Author: Joyce

The kids babysat the neighbor’s alpacas this last week.  Usually, they love the job and spend extra time over there enjoying “their” pets.

On Sunday, the kids went over and discovered Megan’s favorite alpaca caught between two fences.  They released her and quickly learned that Sing could not stand.  They tried calling the neighbors, but they were not available.  So they called the vet. The vet said to watch her and call back the next morning.

Megan mentioned to Audrey that she wanted to sleep in the barn with Sing and take care of her all night.  Then she told Andrea she wished Sing could come sleep in her bed.

Today, Mr. Beer took Sing to the vets just to double check how she was doing. She was very well behaved.  She needs to stay off her leg and get therapy to help it heal faster.  She can’t play out in the yard for awhile either.  But, she is fine and the kids are happy to help her during recovery.

And, even though Megan did not really get to sleep all night with Sing, she enjoyed the snuggle time and pretending that she did.

After years of being the team mascot and cheer leader, this morning was Megan’s first soccer game! I am her coach and Audrey the assistant coach.

I was not sure how well the team would do, they are easily distracted at practice and do not seem to know how to play. I was asked more than once today if they were allowed to steal the ball. However, they did an excellent job listening to me during the game on things they had not learned yet, love to run fast, and are not afraid of the ball. They played hard and won, 4:1.  Most importantly, every time I asked if they were having fun, they would yell, “yes!” Megan said, ” I like it! I am looking forward to next week!”

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Adrian played his first game of the season today also. They did a great job, winning 5:2. He has improved a lot over the last few years.  Adrian even made a goal today!

This afternoon, we went to Andrea’s game.  It was a rough game and they worked hard for the one point they made.  They ended up winning, 1:0.

P.S  Didn’t Allan do a great job with Megan’s photos?

Yesterday, the kids helped shear alpacas.  Each year they learn a new job and they work harder each time.

Megan is learning.  As little as she is, she has more “can’t do-es” than “can do-es”. But this year, she started learning jobs. She swept a little and helped Mark bring her favorite alpaca in.  Then she sat next to Sing and petted her to keep her calm.

Mark brought the alpacas in and helped secure them.  When they were finished, he returned them to their pens so they could go outside.

Andrea learned how to move the first cutting of fiber and then how to hold and help flip the alpacas.  She was not sure about the job at first, but she did an excellent job.

Audrey has been helping bag the fiber and cleaning up between cuttings. This year she and the neighbor did it alone.  As Adrian grows older, he is learning more jobs.  This year he swept between alpacas and stayed out of everyone’s way without having to be reminded.

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It was a fun morning of hard work.  The neighbors had other home school boys come  in to help, so the kids enjoyed the chance to talk to other kids.  The boys were highly recommended to me.  They “look you in the eye when they talk to you”. That is a high compliment coming from my kids!

Megan had a class on amphibians today.  All of the kids were hoping that “Dino” would be there.  They worked on their school work and  helped Mr. Courtney when they could.  At they end, they got to hold Dino.

I had forgotten that Megan held the salamander with help last year, but this is the very first time she held him without any help at all. Megan said he felt like cold gooey stuff.  She said she did not want to hold him again, even though she enjoyed playing with him a few minutes before returning him.