Thanksgiving-now the rest of the story...

So Tom went to the ranch huse after everyone left last night to feed/check on things. He had left the upstairs tub dripping so the pipe wouldn't freeze in these sub-zero temperatures. We had the heat in the house turned up to 40- last year we didn't have any problem when we weren't there with anything freezing at that temp. BUT- when he walked in the door, water was dripping throught the ceiling of the living room. He went upstairs to discover the DRAIN had frozen and the tub was overflowing! So he bucketed water out of the tub through the window to outside.

He turned the heat upto 70. When we got there this morning, even the pipes were froze! In a 70 degree house! So Tom also built a big fire in the insert.

We then headed down the road to where the pasture is I'm keeping a few horses in. A neighbor had pasture that needed to be eaten down and there is a ditch that runs through it for water- so the ponies and Frankie have been there since October. Anyway- we needed to break the ice in the ditch so they could drink. This time I took some buckets and bucketed some water out for the horses, to see how thirsty they were. They were thirsty- I don't think they had drank since the day before. We left them with 2 full buckets of water and a large hole they can drink out of at least until tonight when it freezes again.

Thanksgiving week and the "Storm"

Well, we were looking so forward to Thanksgiving and having a house full here. I had done TONS of food shopping (basically spent the month's food budget) and we got lots of work done at the office so we could actually relax for a few days. But, alas, it was not meant to be...

First, my parents call (Grandpa Don & Grandma Char). My Mom has had problems with vertigo- and naseau as a result, not to mention horrible headaches for the past several weeks- she has spent the last week in and out of doctors trying to figure out what's happening. Not feeling up to it, the car drive was out.

Then, the report of a HUGE storm coming made us all nervous- It really slammed Idaho- where Alex & Marie were coming from- closing down the interstate. We spent a few hours gathering lamps, securing the animals, etc. in preparation for the "storm of the century" on Tuesday.

I have to admit that, as a storm, it was basically a flop. I don't think it made it south of Salt Lake as even the kids in Utah County said they barely got anything. We got about 2". But boy is it COLD now!!

So, we were down to just our local kids- minus Kelli & Jason, who were spending it with Jason's family this year. Then the day before, Cari calls- her kids were up all night "loosing their cookies" - So our group of 17 is now 5. Oh well, the turkey and ham were already thawed, food bought, so we just decided to go ahead- but luckily...

Cari's kids bounced back really fast and woke up Thanksgiving morning ready to "par-te"- so they did come! What's Thanksgiving without some cute grandkids around to:

Play football with (in the center-too cold for outside)

Ryan was so good at tossing and catching the ball!

Play Uno with:

Kyle won all three games-sorry Ryan and Grandpa!

and take dress-up pictures of:

Kaylee found my leather Aussie hat and was so cute taking it off and putting it on. She then found my cowboy boots- that was pretty funny- but I didn't get a picture. But I did get one of her wearing my famous turkey apron-it was so long on her- Cari tied it up so she wouldn't trip on it.

Just before cleaning up started- I forgot to take a picture of the spread before we ate- I'm always so focused on getting everyone gathered and prayer said so we can eat before it get's cold.

Afterward- the fire burning, football on the TV-food digesting-

when do we get pie?

I got so busy i didn't finish my "Business" post...

Re-roofing the barn
Unscrewing the old rotten fiberboard- you can see the new roof on the cottage that Derek and Tyler came and helped with when Tom first broke his rib.

Tearing off remaining old shingles (after the wind took most of them), unscrewing the rotten wood, ripping it off/out and removing, screwing in new wood, laying tar paper, cutting metal roofing panels, cutting a hole in the old tin roof to tuck tar paper and flashing into it, laying metal roofing panels down, tucking under flashing, and finally, securing with screws!
Tom replacing the old rotten fiberboard with new fiberboard that will hold screws :-)

This has been our life for the past 2 weeks- trying to catch every minute of time after we get done with office work and on Saturdays- before the rain and snow comes.

This side we shingled...

Finished just in time!

Yesterday we worked from 7:30 AM until we finished, just before dark at 5:30 PM (Except for the 1 1/2 hour break Tom got when he conducted the Ward Baptism at 11 AM).

So we got all this free metal roofing- which was great, we just had to go pick it up 2 hours away- then cut it to the right lengths.

We have been so lucky to have GREAT friends like Jim Noorlander, who's profession is roofing. He got us a great deal on the shingles we used on the south side, lent us his nail gun, gave us some tar paper leftovers he had so we didn't have to buy a bunch, AND helped us lay the shingles!!! He also advised us on how to do the metal side- Thanks so much JIM! Also, Tom's other buddy Abe- without his help ripping off the old rotten fiberboard, I don't think we could have done it! And finally, yesterday when it got down to putting in hundreds of screws, Tom and I were so tired and trying to beat the sun going down, when our friends, (my chiropractor, Chip Howard, and his 2 teenage sons, Cache and Colin, whom I've taught to ride) showed up and took over putting the screws in! I was then able to go scrape/clean out the corrals, something I alwalys need to do before winter.

And, of course Derek and Tyler helped us a month a go when we started the project with roofing the cottage! THANKS EVERYONE!!!!

Also, the day was very busy for me, because while Tom was at the Baptism, I was giving horse instructions to Jigsaw's new owners. I have gone back and forth about whether to keep Jigsaw or not. I love having him around for the grandkids to ride and he's been a great lesson pony for the neighborhood kids, but when I decide to get the Welsh pony mares to breed, Tom was gently asking, "how many ponies do we need?" Making the point that I could train the mares to ride and they can also have the foals I want for my breeding program. So, with a very heavy heart, I placed an ad in KSL.com and got no calls.

Jigsaw's new famly, the Hoopes, from Burley Idaho.

Then, a few days ago the PERFECT family called from Burley Idaho! First the Grandpa called, he owns horses and knew what questions to ask. Then his daughter, Angela, called and we made the arrangements. Her and her husband left at 6 AM with their kids to get here in time for a couple of hours of lessons for their kids and to get acquainted with Jigsaw before they took him home. I suggested they get back home before the sun goes down so Jigsaw could see his new home in the light.

I have to say I feel so good about his new home. The kids are respectful, smart, and kind. The parents are very involved and the first thing the Mom said they would do on Monday is to go to the library and get some books on horses. I know Jigsaw will get a lot more use there. It was hard to load him in the trailer and say good-bye to him. All I could think of was the hundreds of rides he's given family, neighbors, and friends, and all the kids that had their first ride on a cute pony named Jigsaw!

I also sold the rest of the new baby goats to a really nice family with VERY excited kids (no pun intended)- 2 boys, ages 2 and 4! It's always nice to make some money to pay for the winter hay.