Thankful Thursday/ Un Forgettable Fridays Post

Today you get two in one. Thankful Thursday post and a Un Forgettable Friday post. I want to remember yesterday and I'm thankful for it :) 

Swimming lessons,week one, went great. S loves the water. J3 did ok. Next week we will try and arrive early so he can play in the water a little bit before his lesson and remember how much he loved it this week. We swam for a bit afterwards and the bigger crew; J, L, E, R, went down the water slide, in life jackets, but without us. Bittersweet moment for sure. We did a bunch of shopping, grabbed some lunch and some Starbucks and made a day of it. It was fun. We didn't have any house decisions to make and very little stress and we did some normal family things that we haven't done in a while. 

When we got home Papa moved the new tool truck into place and we cleaned MOST of the tools out of the house! *happy dance* Now I can clean and finish the pantry and kitchen! Today's job is to finish painting the kitchen floor..then on to the cabinets! 

There is a young guy who's doing interviews with young farmers for his thesis and he came out last night for a farm tour and interview. It was interesting and fun to do. I think we relearned a few things about ourselves that we'd forgotten and it reinforced our whys and who's and what's importants. We sent him on his way with a whole chicken and what may have been the last package of our bacon for the year. I tried to give him a kitten but he declined :) So heads up I've got two male orange kittens to give away :) He may come back and help with farm work over the summer. He was quite impressed that Papa is a former Joel Salatin apprentice and I have a feeling he'll be here for chicken butchering to see how fast Papa can eviscerate a bird.   

Before bed we spent half an hour trying to figure out how the smallest pig kept escaping. We did eventually get it all fixed up and she's still in this morning so that's all good! 

Chicks are doing great! Didn't loose any last night so I beleive our total today is 406. They look fantastic and energetic. They are growing wing feathers so they are yellow puff balls with pure white wings. 

Anyway Friday is upon us :) Lots to do today to get ready for the weekend and projects that need doing. Have a great day all and enjoy the sunshine :) 

 

Kid Chick Pictures

S loved the chicks! 

Sunny pictures outside :) S was asleep. 

He and the chick have the same look on their faces. 

Chick wrangler J! 

S was surprisingly gentle and didn't even try to pick it up by the head as most little kids do.

Beautiful girls and cute chicks. 

J3 was so excited and proud to hold his chick! 

I love this picture. Her face is priceless..you would think it was a snake or something, not a harmless chick.  She was scared of them last year too..too close mom! 

Ok I'm good with it on my boot! That's far enough away to enjoy it apparently. 

The chicks are a week old today. We've lost 9 so far :) So there are 405 left! 

Very Random Sunday Ramble

I decided to try a Sunday walkabout this week as I can't seem to get blog posts together these days!

Here is parts and pieces of our week in no particular order :) 

Kids love chicks!

414! They are doing really well and we have only lost 3 so far. Super quiet and active. It looks like a great batch this year! 

Isabel and Maggie enjoying a new patch of grass! They have really remembered that moving = new grass and act like fresh calves when ever anyone starts pounding on a fence post! 

The vanity arrived this week! Here is the bottom right out of the box! 

And here it is all placed together in the bathroom it goes in! Yay! I also got the tub drain in this week! (My first plumbing job :) ) 

The pantry floor got painted and so did some rocks...

E's painted rocks. 

J's. 

L's. 

R's. 

And mine, the monster was for J3 and the rabbit for G. 

The kids got the frames off the cement! 

Three little boys got their ears lowered. 

I tried to get a smiley S picture right before bed one night and he just would not hold still! Lol. 

J got a movie of a surprise can blowing up in a fire which I can't seem to add at the moment. I got to go out to a fundraiser with some friends and Papa chose to stay home with the kids. They had a hotdog roast with the M twins!  It was a fun night topped off by a great preformance of the Drill Team! Glow in the dark! Very very cool! 

In house news Papa got the upper cabinets in the kitchen and most of the last little cabinet built! We are slowly getting stuff together and making the house livable. This week we should be able to concentrate a little more on house and a little less on farming as the chicks are well set up and settled. 

In other farming news.  We lost a pig out of the blue last night and have no idea why. A little pig thankfully and not a sow. The calves are still out back and haven't come up to whine at the cows in at least a week. The raised beds are doing great and I didn't lose anything to frost this week! The flowers I planted even all survived! As are the raspberries and lilics! 

Papa has been driving Jack to work without a top on him! He bundles up in the morning so he doesn't freeze before he gets there! He took the kids for a ride too. 

I got this picture of a very rare two headed cow :) and this super cute kitten, who is as of yet still nameless...

Tame little male. He's super happy to get a scratch as you walk by. 

Here is a kitchen teaser :) 

Thanks for looking at our week! Have a wonderful Sunday :) 

Riding With The Top Down

Papa came home from work yesterday please as punch with himself. He'd taken a little time after work to take the top off the Scout. He says it's quieter with out it. Lol. (I didn't find it quieter but I did find if you could get it up to 3rd you sort of out ran the noise.)  I took it for a spin while he BBQed up some pork chops. I went around to see if I could see the calves, I couldn't, but I'm pretty sure the three trucks I met on the road found me entertaining, putt putt-ing along hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life over the bumpy road and laughing every time I went to shift!  

Looks pretty cool hey? Jack, as we named him, is a 1963 International Scout and those of you who live around us may have noticed Papa has been driving him to work as Jack is replacing the little black car as his work rig. Rides like a bumpy farm truck but the wind in your hair and the view make it worth it. The challenging shifting pattern; reverse is where 1st normally is, 1st is where 2nd should be and 3rd is where 2nd should be, and that's all the gears, makes shifting interesting. I still couldn't get him to shift from 3rd to 2nd! (It was only my second time driving him and I WILL conquer it yet!) 

Came home to this: 

And boy oh boy! They were good :) 

Summer Hair Cuts!

Before....

After...

Cement Pouring Day. 2014

J helping to level it. 

Beautiful! 

S smiling at a kid while Papa try's to wrangle his hand into the cement. I held his legs and Papa got his hand in. He was so excited to be woken up to go outside! 

The finished step!

In order left to right, G, R, E, Papa, Mama, J, L, J3, and S! 

Completed Sign!!

Gifts Of Love

E and R have found a new way to show love.