April

April is always always fun. I have loved the sunny days and even the rainy spells too.  Since it was a good stretch of weather we had Bennett's birthday party outside. After looking at endless cake ideas, I settled on the campfire theme because it seemed doable. so I learned how to make glass candy for the flame. Bennett's candles kept re-lighting themselves...it was only then I realized what the package meant by "re-lighting".

It was nice to have so many little ones running around when your youngest seems to be growing up too fast. Bennett is one of a kind, so funny and bright. He is, at times, a bit overly sensitive but then again he's only 5.  We moved him out of his toddler bed and into a regular bed Grandpa made and he has enjoyed it. We thought for sure he'd fall out but he hasn't - not that we've heard anyway.

We were especially blessed to have Jaylene and her girls visit for a couple days for Bennett's birthday. Her little ones are as busy as can be and definitely fun to have around. Cami is so sweet and friendly...just can't help adoring her.

This little game Jaylene gave Bennett is a hit. It's a Star Wars game, very simple but a fun concept and great for a lot of ages of kids. We finally moved it off the table last week but have played many rounds.

The pot in front is one Paxton should be proud of. He made it by himself, with very little help from Jared (mostly verbal). Jared had to tell him a couple times to quit while he's ahead. And he did, resulting in his tallest, most centered pot so far. These are the kinds of every day things I have neglected to take enough photos of this month. Like Paxton at baseball practice or the boys playing catch in the backyard. I'll do better next month, no more classes to teach and more of camp planning out of the way. I hope.


Speaking of girls camp, I couldn't help but recruit Jared to do something our girls could personalize at camp. So, bowls it is. He has thrown around 35 give or take and probably has about that many left. He can do about 5 in an hour or less so he does them in batches. These particular bowls on the rack have little holes punched in them by the girls who want it for a jewelry bowl, in particular to hang earrings off the rim. None of these are fired or decorated yet, which will come later.

Just a photo I took today puttering around the backyard. It's lucky it turned out because the sun was blinding. At least it's not chickens.

March

Early this month we pulled out this great little out door fireplace that was given to us by some dear friends. We did the usual hot dog and marshmallow roasting.  It was fun to have the camp fire experience in our own back yard.

Our Easter egg hunt was small this year but nice. This little guy in front of Paxton is our adorable nephew Jack. He is a joy to be around, and his crazy little personality is hilarious.

Wish that I could be like the cool kids.

My brother here seeing how sky high he can bounce Zoe. Pretty good eh? I think Paxton in the background was impressed.

Happy birthday to Grandpa. I think Grandma forgot a few candles.

Here is Bennett with one of his best little pals. She's a cute girl who'd rather play pirates than play house.  I heard her say to Bennett that she " has to be a boy" when they were pretend playing. They get along amazingly well.

Bennett is growing more comfortable with the chickens, as you can see, almost to a fault. The one he is holding is over a year old, the 9 youngest are still harder to catch.

Here are a few of the younger chickens venturing out of the coop for the first time. They had to be in there for a few days to establish it as their home so they'd return there at night. Now they are fully integrated with the older hens. There has been some sharp pecks and definitely jockeying for placement on the higher roost.  I had to give away our rooster today, I was sad but felt it needed to be done. Eggs will be in abundance by midsummer.

The tan colored hen at the bottom of the photo is older, the other two are about 9 weeks old. In the last few days they've learned to come toward us - it's kinda charming.

February

I asked the boys to help with this month's blog. Bennett says he loved going to preschool this month and he likes to watch Nature Cat because it tells him important things about nature. You can see him here wearing paper glasses he got in his Primary class.  We continue to be astounded at his reading ability, which is a blessing that will serve him well.

This selfie pic was one of several nostril views. I'm sure he got the idea from me and Jared using our selfie sticks all the time.

Here is Jared after a busy day at work dealing with people problems. He loves his job, but at times he finds it hard to understand why people do what they do.

When I turned the camera over to Paxton he decided to take pictures of his brother throwing a ball up the stairs.  In response to my question of what Paxton enjoyed doing this month, he said he liked learning about Origami with his Grandma. She made a pyramid and a heart out of $1 bills. Since then, Paxton checked out a library book about it and has made Darth Paper, a basketball hoop, and an air shark. He's actually enjoyed making things out of paper since he was really little.

Paxton took this photo of our female kitty Chica. She is sweet but a bit too shy most of the time. 

I took this photo today of the chicks which are quickly becoming mini chickens. They are supposed to be fully feathered around 6 weeks; they are approaching 5 weeks old now. I suspect we have one rooster, which is a Welsummer breed. The chicken on the corn flakes box is based on this type. So he could be quite showy to look at but time will tell if the he IS a he and is as noisy as some roos can be. Ending up with 11 hens out of 12 baby chicks is very reasonable.

With the help of a handy neighbor, we managed to roll the new coop out of the garage on Saturday. We probably had less than a half inch clearance, and I'm glad we didn't have to saw off any of the roof. We still need to put singles on and possibly insulate it but we could be ready to move it to our empty lot in a couple weeks. 

January

We had a fun, quick trip to Grace, Idaho thanks to our neighbor. Their family owns many acres and we were invited to come snowmobiling and play in the snow. It was COLD, a degree or two below zero in the mornings but amazingly we were usually warm enough when the sun was shining. This sledding hill was serious and the boys loved getting rides back up the hill via snowmobile.

 The area has a lot of pheasant (a relative of our neighbor actually raises them there) and wild turkeys. We saw a big group just off the side of the road. There was also a large herd of elk that regularly moves through the area which we were able to see one night.

There is a woman called the Chicken Chick who has a blog about raising backyard chickens and she tells of "chicken math". What she means is that chicken keeping is addictive. This is my explanation for the "need" of a new, larger coop. Jared's parents, always so generous to give of their time, gasoline, and expertise, came to help us make this bigger, better hen home.
Most of the build went smoothly and quickly and I was totally impressed.  How we get it out of the garage may be tricky. The coop is more complete than this last picture shows, and we've primed it. Tomorrow - the first coat of paint - a bit of a mystery color due to the discount store I bought it from and the fact that I'll be mixing three cans. Right now it makes a great playhouse.

Bennett strikes a pose for most photos these days. Paxton was proud of his Lincoln log building...I especially like the suspended corners. If I could I'd build a house like that.

Here are the puffballs that will occupy the coop along with our current flock. Four of the 12 are breeds we have but the rest are new. They do lay eggs but not as many as "standard" breeds.





Jared is holding an Americauna, left, and Speckled Sussex on the right. Our other newest are Silver Laced Wyandotte and Cuckoo Marans. Bennett laughs at that last name. We're already figuring out which Star Wars characters will be their namesakes.

December

As part of our advent calendar this year we decorated gingerbread houses. I have to say that the icing they include worked quite well and the boys were able to load up their structures with a ridiculous amount of candy.

There were 4 mini houses in the kit I bought and that roped dad into making one too. He had some good ideas with pixie sticks that were leftover from Halloween.








Our boys have never been the type to get up unusually early on Christmas Day, thank goodness! In fact, Bennett wasn't in any hurry because he said Santa came to my Grandma Jackie's party the night before so he figured it was pretty much already over.

The legacy of Star Wars lives on along with the tradition of new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I think the boys are at a great age for gift opening. They like to see what everything is but they don't tear through them crazily either. It makes for a fun morning.

It was truly a white Christmas and in the following days the boys have enjoyed themselves. They built this snow cave between a retaining wall and the neighbor's fence. Bennett is pretending to be asleep.

The chickens don't seem to mind the snow too much. We shoveled paths for them or they'd literally be in it up to their necks.

November

After such a busy October, this month was a nice change of pace. We had our first snow at our house, enough for me and Bennett to build a snowman. I used to dislike the snow and REALLY dislike winter in general but I am learning to appreciate the beauty of it and enjoy the break from so much (self imposed) gardening.

Speaking of gardening, this is some of the Indian corn, a cultivar called "Painted Mountain", which I saved.  I'll give some away to those who might want to grow it next year.  All of these colors came from the same crop. The variety from just one packet of seed is fun.

Paxton seems to enjoy reading and he has four legged friends that love his bed too. Chica here is content with a warm spot to relax. The quilt on Paxton's bed is one my mom made as a gift for Paxton on his 8th birthday. His favorite colors are red, white, and blue.

This slightly creepy photo was taken by Bennett of one of his favorite stuffed animals. This one used to be a must have for him at bed time. Right now he is toting around a snowman that I pulled out as part of our Christmas decorations. We put them up the week of Thanksgiving because the boys were home to help but I usually wait until December.

My Grandma Jackie is still graciously hosting many family members for Thanksgiving dinner. She works so hard to make sure everyone is well fed before she can ever sit down and even then she doesn't stay sitting down to eat her own food. We love her so much!

I never pictured myself owning chickens and DEFINITELY never thought I'd give one a bath. But there's a first for everything. This little Rhode Island Red (or Royal Red Guard as the boys named her) has managed to sit on a broken egg twice in the last few days and became a gross mess. I didn't want her to have to try to work out a frozen clump of dried egg or for it to affect her laying ability.

So I brought her over to the utility sink which I had partially filled with lukewarm water and dipped her in. She didn't flap around or complain once! Then I used my hairdryer on a cool setting to dry her. She didn't mind that either - I think the advantage to a hen's tiny brain is not overthinking. Next on the chicken front is making a cookie tin water heater so their water doesn't freeze in the daytime.