Saturday, December 19, 2015

Wildlife in our Own Backyard

Well, the kids aren't quite wildlife but they can get wild at times.
We didn't have to go too far this time.
 It always amazes me how a single snowflake can pile up like it does.
 This little Junco was perched in the apple tree all puffed up keeping warm.
We have decided to keep bird seed in the feeder throughout 
the winter. There is a problem with a buck visiting it dumping 
all the seed out. So we now have to bring it in at night.
 Our latest visitor was this raccoon that traveled from across the street, 
through our front yard, along side the house, into the back past the chicken 
coop (yikes), along the out building, past the alfalfa and under the pine tree
 where it looks like it climbed it for the night. Hopefully it will leave 
our chickens alone. There is always something going on here.
Life Science at our fingertips.

Good Morning!


What a view!
I still can't believe that this is the view out our bedroom window.
(You can probably see the screen)
God has blessed us in so many ways and has healed our souls.

More Snow!!!

I love the snow and I love that I have 4 kids to shovel the driveway.
Our driveway now is almost 8 car lengths so when we don't have any 
more kids to shovel living at home it will be time to get a snowblower.
Or...if I get my way, we will have a four wheeler 
with a plow attachment on the front!
 Victoria checking the depth. It snowed 4 inches over night and then the next couple of days it added another 3 -4 but now it is melting. It isn't much but we still love the snow.
 Goat Mama bringing the babies warm water. Every morning she has to break ice 
out of their black rubber buckets and refill with warm water.
 Jacks and Lizzy looking for Cheerios.
Sam and Henry want to go out and play.
 Once I opened the door Jacks turned around and was gently head butting Sammy. 
It was kind of funny because Sammy didn't know what to make of it.
 Lizzy is so cute. 
She has her pale blue eyes with her pink nose
 and pink horns and a smile. She is also a busy body.
 Getting warmed up
 Dogs trying to get in on the action.
 It's a Winter Wonderland!

 I know....more goat pictures. I can't help it they are very
 sweet and a lot of fun.
 The hen house looks cute too!

Homeschooling is SO Rough!

Victoria is quilting a blanket for one of her American Girl dolls.

Kaleb's Eagle Project

This has been a very long project from start to finish but well worth it.
Kaleb's phone skills alone have greatly improved through this project but the part that I love the most is the fact that he came up with this idea on his own and implemented it to the finish!
It started on the many trips to the landfill last Spring.
There was so much stuff piled in the outbuilding when we moved in to our new house that needed to be disposed of. At the landfill, Kaleb noticed that their signage was lacking in a huge way. 
Here is a sampling of their signage before Kaleb's proposal.


After brainstorming with all of us and coming up with a plan, 
he met with the powers that be at the Logan Landfill and showed 
them what their signs could look like. 
He told them that when he had dumped several loads they quickly
 discovered that at times they had dumped the load in the wrong area....oops.
Some guy with a skip loader would scoop up the mistake
 and drive it over to the right area. The guys at the landfill loved the idea 
and helped Kaleb make it into a plan to fit their needs.
They were very excited because the landfill has never had 
an Eagle Project before.
It made them feel special.
Here is Kaleb's Eagle Project for the Logan Landfill
A Key and Directional Signs.
It took 4 work days plus hours in between....
350 man hours, 2 gallons of paint
4 sub sandwiches, 4 bags of chips, three pans of brownies, 
3 dozen doughnuts, 25 cups of hot chocolate, about 10 bent nails,
39 helpers and lots of laughter!
 Kaleb did awesome directing the whole show.
It was great, someone would ask me what is next and 
I would direct all the questions to Kaleb.
It felt good to not be in charge.

Kirk was cutting out the signs freezing his you know what off in the outbuilding and the rest of us was sanding the pieces and assembling the stands for the signs.
I had a helper. Lizzy had to taste the wood to make sure it was good.
I think it passed her inspection.
If you ever host a scout function, they want donuts. Andrew was hiding a donut behind his back.
 It really helped having Jared there to help run tools.
 And then we have Makayla for comic relief
No...that is not Victoria! That is another beautiful friend!
 Kaleb has made friends with the Hyde Park Missionaries. The beautiful part of this friendship is that they know we are Christian and attend Alpine Christian Church. There is a certain respect for each others religion and way of worship. These two guys, Andrade and Tolepai are some of the nicest guys. They brought all their friends to help Kaleb with his project.
They are awesome!
 We had to sand a ton of letters for the sign, nail and glue them into place then paint them.
 A construction workers favorite words....hazardous....garbage.....demolition...rock!
 There was so much comedy going on the work days flew by. And boy did it get cold once the sun dropped down to the Wellsvilles.

These guys worked hard and in the cold too.
 It looked like organized chaos. It was fun though. I enjoyed all the work.

 Kaleb...the Boss Man!
 And Kaleb exhibiting his authority telling his brother what to do!
 It had snowed the day before the deliver date to the landfill so there was some extra prep just to get the trailer loaded. 
 This was a God thing. Kaleb never measured the width of the trailer. The base of the biggest sign had exactly a half an inch on either side! Whew, that was mighty close.
 All loaded and ready to go! Well, almost.
 Tolepai. Try pronouncing his name.
 I bet you mess up. It took me so many tries to get it right. 
He is a very nice young man. 
 Andrade giving the thumbs up!
 The Boss Man says it's time to go.
 Kaleb's signage really worked. You could actually see it from a distance. They were very recognizable.
 Of course Warren at the landfill had to bring out the Tonka to level the ground so the signs would sit square on the ground. The whole ground shook when he drove up in that thing.
 The last sign went in the entrance. Someone from Kirk's work came up to him, not knowing that all the signs were Kaleb's Eagle Project, to show him these really cool pictures of these new signs down at the landfill. Kirk was a proud Dad that very moment. It is very exciting.
 Ta-Daa!
 Troop 1's newest Eagle Scout!