We Have a Birthday Boy

You know you are a well loved young man when even your cat leaves you a present for your birthday! I can't believe that Brayden is 11 years old. Time flies and I know this may sound sappy but man, I feel like I blinked and BOOM, he was big.
A few things that make Brayden extra amazing are:
*The way he owns his freckles. He knows they make him different and he embraces it.
*He loves his family and still enjoys spending time with us. He's not embarrassed to be around us parents yet.
*Brayden loves science and learning how things work.
*He wants to choose the right and lives his faith each day.
I'm so proud and honoured that Brayden chose me to be his mom and that this is the family he chose to teach him here on earth. He is an amazing person!

Buzzzzing

Ever since we got out sheep Ryan has been talking about getting some bee hives. I was hesitant because winter is coming and it seemed like a gamble to get hives right before they go into their hibernation period. What if the winter is really long and very cold? Would they all die and would we have just wasted our money?
Ryan spent a lot of time educating himself on the different types of hives out there and the pros and cons that go along with the different models. He found someone who was willing to take Ryan out to his hives and show Ryan how he extracts the honey and stores his hives. He shared how to properly winterize the hives and care for the bees throughout the winter so that they don't get sick and all die off.
Not only did Ryan think he needed one bee hive but he was convinced that you need to get two hives. That way you can watch the hives and if one seems to get sick or is struggling you'll be able to compare it to a healthy hive and pin point the problem more quickly. The logic was there but I was reluctant to spend that extra money on something I had no idea would make it through the winter. We compromised and with the sale of our sheep he was able to get his second hive.
I guess I am now officially married to a bee keeper! Hopefully they survive the winter.

I Know It. I Live It. I Love It.

Every time we go to Cardston we have to drive by the temple. I love that my kids want to see it or get out and walk around the property. This is the temple that Ryan and I were sealed in and I love this temple. It makes me so happy when my children talk about getting married to their future husband or wife in the temple so that they can have an eternal family of their own. It's so beautiful inside and out and I'm grateful for it and the peace it brings into our lives.

Bikin'

In this house we don't let our kids learn how to ride the dirt bike until they master a two wheel pedal bike. Well, for Madison that time has finally come. She has learned how to balance on her peddle bike, use her legs and manage steering. Today we took out the kids dirt bikes and let them go out for a little drive. This was Maddy's first time on the bike and she took to it quite quickly. It's always fun watching the kids as they try to figure it out and as they grow with confidence pick up the speed a little bit. Maddy still has to master the stopping part of dirt biking but she's been good managing her speeds. I'm not sure yet if she's going to love it like Brayden does or be more like Sydney and not to concerned about it either way.
One thing is for sure, she's dang cute on that little bike!

I Love HATE Sheep

I want to start out by saying that sheep are the most annoying creature on this planet. No, I am not exaggerating. They are not my friends. In fact I think they are my arch nemesis. Let me tell you why:
A truck arrives at our house where Ryan proceeds to choose three little lambs to call our own. They are all super cute and we name them Buddy 1, 2 and 3. The cute little lambs are scared of us and Banks seems to absolutely terrify them which is not surprising. Buddy 1, 2 and 3 get fenced into their little section and off Ryan goes leaving me with the sheep. All is well until my neighbour calls me to let me know the sheep are loose. Out I go and sure enough there they are wandering around like they own the place. Thankfully between my neighbour and I we are able to herd the sheep back into their little area and away I go to call Ryan and tell him to get back here so he can secure this fence before our money walks off the property and becomes road kill.
Ryan comes back with re-enforcements and they secure the fencing so the sheep can't escape and off he goes back to what he was doing before. I get this strange text from Ryan saying to watch the dog. I have no idea what this means so I put the phone down on the counter and as soon as I do I hear this "BAAAAA ... Baaaa!"
I look out the window to the side of the house and sure enough I see this lamb darting across the yard chased by the dog. Out I go and here I am chasing the dog who is chasing a lamb around and around in circles between the vehicles parked in the back section of the property. OH, I'm ticked and not having any fun at all. I'm calling Ryan telling him these sheep have got to go! I finally catch the dog and lock him up in the garage and start herding this rouge lamb when I hear this loud clatter from the garage and out busts the dog from his doggie door escaping the barricade I've set up and off goes the frightened lamb and we start the chase all over again. By the time I go to bed that night I am praying I will never see another lamb as long as I live.

Let's skip ahead a couple of days. Ryan and I head down to Lethbridge for a funeral leaving the sheep tucked safely away in their enclosure. We get home late in the afternoon to find an empty sheep enclosure and no livestock to be found. Ryan and I are scouring the property looking in every corner, combing through the tall grass, looking for signs or hints of where they could be but nothing. All I can think is that we just had $400 walk down our driveway never to be seen again. I leave Ryan searching the property and I head next door to care for the neighbours animals while they are out of town. I turn the corner of their driveway and look up at their door and there they are. Buddy 1, 2 and 3 just standing there on the door step as if this is a normal thing for lambs to do.
Did I mention I hate them?