I Hugged Too Early...

Just a word of caution...the donkeys are NOT ready to be hugged...and I have a nice hoof-shaped bruise on my thigh to prove it.

Donkey Day

The donkeys have had a few more days to settle in. They are slowly learning that humans bring good things like food and treats. Yesterday, we spent the day getting the barn more "donkey-friendly." Since Charles had to hide them for a few days, he just put them in the biggest stall down there and didn't really have time to "donkey-proof" things. The stall they are in is about the size of two or three regular size stalls and happens to have all of his barn tools and yard tools that we use in the pasture. So, donkeys being donkeys, decided to take several tools off the walls each day and bury them in the dirt. They entertain themselves by knocking things around and are very curious!

We decided to give their stall a little face lift, move all the tools, etc. to another stall and basically organize the barn. During this time, we closed off both ends of the barn and had all the stall doors open as we walked around moving things. The little donks had a lot of time to explore the barn, but most importantly located the stall where the hay is kept. It turned into an all-day donkey buffet.

 

We were moving the hay to another stall and as Charles picked up a bale, this little (or BIG) guy was hiding out! He/she picked the perfect spot...it was cold and rainy out so this one was hiding under the hay near the ducks' nest...eating the eggs as they laid them! This was a BIG opossum in terms of opossums. It reminded me of when I was younger and my Grandfather and I would trap opossums on his back porch, only to release them in the morning. They didn't get released until he picked them up by the tail to show me~ha!

So after a few minutes of trying to decide what to do...we tried to guide it out the door of the barn. It took several failed attempts to get him out (he played "opossum" for a while) and one hilarious video to capture the moment, he ran out in the rain towards the pond.

 

 



Cookie Decorating Tradition

We have a tradition of cookie decorating that started just a few years ago, but it has become a very big part of our Christmas Day tradition. What started as merely a fun after event following Christmas dinner has turned into a room of determined, blood-thirsty hyenas focused on winning the title of "Best Cookie" that they can brag about for the entire next year. Ok, so it's not really that crazy, but some of the more artistic family members actually start planning their cookie decor that morning. The rules are:

• You get ONE cookie
• You have 10 minutes
• You have to eat what you make!

This year, we were blessed to have the Snyder's join us and talk about taking the competition up a notch! The kids and adults alike really put us to shame...

Anyways, our winner this year was Grayson with his Santa in the Chimney design! Congrats Grayson~you get bragging rights until next year!!

1. 

The Best Christmas YET!

We had a great Christmas Day which was hosted here at the farm. Besides our parents, we were joined by Aunt Valerie, Uncle Mike and Aunt Nicky, Grandma Joyce, and the Snyder family, who came by for dessert!

We don't have a large room for entertaining so everyone always has to fix meals and just sit where they can find a seat (dining room table, around the coffee table, or in the living room on the ottoman). Although it is a little challenging with the limited space at times, I love nothing more than hosting family gatherings here. It's fun cooking for everyone and just sitting back sharing laughs.

Christmas was so much fun! Charles and I always tend to get each other things that are practical. I tend to ask for some sort of household project to be completed and well, he just gets whatever I come up with! Ha. So, the week before Christmas, I had our electricians come in and put lights in the garage for him. It wasn't much of a Christmas surprise because it was completed by the time he got home from work a week earlier, but I know he had wanted lights over his work area out there for sometime now. Because our house was a foreclosure, all the fixtures had been stolen out of the garage. I did have one surprise for him though, which was an HVAC unit for the warehouse apartment, which is going to be his future music room. He had no idea so that was a fun surprise.

Just as I was thinking, "I did it, I pulled off the air unit as a great surprise," Charles hands me two gifts. One is in a bag and the other is wrapped. They were the last two items under the tree. I opened the bag first, which contained four halters. Two of them were alpaca halters....but the other two were MUCH too big to fit the alpacas. I looked suspiciously at him and he just had a big grin on his face. I opened the next gift, which was a book titles "The Donkey Companion." Of course, I had an idea at that point that there was something in the barn for me. Charles told me to put on a coat for the next part of my present. We walked down to the barn and there were two of the CUTEST mini donkeys I have ever seen~a male and a female, both about six months old.

 Male (darker) in the back and female (lighter) in front

Female and Bob                                                                                   Bob the barn cat-posing for a pic

 



Jessica and Dad-two goof balls

 

 

It turns out that Charles had the donkeys hidden for three days and was just doing everything in his power to keep me from going down there. He did it! I was totally shocked. It was the sweetest Christmas gift ever!

Event Gear

We are excited to have all new event gear for 2013! Here is Auggie modeling the new arrivals.