snowballs and pigs

my phone is rapidly filling up with pictures of my piggies.

i took the boys with me for the last sunday feeding of mr wellington on the 10th.

gratefully my two little snowballs really took to the cow and seem to like the pigs

i can totally imagine morning farm chores with them running around with me.

farm life --> learning about pigs

yesterday one of our employees, chase, pointed out that avocado wasn't feeling too well.
i was wondering if she had issues with her legs or hips before hand since she always prefers to be laying down.
whenever she stands up she seems to drop down fairly quickly, unless she is busy eating her meals.
good news is that she walks just fine and an added plus is she poops and pees normally.
we are wondering if she has colic because she hunches up as if she is in pain and when feeling her stomach it's super tight compared to einstein.
i spent a lot of time searching the internet for info but became frustrated because i couldn't find anything helpful.
this morning i registered with a forum, hoping others who have raised pigs can give suggestions.

wellington on the other hand is thriving.
he is 4 weeks old and is eating hay in addition to his bottles and is starting to eat a little bit of grain.
i still love tending to him everyday and love watching him grow and see his personality.
when i walk out to give him his bottle i call out - baby boy...
and he pops his head out the window and wags his tail.
the boys even enjoy seeing him on sundays when they come with for his feedings.
i'm surprised they aren't more scared of him.
cezar usually barks at horses and cows when we take walks.
maybe this is the beginning of their love of farm animals... ;)
i can always hope.

my hour

work is consuming my days and by the time i get home in the evenings i'm exhausted. it can be challenging to balance all the needs of the day, home, work, etc etc...

but waking up when my alarm goes off at 7 and enjoying a little peace and quiet time by myself is absolutely vital. listening to the neighborhood come alive. letting the boys have as many potty breaks as needed. browsing through my phone or the internet, or simply watching the birds play in my front flower beds. i never would have pegged myself as a morning person.... but the 7 o'clock hour is easily one of my favorite. just me and the 2 snowballs that happen to be sleeping at my feet for the moment.

jake

the other day i was searching through photos and came across some real jewels.

grateful for mini trips down memory lane.

jake has been mine for over four years now.

he's such a sweetheart.

{and a handful sometime}

i love him.

is it sunday yet?

the weather has been dreamy this week.
sunday evening after i woke up from my nap i took my bike out for her first ride
it was amazing

monday night we went shopping for new furniture.
{thank you tax return}

tuesday we had a movie night with joe and alyson.
i think the boys finally made friends with aspen.
cezar needed a little convincing....
but jake and aspen came to terms with each other :)

wednesday night we join joe and alyson for a trip to the home goods store in murray.
mitch and i were on the hunt for curtains.
we are finally putting some 'cozy' touches on our home.
we managed to find a set of curtains we liked
but once we got home we realized that they weren't wide enough

thursday after work we attempted to shop for more curtain panels
we struck out at ross but did find some curtain rods that were perfect
luck was on our side though at wally world and we found the perfect ones to pair with our first finds.
our couches were delivered earlier in the afternoon and with the curtains....
the living is looking really cozy and perfect.
we are in love

friday i was determined to spend the evening at home and relax.
work has been demanding this week
a crazy amount of shipments arriving and plants that are waiting for me to get around to planting...
i'm the only full time employee in the store right now... i'm relying on part time staff to help cover....
i have an fabulous staff but it's hard to get everything done that i need too
anyways... i came home to mitch cooking dinner {thank you sweetheart}
curling up on the couch and relaxing was the perfect way to start the weekend...

seedlings and sandwiches

our primary children are turning eight this year and will be getting baptized. they truly are my most favorite children and teaching them is my favorite calling yet. as an example for teaching we planting a tomato seed with them and will show them the progress of growth as time passes. we are trying to help them grasp the concept of 'planting a seed of faith and watching it grow'. it has been very exciting for them to see the growth of the seedling so far. they even asked to help plant it once it's ready to transplant outside. i'm thinking their plant will make it's home in the front yard, that way they can walk by and see the progress during the summer.

my seedlings are growing. i absolutely love checking in on them throughout the day and seeing their progress. i can't wait til every one makes their presence seen. saturday my second batch of seeds arrived from baker creek heirloom seeds.  hopefully i'll get them planted in the next day or two. i'm trying two new plants - ground husk tomatoes and litchi tomatoes.

one of the best parts of bed time is the snowball sandwich. without fail jake and cezar will curl up on either side of me for snuggles before bed.

on another exciting note.... we bought me a darling bike this weekend!! i picked out a cruiser with a big comfy seat, a basket on the front and i can't wait to take it out for a ride! alyson {joe's finance} has one too and we are eager for the spring weather so we can go on bike riding adventures. the guys will most likely spend their time playing video games... {lame}. i really am super excited to finally have a bike.

a little bit of february

february is almost over and it seems like yesterday was the first.
it's been a wonderful and full month so far.
i spend every day at work and barely squeeze an hour or two off right now.
on the bright side i truly love my job.

we are attempting to get into a solid work out routine and improve our nutrition.
p90x is quiet the program and we'll need to work into it {that's for sure}
it does feel good getting into healthier habits.
however we have had quiet the week of indulgence....
who could resist with valentine's day and brunch with close friends
and meeting up for dinner with them before a chick flick last night.
alyson and i decided we need to 'practice' girl's night... because the boys tagged along.
i suppose that might be the case for the rest of our lives.... partly because mitch and joe are like brothers.

spring is starting to tease us.
and my flower beds at home are showing signs of life.
i seriously can't wait for the days to lengthen and for it to gradually get warmer.
my life needs more color and the garden is the ultimate source

we said goodbye to the jeep
{what a nightmare of a story}
and i now inherit the hybrid and mitch is driving his {current} dream vehicle - a big bad truck.
{oddly enough} i already love it.
comfortable, smooth ride and huge cab - with plenty of room for the boys.
i strongly believe that dogs should never ride in a truck bed!

next friday is the first of March
and it's the beginning of my most favorite month.
{i'm crossing my fingers the snakes stay out of my greenhouse}
the greenhouse will quickly fill with all my 'baby' plants and my soul will be happy.
and my body will be tired.... in a good way.

chilly paws dreaming for spring

last night i got a phone call from my sister sharing some exciting news. she's having a girl. mitch and i get another niece. naturally with my current crochet projects i can't help but dream of making something special for her baby girl.

our single digit temperatures keep continuing.... the news has warnings about excessive time spent outside will lead to frost bite! i feel bad for the boys. their energy levels keep building and it's been below freezing at any given point through the day and they are unable to run their energy out. not only that but i'm nervous about the snow on their paws. cezar seems to be most affected by it the last day or so. nanna has been having an incredibly hard start to the year and is looking forward to february.... i'm praying february brings slightly warmer temperatures.

my excitement for spring is building. especially since i've been going through our order acknowledgements. i'm looking forward to all the new plant arrivals at our store. not to mention i'm beyond giddy for the building of a succulent and cactus selection. they tend to be one of my plant loves. plus i'm eager to grow my edibles garden. anyone up for growing blueberries?? how about raspberries?? i'd love to help spread the 'green fever'.

the clock is calling me to work.... my chickies are most likely waiting for their hot water for their 'morning tea' and the cold store is waiting for my presence. and another day compiling the spring book for the register.

thanks for the memories 2012

2012 was quite the year for us. i had high expectations and gratefully the year did not disappoint. it really was my year.

january started out a bit rough.... mitch and i stayed home and rung in the new year playing games and spending time together. cezar injured his leg somehow new years eve and wouldn't use it. actually he could barely walk. a trip to the vet on monday showed no serious injury and seems to have sprained it somehow.  the jetta died on us at the car show mid january and we got lucky with an incredible deal on the Z. i also found out that i had mono on top of being hypothyroid.

february things started to swing upwards for me. i was still feeling the effects of mono and was learning how to deal with my health limits. we celebrated valentines and i managed to surprise mitch with a car full of ballons and a few gift cards to the car wash and his favorite smoothie place. work was showing all the signs of spring. which is undoubtedly my favorite time of year there. grandma holdaway was struggling with her health and we thought we were going to lose her. i was able to extend myself and help out at the house with her and grow to love her in a whole new capacity. i also started practicing yoga and it brought a new balance and happiness to my life.

march. all my spring shipments started arriving. i was feeling a bit better health wise. i located some darling baby silkie chicks which started my desire to have chickens. mitch and i finally conquered our main wall and painted over the not so lovely nutmeg color.

april i tackled more than i could handle. i was busy in the greenhouse trying to keep on top of everything. amy texted me to see if i'd be interested in helping her out again with the boys. i absolutely wanted to do so and figured out a way to squeeze her into my schedule. mitch was hesitant and i felt like i could be superwoman...... i quickly realized that 50+ hour weeks weren't going to be in my favor and that the garden center needed my full attention. not to mention i felt like i was taking way too many steps backwards in my health.

may. the busiest month of the year for me. april showers bring may flowers... and mother's day brings out all our customers. i managed to get my garden started and spent as much time with the boys as i could.

june. we celebrated mitch's birthday. spent time with friends and family. i was finally feeling on top of the world health wise {as much a possible} i was started to enjoy the first of my garden harvest. we squeezed a few hikes in with the boys. abby had my take her and russell's engagement photos too.

july was a busy month for us. we started out celebrating my birthday and having an adventure down in zion's subway. nanna joined us on our vacation along with mom and dad dayley and ashley and brendon. abby and russell got married on the 14th. plus we survived all the smoke in the air from the many many wildfires.

august i was thrilled with being able to harvest lots of goodies from my garden. we added a few new toys to the household - mitch got his fourwheeler and i in turn got a camera upgrade :) we attended the salt lake city farmers market. i got to being the 'photographer' for my cousins wedding. plus we managed to fit in a boating trip with joe and his girlfriend. on top of everything... i seemed to be the only employee that was able to work that month. everyone one had vacations and previous engagements.

september we celebrated cezar's 2nd birthday. made a day trip to idaho to surprise grandpa hatch for his 80th birthday and visit my grandpa taylor. harvest season was in full swing and i finally got to taste the joy of digging in the garden for the potato harvest. it's like a treasure hunt. finally manged to get back into the swing of yard work. the summer heat had taken it's toll on me and the yard. plus we had a overnight camp trip to the dunes with joe and alyson. it was quite the adventure sleeping under the stars, joe burning his hand on the camp ring and a fox sneaking into camp. it was the perfect little getaway.

october came and so did pumpkinland. the 2nd busiest season for me. {a double dose of birth control} our theme was alice in pumpkinland which was by far the most favorite from all the years. we also made an unexpected trip to idaho to be with family with grandma dayleys passing. we were grateful we made it in time to say goodbye. mitch was also studying for his 66 license exam. gratefully he passed even with all the current challenges. we also celebrated our 3rd anniversary. worked on conquering my fears of snakes and scary movies and haunted houses.... i'm better than i was. and we also traded in the Z for a hybrid. the Z was allergic to snow and we are old people now and enjoy the comfort of a full sized car ;)

november brought new changes to work. sanna left and i became the manager. there was a lot of clean up from pumpkinland to be done and getting ready for the holiday season. yay poinsettias. we went shooting with abby, russell and nanna. i got to try out my new gun. and it was a perfect way to dispose of some excess pumpkins. and of course we celebrated thanksgiving with the people we love the most.

and last but not least december. we had beautiful weather for most of the month. i managed to plant garlic around the 7th. i also got to take abby and russell's christmas photos/we are having a baby pictures. after 3 years of marriage we finally made it to temple square with the dayley family. enjoyed a wonderful dinner and mom dayley said we should offically adopt nanna into the family since she is always joining in on our fun. plus i am tickled to say that we had the best poinsettias sells in the past many many years. at least in the 10 years i've been working. it feels good to see so few at the end of the holiday. we also enjoyed a very wonderful and blessed christmas with each other and our families. and i've finished the year out with the week off and enjoying time with the boys!

2012 had some ups and downs and some health challenges. but i'm so blessed and have truly felt like i have come into my own self. i have to declare that it is the best year yet!! i am sure that 2013 will be filled with it's own challenges and good moments but 2012 has been very good to me. i may just be a tiny bit sad to say good bye to it. thanks for all the memories this year... and here's to the next. may you be just as wonderful and fulfilling!