she believes he has a lot of potential. We shall see I guess. I am nervous about spending money to train a horse, not knowing if it will take $1000, $2000 or $6000 to train him enough to ride him. I could go out and spend one of those dollar amounts on a trained already horse. Oh well....we will find out next fall I guess.
I think its my brothers birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB! (Bnkstckguy) How old are you now....43? Just kidding. I probably should have called you today and sent you a moose for your big day, but I didn't. Fresh outta moose right now and Dave is just too darn busy working to spend any time hunting. We had Sarah over for dinner the other night though and I put in a good word for you and she is going to casually mention your name in her next appearance. I told her about your midget obsession. So pretty much she is going to use you to gain votes from that demographic.
K, I have said enough. Dave has the boys in the bathtub, so I probably should go supervise, or I am sure to have one heck of a mess to clean up afterwards.
We bought a horse. Did I tell ya all that yet? Well we did. Her name is Brandy and she is a Quarter horse. We are in the process of putting up our fence....still! We have most of the wood posts in and a few of the t-posts in. We are hoping that the excavator will be available this weekend to finish clearing the area for the back fence line and to clean out all the dang trees that remain. Now we have 2 horses. The other horse we own is Cisco, an 8 yr old Morgan/Quarter horse....untrained. Someday we plan on getting him trained. For now Brandy is totally rideable, even for the kids. Dave's aunt Chris gave us Cisco last summer. She was hoping someone would do something with him cause she believes he has a lot of potential. We shall see I guess. I am nervous about spending money to train a horse, not knowing if it will take $1000, $2000 or $6000 to train him enough to ride him. I could go out and spend one of those dollar amounts on a trained already horse. Oh well....we will find out next fall I guess.
I think its my brothers birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB! (Bnkstckguy) How old are you now....43? Just kidding. I probably should have called you today and sent you a moose for your big day, but I didn't. Fresh outta moose right now and Dave is just too darn busy working to spend any time hunting. We had Sarah over for dinner the other night though and I put in a good word for you and she is going to casually mention your name in her next appearance. I told her about your midget obsession. So pretty much she is going to use you to gain votes from that demographic.
K, I have said enough. Dave has the boys in the bathtub, so I probably should go supervise, or I am sure to have one heck of a mess to clean up afterwards.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Alaska State Fair
The kids smell like corndogs and cow manure. Our trip to the fair was successful. We went one last time today to just gain some more weight and look for any last day deals. No deals were found, but we did find some fabulous fried foods. Oh and the giant pig in the barn was supposed to have her piglets last week, but hadn't yet and was certainly in labor while we were there. She started to pee and Dave announced, "Oops, her water broke!" They closed the barn at 6, but we raced to get in cause we could here a pig squealing....which because I am an expert, I am sure it was the pregnant pig giving birth. SOMEONE GIVE HER AN EPIDURAL FOR PETE'S SAKE! We couldn't get in for a closer look. Maybe the local paper will give the juicy details on time of birth and number of pork chops, I mean piglets born.
Chameleon anyone?
So I think we decided to sell our chameleon, Mildred. She is a beaut! The kids just aren't as interested in her as I thought they would be, so I end up doing all the feeding and I really really loathe those dang crickets she eats. They are disgusting, vile little creatures that eat each other and apparently can also kill each other just by pooping on their friend. Ick. So I end up buying 30 or so crickets each time I go to the pet store and by the time I get home, half are dead as a result of cannabalism or poop attack.
Chameleon anyone?
Chameleon anyone?
Time for a new post.....or posts...?
So we have been busy little beavers trying to get our pasture ready for our horses. There was massive amounts of wood, still are massive amounts of wood. We have a fire going that is now a ginormous mound of ashes and we have to start another fire today in the other corner to try and get rid of the other pile of wood. Seems like it is never-ending! The bad part is our rented skid steer broke down yesterday when we were helping to load some birch onto the trailer of the person we bought our latest horse from. They were being so kind as to come get it so we didn't have to burn it, and we were so kind as to give it to them for free AND help them load it. Win-Win.
All of this while still trying to make it to the fair for a few hours on the last of it. Dave had a 3 day weekend and ended up working the whole thing! He is such a hard worker. The kids have been helping out too. Kristen and Autumn have been taking turns watching the 2 littlest ones and Brandon and Autumn have put in time down in the pasture helping gather up the smaller pieces of wood and getting them into the fire.
Anyway, just wanted to post and let ya'll know were not dead, just busy. (Cause I know a TON of people read this blog and most are very important people.)
All of this while still trying to make it to the fair for a few hours on the last of it. Dave had a 3 day weekend and ended up working the whole thing! He is such a hard worker. The kids have been helping out too. Kristen and Autumn have been taking turns watching the 2 littlest ones and Brandon and Autumn have put in time down in the pasture helping gather up the smaller pieces of wood and getting them into the fire.
Anyway, just wanted to post and let ya'll know were not dead, just busy. (Cause I know a TON of people read this blog and most are very important people.)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Following in mama's footsteps!
Brandon is going to play the trumpet!! He started out wanting to do drums...he tried the trumpet today and says that is what he wants to do. According to his music teacher, he has the perfect lips. I recall in my first days in band, I also heard something similar about my lips. Imagine that! I am glad he didn't end up with the stinky ole trombone....people who play that instrument just don't turn out right.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Misc things...
Homeschooling is going great! Much better than I anticipated. I think Brandon is enjoying it too. He especially likes getting done with school before his sisters get home for the day. He works hard to accomplish that and brags about when he finished. He is also enjoying his Tang Soo Do (Martial Arts) and gets to do that 2 times a week. He will start beginning Band next week and wants to play the drums (yay me!). Logan and Austin enjoy having their big brother home all day with them. Brandon does his "recess" time with Logan.
Speaking of Logan, he is slowly getting better at potty training. Right away this morning I got him to sit on his potty and he went right away. He had a dry diaper so I am guessing he had a full bladder. He was excited when we clapped for him and he got his candy. Austin likes the attention he gets when he is sitting on the potty, so has started to sit on it and show more interest. He is not aware of the candy incentive though, which is a good thing.
Speaking of Austin, he doesn't much care for when people leave him to head outside or downstairs. He will yell and scream and eventually throw (actually gently set himself) on the floor and throw a mini-tantrum. He gets his little feelers hurt so easily and wants to be included in what everyone else is doing. He especially gets upset of the girls head downstairs and don't take him with. Autumn will occasionally take him with her so he at least feels included.
Speaking of Autumn, we went on a horse ride tonight with Sue. It was a lot of fun and both the horse I was riding and Sue was riding had foals with them. We had these 2 babies scampering through the woods with us and then they would slow down and eat and play and then shoot up past us again. I really like riding and wish I could do it more often. Kristen babysat the boys until Dave got home when we left.
Speaking of Kristen, she is excited about the school year and making new friends. Her guidance counselor at school says she cannot work on her other classes to graduate early until she finishes and passes her current classes. It kinda takes the pressure off so the earliest she would be done is this summer or next December. Either way she is excited to be able to finish early. So far her classes are all going good this year and she is meeting new people. I really hope and pray she meets some good quality people so her year is more enjoyable!! She got her permit a week ago and will hopefully test for her license in about 6 months, then she can drive and Dave and I won't have to transport her and Autumn to school.
Speaking of Dave, I haven't seen my husband since I have been home tonight cause he is upstairs....I suppose I should mosey on up and find him. Later dudes!
Speaking of Logan, he is slowly getting better at potty training. Right away this morning I got him to sit on his potty and he went right away. He had a dry diaper so I am guessing he had a full bladder. He was excited when we clapped for him and he got his candy. Austin likes the attention he gets when he is sitting on the potty, so has started to sit on it and show more interest. He is not aware of the candy incentive though, which is a good thing.
Speaking of Austin, he doesn't much care for when people leave him to head outside or downstairs. He will yell and scream and eventually throw (actually gently set himself) on the floor and throw a mini-tantrum. He gets his little feelers hurt so easily and wants to be included in what everyone else is doing. He especially gets upset of the girls head downstairs and don't take him with. Autumn will occasionally take him with her so he at least feels included.
Speaking of Autumn, we went on a horse ride tonight with Sue. It was a lot of fun and both the horse I was riding and Sue was riding had foals with them. We had these 2 babies scampering through the woods with us and then they would slow down and eat and play and then shoot up past us again. I really like riding and wish I could do it more often. Kristen babysat the boys until Dave got home when we left.
Speaking of Kristen, she is excited about the school year and making new friends. Her guidance counselor at school says she cannot work on her other classes to graduate early until she finishes and passes her current classes. It kinda takes the pressure off so the earliest she would be done is this summer or next December. Either way she is excited to be able to finish early. So far her classes are all going good this year and she is meeting new people. I really hope and pray she meets some good quality people so her year is more enjoyable!! She got her permit a week ago and will hopefully test for her license in about 6 months, then she can drive and Dave and I won't have to transport her and Autumn to school.
Speaking of Dave, I haven't seen my husband since I have been home tonight cause he is upstairs....I suppose I should mosey on up and find him. Later dudes!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Homeschool
I am homeschooling Brandon this year. I am hoping it goes well. Yesterday was the first day and it was great. Brandon was all excited after we finished math and exclaimed, "I love homeschool!". Today is a little more....challenging. We had some leftover language arts to do because of our errands so we are doing that before we even get started with today's stuff. I am hoping we get more into a groove and get this stuff down. I have learned that it is NOT beneficial to run errands during school time. Its best to just do school and run errands later.
We shall see how it goes!
We shall see how it goes!
Austin potty success....yes I said Austin!
Well...maybe Austin will teach Logan how go potty like a big boy! Austin peed on the potty chair last night right after I put him on it. We all got excited and clapped. Austin didn't care, he just wanted to put his foot in it.
So far today Logan peed in his diaper before I could get him on the potty. I still let him sit there for a while just in case. Then I put him in underwear and not more than 5 minutes later, he peed in those. I again let him sit on the potty and he is now in a clean pair of undies. I am guessing the next episode will contain poop and I am NOT looking forward to that.
Potty training is so haaaard! (In the most annoying Fran Drescher voice possible)
ETA: Nope, not poop - more pee again!! Geez, it was just 6 minutes ago that he peed in the last underwear. Either this kid has a tiny bladder or he holds it for clean undies.
I wonder if it would be considered child abuse if I just had him sit on the toilet all day and fed him there?
So far today Logan peed in his diaper before I could get him on the potty. I still let him sit there for a while just in case. Then I put him in underwear and not more than 5 minutes later, he peed in those. I again let him sit on the potty and he is now in a clean pair of undies. I am guessing the next episode will contain poop and I am NOT looking forward to that.
Potty training is so haaaard! (In the most annoying Fran Drescher voice possible)
ETA: Nope, not poop - more pee again!! Geez, it was just 6 minutes ago that he peed in the last underwear. Either this kid has a tiny bladder or he holds it for clean undies.
I wonder if it would be considered child abuse if I just had him sit on the toilet all day and fed him there?
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Forgot to mention....
Logan is no longer nursing! I had been telling him in MN that when we get home he won't need "MaNa's" anymore and he will start to potty train too. Well the last time he nursed was August 6th, the night before we left MN for home. Its been 10 days now without nursing and he is doing great. He has asked for it on occasion, but no huge fits or anything.
A few days after we got home and he was asking to nurse I bribed him with a fish. So Logan is the new proud owner of a goldfish (#2 cause the 1st one fell asleep permanently!). He feeds his fish everyday. He doesn't tend to spend too much time other than feeding it though....I guess its just kinda boring when you can't hold it and feed it 12 times daily. Like I said, we are on fish #2. Our first fish feel asleep a day after the fishy warranty expired. Had I known it was sick and gonna die, I may have hastened its expiration in order to get it replaced for free. Instead I paid 10 cents for a feeder goldfish that most closely resembled the deceased one. Good thing Logan is only 2. I was able to do the switcheroo on him without him even noticing.
About the potty training....not going so well. He will sit on the toilet for what seems like hours, get off and get his underwear back on and then proceed to wet them or poop in them. He of course lets me know AFTER the fact. I have even tried bribing with candy and so far he hasn't earned any. I have to admit I am not all that consistent with it so far and have let him wear diapers 64% of the time. I am just hoping one of these days when we try again, it will be the magic day. Maybe I need to buy him his own kiddie toilet. Right now we just have the little padded kid seat we place over the regular toilet seat. If there is anyone out there with suggestions, please share. We have stickers and candy as well as fun underwear.
A few days after we got home and he was asking to nurse I bribed him with a fish. So Logan is the new proud owner of a goldfish (#2 cause the 1st one fell asleep permanently!). He feeds his fish everyday. He doesn't tend to spend too much time other than feeding it though....I guess its just kinda boring when you can't hold it and feed it 12 times daily. Like I said, we are on fish #2. Our first fish feel asleep a day after the fishy warranty expired. Had I known it was sick and gonna die, I may have hastened its expiration in order to get it replaced for free. Instead I paid 10 cents for a feeder goldfish that most closely resembled the deceased one. Good thing Logan is only 2. I was able to do the switcheroo on him without him even noticing.
About the potty training....not going so well. He will sit on the toilet for what seems like hours, get off and get his underwear back on and then proceed to wet them or poop in them. He of course lets me know AFTER the fact. I have even tried bribing with candy and so far he hasn't earned any. I have to admit I am not all that consistent with it so far and have let him wear diapers 64% of the time. I am just hoping one of these days when we try again, it will be the magic day. Maybe I need to buy him his own kiddie toilet. Right now we just have the little padded kid seat we place over the regular toilet seat. If there is anyone out there with suggestions, please share. We have stickers and candy as well as fun underwear.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
More MN pics
My uncle Chuck, cousin AJ and cousin Tom at
Grandma Ione's birthday bash.
Whole bunch of peeps...my mom is in black andmy auntie Carrie is in blue. (P.S. My mom just
told me that she is the oldest of this group.)
Dru (Leila's son) and Austin at the pool in Bemidji.
Aalydia (getting out of pool), Logan, Dru and Austin
Aalydia is older than Logan by 12 days and
Dru is older than Austin by about 7 weeks.
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