Daisy's Getting Old...

We rode Daisy a little this Spring, but she had some bad days.  We're not sure exactly how old she is but we're pretty sure it's somewhere between 25 and 28.  She has a tendency to founder and she's pretty stubborn, but she did have some good days and she really enjoyed the company of the goats and the calf.

Rewinding.... Migrating South

So, it's been a while... we've moved, done the holidays, been sick, built a fence and run out of data.  But I'm back now and here to document a crazy two months.

First, the kids and I headed down to Eagle.  It was a beautiful drive thanks to the newfallen snow.  We were glad to get home ahead of the inevitable winter storms that have actually never materialized in Valley County.  Ski resorts up there are barely open and  Bogus Basin still isn't.  Anyhow, the kids started back at the Montessori Academy on November 9th and made a quick adjustment back to school.  The following weekend we headed back up to Norwood and shipped the last of the calves. 

Next, Daisy came home.  We also brought the last seven turkeys home to Eagle as they weren't totally fat yet.  One by one they got given away, butchered and eaten.  The fence couldn't contain them and I was kind of scared I lost them a time or two. 

We had a nice Thanksgiving at Janelle's, but Ben was only home for the morning and then back up to Norwood.  The day after Thanksgiving we had a leftovers feast at Aunt Kristen's and Grandpa Rydalch was here from Wyoming. 

Ben finally made it home the week after Thanksgiving.  It was frigid here and at Norwood, but no more snow.

Yee-Haw, Clyde is 4!

This, my friends, is joy, pure joy...

A few months before Clyde's birthday we were reading a kids' book about cows and it said that the first cows came to America on boats to Jamestown on May 14, 1611. Coincidentally we had already planned to celebrate Clyde's birthday (actually May 15) on May 14 and it's 2011 so it would be the 400th anniversary of cows in America. How fun! But I am a skeptic and can't just believe what I read, so my first thought (validated by Shelley's boss) was that it had to be wrong and that surely the Spaniards had brought cows earlier. Luckily, I have a book on the introduction and development of cattle breeds in America so I was able to read up on it. Turns out the Spaniards did bring cows to the "New World" before that, but these herds of mostly beef cattle were located fairly far south in what is now Mexico. They didn't cross over into what is now Texas until the 1800s, so the book validated that cows didn't get to what is not the United States until 1611, so we went with it. We invited people to "Come celebrate 400 years of cows in America and Clyde's 4th birthday" and come they did... there were 60 plus people, probably 30 kids.

There were lots of Rydalch cousins and some Hiatt second cousins. There were 9 "little Littles" - 3 first cousins, 1 third cousin and 3 fourth cousins. There were also friends, young and old.

The weather was a real mix, sunny, raining, blustery winds, but everyone stuck it out. We had pony rides, roping stations with roping dummies, bunnies & chicks to pet, a pinata, and a lot of just running around and swinging sticks. Then my friend Heather sang songs after the cake.

The menu was meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, Ben's homemade bread, and salads and fruit our families and friends brought. I made two prune cakes and got a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cake which was pretty yummy.

Clyde got lots of fun presents. The next day on his actual birthday his Mumsy, who had just returned from 6 weeks in Europe, took him shopping at Fred Meyer, where he got lots of new clothes and some tools but told her he didn't need any toys (until he saw a sword he had to have).

Daisy's Spa Night

When Ben's family came over for dinner last week, I was sitting talking to Britta when a niece (I think it was Elena) came up and asked me for a hairband. I gave her the one on my wrist and didn't think twice about it. Then about 10 minutes later, Paige came and asked for another. I asked what they were up to and she was so excited to tell me they were doing Daisy's hair. I asked who was with her and after a long list of little girl cousins she said, "and Ben." I had to laugh picturing Ben supervising all these little girls as they did Daisy's hair. He said she got brushed and combed all over and she had a nice braid in her tail and another in her mane. It was her first "do" since we've had her, but she used to belong to a little girl, so maybe not her first ever.

Visitors & Pony Rides

Ben was really busy working and we weren't quite up for company through the winter. We made up for it these last two weeks. On the 30th, we had dinner for Mumsy, Gayle, Tommy, Sharon, JG, Rollins, Kay & Gregory (turkey dinner, mmmmm). The 1st Ben's family & some friends came for lunch and pony rides (about 35 people). The 2nd my childhood friends Joe & Mike came with their families (that's who the photo is of - 5 kids & 4 adults plus us). The 3rd Shelley called and wound up coming over with 3 Seattle area friends and their 3 children. We had just gotten the house clean when Erin's family came to town, so we had a big Rydalch dinner on the 8th (about 35 people again). Then on the 9th it was branding day so I made homemade rolls, potato salad and banana muffins for that and Janelle's family came over for our 0-1-2-3-4 photos and breakfast (huckleberry pancakes, elk sausage and fruit). On Sunday the 10th, Merche called and brought Chispe and her 5 kids out for pony rides and to feed the calves. So our tally was around 100 for the last couple of weeks and we have more coming this weekend. It's fun to be able to share our home, yard & animals with so many good friends and our families. The kids love seeing their cousins and friends.

The Menagerie...

We now live at home with five animals. My old friends will find that astounding as I lived with no animals for a very long time. We have three new kittens: Huckleberry, Hot Dog and Tiger, a pony (Daisy) and our border collie (Jigsaw). Daisy likes being let into the yard to eat the lawn. Jigsaw and Huckleberry are really good pals, and everyone else gets along most of the time. Occasionally Jigsaw tries to heard Daisy and we have to call him away, but she doesn't really put up with it anyhow. Clyde and Alice really like the animals but don't really help with them much yet. They are all outside animals, and that keeps me happy.

The Smiths -- Take II

After Ben's sister Kristen's family came, their in-laws (our friends) came, so we had two full weekends of Smiths. Riley, Mckenzie, Marnie and Lanie are all darling. Rachel was still here so it was a full house. Rachel and Mckenzie enjoyed staying up late and playing and watching movies together. Alice and Marnie, who are only two days apart, played together really well in the yard. Clyde and Riley are good friends. And Lanie was such a good baby through it all. We picked huckleberries, made bread, had a cookout, and went on pony rides. It'll be fun to have them back again soon. It's always nice for Clyde and Alice to have friends in town. We don't know very many kids here.

3 years have gone by... oh my!

Such a happy boy...getting to spend the day with cousins and friends...


patiently waiting for Daisy with cousin Elliott...

sharing Daisy with his cousins...


and last but not least getting to eat some dinosaur birthday cake!

It really is hard to believe that three years have passed. We've definitely been busy and in some ways it seems longer, but we really are lucky to have such a wonderful little boy.

Christmas Shopping Guide (for reference for next year)

Do you have some small children on your Christmas list? I have resolved to get Christmas done ahead of time this year, so I thought I'd help you do the same with some helpful hints tor the little ones on your list (and their parents).

I'm talking about one and two year olds in particular since that's my current area of expertise. Here are my tips....

1. Go with something dangerous
2. Make sure it's something that needs cared for
3. Make sure that it's beyond a toddler to do the caretaking
4. Get something that has further equipment or feed needs and don't provide those

In other words, get them a pony! It'll be added work and worry for mom and dad, but the kids will love you forever and ever....

Meet Daisy, one of the two new additions to our family:


Alice still prefers just the saddle...

The second addition is our new puppy, Jigsaw, who is also a surprise Christmas gift for the toddler children. We do love both of our new additions, but we're just now getting over the shock.

Happy shopping!