Day after Christmas

So today I asked the Kids if I should take down the Christmas decorations and clean the house and they all told me that I should just take it easy today and not do as much since it is the holiday season and all.  So here is what I have done so far.  Made a great Breakfast, Laundry, Cleaned out boxes from yesterday, dressed Andrew, changed a stinky bum, shoveled the sidewalk, put ice melt out, made lunch, unloaded the dishwasher and got dressed.  So needless to say I should have gone with option one because I think it would have been less work.  So we hope you all had a great Christmas and that this year will be full of wonderful events.

Higher Education

 So you are saying to yourself why is this post entitled Higher Education?  I have to confess that my oldest child, Nolan is skipping school.  Don't worry I told the school that he was not going to be there because he had some other educational opportunities he had to do that day.  So here the "boys" are saddling up Jordon and Pegram.  They are brother and sister for those who don't know them. 

 We have been married 15 years and I have yet to see him brush off a horse.  But it goes to show how muddy things have been this year. 

Hey Quinn, Nice Chaps!  You should tell your wife thanks for getting those for you last Christmas (and say thanks to Uncle Mario for making them).  You're looking good and warm!!!

Getting the Christmas Tree

Every year (except for last year, my dear sweet brother-in-law Morgan got us one) we go out into the mountains with out saw and tree permit, and cut down our Christmas Tree.  We always have a story that goes with it and this year was no exception.  We decided to go up Skinner Canyon and took the Suburban since it has 4 wheel drive.  Which is necessary, trust me.  So the kids were all starving and I had to run to town right before so I picked up some pizza and then we got some Gossner milk out of the basement.  It turns out that Andrew is just interested in the Cheese and Meat of the pizza.  Thomas ate 6 slices and Nolan drank 4 milks.

Quinn absolutely loves when I take pictures of him while he is eating.  He is sooo cute!!!

The kids were having a hard time getting up the hill to go get us a tree.

Here is cute little Andrew who really wanted to walk up the mountain all by himself.  Nolan is kindly pointing out that there is a huge hole and not to walk into it.  So we didn't blow up a truck engine this year so as far as getting tree's goes this was a mild one. 

Chrsitmas Tree Picture

So every year I try really hard to get a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas Tree.  I can honestly say this might be our best one yet.  I had to recruit the "Jailbird or Candy Cane" in the back to help hold down the troops. 

 This is their favorite thing to do, Doggie Pile on Dad.  I think that they are getting a little heavy for him. 

I have to apologize right up front on this one.  Quinn actually took a good picture.  This happens so rarely that I was really surprised.  It's a CUTE picture and I think the best one yet!!! 

Old House

So for those of you who don't know this is the "Old House" down at the ranch.  This is where Quinn's grandparents lived till Quinn's dad Bill was born.  Hence we call it the "Old House."  So I was taking pictures of the troughs and I looked up and saw the old house and thought, "What stories could it tell us?"  I don't have time today but in the future I am going to share some stories.  If I forget please remind me.

Twister

So Thomas really wanted to play that game that you twist around on and so we did.  As you can see cute little (non-talking) Andrew is "helping" Becca stay on her spots.

Water Troughs

Quinn by the water trough by the Rock Bridge.  He has the "key" in his hand.

 I tried to get a picture of the Bird Ladder that we had to put in.  I guess if the birds get in the trough and can't get out they eventually "Swim" over to this and then they can walk up out of the water.

 If you can't tell it's cold out and I am not sure why Quinn thinks this is a good idea but he had to fix something on it and he is balancing on the drain pipe.

I thought he was going to fall in so I tried to take a picture of it.  Turns out he just has really good balance.

 This is the trough in the lane.  It is not quite finished but is close.  It has the least amount of ice on it.  It will stay open all year.
So I took some pictures of what we had been doing all summer, fall, and into winter this year.  It was a long project and I for one am really happy that it's close to completion.  We hired a guy to rip in the pipe which went really quick if you ask me and then we bought big tires that have the outside cut off them.  They can hold a lot of water!!!  So we put four in: one in the lane, one in the four corners (poly pasture, dry farm, oiler pasture, and stack yards), and one in the stack yards and below the old house, and one by the rock bridge and oiler pasture.  So for those of you who don't know those names of those fields you'll just have to wonder where they are at.  But this way we won't have a great big muddy mess when spring comes.  It will be great this next summer!!!

Becca with Fluffy

So the summer after Becca was born we had this horse born in the pasture behind our house in Bennington.  She "rode" the horse then and now she is riding it 6 years later.  The kids named the horse Fluffy because she was so fluffy when she was little.  She is a cross between a Percheron and a Spotted Draft.  She is now pulling the sleigh with the other draft horses.

Winter Fun

So I know there are those that are not fond of the snow but we here on the Jenson Farm have embraced it.  For fun we jump off the sleigh and land in the snow drift by the road.  See even snowing blow can have a benefit.  We wouldn't have drifts without it.

Begining

So I've been somewhat late in the technology age but have now decided to join in and become a blogger.  I don't know what I am doing but hopefully I will figure it out along the way.  I went to a Family History class recently and she was teaching  on the subject of writing your history.  She had these really cool books sitting there and she said they were her blog.  I was curious so I asked more about it and she said that you can turn your blog into a book.  That really interested me because I try to write in a journal for my kids and I love to have photo's with it but have failed the last few years with my scrapbooking.  I am excited to try this and see how well I will do.  This will be my beginning so I posted a picture of the family.  We are in front of the Old House on the farm and the rose bushes bloomed this year which made a great backdrop.