Cute chicks!

We have had our chickens now for a little over a year. They are so well loved! But we may be down to only one laying, and she is the meanest one! I am ready for some new hens, and I want to get more eggs soon. So last Saturday I surprised the kids, and maybe Dave too, and said, "We are going to get some baby chicks today". They were sooo excited. And boy, are they cute!! They were only hatched a few days earlier. It will be around July when they start laying eggs

for us.

Maddi's chick is nugget.

Audrey named hers Pepper.

Kimee's chick is a Sussex and so she named her Yorkshire, Yorkie for short. My chick is a Delaware and so that is what I named her, but we call her Deli for short:)

April Fools

Audrey planned out some funny April fools jokes. She got up really early and put a bunch of random bugs and plastic animals in surprising places like the microwave and butter dish. Maddi taped a big bug above my head while I was still sleeping. It turned out better than they expected because after a while, the tape failed and the big landed right on my cheek! One of my favorite was this note Audrey put on Kimee's desk.

Mystery solved!

We had a big problem in this old house for the past week or so. We started to smell sewer gas coming from the kitchen sink. We did a little research, made some calls, and spent some time cleaning out & bleaching the pipes. We left the window open all week so we wouldn't pass out from the smell.

After all this work, we could still pick up the smell. It was very frustrating!

Tonight I was standing at the sink and noticed the flower pot we have had there for a few weeks. I thought maybe the soil had gotten moldy or something. I picked it up, smelled the soil and then realized this awful smell we have been trying to eradicate for a week was coming from the beautiful bloom.

the Farm

Dave's friend Cheryl from work has an awesome farm with all sorts of animals at it. We usually go visit once or twice a year. It's been on our summer list, and we finally made it out there on Thursday, July 9 The baby goats are so fun!

This time we brought Sarah with us and also met up with Maddi's teacher and her family.
It had been a stormy week, so we were hoping the rain held out. Luckily for us, it did. Right when we were getting ready to go, the rain came and the wind started blowing like crazy.  We jumped in the car to come home. There was a giant double rainbow that we could see the whole way home. It was so amazing!

Summer Firsts

They say there's a first for everything...
This week we were able to do many fun summer activities for the first time. I'm not sure why we haven't done them before, but I think it had something to do with kids that were to little to really enjoy the activities, and not wanting to deal with the whining and so forth coming from said young children.

1. Wednesday- Strawberry Days Rodeo
2. Friday- Manti Pageant
3. Saturday- Strawberry Days Parade

I have to say that at each of the activities, there was quite of bit of down time that had to be spent waiting for it to start, in the HEAT. The girls were so good to not complain. Really good. I'm so glad we were able to enjoy these activities as a family and that they ended up being really positive, fun experiences. (A big thanks to fun cousins and lots of yummy treats!)

What a day...

If only I could accomplish this much every day.
First day of Christmas break:
-renewed driver's license
-researched and purchased new dishwasher
-researched and ordered new carpet and tile
-purchased tools at Home Depot for upcoming home improvement projects
-listened to bid proposal on solar power
-called to have water leak in fireplace fixed, guy came to check it out

our cherry tree

The first year we lived in this house, there were a ton of birds that swooped in and ate all the cherries. Last year, we didn't get very many cherries, and the birds got all but about 10. This year, we have loads and loads of cherries. We have to give credit to one of our neighbors who is a tree expert that came down and helped Dave trim our fruit trees. The birds have gotten some, but not too many. The kids have had a lot of fun, especially Audrey, climbing in the tree picking the cherries. I keep wondering why the birds haven't eaten more. I finally came to the conclusion that maybe since they don't have worms in them, the birds don't like them as much. Not enough protein.
One day last week Audrey said she REALLY wanted to open a cherry stand to sell the cherries. She begged and begged. Just before I was about to get really mad at her for pestering me so much, I thought, what would it hurt? She can sit out there at her table and I can work in the yard. So I said yes. She got it all set up, we put up some signs and the umbrella for shade. She sold quart sized bags for $2 and gallon bags for $5. She ended up selling $30 that day and $30 the next. She was so happy! Maddi and Audrey sat at the table calling out "Cherries, $2, Fresh Picked!" It was soooo cute! Kimee got up in the tree and picked more cherries while they were at the stand. The next day, we put up the ladder another notch so we could reach more cherries.
This week, we could see the cherries we didn't pick last week had turned dark. And because it rained so much, they got really big and juicy. This time, we picked and picked and brought them in for us to use. Kimee pitted a TON. Here hands were stained red for a while:) We put some bags in the freezer and then I made: cherry limeade, cherry shortbread cookies, cherry pie filling (and the cheesecake to put it on), chocolate chip cherry ice cream.

Fall Fun

More bike rides!

We finally were able to get into horseback riding at a barn really close to our school. It works out perfectly to go right after school. The girls love it. Audrey is doing such a good job as a beginner. The teacher has commented several times on her strength and determination.

 Sept. 21

Maddi and Audrey did gymnastics this semester. They both made friends in their class, which made it more fun.

Kimee

Kimee got all dressed up for Jaqueline's Harry Potter party on Nov. 9. It was so amazing, from the owl delivered invitation, to all the Hogwarts activities.

Back to the eye doctor for a new prescription. Poor Kimee's eyes keep changing so much, she can barely see with her glasses. This time we got contacts!

Kimee took an after school art class with Miss Bybee. She really like the art they did, but we didn't want to keep them forever. Here are some pictures instead.

Hike to G

For Fall Break this year, we stayed home and tried to get caught up on stuff around the house. Dave took Kimee and Audrey on a hike up to the G on Sat. Oct. 12. It was a really cool experience for all of them.

Kimee and Audrey both used the experience for their PTA reflection entry. Kimee did an essay and photography and Audrey did photography.