Eggsperiment

Our neighbor gave us 12 fertilized eggs.  Eleven of them hatched, born on April 27th.  We now have 9 chicks because 2 met their demise, death by toddler.  She loved them so much, and baby chicks just aren't big enough for "bear hugs."

They are growing really fast and they eat non-stop.

It will be a several more weeks before we know how many roosters and hens we have.

 

This breed is called "Rhode Island Red"  They lay brown eggs and will weigh about 5.5 lbs.  The kids are planning to show them in the youth fair in June.

Hillbilly Engineering at it's Best!

What do you get when you combine an old dishwasher, scrap landscape timbers, and chicken wire???

............a Deluxe Custom Designed Portable Chicken Coop & Lawn Fertilizer!!!

Critters

This little frog likes to jump on me when I open the shed door. He is the exact color of the shed and even when I look for him, I never see him until he jumps out at me. My daughter enjoys finding him over and over again.

The grouchy turtle! My husband found him on a road near our house and brought him home one day after work. The kids enjoyed him, but he kept hissing and trying to bite them. We sent him and his bad attitude back to the woods.

One of the nine baby chicks that we now have after getting eggs from a hatchery. She calls it Plumpy, because it's big. I will share the whole egg hatching story soon in another post.

On the Hunt!

5...4...3...2..1.... BLAST-NOT!!!!

It takes trial & error to become a rocket scientist. This time lift-off was delayed due to mechanical failure. Days later he was able to launch his rocket at a boy scout campout. It flew so high that they lost sight of it, but soon found it floating in a nearby river!

The Rocket-Man!

Happy Easter!

Guess who got new undies???

The girls got new undies a couple of weeks ago. I found this colorful dispay on my eight year old's floor.

New Glasses.........

 

.......but, I'll still kick your arses.

What else rhymes with glasses???

Giant Snow-Gonzo

Snow-ZILLA!!!!

Above, applying the face.

 

Do you see the resemblance?  Snow-Gonzo created using: rocks for eyes, gutter downspout for nose, and scrap metal for mouth.

 

Oh, the terror terrier!

Thank you Mr.Clean Magical Eraser!!!

Upon finding a sharpie on the kitchen table without a cap, I asked the baby where the cap was. She said, "I dunno". I asked again, she said "I..... dunno," then pointed to the kitchen counter where I saw her lovely artwork!

Below she flashes a proud smile as I discourage her artistry. I repeatedly told her, "we only draw on paper, dang-it!"

I removed some of the marker with rubbing alcohol, but had to rely on Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to fully restore my cabinets to their 1970's glory! Thank you Mr. Clean!!! I don't know how mothers ever survived before your invention!

Super Singer!

Our 10 year old made it into the middle school honor choir (grades 5-8). Her school performed along with a large group of about 100 other students from area schools! We are proud of all her hard work & diligent practice. It was a beautiful concert!

Kid Food Concoctions!

Personal pizza's we made for Valentines day.

Enjoying chicken nuggets with ranch dressing & whipped cream.

 

Learning to use the chopsticks Aunt Annie gave us.  Enjoying yummy ramen noodles with peas.

Backpack Buddies, part 1

I am currently serving as the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency in my ward.  As part of my calling I get to plan quarterly activities for the primary children.  After gathering ideas from websites like sugardoodle.net, I came up with this idea to teach the kids about emergency preparedness.  I called it "Backpack Buddies"  and the theme was "be prepared not scared."  The kids were asked to bring their backpacks and as they rotated through 4 stations, they filled their backpacks with items to keep in their 72-hour kits.  When they came in, we sat around a campsite and I showed them my 72-hour kit and explained the kinds of disasters we should prepare for in our area.  We had a CD playing nature sounds in the background.

The first station was the activity introduction and then I taught the kids how to make a cup out of paper that will hold water.  They also got a list of items that they should include in their 72-hour kit.

At the 2nd station a teacher in our primary taught basic first aid and wound care then they each got an emergency information card to fill out.  They also received a packet of band-aids.