Snakes!

Today, we had Dallin, Daniel, Madalyn, Kaitlyn, Andrew, Alex, and Patrick over after church. They got pretty brave and here are some pics to prove it!

Madalyn holding the corn snake

Kaitlyn, who isn't the biggest fan of snakes, got brave and decided she wanted to hold it too! :)
Good job, girlie!

Dallin holding "The Food"

This corn snake got it's fair share of attention!

The BIG one! Andrew, Alex, and Daniel decided they could take this one on together.
They did great!

16 and Graduated!

So I cannot believe that my little sister, Mavanie, has officially graduated!!! Brandon and I just want her to know how proud we are of her! Especially graduating a WHOLE year early! A lot of hard work went into completing all of her work on time. So, congratulations, Mavers! We love you!!!

The Graduate and the Birthday Girl

She actually ended up graduating on my birthday, so that was pretty cool! We went to Lake Charles that afternoon. When we arrived, my mom took Mavanie and I to get our nails and toes done. Thanks Mom!!!



Here are so pics of the occasion :)

Joel, Jared, Dad, Mavers, Mom, and Me :)

Jared, Anderson, Mavers, Keri, and Ashlyn

Mavanie and Eli

The brothers (Jared and Joel) and Mavanie

Mavanie, Anderson, and Ashlyn...Look at that baby's smile! Precious!!

He was kinda cute... so I decided to take him home with me ;)

Work is for grown-ups!

This past Saturday, Joel and Holly moved... again :) So Kailey, Eli, and I decided to skip out on the work and head over to my house to check out all the cute little animals! Unfortunately, it rained most of the time we were at my house, but there was a short period where we snuck out a got a visit in.

KK and I feeding Maggie a banana.

Once Eli saw the banana, he HAD to have some. So in the picture above, you can see that he stuffed a big ole piece in his mouth then proceeded to pet Maggie a bit. :) Baby Annie was hiding at the time, so we weren't able to get any good pics of all the kids.

KK and one of the cute little bunnies!

As I mentioned earlier, it had been raining all morning. Eli and KK did a great job of staying clean, but their shoes didn't turn out as lucky. So, Uncle Brandon hosed them off.

We had lots of fun and can't wait for y'all to come back! Love you KK and Eli!

Early Celebrations!

The tradition in the Richardson family is to celebrate birthdays on the Sunday preceding the birthday. So today, we celebrated my birthday! I can't believe that I'm already 24 years old! It's been an amazing 24 years and grateful for each one! :) Anyway, a special thanks to Maw Maw and Paw Paw for the wonderful lunch and Mrs. Kim for the delicious cake!!!

Me and my WONDERFUL hubby! :) I love this man!

Cutting the cake

Thanks to Aunt Vickie, Maw Maw & Paw Paw, and Mrs. Kim & Mr. Todd for the birthday gifts! I have the best in-laws ever!!! I love you all!

We love you, Mr. Brette!

Brandon's dad, Mr. Brette, came down this past Friday for Garrett's graduation and unexpectedly it was to be our very last visit with him before he leaves for Iraq. We just want him to know how much we love him! We are so grateful for all that he does for us and especially grateful for the selfless sacrifice of protecting our country. Mr. Brette, we are proud to have you as our Dad/Father-in-law!

Mrs. Traci, Garrett, and Mr. Brette

Amilyn, Mr. Brette, and Brandon

Mr. Brette and Lauren

Mr. Brette and Garrett

Ever since I first met Brandon, I've always heard stories about Mr. Brette. From stories of mountain biking, to service projects, to going under cover as an operative for the ATC. I could tell early on that Brandon truly loves and admires his father. As I got to know Mr. Brette, I began to understand why.

I want to thank you, Mr. Brette, for all that you've done, for who you are as a father. I'm grateful for the example that you set for Brandon as he was growing up. Because of your example, Brandon is an incredible man. I know that one day he will be a great father, because he wants to be just like you.

We are truly grateful for you, and love you very much! We will miss you greatly and can't wait for your return!

Garrett's Graduation

Brandon's little brother, Garrett graduated this past friday night! We're so proud of him for all the hard work that he put in order to reach this huge milestone in his life! Here are a few pics of the special night.

Waiting to receive his diploma

All smiles :)

He's so good-looking!

Sending a "shout out" to Mom and Dad!

Celebrating with some friends!

Congrats on graduating!!! We love you, Garrett! :)

McTinlge Farm Springtime Update

So, Brandon wanted me to do my annual Springtime update for the McTingle Farm. We've had our ups and downs. But we've definitely grown quite a bit since last year.

We recently acquired some bunny rabbits. We originally we only going to get 2 from Rhonda Dickey. However, I sent Brandon and Mike to pick them up. BIG mistake. He came home with 4 rabbits AND a duck. But she also sent us home with a nice little setup for the rabbits, so it turned out pretty well. The bunnies are super sweet. :) Below is a picture of the big male rabbit. I think he's the prettiest of them all.

This is the beautiful female Mallard duck we got from Rhonda. She thinks she's a chicken.

Slick Willy is just as crazy as ever. However, we have him on a tether so he can't jump on my car or climb on top of the shed roof anymore... the crazy knucklehead thinks he's a mountain goat.


Cute little baby goat and her momma, Maggie. Brandon wants to name her Annie. I think it suits her! She looks just like her daddy!


Every year we have blackberries that grow out in the yard. They're pretty yummy and the goats love 'em!


These little guys are Broad-breasted Common Turkeys. Once they reach adulthood, they can get up to 55lbs! They'll be so fat that they literally won't be able to walk anymore. They're actually on the menu for Thanksgiving this year :) And no, I refuse to name them for that reason!

Lots of our new adolescent chicks with little the baby goat... They're pecking at a mineral block that we got for Maggie while she was pregnant.

Our big rooster and his favorite hen taking a nap...

These are some new baby chicks. They will grow up to lay green eggs :) Super cute little babies!


An last but not least! The newest additions to the family are some baby parakeets. My nephew, Dallin, gave us a parakeet last year. His name was Sammy. Brandon decided shortly thereafter that Sammy needed a friend... Well, a girlfriend, to be more specific. Needless to say, Sammy fell in love with his girlfriend. He would ruffle his feathers, give her soft pecks on the beak, and even feed her! Well, his wooing worked and the two love birds got married and had babies! 3 to be exact. They look kinda gross now, but they'll grow up to be very cute! Can't wait for that! We'll be selling them too! So if anyone wants a hand-raised parakeet, let me know now that way I can keep it on hold for you! They're only $20!

Yay for Baby Goats!

At about 3:45pm this afternoon I got a text from Brandon. I looked down, and there I saw a picture of the cutest little black goat I've ever seen!!! Maggie finally gave birth to a little girl! She doesn't have a name yet. It was Adrienne's birhtday today so she gets to honor of naming the cute little thing. :)

Anyway, here are a few pics of the baby girl!

Nice and healthy! She looks just like her daddy (Slick Willy)!

Maggie Mae and her new baby girl! She's soooo cute and tiny!

Only a few minutes old and already standing! :) This is the picture Brandon took and texted to me. It was a few minutes after she was born. She walked right up to B for her close-up shot!