World Pork Expo!

Ezra and I got invited to go to the world pork expo with his parents and brother Leon. So we climbed in the hu-mun-gus RV and headed down the road. The drive to Iowa is long, but not as bad traveling RV style.

I loved all the rolling hills and picket fence farms of Iowa. There are more pig farms in Iowa than I ever would have thought.
We made ourselves right at home in the RV.
We were glad to finally make it to Des Moines. The expo was so fun-People from all over the states came and some even came from different countries. We got to see some of the newest innovations in farming. And we got lots of free pork, some of the best pork I've ever tasted.
De Moines state capital
On the way home we stopped in Colorado, Ez caught this picture- pretty cool!
We also went to a fun parade!
Colorado is very beautiful!
This is what happens when you take pictures out of RV windows going 80mph

Ezra and I thought it would be fun to stick our heads out the window, it actually was quite fun. But trying to comb my hair out after definitely was not.

YAKS!

Meet the Yaks!
This is our yak, Ducky- Isn't she a doll!
This is Ezra chasing the Yaks!
He finally got them cornered!


Ezra and I are very excited about our new venture into yak bussiness. If you would like any fresh yak milk or cheese feel free to contact us! jk You try milkin that thing!

Ants in my pants

Ezra and I have been down in Utah for the past week we've been helping out with my aunt and uncles ranch. It's been really fun to hang out with family! And it's really beautiful!

Ezra and I were working to put up a fence and all of the sudden I felt a sting on my knee. I freaked out and whipped my pants down and started to run inside- I wasn't gett'in any where fast with my pants around my ankles so I yanked em back up and headed for the house. This is what I found...dirty thing. Anyway I'm glad that there aren't really any neighbors.

Later in the week I was helping my cousin Sara dig up some rocks. I didn't notice that I was standing in ant hill. I had ants running all over my legs!

 

Moral of the story: wear tighter pants!

Fun with the Valentines!

Our Friends Chris and Meagan Valentine came to visit us on the farm this week. It was great to have the extra help feeding our cows! (thanks guys) We took em around to see the sites- it was a ton of fun!

The Cattle Business

Rudolf

Yay! Ezra and I finally finished another semester at BYU I-da-ho.I have to say it was the hardest semester I've ever had and now it's over! woot woot! Anyway don't worry we haven't wasted anytime. We are back on the farm and we have nine baby calves. Don't let the word "baby" fool you- their strong little moo-ers! We had to teach them how to drink their bottles- sounds easy right. Not exactly- if you don't believe me- come visit us on the farm and try it out for yourself. Basically we pinch their heads between our knees and try to keep them still while he swap at the other calves to keep them from stealing bottles. Doing this morning and night every day has given Ezra and I quite the workout. In the end we're both covered in poop and slobber. Surprisingly.....I love it!

We have named each cow and we can even tell them all apart now......

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comit and Cupid and Doner and Blitzen, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all.....Ruldolf the red nosed cow-oww!"

Anyway we're doing great and looking forward to having a wonderful summer!

Evil Squirrel

Okay, I am not making this up- If I would have let it this squirrel probably would have attacked me......

So I'm walking by this tree not really paying attention and when I look up this little guy is 6 inches from my face. I scream because I'm so startled. Instead of running away the squirrel advances toward me standing it's ground. It was so weird!

When Ez got home I showed him the squirrel he was just as shocked at the strange behavior. Must be rabies!

Just for fun Wedding Pics!

Well there you have it, only about a year and a half late!

Bear Lake

I can't believe the 4-wheeler was able to handle all that weight!
My cute Oma and Opa!

We went to Bear Lake over Presidents Day to spend some time with the fam, it was so much fun! We went sledding--I haven't been sledding in a long time- I had forgotten how fun it is! We packed our selves onto tubes and went flying down the hill. We tried to convince Oma and Opa to go, but they were content to just watch. It was good to get away and not have to worry about homework for a weekend.

Idaho

Last week it got down to -19 and I was cursing Idaho. But today I came across some pictures I took last summer, and they gave me hope. Somewhere underneath that crusty brown snow there is a beautiful grassy field.

Ezra's Z Goals

Graduate College
Get a private pilots license
Start a successful business
Learn to play the piano
Raft the Grand Canyon
Have a family
Invest in the stock market
Design my own house
Own a plane
Learn another language besides Spanish
Teach my children of Jesus Christ
Build a tree house
Be a financial planner
Cruise the Caribbean
Predict the weather
Overcome weaknesses
Buy a farm
Invent something
Start a tree farm
Provide for my family
Visit Machu Picchu Peru
I want to own a tractor
Live in a big city for at least a year
Put off the natural man
Be co-owner of a business with all my brothers
Buy my parents something big
Travel
Help someone through college
Publish a book
Climb a Glacier
Own a restaurant
Get to know the lord better than my best friend
Fly a P-51 Mustang
Become a history buff
Go to a pro Foot Ball game
Provide for needy families
Meet a president
Be a tour guide
Memorize all the countries and their capitals in the world
Teach my family to walk in the ways of the lord
Go through all the temples in the states, and other countries
Read many books
Memorize the Scriptures
Serve a mission with my wife
Grow watermelons
Scuba Dive
Coach
Talk with the prophet
Study Hebrew
Teach

Jessica's Z goals

Become the kind of person God wants be to be
Fall even more deeply in love with my wonderful husband
raise a righteous family
Have lots of Kids
overcome my weaknesses
make sure all my family members know how much I love them
bring people to the gospel
learn to love purely
work at the temple
go on a mission with my husband
Go to Jerusalem--become a scriptorian
Do family history work
meet the prophet
Help change someone’s life
write my personal history
become an accomplished artist
make my home beautiful (so everyone feels welcome)
graduate college
organize a relief effort
plant a beautiful garden
Write and illustrate my own children’s book
donate to charity
make friends with strangers
learn to cook like a pro
become an expert mountain biker
do humanitarian service
read hundreds of books
learn all the hymns
Have my own farm with chickens, pigs, rabbits, ducks, cows, horses etc.
go all out decorating my house for each holiday
Learn to play the guitar
sing a solo
learn how to sail
swim with the dolphins
explore places I've never been
Go to Europe (see the Sistine chapel)
make up a funny joke
learn to juggle
visit a castle
see Broadway plays
try all flavors of ice cream and jelly beans
buy a sparkly pink old fashioned truck
see the northern lights
have my own art studio
go back to the places I have lived (California and Michigan)
Learn how square dance (so I can do it with my family)
Go scuba diving
Learn to speak Spanish and sign language

I love you Mom!!

Christmas Break!

Last semester the doctors and therapists told Ezra that it would not be a good idea for him to go back to school, they said that he still had a lot of recovering to do. Not to mention the fact that his short term memory was still a bit off- along with his math skills. But Ezra had a different plan in mind, he was determined to get back and try to salvage his classes even though he had missed a solid month of school. Ezra worked so hard to get caught up, for days at a time I hardly saw him.

The semester finally ended, and neither of us were sure whether we would pass our classes. We looked forward to the arrival of our grades with much anticipation. And about five days before Christmas we got our grades. We found out that we had both passed all of our classes and our grades ended up better than we expected. We were so excited, we couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present!

Me and my cute sisters!

Ezra on Christmas Morning!

After the crazy events of a semester that seemed to last forever Ezra and I were thrilled to be done with school and have to whole ordeal of Ezra's accident behind us. We had the most wonderful Christmas break, the majority of it was spent down in Alpine Utah (the most beautiful place on the planet). We had so much fun...

Making gingerbread houses

Playing games

Singing Christmas Carols

Going to Temple square

Playing in the snow

Watching Christmas movies

Going sledding

Attending parties -Ezra and some of my cousins did a puppet show for the whole family at my Aunt's annual Christmas party that had us about in tears from laughing so hard.

Christmas day was so fun! Ezra got to experience the beautiful chaos of a Christmas at Oma and Opa's house. We exchanged presents, ate lots of good food, talked and laughed. It's so much fun no one ever wants to go home.

We could not ask for anything more.We have been so blessed, we will be forever grateful for our wonderful families.

Ezra

Ezra is doing great! We are both back in school trying to salvage our classes (good luck, right). He is feeling much better. His aches and pains are starting to subside. Hopefully he gets his senses of taste and smell back soon. I'm not a very good cook so maybe it's a blessing in disguise....who knows. Anyway, we are doing much better thanks to all the prayers. Love you all!