We moved into a cute little farm house the first part of November. Our lives have been filled with adventure ever since! Although we are only about 5 miles away from our house in town, we live out in the country. It is generally peaceful and quiet. On a clear night, we can see so many stars. The house itself is very nice. Not quite as large as our last house, but the space seems to be used better. If we ever get settled in, I will post pictures of the inside. The outside is amazing. We are situated on 25 acres. There are between 6 and 10 apple trees, a pear tree or two, one asian apple/pear tree, grape vines, and lots of pretty flowers and bushes. As you can see from the pictures, there are huge trees all over the place. Several of those huge trees are oak trees and are perfect for a really fun tire swing! 
We have gotten rid of several of cars, but the big shop is perfect for the ones we still have. The LDS Express is running again, and according to Rob, even better than ever! 
The barn is across a field and fence from the back of the house. In this picture from the left is what we call Shed Row which is a partially enclosed 2 horse stall. In the middle is the hay shed. It was originally the only barn on the property. The barn itself houses 18 horses, 2 tack rooms, a heated wash room, and a 60 X 120 foot arena. None of the horses belong to us. Most of the boarders came here with their trainer. We really like the trainer. He is a very nice and fascinating man who is kind enough to spend time teaching the girls how to take care of the horses as well as sharing some of the most wonderful stories from his life. 
As mentioned above, the hay shed was once the first stable on this property. It is a cute little building which will probably hold more than 12 tons of hay. . . as if we could ever afford to buy that much!
This is without a doubt the best smelling place on the farm. Did I mention that the farm has a name? It is Famhair (pronounced fame-er) Farm. It is an Irish word meaning Big Dog. That was the name of the farm when the owner lived here. She let us keep the name. 
What farm is complete without one of these? This one is called a Schultzy (I think because of the name of the company that provides it and takes care of it).
So, time to introduce the horses. This is Dupont. He is a Dutch Warmblood and stands somewhere between 15 and 16 hands high. Dupont is a champion jumper from Holland where he was known in the stables as Devil. Although he is a pretty nice horse to lead around and feed, he definitely has a mind of his own and tries to do things his way whenever possible. He really is a beautiful horse.
Next is Sid. Sid is a cute little pony with a mohawk. Generally, Sid is a very nice pony, but very food oriented. 
This is Tovin. He is a young guy, only 4 years old. He loves people and is very well cared for. His owner is very dedicated to her horses. She comes to care for Tovin every day. We really enjoy her visits because she is kind and always willing to share her horse knowledge with us. 
Although this guys true name is Leyden, everyone calls him Trouble. Apparently, he has a reputation for jumping fences to visit other horses and taste their food. Sadly, he will be moving back home for the harsher winter months and we won't see him again until March.
This handsome fellow is Kai. Kai is known for bucking his riders off, and can be quite a handful sometimes. Oddly enough, he loves attention. 
Ok, this is Shazam, or Zami as the girls call him. He is a Stallion which means he is not like any of the other horses here. He is only 3 years old, and has a lot to learn, but is otherwise a pretty sweet horse. 
Buffy is a sweet mare--as long as we keep the other horses away from her. She is so sweet, I have even taken her out to her pasture on occasion.
Abbie is the other mare on Famhair Farm. She stands a bit bigger than Dupont, but is generally very sweet tempered. She does know what she wants and how she wants it, but rarely gives anyone any trouble.
We call these guys The Three Amigos. From the left is Chuck, Clipper, and Quincy. Chuck wouldn't let me get a solo picture today, so maybe next time for him. He is a beautiful horse. He LOVES people, probably more than any of the other horses. He even loves people more than his food! 
Clipper is a very well behaved horse in disguise. He will prance around and get all impatient while waiting for his grain or to go outside, but once on the move, he is really a very gentle horse. The girls insist that even I could probably handle him. Hmmmm, maybe some day. . . 
Last, but definitely not least is Quincy. He is just HUGE!!!! He is 17 hands high which puts his back over even Nichole's head. For all his hugeness, he is such a nice horse. Generally a bit shy and very calm. The trainer says he is the horse for a person like me who is afraid and inexperienced. I think it would take a lot of training for me to climb up on something this big! I got to see his owner jump on him, and it was thrilling to see.
Of course, no barn is complete without the people who care enough to clean it up. Notice the colored "apple pickers" (the plastic pitch-fork thingies they use to clean up the stalls and pastures). Nichole bought her purple apple picker. Marissa and Rachelle requested theirs for their birthdays. 
Regardless of the color of the apple picker, the stuff that gets picked up generally all looks the same. 
There is much to keeping a barn clean. After cleaning out the stalls, the aisle needs to be swept. During this time of year, each horse has two water buckets which must be cleaned and filled with fresh water. (During warmer weather, each stall has an automatic waterer in the back corner, but due to freezing temperatures, we had to turn those off so pipes wouldn't break.)
One very cold night after everyone was turned in for the evening. The white spots on the floor are actually salt which was poured over ice to prevent slipping. We are so very thankful that temperatures have returned to normal for the PNW.
It doesn't matter what the weather is like--rain or snow, wind or ice. The girls just love horsing around!
We have The Three Amigos and below, the Three Stooges! We couldn't live without these wonderful young women!
Just had to post a video of Marissa climbing through this very narrow gap between the bars of this fence. Nichole and I thought she would have to give up and go around. Wow!
Once all the letters are completed, they are arranged in their proper order and hung on the wall for the birthday person. Nichole enjoyed the "hang up" job this time.
Not only do candles provide something for the birthday person to blow out, but maybe the heat will sanitize the cake too?
According to our family tradition, the birthday person gets to cut her own piece out first. The rest of us get whatever is left.
I think Rachelle has beautiful eyes. . .
And, here is the birthday cake video. I think I will try to sing much more softly next birthday.
