Nilsson News

 The babies have arrived!  I'm always a bit of a nervous wreck around foaling time but the one thing that kept me optimistic was that these two mamas had delivered all on their own last time with no problems.  Deedee was first and we all were there to watch.  The foal was huge and I did help pull a little.  It was the most energetic little girl we have ever seen and she is constantly running around (definitely a type 3).  She is super friendly and we named her Jemima.  Foal number two came one week later and I was there for that one and Garrett and the older kids were at the Harts.  It was almost identical to the first delivery and I did help pull the large foal as well.  The little gal surprised us by being a beautiful red color (her mom is one of our darkest brown) and we decided on the name Hazel.  We are going to keep her because of the color and she has the sweetest temperament (definitely a type 2).  We are so happy and grateful that they are here and alive and healthy.  Whenever you have really hard experiences you learn to treasure the normal situations so much more!

The weather has been good for the most part.  We have been doing projects around the yard like revamping the chicken coop, burning the ditch, fertilizing the entire pasture, and the regular maintenance of weed control and manure pile control.

Yesterday, Addy, Emerson and I, went to Ian's comedic play where he was the lead role of Frank the pirate.  It was a production put together by a local home school group and it was hilarious and extremely well done!  It is fun to know someone so famous!

We are counting down to the end of official school.  Once the weather turns nice, it is like torture to everyone to stay inside to do school.  We prefer the hands on, dig in the dirt kind of school.  We are getting ready to plan out each of the kid's garden plots.  It is fun for them to choose what they want to plant and they are in charge of taking care of it for the whole season.

Good times!  Hope all is well with each of you!

Jemima

Hazel

Millie loves the foals and they love her!  She is just the right size for them.

Flake Five

 

It has been too long since I posted so apologies for that. 

A couple of weeks ago we took a little family trip to the St George area to celebrate our 14th anniversary.   We had a lot of fun.  We didn'r manage to get shuttle tickets but we did do a couple of hikes which were fun. We stayed at the Holmstead Ranch Resort for a couple of nights and the kids had a blast playing in the sand at the little lake.  We also discovered the Thunder Junction All Abilities park. Talk about a cool place! They had metal slides!! And other really fun contraptions so Rand and Robin really enjoyed it.  

Rand and Robin are starting to really get into talking which is fun.  Rand especially likes to try his hand at new words and phrases. 

All three of the kids had check ups this last week.  James is in the 90th percentile for height and the twins are in the 50th so there are only about 5 inches difference in their height. 

The wind has been terrible for the last couple of weeks so we have been stuck indoors which is hard. 

We got the go ahead to resume church as close to normal as possible. (Still no hymn books and masks are requested). So the twins went to nursery today for the first time.  Well, to be honest, we all went to nursery today.  I wasn't sure how it would go since most of the kids had never been to nursery let alone 2 hours of church!! It went really well though.  

Well, that is all that I can think of to report.  Love you all!!

Nilsson News

 We've just about blown away this week!  We had a couple of days of wind with 45 mph winds and 70 mph gusts.  Thankfully no real damage was done other than a few branches blown off, our address sign broken and one of my planter boxes was obliterated.  Things that can be rebuilt and fixed.  Addy and Eliza and I were driving up to Rigby and saw that one of the on ramps was closed due to a massive track-hoe being blown off its trailer.  The tow truck was doing its best to flip it back over but was unsuccessful.  When we drove by and hour later, they were still working on it.  When I told Henry about it, he was astounded and remarked, "Wow!  That's amazing that something we can't even see can be that strong."  So true!

Aside from these windy days, we have really been enjoying the sunshine.  I was a little overwhelmed with my project and to-do list but finally wrote everything down on paper and just started tackling them one by one.  We decided to move the chicken coop to a different location that receives more sunlight.  Emerson helped me in the dismantling portion and then Garrett and I slowly moved the structure to its new home.  I'm sure that my chiropractor is so tired of me coming in with my back issues, but when hay has to be loaded, chicken coops moved and the menagerie of other back breaking projects need to be done, you do what you gotta do to make that happen!  We also moved a bunch of block into the greenhouse and built a raised bed to house our tomatoes.  I'm so tired of them freezing prematurely!

I now feel like a true farmer thanks to the addition of our little John Deere.  Henry and Millie are delighted with it and love to assist in the work while riding on the side.  It reminded me of the times when dad would borrow a tractor to till the garden with and we were so excited to till with him.  This is one thing that has saved my back!  After turning the manure piles for an hour and a half, my back didn't hurt!  Gotta love machinery!

We immensely enjoyed conference and are so excited to see where the Smithfield temple lands!  The Easter egg hunt was so much fun and lovely weather to boot!  It was hilarious to see Millie's basket full to overflowing and Addy and Ian declaring they couldn't find any eggs and their scanty baskets proved they were correct.  It was delightful to play with Em and Cam and the Hart clan.  I think we could use a few more family members next time!

Garrett and the three older kiddos enjoyed the trip to St. George with the Harts and Bellistons.  The Spartan race was kinda intense being the first of the season.  Treadmill running just can't prepare you adequately for the trail.  I think they enjoyed it and the family time was the best of all.  I stayed home with Henry and Millie and did some fun things with them.  We stayed home hoping one of our donkeys would foal, but alas, they are both still pregnant and we are still waiting.

Hope you are all enjoying the spring and happy Sabbath!

The mustaches were some of the Easter egg goodies and the kids had a great time with them!

The newest farm addition!

Egg dying

Hart Happenings

 I can't remember a more beautiful Easter weekend.  I think it is the first time in the last decade that we've had an easter egg hunt without the kids being bundled in sweaters or coats.  Very nice.  I always love it when Easter and Conference coincide.  They just seem to go together.

We spent the last few days working on outside projects.  Cleaning up the yard, burning brush, grinding stumps, and getting mulch for the flower beds.

A highlight was having Cam and Emma up on Saturday for the day.  We watched Conference, played Spike Ball, had an easter egg hunt with Ruth's family, ate good food, and had a fine time laughing and being together.

For Ian it is seminary and rehearsals these days.  His Guys and Dolls performances were fantastic!  Now we just have his pirate show and we will wrap up rehearsals for a while.  He will be starting a job at our favorite local boutique by the river and is hoping to start the driving portion of Driver's Ed.

Jack has a couple more indoor soccer games but has already started the outdoor spring season.  The team is looking pretty good but had a rough start with one of their strongest players breaking his clavicle the first scrimmage of the season.  Bummer.

Peter has been zooming around on the electric scooter he got for his birthday.  Number nine!  Hard to believe, but so fun to watch him growing up!  We spent a fun birthday in St. George.  We doubled dipped Spartan/birthday fun.  Thanks to everyone who made his birthday so special with the present hunt at the park, hiking around Pioneer Park, and lunch at Chuck-a-Rama.  It was the perfect day.  

Another Spartan to add to the list!  They all survived which, for the spouses who don't participate, is the most important part.  It was a glorious trip with beautiful weather, fun hikes, and lots of cousin time.  We spent a couple days prior to the race in Sandy with Joe and Lori's family.  They took us on tours of a glass blowing workshop and the pottery studio of a guy Joe interviewed for his podcast.  It was so fascinating and inspiring!  Jack told me afterward that he just wants to go out and make stuff now.

Things are good here!  Seeds are sprouting in my playroom, the bulbs Ruth and I planted last year are shooting up, and life gets more beautiful every day.

Love you all!

Happy Easter!

                                                         The cast of Guys and Dolls