7 weeks to go!

In case you haven't heard, we are expecting our 4th and final baby girl! We are really excited. This pregnancy has been the hardest yet. Probably because of all of the farm work and keeping up with three active kids. I am now 32 weeks and we still haven't picked out a name. Here are some of the names that we both have been able to agree on. Kira, Klea (danish), Alia, and Celina. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Shia's Adventures

Shia has so much energy and she loves to be outside. When I am not paying attention to her she will sneak outside and head straight for the garden. We have found her several times eating tomatoes or peas. She begs for peas and even asked Christian to pick some for her for breakfast one morning! All of the kids have had so much fun with our kittens. When Christian and I are out doing chores, Shia will be on our back patio holding the kittens. Yesterday she dropped one into Bear's (our dog) water bucket. Hans and Dane were quick to rescue it and then they snuggled it in a towel until it was dry.

First Day of School!

Hans and Dane were so excited for their first day of school. Hans has 7 kids in his grade and Dane has 6, including them! Christian was home and they all rode their bikes to school. Dane loves Kindergarten and he plays with Hans at recess.

Snake, Rattle, and Heads will Roll!

(Notice the snake on Dane's Head)

(These are Garter Snakes)

A few weeks ago Christian and the boys were outside in front of our house. They saw a snake on our driveway and Dane reached down and grabbed it by the tail. It started hissing so Christian told him to let it go. Then the snake coiled up and started shaking it's tail. That is when we noticed that it was a baby RATTLE SNAKE!!! So Christian whipped out his I-Phone and looked up baby Rattlesnakes, only to discover that they are MORE DANGEROUS than adult ones. The snake then started slithering into the tire on our Van and up into the frame. We poked around and looked everywhere trying to get the snake out. After about 20 minutes we couldn't find it and we had to leave to go into town to pick up some supplies with our truck. Of course I kept worrying that there would be a RATTLESNAKE where my kids often play. When we got home about 2 hours later we drove the van around Vernon running some errands and out to our Hen House a couple times back and fourth. At about 7:00 that night we had just finished working for the day and I was driving the van from our Hen House into the driveway. I was backing up to unload tools and when I went over the cement onto our driveway. Something told me that the snake just fell out of the van. So I stopped and opened my door and sure enough that Rattlesnake was right THERE where I would have stepped. It slithered away and I yelled for Christian to come and help me. After a bit of a chase he finally killed it and we were so relieved to be done with that snake. You just never know what you might find living out in the country!

The Big Summer Project

This Summer has been filled with a lot of fun and work. Christian and I always say that we work hard so we can play hard. The big project this summer has been our new Hen House. It can house 500+ chickens. The chickens are almost ready and we will be selling their eggs to Copper Onion restaurant in Salt Lake. Christian's brothers and dad have come out to help us too! It has taken up much of our extra time and we are so close and excited to have it completed.

Picking Apricots on Grandpa's Farm

The kids and I went to my parent's house and picked Apricots to make jam. The boys loved climbing up the trees and reaching all of the apricots that I couldn't reach. Shia picked anything that looked yummy and ended up eating a few green apples. The next day the kids helped my make some yummy Apricot Jam!

Summer Swimming Lessons

The kids had a blast at swimming lessons this year. Hans learned how to swim so well that on the last day he was jumping off the diving boards and swimming to the side. Shia and I did the "Mommy and Me" class. She loves the water and isn't afraid of anything. Dane learned a lot of new floats and is excited to move on to the next level!

Enjoying The Harvest!

I love summer and I love gardening. Pulling weeds in the cool summer morning, smelling the different plants growing, anticipating the ripening of a tomato. There is something that is so rewarding about growing your own food. My parents always had a passion for gardening and always grew a lot of their own vegetables and fruit. From the grape orchard to the apple, cherry, peach, and apricot trees. To their huge vegetable garden that we took care of all summer. As a child I always loved picking things out of the garden for dinner that night. Now that I have my own family and garden even the work is rewarding, especially when my boys tell me that they love pulling weeds with me. Shia has found that she loves peas and tomatoes and can't get enough of them. I tease my kids that they are my raccoons, because they will sneak into the garden and eat the ripest tomato. Every night Christian and I have a garden date and look at all the plants and pick the vegetables that are ready.

Summer Vacation

A couple weeks ago we went to Hurricane with all of Christian's Family and had a little family vacation. We went shopping at the outlets, went hiking, rock climbing, fishing, and of course wave running. We had so much fun! Wave running was probably the highlight of our trip. We went to Sand Hallow reservoir, which has beautiful red sandy beaches. The kids spent the day making sand castles, playing on the beach, and riding on the wave runners. We spent the day tubing, and wake-boarding. We had so much fun that I forgot to take more pictures. Here are some that we took!

Grandma's Easter Egg Hunt

Good Times

This morning I ate my entire breakfast with Shia hugging my neck and chomping in my ear. I love these days!

Typical

I was just telling Christian last night how only in Vernon would my day go this way...

The kids and I were making cookies for a neighbor when somebody knocked on our door asking if I could pull their truck out of the mud. I was a little nervous, because this is a "husband job" and then I realized that it was someone we kind of know. They were desperate and didn't really have anyone else to help them and came to our house hoping we could help (they are from the city). I knew Christian wouldn't be home for another 3 hours and couldn't think of any other guys home to help. So I got all three kids in the truck, put the chain in that was on the tractor and went off-roading for a few miles to reach their truck.The kids laughed and loved every minute of bouncing around in the truck . It didn't take too much pulling and we got them out. To finish off the night Christian and I went on a bike ride with the kids and watched the sun set!

First Day of School... Again!

We thought that Christian was finished with school, but Christian was offered a really great opportunity to get a Masters Degree through his work; which is the Department of Defense. So today he started school at with the Naval Post Graduate Academy. It is a two years Master Degree and he will do it on the computer via Teleconferencing during work. We thought it was just too good of an offer to pass up, even though two years seems like a long time to commit when we have a full-time farm on the side as well! I am sure that it will all work out and we are excited for this opportunity!

X96 Morning Show and our Farm!

So these guys came out to our farm on Sunday with their staff and camera crew. They have radio talk show in Pennsylvania and wanted to try milking a pig. First they came to our farm and shot a lot of footage of our farm and pigs and interviewed Christian. They couldn't believe how beautiful it is. We just had a pig farrow last week, that we were planning to milk, but it died giving birth, so we did not have a pig to milk. Our friend,Brooke, graciously let us try milking one of her pigs. They were pretty entertaining. This morning they were on X96 and were talking about their experience and our farm. Christian posted the links and story on our Farm Blog. Check it out here: http://christiansenshogheaven.blogspot.com/2011/03/pork-milk.html
One thing that we thought was so funny was that they asked for a ride in the back of our truck. It is illegal in Pennsylvania and they have never had that experience. So we let them sit on the tailgate and we drove them around town. They thought Vernon was beautiful and loved being on a farm. We have had a lot of great experiences like this because of our farm.

Happy Birthday Christian!

Yesterday was Christian's Birthday! We invited Christian's sister Amee and her family over for dinner and cake. (They are our Vernon Buddies) We get together with them a few times a week. Christian is not a big cake fan so I made him Strawberry Shortcake with my homemade Angel food cake and strawberry sauce.
Christian is such a wonderful husband and is the most perfect dad! Here are some things that I love about him:
He is always positive and has taught me to be also.
He is so patient with the kids and especially me.
He is the hardest working guy I know.
He is always in a good mood, unless the shear pin breaks on the tractor three times in a row.
He makes me laugh!
Everything we have...we have done together.
We make a great team!
We have a wonderful marriage. Thank you for all you do.

More Winter Pictures!

Winter at the farm!

I have been looking forward to this winter season for a while now. Although there are still many chores to do... Life just seems to slow down during the winter. Christian and I have been working together on the weekends getting pens set up for new pigs. This week we received 25 new chicks that will be our new laying hens. Right now we have 37 chickens, 5 turkeys, around 100 pigs and some cows here and there. We received the Gurney's Catalog and many other seed catalogs that the we all have looked at together and everyone is putting in their vote for what to plant in the garden!

Some of the finished product

We have been living in our house for about 3 weeks now and I am finally getting some pictures up. We are really enjoying the extra room. I love having my laundry room right off my kitchen and we love having a wood burning stove. Christian and I were both amazed how fast this new house felt like home. It already seems like we have lived here for a long time. I will post some more pics of the kids bedrooms soon!