Wednesday, March 10, 2010
animal drama part two
That's the days we have had issues to the days we have not had issues in the last two weeks!! Including the horse fencing issues we had with Casper. And I didn't even count all the fun of worming by hand a flock of 60+ chickens on Sat. I will just say it was a family affair, everyone had a part to do.
Monday evening, I let the dogs in, sit back down to fold laundry and Briston comes in and lifts his leg against the wall under the window!!
It took me a few seconds to realize that I was actually hearing him pee!!!!!! We have never had him go in the house. So I was a bit shocked. Than said he hadn't been in bugging him and he certainly did not come tell me he wanted out, he just walked in and peed.
Tuesday morning I got up to a chunk of roast by my door. I found out later that Brent stepped on it.....eewwww. He didn't know what it was, it was 4am and DARK in the hall. So he threw a paper towel on it.
We keep a roll upstairs for this reason, well not because we find roasts outside our door, but because it seems to be a popular place for the animals to throw up at. I think they're going for that gross factor of stepping in it at 1am and having it squish through your toes......TMI?
I realized of course that one of the dogs must have picked the roast out of the sink, where it and two other pieces of meat were thawing.
I had heard Happy in the hallway last night and thought he wanted in our room, so I let him in. Can you imagine his thoughts all night after I let him in our room.....and he laid next to the door smelling that roast all night!!! Serves him right.....
When I get down stairs it's obvious that the other roast and package of steak has been consumed by Briston, who was nowhere to be seen. I was afraid to look on the porch, in case Brent had taken him off somewhere and disposed of him!!!
Brent told me later he couldn't find Briston at first and that Briston didn't come when he called (can you blame him.....). Brent tracked him down to the game room with the air hockey table and fooz ball table, he was hiding under one of the tables and still wouldn't come to Brent. (Brent wasn't yelling or anything, he was pretty calm, or so he says......)
Briston did come out eventually and Brent said he calmly put him on the porch. I was proud of Brent, I'm afraid I would have quietly strangled him and told the kids that he'd run away!
Both dogs have gotten bad about getting into the garbage and taking things of the counter and it is partly our fault as we haven't been proactive about it at this point, other than to confine them to the porch when we're gone and never leave food out they can get to.
I was concerned that this was the last straw for Brent regarding Briston. So when I peeked on the porch he was there, thankfully, I think....
And yes we did leave the meat in the sink, but we've never had them disturb other meat we've done that with. They were just waiting for the mother lode of meat.......
And of course did he eat the meat on the kitchen floor where it would be nice and easy to clean up.....NOOOO he eats it on the ONLY carpeting on the main floor! So I got to spend some time getting blood out/off the carpet, along with drool.....lots of drool.....
Luckily I have learned the trick of using hydrogen proxide to remove blood and we got a small green machine like cleaner to combat pet spots and boy was that money well spent. The carpet cleaned up pretty easily, just took some time to get everything, cause of course he didn't eat it in one small spot, he spread it around a bit.....
I have to say they spent most of Tuesday on the porch or in the yard. I felt too much like kicking them, every time I saw them......
Wednesday I go out to feed horses to find that the ponies have decided I was late (I was an hour behind that morning) and figured out that they could help themselves to all of the remaining treats in the bag and some of the treats in the bins. They ate a large portion of the hay next to the door and in general made a mess. I think they pulled the door open.... I don't think it was left open.....and yes that is being fixed, it has a temp fix, but I don't trust it too last, so Brent will be doing a better fix on Sat.
Then when I went to do laundry I had to ask why there were two beds worth of bedding, I knew that one was from Jayden's bed, turns out the other was from Dandelion having thrown up and having diarrhea on Collin's bed!
Later in the day I go to get my Cub Scout stuff ready and find that some cat has peed in my CS box. Which is the fourth time in a week I've found a place that a cat has gone somewhere other than a litter box.
We have two different kinds of litter boxes on each floor.....I've switched up litter boxes, added litter boxes, taken litter boxes, I am just so done with this.....I am thinking we're gonna have five barn cats come spring. Our two females have never reliably gone in the litter box and I just don't get it.....we've put a lot of effort into getting them to do it.....
Oh and I mustn't forget the two dog throw ups that contained bone from the previous day's feast........where upon I felt like kicking a dog or two again......
Today it was pretty minor so far, just that my jeans got knocked off the hook in the bathroom and some CAT peed on them....so that makes the fifth time this week.....
Oh and wait....can't forget about the "phantom" pee in the kitchen the other morning.....it didn't smell like cat, and it was a small puddle, so I'm thinking it was the cocker, however, he had gone straight out to the yard, so I don't know WHEN he had a chance to do it!!! He almost had to squat and pee as he came through on the way to the door. I just don't know.....
It's like they are plotting and planning behind my back to methodically take me out! All I can say is that it's all out war now.....
And to cap off Monday/Tuesday, I lost my phone Monday night and STILL have not found it as of Thursday.....it's a wonder I got up this morning..........I think I'll be drooling on the floor soon and Briston can clean it up this time!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
animal drama part one
Sunday, January 10, 2010
guess who had a birthday today!!???
OK.......it wasn't him. He made the awesome, super duper cake! And no the My Little Pony wasn't Brent's bday gift. He used it for a model for the cake. Didn't he do awesome! Can you guess whose bday yet.......
Here's a close up of the eye. Yes, that really is a heart in the eye, the model has one also.....did I mention how awesome Brent is!!
However the bday boy was less than impressed, he has officially watched WAY too much "Cake Boss", a cable show that we all love. He repeatedly told us that he wanted a cake by the "Boss", and of course we repeatedly told him it wasn't going to happen....evidently that didn't sink in.
He did eventually come around and praise his Daddy's effort and tell him that he was happy with the cake.....boy is he one spoiled boy. I told him he was lucky to have a Dad that could pull it off that well and he sure didn't have a Mom that could do that and that not just everybody has a parent that can do what Brent does!
We also went sledding and swimming last night. AND, he's old enough to sit in the hot tub, now! He was so excited! Up till now he's had to just dip his toes in.
And just for the heck of it.....(cause who knows when I'll get around to another post, I'm already risking heart attacks by posting two in one month!!!) this is what Lee did with our poetry words and other misc. magnet shapes on our fridge...I like it.......
Monday, December 21, 2009
don't faint...but it really is a post.....
All five boys....at one time........well ok, it was three paint rollers and one paint brush, so only four boys.....all painting at the same time.....yes, really. It would have been all five, but I didn't have enough pieces to have all five at one time. So they rotated.
Anyway the final result was so worth it. We LOVE how it turned out. This first picture is of the boys FINALLY getting to decorate the tree this year. (we still have plastic on the carpet in the background, I'm still painting some other stuff...)
Lee decorated this window with our stuffed snowmen...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
big dogs
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Reservoir
Anthony Joshua arrived yesterday at 6:35pm weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz and is 21 inches long. I arrived about 45 mins after he did and it was perfect timing. She was just done getting cleaned up and so was AJ!
No waiting around wondering when that baby was going to come! It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive from my house to hers and when I left things were just getting moving for her, so I did not expect that she'd be all done by the time I got there!!
I'll be here until tomorrow and if all is going well, I'll head home when she leaves the hospital tomorrow. I'm also here to help with the breastfeeding as she's previously left the hospital with cracked and bleeding nipples and we don't want that! So far we're doing ok there.
The following pictures are from our trip to UT in July. We headed to the reservoir on Thursday, despite the cold and rainy weather. It was our only day to swim and it was the only day the TOYS were going to be there! Pam's (Pam is my sis-in-law, married to Brent's brother Merrill), sister's husband's uncle.....still with me.......let them bring their sea-doos down and let us play with them. The older boys had a lot of fun on them, but the younger boys were done very quickly. Did I mention rain and cold weather?
Brent and his sister actually left with two cars full of kids after being there a short time as the younger kids were really miserable very quickly.
Here is Pam's sister with Aubrey and Collin.
Collin really enjoyed his ride!
Monday, August 10, 2009
guess who went shopping today!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Take the horses over, they of course are thrilled with fresh grass and we have no problems, until dark.
They are pacing the fence and the bugs are bad, so I go home, get the fly spray, come back and they are GONE, not in the pasture and the fence is down. Did I mention it was DARK. Brent found them, they hadn't gone far, not that I thought they would. They were by the back door to the cabin.
Sooooo I got to ride Nebby home, ponying Leo, who by the way has never appreciated previous attempts to pony. (ponying being the act of leading one horse while you ride on another horse.) They did fine, even with headlights and all. Thankfully there was a pretty full moon and it was out.
So, Brent rewires the fence, and gets the electric box on it, I hadn't thought they'd test the fence for a few days, all that grass you know.... We take them back yesterday.... They spend the ENTIRE day in one spot eating clover heads. What a life.
Evening we go to check on them and they are at the fence again, we settle them back down with more fly spray and some grain. Walk away to check my bees, come back and they are at it again..... So I rode them home, and rode them back this morning. If I have to do this for the next three months I was hoping to keep them on that pasture I will be in great shape. Because then I ride a bike home!!
I am feeling my riding muscles as we trot/canter most of the way. My legs are screaming at me by the time I hit the half mile mark, when I ride the bike home. I have to drag myself down the driveway. It's a wonder I can walk when I get off the bike! Did I mention I could probably use the exercise?
I've gotten lucky so far and haven't had to ride over to the cabin, that's uphill and yes it's more a rise than a hill but it's UP, I'd probably have to stop half way or something!! Good thing the doc just gave me new, good meds this week.
And Mom said I should blog about the dogs, so there I blogged about the dogs.....missed it, well I just wrote a sentence about them, didn't I??!!! Probably not what she meant.......
I have to take pictures for you to really get a visual on the situation...... But I guess I could get a little more detailed here. One 135lb St. Bernard, one 115 Newfoundland, one 90 lb Labradoodle, one aprox. 50 lb Australian Collie, and one 10 lb terrier cross, is it becoming a little clearer now? Pictures soon, really I'll try hard.....
The Newfoundland and Collie are here for the weekend. A five day weekend I just realized, so ummmm they're here for a week..... that seems a little overwhelming now.....
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Temple Square
Here we all pose in front of the Christus. We also viewed a movie about Joseph Smith, it was very moving for us all.
And this is what happens to 10 yr olds at the end of a long, physical day of hiking and walking!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Timpanogas Cave
Here Jayden and Max pose next to the sign.
When you go to the cave you have to buy tickets and then hike up to the cave by your scheduled time. Only 20 people are allowed to go through at a time, and guess what we were 13 just by our selves, and then Pam had family coming. So we had to buy tickets for a tour a couple hours out. We spent some of our waiting time looking at the river the runs through the canyon below the cave. Here are the guys.
With this gang fishing is always on the mind around water! Here Brent points out several likely holes to Collin.
When you go into a cave you're headed into temps of around 60 degrees usually. So you might need a jacket, especially if you're going from 80 plus to 60 degrees! Here Brent carries the pack containing jackets and water bottles for all of our family.
Here's a clue that it wasn't an easy hike up! Yes it really was that steep at times. And that red line isn't there to show you which side is your side.....it's to warn you not to stop at that point, as a rock slide could happen and you'd be in the pathway!
THANK GOODNESS!! Somebody decided it was worth it to put a bathroom at the end of that 1 1/2 hr hike!! From here there is another short hike to the entrance, here Lee points to it.
I turned the camera over to Collin while I used the facilities and this was one of the pictures he took, not to shabby!
Lee, Collin, Carsten and I think Aubrey and I all arrived first. Carsten led the way, the entire way up and down. In the picture below I took a picture of Brent coming up behind us, and it gives an idea of the switchbacks we hiked!
And then we got to hike down......so we thought, first you have to go up a bit to get around to where the entrance trail is. Did I mention there were very few barriers between the trail and the cliffs!!
Here we're still on the exit trail and that's valley down below us. Did I mention we were up a ways? In the picture is Brent, Lee in red, our nephew Carsten in green, Jayden in stripes and Max in the black shirt. And yes he fit right in. A large amount of the grand kids have blond hair and blue eyes, making them look like they could go with just about any of the family!
Here is Merrill and Lauren. Lauren and Than formed a bond very quickly and he was always on hand to help with her the rest of our visit.
Than was so great, he also packed a backpack for Merrill, as Merrill had the baby the whole hike.
And what do you get after a 3 hr hike straight up and straight down...... One very, very tired five year old!! He didn't even make it to the Wendy's at the entrance of the canyon area. He was out! We drove up to Salt Lake City after hiking the caves and he slept the entire way.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Oak City Canyon
Here Brent and Merrill get the poles ready. With the boys eagerly looking on.
I think Max shadowed Brent the entire time he was fishing! He loves to fish.
Oak Creek Canyon is a campground. It has individual campgrounds and large group campgrounds. When we went up we used one of the group ones, we were the only ones up there and it was great.
Sharleen brought up some board games and the kids enjoyed some great games with her and each other. They started with Mexican Train.
Sharleen told us when she was a teenager they would all drive up to the campground, turn on their radios and have a dance. Jay said he would just park on a back street in Delta and turn on the radio and dance with Sharleen. It was fun to hear the stories of their youth! In the picture below they would park towards the back right side of the parking lot.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Trip
We did indeed have a very, very good trip to UT. We left June 28th an hour ahead of schedule! Mom has already posted some great pictures of that over on her WI Snapshots blog. We had a great trip there.
Brent decided to have us drive straight through. The energy it takes to unpack and pack a family of 7 takes as much energy as just driving straight through the night! The only reason we could do it was because Brent handles sleep deprivation well! I only have to spell him for a few hrs and he does the rest.
The boys did really well, no fighting, everyone was cheerful and happy to be on the road. The trip home was a complete 180 from that, but I get ahead of myself.....
So we got to UT Monday afternoon and it was SUCH a relief to be DONE driving for a bit! We got there a bit earlier than anyone expected, so that was fun!! The boys were very happy to be set free!
Further posts will have pictures....I really did take them.....I promise!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Fishing!
So yeah.....we did finally take them fishing..... Here Brent walks Jayden and Max through casting.
You are very lucky to have any pictures for this post. My inclination was to stay home and avoid the whole scene of five boys and five poles all with sharp hooks on the end! I did cave in the end and go, the boys wanted me there after all. Then I even managed to not cover my eyes or hide in the car!!
He was a happy camper to be fishing finally!
Here is a wide shot of the pond they fished in. We went to our great friend's home and fished out of their pond.
Max shows off his technique. And look I even managed to keep my eyes open again! He stops my heart when he has a fishing pole in his hands!
