lamb

we went to the lamb sale on saturday (oct. 11). we ended up getting 2 lambs (1 from the sale and 1 from the wades) because avery was all upset because anna wouldn't share her lamb. first thing sunday morning i hear the door close and look out the window and she is trucking out to feed her lambs in her jacket and flip-flops. she has never had a problem with responsibility. she is more determined than anybody i know and is willing to work hard to achieve her goals. she is going to be a great little lamb shower so anybody around in april needs to come and watch.

soccer

avery learned how to skip the same week as his first game. needless to say, he skipped the whole game and to every ball. it was really cute. he just kept turning to us and giving us a thumbs up while were yelling, "watch the ball." i don't know about him. he didn't seem to have a competitive bone in his body. maybe it can be developed.

splitting wood

my dad and blake in their element. we went and cut 4.5 cords of wood this summer up on cedar mountain with luis, megan, billy, blake, anna, avery, and i. it was like christmas for blake. anna came up to me and said, "avery said a bad word." i said what did he say" and she of course wouldn"t repeat it, she is way too good. i then asked her what context he used it in. she was saved when avery comes around the corner and says, "i just said that we were working our a**es off." it was so cute because he mostly took breaks and drank all the gatorade. i was just glad that he stayed out of the way. luis was worried that he wouldn't get to run a saw so when we got up on the mountain blake just handed his over and was like here you can cut. i don't think luis will be complaining next time about not being able to run a saw. by the time that we were done cutting, his back was killing him and he was moving really slow. billy ran the other saw. on the way home we got 2 flat tires with only 1 spare and had to leave the trailer in between mesquite and moapa until the next day when we could go purchase another tire.

our star

we call her gifted! what else is it when you can give your brother a dirty look and still not lose your place? she is becoming quite good on the piano. i wasn't going to post her playing, but after i posted avery, she said, "what am i, a plate of grits?" i guess thats what the kids say now instead of chopped liver, but it means the same thing.

chicken coop

blake worked months on this chicken coop and was convinced that all the neighbors were going to be so jealous. i haven't heard one lust over it yet. billy would tease that everytime he came over he had to go inspect the progress on the chicken coop. you should see these chicks now, they are huge. we have 45 (not one died) and should start laying eggs soon. i have no idea what we are going to do when they start laying an egg a piece a day. what in the world am i going to do with 45 eggs a day?

our violinist

the other morning blake rolled over and very sarcastically said, "i am so glad you brought music into our lives." it was a saturday morning at about 6:30 and avery was practicing his violin. he hasn't quite learned the difference between weekdays and weekends and he is in the habit to practice as soon as he gets up. i don't discourage him although blake thinks it would be nice.

farmer's wife

i really am a farmer's wife. my siblings are always asking how in the world i found the only other guy just like my dad in the world. he loves this field and it really has brought our family closer together. it is fun to plant something, nurture it, and watch it grow. it is not so fun when it needs to be hauled, but anna is becoming quite the little driver.

anna's 9th birthday

anna's 9th birthday. i can't believe how fast it goes by. sandra came up with pig cupcakes and anna was all for it. thanks for the grandmas because i could never have put them together.

avery lost his first tooth

avery lost his first tooth. since then, he lost the other bottom one. he has had kind of bad luck because the first one he lost, in the literal sense. the second one, when blake was putting the money under his pillow avery caught him. so now when he shows people that he lost his tooth they ask if the tooth fairy gave him money for it and he says, "no my dad did." its pretty funny. blake tried to cover it up by saying that the tooth fairy gave him the money to give to avery because she was in a hurry, but he didn't fall for it.

maggie nursing her puppies

the kids have named them all, but we are not keeping one. we already have 3 dogs that drive the neighbors crazy. we have 3 males and 1 female (the black one). it has been fun. the kids love them. maggie is anna's dog. megan is taking the black female and she told her that even she has to pay $50. they all already have homes. she keeps on telling grandpa that if he wants one he will have to pay too even though his dog is the dad. she is such a little entrepreneur. blake docked the tails when they were 3 days and avery was like, "can i play with them." next thing i know, i look out the window and avery is playing with 4 little puppy tails.

she thinks my tractors sexy!

i decided that i was going to clean the dangerously dirty tractor windows. blake thought that it was hilarious so he went and ran and got the camera. it is his screensaver at work and the title is, "she thinks my tractors sexy."

08-09 school year

anna and avery are both in school this year. i thought i would find this difficult at first, but i seem to be adjusting well. the funniest is blake was really pushing for homeschool because he said that he never gets to see them and then this morning they were driving him crazy and there was a big sigh of relief when my dad picked them up for school. they are doing well in school and avery says that he is sick of getting stars on all his papers. he is convinced that he could skip up to 2nd grade and be in grandmas class. anna is our studious child. she is on the ball to say the least. she already has amounted a huge number of ar points this year.