What a Long Week!

Last week is finally over!

The only thing I can really say to that is well, a whole lot of nothing. It was such an exhausting week...I am so overwhelmed with fatigue, that it makes me even more tired just thinking about it all.

We had some really nice days last week for a pleasant change. On Tuesday, we spent a few hours outside just having fun. We went down to Great-Grandma's house for a visit and we had a lot to do! Grandpa has decided to raise rabbits again and they had some babies. I was kindof worried about getting Kenzie close to them since her dad is deathly allergic to them and I really wasn't up for having my baby girl turn purple on me like the horror stories I heard about Jake when he was little. But, she didn't have any problems at all. They were so cute...it reminds me of the bunnies my Grandma and Grandpa gave us as kids one year for Easter. We also walked around the farm, visiting with Kitty, seeing the day old dairy calf that was just accepted by the heifer cow that lost her calf the day before, and petting the wet noses of the yearling calves in the corrals. They were so curious of the little blue thing standing in their concrete feed bunker. Kenzie stood there half bent over with an arm outreached trying so hard to be still so that they would come up to her. I wish someone was out there with me...I know I missed some really great shots that afternoon. The main purpose of our trip was haircuts. Kenzie got her first real haircut and I got about 4 inches chopped off! A new look is always such a wonderful way to start spring!

We worked horses on Wednesday. Everybody was a little bit better than they were on Monday which was great. Roz was a little more relaxed. Not much, but I will take the little tries. Peaches didn't take the small punishments quite so much to heart. I know it just kills her to get into trouble but that is the main reason why I love her so much. Her tries were a little snappier and we moved through maneuvers a little bit quicker. Chex was a little more down to earth. I didn't get kicked at, or struck at, or attacked in any fashion. That was quite pleasant actually. Kenzie was trouble like always. Instead of playing with her toys that she had in her playpen, she decided that it would be more fun to stand on her box and try to reach the round pen panels and climb out to see the horses better. Oh, that little girl is trouble. It is going to be such a fun summer with her help. But, oh the trouble she will find.

We worked dogs too. Zip is actually sitting willingly even before I ask him to. We even started working on down, which is still a pretty foreign concept. He still thinks it means fall down and expose our belly for a rub. Ruger was great. He sat, down, and stayed on command. To top it all off, he brought the frisbee right back instead of his typical jaunts around the world. I guess he was getting the good behavior in to hopefully offset his stupidity as he tried to hang himself not once but twice later on in the week. Just so we are clear, it didn't work. The bad was, well, still just plain Ruger being an idiot.

Thursday the storm started coming in. So, we decided to go to a friends and see some babies. They had 3 kids born that morning. In total, they have about 100 kids and probably closer to 200 lambs. Kenzie had a blast and Matthew was so excited to show her all of the babies. The two of them had so much fun. Matthew herded Kenzie around as she tried to run after all of the babies that weren't quite sure to think about the kid that was normally not in their pens at feeding time and much smaller than their boy. Kenzie even got to feed some of the bottle lambs. She had such a great time. The day will come when we have a few on our place. As long as there are no pigs...I am game for it all especially with such good friends to teach us as we go. Except for pigs. I hate pigs. There will never be pigs. I will not be convinced otherwise either. Period.

Friday evening and Saturday were a blur. I was so exhausted mentally and physically from work, that I crashed almost the second I got in the house. By the time Saturday came around, Kenzie and I had the crud full strenght. Thankfully, we didn't have to do too much so we just existed. We did bake Dad a cake that Kenzie had a blast helping me decorate. That was what she wanted to do to thank him for taking such good care of us while we were under the weather. Besides, cake is a much easier word to say versus cookie or brownie. But that is besides the point. And it was such a great decision on her part...the cake tastes awesome. Bonus! Our decorating skills have improved since Kenzie's birthday. They aren't fabulous by any means...but we were both quite pleased! Jake has been doing that a lot this winter. I don't know what we would do without him!

Sunday went by so fast as well. We started planting our garden in the house. We have 15 tomato plants (different varieties: cherry, roma, and big boys) , 4 cabbage plants, and 10 peppers (some bell and some jalapenos) sitting in cups in our very sunny breakfast nook. I can't wait to see if we have sprouts this next weekend. It is going to be so exciting this summer. We have such great garden plans and I am ready to can and freeze until I am blue in the face. I have a feeling I will be a pro in no time flat! We had some friends stop by in the afternoon and stayed for dinner. It fit perfectly into our plans since I had a beef roast with vegetables already planned to eat with plenty of extra.

So, that brings us to another Monday morning. It is supposed to be snowy tomorrow and then rain Thursday and Friday. Figures. Stupid weather. Just be nice and springy and lovely. For a few days. It is time to be here officially. Easter is two weeks away and the weather has to be nice to hunt Easter eggs! I have decided no horses or dogs tonight. Kenzie is still pretty sick and I don't know if I can say that I am fully recovered yet either, so I am going to work inside and try to finish a few projects. That is my plan for the week. Finish projects that I have had started for ....well, it feels like forever. I just need to buckle down, suck it up and get busy. Hopefully, I can stay motivated. That typically seems to be my problem. I always start each week with such big plans but rarely by the end of the week do I actually have something or much of anything to show for it all. So maybe this week will be different. I would be so happy if the list would shrink a few lines. Maybe I can get some fun stuff in. Like pictures of the last few weeks uploaded. Like reading one of my magazines that are starting to get a nice little layer of dust on them. Just maybe... I guess we will just have to wait and see.

It's Spring! No... Wait... More Cold??!!??

Stupid weather!

I could end my blog right there.

That is really all that needs to be said.

It is really amazing how two little words put together can change a person's mood. But not only that, it can totally reek havoc on some great plans that a certain person, namely me, had for the week. Besides the utter frustration that it creates, the weather loves to tease and mock me. With a few nice hours, I start to get my hopes up and my excitement mounts and then WHAM! When I finally get an opportunity to take advantage of the more favorable temperatures, there seems to always be a turn for the worst the second I step outside of the house.

We finally made it through daylight savings. Once again, more dark mornings to do chores. How I know Jake enjoyed doing chores with natural light versus his head lamp. How the dogs hate to go out to the kennel before the sun rises. Just listen to Ruger's howling (which spurs Bailey's barking, and in turn gets Zip worked up and he follows in suit growling at a howling Ruger) for about 10 seconds and you can hear the sheer pain that we have imposed on him. How I hate having to turn on my car's headlamps to get to work and turn off the car only to hear the absolutely annoying beeper interrupting my so-far peaceful morning.

I look forward to longer days this year. It means a regular schedule is ready to get dusted off from the shelf of normalcy that needs to return to our lives and become my timeline for the next half a year. I look forward to leaving work. That sentence gives off false interpretation. I always look forward to leaving work. It means I get to spend time with my baby girl and that is the best part of my day. That, and getting my hug and kiss from Jake when he gets home from work. But with the sun hanging out in the sky a few hours longer each day, that means I actually have time to accomplish something productive outside. I know I can go out right when we get home for 30 minutes to an hour, but it has been cold, or windy...and Makenzie is not to fond of sitting in her stroller when the weather decides to bestow miserableness on our little corner of nowhere.

Does the weather not realize I have things to do?

Important things.

Things that require sunshine.

And no horribly nasty, bone freezing cold wind.

And no intermittent, "whenever we feel like throwing one in" snow storms.

I want to ride so badly. That is my main reason for winter to go into hibernation for the year. To me, this is the most frustrating time of the year. The horses are starting to feel good. Really good. I have three Tasmanian devils on my hands. They act like domino's. Something happens to one and ALL THREE have to respond. It really doesn't help that there is a baby amongst them. Chex is the cause of a lot of troubles. If the girls could talk they would say he is the source of all the problems. Poor little guy. He gets beat up on and taddled on. I sure feel his pain. Whenever Chex decides he wants to release some pent up energy, he releases the sanity that the girls contain as well. When everybody decides to get worked up, a five acre pasture for three horses is definitely NOT big enough. Thankfully as I knock on wood, no one has gotten hurt during play time. I hope that good streak continues this spring. I really don't need any unnecessary vet bills.

I am glad that the horses enjoy playing in the afternoons. Getting them out and working them here in the next few days will be a lot more productive if they actually have a little restraint. However, they have so much shedding out to do. I really don't blame them. 50 degree days and 10 degree nights aren't too conducive to that whole phenomenon. However, it makes me have to constantly be readjusting my plans. And when you have polar bears it takes quite a few days for the brushing to actually look like it is accomplishing anything. I swear, Peaches and Roz look like they have spent the last 4 months in Antarctica. And no, they are not just fat. Well, they are fat but they have ten times the winter coat a normal horse accumulates during the winter. Case in point, Chex was the last one worked last night. When I put him away at 6:30, his coat was a little cool and damp. Nothing that I would necessarily be concerned about. But, when I went outside to check everyone at 11:30, he was even more wet and cold to the touch. Talk about freaking me out and causing me to get absolutely no sleep worrying about the little guy getting sick on me. I can't sleep anyways. Haven't been able to for a few days now. No real reason why...I guess I just have to thank Dad for that little bit of genetic wiring. And unfortunately, I don't function well on no sleep. I'm cranky. And grouchy. And snappy. And kind of mean. I'm not really sure why my husband still loves me on these days. I sure am glad he does though.

Yesterday was our first workout of the spring. Kenzie was all decked out in her baseball cap, her sippy cup in her cubby, a few snacks, her pink Blackberry, and a book. Oh, the life my little girl leads! As she is sitting in her stroller jabbering away to Daddy on her phone waiting on the first horse to come by for her inspection, I can't help but get really excited for next year when she will have a pony of her own. This once again spurs my at work search for a good little reliable pony.

Roz was the first victim. Not only did I know she was going to take the most time, but that let the other two nimrods get some more energy out running around the pasture. Sigh. Roz. I wish that mare could talk and tell me what is going on in her little head. I would love to know. She stood great while I checked her over and brushed her out. She didn't even give Chex and Peaches running around acting like idiots the time of day which was great. I threw the lunge line on her and we started working on desensitizing her hindquarters. I don't think she got the message...Lesson of the day: DE-sensitizing, emphasis on the "DE". Everything I did resulted in movement. When I asked for a hindquarter yield and two eyes, she responded so quickly. Then I would get back into position to desensitize and I would get two eyes. So I would move back into position and I would get two eyes. Can you see where I am going with this? So we spent over a half an hour with me tapping her hindquarter waiting for her to relax and stop. Unfortunately, this is where our problems start. The more tapping I did, the more nervous and upset she got. She tried to stick her nose out and pull. She tried a couple rears. She tried a couple shoulder pushes. Everything but stopping. Just standing. That is all I wanted and it was like I was trying to kill her. That mare thinks WAY to much. But if we can't master a hip yield and then waiting calmly for the next direction, how do I expect her to slow lope and lead change and do turn arounds if the simplest task is too much. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of desensitizing in the next few weeks. I only have myself to blame for this. I have worked so hard the last few years trying to force Roz to do what I ask and in exchange I created the bay monster I now have on my hands. Roz not only is very opinionated but she doesn't like to be in trouble. She tries to keep moving in order to avoid getting told what she is doing wrong or what you want her to do next. So in order to start changing this, I need to work on the little steps and making her do what is asked instead of changing my plans to Roz's whims. I hope once Roz learns this little Golden Rule of Horsemanship maybe, just maybe we will make some progress.

Peaches was next. I was covered in peach fuzz (literally) by the time I was done brushing her. Her hocks and stifles were definitely stiff from not being stretched out all winter so I really need to remember to do that everyday for a while again. We started out working on the same things as I did with Roz. Poor Peaches. She was so nervous and concerned. Since I have started her, we have had the same routine. She gets brushed, saddled and lunged to get rid of her energy before I start working her. And we didn't do that yesterday. Once she realized she wasn't going to die, her hindquarter yields were not as snappy as Roz but she was much better about relaxing for the desensitizing. We have to work on putting a little more effort into our maneuvers. Peaches loves to do as little as possible and sometimes that makes her a little sloppy in her res ponces. We also worked on following direction from a distance with a point. She is going to move through this stuff much faster than Roz. It is really important that I don't move her too fast through it all. She needs the confidence that is going to help build. She needs the praise (and lots of it) and reassurance that she gets after providing the right answer to the direction I give. Plus, I think it will help her react to more subtle movements correctly without so much effort on my behalf.

And finally we Meet Colonel Reminic. Chex led out of the pasture...kind of okay. He needed a little restraint to not run me over on the way to the round pen. He stood great while I brushed him out. Besides nipping a few times when I ran over the ticklish spots, he stood like a statue without any restraint. When I started to sack him out, he thought we were playing. Buck. Kick. Trying to run me down. That ended that course of action on my part. Plan B: I pulled the lead rope off and started to just push him around the round pen. He is definitely not the same little guy that we worked with last fall. There is a little bit of spit and vinegar there now. So, we worked on respecting the lunge whip. We didn't run around too hard but we did end on a great note. He jogged two laps both directions, nice and soft without any misbehavior. Once his nose was flaring a little bit, he stood much better to get sacked out with the lead rope while he was gathering his air. He walked back to the pasture worse. A little antsy to get back with his girls and the second the lead rope was off he went right over and bit at Peaches. Boys. Whatcha going to do? But all in all, for being two and the first day out he did really well. I have to remind myself to not expect too much out of him too fast and that he is just a baby.

I also had a little daylight left to work the pups. Zip was first. Boy, that kid is fast. He almost beat out the Frisbee on just about every throw. We are working on sitting down before the next throw. Zip had a moment of disagreement but after a firm correction, the respect was a little more visible. That is our biggest issue right now: respect. Hopefully, more consistent work will result in a little more balance relationship. He actually did really well and after about 20 throws he was tuckered out. Ruger was ready to go. He was so good! We worked on sitting and STAYING sitting for the Frisbee. He is such a cheater. He loves to get a head start on the throw. Then we threw some from the down position. I also made him come right to me and sit down once he had the Frisbee in tow. Sometimes I feel like I am too hard on him. Ruger can be kind of a dead head so he needs the reminders of what is expected. I don't feel as bad after giving him the praises he deserves after a very successful play time. Both of these boys are really going to benefit from the agility equipment once we get it all built. I think they are going to have a blast playing on it. Poor Bailey. There was no Frisbee for her. Her hip is really starting to put a damper on her range of motion and I am really starting to get worried about her. She really guards that leg and sometimes I think she is in more pain then she lets on. She is one tough little girl. She did get to help with chores. That made her happy so I was happy.

Yesterday was a great day. Tonight, everyone gets to have a break. Makenzie gets her FIRST real haircut. So, we get to visit with Great-Grandma and Grandpa for a while and then off to get my hair chopped off and Kenzie's first time in the chair. So, that puts us to Wednesday for another good workout. Thursday, the farrier comes and then we are off to see baby lambs at a friends. Friday, another evening for a good workout...but NO, it has to snow and be cold and nasty. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be nice so hopefully, (fingers crossed, knocked on wood) everything cooperates and we have a little time to work everyone around all of our other plans.

So, we shall see. It is all in the weather's hands now. There are my plans. Are you going to let me keep them or do I have to curse you from behind the windows of my kitchen. I guess only time and the weather will tell...

Not a Baby Anymore!

I can't believe it has been 15 months already since we have been blessed with our little girl!

Wow, time sure does fly by fast, especially with a little one! I have been working on Kenzie's baby book and adding a stories and tidbits here and there. It is so amazing to look back over the last year and see how much she has changed, grown, and accomplished in such a short amount of time. Walking, talking, and generally keeping us on our toes every second of the day! I know, that neither my husband or myself would have it any other way. She is by far the absolute best thing to happen to our family!

And she is one smart cookie! Not only does she have quite the vocabulary of more than 20 words already, but she is already starting to string them together into small phrases. "Hiya Daddy." "Bye Daddy." Yes, we talk about Daddy CONSTANTLY! We only really want Momma when we are hungry. Jake tells me all she talks about is her Momma when he spends the day with her, but I think that is just to make me feel better. And we can't forget her favorite saying of all, "Come on guys!" Oh, how she loves to play with Ashton and Milla. And boy, does she make sure she is part of the action. They sure love their "Ba-Kenzie" too!

Not only is she running us ragged, it is amazing to see all the new little nuances that our little girl is picking up on to. Among others, she has to have all of her Lego animals to be standing upright as we play with them, starting to say "Vroom, Vroom" as we push the tractors around the floor, and being ready with the animal noise that comes next in the book as we read each night. I have to say the "Waddle, Waddle" for the penguins is my favorite. She even waddle, waddles her body as she says it!

Over the past year, as she reached her month birthday's we had a picture taken for our baby book. A special little momento for her. Well, and all of our family far away who don't get to see her on a regular basis. Even though, I am not the best about getting the photos send out right away, the thought was there and eventually everyone got their pictures even if they got 4 at a time. Or the other family members who have envelopes in my office with their names on them for the next time I see them. I am kindof organized. Kindof, sortof, ok, not really but I can dream...can't I?

So, I wanted to give everyone a little preview of some of our year's different looks.

Our first night in the hospital. Kenzie was already trying to hold her head up and look around!

One Month Photo!

Thanks to Uncle Micah with his help to get this shot! Because, boy was she crabby that evening and he did such a great job of getting her attention for me! Everybody just loved her Christmas Card/Birth Announcement Photo.

Two Month Photo!

Christmas at the farm with all of Jake's family. Grandma and Aunt Mel had to work hard for this smile!

Three Month Photo

Makenzie's Baptism. It was a very special day. Besides the obvious reasons, it was extra special because she wore the dress that both my Mom and I wore to our baptisms. Also, Makenzie is named after my great-grandma Ruth and shares her name along side my Mom and I as well. Besides, we have to give props to Pop...his photos don't always come out good...but this one is priceless!

Four Month Photo!

Our little cowgirl! Kenzie is sitting up (when she is propped up agains something) by herself. No wobbles at all!

Five Month Photo!
Oh how she loved to jump...and jump...and jump...and jump! Did I mention she liked to jump?

Six Month Photo!

I am so proud of them! Jake and Kenzie went by themselves to get her pictures by themselves. They did such a good job, her picture is on display at the Sears and it looks just precious!

Seven Month Photo! We are sitting up by ourselves so well now...we can even smile and play like this now!

Eight month photo! Oh...the naked baby. Gotta have at least one of these! At least our pony is keeping us company!

Nine Month Photo! This is by far my favorite picture of my little girl! She looks so sweet and adorable. This picture will always be special to me.

10 Month Photo! Its OFFICIAL! We are a Walker now! And oh so proud! Can't ya tell?

11 Month Photo! It wasn't Valentine's Day, the background just matched our dress. How can one look say so much? Trouble. Cutie pie. Trouble. Sweetheart. Trouble. Adorable. Trouble.

12 month photo! Oh, she is so not a baby anymore. She is actually turning into a little girl. Oh, that makes me so sad. Proud, but so sad. At least she still likes to cuddle. This Momma will be okay as long as she likes to cuddle.

Well, that is our baby girl's first year! So hard to believe. If this is a sign, I can't wait to see how this year turns out!