where have I been??

Where have I been? I really had such great intentions of posting more often and everytime I thought about posting I would have some sort of huge block.

I'm now working for a school and so have the summer off for the first time in 3 years! I now realize what I have missed these last couple of summers. I love just hanging out with my kids and hopefully they appreciate having a mother at home with them this year. I'm definitely more relaxed and feel more like doing things around the farm and with my family.

We now have 10 chickens - I think one is a rooster though - 3 ducks, 2 goats, 1 pot belly pig and 4 cats and 4 baby kittens. Oh, and 2 dogs. EIEIOOO.

We are getting ready for our trek to Montana and I'm feeling some stress about it. We are taking the dogs for one thing and I think that my mom will freak out about that. She and I don't always get along anyway and so I'm a little nervous about spending the week there. I know that parents age, and I know that mine have, but I don't think that I'm ready to face the reality of this and what it means for my dad and all the ailments that affect him in different ways. I really relate well with him and could cry right now just writing about him. Maybe I'll just leave that subject as is.

We said good-bye to Gma Paul last month and that has brought up a lot of feelings about family. I am really going to miss her. I spent more time with her when she lived in Portland than when she was in Hood River. She was an incredible inspiration to me and how I should treat others.

Here are some pretty pics from around the farm.