The Rehomesteaders’ 2018 Goals

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

I know that a lot of people hate New Year’s resolutions, vowing to spend their life going with the flow and unworried about deadlines. However, I LOVE goals. Fitness doesn’t just happen, trips aren’t spontaneously taken, books don’t pour out of my brain onto the page, finances aren’t tamed, horses don’t win shows, photographers don’t show up to take family pictures, etc, etc, etc without some planning. I’m all for my daily nap, free play, lazy weekends and downtime but I have seen a lot of growth as a family when we make plans and set goals together. It’s fun to look back and see how some years, different types of goals were met. Like last year, we met a lot of our financial and home improvement goals simply because we sold our house and moved–something that at the beginning of 2017, we hadn’t even dreamed we’d be doing. So, while we set a variety of goals, who knows what all will come to pass in 2018? We can’t wait to find out! 

See goals from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012!

The Rehomesteaders’ 2018 Goals

Personal (mostly just for fun!)

• Correctly make croissants from scratch
• Make pasta from scratch
• Visit Yellowstone
• Take a helicopter ride
• Be a participant on The Amazing Race
• Learn to paint with oils
• Index 1,000 names
• Make a custom bed frame
• Visit a black sand beach
• Visit all 50 states
• We’ve lived in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, and Indiana and have visited Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Recently, we visited Tennessee, Alabama and Florida!  More to come soon (I hope!)
• Learn to water ski
• Visit every continent Portugal was awesome!
• Make shoes
• Attend a filming of a game show
• Enter an art competition
• See the redwoods
• Donate hair It was a group effort! 5 Aug 2018 Back to Short
• Make ten different types of bread Nut Strudel, Peach Cobbler Bread 
• Become a better knitter
• Get professional family portraits We changed it up this year and did them in the summer! 11 Aug 2018 Summer Smiles
• Master watercolors
• Refinish the piano
• Enter a writing competition
• Build a porch swing
• Construct a bird bath
• Build a teeter totter
• Sell something on Etsy (or another similar online craft site)
• Build or purchase food storage shelves
• Go canoeing
• Donate blood Donated a double, even!
• Bank or donate cord blood
• Blow glass
• Take the kids to Disney World
• Downhill ski
• Take a train ride
• Master hair braiding (be able to do five or more hair braids) Master is questionable but I did give an honest effort! 6 Aug 2018 Braider
• Learn to crochet
• Take a family vacation to Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks
• See the Northern Lights
• Build a piece of furniture
• Be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune
• Take up photography
• Go back to Montreal (and swing by NYC since we’d be close anyway!)
• Enter something in a State Fair
• Paint a portrait
• Be an extra in a movie (preferably on horseback)
• Attend a major music concert (other than MoTab)
• Go to the Kentucky Event…again!
• Take up pottery
• Take a tropical family vacation
• Restore Jack’s Mustang
• Invent something functional and useful
• Visit France (and I suppose the rest of Europe looks pretty fascinating too, haha!)
• Rock a short haircut We all are now! 5 Aug 2018 Back to Short
• Sign the girls up for art camp
• Attend a theatrical performance Melodramas are AMAZING! 20 July 2018 Fantastic Fourth
• Take another self-defense class
• Make or buy a dressform
• Go on a family bike ride
• Design and sew an outfit
• Sew a quilt
• Go to a theme park
• Digitize mission and family photos
• Make everyone a personalized stocking
• Have a sugar free week We had a family sugar-free week…it was hard, but it was good for us!
• Have a year of food storage
• Make the girls dresses
• Visit an observatory Took the girls to my favorite childhood observatory. Space is amazing! 20 July 2018 Fantastic Fourth
• Start the girls on piano lessons
• Make homemade yogurt
• Make homemade cheese
• Be able to do the splits….
• Prepare at least a four generation family history chart

Home Improvements

• Kids’ Rooms
• Carpet or flooring
• Paint
• Replace doors
• Our Room
• Carpet or flooring
• Paint
• Replace doors
• Kitchen
• Paint
• Build shelf for farm supplies
• Build broom closet
• Family room
• Paint
• New blinds
• Downstairs room
• Paint
• Tile
• Carpet or flooring
• Build toy shelves
• Build coat/shoe rack
• Storage room

• Paint
• Flooring
• Build shelves
• Kids’ Bath
• Install double vanity
• Hang larger mirror
• Install bathtub
• Sitting Room
• Refinish floor
• Build half wall
• New banister
• New curtains and area rug

• Exterior
• Paint doors
• New front door
• New deck/Patio
• Backyard fence
• Build playground
• Paint garage doors
• Install a cat door The cats are enjoying their new, warm garage! 7 Mar 2018 Cat Door #2
• Make a bigger beach for the pond
• Cut down juniper tree blocking view It came down when the fountain went up! 30 May 2018 Flowing Fountain
• Cut down dead ash trees in forest
• Redo landscaping
• Paver sidewalk out front
• Install jacuzzi tub
• Pour driveway loop
• Master Bed and Bath
• Build new garage
• Build master bed
• Build master bath
• ETC, ETC, ETC

Advertisement
• Gallop a horse on the beach
• Register Dancer
• Rim ride at the Grand Canyon
• Trail ride in Yellowstone
• Build a floating dock for the pond
• Purchase a trailer
• Purchase an auger
• Purchase hay baling equipment
• Professional horse portraits…again!
• Take Stoney and Dancer on a trail ride
• Dye, spin and knit an item from homegrown wool
• Tin barn and other outbuildings
• Build riding arena
• Purchase skidloader
• Enclose larger chicken run, install swings, dust bath There’s a little more room for them! 26 July 2018 Chicken Run Run Run
• Get a peacock and peahen Do turkeys count? 😉 3 Dec 2018 The Turkeys
• Install automatic waterers for the cows
• Fix corral fencing The cows love it! 3 Mar 2018 Cattle Corral
• Fix back forest fencing
• Build goat enclosure
• Get some goats! Or maybe sheep…
• Purchase a child’s saddle
• Build a bench to overlook the pond
• Get a harness and cart for the horses
• Take the girls to a leadline class
• Plant a garden Got it planted! 12 Dec 2018 Dirt Under My Nails
• Construct a woodshed
• Build a greenhouse
• See wild horses
• Plant an alfalfa or hay field Got one cutting in! Hoping for another soon! 16 July 2018 Watching the Grass Grow
• Plant a berry patch
• Get another hive
• Teach Stoney and Dancer to pull a cart or carriage
• Get pigs
• Breed Dancer
• Cut cattle
• Run barrels
• Go on a cattle drive
• Get a beef steer Woody is a solid boy! 1 June 2018 Bull Calf
• Ride/Work horses 52+ times in a year
• Build a goat/pig, etc enclosure
• Build a round pen
• Ride an elephant (for more than three minutes…)
• Feed sharks
• See the salmon run
• Watch a cheetah chase down prey
• Swim with dolphins…again!
• Take a whale watching expedition
• Be in a dog sled race
• Ride an ostrich
• Ride a camel

• Lose baby weight Well…24 Nov 2018 Breaking With Tradition
• Run another 5k Drug Claire and Raven with me this time! 16 April 2018 Feline Frolic
• Run a family race Such a fun goal to cross off! 22 April 2018 Color Me Green Dash
• Run in a Fun Run, Color Run, etc
• Run a 10k
• Run a half marathon I FINALLY got to participate in the Indy Mini! 6 May 2018 Finish
• Run a full marathon
• Complete a triathlon
• Take Dancer to a show
• Compete in a dressage show
• Compete in a jumping show (either show jumping or hunter classes)
• Compete in a two-day horse trial
• Compete in a three-day horse trial
• Compete internationally (a girl can always dream...)

• Pay off Rachael’s student loans
• Pay off Jack’s student loans
• Build a one-month emergency fund
• Build a six-month emergency fund
• Open a savings account for the new baby
• Pay off mortgage