Geoffrey "The Godfather" Asbell made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He told me to get on the blog and update or else! So here I am writing to all of his adoring fans. In this picture Geoffrey was immitating one of Nathan's looks of impending doom. Today at church I taught him how to give others the fist of furry. Funny how much his personality has changed over the last few months. He is still the sweet boy we all love, but now also has quite a bit of his own quirks and charecter mixed in. He is so funny!

For an FHE we went to Mile's and Bethany's house. Miles told us that the sheep had just given birth to cute little baby lambs. He thought Geoffrey would love to see them. So we made the arrangement. First on the tour came these pregnant goats. This one was curious and approached me. And then promptly pooped little pellets of fertilizer goodness. But take a look at how pregnant this goat is.

Next we went to see all the baby lambs. Here is a baby lamb that almost looks like it is smiling. Creepy and entertaining all at the same time. Miles went in and grabbed a pair of lambs. Geoffrey ran up to them and put an arm around them. It was as if they were old friends. He really enjoyed chasing the little guys around the yard. The mama sheep kept stomping their feet trying to ward him off. But he just kept on. They realized quickly that there was no stopping him after that and they just ran out of his way.

Next Geoffrey and Miles went up into the big tractor. There was a midget sized seat right beside the driver's seat. So Geoffrey plopped right down and hung out for a while. I think Geofrey wanted to drive the thing much like how sometimes daddy lets him sit on his lap in the driveway and pretend to steer. He also likes to make vrooom vrooom noises when driving.

Afterwards Geoffrey went and saw his first mule. He grabbed it's big funny ear and tugged. Luckily the mule was really calm. The mule was so calm that on one occasion a young man who was an instructor at the lab did a backflip off of this particular mule at the end of a semester. So I wasn't too worried about him.

This horse was really quite friendly. He just wante to check out Geoffrey and see who this new addition to the herd was. So he came over. Geoffrey really enjoyed petting the horses and even reached down and gave one a kiss. The horses were really friendly and didn't mind at all. This horse in particular enjoyed having Geoffrey around.

In this movie we were inside the sheep compound. Here you can see Miles having a blast spooking the pregnant sheep. We were joking that Miles was going to put them into labor if he wasn't careful! That would have been a riot if one of those sheep had broken water and lambed on the spot!

Later on that Friday, Miles and I decided to get out and enjoy some fresh air. We packed up some backpacks and walked about two football fields off the beaten path. We dug out a fire pit and set up camp. Frank joined us out there later on and we fished for an hour or two in the Snake River. The water was too fast, murky, and unsettled. We didn't catch any fish, but we had a good time relaxing by the water. During the time we were out there I saw a beaver. It swam up and down river checking me out. He actually got quite close to me at one point. This video is of him and his antics. Then I pan to let you see how beautiful the area we were in was.


Here is a picture of Miles by the campfire. This is classic Miles. Actually I think if there was a horse in the background, this would be his theme photo for his life. He loves being out there in the great outdoors. He is cooking bacon right now. It was in the morning after we woke up. The songbirds were singing and the sound of nature was incredible. You can hear the sounds we heard when you watch the video of the beaver.

Here is a close up of Miles cooking bacon. You can tell he is a true man by the way he is flipping the bacon with his knife. We slept out under the stars in sleeping bags and on a tarp. It was such a beautiful night. The stars were bright. The moon really illuminated the whole area. When I walked Frank out to his car the night before, we didn't need any other light other than the moon to navigate in the area to get him back to his car. All night I could hear animals walking around our camp. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. I love being in the outdoors. Even though I didn't sleep the best, I felt really rested being out there in the woods.







Well that is the end of my tale for this blog update. You could say it is the honest to goodness truth. You heard it right out of the horse's mouth.

Geoffrey Is TWO OLD!

On April 12th Geoffrey turned two years old! Shortly before, March 28th - April 4th, he and I went to Missouri to visit his Grandma and Papa. Of course, we had to have a get together with the fam, so we had an early birthday party! It was a lot of fun! We had cupcakes, some with fruit punch icing, and ice cream and just enjoyed eachothers company. The fruit punch icing did have a PUNCH; Geoffrey liked it!

Geoffrey also enjoyed opening the gifts that he was given. He recieved some really fun toys! Cars and trucks of all different sizes, a bus, and an awesome quilt from his grandma with airplanes on it for his big-boy bed!

We moved him to a twin size bed recently, and he loves it! He transitioned a lot faster than we thought! Like most things with Geoffrey when he wants to do something he just does it!

To explain the TWO OLD, we taught Geoffrey to say "Two" when he was asked how old he was. Shortly after we started this, he would come into the room and say that he was "Two old!" instead of "I'm two years old." It was too cute.

Spring a Ling

Remember the days when you would ask your father and mother to take you to the local park to play on your plastic fortress? Well here is Geoffrey enjoying a good taste of Spring on the slippery slope of the slide. He went over and over again. I think Maresa lost 8 pounds running up and down the stairs with him. Good job Maresa!

We all had a fun time at the park. Besides we had to pay Geoffrey somehow. He spent hours and hours in the field picking wheat for our food storage. Man he had a hard time sealing those buckets until his dad gave him a rubber mallet. Worst mistake of my life. There are holes everywhere. Ok maybe I am making this up a little bit. We Asbells are known for a little embellishment. But seriously we are trying to follow the Lord's admonitions through modern day prophets to prepare against a time of need. So we bought 150 lbs of red wheat this month to get us started.

Erica quickly went out and spent some dough (haha wheat...dough...haha) on a wheat grinder to allow us to make yummy homemade bread. It is healthier for us anyway. A might bit tastier too. We also started a garden of sorts in a tray. We have tomatoes, spices, herbs, peppers, lettuce, and brocolli to name a few. It's fun to watch them grow. Kinda like watching paint dry. But a lot tastier than those paint chips.

So as you can see by the following comparison photos that Spring has deffinately sprung. Two bears have left the cave and can be seen around town. Both seem rather fuzzy.

Our little girl is growing and growing!

We are so excited to have another addition to our family soon. After three months of ultrasounds, in spite our little one's modesty, we finally found out in March that we will be having a little sister for Geoffrey to love, cuddle, tickle and pick on.

Geoffrey has been able to be around his cousin Jessica, who is now four months old, a lot since we moved back to Idaho, and he is so good to her! He loves her and it shows through his actions and concern for her well-being. We hope that he loves his sister just as much! Only time will tell. And speaking of time . . . just about five more weeks until she is due! We are trying to get everything together for her arrival! Thank goodness for handme downs and wonderful family members who are very thoughtful!

My pregnancy has been great so far, and we hope that it will continue to go well. It truly has been a blessing with working, moving and taking care of Geoffrey to have had such good health these past few months. She is definately an active baby, and it will be fun to see her personality evolve.

Puttin the Hizzy in the Hood. Whatever that means.

Here is a shot of our new pad. Oh yeah the sweet goodness of the ubiquitous condo. I think this place has a good deal of room, even if I can't hold a camera strait when taking a photo. It feels a little weird to be back in Rexburg Idaho. For the first time in my life I will have a garage. I just can't wait to use that little clicker and open and close the giant door. So sweetie you can see what you are getting yourself in to when you get here on Wednesday. Have fun!

Don't worry about the hole in the floor. It is supposed to be there. It goes to our crawl space. There is quite a bit of storage space under there! I was thouroughly suprised.

Halloween

Geoffrey was dressed up as a lion for Halloween. In this video, Geoffrey is munching on a donut. Not just any donut mind you. It was one of those classic white powdered donuts of goodness that we all remember gorging ourselves on when we were children. You know you remember that nasty film that gets in your mouth when you are done, and that overpowering sense of satisfaction whiping the powdered sugar from your mouth. MMMMMMmmmmmm......

Geoffrey was at a game where you eat a donut off of a string without touching it. Erica was running the game at the church's trunk or treat. He didn't play at all. He just ran up and grabbed the donut violently ripping it off of the string and devoured it. I laughed when I saw it. Thought I would get out the old camera and show the rest of the world. So watch and enjoy a bit of white donut nastalgia.

Geoffrey and I are speinding more and more time together ever since Erica got a job at Target. We are doing well this fall and having lots of fun. I am still teaching Seminary in the mornings. It is difficult sometimes to wake up that early but the kids make it worth it.

Our jobs have us really busy. It gets hard sometimes to see each other and have a date night. I am looking for another job with better pay to try and bring Erica back into the home. I also am planning to start graduate school shortly. There are a couple of good programs here in Missouri. I look forward to trying to get into one that is in Rolla, Missouri. It is not too far from here.

Geoffrey is learning new words and their meanings more and more every day! He loves to play jokes on his dada. He also loves his paw paw (Richard Jones, his grandfather).