Thursday, May 29, 2014

Goaties!

Every single year since James was a wee babe we visit the neighborhood goats in May. We actually adore visiting the neighborhood goats all year long, but May is special because each year there are babies!

The owner is an amazing man that has been raising African Pygmy goats for years. The mothers are gentle and the babies are adorable. You can scoop them up like a cat and snuggle them for as long as you can hold on, because soon they'll bound away to chase all the other adorable babies.

There isn't much to say other than they are cute. So here are a lot of photos, to emphasize the point.
Before going in to visit the babies, we feed the mamas some old bread. They love it.



The babies! James's genuine excited smile here just melts me.
Hold on tight!



She loves animals and I swear she is a baby goat whisperer. They flocked to her.
See what I mean?

Raising these two is a dream. There are hard days. Hard weeks and hard months. But being their Mama, well I adore it.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Welcome Summer! Memorial Day at the farmhouse!

Hurray! Hurray hurray hurray! We had a wonderful weekend at the farmhouse and for the first time ever, dare I say it... it felt easy. Traveling with kids is hard. Traveling with babies is kinda torture. Farmhouse visits over the last four years have been few and far between (last summer we only went twice, ALL SUMMER). Back before children we went every other weekend, at least.
But this time the heavens lined up. We had happy kids, happy cousins, all the family, perfect perfect weather and even plans to stay the night!

Damma bought the girls matching dresses and let me tell you, they looked like little garden fairies. James wore his neon orange too, to match the crowd.
James adores Emilia (remember last summer?) and was willing to help her push her stroller on the grass.
Big bump, no problem. Chivalry is not dead.
The long grass and plentiful dandelions meant this girl was happy for awhile. She loves collecting things, and filled the entire basket with those soft summer weeds flowers. 

It is rare that David joins us at the farmhouse, but this time was special. He wanted to show it to the woman he loves. And this lucky lady?! She got a ring from David this weekend! Engaged! Woot!
Beautiful ring. 
We celebrated the engagement with champagne and a chocolate fountain. The kids were obsessed with dipping fruit. Each face looked happy covered in chocolate when we were done. 
 Yum!
Everyone spent the afternoon differently. Some went to the cemetery, others took a nap. James was intent on checking on the irrigation ditches a short walk away.
He spent a long time making sure all water was flowing and all sticks and debris was removed.
Nothing makes him happier than water.
While James continued to work on the water, Juliet and I realized our favorite horses were across the way. We've visited these horses for years. So happy my kids get to know them. (Here is a post with James feeding the same horse).
Thank you E for these shots. They make me oh so happy.
The celebrations continued with a steak BBQ. The BBQ masters hard at work.
As the sun got lower into the sky the kid's dinner was ready. The cousins sat on a picnic blanket in the shade laughing and eating and playing.
These two are becoming the best of friends.
Cousin secrets.

Messy hair, messy face (strawberries), happy girl.
My boy turned four and a half over the weekend. A, Oreo shake at the farmhouse was purchased to celebrate.
He is the best kid.
And don't these two look wildly happy in love? Wedding to come this autumn.
After a bath in the big farmhouse tub we took these two overtired kids upstairs and tucked them in for the night. James was insistent that he wanted to sleep next to Juliet and "snuggle her if she gets worried." Both kids slept all night!
The next morning we took an early morning drive to one of our favorite spots in Mount Pleasant. The kids were both in their pjs and E and I both sipped our coffee as we took in the amazing views.
This one had skipped a nap the day before (the first time in her entire life!) so she was a tad bit grumpy in the morning.
Views!
Back at the farmhouse we got Juliet down for an early nap and James and I played in the sunshine.
I tried to get him to nap too because he was exhausted, but he was adamant he wasn't tired. ;)
What a lovely weekend to spend with those that I love. Happy happy Memorial Day. Welcome summer! (New header coming later this week!)

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Emilia Rose {toddler photography}

Two or so weeks ago my sister-in-law Chelsea inquired about getting some photos of Emilia. We decided on a morning at Red Butte Garden. Juliet and I were excited to spend James's last day of preschool outside with Emilia and her darling family.
Emilia's Mama and and E are siblings. Even though they are first cousins, they hardly look alike! Emilia has beautiful dark eyes and olive skin.

Juliet was thrilled to spend two hours with her Grandma so I could focus my attention on Emilia. Here she decided to sit and sing a little rendition of "Happy Birthday".
The weather was PERFECT. Cool and breezy in the morning and steadily warming up throughout the morning. Stunning.
We had a hard time getting smiles from Emilia, but near the end realized that if we started singing "Let it Go" from Frozen we'd get huge grins and some clapping!
Baby girls in dresses and beautiful early summer flowers, ah, nothing better.
Chelsea and I both got a kick out of these photos. Apparently the little weed I had her hold didn't taste all that delicious.

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