More water problems!

Yesterday morning - of course after I got the three loads of laundry done, everyone showered and the dishwasher done... we lost water! There were no weather related reasons! Apparently our pump has tripped the breaker (I'm so not good with the technical terms!) So, using my fast quick-fix skills (ha) I flipped the breaker and went on with my day... or so I thought! To make a long story short... we have some major shorts in our electrical line from our well to our tank! This is NOT good! The pump guy came out just to trouble shoot and found that there was indeed THREE shorts! UGH!
Ahhhh - the question is HOW to fix it!
We have to most likely dig a new line from the well to the shop and run a new conduit with all the wires and gizmos. And while we are doing all that fun stuff, we are going to have to dig up some concrete and pull out our frost free hydrant that caused us alot of grief over the winter!
So - no water!
On the hubbys way home from work - I had him call our friend, Jeff, who just happens to be an electrician. Jeff said he would come out first thing in the morning to take a look. So, we went out to dinner - as it is hard to cook, clean up and whatever without water! Came home, got the kids in bed, called the inlaws and asked if we could shower there in the morning - and then the hubby and I went outside to enjoy the windless evening. Jeff called about 8pm and said he was coming over to get us some temporary power - NOW! Jeff showed up right before it got really dark and put in a line so that we would be able to use the well for awhile, until we are ready to dig the new ditch that is!
What a relief! Honestly, you really take things like water for granted! We carry a small supply of emergency water - but it is more for things like the toilet and rinsing stuff off. With three kids in the house and one not fully potty trained - YOU NEED WATER!

Oh well.... life goes on!

10 things today that did not go the way planned

#10 - Someone snored too much last night and I got 1 good hour of sleep starting at 4am
#9 - The gas prices went up to $3.75 a gallon in town!
#8 - Someone turned the WIND back on!
#7 - That same someone decided to turn the temperatures outside back DOWN
#6 - One of the four chicks released last night was MIA this morning
#5 - Everything in the mail was BILLS!
#4 - The sick pony who is locked up and NOT supposed to eat grass - worked his way out of his pen and was eating grass
#3 - I put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard (I think that had to do with the one hour of quality sleep thing!)
#2 - It's only Thursday!
#1 - Did I mention the WIND is back?

All it can do is get better, right?????

Things that made my day......

#10 - No whining when it was time to get up at 6:15am (from the kids!)
#9 - Going to Costco, and ONLY buying the things I had on my list... minus the two cute outfits for Miss O... who could resist!
#8 - NO WIND!
#7- NO SNOW (so far!)
#6 - Only paying $3.41 for gas at Costco, instead of $3.64 per gallon in town!
#5 - Getting the mail - and there were no bills!
#4 - The thought that MAYBE the whole election thing will be over soon!
#3 - The "offering" left by the front door by the dog, not the cats!
#2 - The stranger that complimented me on such a beautifully behaved little girl at Costco
#1 - Watching this extremely emotional video made by my friend Charissa, who adopted a beautiful little girl named Ava with Down Syndrome. http://www.urbansworld.blogspot.com/

Have a great day!

Weekend blahs.....

Well.... the weather did nothing but NOT cooperate this weekend! The hubby and Big A got all the necessary supplies to get the pig pen constructed! They started the first two posts on Saturday. The horses look a little perturbed that some of their space is being taken.... little do they know what is coming! (incidentally - it is well known that horses highly dislike pigs!) We had some snow on Saturday. It was dark and really cloudy. The wind would come in short gusts - instead of the constant howling like the previous 6 days... so that was a welcome change! It was no warmer than 45. Little J got to spend the night on Saturday at his cousins, so Big A had the room to himself! He did not get any sleep, as Little J's cat, Rexie, kept him up! Rexie climbs up into the upper bunk and sleeps with Little J at night!

Sunday - the hubby and Big A were out at 8am starting work on the pig pen! They worked in the rain, hail and snow! They only took a lunch break at 11:30 then back to work until 4:30! They have it about 75% done.... which is a great thing - so all they have to do is finish a gate, trim up some ends and put in a shelter!

We did nothing exciting! Oh well! We will save that for next weekend!

Snow what?

Well... we are on day 5 of the hideous and beyond heinous wind! UGH! Today I tried to get a picture of the blue skies with the SNOW blowing around, but it just did not turn out! We are expecting snow tonight and tomorrow and cold brrrrr temps!

So hard to believe that last weekend I got sunburned - and now sport a mild farmer tan!

This weekend we need to try and get the new pigpen constructed - it might have to be with the snowplow on the tractor instead of the backhoe... but we need to get it done - as Big A's piggies could be here next weekend! Yipppeeee (well - more like UGH!)

WHEN will it stop???

The WIND has been driving us all batty for the last three days! The only saving grace is that it has slowed from 45mph to 30mph! HA. It would be nice to be able to go outside - but you just can't get anything done - unless you want to get blown away or freeze to death! So - I've been trying to keep the kiddo somewhat entertained in the house - UGH!
Miss O can show you her riding skills in the short video - and here is a picture of her with "Heee" her little stick horse!
The picture above shows a sleeping little angel who decided to read herself to sleep - AFTER I had already read the story to her twice and put the book away!

Miss O and "Heee"

The Galloping Girl!

Beyond Beautiful weekend!

Due to the amazing weather... Sunday kicked off the Rocket Launching season at our place! Conditions have to be just right or #1 - we'll never see it again (due to wind!) and #2 huge fire hazard! Big A got a rocket for his birthday - it had to have gone up about 600 feet! Luckily for us, there was no small planes over head - like usual... the boys loved it and can't wait to see if next weekend will be as good to do this!

Above left - Little J threatens to stomach a octopus leg (or whatever!) at the Chinese buffet... he got it down - but I doubt he will ever do it again! Above right - Miss O decides to snuggle up in the laundry basket! Too cute!

This is our "kitten" Lyger... he is a wonderful cat! He is about 6 months old and we just adore him! He is BIG - but just a big lover! He loves attention - and is really pushy and can be demanding - but just a love!

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend! The weather was perfect! It was the warmest days of the year so far - in the low 70's and NO WIND! (well - there was Sunday afternoon!) Sunday afternoon brought us some wonderful winter winds off the Cascade Mountains! We are in the true wind pocket! We live right on the ridge that the winds hit after they whip thru off the mountains.... it is so much fun. Usually - you can't even do anything outside - as it is just too dang windy! Today we have the possibility of 45-50 mph winds.... oh well - so much for beautiful weather! At least the sun is shining and you can enjoy that (from inside!).

We were able to get alot of spring cleaning done outside - the boys and Miss O picked up garbage and rocks in the fields and helped clean up in the garage. The hubby and I were able to get over half of our road ditch burned off! We have not been able to do that for almost 3 years as the weather has to be PERFECT so we don't catch everything else on fire! We got a little outdoor playpen set up for the baby chicks - so they got to be outside for a few hours each day... which saved me from having to do another pen clean up! Hopefully, they will be out of the shop in less than 3 weeks - as soon as the weather is a bit warmer and more "consistant"!

Sunday, Big A had his Swine Clinic, judging and training session. I had to take him, since the hubby had the last 4H event... lets just say it was a long 3+ hours! I know that he learned very little as he had an extremely hard time paying attention... hence the reason I had to stay... somebody has to learn about these little porkers that are coming soon!

All in all - a nice weekend! I forgot to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday yesterday! Sorry Mom! Better late than never! The kids decided to have a birthday party for both of you when you get back in a few weeks!

Amy

If only the good behaviors were copied......

Study time
Cute time!

It seems that Little J has a best buddy in Miss O. She is like his "mini-me"! She loves to copy whatever he is doing, regardless of whatever it may be!


I just wish that she could copy just the GOOD - like the picture above!

It's hard to believe that April is almost half over! Wow - how time flies! And just an fyi - JennH - Miss O has Miss Z beat on the scales - I weighed her tonight - 33 pounds! I do have to say that our two girls have to be the cutest, I'm not biased - just honest! hehe

The birthday party

Miss O got all dolled up for her big brothers birthday party! She looked cute in her curly hair and her pink dress!

Alex shows off some of his presents - he managed to even act surprised! UGH!

Yesterday we had a small party for Big A to celebrate 10 years on the planet! We tried to keep it pretty mellow - but it never works out that way! Big A got lots of great presents (which is always the highlight, right?) I found out not soon there after that Little J told Alex everything that he was getting, including the gifts from me! I knew that they were up to something in the morning when I caught them whispering and running out of our tv room... both were extremely quick to lie and make up a story about what they were doing! Oh well - I guess next year I will just hand them a gift card! HA - that'll teach em!

We spent most the weekend working on small projects outside - planting 3 trees, installing a gate and getting the irrigation system in the yard de-winterized. The wind has kicked up again - so it is really cold with the cold weather in the mountains being blown at us! I found out that out of the hundreds of bulbs I planted last fall - only the hyacinths made it. The mice ate the rest after the shoots came up and before they flowered! Maybe the two newest mousers we have will have some revenge for me!

Oh well! Hopefully this week we can be given a bit of relief from the cold and windy weather and get back to something that resembles spring!

Amy

Answers to questions!

Ok, for those who emailed me with the questions - I'll just answer them here!

1. What is a Kidivity?
Miss O attends Developmental Preschool at the college, she is technically "labeled" as Special Needs (as she is VERY special!) due to her extreme speech delays. Her teachers at pre-school absolutely LOVE her and invited her (and her brothers) to participate in the once a month night out... they go to a local church, and a group called Parent 2 Parent puts on games, crafts, etc for the kids - a majority of which are considered "special needs". A few of Miss O's classmates go too. Big A and Little J were invited. I was not sure if they would like this - as alot of the games and activities are sensory related - but they LOVE it! At the last event - Little J was playing with a little girl in a wheelchair and blowing bubbles with her - Big A was playing with other kids as well.
2. How big is she?
Susie - WRONG! She actually weighs in at a whopping 31 pounds! I have no idea how tall she is - just that she is about as tall as most 3 year olds! She is wearing 3T shirts and 2T pants! She is not skinny!
3. Is she always so cute?
Ummm - NO! She throws some AMAZING fits! They are not cute - neither is the throwing food phase!
4. Is she still an Elmo-fanatic?
No... fortunately, she has diversified her cartoon viewing! She really enjoys Mickey Mouse Playhouse, Winnie the Pooh and now Little Einsteins. She does still watch about 30 minutes of Sesame Street each day after breakfast! She still enjoys it - but not so obsessive about it!

Feel free to ask!

And today he turns TEN!

Its so hard to believe that 10 years ago today - our Big A came into this world!

Today we are so happy to help him celebrate 10 amazing years!

We took him out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant - and we forgot the camera! UGH!

We will get some pictures of him this weekend at the family party!

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!

Weekend stuff

Well, despite the snow and wind... we got through it! YUCK! That was the word that pretty much summed it up! We could not do too much outside as it was too dang cold!
Big A did manage to get his first Steer Judging Clinic under his belt (I don't think he learned much - but at least he was exposed!) and he will have two or three more before he has to judge at the fair in September!
We spent some of Saturday at our nephew's seventh birthday party - the kids all enjoyed that! It's so hard to believe that he is seven already!
Little J and I got 6 more chicks at Chick Days on Saturday - but unfortunately, 2 perished the first night... so we are at a more reasonable number of 9 chicks total! Hopefully, things will heat up in the next week or so and they can spend a few hours outside in the pen!

Happy April Fool's Day to all!