The newest baby

These pictures were just too cute not to post, not to mention it has been forever.

This kitten was caught in a friend's cat trap. He was only about 4 weeks old and feral. His mom was sitting right next to the trap until he was found. He is now very domesticated. He is slowly being put outside more and more often. He was just too small to throw out in the beginning. He will be strictly and outside cat. Kelsey isn't too happy with that idea, but we've made it clear all along.

Anyway, he loves to just snuggle
up and go to sleep with you, after terrorizing you of course.

He will just grab your feet with all four of his paws and his teeth. He has even been know to attack the kids face in the mornings while they are still in bed. They wake up to claws and teeth in their faces. I think it won't be long before they want him outside. He can be a very aggressive attack cat. It is very funny to see the kids jumping on top of the couches and chairs trying to get away from his playful attacks.

This is a close up of the "Devil Cat"! That is his knickname. It's been a long time since we have had a kitten. His real name is Howstin. A blend of our old cat Winston and our cat that we had to put to sleep a couple of months ago, Howie.

And the terror begins . . . .

Soccer Has Started

Here are just a few pictures of our first games. It was the "Soccerama". It was like a seeding tournament, but they are not allowed to call it such.

It was a VERY HOT day! Trevor's games were from 9 to noon. He played three 20 minute games. Two of the games were back to back, and his team was short players. They had no time to rest. He did an amazing job. He scored two goals in one game and another goal in a second game. He also blocked a goal when his goalie was WAY outside the goalie box. Trevor has a habit of covering other positions.

Kelsey didn't get to play forward today at all. Her games were from 12:30 to 3:00. Her games were 25 minutes, and she, too, had two games back to back. She stepped up and took on the role of goalie when no one else on her team was willing to. This was her first time, and she really impressed me. By the third game, she was beat!! Her team in the last game pretty much left her to do everything.

She's kind of excited to learn play that position. She's already begging me to go to school to practice and learn.

Logan's team does not participate in the tournament and Justin's coach (me) declined the invitation. I don't know how I would have fit another set of games in today.

By the way, I am a little crazy. I'm coaching Logan and Justin. I'm also assisting with Kelsey's team. Somehow, I hope to see a few of Trevor's games.

Soccer is our life in the fall. Everything revolves around it. But, the kids love it, so that's why we do it. It's all for the love of the game!

Kayaking at Sugar Pine Reservoir

Well, after many tries, we finally made it to the lake with the kayaks and canoe. Personally, I'm not a fan of the canoe. It weighs too much, especially when it's a hike down to the water. The kayaks are light enough for even Trevor and Justin to carry, and they are very easy to manage on the open water. But, the canoe can carry picnic and other items, so if the trip is a long one, it is a handy addition to our floatation armada, according to Fred. Me, I'm still holding out for more kayaks.

The kids just take off. They don't complain about being tired at all. They just go and go and go and go. They love the kayaks. Kelsey and Trevor love to flip them and paddle gondola style. I didn't get pictures this time, but we do have some on file.

They are so easy, Logan gave it a try this time. He took off and did really well. He was sooo proud of himself. Where did my baby go? Look how cute he is sitting there all by himself in the kayak.

We found a nice quiet cove to stop and have lunch. Fred did all the packing and preparing. I didn't have to do anything. It was kind of nice. I could get used to it. Granted, our goat gave birth that morning as we were getting ready. So, we were delayed a few hours. But, the important part was who did the packing :D!!!

Well, Trevor beat us all to the cove of course and was off exploring before we even got there. It wasn't the cleanest water in the cove. There was a lot of stuff floating on top where the little creek came in. Trevor had found a huge toad he was trying to catch. Much to his dismay it got away. Trevor in his haste to catch it, slipped into the yucky stuff. It was plastered all over his face. I have to say, it was quite gross!! But, he didn't seem to care.

Logan was such a trooper. I think he was the only one that actually went swimming. He swam in the cove all alone. He was having fun. When we left the cove, he rode on a kayak with me. Out in the middle of the lake I asked him if he wanted to get off and swim. He was nervous about it, but he did it. I'm so proud of him. He is such a well rouned happy little boy.

All of the kids are cute, but he's the baby and so he gets the most oogling.

So, it was a fun and relaxing day. It was our first time at Sugar Pine. I'm not sure if we'll go there again, but it was fun.

Girls Weekend in Reno

In May, the girls and I spent a three day weekend in Reno. The Parelli's were came to town and we weren't going to miss it. Last year, we traveled all the way to Redmond, Oregon to see them. It's a truly inspiring event for us. This year we brought along some friends. We tried to get all the 4-H girls to come, but we had a little over half of them there. I would say that's a pretty good turnout.

Well, here I am on the phone. This was the first morning there and we were waiting in line. I'm on the phone giving Fred and Trevor directions on how mix up the bottles for the baby goats. Poor boys, they were left to take care of ALL the animals. At least there was no milking for them on this trip :D

These are my friends that came along. The lady on the left was my assistant leader for 4-H. She brought her daughter, also. The lady on the right is a friend that does Parelli with her horses. My girls have worked with her mustangs. Both of them are really nice ladies and we had a good time.

I made sure the hotel we got had a pool. I needed something to occupy these girls in the evening. I think they would have been fine either way. We were so exhausted, anyway. But, they had fun the first night there.

We stayed at a really nice hotel. I was very happy with it. The room was really nice. We had two queen size beds, plus a pull out couch. No one had to sleep on the floor! We had a refrigerator that was well used and a microwave that I'm not sure got used. We had planned on making popcorn, but we were so exhausted every night that we never got around to it.

The breakfast bar was absolutely wonderful. They had pastries, eggs, fruit, toast, muffins, yogurt, cereal, juice, hot chocolate, etc. There was plenty to chose from to keep us going for the day. That was another requirement in choosing the hotel-breakfast included.

The only struggle I really faced on the trip was getting the girls-mostly Kelsey- out of bed in the morning! They were supposed to be ready to go and eat by 8. I didn't think that was too much to ask, but apparently it was a HUGE stretch. For some, it was getting out of bed, for others it took a LONG time to do hair. It's not like there were a lot of boys there to impress. But, I guess you have to always look your best.

Wow, Kaley, those chaps look good on you!

Of course, we had to have pictures with the stars!!

Saturday evening, the Parelli's hosted a dance for everyone. The girls had a great time. I had to drag them back to the hotel. I knew I had another morning of waking them up. They even wanted to watch a movie when we got back. That got vetoed!!!! I was beat.

Everywhere we went, Kaley gave us a blow by blow. She was a wonderful tour guide. Thanks, Kaley, for guiding us through the wonderful city of Reno, Nevada.

Horse Expo with the Girls

Three long days of clinics, vendors and demonstrations at Cal Expo. This was our second year and the weather was perfect!! Last year it was too hot. June can be a very hot time.

Kelsey spends most of her time walking around. It was nothing like the Parelli celebration in Reno where she actually stayed put. But, we do enjoy checking out products and watching demonstrations. Well, I do at least. The girls like walking around collecting as many free samples as they can. They try for seconds hoping the vendors don't recognize them. The are also busy filling out entry forms hoping to win something. It never works, though :(

Kelsey loves the little train they have. Last year she rode and rode and rode. This year she's practically twice as tall so they didn't cut her as much slack. She ended up getting kicked off. I think that's pretty funny. It's not as much fun when you have to grow up. Believe it or not, Kaley even rode the train. I didn't know about it until I saw the picture. Why, because I was usually on my own there. The only time they wanted to hang out with me was when I was getting ice-cream. Imagine that.

The girls are all about having fun. Pictures are proof.

The things you do in elevators! It's not a great picture, but check out Kelsey's face! These girls are soooo crazy!!

Who hasn't taken a picture of themselves in a mirror? But in public? My girls?

And then, fingers up the nostrils? Really, I thought I taught them better than that.

Having fun, isn't that what life is about. I think these girls are mastering that for sure! I sure do love them!

New Baby!!

Our little baby was finally born!!! After waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, finally, we wait no more.
Now, we have not been camping so far this year, because we have been waiting for this little boy to make his arrival. This was this goat's first baby, so we wanted to be sure that we were here for her. We had no idea when she was due. When we got her we were told she "might" be pregnant. She had been in a herd with a free roaming buck. Hmm. . . she might be pregnant?
Right before the girls and I left for Reno in early May, her udder started filling up. After reading up on what to expect, I was hesitant leaving Fred in charge, but oh well. Please Brownie, don't have it this weekend. Wait until we get back. We got back, and no baby. Whew!
So, we just kept waiting. We made sure someone was always home. Yes, we were excited and anxious. We skipped the Memorial Day camping trip, because her udder was still a little bigger than before.
Then, came our June weekend at Cal Expo for the girls and I. She was still bigger yet. I had read that they could fill up up to 6 weeks prior, but not usually. Father's Day camping trip comes and goes and home we stay. Fred & I did make a quick 3 day trip to Wyoming to pick up Grandma. The girls had the local 4-H leaders phone number in case something happened. But, luckily for them, she didn't present her package yet. Lucky for me, too. I had no intention of missing this event.

So, the story goes like this. We had finished feeding all the animals this past Sunday morning (6/26). Brownie (the mom) was acting pretty funny. I made a note to myself to check on her when I was done with everyone else. Kelsey had "checked" her and said, "Mom, you really need to check her." Well, I went inside after doing the animals and dripping with sweat. I needed a drink first. We were supposed to be taking the kayaks and the canoe to the lake. So, Fred was pretty anxious to get going. So, in my haste, I quickly ate and was getting dressed all the while thinking I need to go check the goat.

Well, I'm halfway dressed and into the house races Kelsey screaming that BROWNIE HAD HER BABY!! On the rest of the clothes go as fast as I could cover up. I grab my goat bag that has been sitting by the door for a month and a half and race out there. She's (the mommy) cleaning him up like a good little mom and doting all over him. It looked like it had just happened. I'm sure it had. (Kelsey had run down there because Brownie was baaing a lot. Hence, she found something laying on the ground.) Anyway, I gently turned him over for a minute to see if it was a boy or girl. He followed suit this year as it seems most of the babies this year are boys. It was so cool to see him learn to stand up, along with a little help. I ended up moving him to a safer learning area. She had him at the top of a very steep hill, and he kept falling down the hill (I actually kept catching him. We waited and waited, but there were no more little goats to come. He eventually decided it was time to eat. We had tried to get him to right away, but he wasn't ready. Boy, nature sure has it's own time table.

Instincts are so amazing and so is the birth of animals. We were sad we missed the birth, but hopefully next year we'll manage to make at least one.

He is so very, very cute!! Now, what are we going to do with this one? . . .

The trampoline has moved again. . .

We have spent so much time and money on
our future garden area this spring. We had to have several large trees taken down that shaded the area too much, dropped wicked pinecones and just made a complete mess. There were a total of 6 in the garden area and then 3 others elsewhere. These were VERY LARGE digger pines. There was a big, big mess to clean up. We advertised on Craig's list and had a great response for the burnable wood. Then we had several large and fun bonfires. Those were pretty scary. We still have 2 trees behind the house that we didn't get to. We'll take care of those this fall. The garden area still has the large stumps that we'll take care of when we can burn again.
So, after the trees were taken down, the leach lines had to be repaired. I think that took about a month at least. Between the scheduling of the tractor and the mechanical problems he had, it really took a long time. We had to dig new lines and lay new pipe. We found out we pretty much had no leach field due to the roots of all the trees and manzanita that had grown there. Those were all cleared and things are working wonderfully now.

Anyway, while the tractor was here, we had him grade a new road that provides an easier turn around for the horse trailer and others. Well, the road goes right where the trampoline was. So, time once again to move that stinkin' trampoline. So, we had him level off an area that was out of the way and pretty shaded most of the time. So he leveled it the best he could as well as taking out the gate to one of the goat pens. He kind of forgets where he is sometimes. Oh well. What can you do?

I think this is at least the third place we've had the trampoline. It will not move again. I've spent so much time getting it level, building rock retaining walls and such. I'm not even done yet, but now I'm waiting for the cooler days of fall, since summer finally arrived.

Good thing the kids love the trampoline. We've had it at least 5 years and they still get so much use out of it. The boys seem to always be on it. Kelsey likes to sleep out there with her friends. I'm sure now that it is getting so hot that all the kids will be sleeping out there. too.

So, as soon as it was moved they were on it again. These pictures are in the new spot. They didn't even wait for us to get it level. We like it where it's at now because we can see it out our window. In all the other spots, we couldn't see it unless we went outside. From this picture, you can't really see where it's at, but it does have a view. The kids had fun taking pictures of themselves with the self timer on their camera. They are soooo funny and cute!