keep calm and ride on...

my life has been a little over-the-top lately.  it seems all of my spare time is getting sucked into so many different directions.  life is go go go.  will and i are busy on things from the moment we get up until we crash in the wee hours of the morning.  literally.  i rented young victoria and it took me three nights to watch it.  not because it wasn't really good, but because i couldn't keep myself awake for longer than 30 minutes or so each night.  (it was really good.)  preston's party went great.  it was so much work- but it turned out very much like i had pictured it.  (so that's good, i think.) 

my focus over the past few weeks has been hiking and riding.  i've gotten myself in way over my head with this bike ride on the 8th.  it should be simple- but for a girl who hasn't spent much time on a bike in (seriously) 20 years- it is kicking. my. butt.  today was the first time i made it up the massive hill on the first stretch of the ride.  it's 2 1/2 miles of uphill, then a very steep and narrow highway that climbs for what feels like forever.  then the rest of the 14 miles isn't that big of a deal.  a few areas of rough, but mostly no big deal.  it's the first 3 miles that make me want to die.  (it reminds me of childbirth- when i'm riding, i honestly feel like i'm just not going to make it.)  sad.  but true.  this whole beach cruiser ride was a ridiculously bad idea. 

and as far as the hiking goes, i can deal with it.  i am slow, but i will make it just fine.  my biggest issue there is the blisters.  i can't seem to hike downhill without them.  no matter which shoes i wear.  all i know is will owes me big time for this one!  (a whole week vacation without the kids and 10 hours of driving for some crap food, hot days, OUT-HOUSES and uncomfortable nights in the bottom of the grand canyon????  who does that?) 

we've been working on expanding our coup for the new chickens.  we put in our duck pond (which they love) but unfortunately the next day we had lost one of our new chickens because she couldn't get herself out of the water and drown.  spencer and i were devastated.  everyone else took it okay.  we're sanding down our garden boxes and re-staining the wood.  we spent all day saturday mucking out and painting the barns where our goats live.  last week we drove all over tarnation finding day-old, inexpensive bread for our pigs.  i think we ended up with roughly 300 loaves.  (the work and love that goes into raising animals.)  will is getting ready to start building his green house.  it's bigger than i want it to be- but will is stubborn about these things.  so i'll just have to deal with it.  i'm not so excited about the aquaponics, or the worms.  but the green house does sound like it's going to be a good thing to have.  we'll see.

i'll post photos of everything next time.  i'm totally beat. 

life is good

time flies.  i really hate that it does.

we had a great time in st. george.  the temple was awesome, 7 hours in barnes and noble- uninterupted, and we went hiking.  it was great.  

while we were gone, preston had his induction into the n.h.s.  i guess it was kinda cool. 

it's spring break, which i'm so excited for.  but it doesn't feel anything like spring.  i'm hating the weather these days.  seriously- i'm almost ready to move.  9 months of winter and 3 months of nice is almost as bad as 9 months of summer and 3 months of nice. 

my garden is in, my starts are going crazy, and my herbs are looking good. 

between the goats, pigs, bees, ducks and chickens- it's getting a little crazy.  but the ducks are so cute.  i've got to take some pictures.  they are so much more mellow and fun to watch than the chicks. 

my calling is extremely demanding lately.  it seems there is always something i'm planning or shopping for regarding relief society.  tomorrow night is 'technology safety' night, and we're doing a sit down meal.  i'll be relieved when it's over. 

i love general conference weekend.  love it.  this one is going to be especially fun, and warm.  i can just tell.  :) 
 

lincy

this is what lincoln looks like on any given day at our house.

(notice the church shoes, perfectly fitting pajama pants, garden gloves, monkey backpack and batman cape.)

he INSISTED on getting this cow costume on.  size 18 mo. i believe.  he could barely move in it.

we are the champions my friend!

so, let's see- last thursday was sunny and beautiful and i made plans with will to get up saturday and plant some of our garden.  (the early stuff- broccoli, spinach, cabbage, peas, carrots, etc.)  friday morning i woke up early and when i looked out the window:

(it didn't stop our chickens from foraging out in it though.) 

so instead of planting a garden saturday (because you can't plant when the ground is mud) we did some projects around the house and cleaned out all of the cabinets in the kitchen.  not as fun, at all.

sunday was clayton's 10th birthday.  his dinner choice was fettuccine alfredo with chicken, broccoli, salad, and rosemary bread.  dessert was razzleberry pie and blondie brownies with ice cream.  (i'm sure they were good- i get to start eating sugar in 4 days!  but i'm mostly excited for oatmeal- weird, i know.) 

yesterday  i took the boys after school and got them each set up with a checking and savings account at the bank.  we should've done that a long time ago.  but now they each have a debit card and can carry that instead of cash.  clayton was thrilled.  it cracks me up.  he actually has more money than any of his brothers.  he's just better at saving.  it was also brigham's championship game for his jv basketball team.  i was a wreck.  they were down by one at the half, so i went for a walk by myself outside.  by the time i came back in they were up by 12 and there was only 4 minutes left in the game.  they won- and brig was holding the ball for the final seconds.  it was exciting and i was sooooo relieved they won!! 

AND it was dad's birthday.  (well, kind of.  it's really on the 10th, but he's celebrated it on the 8th for the past 65 years.)  so we went straight from the game to mom and dad's house for a late dinner.  he's having dinner on the 10th with his biological brother.  so much has happened there.  i'm happy for my dad- he has a whole new family to love him and become a part of his life.  it's all working out so well now. 

animal, vegetable, miracle

has anyone read this book?  written by barbara kingsolver. 

and while i'm asking questions- does anyone know much about publisher?  anyone ever use it or have opinions on it?

what EVERY 16 year-old wants

preston's birthday wish.  not even joking.  he wants it to be entirely his, as a pet, and he'll walk it around the neighborhood.  he doesn't even like our farm wanna-be lifestyle. 

i'm totally going to cave. 

finding content

i've read a lot lately about happiness, and finding content. life is so busy- and probably will be for a very long time. i find it's hard to be content with so much always going on- and so much on our plates (and minds.)

will and i are always obsessed with the next 'project'. we talk about wanting to move constantly. (just to get a farm.) we're taking on pigs, we want a cow, will wants to grow fish, the greenhouse, maybe guinea fowl, (those are funky- but fun) a duck for the kids for easter, a windmill to supplement energy for our home.... and on and on. seriously. sometimes i wonder if we should just chill and be happy with triple crown lane, our chickens, goats, and murderous dogs. :) you know- like the key to being happy is being content with the current situation.

but it's hard to do.

i have been looking all over for a magazine that just came out (it's brand new) called urban farm- sustainable city living. it's put out by a company that also does hobby farms- which is one of my favorites. so i was really excited to get my hands on this magazine. yesterday i stopped in at ifa, and they had one copy sitting on their rack. thrilled, i purchased it and before i could even read it, will had it and he and some of our friends read through the whole thing. and guess what? now there's more on our list of 'wants' and things we desire to 'take on' than there was before. this magazine was written exactly for people like us.

maybe the key to happiness and content right now is for us to stop researching so much, and just implement the things we've already decided we want to do.

all i know is lately we feel like kids in a candy store and we want to taste one of everything!