Easter 2013

Our Easter started bright and early with church at 8am. So we were up, fed, dressed, and out the door by 7:30am. Yawn. Here's a picture of the kids I took before we left for church. I took about five and this one was the best of the bunch.

After church we came home and opened some Easter cards from Grandma Molly and Grandpa John. (Thanks GGS and Pop!) The boys were very excited to find a little money in each one!

My family has a tradition to hide a dollar for each kid to find on Easter. The only rule is you have to be able to see at least part of it when it's hidden. It's harder than you think! The boys enjoy it but don't last too long before they start to ask for hints. Grandma Linda and Pa sent us all a dollar for that! (Thanks Ma and Pa!) When we were done the boys ran off to put their money in their wallets before Dad could take it to put in savings. That darn "savings" takes all their money so they can't buy stuff!

Since church was so early we still had time to work a bit on the chicken coop before lunch. (That update will be another post.) I also baked the lamb cake then set it to cool and made the deviled eggs for dinner. Then we started a new Easter tradition... the Easter swim! It was sunny with a high of almost 90º so it was quite refreshing.

After swimming, I frosted the lamb cake. I didn't have any jelly beans so I had to improvise. We skipped the lamb cake last year so it was good to have him back!

For dinner we had: ham, scalloped potatoes, peas, and deviled eggs. Annabeth ate about 4 helpings of the ham and peas. She kept saying "more, more"! I think she ate more peas than all five boys put together.

After dinner we ate the cake. It was delicious. Hayden didn't get a piece since he didn't want to eat his peas. Eli, in true Easter spirit, offered to eat Hayden's peas for him so he could have a piece of cake. Although it was a very sweet gesture that doesn't quite work when it comes to nutrition.

Hope you had a great Easter Sunday as well! 

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, 

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord 

came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, 

rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was

like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 

The guards were so afraid of him that they  shook and 

became like dead men. The angel said to the women,

 “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking 

for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here; he has risen, 

just as he said. 

Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28: 1-6

Demonstrations

We are approaching the end of our first year in 4-H. The four younger boys are in Cloverbuds, a group for kids (ages 5 -9) that are too young to sign up for more complicated 4-H projects. Basically, they get to sample all that 4-H has to offer so they know which projects they want to join when they are a little bit older.

This week each boy had to give a short demonstration in front of their group. Actually, it was more than their regular group, it was parents and the 4-H teen leaders as well. The goal was more to experience public speaking than to actually go all out on the presentation. It was suggested each Cloverbud chose something easy to explain.

We thought for a quite awhile before we came up with our subject matter. In the end this is what the boys chose:

Eli demonstrated how to make Grape Kool-Aid.

JD demonstrated how to make pudding.

Justus demonstrated how to sort laundry. (That is his current big chore.)

Hayden demonstrated how to draw an Angry Bird.

We made our posters and practiced several times at home. The boys were nervous and we talked about how everyone would be nervous and that was okay. I suggested if they were nervous they should volunteer to go first. Of course, then they all wanted to go first! The leader was smart and had the kids draw a number to see what order they would go in. Eli lucked out and drew the #1. Justus, on the other hand, was last. Thankfully, he was okay with it.

I went up with each of them and held their posters for them, but other than that I did not assist them in any way. They did great! I was so proud of them! Not only did they do a great job presenting their demonstrations they also fielded questions and comments from the audience. When it wasn't their turn they were very good listeners and asked questions of the other presenters.

Each Cloverbud presented something different. We saw everything from how to make paper flowers to how to set up a chess board. I think a lot of these kids are future senators and representatives! Public speaking didn't bother them at all!

Mini Pool Party

We love going back to our old (rental) neighborhood to play and visit. According to the boys, we don't go nearly enough. During a visit last week we decided that for the next playdate instead of us going to the neighborhood they would come to us!

So after a week of waiting, yesterday was finally the day! A few weren't able to make it, but we still had a pretty good turn out! I counted 14 kids plus 5 adults.

The kids swam while the ladies chatted. My silly boys were the first ones out of the pool! I think they were lured by the snacks we had at the table.

Annabeth woke up right before everyone arrived. I was sure she would want to get in the water because she loves the pool, but she was happy to sit on Pearl's lap visiting and munching snacks. We decided it was perfect weather. Warm enough for the kids to swim, but nice enough for the rest of us to sit in the shade and not get too hot.

It was just the kind of fun I envisioned when we were planning the pool and we're looking forward to doing it again soon!

The Coop (Part 3)

From 3/23/13:

Another weekend! You know that means... more coop building!! Jerry took the day off and was out bright and early Friday morning. No rest for the weary. We also had an early morning delivery. Can you see that 15 ton pile of rock in the background? (That's another project and another post!).

First up, roof rafters! These were the most complicated of all our cuts and didn't work out exactly right, but they were close enough. "Good enough for government work" as my mom would say. Ha ha.

Once the rafters were up we used the staple gun to put chicken wire over the triangles at the top. We thought these openings would help keep the coop cooler since hot air rises and all that. As an added bonus we didn't have to cut the siding to fit! :) We framed out windows but have decided to see if these openings provide enough ventilation before we cut holes in the siding.

The rafters are long in the front to provide some shade in the afternoon and to offer a bit of protection from rain. Ana White's plan had the door on the shorter side and no overhangs on either side. We moved the door to the taller side and added the overhang.

We took a break for lunch and Jerry went to the store for siding then... it was back to work. After watching several You Tube videos on cutting siding, Jerry decided to buy a large sheet of insulation to cut on. He laid the siding down on the sheet of insulation and set the circular saw to cut just through the siding. It worked great! Much better than trying to balance a floppy piece of siding on sawhorses.

The first piece up!

Then we worked our way around.

Siding goes up pretty quick (relatively speaking). The front will be open and didn't need siding so a short time later we were putting up the last piece!

It was looking pretty good! Like a real coop! This is where we stopped for the day.

Saturday we moved onto the roof. The roofing product we wanted to use (Ondura, if you are curious) was out of stock, and possibly not available for some time, so we decided to go with it's cousin called Tuftex. It worked out nicely. It came in 10 feet sheets and our roof is exactly 10 feet from front to back. That meant only one row of sheets and no overlapping seams in that direction.

I didn't get any photos of the process, but it was pretty straight forward. We got five sheets. They overlap and are held down with special screws that create a seal to keep water out. We chose the tan color hoping it would be cooler than the darker green color they make.

Since the Tuftex was pretty floppy and long it needed support in both directions so we had to add some horizontal purlins to the roof. 

I didn't get any pictures but Sunday after church we stapled chicken wire to the front and put in vinyl flooring. We read it is easier to keep vinyl clean. We used the cheapest peel and stick tiles we could find. It ended up the cheapest tile was a "wood floor" pattern so it doesn't even really look that different from the plywood. You won't see it anyway, it will be buried under several inches of bedding (and chicken poo).

The only thing left to finish are the doors. We started working on the people door, but ran into a few technical difficulties and ran out of time so the completion will have to wait until next weekend. We haven't decided exactly where the chicken door will come out yet. Then, of course, we'll have to make a little chicken ramp too. No chicken coop is complete without a little ramp! If you see any fun signs that say "Chicken Crossing" or "Fresh Eggs" let me know!

In case you missed them:
The Coop Part 1
The Coop Part 2

Eleven!

We had a combined birthday party for Wesley and the twins in February so today wasn't very exciting as far as birthdays go. Just a simple (store bought) cake and a quiet evening at home.

First Swim of the Season!

After being tempted by the beautiful blue water for months, we were finally able to swim again. We were mad at ourselves for shutting down the pool as soon as we had a cold snap last November. There were several days after we turned off the heater that it was warm enough to go for a swim. We have been waiting and waiting to get back in so we had plans to get the heater going as soon as we could.

The heater didn't even have to work hard at all thanks to the addition of about 10,000 gallons of 80 plus degree water after the table repair. The unseasonably warm weather last weekend helped too. The temp drops a few degrees each night, but the heater gets it back up to about 80º by mid-afternoon.

The repair work was done Thursday and the pool company sent someone out to balance the water on Friday. He gave us the go ahead to get in when he was done.

Back in January we bought some umbrellas for the umbrella holes in the table and the baja step. Last year they were sold out at every store we checked by the time the pool was finished. I have a feeling Annabeth and I will be spending many hours under those umbrellas this summer!

The boys were making up all kinds of games with the pool toys. But it seems every one's favorite pool activity is jumping off the grotto. No one wanted to go in the grotto because apparently a big nasty spider took up residence there while no one was swimming this winter. I don't know if this is true for sure because I wasn't about to go investigate. We decided Dad should do a little grotto clean out before any of us would go in there.

If you look closely you'll see seven boys swimming. Two of the new neighbor boys heard the pool guy give us the okay and they ran home to ask their mom if they could join us. They seemed to have a great time. I hope we have lots of friends join us this swimming season! If you're local, come by anytime!!

Stepping Out

On Friday, after over a month of garage living, we finally let the chicks get a taste of the outdoors. They were a little nervous at first and wouldn't do anything more than peek out the door. I don't think it helped that all the kids were sitting outside the door watching them. I moved their food and water outside and told the observers to back up. Finally, they were brave enough to step out.

The Reds seem to be a little more skittish than the Buffs. One Buff in particular comes to the door every time I open it, even in the garage. She is always the first one to hop out to say hi. She led the way this time too.

I put a little fencing up and used a beach towel to create some shade and let them explore a bit. They seemed to enjoy it. They pecked at the ground and ate a few weeds. Their water sure stayed a lot cleaner outside. In the crate it fills with bedding when they scratch. I have to clean it out several times a day. At the end of the day we carried the crate back into the garage.

Sunday afternoon we let them have another outside adventure. They knew just what to do this time! They were out that door in a few seconds. I don't know if being outside awakened some chicken instincts or what, but several of them enjoyed their first dust bath. It was fun to watch. They dug a little hole and took turns. Who would have thought "bathing" in dirt would be enjoyable?!

They are quickly outgrowing their current accommodations and it is definitely warm enough for them to be outside more in the daytime. We are working on their coop (stay tuned for another post about that) and look forward to moving them to the big house very soon!

Mending Fences

We have owned this house for one year as of March 12th, although we didn't actually move in until about a month later. The fence in the back portion of our lot has been broken since we first set eyes on the place. We have no idea what happened. Maybe a car hit it? We have a lot of dirt bikes and four wheelers in the neighborhood, but I don't see how a smaller vehicle could have done that amount of damage.

We temporarily put up a couple posts and some leftover chain link, but it was still an eye sore.

Since the chickens will be moving out there soon we had it fixed last week. It looks so much better! We still have to paint the steel to match the rest of the fence but even unpainted it is a great improvement.

When we moved in a there was a fence along the guest house driveway that could contain any animals (or kids!) in the grassy part of the yard. That fence was removed when they put in the pool. So to keep the backyard enclosed we also had them install a gate across the guest house driveway.

The company we hired gave us a discount (almost $100) for paying in cash. Like real dollar bills in an envelope cash. I'm not really sure why, but I was kind of nervous about it. It just seemed shady since with cash there is really no record of payment (except in this case the guys initials on our contract). As much as I like Dave Ramsey's ideas for building savings and reducing debt, I could never be on board with his suggestion to pay "cash only" for everything.

We have made lots of improvements in the year we've owned the house, but there's always something more to do. We have a couple of things I really want finished before it gets hot: landscape rock and build a planter to cover the septic caps. We're hoping to get the rocks delivered later this week so if you want a little exercise come help us haul rock. The weather should be beautiful and if it gets too hot you can jump in the pool for a quick swim!

The Coop (Part 2)

From 3/17/13:

After a week off we were up and running again. We started by framing the back wall. Then we leveled the floor frame on some concrete supports. I should back up and say after we decided where we wanted it and mowed the back lot we leveled the floor. Originally, I envisioned the coop in the far back corner. A few things made me change my mind: the neighbor dog and access to water and shade. This location also makes more sense as far as keeping an eye on the chickens throughout the day and access to future eggs.

With the floor frame level(ish) we were ready to lay down the floor. It looked like a stage at this point and we all tried to think of at least one line of Shakespeare to share "on stage".

The walls went up pretty fast after that!

Since we were out of materials we decided to call it quits for the weekend and do some other yard work. I'm looking forward to seeing the real form take shapes when we add the siding next weekend!

Pool Building Flashbacks

Am I dreaming? Did we go back in time? It was hot today and felt like summer. My pool was half empty and there were guys working on it.

No, we didn't go back in time and, unfortunately, I'm not dreaming. Way back when the pool table was installed, they were in a bit of hurry and had someone - NOT the table crew - install it. When they were done we noticed a "chip around the umbrella hole". We mentioned it to the pool superintendent right away and he told us they would get a little repair kit to fix it. After not hearing anything for months, we finally asked them what the hold up was and it seems there is no repair kit. Guess they were not going to mention that and see if we ever cared. The remedy: a new table top. Okay. The procedure for a new table top: drain the pool to the first step. Ugh.

It's been a struggle. They didn't show up the first time the "drain and fix" was scheduled. Then the gal in the office had "computer problems" that suspiciously affected her phone as well. Uh huh. Jerry finally insisted it be taken care of this week. So yesterday a guy came to drain our beloved, perfectly (chemically) balanced water and pump it out into the back field.

Pumping out the water (FYI: Those are solar rings to help warm the water.)

Then early this morning the three man install crew (the real ones!) arrived and literally broke the old table into pieces and removed it. Old table, we hardly knew ye! After cleaning up the pedestal edges, they got the new top all situated and were on their way.

Removing the old table

Installing the new table

The boys wondered why the pool crew couldn't just put on their swimming trunks and fix it. It does seem like a waste to drain all that water for an hour of work. But the water was cold (about 65º) and power tools and water don't mix. The good news is the water going into the pool is at least 80º so I think between that and the warm weather (high of 90º today and 92º tomorrow) we will be swimming this weekend! We had planned to turn on the heater and I think the addition of warm water will give it quite a jump start!

As you can see my pool-filling helper really enjoyed the warm hose water! We spent a good half hour our there splashing and spraying.

It was kind of funny how word spread. Soon Eli joined us and then Wesley, Hayden, and JD appeared with their suits on. The boys actually stepped into the deep parts where the water was still a bit chilly. Us girls stayed up where it was warm. Everyone is READY to be swimming again. Looks like we will be very soon!