A Little Update

So one of my goals for 2014 is to blog more often.  I would like some of my blogs to more than just updates from our lives but for now updates is all I can seem to come up with so here it is!

A couple weeks ago we brought in a helicopter catch group to move animals from one part of the ranch to another.  It was the first time I had been around helicoptering animals so it was pretty interesting.  Basically, for those of you who have no clue, what happens is the "gunner" in the helicopter shoots nets down on animals.  As soon as that happens guys on four wheelers race over and jump on the animal, untangle it from the net, tie its legs, and bring it to the trailer.

Here is an axis they were about to load into the trailer.   

Fallow...

I helped untangle the nets and reload them.  I also helped load and unload animals a few times. 

Well hey there....

Unfortunately some do end up dying from being overstressed.  So we got a bunch of free axis meat to stock up on and Gunnar got a great picture with this big guy!

Over Spring Break, Gunnar's family came for a few days.  Let me tell ya, Gunnar has become quite the meat cooker around our house!  He tried Axis ribs for the first time and they were scrumptious! A little tricky to eat but so tasty!

We also took advantage of a rainy day to light things on fire!! Fun! Its always fun when starting fires is considered productive and a job well done!

We also had more fun feeding baby goats!  They got out of the pen for the first time! So entertaining!

A little fishing...

Sister loves the goats!  She herds them around when we let her in the pen and she get's pretty jealous of their bottles.  If there is a little left after feeding them I'll squirt it into her mouth and she licks it up like candy!  She's such a weirdo!

This is her new favorite spot!  On the table, outside the window! Creepin'  She even sleeps there! It's barely big enough to hold her!  What a weirdo!

Happy Spring everyone!

Just some stuff...

It's raining today....Yay!  Rain makes me happy! Might be the last fire day of the year, then again with the weather bi-polarness this year maybe not...

Our life....
We have baby goats we're bottle feeding right now... They're funny.  We keep going back and forth on names from Pippin and Merry to Geronimo and Chino (ski runs at Ski Apache).  The little brown one, either Chino or Merry, caught on to bottle feeding in just a couple days but the bigger white ones, Geronimo or Pippin, JUST got it last night, over a week after we started feeding them.

Gunnar has been trapping a lot lately.  Sunday, he caught a red fox in a snare.  First time to ever see one in person!  He was pretty stoked about it. 

 

My latest project is crocheting a tshirt rug.  I'm pretty excited about how it's turning out.  I'm kinda just making up how many stitches to add each round so hopefully I can keep it lying flat.  I like having projects.... Anyone else?

 

 We also went skiing a couple weeks ago.... That was fun!  Great to get into the mountains and see the beauty the Lord has created!

 

Sara and Wyatt went too, I just didn't seem to get any pictures with them... I'm so bad I know...

Here's to a rainy day, coffee, good books, and a fire in the fire place! 

2014 - Healthier Living

So it's been over a year since I've blogged.   This past year has been one of rest, learning, growing, and personal rebuilding.  So one of my goals of 2014 is to blog at least once a month.  I love to go back and read them so I really want to blog more often but if I do at least once a month I'll consider that a success. 

So one of my other goals of 2014 is to become more healthy and natural.  Eliminate chemicals and toxins from out lives.  My goal is just to take baby steps to a healthier life style.  I cook pretty healthy already.  We eat a lot of fruits and veggies, fresh meat, and drink lots of water.  We both rarely drink cokes or sweet drinks and are active and exercise. I'm pretty happy with where we are in terms of cooking, food, and activity but other aspects of our lives I haven't even considered until recently; cleaners, soaps, "beauty products," medicine, etc.  So this is where I am beginning to take baby steps.

I am about to order my first batch of Essential Oils. I know that these are rather a new "health fad" in some aspects and I seriously wanted to avoid, synthetic or poor quality products.  My friend Crystal is a doTerra consultant and has given me lots of information to read up on concerning quality and what to look for and avoid. 

I am also looking to learn about natural remedies for colds, pains, aches, coughs etc.  I just really don't like this way of life we've adopted to just run to DayQuill or something anytime we are uncomfortable with fresh ginger, lemon, honey, spinach, and so many good other things out there!! What a great God we serve!

Also, cleaners!! Seriously do we realize the amount of toxic chemicals we are breathing in while using those!  Gross! Vinegar, dish soap, and water! Seriously its all you need. Break up hard water stains and leaves everything so clean and fresh! 

Anyway I do not want to become some fanatic who lives in fear of chemicals and toxins, but I do want to take practical and healthier steps toward removing toxins and chemical from our daily lives. 

I am open to any suggestions or information!  haha

A Cheesy, Wacky, Planning PARTY!

So this post about a month late but I still think it deserves posting.  Last time Gunnar and I went home, I was in dire need of some major girl time!  I'm always around guys here in College Station, which I love don't get me wrong, but even great guys who are super supportive and happy for you just aren't that interested in what color the table cloths are going to be or how what kind of bridesmaids dresses I want.  So my very intuitive sister planned a little surprise planning party at her house.  Gunnar and I had gone to Reb's football game so he took me over to Sara's afterwards and I walked up to this on the door and started tearing up!  

It was a cheesy, wedding aisle in wal-mart inspired party complete with a plastic febreeze smelling boutonniere, light up tiara, party hats, 90's country music, and junk food!! 

It was exactly what the doctor ordered and I felt so blessed to have such great sisters and mom!

Only two months away....give or take a couple days....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sleepy

Church yesterday = So sleepy!

Solution = doodle!

Doodling = I actually listened to and learned from the sermon!

A little one tracked mind lately =

FBC Shower

A couple weekends ago Gunnar and I headed home to Mertzon for a weekend of football, wedding planning, shopping, family time, and our (my) first wedding shower!! 

The ladies at Gunnar's home church in Mertzon threw us a beautiful shower of burlap and lace!  I felt so blessed and special that they put forth so much effort and attention to detail to make the shower fun and beautiful! It's kind of surreal being the bride after helping, attending, and throwing showers for so many other people.  I definitely felt blessed and loved!  Gunnar's friends and church family have been so welcoming to me from the beginning! What a blessing.

Gran (my Dad's mom) and Mom (sorry it's kinda blurry)

Gunnar's Mimi, Aunts and cousins came into town for the shower also.  They're such a fun family!!

Opening a present from Gunnar's Mimi.

One of my favorite gifts... a wall hanging from Mimi. It had a sweet poem painted onto it and I'm kind of a sucker for things like that!

Another one of my favorite gifts was from my grandmother.  She gave me several hand made heirlooms from our family.

  I got two items made from separate Great-Great-Grandmothers that have been passed down, an item made by my Great Grandmother (who is still alive at the age of 96!!) and an item made by my grandmother.  I LOVE history and antiques and family heritage so this gift was so meaningful to me.  I mean how many people have handmade doilies made by their great great grandmothers?!  This item was made from a flour sack.  One of my great-great grandmothers crocheted a border to make a decorative scarf as a gift for my great grandmother in the 1940s.

People just don't do that anymore!  Gran had each item labeled with the full name of the person who made it, the date (approximately) of when it was made and the story of how it came into her possession.  I can't wait to display them in my house!  I love decor that has memories or meaning behind it instead of just simply being pretty.

Gran, Penny, Me, Sara, and Mom. 

Gunnar's cousins Emily and Mary came down for the shower :)

Sisters solving the problems of the universe......  Right!!!.....

Gunnar and I are very blessed to have such wonderful people as friends and family!!  We are blessed with two wonderful church families as well!  We are also grateful for the love and support people have lavished us with during our engagement!  Thanks everyone!

Aggie Ring Day

Took me long enough to blog about this but I finally got to it. I feel like I want to blog about these events in our lives more for us to have to reminisce over later than for other's enjoyment but either way I'm glad I did finally blog about this.

Getting your Aggie Ring is a huge deal at A&M.  Gunnar was short by 1 hour last semester so he had to wait until this semester to get his.  Sid and Ann and Gunnar's Aunt Joni and Mimi came into town for Ring Day.  Gunnar's cousin Emily got hers at the same time so it was very fun and special for them to get their rings together and to have family around to celebrate all their hard work. The only sad part was because of football Reb wasn't able to come celebrate with everyone :(

Gunnar asked his Dad to present the ring to him.

Sid's ring no longer fits so they had fun figuring out different ways to wear their rings together.  Sid was class of '84 so it was really special and honoring for Gunnar to have his Dad present him his ring.

Cousins!!

These next series of pictures crack me up.  All the moving around and rearranging for everyone to get settled for a decent group shot!

You stand here...scoot over...

Finally!! (l to r) Joe Mark, Aunt Joni, Sid, Ann, Gunnar, Emily, Me, Mimi, Mary

They were both so happy to get their rings!!

He worked hard for both of those rings and I am so proud of him and am so glad to belong to such an amazing man!

We went to the big Aggie Ring the next day and had fun taking lots of pictures.  The weather was nice and there weren't very many people there so we enjoyed taking our time and getting lots of good pictures. 

I really love this picture! Props to Ann for capturing such a great shot!

Gunnar and his Mimi :)

Thanks and Gig 'Em!!!