MCP Project 52 - Catch Up

I have some catching up to do! Here are my photos for MCP Project 52 from the past few weeks...

Week 11 - Darks and Lights

Week 12 - From the Jewelry Box

Week 13 - Just For Fun: A new headband and kisses for daddy

Lost and Found

Did I mention that Jon lost his wedding ring? Well, he did. It had been fitting loosely ever since he lost weight and well, it finally slipped off unnoticed and has been missing for weeks.  Jon was pretty upset about losing it and I’d been hoping and praying that it would turn up, but honestly, I seriously doubted we’d ever see it again. Jon had looked everywhere he could think of with no luck. Well guess what? The big man upstairs heard my prayers...and the ring showed up! Jon’s dad found it in his garage between some bags of fertilizer. (Thank You Tom!!!)

So, one wedding band has been found, but now we have another missing persons(or things) case to solve. This time it involves a toddler sock... lost somewhere in the depths of this creature.

Here, let me set the scene:

Creature: (Jumps onto couch with mouth shut tight and a guilty expression on face. Eyes dart quickly from me, side-to-side, back to me, down, back to me again. Mouth is still shut tight as a bear trap.)

Me: (Takes two steps toward creature.) “Sawyer, drop it!”

Creature: Chomp, chomp, (flash of white toddler sock), guuuulllpp.

Me: “SAWYER!!!”

Creature:  (Innocently flashes open mouth.) “What? I ain’t got nuthin’. Seeeee!”

Uggh! Why-o-why-o-why? Obviously this isn’t the ideal situation, but I guess I wasn’t overly concerned when it first happened. I mean the sock is relatively small and this dog eats everything!  In fact, recently he ate TWO of Sydney’s socks and the only way we knew about it was because he threw it up. (Right next to Jon’s face actually. Nice.) That’s usually how we find out he’s eaten something…he pukes it up or poops it out. So naturally I expected the same thing to happen here… except it’s been four days now and there’s been no sign of the sock. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m crazy because for the past four days, I’ve been scouring my house for puke and inspecting my dogs bowel movements like Sherlock Holmes.  No luck.

He’s been acting totally fine, but something’s gotta give soon. He’s either got to puke it up, poop it out, or I’m going to be up a creek, forking out big bucks to surgically extract it. Great.

Here’s a tip in case you find yourself with a creature who also confuses him or herself for a trash compactor. Hydrogen Peroxide. The dosage varies based on the size of your dog, so check with your vet before testing this out, but in my case a few tablespoons of Hydrogen Peroxide, administered within an hour of the sock eating extravaganza, would have resulted in forced vomiting, therefore saving myself all this worry and potentially a huge expense.

Oh where, o where has my little sock gone?

Oh where, oh where can it beeeeee?

Praying my dog poops out a sock soon,

Sarah

Soaking It Up

It's officially spring, the temps have been in the 70's, and we are soaking it up! Here are a few things I'm loving right now...

Spring Blooms.
Crocuses are in full bloom at my parents house. None of the flowers are blooming yet at our place, but they are so close!

Squishy Baby Faces.
My adorable, sleepy nephew. What is it about squishy baby cheeks and lips that make you want to smooch them?

Swings.
Sydney is obsessed with swings right now. She will sit in them for hours if you let her and she throws a huge fit when you try to get her out! We decided to set up a swing on our patio, not the greatest setup, but she loves it (Kameron tried it out too)!

Sand Tables.
Endless entertainment. We love our new sand/water table!

Grills and Kabobs.
We've been grilling outside almost every day, it's a warm weather must!

Weekends with Family.
My sister and brother-in-law came down and stayed with our parents for the weekend, so it was a full house...the best kind of house!

A Cold Beer On My Back Patio.
One of my favorite warm weather pastimes. 

New Picnic Baskets.
My nephew called it cheesy. I call it old-school romantic.

Clean Slates.
It's ready! We got the vegetable garden cleaned up and ready to plant.

Full Moons and Distant Lightning.

Have you seen the moon lately? Gorgeous. We had a bonus lightning show Sunday night. (Sorry, I didn't get great pics, but take my word for it, it was beautiful!)

Hope you're getting a chance to soak up this beautiful spring weather!

Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery

Prairie Fruits Farm is a working dairy goat farm and orchard. They make hand-crafted artisan cheeses and grow certified organic tree fruits and berries (peaches, apples, pears, cherries, and berries of all types). From mid-March through the end of April (before the farmers’ markets start) they host Farm Open House Saturdays and Breakfasts. Jon and I went this past Saturday and we are hoping to make it back at least one more time.

When we first got there, the line for breakfast was a little long so we decided to go walk around and look at the goats first. The first barn housed all of the baby goats. They were so cute and fun to watch. 

(The sleepy group.)

(This little guy stood here the entire time we were in the barn. I think he was working on his spring break tan.)

The larger adult goats were in the next barn. They were much bigger than I was expecting. 

The larger barn was also home to some wandering hens which, as a kind gentlemen pointed out to me, were not in fact roosters as I was telling Sydney. Sorry, but to me, any chicken that stands on a fence post, crowing (male or female) will go down in my book as a rooster. It’s not my fault. I blame the children’s books that always show the roosters out struttin’ their stuff, yelling Cock-a-doodle-doo, while the hens stay in the hen-house guarding the eggs. Who knew hens could run around crowing too? Perhaps this was a modern, feminist, working hen.

But enough about hens and feminism…on to goat cheese and breakfast.

PFF had their cheeses for sale along with a few other local farms that were selling spring vegetables, herbs, and goat milk soap.

We got two types of cheese:

Fresh chevre (plain) – made fresh each week, this cheese is creamy, fluffy, deliciousness. Great to spread on crackers or an egg sandwich.
Huckleberry Blue- this is a raw goat milk blue cheese made last December. They describe it as a “wonderful slightly pungent blue”. LOL! Not my style, but my dad an Jon seemed to enjoy it.

Our breakfast was so good! Jon got the bagel sandwich. It was a free- range fried egg sandwich on home-made bagel with fresh chevre, bacon, and jalapeño jelly. The best part was the jalapeño jelly and fresh chevre…YUM! Next time I’ll have to ask if they sell the jalapeño jelly, then we could make these sandwiches at home!

I got  the fresh baked Blueberry scone. Simple, but so, so good! Sweet and tart, firm on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. Fabulous!

I was really surprised by how busy the farm was. Am I the only one that did not know this place existed until now? Apparently, this little gem has been in operation since 2005. It makes me wonder how many other places like this are right here under my nose waiting to be discovered. It’s a personal goal of mine to start taking advantage of more of the great things this area has to offer. To re-discover my town and the surrounding areas. What are your favorite local spots? Let me know, I’d love to get more ideas!

Like Father, Like Daughter

Some vintage Jon and Jeff. Can you tell which one is Jon?

I'll give you  a hint... he's the one that looks exactly like Sydney! It's crazy right?! I couldn't believe the resemblance when I was looking at these!

Shinning, Elegant, Radiance.

Shinning, Elegant, Radiance... this is what Jon dubbed his flower art masterpiece. 

Sydney got the crayons out last night, and she colored with us for a little while, but then she decided it was way more fun to put the crayons in the box and dump them all out again. She did this over, and over, and over.  

I made the rainbows…Sydney called them “bow-bows”.  She is starting to pick up words so fast. She may not get them exactly right, but she seriously repeats everything now!

Once the crayon box lost its entertainment value, Sydney moved on to head butting her dad…who was still busy perfecting Shinning, Elegant, Radiance.

One thing’s for sure, this girl loves her papa.

....................................................................................

Shifting Gears.
My vegetable garden is screaming for some spring clean up! The snow started falling so early this year, and wouldn't let up, so I didn’t get a chance to clean up before winter. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get in there this weekend and get things ready. I have big plans this year for that little garden so I better get moving!