Look Everybody - My Diaper Bag is Ready!

Nana finally got busy and finished my new diaper bag. She's been working on it a long time and I thought she'd never get it done.

Sunday night she picked up the crochet needle and got to work. She had two rows left, handles and the trim. Now her wrists are tired and sore. She says she's going to put some dividers in it so Mommy can organize my stuff, but it will have to wait a while.

Mommy picked out all the colors for it after she found out I was going to be a girl.

Here I am modeling it. Nana wrapped me up in the pink flowered blanket she got me and tucked me into it for these pictures. I thought it was pretty boring, but I posed for the pictures anyway.

In two days I will be two weeks old. I am pretty much in charge around the house. I sleep whenever I want. Mommy feeds me whenever I am hungry. Nana and Papa John change my diapers whenever I make special presents in there for them. I am waiting for my Daddy to give me a real bath. Mommy and Nana have given me sponge baths, but I know he's going to give me a real bath in my tub when my belly button is all fixed up. It's going to be fun.

My room is all fixed up with lots of pink, but I am spending most of my time hanging out with Mommy on the couch. I have a cozy place to nap, and a place where everyone takes me to change my diapers. I have a bouncy seat that I sit in to watch Nana working in the kitchen.

Everybody is always kissing and hugging me--but I guess I'm just too cute to resist!

Holly Anne Leap

I'd like to introduce Miss Holly Anne Leap. We've been waiting so long for you Holly! Holly, Mama Karol, and Daddy Andy are home from the hospital and everyone is recovering.(Including Papa John and Nana.)

She has reddish gold hair and it looks as though she may have blue eyes.

View From the Back of a Pony

Friday afternoon when I got home from work I hitched Sadie up and went for a ride. We went all around the little neighborhoods near our house. It's a very pleasant ride. Afterwards, she really enjoys the grooming session--it must feel really good, because she practically falls asleep.

Saturday, we hitched her up again and checked out a couple of yard sales. I scored big! I got a bathtub for Holly, stacks of baby washcloths, towels, bibs, and recieving blankets. A box of baby toys, and assorted teethers. We also found a bunny step-stool, and some pegboards for John to put together to hang hats on.

After we got home, we hopped in the truck and headed for Greensboro. We had a glider rocker to pick up, and we also stopped in at the farmers market and got some fresh fruits and veggies. Tonight we had fresh mashed potatoes -- man were they good.

I also collected 24 eggs today. The Auracanas have started laying, so we have pretty blue-green eggs to go with the brown ones the Rhode Island Reds have been giving us. Egg production is up again. We have 9 dozen in the barn fridge.

T-Minus 19 days

until Karol's due date!

Driving Miss Sadie

Big excitement at Papa Johns Farm. We have a new addition to the menagerie. Meet Sadie the Amish cart pony.

We met Sadie in early September on a trip up to Ohio. She lived on a farm with goats, sheep, and just about every size equine, from the tiniest miniature horses to Percherons. Now those are some gigantic horses. Last weekend, we traveled back to Ohio to her farm to pick her and her rig up. Here she is hitched to her cart. She is very good on the roads, even 18 wheelers do not phase her.

Ponies are measured in inches. Horses are measured in "hands". Sadie stands 48 inches tall at the withers. In horse measurements, that makes her technically 12 hands. There are 4 inches for every "hand", for anyone who is wondering. Any equine under 14 hands is considered a pony. I've always wanted a horse. I also know I can't handle a horse. So a well trained pony is exactly what I needed.

At her farm, Sadie was in a dry lot with six other ponies. They had all the hay they wanted, water, and grain twice a day, but they were on dirt. One of the ways horses cope with flies is to roll in the dust. If your coat is thick with dust the flies can't bite you. While we were loading her, it rained, so she had a coat of mud. On the way home we had more rain. So by the time she got home, she was good and dirty. Of course as she began to feel at home, she had herself another good roll in the dirt. I've spent a lot of time in the past couple of days brushing dirt out of her hide, but today I decided it was time for a good bath. Sadie really enjoys grooming, but I was not sure how she was going to do. Turns out, once you get past the fact that it is cold water, it's all good. We used "Mane, Tail, and Body" Shampoo. Worked up a good lather, rinsed and scraped her, and she looked great. I took her out to the front yard for a little grazing, and then I spent some time combing out her mane and tail.



Here is a short video of me driving her in the front yard. We have actually had her out on back roads during the day, and we are having such a good time with her. She is so well trained it is a pleasure to have her out on the road.

The Winston-Salem Airshow - Our Helicopter Ride

Last weekend we went to the Winston-Salem Airshow at the Smith-Reynolds Airport. Andy, Karol, and I got to do something we'd never done before! Ride in a HELICOPTER! We had a top notch camera crew, so movies are available for your viewing pleasure, THANKS to PAPA JOHN! While we were waiting for our flight to be called, we watched a Harrier Jet take off. Now that's an amazing aircraft. We also watched a ton of stunt pilots in little planes doing absolutely crazy stuff. At one point we watched an F-18 scream by. Karol reported that it seemed to startle Holly, because she started kicking around after that big noise. The F-18 actually went by, and then the sound caught up with it -- man they are loud!

Here we are at the briefing station. Recieving instructions for pre-flight, flight, and post-flight behavior. Pre-flight instructions -- which side of the aircraft each of us were going to sit, how to duck and hold your hat. Flight instructions --DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Post-flight instructions -- Wait for the flight crew to open the doors. Per the FAA, passengers are not allowed to open any door. Our briefing guy told us his son is 14 and has been flying helicopters for 2 years. So I guess they let 12 yr olds fly these things?

Takeoff -- This is the first time I have ever been in a helicopter. It's amazingly smooth, sort of like floating as you take off. We gained altitude quickly, and I could see my office and where it is in the surrounding neighborhood. The city of Winson-Salem was spread out right there in front of us. We headed for Winston Tower, the RJR Building, and the Wachovia Building, which we call the Chapstick Building, because it's rounded top makes it looks like a giant lip balm.

After skirting downtown, we circled and headed back for the airfield. I watched cars moving along Liberty Street. In a helicopter you have the opportunity to really watch what is going on down on the ground. Off in the distance we could see the runways on the airfield. We could see still more planes doing stunts. We landed around 4:00, and the airshow was over shortly after that.

We need more hay to make sure we get through the winter with the additional goats we have acquired. The barn, we think, can hold 150 bales in the loft we built. This does not take into account the area Papa John built with the hay slide. So maybe now 130-140 bales. We just purchased an additional 50bales a couple of nights ago, so today we load them into the barn. We could not do this without the help of our son Andy, who mans the hay loft, stacking the bales as they are pulled up into the loft. Or with the help of Karol, our daughter-in-law, who mans the tractor, pulling the bales up into the loft. Here she is on the John Deere.

We are all in this together --Goat FARMERS ALL!