Let it snow!

Finally after living here for 8 years it snowed. It was a very cold cloudy day and after lunch a few flakes started falling. I went up to the school and all the kids were outside screaming and running around in the falling "snow". Here is the dog, no she doesn't have really bad dandruff. The flakes were falling quickly and were very large, but after just a little while it stopped.

We thought that was the end until after dinnertime it started up again and this time it was sticking.
Poor Gopher, he was like Randy in "A Christmas Story". You had to hold his arms down because his coat was so bulky they just stayed out to the sides.
The Bear and the Goose had a great time. They made snowballs, little tiny snowmen, and even a snow angel on the trampoline.

They even got to try catching flakes as they were falling.


By the next morning not too much was let. Once the sun came out it all melted very quickly.

I went out and collected some snow in a pot for the Gopher to play with since he didn't really enjoy it the night before. He liked the way it tasted, but he wasn't too sure about playing with it.

Recitals, School Programs, Parties, Oh My!

November and December were full of lots of events. The Goose celebrated the 50th day of school with a sock hop and 50's party. They had root beer floats and bubble gum. She looked super groovy.

The Bear participated in the District 4-H food show in Refurgio in early December. It was our first time for this, so we didn't really know what to expect. She did very well, but didn't place (they only gave awards to the top three in each category and there were about 12 in hers). She made banana bread. After the judging, she participated in the food challenge with some girls from another county. She really enjoyed that part. Hopefully if she does it again next year, it will be a little closer.

Santa made a visit to our Church Christmas party and everyone got a picture.

The Goose is the third star from the right. They sang two songs and she even had a little speaking part.

The Bear is there in the middle. She also sang two songs and had a solo on one. Luckily the lights were out so they couldn't see who was singing.

The final big event of the month was the dance recital. They both did a great job. The Goose danced to White Christmas and the Bear to Little Drummer Boy.

The Gopher's Birthday

Happy Second Birthday to the Gopher. It is hard to believe that he is two. We have a tradition of birthday donuts. So here is the Gopher with his donut. We sang happy birthday and the sisters helped blow out the candles (after he tried to touch it). For his party we decided to have a cowboy/Rodeo party since his now rolling around the house. The invitations said Rollin, Rollin, Rollin, and we certainly had a Rollin good time.

Since we were having a cowboy/Rodeo themed party, we had a wagon wheel cake. Plus round is easy. So the Gopher had his own little cake with candles. He needed a little help from his sisters to blow them out, but he enjoyed the cake part.

Who doesn't like cake (except maybe cousin Kacie). But the Gopher sure does. This year he was able to get his hands into the cake. I don't think much of what he touched made it to his mouth, but he had fun making a mess. His Daddy and sisters helped with the getting to his mouth part.

He wasn't too interested in opening presents, but the Bear and the Goose helped him out. He got lots of new pajamas and some new toys too.

The following is the Rodeo part of the party. We tried to get Spencer to ride the goat, but he wasn't interested. So Brandon decided he would give it a try. So here is our addition to America's Funniest Home Video. Note, no children or goats were injured in the making of this clip.

The Goose's Birthday

Rise and shine, the Goose is now six. We have a donut-for-your-birthday tradition, but I don't think she was quite awake yet.

Still not quite awake, but maybe presents will help her move a little faster.

All the Mahlmann grandchildren and Popo at Lucy's party. Look at all the boys.

Lucy decided that she wanted to have soccer birthday party. So we had a soccer ball pinata. We had the party at the park and had a soccer goal and balls for the kids to play with. I also made plaster of paris soccer balls for them to paint. They enjoyed the painting and playing on the playground, they weren't too interested in the goal.

Even the Gopher got to go down the slide with a little help from Daddy.
Here is a video of the cake, ignore my singing and try and listen to the kids, they are much better. The cake is a soccer field with two goals, but one didn't make it through the night. So we decided that the white team won. Everyone had a great time at the party and the Goose got lots of great presents.

Halloween

They may look cute now, but before this picture was taken, there was a whole lot of screaming going on. Originally the plan was for the Gopher to be a cowboy and the Bear and Goose to be cowgirls with the hats they got at the fair. Well when they came home from school they changed their minds. First the Goose was going to be an angel with her dance costume from last year, then she decided to be a cheerleader. So I thought we were done, well then the Bear decided she wanted to be a cheerleader. That sent the Goose into a fit because she didn't want them to wear the same costume. So we told the Bear she had to pick something else. Well after much crying and screaming she came out in her school clothes with a stuffed dog and said she was going to be a person carrying a dog. We told her that wasn't going to work. So after some more screaming and crying, she ended up in the above cowgirl outfit. I'm not sure why she didn't want to be a cowgirl to begin with, but after much ado we got it straighten out and were on our way to Trick-or-Treat.

Give them a little sugar and they can be so cute. (Or maybe that is give me a little sugar and they can be so cute.)

The cutest Gopher ever

I wanted to post a different one where he was laughing a lot, but it was too long and wouldn't upload. So this one he is smiling and talking and looking very cute too.

To Market, To Market to buy a fat Goat

Well the fair has arrived and it is time to take the goats and show what they can do. The Bear was very excited about going to the fair and showing her goats. She was also excited that she would get a wristband and get in free everyday. So Tuesday evening we loaded up the goats and headed to the fair. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but we got there early and put them in their pen and waited for the sift. There were 120 goats, so we knew that we needed to get in line early, because it was going to take awhile. In previous years, the kids had to walk the goat in themselves, so you couldn't line up with both goats together. They changed that this year and someone held the second goat, while she took the first. Of course after the weigh in they both weighed exactly the same 77 pounds. So they would both be in the same class. So we found another member of our 4-H group to show the second goat.
Say cheese. Doesn't it look like he is smiling. He had something stuck to his lip, it was very funny at the time.
There's our little cowgirl, or goatgirl like she says. I had a hard time finding her a long sleeve button down shirt. They don't make very many of those for girls, especially in small sizes. Next year, I will start earlier and find one that looks a little more girly. Time to line up for the show.
Here she is walking in with Waddles and Gordie is right behind. They walked in fine together, but when the judge separated them, Waddles wanted to follow and drug the Bear across the ring. She did a great job of holding on to him the whole time and making him look as good as she could. Gordie on the other hand did not want to cooperate. He was the better goat, but because he was so ornery that day, he didn't look very good. So they placed 12th and 13th, with Gordie being the higher goat.
The Bear went back in for Showmanship and did a great job. The judge was looking more at the older kids, but she did really well for her first time.
Now that all the showing fun was over, it was time for the parade. The gopher enjoyed watching all the floats and cars go by. He didn't even mind when the fire trucks blew their horns.

The Bear had a great fair. She made the sale with Gordie and after dragging her across the ring, she got $1600 for him. We were very pleased, it was more that we expected. She also did great in the Home Economics department. She received two Grand Champions and a Reserve Champion on items that she entered and then she got the High Point award for the Clothing and Needlework division. She was so excited about her ribbons that she took them to school to show her class. Since you can only win high point in each division once, she is trying to figure out which one she wants to try and win next year. Overall we had a great fair and are looking forward to next year.