My .... How They Grew!

Oh my goodness the puppies got so big this week!  When I left they were little tiny babies and now - they all look like puppies!  They are SO cute!  I had so much fun taking the pictures for Puppy Picture Monday. What is better than to be surrounded by puppy doodle cuteness all morning long?

Chocolate in the morning? Yes please!

Double Chocolate cuteness

Caramel in the morning is pretty awesome too!

Their little eyes are just opening

Birdie's puppies really grew!

They start solid foods this week and will grow by leaps and bounds

And they will start their first adventures outside

So much to see and do!

This puppy says, "I'm Ready!!!"

Happy Monday!

Heading Home!

Oh I can't wait to get home and sleep in my very own bed.  Of course I miss Mr. Yesteryear Acres and the doodle doggies and my house and the horses and the kitties but the only thing I can think about right now is sleeping in my big comfy bed tonight.  I am SO tired and I can't wait to flop down on my bed and sleep like a baby. My son and I had the best time on his Spring break vacation.  Even though all our grand adventure plans were cancelled due to the weather, we wouldn't change a thing about our trip. We made the most of every minute and of course - a whole week spent with my son - that is all I need! We both agreed the entire vacation was a blast but at the same time - we are excited to get back home. There is so much truth to the saying, "there's no place like home." Mr. Yesteryear Acres......SEE YOU SOON! We can't wait!

Missing Hotel

Lost. So I am definitely not going to make it home today. Sigh. Not only was our last adventure cancelled this morning due to the weather but the driver in charge of the adventure got lost trying to take us back to the hotel. I'm not saying sitting in the back seat while a driver circles the same 6 mile radius again  and again in the pouring rain whilst looking for your hotel is the most fun you will ever have. I'm not even saying it is an enjoyable way to spend the day. In fact I am writing this blog on my tiny phone while the driver continues to try to find the hotel where my car is parked. I wonder if they moved the hotel!?? It was there this morning when he picked us up. He found the hotel then. Maybe it has relocated. I mean that is one good magic trick right there! Hotel! Vanished! So round and round we go. We were supposed to be on the road heading home no later than 1:00. It is now 3:45. Hmmmm. Hope we find that missing hotel soon!!!! Right now, the outlook is bleak. Oh look!!! It's the same bridge...... Again!  Mr. Yesteryear Acres, I am doing my best to get home to you!

Happiest Family

This vacation week I have heard the same compliment over and over again ....."you are the happiest family". Complete strangers have come up to me and have said that I am always smiling or laughing and that it looks like we have such a great time together as a family. I always thank them and say that yes we do have so much fun together and yes I am always smiling because I am that happy. This week we had a lot of things planned and almost every single thing has been cancelled. We have seen SO many people complaining about how that isn't fair or that they have nothing to do or how miserable they are because of the weather. Not me. What good does it do to be miserable? If I were to be miserable would that suddenly make the sun appear? I don't think so. Instead we just come up with a Plan B. Can't go outside? Good time to learn a new game. Read a book. Talk about life plans. Times spent together are precious and I am not going to waste them complaining about things I cannot change. Instead we have made new friends, have had endless talks, and have started hilarious board game tournaments. We have made our own fun and have enjoyed every minute. The best part is when other people let go of their disappointments and join in and end up having the time of their lives as well. Happiness and enjoyment can be a state of mind. I am just so grateful to be blessed with such a loving family and a happy life filled with love that being miserable is never an option. I am lucky to be surrounded by loved ones that feel the same. And to all our new friends that have joined in the fun...... The next Apples to Apples tournament will begin in 5 minutes. Get ready!!!!

So Happy So Sad

This morning my son and I were supposed to go kayaking.  I love kayaking and I love being with my son.  We had planned our kayaking day trip months ago.  It was going to be the big highlight of our trip together.  When we woke up, let's just say the weather was less than balmy.  I described the weather as brutally cold and dreadful.  My son said it was brisk. His definition of brisk is exactly the same as my definition of "oh my gosh it is so cold that I can't feel my toes and my nose is running and my teeth are chattering and I am one step away from dying of hypothermia."  When we planned our kayak trip for the end of March - we expected spring type weather.  You know - windbreaker kind of weather.  We definitely were not prepared for a Nor'easter parka wearing kind of weather.  So this morning when the arctic air hit my face, I kind of wanted to cry a little.  I kind of wanted to run away back home and hide under my covers.  I asked my son if he would be mad if we cancelled our adventure.  He said something like no and no and no and unacceptable and it would be a trip to remember.  Ugh.  So sad!!!! I simply did not have enough layers to survive sitting in a wet kayak with the wind splashing the water on me and cold water running down my arms.  Brrrr.  I almost got hypothermia just thinking about it.  Sadly, I started putting my layers on.  Just as we were leaving, the phone rang.  The person on the other end started apologizing profusely but they were so sorry.  The kayak trip had been cancelled due to high winds and extremely low temperatures.  I turned to my son with tears in my eyes to tell him the news.  He looked heartbroken.....So Sad. Little did he know, my tears were tears of joy!  So Happy!

Card Shark

I never realized I had a budding card shark in the family.  Yesterday I spent the day playing cards with my son.  I taught him a few new games and suddenly - he became a card counting, strategy playing, kicking my butt kind of player.  Let me say, this is no easy feat.  I am a very good card player.  I love playing all sorts of games and am very competitive.  The first few card games went kind of like this - no you play this suit and no you can't throw that card.  Then all of the sudden, the card shark light went off in my son's brain and it was a whole different game.  He was full of anticipatory excitment with each hand.  As each hand would draw to a close he would proceed to tell me all the cards I was holding, what straights I was building and then ultimately inform me that HE has the one card I need.  I believe I have created a monster.  Today we started playing cards quite early and my son was almost willing to sacrifice lunch.  That's right - he was willing to SKIP eating just so we could continue playing our game.  I assured him that I would still be available after we ate.  Guess who is staring at me right now desperately waiting for me to finish typing this blog?  Any guesses?  If you guessed my little card shark - you would be absolutely correct!!!!!  Time to shuffle!

OH....So That's Weightlifting

My son has gotten up early every morning to go workout with me. We have been doing weightlifting and let me tell you - my son's version of weightlifting and my version of weightlifting are incredibly different.  Evidently my version includes "baby rattles" and my son's version includes gigantic heavy weights.  I have been following him and doing every machine he does immediately after he is done.  He does his set and then I have to move the pin that holds the weights from somewhere around the 300-400lb mark to the embarrassingly tiny 20-30lb mark.  My son - maxing the leg extension machine.  Me - "is there a no weight option?"  The most embarrassing one was an assisted pull up machine.  You kind of climb up onto this ledge and then the machine rises to "Help" you do a pull-up.  My son had to keep increasing the counter weight until.....the machine lifted me to the ceiling.  Okay - so I am definitely not ready for any weight lifting competitions BUT I did learn a LOT about form and how to adjust the machines to fit my body.  I am so much better already.  This morning when I adjusted all the weight machines by myself, I felt really proud.  I walked with my head held high- I can DO this!!!!  Now just turn your head while I take the pin out and move it up to 20lbs.  Gotta start somewhere!!!!!

Hallelujah

Oh my gosh!  I found a place with free wi-fi today and I feel like it is Christmas!  Hi everyone!!!!!!  I got to hear from Mr. Yesteryear Acres!  Everything is fine!!!! I got to hear from my older daughter!!!! Everything is fine!!!!!!  I am back in the land of technology - at least for this hour and it feels so wonderful.  Tomorrow will definitely be a NO wi-fi day again but the following day I should be able to check my emails once again.  I am going to make it a priority in the future to secure internet services on any trip I take. It is way too stressful to travel without being able to stay connected.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres said that all the puppies are really doing great.  Birdie's puppies are growing nicely and are giving tail wags of appreciation whenever they see Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  Olive's little babies are all nursing well and growing a little bit each day.  It won't be too long before their little eyes open.  Besides the somewhat dreadful weather, everything at Yesteryear Acres is A-OKAY!  I am one happy smiling person!  Now I can go and enjoy some quality time with my son, all happy in the knowledge that all is well!

Wi-Fi.....How I miss you

Wow!  I definitely and completely miss having the internet.  I feel so disconnected.  I can’t email Mr. Yesteryear Acres. I can’t find out how things are at home. I can’t tell him about my day. Even worse, I can’t get his adorable “I’m thinking about you” emails.  Sigh.  Tomorrow I am going to go try to find a café somewhere that has wi-fi.  I don’t think I can last another day without an update. I hope I have luck!  Other than being totally frustrated with being cut off from the technological information age – I feel lucky to have this time to spend with my son.  I take each moment with him and treasure it.  Each time we laugh, each time we do something together – it is a moment I hold deep in my heart.  I know that soon he will be leaving the nest and I won’t have a chance to do these things with him again for a very long time.  So for now – I am enjoying the complete and utter joy he brings to my life and feel so very lucky to have a son as awesome as mine.  He makes every day an awesome day!

INTERNET! Where are you?

UGHHHHHHH! ARGGGGGHHHHHH! I AM SO FRUSTRATED!  I literally spent my entire vacation day trying to get the wi-fi to work. I missed a whole day with my son and in the end…..no resolution.  The server is incompatible with my apple ipad.  They tried everything. I tried everything.  I have logged on and off and rebooted and logged in and NOTHING.  So for this entire week – I cannot access my emails.  I cannot read them, answer them, or help with puppy questions. I am SOOOO sorry.  I am borrowing a computer each day so I can at least get to my blog site and get that published. I don’t want my blog to be completely full of I CANNOT GET MY EMAILS but that is how I feel.  I am frustrated and sad and feel like I am letting everyone down by not being able to respond.  Please know that I really care and I wish I could quickly respond to my mail.  I promise that I will answer every email as soon as I get wi-fi.  Technology……love it when it works…….and when it doesn’t….TORTURE!  Again – so sorry!

Road Games

My son and I hit the road and it wasn't too long before we were playing our traditional road games.  I was kind of thinking that he might not be a willing participant considering he's 17 years old but to my happy surprise he did!  My first clue that he was going to play along was when we crossed the first state border.  We always have a race to see who will cross the state line first.  We stick our hands all the way to the front of the dash, my son shoves his feet as far as they can go and it is an all out war to see which person will reach the furthest to cross the line first.  It is almost always a tie but every once and a while, the conversation is so interesting that someone will miss the big state line sign.  As soon as we hit West Virginia, and right in the middle of the bridge, my son was stretching as far as he could - it was on.  This was followed by the alphabet road sign game, the geography game and then the "I went to the grocery store and I bought apples, bananas, celery..."  The time just flew and our road trip was awesome as always.  Popcorn. Check! Music. Check!  Endless "I FOUND THE LETTER Q!" CHECK and CHECK!  Happy times!!!!

Puppy Picture Thursday

My son and I are leaving tomorrow for a spring break trip so "Puppy Picture Monday" has now become "Puppy Picture Thursday"!!!  Hopefully when Monday rolls around, you won't be too sad to not have your weekly puppy fix that day. Of course I will resume Puppy Picture Monday on time, as scheduled, and promised the following Monday.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres will be taking excellent care of our furry babies while we are away. He will be one busy man!  Thank you Mr. Yesteryear Acres!!!!

Birdie's Goldendoodle babies are little butterballs of love!

Here are her 3 boys

And her 4 girls

Aren't they adorable?!!!!

Olive's babies are now 1 week old. 

Her little caramel babies are soooo cute!

And of course......everyone loves chocolate!!!!!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Boots Required....but worth it

For the past few months it has most definitely been a boot wearing necessity when it comes to walking here at Yesteryear Acres.  Either mud boots (that come up at least calf high) or snow boots are always the footwear du jour.  Every Single Day. Right now - it is definitely a mud boot day.  We have rain and more rain and the grass is so soft and squishy that the mud just covers your boots.  The doodle doggies are muddy too. It is a mess outside. Yesterday the sun was shining and it was a bit less muddy so I ventured out in my favorite mud boots and took a few pictures. You might need to wear boots to walk around here......but it is so worth it.

The doggies think the hay field makes for an awesome race track

They like to make several laps to see who has the best time

The horsies think it is fun to watch too!

Grits says, "Are you a GIANT doodle?"

The horses reply, "Are you a TINY pony?"

Why hello friend!

Hello!

Who doesn't love horsey hugs!?!

I think Grits was telling them a story...."and then I ran around the field!"

THEN what happened?!  

I saw GEESE!  Yes. Our resident geese are back on our pond.

I feel like this picture would make an excellent postcard or painting.

Blossom thinks the picture is WAY better now.

I told Grits we would soon have goslings.  She thinks that will make a nice addition to Yesteryear Acres.

Last night I turned this photo into my wallpaper for my phone.  I smile every time I see it.  I love it here! Boots and all!

The Dream is Getting Closer

Today my son received some very awesome news.  He has been accepted to the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar. My son applied the day the applications opened and has been eagerly awaiting the news. He literally jumped up and down for joy when he found out he had been accepted.  This brings him one step closer to realizing his dream of attending the Naval Academy.  He has wanted to go there ever since he was a little boy.  His room is filled with Naval History books and he had his sights on going there long before my older daughter even thought of applying. When his sister got in, people asked my son if he would be following in her footprints.  He said something like - No, she is following mine - she just got there first. Seriously, he has had his eye on attending a service academy for so long.  To think that this little boy

who was there to watch his Grandpa give his sister the oath for her induction into the United States Naval Academy.

And was there four years later as she received her graduation diploma

and commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps

is now one step closer to his own dreams coming true. 

We are all so proud of you!

Even the doodle doggies say, "WAY TO GO!"

Puppy McPicture Monday

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I woke up to a green heart of love from Mr. Yesteryear Acres and have been feeling pretty lucky all day long.  Tonight we will celebrate with Corned Beef and Cabbage ......so you know my day is pretty awesome!
The puppies have had a great St. Paddy's Day as well.

They patrolled the ground looking for mischievous leprechauns

Obviously a  high alert situation

they checked out every four leaf clover.....

and there is a chance that one might have made a good cushion

but in the end - we were free from any mischievous doings

AND

Olive's Chocolate and Caramel Doodle babies are here!

We have four caramel and four chocolate doodle babies to love

So precious!

And of course we can't forget Ms. Birdie's Goldendoodle babies! 

Their little eyes are now open

You can tell Birdie is a great mommy.

Look how plump and happy her puppies are!

Happy Puppy McPicture Monday!!!!

I love food

My son is always asking me to take these online quizzes on his phone with him.  He randomly comes up to me asking, "what color best represents you?" or "which animal are you?" or "which movie, song, book best describes your ...blah blah blah"  Honestly, I really don't care which TV character I am or which decade I should live in or what country is best for me - but I usually go along with it because I know that in a blink of an eye - my son won't be here to ask me these silly questions any more.  This week one of the questions was "what annoys you most?" Some of the choices were, traffic jams, inconsiderate people, being broke, and standing in line. What did I choose? BAD FOOD!  Yes.  Out of all the options, I picked bad food as the most annoying thing.  I mean what is worse?!!! I love food.  I love GOOD food.  We make homemade food from scratch pretty much every day here.  I take pride in that and I love what we eat.  This morning we had a TON of stuff to do and it looked as though our weekly tradition of "Sunday Morning Breakfast Feast" was not going to happen. I actually dismissed the entire notion as we were all just too busy to sit down.  That is when my son made Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I the "Sunday Noontime Too Good to be True Feast". I have to say - my son has mad culinary skills!

A little grilled corned beef, cheese and egg sandwich to make my day! Of course at this point, the competition was on so tonight I have prepared a Sunday's Best Roasted Chicken, Faro, Roasted Caramelized Brussels Sprouts AND for dessert - homemade cookies and cream ice cream (made with thin mint cookies). Mmmm.  Did I mention that I love food? Bon Appetit! 

Any day that ends with cake is awesome!

Today we had puppy families visit their sweet little furry family members.  This is always an awesome time for the puppies.  They get to meet lots of people and get a ton of attention and endless hugs and snuggles.  They soak up all the love they can and then by the end of the visit - every puppy looks just like this

I have to scoop them up to bring them back inside for a good long nap

The puppies were all zonked out within seconds of coming inside

and

I had just enough time to make it to my niece's baby shower.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres even came with me!  Everyone knows what the best part of a baby shower is.  Certainly not the baby gifts........

It

is

the

CAKE!

Mmmmm a medley of homemade carrot cake deliciousness!

I got home just as the sun was setting and as soon as I walked in the door, my son asked me if I wanted to go on a sunset walk with him.  He was home watching all the doodle doggies while we were at the shower and had them ready for an evening doodle hike.  Of course I said yes!  As soon as we got near the back field....the bald eagle flew over our heads!!!!  I am pretty sure he was my reward for slopping through the muddy field in the dark.  

Thankfully the moon came up and lit a path home for us.  Puppies, Bald Eagle, moon-filled night hikes.....and cake!  That is an awesome day!

Two Warehouse Clubs in One Day

I am getting ready to go on a seriously exciting outing! I am showered.  I am dressed.  I have on my favorite boots.  I am ready to walk out the door and go shopping at not one but TWO warehouse clubs.  I know.  I know. Right now you are wishing you could be me.  TWO warehouse clubs?!  In one day?!! The excitement is almost too much to bear.  My list is so long it takes up both the front and back sides of the paper.  When I am done getting everything off my list, I think I will have lifted and loaded approximately 1,000 pounds of grocery/household/doggie items. I wonder if I can count this as my strength training for the day?  I mean that is A LOT to lift!  My SUV is going to be so full it will take forever to unload it once I get home.  The saddest part of my day......Mr. Yesteryear Acres cannot go with me!  We have a mommy doggie in labor so only one of us is lucky enough to go warehouse club shopping.  I am the lucky one.  At least that is what Mr. Yesteryear Acres told me when he nominated me for the adventure.  Hmmmm.  I see that it is nice and sunny outside right now and I believe someone is trying to pull a fast one on me.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres did say it was particularly windy in his attempt to make me think it is in fact NOT lovely outside but I am on to him.  Oh well.  At least the sun will be shining when I unload the flatbed carts! Ooooh so exciting! Here I go!

Cookie Love

I think it is no secret that I love cookies.  I am pretty sure everybody who knows me realizes that within me resides a cookie monster.  If I were at the fanciest restaurant in the world and the dessert choices included gourmet masterpieces such as souffles or tarts or other Epicurean delights, I would still choose cookies if given the choice.  If given the choice between flowers and cookies - cookies would win.  If given the choice between fancy chocolates and cookies - cookies would still win......but I would see if I could still keep the fancy chocolates! I think you get the picture.
I
Love
Cookies.
So today when my son walked in the door from school and said he had a present for me, I was immediately excited.  A present? For me? It didn't matter what the present was - a present from my son makes my heart melt instantly. Just thinking about him thinking about me, and bringing something just for me, brings tears to my eyes.  It fills my heart with love. I mean - what is better than a present from your son?! I will tell you what.....

A present from your son that is a box of cookies! Oh my gosh! COOKIES!  I bet you will never guess what I am having for my late night snack tonight!!! Bring on the glass of milk.  Cookie Monster is here!

No Boots Required

Oh my gosh, yesterday was like heaven outside!!!! The sun was actually shining!  The birds were singing! It was warm and sunny with bright blue skies and just walking outside made my heart smile.  I ran inside to put on REAL SHOES!  This is only the second time since November that I have worn something other than winter boots or rubber mud boots.

My feet were so light and happy!

Grits do you want to go on a walk with me?

Can I bring a friend????

But of course!!!

We decided to take a drive and walk somewhere withOUT mud puddles.  I am so sick of mud! 

Oh my gosh!  Walking in real shoes feels so fantastic!

We were running with joy!

The doggies thought it was nice to stay white for once!

Happy Doodle Doggies!

Happy me!

The doggies even climbed to the top of the observation tower

Congratulatory hugs are the best

We walked a full five miles

Can you tell?

Hopefully this will hold us over until the next time we can go walking without boots.  Given the rain/ice/snow/wind storm we are having right now and the 60* temperature drop from yesterday......it may be a quite a while! 

Sigh - back to the mud boots again!