Snow trip and Farm Outing

We got to go on another trip to the snow for Janelle's birthday! It was the most perfect weekend for cross-country skiing, which is a recent favorite activity for both Matt and I, we especially like going with our instructors, John and Janelle! This time Lorna gathered up the courage to try it again and she did great! I had to include some pics of a perfect fall though:)
I took that one from the ground after I fell

You need to go through these next four quickly, like a flip book



Janelle, out skiing at 7 months
Grandpa and Caleb's snow boots
Janelle, SOOO excited about her birthday cake that she can't put down her knitting:)
Our failed attempt at a family photo, Grandpa was back at the cabin watching Caleb.
John and Janelle

It was so pretty at the lake and beyond that we decided to try a backpacking trip this summer, can't go another summer without getting out there! More details later:)
A precarious crossing of the creek
And our farm outing... Matt helped a friend by feeding his animals while he was gone. We went as a family and had quite a time. Starting with the cranky goose!
Cranky Dottie, DO NOT go near her!
Matt was told to "just let the sheep out of their pen." Well, they found a man gate to this field that was open with a few burros (granted you couldn't show it to them if their lives depended on it, but they found it!). Anyways, not trusting our dog, and unable to take the other cranky dogs off their ties, Matt had to herd them in all by himself, it was such a chore! I had to run after the burros a few time to keep them back in the field, what entertainment!
my favorite miniature donkey!! I kinda want to take him home, but what is one to do with a donkey? He would nuzzle up to Matt and give him donkey hugs when he was near, seriously, I don't think that is normal for donkeys!
Caleb helping dad with the alfalfa
Addie got a bit herdy and feisty with this burro, so it got feisty back and yelled so loud that it freaked out Caleb, who immediately started crying:(

But Dad saved him, so Caleb is now giving the burro the "stink-eye."After the sheep spactacle, we were late for church and Caleb was pretty sick, so we took a ride through the Atascadero hills. It's so pretty right now!
Just a few classics, Daddy and Caleb at lunch-time.

The nap that woudn't stop:)and if you made it this far, you deserve to see this handsome-devil in all his glory!

All Caleb-18 months

So, yes, we are a bit obsessed with our son. But we love and adore him and think he is the greatest little boy ever! Please enjoy the pics of him just being him.

Loungin with Tia Camille. He totally did this himself.
His new toy! He uses them backwards and then runs into things! It really is hilarious


oh my goodness, there are oranges in my sucker!!


Oh, the joy of Fulwyler Oranges!!
This toy shines lights from the steering wheel. He figured out that if he lifted his shirt, he could see the lights on his tummy!
I think the joy on Matt's face is hilarious! (Don't worry folks, the breaker was off!) And Matt wants me to add that Caleb was taught proper safety procedures before handling wires.
Caleb's "ride-on" lawn mower, he was powering it with dead leaves, you can see a few between his legs
His favorite of all beanies! It is like a lovey for him. And yes, he still wears his perfectly good Christmas PJs:)
Sometimes Caleb has tough times, I know, it's a bit hard to imagine with all these smiles. Well, this time, I just gave him the box of crackers and let him at it. I walked around the corner and came back when it was just too quiet. This is what I found
trying on Dada's helmet

And ending with our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!

MAIL CHORE

So, Facebook is so much easier to post pictures to, so I just uploaded some photos there from our day today. They gave me a link that allows anyone to look at my latest album. So, here you go, check em out!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049711&id=1255178863&l=48a843b190

Kitchen Remodel and paint job

Here are some post-pictures of our house so far. We redid the kitchen ceiling, lighting and paint and made a big difference in the look of our home we think. Matt put in many hours with his dad and friend, Ray. Shellie, with the help of many people, Henry, Lorna, Uncle Peter, Aunt Harriet, Camille, Sarah, Erin, my momma (who came up for a surprise visit) did a lot of work on the paint:) So, they
1) Removed the lowered ceiling, framing, etc and the cabinets that separated the kitchen from the living room
2) Dry-walled everything above the cabinets, created new framing and re-dry-walled the existing sky-light.
3)Put in the can lighting
4)re-textured all the new stuff
5) Painted
all while painting the rest of the house!
6)moved in with a lot of great help!
7) had Christmas!

Again, pictures taken with me turning continuously clockwise about 360 degrees, the cabinets were taken from the far left of this first picture

Our new home!!

We have been looking at houses for about two years now, never finding the right place. We put a few bids on houses here and there (always a total lowball!) and either were rejected or pulled out ourselves because it just wasn't right. Well, Matt came upon this house a year ago while browsing the "way too expensive" range of houses. He really liked it (which means a lot coming from him), it was on an acre, it was a good sized home, with a HUGE deck! Shellie was ho-hum about it but really liked the floorplan (it is VERY rare to find good floorplans around here, I'm not sure if that is always the case, but it definitely is here). We put in our low-ball offer and were rejected because there was a better offer already on it. To make it worse, the house was a short sale which means that the buyers are trying to sell it at a loss for the bank that financed the purchase, AKA, this is gonna take FOREVER! Several months went by, Shellie forgot about the house, but Matt remembered. Several offers also went through on the house but the buyers pulled out due to the bank being ridiculous! Eventually, the sellers' agent called us and told us that if we offer a certain amount (still a low-ball offer), she was pretty sure she could get it through. Well, true to a short-sales reputation the process of getting our offer accepted took FOREVER, about 5 months! We had peace that God rarely does things quickly and having to wait is never a closed door from Him. we knew that if this house was not meant to be ours that doors would definitely closed. Meanwhile, we were living in our great little Honeymoon cottage and happy as clams. So, around the second week of November our offer was finally accepted and we went into escrow. So many things could still close the doors on this home so we kept our excitement to a minimum. The Pest inspection went well, the Home inspection went really well and the Septic was great! We had already gotten ourselves ready financially, so the financing went through without a hitch and we got an amazing interest rate! blah, blah blah.... We are now painting the new house and packing up our old one. We move on December 12!! Here are some pictures from when we were still waiting, it already looks a bit different.
All of these pictures were taken with me standing in the dining area, I'm doing a 360 going clockwise. Gotta love that 80's kitchen!

By the way, we have already done a ton to this kitchen and I will post the remodel pictures very soon. Or you can look at my facebook to see some in-process pics.

Squaw Bread Recipe

For all of you out there that want my bread recipe, here it goes
Shellie's Squaw Bread,
I will list the ingredients in the order that you should prepare them

3/4 c. milk (any sort of milk will do. I have used rice milk, whole milk, 2%, 1% and it all tastes fine
1/4 water
1 c. bread flour
1 3/4 c. wheat flour
3/4 c. rye flour
YEAST! Place these three ingredients in a small cup or bowl, mix the sugar and yeast and then add water, set aside until you are ready to start your bread
2 1/2 tsp. active yeast (I get Red Star in bulk for VERY cheap at Smart n Final)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. warm, not hot water
2 Tbs. Oil
1 1/2 Tbs. Honey
1 1/2 Tbs. Brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Add Yeast mixture (it should have risen and rounded itself in the cup)
Place pan in breadmaker and set it for Dough. This should take about an hour and a half. When finished (take pan out within an hour of it finishing), put a handful of flour on a smooth surface, dump the dough on top, coat the dough in flour and then place into a greased loaf pan.
Place in a pre-warmed oven (just put the oven on the Warm setting) with a very light towel over the top. Allow to rise until it is an inch or two higher than the side of the pan. This should take about 30 minutes, more or less depending on the freshness of your yeast.
Open the stove, remove the towel and turn the oven up to 350 degrees. Set the timer for 28-30 minutes for a glass loaf pan, 30+ for dark pan.
Do not cut immediately! Set out on a drying rack.

I really hope you make it and enjoy! It is great for sandwiches and amazing for plain toast.