Halloween

The boys and I went to Lakeside last night for the Halloween festivities. We had a chili feed first, then the kids go out to the community to trick-or-treat (there are only a few houses in Lakeside), and then all the parents get in line to pass out their candy to the kids. I like this because we get the chance to see other kids and their costumes, we don't have to drive from house to house, and the candy is awesome. People are friendly around here, but not outgoing. So I sat by myself and only talked to a few people. My neighbor Shelley helped me out a lot though. She took the boys trick-or-treating so I didn't have to Dallie out (her husband was pregging too).

We were invited down to Oshkosh tonight for the high school volleyball games and trick-or-treating, but I don't think we will go. Tomorrow night is our branch trunk-or-treat, so we will be really halloweened out by the time this week is over. (Not to mention our mail lady leaving a 2-pound bag of licorice in our mailbox yesterday. She always has holiday treats for the kids, although I'm pretty sure the boys won't see any of that licorice since Jason found it first.)

Here are some pictures of the boys in their costumes and their loot (I especially like the mummies).

Pretty Things

I'm busy. I'm feeding Dallie, getting ready for my parents to come, packing, feeding Dallie, getting Halloween costumes ready, feeding Dallie, trying to decide if I'm going to Lakeside for the school dinner/trick-or-treating (Jason is pregging on Blue Creek so I'll be by myself), laundry, and feeding Dallie some more (if she's awake, she is eating). I'd rather not share a picture of what my house looks like right now, so I will post a picture of a summer storm coming in at sunset (it's much prettier than my house).

Ryder's Photo Shoot

Ryder. He's our "Wyatt". He's always acting up in some silly way. These pictures were from a few weeks ago when he and I and Dallie were waiting on Jason and Kache.

Stake Conference Weekend

Our trip to Stake Conference/Rapid City was good. Jason doesn't get off the ranch much, so he especially enjoyed the trip. He did good on his talk and he had lots of compliments.

We went to dinner at Chili's Saturday night. Eating out is always fun since it doesn't happen very often, and it's especially nice when it isn't McDonald's. Our hotel stay was not so fun. Trying to sleep in the same room with three kids equals no sleep at all. Ryder doesn't sleep good if he isn't in his own bed so every time he woke up crying, he woke up Dallie as well. Staying in a hotel used to be so fun, but with kids corralled up in a little room, germs (doorknobs, TV remote, bed spread, carpet, etc.), and all the people that are there, it just isn't fun anymore. I'm happy staying home being a hermit. By living out in the middle of nowhere I've lost my ability to drive in cities (it doesn't help that I drive a suburban the size of a bus either). I used to love to drive in cities (Boise, Tri-Cities, even Denver), but now when I'm surrounded by other cars I feel claustrophobic (and Rapid City is a fairly small city).

Here are a couple pictures from our trip.

This is how you know you are in South Dakota: there is a casino on the state line.

A picture looking west at the Black Hills.

Looking east at the Great Plains.

On our way home we decided to drive through the Black Hills and enjoy the scenery. The boys enjoyed seeing the faces in the mountain (Mount Rushmore). We just drove by as it was Sunday and we have been before with Bobby and Sara (a story for another time: we left our diaper bag by a bench, security thought it was a bomb, Jason had to be escorted by a man with a gun to get it, I was in tears, etc, etc).

Crazy Horse (still under construction).

The wildlife in Custer State Park. Sadly overgrazed. When we came with Bobby and Sara last time we camped here. The campground was fenced in, but it was still a little scary to be camping across a barbed wire fence from buffalo.

The happy travelers. One of the benefits of living so far from town is that the boys know how to travel well.

The unhappy travelers. These two haven't yet learned how to travel well.

Kache and Dallie during one of our diaper-changing stops.

As happy as we were to get off the ranch, we were even happier to get back.

The Birth Order of Children

I got this email from my friend Evee. I thought it was pretty funny and mostly true.

Your Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle. 3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins:
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Haircut

Ryder was about two months overdue for a haircut, so I finally got it done last night. He really doesn't like haircuts; he cries and sometimes throws up when he finds out he's getting it cut. I had to do it before my Dad gets here though. He has threatened to cut Ryder's hair and I'm not ready for Ryder to have a buzz. I love his curls. Here are some befores and an after.

The after. He looks like a boy, right? Actually, it really doesn't bother me if people think he looks like a girl. I know he's all boy.

Organized

I love to be organized. I think my favorite things are totes - I can never have too many. It just makes me smile thinking about organizing things (really, I have a big grin on my face right now). The clothes in my closet are color coordinated, long and short sleeves separated, collared shirts all together, etc. I can't stand to sleep in an unmade bed. About once a week I organize the boys' toy closet and book shelves (Disney books, Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss, hard back, paper back, etc. are all separated). Food storage, movies, Tupperware lids, cooking utensils, bank statements, favorites list on the computer all have to be in their proper places or in alphabetical order. Living with four other people makes it difficult to stay organized all the time, but if I stay on top of it I always know where everything is.

Just a look into my world.

Preg Check

Our preg check is done. Jason's numbers were good (94% pregnant). His numbers for the whole year have been good. He only lost about 5% of his calves this year, which is really good considering the two blizzards we got this spring during calving season. His calf weights at the sex sort were good too. On average they gained 2.2 pounds a day (from weaning to sex sort). (I know this doesn't mean much to most of you, but it will be fun for Jason and I to look back on later in life.) His foreman and boss both said he has been doing good and getting to be a good cattleman (it may not sound like much, but our foreman doesn't talk much and this is the first time he's complimented Jason personally).

My meals went well. I'm not very confident in my cooking abilities (those of you who've had my cooking know why) so I never feel comfortable cooking for a big group, but the guys are always very grateful and complimentary. Now I'm on to the next project: packing for our trip to Rapid City this weekend. And then next week I get to get ready for my parents to come. They are coming to help us work on the McGinley house. They will stay for about two weeks and hopefully we'll be able to make the house habitable. I say we, but my parents will do most of the work. Jason will still have his cows to take care of, and I won't be much help with three kids in tow. So I'm really glad my parents are coming or the work wouldn't get done.

What's Up

I'm posting to say we are still here. We are busy. We sex sort our calves tomorrow. Wednesday we preg our cows. Next weekend is Stake Conference (Jason is speaking in Priesthood meeting). The boys are as active as ever since it has been colder and can't be outside as much. I'm posting a picture of them being "hung by their toenails" (as my mom would say) because they are driving us crazy tonight.

Check Up

Dallie had her two month check up the other day. She weighed 11 lbs 11 oz. Her head is finally rounding out; she doesn't look so much like a newborn anymore. She has been sleeping through the night for the past couple of weeks now. I'm ready for her to move out of our room, but we only have two bedrooms upstairs in this house, so she won't be in her own room until we move to the McGinley (which, by the way Brenda, only has two bathrooms). It's fun having a girl. Thanks to my Mom and sisters for all the girl clothes.

Milky Way

Jason was showing Kache the Milky Way the other night and trying to explain what our galaxy is. Kache came in the house and told me his interpretation: "Mom, someone spilled milk in the sky." Isn't it funny how literal kids are.

Pregging

We start preg checking in two weeks. We have vet students from Colorado State come help (they also come during calving). They get the experience and we get their help; and since we don't pay them, we provide meals for them. So the day Jason's herd is pregged I am responsible for feeding the vet students and the other ranch empoyees that come help. I am planning on 20 people for lunch and 12 for supper. So I need some suggestions on what to feed everyone. I thought I would do corn chowder for one meal, but I don't know what kind of salad and dessert to do with it, and the other meal I haven't figured out yet. Any ideas would be helpful, but keep in mind this is a cattle ranch, and my husband won't allow me to feed the guys chicken.

Making Cookies

The boys helped me make sugar cookies on Saturday in between sessions of General Conference. Of course Ryder had more flour on him than on the counter. After all the hard work, we enjoyed the fruits of our labors (which I don't have a picture of because the cookies got eaten too quick). Ryder's still sporting his chubby eye.

General Conference

We enjoyed General Conference this past weekend. Conference weekend always brings back good memories for me, probably because it was the only Saturday my dad didn't work. I remember the sessions we could listen to at home, Mijken and I would start out with just our coloring stuff and by the end of a session we'd have most of our toys out (barbies and accessories, dolls, Fisher Price people). It's no different from my boys (except the barbies and dolls are replaced by pickups, trailers, tractors and implements).

I think my favorite part of conference was the children's choir on Saturday. It's nice to be able to watch at home so the boys can be outside and I can have some quiet time to watch (and in the spring when we are calving Jason can catch a couple of sessions). Here are some pictures of the kids dressed and ready for Sunday morning session. Dallie is in her new dress from Mijken.

My Job

I was afraid I wouldn't get to cake calves this year since I just had a baby, but I was wrong. Like I said before, Dallie does quite well when we go out to work, so we spend as much time out of the house as we can. Here are some pictures of caking. I love my job.