Picture in my head

I didn't bring my phone/camera along on the hike we did yesterday as a family. It was on purpose. I didn't want the distraction.

It was a beautiful day, muggy and warm. Braxton was the only one who wished for a coat in the shade but he's always the one who is cold. After a minute of running he forgot his request. Adelle brought her jacket, but she's hot blooded so go figure. Realizing she didn't want to carry it the whole time she convinced Gage to tie it around his coat so here is her little brother, sporting the sweatershirt tie around the waist. He can go about 10 steps and then he call, "can someone tighten this," as it slides the short distance down his legs. I tell Gage that I love him and he gives his typical response, "me too." It's my favorite.

Emmett has his backpack on and has supplied it specifically for the day with his magnifying glass. All the kids take turns looking at bugs, branches, rocks, through the lens. I notice there are also bubbles in Emmett's pack and ask about them. "Those are for Gage because I thought he would want to blow bubbles on the hike," he tells me and my heart skips a beat. Always on point with his family members, friends feelings and needs.

Adelle is a scene to be had all in herself. She dressed for the hike by wearing her jungle safari romper. The socks are pink and they are pulled up to her knees. She put in a big, green, hair bow with monkeys on the ribbon because, "monkeys swing in trees and there will be lots of trees." She has two pockets on the front side of her romper and each one holds a library chapter book, "in case I get bored," she explains. Her backpack has her sketch book and a whole bag full of markers and crayons. It's no wonder she talked her little brother into carrying her jacket.

We stop periodically. Adelle sits to sketch. Gage needs the jacket tightened around his little waist. Emmett pulls out his magnifying glass. Braxton picks up a rock and aims for a tree. Jeff loosens his hold on Hercules who is dragging him along the path, while strangling himself. I soak it all in. Painting a mental picture to hold onto for years to come.

There is a tree that has fallen out over the lake and I decide to try and balance on it. Jeff and Braxton start teasing me. Adelle gets out her pad to sketch the scene. Jeff asks if she is going to capture the big splash. I start to laugh and loose my balance, steadying myself back on the bank. I try again and cross, ignoring the peanut gallery. Adelle wants to try so she goes next, holding my hand the whole way but without needing my help. Jeff has to one up me so he attempts to cross walking backwards. Emmett doesn't need to impress anyone so he sits and watches, more curious about the bark on the tree. Braxton wants to cross on his own but isn't quite sure he can make it. He doesn't want to ask for help either so I change the subject and challenge him to a race.

He beats me running. It's a short distance and midway there is no more competition. He is fast, and proud. I'm happy. Not that I lost to him, but that he recognizes his talent. Emmett, Gage, and Adelle run with us to and just for the fun of running.

We make it to the waterfall and it's beautiful. Adelle finds a trail up to it and decides to explore. Braxton takes the lead and before we know it he is standing on a rock, water falling on all sides of him. Jeff tells him it's going to be slippery and to be careful. We all follow. Jeff, drug by the dog, and me in between Gage and Emmett helping lift them over logs and rocks and find ample foot placement to avoid the fall. I slip. My jeans and my hands get muddy from the fall. Emmett follows suit and slips. He isn't scared of being dirty though, unlike me, so he gets up and is wearing half the mountain. I holler up to Braxton and Adelle to stop except that I can't get the words out, they are slurred and I am laughing. The stench of marijuana is so strong. Jeff says I am on it because I can't get the words out. We both start laughing hysterically, looking around for the source. We don't see anyone but we feel like we are locked in a small closet with a dozen users because the smell is so strong. The kids are oblivious. Gage slips and slides into a little pool midway down the fall. He is wet from the waist down but he doesn't cry, just gets pulled up by his dad. We've had enough fun so we start our descend. Hercules is whining at the bottom of the falls where we tied him to to log.

I ask Braxton to run the dog on the way back. They both have loads of energy to release. Gage is tired and asks to be carried. Jeff lifts him onto his shoulders, and then remembers that Gage is soaking wet. It feels good though because it's still 70 degrees. I offer to take Adelle's pack and Jeff is already wearing Emmett's so the two of them run with Braxton and the dog. I reach for Jeff's hand and we talk about how big our kids are getting. We talk about Conference talks and what a world we live in. Another family approaches and Jeff and I watch from a distance as Braxton reigns in Hercules and controls him from hindering the small children. Braxton does a good job of staying in control and the people smile when we pass.

We can't see Emmett. Braxton has circled us and Adelle runs like a girl in front of us but Emmett was in the lead and cannot be seen. Jeff starts to panic and I reassure him that Emmett is fine and can't be too far ahead. We send Braxton and Hercules up to tell Emmett to wait. Emmett is sitting at the fork, taking a breather and waiting for us because he didn't know which way to go. It's nice to know that our kids have common sense in the wilderness.

We bought a Tractor

"Come on," he says after we finished lunch one Thursday. "Where are we going?" I ask. "To get our tractor!" "But Gage is asleep." "That's okay, they are delivering it!!" 

"We have to take a picture." "For what?" "To document the day we got the tractor. I always want to remember how happy you were about this tractor!"

Since we started our farm it's become apparent that we really need a tractor. Like, really. 

Jeff has been tractor shopping for a while, just browsing actually but getting a feel for what he liked and what all we would need. There is so much you can do once you have a tractor. Now we just need more daylight and stamina to do all we want to do!

We drove the truck down to The Diner where we thought it was being delivered but we ended up turning around and the semi brought it all the way back to our place for us.

Jeff made sure we bought all the bells and whistles too. For tilling, for plowing, for lifting, mowing...

When Gage woke up from his nap he was excited about the tractor too and he got to take the first ride on it with his daddy. They went right to work on the driveway. 

Later when Jeff was seeing how it worked in the wet pasture he got the tractor stuck! On the first day of owning it!!

Then one Saturday I learned how to drive the tractor and got to act as Jeff's ladder while he worked on one of the mobile chicken coops. I drove, backed up, and lifted and lowered him to be able to reach his work area.

I love working with my husband. I have always been so in love with how handy he is. He just really knows stuff and he is good at improvising on the job. And when he tells me things, like how impressed he was with how well I operated the tractor, it makes me feel like the luckiest lady. Not only does my husband let me drive his tractor but he stands on it while I do and he thinks I do a really good job at it.

This was my view from the drivers seat. 

Men are so cute. They are a lot like women in some ways. Like when women get a new pair of shoes they want to show all their friends and wear them out and their friends want to borrow them....

Come to find out, guys are the same way when it comes to heavy machinery. A couple weeks after we got the tractor my dad is asking Jeff if he can use it and the next thing I know my dad is "that guy" that is driving the tractor down the county road to his house to spread his bark. And just grinning ear to ear the whole time.

I don't think there is anything sexy about a tractor but I sure do love the man whose tractor it is.

Man Camp

Jeff’s dad and all three of his brothers showed up Tuesday morning, with their work faces on. The kids couldn’t wait. Since Monday they asked about every hour when they were going to be here. Company is thrilling around this place and has come to feel more natural than when we are the only ones here. The farm is a place where we gather with family and friends. Where we work together. The load is lightened that way and everyone gets their fix of the farm. We love that about it. The  more the merrier.

Aside from the kids being excited though, Jeff was the one who was lit up all week by their help. He was so giddy about them coming and it was fun to watch as they were here, how natural it was for them to work together as a team. Without words or a lot of instruction they all sort of just knew their job and did it. They worked so long and hard and I felt, as usual since moving here, like a pioneer woman. Wearing my apron all day. Making big breakfasts, caring for the children, making big lunches, taxiing my kids around to activities (this part was very un-pioneer of me), and then coming home to make another big meal for dinner. Which we didn’t eat until sundown every night they were here. The difference between Froberg’s and Ashmore’s is that Froberg’s feel hunger and stop to eat once in a while. Ashmore’s don’t notice they are hungry until you physically put hot, fine smelling food, under their noses. So all the week the kids and I would eat dinner around 5:00pm because we were hungry, and then we would sit down again when all the guys came in and eat a second round.

The guys brought welders and tools and machines with them to town. They started from scratch and built the frames of two large mobile chicken coops. I assumed they were working all day, every day they were here but come to find out some of them were occasionally playing on the four wheeler as well. Boys.

Bonuses of Man Camp were the days off that I got from my normal farm chores.  Man camp was a little like “Mom Vacation” in some ways. They collected my eggs on numerous days which left me to wear nice clothes and be showered more than is typical. Braxton, Adelle, and Emmett still had school all week and Gage wanted nothing to do with me while they were here. My little mommy’s boy wanted to work with the men the whole time so I found myself frequently picking up my book to read, or going to the grocery store all by myself. It was wonderfully relaxing and made the chicken coop project less stressful on me.

The sun shone the whole week and I remember looking up and thanking my Heavenly Father when they were pulling out of the driveway to leave for home Sunday morning. I felt a sprinkle from the sky and I knew our sunny days had expired. They were able to get so much more done in the sun than they would have been able to in the rain and I felt that blessing.

I’m thankful for Man Camp. Blessed by the men in our families who sacrifice so much of themselves for their families.  The amount of work that they got done that week was something that has no price. Jeff needed so much help and they came so willingly and accomplished so much. It never would have gotten done doing an hour here or there like we had anticipated. 

The guys are so fun and silly, and we love them all so much. I love the relationship that Jeff has with his family. Makes me want to have more boys so they can have fun experiences like this when they get big. I kept imagining Brax, Em, and Gage as adults. Coming to help each other. Working together. Being competitive and goofy.  I love how fun they made the job and how light the mood was when they were all working together. I felt the Priesthood so strongly in my home while they were here and especially when they gave their dad a blessing after his manly accident on the four-wheeler. I am thankful for men who know who they are and why they are here. Who think outside of themselves and serve. My heart is overflowing.  

And here is the finished product! Out on the pasture April 1, 2016

Faith, Family, Friends, and Farming

Yesterday was beautiful. The weather was sunny and warm, without the wind that had been blowing for days previous. Cars were lined up and down the street that we live on. It was the annual spring auction at the equipment shop that our property borders.  I came home to flowers on my porch and chocolates for each of my kids from the previous owner of our home.
It's coming back to me. The day we moved in. The pouring rain. The family and friends who made moving day so much less painful than I anticipated. The help who packed up all my shoes and left me barefoot in my old home. They were that good! The sound of the auctioneer echoing through the loud speaker in what sounded like our new front yard.  It's our anniversary. Ashmore Acres is officially one year old.

It's funny because I often feel like we have lived here forever and on other days I can't believe it has already been a whole year. We moved in here with a plan and a dream and as of today we can officially proclaim that it's working. The plan is working. The business model is right on schedule and the dream is becoming our reality. It's really amazing and humbling when I stop and think about the last year. I sort of wish I could bottle the whole thing up and save it for forever. There is so much that has happened, so much I hope I never forget.

Like moving day when it poured, as I mentioned, and our family and friends helped us pack boxes in the moving truck, take down our trampoline, clean the house from top to bottom, blinds, oven, floors.. On the other side of town more rain, and more help unloading our boxes, hauling the piano, and arranging my kitchen. My dad taking us to lunch at the Diner and realizing that this was home.

I remember feeling so happy and so scared. This farm is such an investment. The chickens came the next week and before that Jeff and I spent nights until midnight in the barn making their new home warm and well lit. We would put the kids to bed upstairs and put on our boots to go out and work by the light of the moon and our flashlights. We would make numerous trips down the road to the farm store where it felt like every last penny we had was spent.

The day we unpacked the first 500 chicks from the boxes and into their brooder was so happy. So much new life. The post office called and told Jeff that they had some noisy boxes for him to come grab. He came home with 5, loudly chirping boxes, 100 chicks in each. We stood in the barn, with all of our kids, unpacking each little chick one by one and introducing them to water by sticking their little beaks in to drink. They were all alive and we were so optimistic about our new chicken farming venture. We took pictures and the kids held them and watched them and if we couldn't find one of our kids in the house we knew exactly where to look. People came to see. More people came to see.

The chicks grew. They ate a lot. I remember the time I went down to timbucktoo to pick up their starter feed. I was in my flip flops and when I got there it was hailing. I didn't have the check book and they didn't accept cards. So I had to rob the nearest bank, ha, not really, but I did have to go into two different branches to withdraw the amount of money I needed. Just for a little food. One ton of food to be exact.

The morning Jeff found dead chickens in the barn and came in and told me to stop what I was doing and follow him to the barn. I had to hold the garbage bag while we counted 31, 32, 33, 34 stiff and dead chickens into the bag. We were both doing the calculations in our head. Thirty four dead chickens in one day could be fine, but not if it happened again. We prayed.

Then there was the weekend we spent moving the chickens from the barn out to the mobile coop. Family style and with the help of more friends we chased them around, picked up each chicken, put them in dog crates until there were 25 in each crate, and then Braxton drove the lawn mower with the crate, over the stream and onto the back pasture where their new home sat. We didn't finish until dark.  Heavenly Father held the rain that night and I remember as soon as the last chickens were transported and the help got in their car to leave I felt a raindrop, then many raindrops. It was pouring and we were done and I looked up and gave thanks.

The blissful summer of blue berries and cherries galore. Picking and eating from sunup until sundown. People asked if it bothered me that the chickens ate the blueberries and I said no. We had enough to share. In my head the bushes were divided into levels. The chickens got the ground level, the kids got one up from that, as tall as they could reach and until their bellies were full. We adults got the top level, that was plenty. Blueberries are way more enjoyable when they are shared we discovered. And the cherries, we even used a boom truck to get the ones at the top of the tallest tree. Pitting cherries on the lawn in our swimsuits and freezing them for another day.

The garden that grew by the grace of God who only required us to plant the little seeds and He took care of the rest. We watered it when we remembered but it grew graciously and abundantly and what we didn't eat we gave to the pigs because we like our bacon made from zucchini, apples, and pumpkin. We have never eaten so many cucumbers in our whole lives and their was nothing better on those hot days than eating a fresh cucumber right out of the garden. We made pickles and more pickles and salads galore.

The pigs. Those cute little piggies that the kids played with in the pen when we first got them. Adelle reading to the pigs out in the pen, like Fern in Charolett's Web. She specially picked her princess book to read to the pigs. Then they grew big, fast, and ate a lot and fattened up nice. Braxton's job to ride the lawn mower to the Diner to get the buckets of slop, usually with a sibling or 3 and all the cousins if they were here. Bumping along in the trailer behind him, making room for the slop on the way back. Growing up and taking responsibility and pride in his work, and the privilege of being the one who drove.
The pigs who ate more than we anticipated and escaped from their pen every day for the last two weeks of their lives. Helping themselves to the apples right off the tree and the sandals my kids left strewn around the yard. My neighbor calling me while I grocery shopped at Costco to tell me the pigs were rooting up her yard.

There were the visitors who came and helped and we had work party after work party and continue to have project after project. I started to refer to my new home as the bed and breakfast because in the first 90 days of living in it we had housed quests for like 20 of those days. I had my sister do the math. We love hosting and part of the dream was having a place where people could come and we could accommodate them. Many hands make the work light and the work itself is more fun and satisfying when you aren't doing it alone. I can't start to name all of our family members and friends who helped us this year. It makes me feel so thankful and blessed. It takes a village to run a farm.

We played Full House for a month  when my sister and her kids stayed while they were finding their new home. This would prove to be the best part of my kids' whole summer. The boys spent hours by the creek and after a few days of not seeing much of them they showed us all the fort they made themselves out of sticks and branches. We let them sleep in it, Braxton, Carson, and Emmett, and then the next night Jeff and I and all of our kids got to sleep in it. It was snug and warm and when we woke up the next morning, later than usual, after seven, we found that it was pouring down rain and we hadn't felt a drop. The fort was dry and half our kids were still snoozing. We bee lined for the house in our flip flops and with our sleeping bags over our shoulders because we had to use the bathroom so bad! The rain didn't help.

It was a Friday, that morning we woke up in the fort, or maybe a Saturday. Now I can't remember which. July twenty fourth, two thousand fifteen. The day Emmett found the first egg laid by the our first flock which we eventually start to refer to as the "Bad Girls."  After all the kids woke up we went out to the back pasture to feed the chickens, like we do every morning, and the kids started lifting up the flaps of tin to check the nesting boxes. Sure enough we hear Emmett when he finds a little pullet egg and then they all eagerly keep searching and find one more. It felt like rain after a drought. After buying the birds, feeding them organic feed for 3 months, housing them for the same amount of time, we were assured that day that the fruits of our labors were coming to pass. Gone were the days of wondering if the chickens would ever lay.

Our new reality since then has been collecting eggs. Lots and lots of eggs. Eggs trickling in at first and then as flock two started to lay we went from collecting 400 eggs to collecting 800 eggs in a matter of a month or two. We collect eggs every day, no exceptions. When Jeff is at work I collect the eggs, and Gage helps me or sometimes he asks me to make him a fortress while I collect so the "tickens won't peck me!" Gage is a good farmer, he hasn't really had a choice.

Adelle got kittens, Zebra and Hunter, for her seventh birthday and they are brothers who she got to pick out before they were able to leave their mom. They are outdoor cats and we all get really excited when they catch mice and rats. Adelle gets the responsibility to feed them and make sure they have water and the kitties like her the best. The time we lost Hunter, Jeff and I weren't sure how to make it okay but the kids all prayed and looked and after three days the cat came back. Jeff is convinced it came back from the dead but either way we have two cats still.

The water line that Jeff put in himself, the 6 fruit trees I picked out for my 34th birthday, one for each member of our family and that we planted out back while being watched by a coyote in the distance.

The windstorm in November that tore about our first mobile coop. I remember walking through the coop, collecting eggs with Jeff in such severe winds I really thought the coop was going to blow away with all 500 chickens and Jeff and I inside it. It was so scary. Not to mention the condition of that first coop to begin with. A wire floor that was broke so you had to balance on the frame as you tried not to slip on the poop, while carrying milk crates stacked with eggs. Its always a good workout and a good coordination test.  The coop ultimately being destroyed and Jeff texting every man he knew, "All hands on deck!" and they came and it was dark and the storm was raging, and we moved chickens into the barn and we made the barn feasible and we built roosts and transferred nesting boxes and we saved every chicken we had that night. Friends brought their own family members and people I didn't even know were helping us save our flock.

There have been nights that Jeff and I have shoveled soggy bedding and poop and wheeled it to the compost by the light of the moon when the barn has flooded and the chickens are trying to sleep on wet ground. That smell is one that I will never get out of my nose but it's becoming easier to bare. Their are rewards along the way, the turkey that we inherited that drives me crazy but when we found the gorgeous white, speckled eggs, it made having the turkey not so bad. The dog, also inherited, that doesn't obey us but at the end of the day is the first to hunker down on our laps and fall asleep. When I came home from the store with the first bag of dog food and Jeff laughed because it was made out of chicken....

The peonies. Did I mention my home has the most beautiful peonies and I got to discover them last summer and smell them for a short couple weeks while they bloomed. And lilacs. And mint, and hydrangea that the kids set up stand and sold down at the end of the driveway along with zucchini.

There was the silo that was given to us right when we needed it and the fire pit where we spent many an evening around roasting hotdogs and mallows and singing songs if we were lucky.

There are all those nights when we have eggs for dinner because he have them and they are easy and nutritious and we need to eat them so I have room in my fridge to stock with other groceries.

The walnuts who blanketed our lawn but that we got to to soon and after hulling them and sorting and pressure washing and dehydrating, I found them to be so exciting to crack into and then so disappointing to find molded on the insides. Next year I will be ready before they fall from the trees.

I anticipate many of these memories from the first year fading as years past. Those are the parts I want to bottle up, record, and share with my grandkids one day. Bothersome chores now will most likely become less bothersome and maybe the smell of poop eventually will smell like roses. The last year changed me. It changed my family. It changed my marriage and all of my other relationships to some degree or another. I have more respect for pioneers (not to be too dramatic but I have felt like one on many occasions this past year), I have more respect for life; of people, animals, plants, trees. I have more desire and drive to work hard. More respect for money. More principals I want to instill in my kids. More love for them. I know my husband on a different level now. He's a good man and a good farmer and at the end of the day when we are both dead tired it feels rewarding and satisfying.... like the paychecks we receive for our eggs. I'm thankful for our partnership and how extremely well we balance each other, on and off the farm. Two heads are better than one most of the time and both of us have a pretty thick noggin.

Thomas Jefferson said, "Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good moral, and happiness."
I love this and I have thought of it most days. In my own words though and to summarize our past year I would proclaim, "Faith, family, friends, and farming."

What foods best fuel your body?

Our Happy, Healthy Kids home learning program is ready to go and we’re celebrating with something that I hope lights up your day!

As you know, us In Balance folk are big believers of a “non-one-size-fits all” approach to life and, as well, are big fans of Laughter and Play so here is what we did . . . we created a fun little online quiz for you to figure out your body type (how you burn fuel and whether your autonomic nervous system is more sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant).

Even if you already know your body type, take the quiz anyway because I’m pretty sure you’ve never done a body type quiz that tells you what type of vegetable you are! And if you have kids, get them to do the quiz too. It’ll be super fun and helpful!

Doing the quiz means you’ll get a great reminder of the best fuel mix for your body, the best way to fit in appropriate activity for your body type AND your body type’s growing edge emotionally.

As a sweet bonus, you’ll be introduced to Carrot Top, Snap Pea and Buddy, our amazing Happy, Healthy Kids characters.

Take the quiz here.
And more information  here.

Healthy Homes, Happy Families

I am so passionate about healthy homes and happy families.

The more I learn about health and nutrition the more I want to implement it. In my home, in my family, in my kids' school, and eventually in the whole community.

Check out this link to learn about the health of your home and how you can improve it. It's the little things that make a big difference.

Also, if you are striving to help your children and your family live healthier lives I am excited to share Brenda's new program. Check it out here!

Growing and Changing

Braxton is growing up. From the way he poses for pictures, to his stamina and courage. I love having a big kid. He helps me want to be bigger, and better. I am so proud to be Braxton's mom. 

Jeff is still the biggest kid of them all and thankfully he forgot his shovel when we went up night sledding New Year's Eve because I was nervous about the jumps he was wanting to build.

We went night sledding with my brother and his wife and Jeff's sister and her family who came up to visit us from Utah for New Years. Also, our friends the McManus's came with us too. It was a beautiful evening and lots of fun. I wasn't cold once which is a record for me!

Adelle was on her own this New Years at her very first slumber party. It's crazy how my kids are growing up and doing fun new things.

Adelle is a sweet and spicy little thing and I am so thankful she is mine. She ate herself sick in candy, soda, and egg nog and threw up for the next 24 hours after she came home. She sure had fun though and I think she learned her lesson. Had to test the water though this one and when mom was away she definitely played!! 

Adelle is really into reading lately. She is excelling at piano and has a natural gift for music. She does ukelele club after school Mondays as well. Adelle is still into music, and drawing, coloring pictures. 

Gage is a Sunbeam now at church. On the first week I took him all the kids in his row were crying for their mom's except for him. He was just sitting there looking around at all the chaos. He is so big and so ready to take on the world. I love his spunk and his comfort. He still naps with me and is usually on my lap if we are home. He is still my baby but he blooms with so much life and love.

I cut my hair off in December. Not sure what I needed, and I don't think the haircut really satisfied the need at all but it is what it is and it's growing out now.

Gage and I go to little tot soccer now. I have done this with all of my kids, some more than others, but never before have I been hands free during soccer. Usually I am busily chasing around the next youngest kid while the tot plays but when I started taking Gage I realized I could actually sit on the bench and watch, like the other moms, for the first time ever. Gage loves soccer and has always been really good at it, naturally. Gage is really into me reading to him. He loves books. He loves playing with the geometric shapes, the game ISPY, and Adelle's little ponies. 

Braxton is becoming more and more of a reader. Sometimes he is lost in his book during breakfast before school. His teacher this year is really into literature and Braxton is still searching out his favorite genre.

Braxton loves his kindle fire and playing games on it is a new fun thing for our family. He also loves tossing the football outside with Jeff or Emmett, shooting hoops and reading or riding his bike. 

I think Emmett has grown up the most this past year. He has really excelled in wrestling and has a very competent way about him. He is still going and doing eye therapy weekly as well and I have noticed his confidence increase as he can better control his eyes to work together. Emmett is such a leader and such a loyal friend. He is happy to be wrestling, playing basketball in the backyard, reading or looking at his football cards.

2015 is a wrap and we are moving on up!