Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails

They do say that boys are made of slugs, snails and puppy dog tails but I think little B#7 got spared from this. :) B#4 and I were a little on the bored side today so we went nuts with the camera. B#7 is a ham for the camera and posed perfectly for us. Isn't he just adorable! For most of the shots we had the little guy on a chair and B#4 laid down on the floor and began taking pics.:) Out of all the ones we took, these that we posted were our favorites. Isn't the third shot funny? It looks like he's as big as the counter! Hope you like them.!

~B#2

Stepping back in time

Last week my sisters and I went exploring on our neighbors 98 acres of unused property; talk about FUN!! We were actually supposed to be helping B#1 hack blackerries but there was only one machete and four of us so us girls wandered. Not too far from where big brother was working we knew there was a big old barn, so we went to check that out. We had been there before but the barn is so overgrown with blackberries that we didn't try very hard to get in. We resolved to try as hard as possible this time. We looked and looked but the only possible entrance was through the windows. I gently pushed on one and to my suprise it moved pretty easily. B#4 and I worked with it until finally it came out! So we now have an entrance... but how do we get in? The window was about 4 feet up and we had nothing to stand on. Gritting my teeth I kneeled down and told B#4 to use my leg as a step stool. Yowch did that hurt! Next question, how do I get in? Well after many attempts I finally got in but I had to jump to get up and I lost my balance and went falling down through the window and into the barn. I was okay, a few scrapes on my hands was all I got but at least I was in. We made things easy for B#3 and handed her a bucket to use.
The barn was amazing. Everything in there was really, really old. We found some goat and cattle stanchions. a few kidding stalls, a super neat hay loft and of course lots of old junk. It was kinda' creepy in there though. It was so dark that we had to use a flashlight and at one point I had a whole bunch of mice scurrying around my feet. No I did not freak out; I happen to like mice (as long as they don't get into the animal feed). We go up there sometimes and do some machete-ing (how do you spell that word?)so we don't have to keep going through the window.:)
So now you know what we do when were bored: we go flying through windows, get ourselves all dirty, hack blackberries with a dull machete and laugh a lot. :)

~B#2

And So It Begins

Well, B#7 is officially into everything now. He is 10 months and following in his brothers footsteps of getting into the plastics drawer. It is so comical that they all have stood there and thrown bowls and lids over their shoulders, not caring where they went after that. He has decided that baby food is for babies, not big 10month old boys and so he likes to eat cheerios, bread, whole banana instead of pureed banana and todays new food was tuna. He loved it. Children are just so much fun. What a blessing...

Brain teaser

Okay all you math lovers, I got a doozy for ya'. We were talking with some of our friends on tuesday morning about our alpacas and one friend asked how much they ate, when I told them They couldn't believe it. They asked how much we were feeding them but things still didn't make sense. On our way home I pondered it and realized that there really is no possible way that this could work; yet it is. Here is where you come in.

There is an estimate of 8 cups of animal pellets per pound. We feed each of our alpacas a cup and a half of grain a day so that makes 4 1/2 cups a day. We buy 50 lbs. of feed. Now here's the interesting part; We go through 50 lbs. in about 4 months. I know, it doesn't make sense. Ever since we got the alpacas (which was in November)we have only bought two bags of feed. The first in November and then another in March.

I am in no way a math expert, I can barely do my algebra but what I came up with was: at 4 1/2 cups a day that would make a little over 1 pound every two days. Then, if my math is right I would divide two into fifty which gives me 25. So my answer should be that 50 lbs. of grain should only last us 25 days, not the 120 days that we are getting. Any answers?

The only solution that I can come up with is that the Lord is blessing us by stretching the feed. Some of you may raise an eyebrow to that but I have heard of many other interesting ways that the Lord has blessed people. I could give lots of other examples that have happened to us but that is not what I am blogging about.

I would love to hear your ideas on this. :)

~B#2

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Isn't this fiber just gorgeus! After the Lavender Festival we got to stop by Woodland Woolworks, a place in Carlton that has spinning wheels, looms, yarn and of course fiber! I had gotten some birthday money a few days before and got the challenge of picking out one thing from the entire store. It was not easy. "Should I get some yarn? Or how about some of that Tussah silk fiber? Oooh, look at that Targhee wool!" I had my arms full with yarns and fiber. But then, I saw it... On an isle end there were the most beautiful bunches of fiber, just begging someone to try spinning them. "Ah ha!" Now I knew exactly what I wanted. The fiber in the picture is what was on the isle end. It's 50% Merino wool and 50% Tencel (Tencel is made from trees). The Merino makes it oh-so-soft and the Tencel make it shimmer. Yes it really is that shimmery. I started spinning it yesterday; It's an absolute dream! The hardest part is just trying to keep the yarn even. I'll stop talking now, even though I could go on... :)

~B#2

Lavender Festival

On Saturday the kids and Mom braved the hot 92 degree heat and the high gas prices to go to the Lavender Festival. Although B#1 doesn't like the smell of lavender he went with us anyway, what a good sport....The lavender was beautiful and smelled heavenly. God sure made a wonderful plant when he made lavender. I don't personally care for the taste of it but some do. I just love to look at it and give it a little squeeze and sniff before bed at night:)

Girls Day

Today when my dear sweet hubby kissed me goodbye in the early hours of the morn I asked him if we could do something for him today but he said, "No, just relax today." So that is just what B#6 and I decided to do....we relaxed with some Chopin playing in the background, the baby sleeping peacefully and had some pedicures. She loves to have her toenails painted. She would really like me to paint her fingernails as well but I told her to wait until she is older for that:)