Sledding: I really wanted to take the kiddos sledding so one day before Nate went back to work we took a trip down to Orem and went sledding at rock canyon park. Chloe and Blain were so cute sledding down the hill by themselves and we had a blast racing, sliding and slipping down the hill. Little Avenlea slept for the whole 2 hours in the car and the last 10 minutes that she were awake for she did not want to be in the "boat" (sled) so didn't go down the hill this time. Zeyta was a little cutie as always and stayed happy being passed around as we took turns going down the hill.
Mommy and Zeyta
Blain and Daddy - Blain decided he wanted to go down the little hill to the side so Nate and I took turns helping him go down and riding with him. Blain eventually came over to the big hill with us all on the little sled that allowed him to keep his feet down.
My sweet Blainy
Chloe was so independent! She preferred to ride down the hill all by herself then tote her sled back up the hill and go again! It was tons of fun watching her.
Daddy taking the kiddos down together
Ready, Set, GO!!
Avenlea's appearance at the snow hill
Time for Tea: Chloe, Blain and Avenlea have been loving Chloe's tea sets. I let them get out a few snacks, heat up some water and they have their own little tea! Makes me happy that they like having tea parties.
Tin Tea Set
China Tea Set - I think this one will be saved for special occasions mostly because its a lot of work for mommy :) But they did really well being careful with the breakable cups and teapots. Chloe just loves the tea set that santa brought her!
Little ipad sneaker... she has actually gotten really good at giving the ipad right back or turning it off when she gets caught. Silly baby.
Blain on his bed - he is such a crazy sleeper his bed often ends up stripped and we have to put the sheet back on a couple times per week. I always check in on them and open their door before going to bed and this kid is never on his pillow. I have found him on the floor, half way on Avenlea's bed, in the crack by the wall and everywhere in between.
Chloe wanted a hair cut and we never got around to having Aunt Chelsea giver her one while in California, so Nate stepped up and gave her a cute hair cut. She likes it a lot but I think she wants it even shorter because she really doesn't like getting her hair brushed. In the meantime she looks so cute with her little layered hair style.
finished product!
On the Farm: This winter has been tough so far regarding the animals with the snow up to my knees, freezing water lines, and having the pigs cooped up caused lots of damage to their pen. The chickens are getting frost bite on their combs despite the two heat lamps in their coop, but they are venturing out during the day now that Bella and Prince Ali have made a path to the covered stalls. We have the pigs in the freezer now so that takes away some of the stress and workload. Now we get to count down the days until Bella calves, the snow melts and we can get to work on this years projects.
Prettiest bunch of eggs we've gotten so far. We are averaging about 12 per day now with a big range of colors and sizes. So fun!
Bella with her big belly
Pig processing - Nate and Kyle did the dirty work on Friday in their pen then trucked the two piggies over to hang on a stand that Kyle rigged up. We went over around 9:30 the next day to make the meat and ended around 8:30pm with all the meat curing or vacuum sealed! I brined, cured, weighed, and washed the meat after Nate broke it down into our meal size cuts. We ended up with 126 lbs of skinless pork after a hanging weight of 170. We got a live weight on chubs (240lb) but not Dorothy, but we guess about 260-270. We rendered a quart and a half of lard from the two pigs, and I will be making stock throughout the week from the bones. Each pig cost a total of $300 which is about 2.40 per pound for just the meat. I like to decrease that number a little because of all the manure we got for the garden, lard, and stock that we will also get from the pigs. We have some work to do before we get more next year or delve into a breeding pair. I love having pigs, they are fun and delicious!
My little paper recording all the weight on the different cuts. Looking forward to a yummy year of home grown and home cured meat!
Enjoying our first breakfast sausage!
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