Deer Farm Trip

A few weeks ago, we got to go to the Grand Canyon Deer Farm with Will's father. We went once last year and had a good time, so Faith was really excited to go again. We were about the only people there when we arrived. The deer actually roam free so you can walk with them, pet them, and feed them. This also meant that we got mobbed by a at least a dozen deer looking for food when we walked through the gate. It was hilarious and a little yucky because of their dirty little noses. I nearly got knocked over and Faith disappeared in a sea of fur. We followed her giggles to swoop her up and then Will lured most of the deer away with a cup of food so we had some breathing room.

As we walked through the farm we were continually followed by at least a couple deer. Faith loved this because they let her pet them, hug them, and generally hang all over them since they were only concerned with sagging another handful of food. What was really neat was that there were many other animals besides the deer. We saw a camel, a pot-belly pig, miniature ponies, some yaks, miniature donkeys, and even a talking parrot. Faith spent a good long while talking to Mozart the parrot. They said "hello" back in forth a couple dozen times. They discussed how he was a pretty bird and Faith expressed regret that she had no cracker every time Mozart said, "Polly wanna cracker". It was quite entertaining. After we pet every deer and greeted every other animal, we were ready to leave. We did stop to do a little playing in the snow. It was clear that we needed to make some time for this after Faith plopped down to make a snow angel in the not quite so white snow at the deer farm. A good time was had by all and we headed home, thoroughly exhausted. Thanks Pappy!

Our Christmas Festivities

Now that the whirlwind of the holidays has subsided, I thought I'd do a recap of how we celebrated in our family. We had several Christmas gatherings between mine and Will's side of the family. We kicked off the season with a Christmas party with some friends earlier in the month. It was so nice for Will and I to get together with other couples. Faith had a sleep over with my mom and dad while Will and I had a great game night.

On the 21st, we hosted the gathering with Will's brothers and sister, our nephew Caleb (soooo cute!) Byron, and Will's dad came as well. Will did all the cooking which didn't bother me one bit, especially since he is the grill King! It was great to see them because sometimes there is to much time in between visits. Faith opened her presents Christmas morning before we headed out. I think she liked everything because she is hugging her new things in almost every picture we took. :0

Christmas Eve was spent at Will's Aunt Shelly's house. We had a blast playing the white elephant game, the food was delicious, and Santa even showed up with presents for the kids. Christmas day was spent at Mimi and Papa's house. Several families had to juggle the day so it was actually quite mellow, which was kind of nice. We were glad that we all got to see each other the night before.

My side of the family actually got together on the 28th this year. We met at my aunt and uncle's new house in Rimrock. They just (as in four days earlier) finished building the house and it is gorgeous! My uncle Russell is incredibly talented. We actually loved that the celebration was not on Christmas day because we could devote the whole day to each family. It can be frustrating running from place to place and not getting enough time with everyone. Again the food was great and the kids had so much fun together. We had a really nice time and even got a huge card game going with about 12 people, until everyone agreed we picked much too long of a game for that many players. It was a great day!

Here's hoping your Holidays were filled with joy and laughter. May 2009 (wow, already?) be the best year yet!