The time has come

I'm finally updating my blog.  We going to Fish Lake next week and my goal is to post a new set of pictures each day until then.  I am WAY behind, so I am going to back track a lot!  Today it is a sheep post.  

Docking 2012- Matt, Crosby, Daniel, Kyler, Landon

 The boys had to get a few shots of just how bloody they get.

 I can hardly believe this, but Richard let these boys walk into Burger King like this!!!  Everyone was staring at them and probably wondering why on earth 2 little boys would walk in anywhere covered in blood!  Seriously.  If you've never heard of docking, you would have no idea why this could or would or how it would even happen!

 If you zoom in you'll see that they are all just eating their lunch with bloody hands.  They don't care!

 This was way back in April when Daniel took the day off from school to go help shear sheep with Richard.  That is one big ram!

 Just some cute shots of my cowboys

 This was the day Richard went to Spring City to get 6 more sheep, making a total of 12 bummer lambs.  Someone took 2 off our hands for us, but there were a couple days of pure madness.  I did a few bottle feedings completely by myself.  I was covered in milk, sheep crap, dirt, hay.  I even cut my finger in the process, so add blood to that list.  

 New babies.  This was about 7 or 8 weeks ago.  They are almost all weaned and will be done with formula by the time we leave for Fish Lake.  Thank goodness.  We still have to feed them grain twice a day, but that is so much easier!!  

So there are some sheep adventures for ya.  It's kept our springtime pretty busy!  Stay tuned, because I really am posting every day- I'm going to get all caught up!  Yay!

Ich habe ein jam disaster

I have a problem.  Yesterday was a very frustrating day.  I knew I was going to make strawberry jam, so I ran a couple of errands and even though I got gas at Costco, I decided not to go in, but to get my strawberries at Macey's because they supposedly had a good deal.  So I went to Macey's to get lemon juice and karo syrup and pectin and strawberries.  Well, they had like 4 little cartons- not nearly enough.  I had to go back to Costco and buy my strawberries there.  I finally got home and began the process.  Well, the food processor I have is really old and I think it is warped.  I couldn't get the pieces to fit together properly and I cracked the bowl and the lid.  This created some weird friction on the blade and the only way to get the bowl out was to pull the blade out which turned red hot with friction and I burned myself!  Then I opened the pectin.  I accidentally bought the wrong kind!!  Kate and I hopped on the bike and rode back to Macey's to get the right kind and came back home.  I PUT THE SUGAR IN BEFORE THE PECTIN.  The instructions say to put the pectin in first and let in dissolve for 30 minutes.  Just look at the picture.  It's SYRUP.  I am soooooo mad.  Kate came in to the kitchen right in the middle of all this madness and said so sweetly (and with a smile on her face), "I don't want to hear you scream, Mom."  Well, I didn't.  But I want to.  I have one more box of strawberries to do and I will not mess them up!  If anyone wants some really tasty syrup, you're welcome to come get some!  Ugh...what a waste.  Anyone have a magical way or suggestion to fix this?

Spray painted microwave and other fun projects!

Lately I have been doing a lot of painting.  I have a whole list of projects I've been wanting to do and I'm so happy about the ones I have done.  I think my "list" is never ending, and Richard is so nice to be patient with me and all my crazy ideas.  I'm sure he gets sick of me asking him for the 20th time which shade of white looks best!  So here we go- it's project show off time!  Please forgive my bad camera (we just got a new one and obviously I didn't use it in these pictures).  Also, please forgive the lighting- it's kinda crappy.  Also, please excuse the messes!  I didn't "stage" these photos very well.  They come complete with messes and real life- the way my house usually looks!

We added our bathroom/laundry room the same year my parents redid their kitchen, so they gave us some great (and free!) cabinets.  I am so done with oak, and so they got a nice makeover in white.  I love how it turned out and I love how crisp and bright the laundry room feels now!  I had to have Richard hold up the cabinets because I had already taken the doors off and forgot to take before pictures!

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 Next came the bathroom vanities.  The laundry room vanity (not pictured) was already white, so that was easy, but both of our other bathrooms were that lovely oak, so they received makeovers in black.  We also added brushed nickel pulls and knobs.  Just a reminder...ignore the messes!  This is my bathroom.

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 Here is the kids bathroom.  The next thing to go in here is the floor.  I hate it.  It's on my to do list!

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 Major project!  This took me a looooong time!  Once again, the oak had to go!  I sanded for hours to get these down to bare wood!  I love how it turned out!  The spindles took forever to paint.  I have an entire wall of them behind my kitchen table that all got painted as well!  HOURS people!  But SO worth it!

And finally, as my title indicated, I spray painted my microwave!  I didn't take a before- so sorry! So here is a during and an after.  The whole thing had become a dingy, yellowish white and I thought I had nothing to loose, so I just went for it.  I had already unscrewed the vent along the top and spray painted it separately.  It turned out great and really brightened it up!  I couldn't get to the white under the glass, but it was the best white on the whole thing to begin with.  Now its the worst!  I think it worked out great!  And notice the paint swatches on the cabinets....oh yes, they are the next to go!  Yay!  Can't wait! :)

Oh the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy

So here are our sheepies!  It has been a busy week, that's for sure! We have been able to get away with 3 feedings per day, but that still means planning everything else around those feedings.  On Sunday I was super proud of myself because we have 9:00 church and Richard has early meetings and I got myself, 4 kids and 6 sheep ready and still made it to church before the opening song!  The kids help us for the morning and night feeding and I have been lucky enough to have one of my friends and her little boy come help us during the day when the kids are at school.  

This is Bud.  I was in charge of naming one and that was the first thing that came to mind!

 The one in the background is Rosie.  Kate named her because she likes to watch Caillou and his little sister is Rosie.

 Emma is feeding Blue Ears and Ellie.  Ellie (named by Emma and short for Alexandra ?) is Rosie's twin and she is the runt of the pack right now.  Blue Ears (her ears were marked with blue paint) came to us with inverted eye lids but we've been straightening them out every day and they look good now.  Blue Ears also couldn't walk for the first few days and we thought she might die.  But now she is up and doing really well!

 Landon is feeding (and named) Gip.  That's backwards for Pig.  He is the biggest and eats the most...hence the name!

 Daniel is feeding Bud and Oveja.  He named Oveja because he thought it was cool.  Oveja is spanish for sheep.

For the first few days Daniel laughed every time we said the word "nipple".  Well, that's what we feed them with, and now he's finally used to the word.  He is such a potty brained boy!


Our dog, Rocky,comes with us each time and he loves the sheep.  He is gentle and playful with them and they even butt their little heads between his legs to find an udder.  It's so interesting that they have those instincts even though they have never been mothered.  Rocky licks the poop off their bums just like a mama sheep would and quite enjoys eating it straight off the ground as well.  It is disgusting.  


Speaking of Rocky, I have watched Rocky I, II, III, and IV in the past week and cried at some point in each one.  They are all on Netflix right now in case you wanted to watch them too!  

This week

Well, its spring break and it has been nice. I think I needed a break from the routine every bit as much as the kids needed a break from school! It has been so nice to have no schedule, and just enjoy doing fun things with my kids. I don't stress nearly as much when I don't have to worry about teaching piano and shuttling kids to and fro and getting dinner done before the evening madness (homework, piano practicing, meetings, etc.). We didn't plan a major trip or go to St. George like everyone else on the planet. We have just done fun things around here. Here is a little run down of what we've been up to so far this week.

On Monday we went to the Fairview Museum with Grandma and Grandpa McAllister. It was very interesting and is really a great little museum. Grandma and Grandpa had many neat stories to tell and items to show us that they personally donated. After our museum visit we went docking.....see further below.

Backing up a few days. On Saturday, all the McAllisters met in Mt. Pleasant for a big family picture. Here are all the younger cousins lined up waiting for the Easter scavenger hunt and recieving instructions from Grandma.

On Tuesday I took the kids to the zoo and it was the perfect day to be there. It was a bit crowded, and construction made a few exhibits unavailable, but the weather was wonderful. It was 75 degrees with a perfect slight breeze. We haven't been to the zoo in years and that made it even more fun. I really enjoyed every second with my kids at the zoo!

Monday afternoon was spent at the Mickel's docking a small herd of sheep. Cousin Kjerstin got to come with us and it was her first experience with the sheep, but she got in there and helped out alongside the boys. Emma just watched and looked cute and Kate stayed in the car watching Elmo because the whole process was making her freak out a little bit.

Richard, Landon and Matt

After docking we went to Mickel's house where they have many bummer lambs. They are orphan lambs who will die if they aren't bottle fed. We got to help feed them and on Wednesday we got six of our own bummer lambs. I felt like a regular farmer goin' into IFA to buy sheep milk formula and nipples for the bottles. We are keeping them in our neighbors pasture and have to feed them 3 to 4 times a day. I hope the novelty doesn't wear off too fast, because it's going to be a lot of work! I will post pictures of our lambs in the next post, along with the names the kids have already given them.

Wednesday was spent mostly at home, anticipating the lambs arrival and watching our piano get dismantled. I am having my keys redone because our old piano has some pretty sad, chipped keys. That means my piano is out of commission for 2 weeks. (If any of my students parents are reading this, I do have a back up plan- fear not.) I might die though. I play the piano all the time and I might go crazy without it.

Thursday (today) was spent going to breakfast at IHOP with Grandpa Kevin and then to see Mirror Mirror with him. We love spending time with him and he was so nice to take us out- he always spoils us! I feel bad that I forgot my camera though. None of the kids wanted to ride with me from IHOP to the movie, so they all rode in Grandpas awesome car while I cranked up Micheal Jackson and sang my guts out for the 5 minute drive alone. I do love my alone moments- even if it's only 5 minutes!

Not sure what's in store for tomorrow or Saturday, but it has been a really nice week. The kids have been mostly great and I just love them.

I'm hoping to back up a little and get caught up on blogging over the next few days. I also have a few completed projects with before and afters to share. Stay tuned!

Mani/Pedi

For some reason it has been hard for me to blog lately. I don't know why. Okay, part of it is that my camera is broken. I just have a great lack of motivation in many areas right now, and blogging happens to be one of them. Richard took these pictures on his camera, and yes, I'm in my pajamas. I know. It was first thing in the morning after all, and so of course Kate was wearing a fancy dress and shoes. She changes her clothes about 10 times a day and that is not an exaggeration. You should see her room/closet! Eternal mess. Anyway, Kate loves to paint nails and she does a fairly decent job for a 3 year old. Today my nails are a combination of about 6 different colors applied 3 different times. It's pretty sweet. My toes look equally as awesome. I cherish my time with her. She is such a joy to me. She really is my little sunshine and I love her to pieces.

Adventures in the snow

The last weekend of February was spent on snowmobiles heading into Layne and Sarah's cabin. They are so great to invite us each year and we always have a great time. In spite of such a mild winter, we managed to be up in the mountains the one weekend with lots of snow and crazy wind gusts. I was happy to stay inside with Kate and Richard was wonderful to play with the other kids outside! Plus, the boys were in heaven because Richard let them drive the snowmobiles quite a bit. I think everyone's faces were covered up more often than not, as you'll see from the pictures. We are just grateful for masks and goggles, because it was fuh-reezing! Now that we've had a few good snow days, bring on Spring! I'm ready for a warm up! I'd still love to take my boys skiing this year though.....so snow, you can stay.... but only in the mountains.

Richard and Landon

Me, getting ready to drive out.

Landon

Kate and me

Daniel

Kate, Emma, Richard and Landon

Kate

Emma

The crew getting ready to head in....much nicer than on the way out!

Landon

A nice stop at a little gas station for hot chocolate and beef jerky finally warmed us up. BTW- I think beef jerky and diet coke is a fabulous combination. Try it....you'll like it!