It's been a long time, baby!

 Hello all! I know it's been awhile, huh??? I have been up to my ears in living! I/We have been, busy, busy, busy in a wonderful way. It's been great! First, I want to report about, and show off, my garden. Scott gave me raised beds this year and it looks amazing. I've noticed that I have less weeds and with the mushroom compost garden soil I am using, the veggies are really taking off. I am growing green beans, watermelon, zucchini, summer squash, sugar pumpkins, sweet meat (another type of squash), beets, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, and carrots. Every morning, after I feed the goats and give them their morning rubdowns, I walk the garden and pick the baby weeds that are sprouting. By doing this everyday, I am keeping the weeds to a minimum. In the blank spaces of the garden, we placed giant pots and put dahlias, a Japanese maple tree, and hydrangea in the pots. We worked hard on putting it all together and it's paying off.

 I have been milking Frankie since end of March, but her milk production really slowed down the last few weeks. I am only getting three cups a day--on a good day. So I said forget it and now I am drying her up. It's just not worth the grain and udder wipes to milk out that little. In the Fall, all the girls will be bred and next Spring, I will have THREE goats to milk!

 June 18th, my cousin, Ammee, had a baby boy. Michael weighed in at 6lbs, 9 ozs (just like Nina). We got to visit him when he was just a couple days old. He is such a blessing. I loved holding him!

We went to visit my G'pa and G'ma recently because 1) we haven't seen them in forever and 2) G'pa isn't doing so great. He's got problems with his arteries "clogging" up and he's been in and out of the hospital a lot over the last few weeks because of trouble breathing. To me, it's getting to a scary point where I wonder how much longer he will be with us. Please pray for him!

So much more has been going on. . .we are preparing for Nina's 8th grade graduation Milk and Cookie Party this Sunday. We will be attending a Rainier's game this next Tuesday. 4th of July, we have some great people coming over. And I am still running, preparing for my Color Me Rad race in August. There's other stuff I am sure I am forgetting, but right now I just know I love life and am enjoying the smallest moments!

Our 17th Anniversary!

Saturday was me and Scotty's 17th wedding anniversary! We had made plans to do something extravagant, but life happened and we settled for Plan B: a trip to Millersylvannia State Park with the kids. We had a picnic: Scott's favorite spiral pasta salad (with sausage, olives, smoked cheddar cheese, and tomatoes all tossed with italian dressing) and a yummy chocolate cream pie (I used goat's milk, of course!). 

 After the picnic, Scott and D tossed a line into the lake for fun. 

 There was heavy debate between D and Nina as to whether or not this was a bullfrog or a frog. I chose not to get involved. What do you think?

 Then there was the tadpole that was huge!

 D was really hoping to catch something. We just didn't have the right tackle stuff.

 We went on the trails for a little walk. And no trail walking is complete until you get a full moon!

 The kids fought for half the trail. I was so fed up with them. But then like a switch was thrown, they started getting along. What the heck???

 D claimed this branch as his own. 

 Dominic looks so tiny!

 I finally got a picture of Nina. She spends so much time avoiding the camera, or making faces at it. 

 Scott's favoritest living creature. . . 

 Dominic started playing in the shadows of the sun. He says this is a chicken.

It was a good time. After the park, we ditched the kids and Scott and I ran a couple errands then out to dinner at our little hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurant: La Tarasca's. 

The last 17 years have been the time of my life. I couldn't have chosen anyone better than Scott. We're not perfect, we don't have the perfect life, but we are perfect for each other. I can't wait for the next 17 years!

That's my girl!

 So. . . Nina got an invitation from school called the Evening of Excellence. It was an award ceremony, but she was not told what award she would be receiving. So we went out of sheer curiosity. (Just kidding.) Come to find out, she was awarded Student of the Year for Art! I bragged to her that she's only good at art cause she has me for a mother. (Just kidding, again!) Actually, truth be told, Scott was the one who won awards in high school for his art. So either way, it's in her genes! The teacher who awarded her said that Nina was innovative, creative, and was a joy to watch. She said some other really cool things, but I was so excited, I forgot what she was saying. 

 Here's a picture of Nina with one of her best buds, Shawnee. Nina doesn't like pictures, so she always makes a face. I wish she would just realize that it's a parent's moment just as much as her moment and all I ask for is decent pictures!

 Another good friend of Nina's, Jason. He won a Music award.

 Nina with Kaitlyn and Mariah. All of them soaking in their glory.

 Sorry, but you'll have to tilt your head for this picture. . . (can't get the computer to save it the right way.) This is Ms. Echtele, the teacher that awarded Nina. She was telling Nina how much she will enjoy high school art. And that she's gonna drop Nina's name and let them know how great a student she is!

Sorry, gotta tilt your head again. . . here's Nina with the goods. We are very proud of her. I hope she loves art as much as her father and I. 

Goats and things.

So, it's been awhile! I have been up to my ears in busy! Dominic's soccer, Nina's dance, getting the raised garden in, picking up a running regime, taking care of goats. . . plus, just daily living and its challenges. . . whew!

Dominic ended soccer with a concussion and was not allowed to finish the season as goalie. He had a pretty good concussion and required three days of bed rest--no t.v., no video games, no reading, no thinking. I think it was more brain rest than bed rest! He spent A LOT of time outside with the chickens, just hanging out.

Nina had a production in May for Coppelia and then a month later her Spring Showcase. She did really good! She has found this year that she likes ballet more than jazz now. It was originally the other way around for years. I think she is super excited because she's been "promoted" to Ballet 3B next year and will probably get her point shoes in February. Getting point shoes is a big deal (and super expensive). It's like a right of passage. It marks her "grown-up-ness" in ballet.

Scott has been consumed by work. The tempo has been bumped up in what the Special Ops do and so that means the training is increased. These people jump out of airplanes every week now (used to be every other month)! Scott's responsibilities have also been bumped up and he has a lot on his shoulders. That's not saying he doesn't like it--he loves his job! I feel bad for Scott because he does so much at work then he comes home and I put him to work. He is so amazing. He doesn't even complain. I am excited for him though; this week he starts softball for the church, Mountain View, and on Thursday's and Friday's he'll be playing coed and the men's team. He coaches the men's, so that's one more thing on his plate. I like softball season. I try to put together picnics so that before or after the game we chillax and have more of a good time.

As for me, I'm boring. I do the mom thing and the wife thing. I am always behind on housework, always trying to craft something or plan something, and always driving a kid around. In fact, yesterday, I was driving Nina and her friends around so we could piece together some poodle skirts for her school Spirit Day. I have to say it was pretty fun watching the girls try on wedding and prom dresses at the thrift store. They were all giggly and cute. I tried to keep my distance so that I wasn't impeding on their good times, but I did get a couple looks at what they wore and the girls looked so beautiful! I wish a could have been a fly on the wall taking pictures!

Something worth acknowledging: I have lost 65 pounds! And I have started running. I don't like the initial start of running, like it's hard to get going, but I am always glad I did it when I'm done. I can run a mile and a half now, non stop. I think I could do more, but I don't want to injure myself, or do too much too soon. My current run consists of running a mile and a quarter, walking one hundred yards, and then another mile and a quarter. I've swapped my workouts to mornings and I hate running in the mornings because I'm slower and it seems to be harder to do. But at least I get it out of the way for the day. Besides when I do my fun run in August, it'll be a morning thing, so better to get used to it now so I am prepared for the run. Did I even tell you about my fun run? I am doing the Color Me Rad in Seattle on August 10th. Basically, it's a 5k and they have stations that you run by. As you run by these stations, people "bomb" (fire extinguishers are used) you with colored cornstarch so that when your run is over, you're a rainbow gone awry. Think tie-died human. I chose this race to celebrate me and how far I have come to achieve my second chance at good health. My goal is to just finish. I'm really nervous about the run because 1) I hate starting lines (even back during my cross country days I hated the starting line) and 2) I have self-doubt that I am good enough to even be running this fun run. Scott and hopefully Ayla will be running with me, so that'll help!

As for goats, they are doing really well! I have a breeding schedule set up for this fall and I plan on breeding in October then November then December. I don't want them all freshening at the same time, so I am going to stack the breedings.

Frankie, my girl in milk, is giving me some heartburn because her milk production has dropped significantly. She only gives about 3 1/2 cups a day and that is so frustrating. I was getting a quart a day. I feel like I go to all of this work just for a few drops? I was gonna dry her up because I don't think what I get is worth the udder wipes, teat spray, and grain, BUT Scott asked me to keep going because he loves her milk so much. And honestly, that's the least I can do for him. I could milk her three times a day and up her production, but honestly, I don't want that commitment. That would really tie me down and I'd have to plan everything around milking times. No way.

 Just for the record, the chicken on Alice's back IS scratching on Alice and I dunno what she was getting, but she was going to town. And Alice was just taking it.

Star loves a good scratch and rubs up against anything that'll help the cause. Here, she is using the milk stand while the rooster enjoys the ride, lol!