Silly Goose

Nicole's lamb seemed especially goofy this year.  She was scared of everything.  Very spooky and generally a freak.  Nicole started calling her a silly goose and that became her name.

Grandma told us of someone she knew that had put a large stuffed animal in the pen with a lamb to keep it company, so we thought we'd give it a try.  They are herd animals after all, and she seemed lonely.

I can't say her teddy bear made her any less goofy, but she seemed very protective of it, if someone picked it up, so I think she liked it.  Nicole decided to take it with her to the fair, even.  That way, people would think we were goofy.  Which is appropriate, 'cause we kinda are and people might as well know it. :)

2014 Idaho County Fair

We have another great, fun, exhausting, overwhelming, delightful fair under our belt.

All three kiddos did a great job with their animals.  Unfortunately, Ellea's pig started limping just a few days before the fair.  The judge said she would have been the top hog in her class and I think could have won overall grand champion for quality, but because of the limp, that didn't happen.  It was disappointing, but she's a good sport.  There's always next year.

Nicole was one of the top five showmen among the lambs and her lamb was third in quality.  The judge liked her lamb so much that he came and talked to Glenn afterward suggesting that we should keep her and breed her.  Except then she couldn't sell her at $7 per pound for her college savings, so that didn't happen.

And Morgan did a great job, too, for his second year with a pig.  He didn't spend a lot of time with his pig over the summer, but he got awful attached to him after three days together at the fair.  He was very sad to sell him.

My kids are all very sentimental about their animals.  I don't know where they get it.  :)

Sister Skating

These two had so much fun together at the skating rink.

Two peas in the pod, they are.

They tried spinning around each other.

And what's skating without a little western swing?

And I never saw them fall down once.  Couldn't say the same about me.

Nineteen

Happy Anniversary to my very own Prince Charming.  I can't believe it's been Nineteen years already!!

Nineteen (mostly) blissful years.  Thanks for all you do and all you are.  You're an amazing man, and I can't imagine life without you.  God bless you always!

Birthday Skating

As a belated birthday celebration, the girls and I took Morgan and a friend skating in Lewiston.

It was fun, despite a little falling down.  I even gave it a go, until I fell down.  Then I took pictures....

A little dancing on skates....

The birthday boy had a fun time!  He says he wants to do the same thing next year.  My skating days are over, however!

Cousin Fun

We had fun wandering around downtown Moscow one day while Auntie Barbara was visiting.

The toy store was a fun stop.  We had a little puppet show...

And played the baby grand.

These four cousins are getting so grown up, but not so grown up they can't have a little fun!

No More Princess Pink

Ellea has been wanting to paint her bedroom a different color for a few years.  We painted Nicole's room three years ago, and I finally caved and agreed it was time to repaint Ellea's.

We took one last picture of Ellea's "Princess Pink" walls.  Guess she's not my little pink-loving princess girl anymore!

She picked a beautiful teal green/blue color and it really brightened up the space.  She loves it.

Morgan even helped a little.  Not as much as he wanted to, but with me and both girls and grandma (thanks, Mom!) helping, there just wasn't need for one more body in there.

I still hate painting ceilings, by the way.  Thanks for asking.

Family Ride

No visit from Auntie is complete without a horse-back ride.  It was just the four of us this year.  We're down to two horses, so we borrowed a neighbor's horse and Ellea rode double with Nicole.  It was a fun, warm day for a ride and the horses were great.

I love sharing a horseback ride with a fellow horse-lover.  Thanks for coming, Auntie Barbara. Come back soon!

Animals on the Farm

When cousin Dominic came to visit last year, he wasn't too excited about getting anywhere near our animals.  He enduring much encouragement and pep talks leading up to the trip this year and it paid off.

He wasn't a big fan of getting too close to the pigs, but who can blame him?  They're loud, stinky and dirty!  No offense, piggies, you're cute in your own way, but it's hard to overlook some things. :)

Dominic was happy to feed the lamb and even pet her a little which was major progress!

And even bigger news - he rode a horse!  Grammy, always a horse lover, was so pleased!

And Morgan got in on the action, too.  He rode my horse by himself for the first time and rather enjoyed it.  He claims he liked it enough he wants his own horse, or he'll steal mine.  We'll see about that!

Moving Cows

We haven't had cows for a couple years (strange, I know), so the kids were excited when we got the opportunity to help some friends move a few cows to pasture.

Of course, Nicole and I got pretty excited about having a reason to get the horses out.

And it just so happened that this took place on a day when Auntie Barbara and cousin Dominic were visiting.

Dominic wasn't too sure what to think when we told him what we were doing, but he warmed up to the idea. This California boy probably thinks his Idaho cousins get excited about doing some strange activities!