May 2018 Goat kids!!

Pearl gave birth to Biscuit sometime the day of Sunday, 6 May. The kids went down in the evening to check on the animals and came tearing back up the hill, "PEARL HAD A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!" 

We were all concerned--Pearl just wouldn't let Biscuit nurse. She was really agitated and jumpy, and since she was a first-time mom, and we were first-timers as well,...

...Elise...

...and Mason cozied up in the clean straw and bedded down for the night. My neighbor, who has milk cows, came over after his work shift and was able to help Biscuit latch on. So the human kids didn't end up spending the night at the barn--when my neighbor got there, Elise woke up and headed back to the house, with Mason following close behind her.

The next day we got Pearl on the milking stand, 

...and Biscuit was able to latch on. I don't think I've ever been so relieved in my life! Turns out, maybe the reason Pearl was so jittery the previous night was that she had another baby in there. Sadly, it didn't make it. We weren't there when it was born, and it was cold by the time Trevor noticed it on the ground under the straw. I nearly threw up, I was so mortified. This circle of life thing is understandable in theory, but heartbreaking in practice.

But Biscuit was thriving!

Trevor named him.

On Monday, 7 May, while we were down with Pearl and Biscuit, Lincoln noticed Ruby acting strange. Soon she gave birth to a little doeling.

And then another doeling!

And then a buckling! Triplets!!

She was such a good mama, cleaning them right up and nuzzling them.

She let them nurse within an hour after birth. 

We locked Pearl in the milking stand several times a day for the first week or so she and Biscuit could get used to each other. Grain helped with that training!

Elise named Ruby's babies Aster, Begonia, and Cosmos.

Out on pasture for the first time, 26 May.

We started milking them about 4 weeks after birth, more for us to learn how to do it than to actually get milk. The ladies didn't take too kindly to milking, hence the tied up back legs. We had to tie Pearl's legs for months and months, but Ruby got used to it quickly.

The triplets have always been a little scrawnier than Biscuit--he was twice the size of them in just a few months--no competition for him!

March 2018

The biggest news to come out of March is that Stephen accepted a job at the University of Washington-Bothell, so we are moving to just north of Seattle this summer!

March 15, beautiful snow!

My favorite toothless boy

Trevor and Lincoln can really get on each other's nerves sometimes; it's always nice to see them doing things kindly together!

I love all my children so much, but I really, really love them when they are snuggled up, asleep in my arms

Our traditional awful picture of the birthday child with birthday donuts--Sammy is 12!

Camping! The boys are working with their Boy Scout troop on getting their camping merit badge (20 nights of camping) and a camping certificate, which is at least one overnight camping trip for 12 consecutive months. March was campout #5.

My beautiful Ezra

Braces on...

Braces off!! Elise has spent over half of her life with some sort of orthodontia. She is excited to be free!

I've been wearing Ezra often, because he always gets fussy right at dinner time (my mom always called it "the witching hour"). Here Ruthie is wearing her bison, Olivia.

No babies will fall off of the bed with big brothers on the scene!

Try as I might to provide Sable with a sanctuary from the chaos, Ezra still manages to slip in occasionally. Sable is an angel dog!

3 days after Sammy turned 12 he, Elise, Mason, and Stephen met up with Grandma & Grandpa Jones at the Fort Collins temple to do baptisms!

Sammy, learning the proper angle for selfies from a pro.

Sammy also turned 12 just in time to get to go to the Priesthood session of Conference with the big boys. Mason concentrates better when his hands are busy.

We had the house painted, and our painter left his ladder here when he wasn't working. Stephen took advantage of that ladder to get some jobs done...dusting the fan (30' up) & changing lightbulbs were at the top of the list. I'm just glad he wasn't using his other...more creative...ladder extenders.

Trevor, hard at work

My niece, Emmalee (who is camera shy) came for a quick weekend visit from BYU-Idaho

I absolutely love this picture--it captures a side of Ruthie that the camera doesn't often see, but the family does. :)

Twinners!

Elise has her besties over for homemade pizzas and movie night. Leaving these friends is going to be so, so hard.

As Ruthie gets older and is talking more (happy day!!) she and Trevor actually play together. I love seeing them love each other. 

Bath time in the sink!

As a surprise, Sammy cleaned the entire kitchen--it's so wonderful when the kids get old enough to actually be helpful!