SKATE PARK

This week turned out a bit differently than anticipated. The nice weather turned a bit sour and my b-day changed slightly. Since I was having a house full of kids, we all got together and planned out how my birthday smash should go. Together, we came up with a nature park, root beer float, pizza, bowling, treasure hunt party. WOW! It would've been heaps of fun I'm sure, but Pal came down with pneumonia. Poor kid. It was a rough week for him staying cooped up indoors.
So for our compromise, I took my sister's kids to the nature park. (My kids were all napping) They got to practice their mad skills at the skate park and feed the ducks.

Then a friend of ours called and said he was at K-mart and was holding a Wii in his hand if we still needed one. We have been on the hunt for one since before Christmas! So we ran over there, got the treasured Wii, bought stuff for root beer floats, got some Chinese takeout for dininer, and finished off the night with Wii bowling and other sports. (Sorry. I was too busy having fun to take pics!)
So I guess it didn't turn out too different from the plan. Overall, it was a fun week to have Bubba's kids up. The Wii was the biggest life saver on the days that weren't so sunny.
Unfortunately the chicken coop hasn't progressed much. These chicks are getting too big and unruly for our temporary holding pen for them...currently the baby swimming pool in the garage....I'm afraid I'll go out there and have them flying all over the place and getting into things that could kill them. Maybe this weekend...

NEW BLOG

FYI: There is a link to my new blog to the right...As testimony fills my heart. If you go to it and read my first entry, you will see it is mostly for me, but you are welcome to go to it. The leaders of the church have said we should use the internet for good and to help share the gospel message. So those are my intents with the site. Happy reading.

A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY

Bubba brought her kids up this weekend to play with us for the next week. She picked a beautiful time to come. The sun was shining and the air was calm and still. It was a perfect day to start our chicken coop! Aces and H worked hard getting the supplies ready and getting a great head start. Here are some pics of their progress...





The day also provided a fun day for all the other kids to run a muck in the back yard. Even Mei got to run around freely. What a joy to watch these crazy cousins all playing together!




The neighbors sheep and lambs were out for some cute pictures as well. We especially loved them when they were nursing. Their little tails wiggle with delight and the mothers look like they would like to be doing anything but what they were doing...those babies really pound them hard! Bubba tried really hard to get them to come to the fence, but they aren't used to people yet. Maybe next time.




Our peeps are growing like mad! The kids are all disappointed with how big they are because they aren't so easy to hold anymore. Their wing feathers are growing in so they really like to flap when held. But we do get a lot of down time for easy viewing and petting.




It's been a fun weekend and I can hardly wait for the week ahead! Hopefully the coop will get finished so these little monsters can get outside...the peeps, not the kids...they already have free reign.

A MINOR TRAGEDY

I pulled the brooder down so the kids could pet the chicks for a minute. It was a great experience until I decided they needed clean water. I made the mistake of stepping away for litterally 30 seconds when I heard a commotion. I turned around to see that the dog had jumped into the brooder. He jumped out as soon as I hollered at him, but the damage had been done. We lost one chick, and I can't tell if any of the others are hurt. I probably wouldn't have posted about it, but an interesting thing is happening now. Even though I pulled out the messy bedding and cleaned up what needed to be cleaned up, the other 3 chicks are huddled together in the exact spot where it died. And they got really quiet too. It is almost like they are mourning. Interesting behavior.
So I guess I learned my lesson about having a more watchful eye. Now I guess I need to monitor the others to see if they are hurt. Dog gone it.

OUR NEWEST ADVENTURE

What's in the box? What's in the box? Tell me, tell me, what's in the box?

We have welcomed on a fun new addition to our household...PEEPS!

While our main intent is to have laying hens, these are going to have...well, a different lot in their short lives. We are hoping to have enough supplies by the end of the week to build our coop over the weekend and then we can get the laying hens.

The kids are so excited to have these peeps for now. Mei likes to say "Hi chick!"

Chunkabear wants to name them all "Rock Star"...something we told him he can do when we get the laying hens. (Don't want them to get too attached, if you know what I mean.)

Pal likes to say, "Mmmm. Tastes like chicken!"

We are so excited to try our hands at raising backyard chickens. I am excited for the working opportunity it will provide for my kids as well as to help us be a bit more self reliant. We'll let you know in about 6-8 weeks how this first attempt at meat hens works out. I'm a bit nervous for that, but I hear once you have fresh meat from your own raising, you'll never want to go back. We shall see.
Here are a couple more pictures of Mei discovering "what's in the box."