Ready for kids of their very own??

*UPDATED* Added videos...  
Sunday, Sierra came over with Emery and we had a great visit.
The day was gorgeous just as the whole weekend was and the dogs loved having her there to play with them.  Emery spent at least 10 minutes throwing the ball for just Roscoe and he enjoyed it.
She climbed all over Callie and Bear and they didn't mind a bit.  I am thinking they will be great with kids of their own one day!  :-) 

I thought Callie would be the one to jump up and run off but she didn't.  I am glad Emery is so light weight. 

Emery liked having the "pillows" to herself!  :-) 

Otis tried snuggling with her but she was tired of sharing the "pillow" at that point. 

Bear loved getting the attention, didn't matter if it was being ridden or what, he was so needy that Emery was perfect for him yesterday because he got a lot of hands-on attention.

Emery went with me to check for chicken eggs (most of the kids love to do that when they come over).  She loved the Banty eggs and was calling them baby eggs.  It was so cute.  As we were putting them away in the fridge, she spotted the teeny little egg we got from a new layer.  She carried that and two Banty eggs around for a good 45-60 minutes.  Unfortunately, we had one minor casualty with the teeny little "baby egg" but she recovered very quickly.

In the morning prior to Sierra and Emery coming over, I did Natalie's hair.  Eric had gotten up early and fed all of the animals for me (usually I do the weekend feedings since he does most of them throughout the week) and the chickens were all out running around.  They have ventured quite far throughout the property now that they have been around for so long.  We have a little Banty Hen named Cow.  Lila gave me Cow to go with our Banty Rooster, Judy (long story on the name but just know he is named after Grandma Forshey).  Anyway, Cow is the friendliest little hen we have because she was handled so much by Lila when she was just a chick.  Anyway, she was trying to hang with Natalie and me in the salon while I was doing her hair and I kept setting her back outside but she likes to be around people so she was persistent.  At one point, Natalie and I were standing on the deck and Cow jumped up on my shoulder.  She has never done that before, I was so surprised.  She usually will come up to me and squat down for me to pick her up but she was feeling especially friendly on Sunday so she thought she needed to be perched on my shoulder.  After Natalie left, I joined Eric in the garage to finish up organizing and cleaning and next thing we know, there is Cow.  She continued to "help" us for about 30-45 minutes and I noticed her trying to get comfy on the counter-top.  I think she was planning on laying an egg and wanted to be with us because she kind of did the same thing in the salon before I put her back outside.  We happened to have an extra nesting box in the garage that we haven't installed in the coop yet so I decided to set it on the counter and fill it up with the Eco-flake nesting material.  Once I did that, Eric set her inside and she proceeded to make herself a comfy little nest.  She moved the wood shavings here and there and snuggled in.  About 30 minutes later, I was on the phone with my grandma when I heard some serious squawking.  I went in there and Judy was "watching guard" as Cow laid her egg.  It was so adorable.

Hunny Bunny's "Field Trip"

Last Sunday we stayed home all day to clean and organize the garage.  It was looking pretty bad and was kind of our "catch-all" since we have been on the go so much lately.
The weather was gorgeous so we decided to put up the baby "corral" we have been raising the chicks and ducklings in when we have them and let Hunny Bunny run around the yard for a while.  She has never been outside before other than in her cage one day by the front door.
She absolutely loved it.  She ran her little legs off, burrowed into the long grass, peeled out, ate grass, kicked up her heels and slept in the sun for about 6 hours.
She had a certain Border Collie "guarding" her all day (Otis). 
I couldn't ever time it right to where I got a good video of her running around the pen so I am posting a couple of short videos and photos here of her doing pretty much nothing. 

More Jerky

I LOVE jerky!  

Eric made more in the dehydrator and I am anxious to try it! 

The marinade smelled so delicious last night and this morning and I cannot wait to sample the finished product.  Yummy! 

Valentine's Day

Eric and I kept things simple this Valentine's day.  We brought home dinner and relaxed inside for the evening.  I did not feel like going out and waiting for a seat in a busy, crowded restaurant.  It was nice to just stay in and relax in the hot tub and spend the day with our critters.

I made Eric chocolate covered strawberries (some were a tad thick)

Flowers Eric bought me and our cards (one is from a customer of mine who also bought me chocolate)  :-) 

Mountains

I liked the view so much on Sunday, it was so nice to see snow on the mountain tops

View from our back deck

Sunrise from the garden

Puppies & Kitties

The cats were feeling very stubborn and wouldn't move when Bear jumped up on the bed with them

None of them really "liked" the situation they were in but all of them were being stubborn

Roscoe and Bear.  What you don't see is Callie is under the bed on the left of the photo and Otis is  above her at the head of the bed underneath.  They both sleep like that all night.  Roscoe moves during the night and sleeps next to Eric on the floor

Fun at the Ranch

All of our company left this morning and we are sad.
Christina, Jacob, Stryker (dog) and Mimi (cat) left to go to Oregon where they will now reside.

My friend Terri also came into town on Saturday evening and left this morning to go home to Carlsbad.

Saturday was fun because I had a bunch of the girls over for a jewelry party and we had a great time.  My friend Natalie makes the most gorgeous jewelry and I wanted my friends to be able to see what she has to offer.  Thank you all for coming; Kate, Sierra, Marci, Crystal, Lynan, Ashley, Christina and all of the kids.  Natalie, thank you for making such beautiful pieces to share with us and braving the weather on Saturday.  Pretty much everyone mentioned wanting something in the future as well and are spreading the word. 

Marci and the kids ended up sticking around which is always fun and the kids are so cute and well behaved.  She also brought ALL of the fixings for dinner and dessert which was AWESOME.  Terri arrived right before dinner so we made some introductions and had dinner together.

Sunday was another great day.  We relaxed, had breakfast and Grandma Forshey came in the morning to see Christina and meet Jacob and Terri. 
Terri and I then headed up to Apple Hill to Boa Vista and bought some fresh apple juice, produce and pies.  After that we headed into Placerville and walked Main Street (which I rarely do) and went into several shops and art galleries.
My favorites were Body Basics where I bought some soaps and both Terri and I loved the olive oil store.  I didn't even know that place was there.  I bought several things there for Tony and Christina as well as some Jalapeno Olive Oil for Eric.  We were able to sample about 10 or so types of olive oil and we loved most of them.  We then headed out to Lotus and Coloma so Terri could see the beautiful landscape of the American River and where the Gold Rush was.
After that, we went to Cameron Park to dinner at Papa Gianni's for some delicious dinner but rude service (which is highly unusual for them).
Terri loved out quaint little town and is already planning a trip back in October to see what we have to offer in the Fall. 

It was wonderful to spend time with everyone and we love you all so much.  We will miss you until we see you all again. 

Here are some random photos and a couple of videos from the past week: 

Jacob and his golf bag

Tony and Jacob

Jacob is "smelling" the candle

Little Man's version of push-ups

Eric taught Jacob how to do a "Hulk Move" and he did it all week, randomly.

Jerky

The boys making Jerky

Stryker!

Lined up for a TREAT!

Callie and Stryker became fast friends.  I am sure she is moping around today now that her boyfriend is gone.

Terri and Callie

Jacob was "cleaning" this morning while Christina finished packing the car to leave

Eric actually had to leave to go to work today so he was in uniform  :-) 

Me and Jacob

My Hubby and the lovely, gorgeous Christina!   Probably one of the last times she will see Eric in uniform too, retirement is coming up quickly...