Chickens!

Thanksgiving in CO

Last Monday, Greg, Paton, and I drove from our home in UT to my parents home in CO. The weather right at the very beginning was pretty poor, but we made it! I had to take a picture of the McDonalds in Evanston, WY. It was by far the most shwanky fast food restaurant I had ever been to-complete with flat screen TVs in the bathrooms! Above is Paton in the children's play area. At each table in place of seats are leather saddles-not plastic saddles, but leather saddles!

We were very thankful for the car DVD players. Below is Paton using the headphones while watching a movie. He didn't really need them on the way there, but on the way back the wind was so ferocious, that it was hard to hear anything!

Since moving out to property that has land, my parents have spent the last few years raising poultry. One year Dad raised turkey that grew to be too big for conventional ovens! Chickens are their more regular project. Dad has several hens he raised from chicks in order that he might collect their eggs. Paton absolutely loved going to the hen house with Grampa to collect the eggs. Around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, Dad would let the chickens out to roam the yard. How much fun it was for Paton to chase the chickens!

It's interesting to view technology and its advances. Below is Paton coloring the conventional way. And then yet another method of coloring is on the iPad--the mess-free method! By now, Paton is pretty good at navigating through my parents' technology.

Grammy and Paton taking a walk...

Sorting eggs with Grampa...

You know you're out on farmland when sandboxes are filled with chicken feed! Paton loved playing in it!

Dad smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving....so yummy!

Our spread...

Family time...

Coyotes frequent my parents' property in search of rabbits (there are many of them), but they also pose a hazard for their two pet dogs. One, Griffin (their Jack Russel terrier) was attacked and almost killed by a coyote. So when Dad and Greg got whiff of them near, both men turned into our mighty hunters.

Paton was still recovering from a nasty winter flu/cold, and below he's about ready to fall asleep rather early into the evening.

First Snow of the Season

 This being our first snow in our home, I felt a little bit of trepidation when I heard wintery weather was coming. Would our house keep us warm? Is is completely water-proof now? Needless to say, we're doing just fine in our home and keeping quite warm with the wood stove downstairs heating the house perfectly! No need to turn on the propane-fueled heat yet...thankfully so since propane is pretty expensive right now. I've even learned how to quickly start a fire without too much smoke in my eyes during the building process. Paton likes to "help" me start the fire by mimicking my blowing technique. He's very good though about not touching the stove-this was an initial worry but he's really shown no interest in exploring that part of the basement living room.

Obviously, we have many more months of winter ahead of us, but I'm still rejoicing that the Lord provided us with such a wonderful house here in the valley. I couldn't have asked for a better home. Now all that's needed to complete it is a dog!

The Great Pumpkin

Gathering inspiration from another blogger friend (Ti-Ti's Times), I decided to chronicle my pumpkin adventures. A friend from my church gave me this monstrous pumpkin to bake, puree, and then freeze for organic baby food when Charlotte is ready for solids. And yes, should you ask, I did discover that a serated knife is much better for pumpkins than the knife I have pictured above.

Cutting the stem out proved to be the most difficult of all the steps, and then the cleaning out of the pumpkin halves proved to be the most labor intensive. Separating the seeds from the flesh was probably the most boring. But it was all worth it since I'll have organic baby food for free next year!

When Paton saw that I was taking pictures, he jumped in front of the camera and kept saying, "Cheese, Mommy. Cheese!" So I indulged him and took a few shots.

That same day was another first...my first wood stove burn. I was stocking the stove with a huge log when the side of my arm touched the edge of the stove opening. It kind of looks like Styrofoam burned...the way my skin looks pulled apart. It distressed Paton to see it. He would offer to kiss it for me many times that day.