Red-eye

Before doing it themselves, Jaffa and Eben thought that a red-eye sounded like a pretty cool thing.  And then we kept them up until midnight, hustled them onto the plane, and landed at JFK at 6am (4am Montana/Idaho/Utah time).  Good morning!  Get your buns off the plane into the rental car, and no, I can't carry you.  Now, the red-eye is something to be dreaded!!

 

SLC Vacuum Exchange

We gave hugs and said our goodbyes to Art, Christin, and their bunch.. and headed south to drop Grammie and head to the airport, then back east.  While driving through Salt Lake City, we passed by the Vacuum Exchange.  [Of course we thought of our cousin Jonah!] It made us giggle..

Tractor driving

Art asked Eben to help move some bales with the tractor, and Eben was so excited because this was his "first time driving a vehicle".  He did great (and so did Art - coaching!). 

tractor driving gloves - check!

 

oil check - check!

bales loaded - check!



tutorial on how to drive the tractor - check!
(note: Eben asked where the brake was, and Art had to explain that the brake didn't work..
and rather how to put it in neutral, which was a good lesson!)

Here we go!!

happy boy!

here they come, bales dropped off!!

And a high five from Daddy for  job well done :)



Goats need to salsa dance

We really enjoyed meeting the new members of the farm: Frannie, Tilly, Andy, and Mimi.

 

According to Jaffa, goats are the national animal of Spain.  Or Mexico.  Or both.

And so logically, they need to know how to salsa dance.  Jaffa and Eben provided some free lessons. 

Andy paid close attention.

 

 

lesson #2

Mimi is pretty!

Jaffa loves goats

Jaffa and Andy had a lot to share

snuggles from Christin are the best kind ever!!

 

 And, in true form, Jaffa needed to draw the things she loves! Fridge art!!

Ellie and Petey

Petey (left) and Ellie (right) are just fabulous dogs.. so lovely with us and the kids, and such good, sweet company.  We were happy to see them again, and to give them belly rubs and snuggles.  We love those girls!

Chess

After a good day of fishing, we went and stuffed ourselves at Nap's for lunch (see http://www.americatop10.com/montana/top10/best-burgers). Art and Christin warned us, and led by example ordering one burger to share.  Did we listen?  Nooooooooo.  It was an amazing quantity of food, so much so we retired for an afternoon nap.  Once we woke up (hour later), we headed to the Higher Ground Brewhouse http://highergroundbrewing.com/ for salads and beer for dinner.  It was a very cool place, a great open space with beer on one side and food on the other, and a very friendly atmosphere. Once the kids finished their food, we found them playing chess. Not sure what rules they were playing by, but there was a method.. and a request to stay till they were finished.  Montana air makes you smart!!

 

Yee haw!

We decided to go shopping in Hamilton, as we were in need of a hat for Jaffa.  What better hat than a cowboy hat? We had to find just the right one.

 

Trying them on with Grammie..

 

 

Perfect!

Two beautiful ladies in their perfect hats!!

Got eggs?

We love learning about Christin's chickens.. and going to collect their eggs.

 

They are quite beautiful.

Our favorite story was about the chicken who has been laying eggs for 6 years, and has suddenly decided to start crowing at the sun.  You go girl!!

Granola bars for dogs?

We made a trip to the stuff-for-animals store, and among the horse brushes and sheep feed and horse shoes (and giant dog statues) was peanut butter and blueberry flavored dog granola bars for $4.   We're crazy about our dogs, but I'm not sure that I would buy these.  Even if we were going for a long, long hike.

Gone fishin'

 

One morning, we decided that it would be great to go fishing.  So, Zeric and Art went and bought kid rods, and off we went.  It was a fantastic day!!

 

We got to the river, and everyone tried..

Then the boys went up the river and kept fishing, and the girls caught minnows, made seaweed balls.. and talked with the chipmunks.

The next morning, Zeric and Art went off and tried again - SUCCESS!!

Raptor rescue

Christin brought us to her friend Kate's house, who rescues raptors.  It was amazing to see the birds up close.. and to hear all about Mary's experience working with them and photographing them in nature. 

 

She has eagles..

..and owls.  When we commented about how they look so wise, she replied, "yeah, but there's nothing upstairs". Who knew?

These birds are so beautiful!

The pygmies are so cute!

Thanks to Art and Christin, Jaffa and Eben adopted a bird each.  And, we got t-shirts and two books as well. It was a wonderful visit, and we have lots to remember it by!!

Pizza and jam

Art made pizza one night--all from scratch!!  His toppings were AWESOME!!  Quoting Jaffa, "it was the best pizza EVER!!!"

 

 

Pizza night was the same day that Art helped Jaffa and Eben pick berries.  Gooseberries and choke cherries, I think.  Jaffa and Eben spent quite awhile pitting the berries and using rocks (washed in the bathroom sink!) to make jam.  Christin then cooked it on the stove with cornstarch.. and it was perfect for ice cream!

 

 

yum!!!