Meet Little Rascal!

When I was little, I asked my dad a couple of times if we could get a goat. His answer was always the same. "NO! NEVER! We used to have a goat, and it ate the top of your Grandparents car (it was vinyl)and the car was never the same! NO! NO! NO!"


Well right before Easter, he went to the livestock sale with his friend Bill, and they each brought home a baby Nubian goat.
Amazing what my dad will do for his grand kids!

This is Little Rascal. He was only a couple of weeks old when we got him and he has to be bottle fed 3 times a day.

Now that we have had him for a while, he is getting used to the place. He loves to go on walks with my mom and the dogs, and follows my dad everywhere. He sleeps in the barn at night and screams first thing in the morning for his bottle. He knows his name and will come running when called. We cant imagine life without him. Who is the most attached to him? Why Grandpa Shayne, of course! As long as he doesn't climb on top of any cars, they will be buddies forever!

After nearly FOREVER...

So some time ago, my dad buys a horse. A beautiful paint mare, named Cotton Candy Miss. She has beautiful markings and is totally broke and pretty much everyone can ride her. Anyway, the guy my dad bought her from said he was 99% sure she was pregnant and should foal in a couple of months. So we waited.....and waited .....and waited. She had all the signs. A swollen belly, udders, milk veins, irritability, etc. We called everyone we knew short of an actual vet and everyone agreed she defiantly LOOKED pregnant. One sunny afternoon, she started biting at her sides and pawing the ground. I knew it was time. I SLEPT IN THE BARN PEOPLE!!! No baby. Finally, my dad took her to the vet. Sure enough, she wasn't pregnant. So we bred her, and it didn't take. The next year we bred her again and took her to the vet and the vet said she wasn't pregnant.
Pretty soon though, she starting getting REALLY big. We knew that this time she had to be pregnant. I started watching her like a hawk again. I didn't want to miss it. I went up to my parents everyday and watched her, gave her treats, braided her tail, etc. She really must have thought I am nuts. Anyway, last Wednesday as I was driving over the pass and you could see her laying down in front of the barn. A large white blob. Really, you could see her from the top of the pass! So I had to take a picture of her huge belly. Doesnt she look miserable?


Later that day, my dads friend Bill who also owns the stud we bred her to, came to check on her. He said she was dripping milk and having contractions. So I sat outside for a couple of hours and watched her. Nothing. Finally, at about 9:00pm I packed up my kids and drove home. My dad checked on her at 10 and again at 11--nothing.
At 6:00am her went out to check on her again and look what he found...


There he was, running and kicking like he was a week old. He was all cleaned up and so was Cotton Candy. She is such a good mom! Lancer has taken over the job of naming him and wants to name him two socks after the wolf in Dances with Wolves. It is hard to see in the picture, but he does have two socks on his hind legs. The baby is very calm and loves people. We are so happy to have him here, as it seems like we were waiting for him FOREVER! I think Cotton Candy is happy to have him here too, because now maybe I will stop staring at her for hours on end!

You know you have played too much Mario Kart when...

Can I just say...

Just when I think the world is going to He!$ in a hand basket, I get reminded of why I am so proud to be a American! I was so happy to turn on the news yesterday and see that the Navy Seals had rescued the captain of the cargo ship from the pirates, and he was now safely on his way home to his family. Our Armed Forces are the best, and I feel so blessed to live in the greatest country in the world!

Our world is a scary place right now, and it horrifies me how much some terrorists hate America. It doesn't matter who our president is, they hate us for what WE STAND FOR!

As long as I am on the pirate soapbox, I just saw on the news that Al-Jazeera is reporting that the reason we are having problems with pirates, is because of global warming. Can someone explain that to me PUH-LEEZE?

Easter Fun!

Saturday night we dyed Easter eggs. Richie and I have dyed eggs every year since we met and it is a tradition we look forward to. This year, Richie took over because I have been a little under the weather and also I had SO MUCH TO DO before the next morning. Anyway, Richie decided to turn this year into a mini chemistry lesson, and the kids really liked learning about acids while coloring their eggs:)

The next morning Richie and I got up early to get ready for brunch at my moms house. While getting ready we saw the Easter Bunny had come, and brought our kids lots of goodies. The kids got up and opened their baskets, and then promptly starting fighting. They fought all the way up to my parents house, and then fought most of the day. It was such a relaxing day.

We hunted for eggs at the Ranch which is another tradition for us, and thank goodness most of

the snow has melted.
Lancer and Ryker were both under the weather, so they were not very into finding eggs this year. Good thing I filled 3 dozen:)
We had fun though, we had brunch with my parents, my Nana, and my Aunt Paula and Uncle Jim. After brunch, we played Wii, played with my parents new baby goat, and spent hours watching our horse, just in case she decided to give birth while we were watching.

Also this week he have been babysitting some animals. Since it was spring break at Lancer's school, Miss Amanda asked us if we would watch the class bird while she was in Europe. We have watched Phoebe before and she is a easy keeper, although when I said yes I forgot we now have a cat. Then a few days later, Richie agreed to watch his friend Sean's two dogs Bailey and Brandy. We are not used to having little dogs, and although they are great dogs, they are a lot more work than our big malamute. We have to keep them away from the cat, and the bird. Sunday morning, they went after our cat and she showed them what happens when you chase a barn cat. They both have some nice battle scars, and the cat is now permanently hiding under my bed. So it has been a lot of work keeping Phoebe away from the cat and dogs, the dogs away from the cat, and just keeping my sanity.

Award Ceremony

On Saturday we went to the awards ceremony at Snowbasin. It was really fun. All the kids received some sort of award for working hard during the season. They started with the older kids however, and by the time they got to the younger kids, EVERYONE was a little restless. Richie gave the kids in his group their awards and then coach Laura got up to give Lancers group their awards. Lancers certificate listed his accomplishments as "Hot air duo award" (which he shares with his buddy Tommy.) "Biggest air in a helicopter" and "Learning to look before you leap".