The Chicken Whisperer

Granny Smith has the chickens so tame this winter that they will perch on his shoulder or arm as he goes about doing the chores.  Cute!

Park Benches in I. F.

Miss Delicious and her friends were bored one afternoon over break, so they decided to visit each of the artistic park benches in Idaho Falls:

On the "Doggie Footprints" bench.

Trying to figure out the "Bench Map".

The vintage "Bicycle Bench"

George Washington crossing the Delaware (or Snake).

Being little Fishes at the "Fish Bench"

And Miss Delicious transforming into a goose.

Selling the Lambs

This morning the boys took their lambs up to a local sheep man to sell.  They shut down the sale here and so he's pretty much the only game in town.  He has about 2,000 sheep right now.

He liked the boys lambs a lot and said they looked really good.  Of course!   

I tried to get pictures of them.  Not successful.  They were way more interested in eating.  But, as you can see, they are no longer little, cute lambs gamboling about on the green sward.  They are enormous, dirty rugs with huge appetites.

This is Smut Smut.  He is the biggest, piggiest of the lambs.  He is also gigantic.  All of them survived, though, which is a tribute to the boys good stewardship, even little teacup, who was so tiny when we got her.

So, here's the reality of the sheep business, though.  The rancher gave them $90 a head for 6 lambs = $540.  Subtract 3 bags of milk replacer at $70 a bag, plus the $37 it cost to buy them from the sheep experiment station, minus $15 or so for selenium shots, and $170 for a ton of hay and guess what?

You make 8 dollars.  

True Story.

Circa 1900

I especially love Prairie Spy's face - sort of that deer in the head lights look that all old pictures have!

The Art of Miss Delicious

This year for Christmas Golden Delicious drew pictures for her brothers:

Chris LeDoux for Prairie Spy

Buck Brannaman for Nova Spy

And the Hulk for Granny Smith!

Merry Christmas 2012!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Our families highlight this year was talking with Elder Braeburn!  Yeah!  He looked great, and sipped on black currant juice mixed with lemonade at a member's house while he talked with us on skype.  The lady would occasionally bustle in and say, "can I get you some cake?!"  Braeburn says it's a myth that missionaries starve - at least not in England.  Everyone wants to feed him.  He told us all about his investigators and how to say strange things in "Yorshire".  For instance stairs are said, "apples and chairs" - so you go up the apples and chairs.  (how is that possible?? very strange.) 

Anyway, we got to meet his companion, Elder Botta, from Italy, and the other two missionaries in his flat in Leeds.  He loves being in the big city and all the excitement that comes in a University town.  It felt like we talked for maybe 20 minutes, and it had been an hour.  We loved every second of it.  The kids said, "Braeburn, you don't have an accent!"  He said, "No, my accent is terrible."  but then later in the conversation Prairie Spy told him something about Krav, and Braeburn said, "Are you doing Krav then?"  in this very lilting british voice and we all laughed hilariously.  

Miss Delicious got books to feed her inner creative muse.  The bestseller must have a mentor, right?

The boys also got gifts from their favorite mentor, Buck.  We've all been avoiding being roped ever since.  It's so much warmer to rope in the house. 

Prairie Spy got a new bit and put it on his old headstall.  Nova Spy got a whole awesome set up with headstall, bit and mecate, but somehow I didn't get a picture! Terrible!  That goes for Granny Smith too.  Just imagine him sitting at the kitchen table putting together lego contraptions for hours!  

Merry Christmas!

Here We Come A Caroling

Miss Golden Delicious and her group of cronies went caroling.  I loaned her the beret Grandpa brought me back from Paris several years ago.  So adorable!  Paris!

G. D. showing me how freezing it is. (and trying not to laugh)  Have fun caroling!