Four Z Farm

We visited Four Z Farm with the McAfee family yesterday. The Zollman family raises goats and lambs. Right now is when the lambs and kids are being born.
Teresa went into the pen to get a lamb for the kids to pet.
The kids loved the goats. The goats belong to the Zollmans' son and daughter-in-law. In the past when we have visited the farm, there were not as many goats. That baby goats, kids, are so adorable. We got to see one that was just a few hours old. Its feet were still wet from birth.
Alicia . . . taking a self portrait with a kid. So funny!
Jake and Gabe held the goats and posed for a picture. The kids were asking if they could bring the baby goats home. It was tough for them to understand why that wasn't a good idea.
Grace couldn't get the goat to stay on her lap because her coat was bulky and slick.
I was shocked that Grace grabbed and handful of feed and walked over to the pen to feed the goats from her hand. Usually at petting zoos and such, she is very timid about getting to close to the bigger animals. She was feeding the goats and sheep like she was on the payroll though.
The kids couldn't wait to go inside the pens to get closer to the lambs.
Gabriel was able to walk slowly enough up to the lambs to finally pick one up.
Sam picked one up too.
Once Gabriel was able to pick the lamb up, he said, "Mom, Mom! Look! Take my picture!" I guess I was slacking on my job a little.
Before we left Gabriel and Grace started feeding the sheep.
I think Grace would like to work at the farm. She loved feeding the animals.
Before we left, Teresa took the kids for rides on the 4-wheeler.
Gabriel told Teresa to go faster. The kid has a need for speed!

The farm is a fun place to visit, and the kids love seeing the animals. I love seeing the animals too. Farm life is hard work though! Teresa was telling us about Wayne pulling some all-nighters in the barn recently so he could be with the ewes as they birthed the lambs. The lambing season takes place during the coldest part of the winter which means long, cold days working in the barns. I hope that one day the kids will understand that behind the cute animals and fun rides on 4-wheelers is a lot of hard work and long days. Farming is truly a labor of love. Thanks, Teresa and Wayne, for letting us visit!

Tomo

The McAfee's invited us to join them for lunch at Tomo Saturday. We love hibachi grills, but our favorite is Kansai. The kids were excited to go to a new hibachi restaurant.
Me and my girl . . . I tried to wipe the pink make-up off her face before we left home. I just couldn't get it all to come off. Ha!
The chef tossed the egg in the air and caught it in his hat. It looked like the egg just disappeared in thin air. That was a really cool trick.
The boys sat on one side of the table. The adults sat on the other. Surprisingly, it worked out pretty well. The boys were pretty well behaved.
Our chef tossed pieces of scrambled egg into the kids' mouths.
He made a pretty cool volcano. He filled the center of the onions with soy sauce and let it bubble up like lava. Grace hid under the table any time the chef made fire on the grill. I don't know when she'll outgrow her fear of hibachi fire. Ha!
I don't know what Grace's funny expression was about.
Before our lunch was over, the server brought the kids chopsticks. They had fun trying them out.

Pizza for Breakfast

My little Gracie LOVES pizza! She would eat is for every meal if she the chance. She's not a huge breakfast eater. So this morning when she asked if she could eat her pizza Lunchable for breakfast, I didn't mind. I was really just glad that she was willing to eat something.She ate the entire Lunchable for breakfast this morning. She LOVES pizza!

Chick-Fil-A

Alicia invited us Thursday evening to meet her at Chick-fil-a so the kids could play. It's been a while since we've had a Chick-fil-a play date, so I couldn't say NO.
The kids' meal toy was a computer game CD. Sam and Gabriel were pretty excited about it, but Jake and Grace weren't. Jake and Grace were happy to trade their toys in for an ice cream cone.
Mmmmm . . . chicken nuggets, french fries, and a fruit cup. That's a dinner for a hungry kid!
Gabriel and Sam were pretty excited to get to hang out together. They were ROWDY and loud!
I asked the kids if I could take their picture, and they turned and showed me their rear ends. They thought it was hilarious. Oh my! The kids had a ball playing, and I was certainly happy to not have to cook or clean up the kitchen.

Another Birthday with Chuck E.

Gabriel decided that he wants to have his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese this year. He, like Sam, is super-excited to do the Ticket Blaster. He also wanted Pokemon invitations and Pokemon on his cake. Get ready, Folks! February 24th you're eating pizza and enjoying time with Chuck E.

Sam is 6!

We went to Chuck E. Cheese Friday night to celebrate Sam's 6th birthday. It is unreal that Sam is 6 already. When Sam turns 6, it means that Gabriel is just six weeks behind him. Where has the time gone?
Chuck E. came around and gathered all of the kids together to dance and win free tickets.
Gabriel was eager to win some tickets.
The instructions were given, and all of the kids scrambled to get tickets. I think Gabriel and Grace each won 3 tickets. They were a little disappointed.
It was after 8 p.m. before the pizza came out, and these kids were STARVING! They had been so excited about going to Chuck E. Cheese that they hadn't eaten anything at home. Gabriel scarfed down 2 pieces of pizza in no time.
Dan hung out with Mazzi. She was a puffs-eating fool. It was so funny to watch her reach for the puffs. Later she gnawed on a piece of pizza crust. She enjoyed the heck out of that thing.
Sam had an Angry Birds cake. Very cute!
Everyone sang to the birthday boy. He received his special birthday medal too.
There was another party next to Sam's. The party host and hostess got all of the kids chanting "Happy Birthday" and dancing with Chuck E. Cheese.
Sam's birthday crew posed for a group picture before the party was over.
The reason Sam wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday was to be in the Ticket Blaster. He did an awesome job! He got more than 250 tickets!
Grace and Darbi were playing together as everyone was getting ready to leave. They are such girls! They had the rings off of the Angry Birds cake and were trying them on.

Happy Birthday, Sam! Thanks for inviting us to celebrate with you!

A Unique Snow Removal System

Grace has been so excited about the possibility of snow. Sunday when it began to flurry in the morning, she ran outside in her pajamas and stuck her tongue out to taste the snow. It didn't take but a minute before she decided to come in and get dressed more appropriately for snow.
By the time she was dressed to go outside, there was a dusting of snow on the deck.
Immediately she began scooping up the snow and eating it off of her mittens.
She ate the snow like it was her JOB.
Then she started packing the snow onto the back storm door and watching it slide down.
The snow began to pile up on her, so she had to eat a little more.
You knew this was coming next, right? She packed the snow onto the storm door and then licked it off. Ha! She is such a nut . . . and I love her!

Going to the Grocery

Grace picks out her own clothes most of the time. Usually it's just not worth arguing with her about what she is going to wear. This is how she came out of her bedroom Saturday. She was wearing a dress that was a size too small, Cinderella tights, a pink scarf, her new Gap hat, and BRIGHT PINK LIP STICK. Oh my! We got some funny looks as she went through the grocery store talking on her Barbie cell phone looking like this. What's even funnier is that she had a Princess headband on under the hat that she was wearing on her forehead over her bangs. She would not let me adjust her headband. She looked like a hot little mess going through Meijer. All I could do was shake my head and laugh. She is her own person! No doubts about that!

The Rest of the Story

So here is the rest of the story . . . .

Our Friday evening fun with the Bower family ended with Dan limping out the door. Yes, I said limping.
Remember how I said that Dan was being rowdy with the kids?
During the rough-housing Gabriel ended up landing on the side of Dan's ankle. Saturday morning Dan went to the immediate care center for an x-ray. Turns out his ankle is sprained, luckily not broken.
He limped around all weekend and used a cane to get around. The doctor at the immediate care center prescribed a pretty good pain med for him, which helped.

Oh, by the way, the accident policy that I signed our family up for through my work doesn't take effect until January 1st. It has a pay amount for the purchase of crutches, leg braces, and x-rays. Geez!