NOTICE:

I will be gone starting May 24 and will come back 2 weeks later, so don't freak out if I all of a sudden stop blogging. I will be back.
Thanks!

Duct Tape

"Duct Tape is like the force. It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the world together."

So true! I have yet to find something that cant be fixed by Duct tape. Leaky hoses, our compost tumbler, a toy light saber, my moms bible. All these have been fixed by duct tape.

I'm sure that in a few years the New York Times is going to come out with a new headline : 'Cancer and the common cold are cured by Duct Tape!'

Already we know duct tape kills warts.

Truly Duct tape is mans best friend.

Getting ready

Recently we have begun getting ready for our trip to Tennessee. We have begun to pack our foods, clean our cooler and clean the truck. The trip is five days there and back. We will be sleeping and eating in the truck, so it's about the whole five days in the car. (Oy Gevalt!) We will be seeing the little big horn museum and Mount Rushmore. We are going for a family reunion. After that were going to camp were my dad would camp as a kid, then drop in to North Carolina to dig up emeralds and rubies. We are going to have such a good time, even if the car trip will be torture:). We'll be gone about 14 days.

Tillie is Pregnant!

Today we got our cow Tillie tested to make sure she is pregnant. And She actually is! We tried to get her pregnant for the past several years, so this is especially exiting.
This will be her 3rd baby. So far all of them where males that we put (or in the process of putting them) in the freezer. We had a Holstein calf one time that we bought and after a while she finally adopted him.
So chances are Tillie's going to have another boy, but who knows! We will be able to see when she gives birth in August.

Personal Trainer

My Mom has recently "hired" me and Molly as her personal fitness trainer. We started out only taking daily walks with the dogs, then we started actually working out with our weight equipment. We have her on a tight schedule, but let her take it easy on her first day.

Malinki

Today my little brother Andrei's Friend and turtle, Malinki died. We don't know why, but he did. We buried him in my sister Molly's Prayer Spot, also the animal grave yard. We said a few words. When Andrei's turn came he said he did not know what to say. I told him to talk about what a great Friend he was, he was Andrei's first real pet, how much fun they had together. Andrei broke into tears and said "He was a great Friend."
We all miss poor Malinki.
(Malinki is Russian for small.)

Potatoes

Yesterday we started planting potatoes. Last year the grass hoppers ate all the greens and the chickens picked out one hole in each of the potatoes.(Oy Gevolt!) So we tried again. First we nail down two wooden sticks tied with string to make sure the area we are planting in is even. Then we hoe a ditch in the ground, put minerals on the side, put the potatoes in the ditch and hoe the dirt and minerals back in the ditch. We worked for four hours non stop in 80 degree heat! But we got 250 feet of red potatoes done in that time, followed by a long rest in the house, which, trust me was desperately needed.

Wild Snake Hunt

Most of you have probably heard of a wild goose chase. Well he had a wild snake chase, both figuratively and literally. My little Brother Andrei had found a bunch of baby snakes the day before, and promised to show my little sister Abby. Me and my older Sister Molly decided to come along. Now, before you jump to conclusions, I would like to say I don't scare easy. Being drowned, strangled, buried alive and any other form of asphyxiation does scare me. Oh, and snakes. Well, they don't exactly scare me, more like freak me out. Why then would I want to go and see a bunch then?!?!?!?! I still don't know. So we set out on that 70 something degree weather to go find baby snakes. Me and Molly rode our bikes, so we naturally went faster. While waiting for every one else to catch up we decided to check on the old elk that was killed sometime in the winter. All that was left was its head, back bone and some ribs. Finally my younger siblings caught up we went out. Andrei checked where they were last time and, to every once disappointment the snakes where gone. So now I had to worry about a bunch of snakes on the loose! Removing some bushes Andrei suddenly screams he found them, only instead of a Bunch of baby snakes, its a bunch of fully grown snakes! So for the next few minuets we spent searching for them and taking pictures. After that the long, hot bike ride back. But definitely worth it!

Israel Independence Day

May fourteenth was Israel's 61st year birthday, although its officially celebrated a few days before. The same day that David-Ben Gurion announced Israel's independence, she was attacked by the armies of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. But still, Israel's armies prevailed, and for 61 years Israel has held off her Arab neighbors attacks.

Rope Swings

Lately, one of my brothers tied a bunch of hay bail twine to a tree branch, braided it together and Viola! A rope swing. So I convinced him to do the same over the creek, resulting in lots of out side fun. (Unless of course one lets go of the swing pre-maturely and then KERPLUNK! One gets all wet).

Uncle Larry

On Monday we had a surprise. Our uncle Larry visited us! It was the first time he had done so in over four years! I got to read to him the portion I read in Hebrew on my Bar-Mitzva. We had a wonderful lunch followed by us just spending time together. He's a under water photographer who is currently making a movie, so we showed him our home movies which he liked. We then gave him a farm tour while he told us so much funny jokes my face hurt from laughing! He was only able to stay that day, but I hope he can come back soon.