December, the 2013 Migration and Christmas!

December view.... 

We had less than normal snow so we stayed and stayed up at Norwood.  It was cold but the cows could still get something to eat.  We put out protein blocks and Ben broke ice so they'd be able to get water.  Because we were still in Donnelly this year we met Santa's helper there instead of in Boise.  The kids made their lists while we waited.  Alice's says "ice cram, diamond, gold" - wow!  Clyde's says "bicycle, big fishing pole".  After the photo he added Legos. 

Randy Priest was Santa's helper and because he owns the hat shoppe, he was of course wearing a cowboy hat under his Santa hat.  He was pretty surprised by Alice's request!  

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We got in some more winter fun at Crocketts.  We had been trying to do Spanish club once a week but on our farewell day we just played.

Mommy, Alice and Clyde spent the last week cleaning and working on a homework packet.  The last day (December 13) we went on a tree hunt.  Clyde chopped down 3 little trees with his own hatchet.  We got a tall tree that we packed onto the top of my car for the trip down.

As always we were packed to the gills.  Two cats, two kids and a lot of random stuff.

 

It's always a little discombobulated when we get there.  

But luckily the Christmas fairy, queen of all the fairies, came to visit.

We had fun making ornaments and trees.

Daddy got home the 16th after the last cows were shipped the 15th.  And he experimented with a new kind of bread.... bagels!!!! Yummmm!  Once he got home we got to have him home a lot.  

We did a candy cane science experiment.  The fascinating thing was that even though the hot water and room temperature water dissolved the candy canes faster, the ice water mixed it better.  The red color stayed at the bottom of the first two jars but the ice water made a convective current in the water because ice floats and then as it melts it sinks to the bottom and the water there rises making a very slow current and dispersing the red color evenly.  That wasn't the point of the experiment which was much simpler but it was pretty cool. 

Daddy and the kids made a giant snowman while Mommy stayed glued to her streaming video CLEs.... boring!  But when you wait until the last two weeks you have to cram in a lot of hours.

We made our first croquetas and it was a success.

Alice went "hang gliding" all over the house (that's a hanger in her hand).

Clyde made a tennis racket out of hemp twine and a branch and some electrical tape.

Alice routinely changes her clothes 3-5 times a day and picks her own outfits.  This is the one she picked for going out for a ladies' lunch with Mumsy on New Year's Eve.

We had Christmas Eve at Harry's.  Then we opened stockings and had Christmas breakfast and presents at home. Clyde got a bicycle and fishing pole from Santa and lots of legos from Mommy and Daddy, plus books and from Alice he got an Annikin/Darth Vader doll.  Alice got a beautiful gold and diamond (cz) pendant in a jewelry box and a giant 3 gallon tub of ice cream from Santa.  From Mommy and Daddy she got books, jammies, a dress for Marie-Grace and from Clyde some Lego friends.  Christmas afternoon we headed to Mumsy's condo for Christmas with the Wises, JG, and Mumsy.

His mom's pie is so good you have to lick the plate!

Thanksgiving 2013

We were joined by the Crocketts, Auntie Lydia Edwards, Jose, and Lisa Corbett for Thanksgiving.  I cooked one of our homegrown turkeys (all 35 pounds of it), made gravy, baked a couple of pumpkin pies, and actually decorated the table and made a centerpiece. Margaux made a pumpkin cobbler and green beans.  Auntie Lydia brought the mashed potatoes and some appetizers.  Ben made the bread of course.  Lisa brought some cranberry sauce and then I forgot to open it - ooops!  But I used it on my leftover turkey sandwich the next day and it was awesome.

Each of the children (except Case) did a little presentation.  McKenzie had written a poem and she read it.  Cassidy explained some of the historical Thanksgiving.  Colt shared his teepee and pilgrim house he made.  Alice and Clyde each recited a Thanksgiving poem from memory.

Thanksgiving (recited by Alice)

The year has turned its circle,

The seasons come and go.

The harvest all is gathered in 

And chilly North winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures

The fields, their yellow grain.

So open up the doorway,

Thanksgiving comes again!

Thanksgiving (recited by Clyde)

First we give thanks

 for the food we are given.

Then we give thanks 

for the houses we live in.

Then we give thanks

for the sun up above.

But mostly we give thanks

for the people we love.

Lisa especially loved the kids' presentations.  I thought it was a great opportunity for all of them to speak in front of a group and to set the tone for our meal.  I was proud of all of them for doing a good job.

Mmmmm, Spaghetti

"Cheers, Daddy!"

Alice is pretty good with utensils, but sometimes hands are still faster (especially with spaghetti). Mealtimes are pretty entertaining with these two.

More Xmas Card Finalists....

Too many photos! Our brown tom turkey, the cleaned up woodstove, morels and huckleberries from the bone pile, family photo from Maegen's wedding, and currant jelly.

A good Sunday for almost everyone....

Mmmm... cherry ice cream... made for a good Sunday for Alice:

The turkeys got a new house... good for them:

And good for me... I won't have to hose more of this off the patio every day:

Here are a couple other wonderful things...

From my dad and the beautiful Emmett valley, delicious cherries:

From our yard, beautiful peonies:

It was a good day for all of us... until....

It's really not a good idea to put your head through the kid sized toilet seat... It wasn't too bad getting it off his head, but as you can see, Clyde was pretty upset about his predicament.

Random Things from June....

Some old news....

Why would anyone want the inside of their house to be 120 degrees??

We capitalized on the short but abundant morel season this year and got enough to save some... our foraging will now bring us an earthy treat throughout the year.

We turned our front porch into a giant dehydrator by using a small fan and the wood stove. Ordinarily I think it's a bit odd to have the wood stove in the front porch, but for this it was perfect.

We have had some nice days, even nice enough to run through the sprinklers...

The kids also started swimming lessons. Clyde is doing really well and Alice is not afraid at all, but her ability to follow directions is a bit too limited at this point. The kids hunted mushrooms with us and spent some time on the ranch.

We put our Boise house up for sale, continued remodeling the house we got in Eagle and our niece and her new husband moved in there. We are remodeling my dad's ranch house in Lake Fork as well, so it's been a crazy time. Can't wait to be settled down again.