Grand Canyon
Last Wednesday (was that a week ago?) we went to the Grand Canyon with Les & Ronda's family. They stayed the night and we all got up early and drove about an hour to the canyon. It was such a beautiful day! Here are some pics from that trip. It rained on the way home, but at least we did not get rained on at the canyon.
Chicken Run (Nope, not about the movie.)
We worked on a fenced area for the chickens Saturday. They are getting bigger and needed room to roam...safely! We added a doggie door to the coop so they can get in and out of the coop as needed to get out of the wind, rain, and snow. Our bunny, Joey, decided he wanted to explore that area too and had a great time hopping around. He was hilarious doing some extra little hops and twists to show how excited he was to be out in the dirt. The bunny has a hard time with the doggie door, he sometimes slips off the ramp and takes several attempts to get into the coop/shed. I need to get that on video...it is so funny!
Bunk Bed
Chris got a bunk bed for his room off of Craigslist. It is one of those with a futon couch on the bottom. We spent hours putting that thing together on Saturday. *whew!* He is happy to have the couch so he can sit on that while he plays Playstation games and uses his Linux computer that we built together. We now have plenty of beds so come on up and visit!
Goat Barn Anyone?
We are looking for a large shed or small barn to house some goats. Marly is anxiously waiting for the right price on milking goats, but she needs a place for them to stay first so we can keep them safe (see More Nighttime Visitors). She has saved up close to $200 for the goats, but it is far from enough for a shed for them to live in. Heavenly Father has blessed us with several things to allow us to have animals and I believe he will send something our way when the time is right. Craigslist and Freecycle have been huge blessings!
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
What's "Hop"pening...
Dust Bathing Chicks
Chris filmed some funny video of our 4 week old chickens...(P.S. Brother Cluff, we hope you see this one. You are a great scout leader and we appreciate the example you were to our son!)Bunny Walk
We were given this sweet, adorable Mini Rex bunny named Little Jim yesterday from Freecycle. He is a very domesticated and social bunny. Thank you Linda Rae, Corey and Justin for allowing us to give him a good home. We love him already! He is so incredibly soft and cuddly.Other News
Good news! Mike is getting promoted. He was notified today that starting June 1st he will be on his own route. This is very good news for us and much sooner than was expected. We are very thankful to Heavenly Father for providing us with this opportunity. I know that He is looking out for us, even if things do not go perfectly and we have trials and tribulations along the way. We feel very blessed despite the setbacks we are experiencing in other ways.
Labels:
chickens,
family,
Little Jim,
movies
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April Showers? or Just Windy?
April Showers Anyone?
Where are the April Showers? We have either had snow or blasting wind that closes highways and rattles windows at night. I do not remember so much wind the last time we lived here. I know the weather patterns seem to have changed a little bit in the last few years...but this is ridiculous! I hope we get a few showers in to help keep the forest green over the summer. We saw a lot of smoke yesterday due to a forest fire.
Finding Joy!
It was one of my goals this year to focus on happiness and joy in life. I can say that I am happy, even through the trials and tribulations. I have learned, thanks to previous trials and tribulations, to be patient and realize that things could be a lot worse. Really, things are very good! After watching April General Conference, I felt that despite our economic hardships, everything else is really, REALLY GOOD!
We are very busy in our new home with getting the land "fire safe". The previous occupants let the back 3/4 acre become very overgrown. We have worked on the weeds, but the wind keeps blowing our neatly piled weeds around. We have tried to burn the weeds but cannot because of high winds, I had to get a burn permit and I call every day to see if we can burn. So, we stopped working on that for now and pray that the winds will cease long enough for us to get the weeds gone!
The flower bed is planted with seeds and Marly diligently waters it every day. Our eight chicks have more than doubled in size and are now living in their remodeled coop. We do not let them outside much yet because we are afraid they will blow away! They are not big enough to handle the wind yet.
We found a local homeschool group...there are five other homeschool families in our ward alone. We have been excited to have so many "close by"...meaning within 20 minutes drive. LOL! There are TONS of teens here. There are 40 young women and about 15 young men in our ward. They have all welcomed Marly and Chris with open arms and invited them to lots of things already. The boys are particularly happy to have another boy so they are not so outnumbered.
I hope to get some more pics up soon. I have just been so busy...
Where are the April Showers? We have either had snow or blasting wind that closes highways and rattles windows at night. I do not remember so much wind the last time we lived here. I know the weather patterns seem to have changed a little bit in the last few years...but this is ridiculous! I hope we get a few showers in to help keep the forest green over the summer. We saw a lot of smoke yesterday due to a forest fire.
Finding Joy!
It was one of my goals this year to focus on happiness and joy in life. I can say that I am happy, even through the trials and tribulations. I have learned, thanks to previous trials and tribulations, to be patient and realize that things could be a lot worse. Really, things are very good! After watching April General Conference, I felt that despite our economic hardships, everything else is really, REALLY GOOD!
We are very busy in our new home with getting the land "fire safe". The previous occupants let the back 3/4 acre become very overgrown. We have worked on the weeds, but the wind keeps blowing our neatly piled weeds around. We have tried to burn the weeds but cannot because of high winds, I had to get a burn permit and I call every day to see if we can burn. So, we stopped working on that for now and pray that the winds will cease long enough for us to get the weeds gone!
The flower bed is planted with seeds and Marly diligently waters it every day. Our eight chicks have more than doubled in size and are now living in their remodeled coop. We do not let them outside much yet because we are afraid they will blow away! They are not big enough to handle the wind yet.
We found a local homeschool group...there are five other homeschool families in our ward alone. We have been excited to have so many "close by"...meaning within 20 minutes drive. LOL! There are TONS of teens here. There are 40 young women and about 15 young men in our ward. They have all welcomed Marly and Chris with open arms and invited them to lots of things already. The boys are particularly happy to have another boy so they are not so outnumbered.
I hope to get some more pics up soon. I have just been so busy...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
And Then There Were Eight...
One of our week old chicks died last night. Marly and Chris had noticed that it wasn't moving very much and so they were gently trying to drop water into it's mouth, but it would throw-up everything they gave it. Chris came into the house to get Mike, but by the time he came back out, the little chick named Jada was dead. Marly was crying her eyes out as she held the little chick while it died. We buried her today in our yard. This is the first chick we have lost and hopefully it will be the last.
And now we have 8 chicks...
And now we have 8 chicks...
Labels:
chickens
Saturday, January 3, 2009
2008 in Review
I copied this from another friend. She always has great ideas on her blog.
The Year in Review Questionnaire:
A Great Adventure - This year I am the president of not one, but TWO homeschool groups. I'm not sure why I did that. It has been a lesson learned in leadership and taking on too many things. Not too long after I took on the 2nd group, I became Relief Society secretary and started a job. *sigh* So, check out my attempts at organizing the homeschooling community in Arizona and the Southeast Valley. Here is a picture of us at one of the fieldtrips I organized.
A Happy Event - Christian turned 12 and became a deacon this year. He passed the sacrament for the first time and spoke in church for the first time on the same day. He loves serving in the church by collecting Fast Offerings (while the other boys groan) and serving in his scout troop.
A Sad Event - The day Sam moved out "officially" to live with her dad the majority of the time. The house is a little less full and happy without her.
Looking Forward To - The end of court...I won't go into it here...but I can't wait for all this mess to be over.
Something for the Books - This year we somehow ended up in the local paper. I responded to a request for reasons why people homeschool and before I know it we are being featured in the article and a photographer is sent out to photograph us homeschooling. This was a little difficult because we are not very exciting when we homeschool. LOL! We mostly read and focus on individual needs and lessons. Here is the article we were in.
Don't Remind Me! - I'm so sick of people saying they like my current hair style. I really hate it! I cannot identify myself as a short-haired person. I look too much like a man. I need my long hair back!
New Interest or Hobby - (Foreign language alert!) This year I took some classes in CSS and learned PHP. I started some websites using Drupal. See azldshsa.org and thesolarcook.com.
Car Story - We survived teaching Sam how to drive! Both the van and truck are still in one piece. No damages have been reported. All pedestrians are still alive, although they may be running for their lives still. My hair is a little grayer and my nails are growing back, although the grip marks can still be seen in the seat I was sitting in. :-)
Kid Story - Chickens! We raised chickens this year and then the kids sold them for a profit. Our neighbors were not happy about the noise. Now the kids want to raise rabbits. We loved our chickens and will miss the eggs, but not the poop!
Miracle - It is a huge miracle that we still have a job! With all the layoffs in the construction market, Mike is currently still employed at TaylorMorrison Homes. We'll see if that lasts, but we are extremely grateful to our Father in Heaven for allowing Mike to still have a job.
The Year in Review Questionnaire:
A Great Adventure - This year I am the president of not one, but TWO homeschool groups. I'm not sure why I did that. It has been a lesson learned in leadership and taking on too many things. Not too long after I took on the 2nd group, I became Relief Society secretary and started a job. *sigh* So, check out my attempts at organizing the homeschooling community in Arizona and the Southeast Valley. Here is a picture of us at one of the fieldtrips I organized.
A Happy Event - Christian turned 12 and became a deacon this year. He passed the sacrament for the first time and spoke in church for the first time on the same day. He loves serving in the church by collecting Fast Offerings (while the other boys groan) and serving in his scout troop.
A Sad Event - The day Sam moved out "officially" to live with her dad the majority of the time. The house is a little less full and happy without her.
Looking Forward To - The end of court...I won't go into it here...but I can't wait for all this mess to be over.
Something for the Books - This year we somehow ended up in the local paper. I responded to a request for reasons why people homeschool and before I know it we are being featured in the article and a photographer is sent out to photograph us homeschooling. This was a little difficult because we are not very exciting when we homeschool. LOL! We mostly read and focus on individual needs and lessons. Here is the article we were in.
Don't Remind Me! - I'm so sick of people saying they like my current hair style. I really hate it! I cannot identify myself as a short-haired person. I look too much like a man. I need my long hair back!
New Interest or Hobby - (Foreign language alert!) This year I took some classes in CSS and learned PHP. I started some websites using Drupal. See azldshsa.org and thesolarcook.com.
Car Story - We survived teaching Sam how to drive! Both the van and truck are still in one piece. No damages have been reported. All pedestrians are still alive, although they may be running for their lives still. My hair is a little grayer and my nails are growing back, although the grip marks can still be seen in the seat I was sitting in. :-)
Kid Story - Chickens! We raised chickens this year and then the kids sold them for a profit. Our neighbors were not happy about the noise. Now the kids want to raise rabbits. We loved our chickens and will miss the eggs, but not the poop!
Miracle - It is a huge miracle that we still have a job! With all the layoffs in the construction market, Mike is currently still employed at TaylorMorrison Homes. We'll see if that lasts, but we are extremely grateful to our Father in Heaven for allowing Mike to still have a job.
Labels:
chickens,
fieldtrips,
funny stuff
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Our First Egg!
We got our first chicken egg today! Whoo-Hoo! The kids were so happy. They have been checking every day to see if they were laying yet. We only got one today, but with three Americana chickens that is to be expected. They lay an egg about every other day and the color is a cool bluish-green. This breed of chicken is also know as Easter-eggers.
This is the culmination of a long project for the kids. It started with Marly learning about birds and then focused on chickens. We then bought real chicks and built their coop. Marly has been diligently caring for these chicks as they grew into healthy chickens. See more about our Chicken Project on our website.
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