Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that I get to hop on a plane tomorrow and jet off to Hawaii with my awesome hubby!!! And I am especially grateful for Grandma and Grandpa who are so willing to stay with my kids and spoil them rotten till we get back. :) It is such a comfort to know that your kids are with someone who loves them as much as you do!! I know it's a short post today but I have a crazy busy day to get ready to leave tomorrow. :)

That's My Man

Brian ran the Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon last Saturday and it's about the 7th or 8th 1/2 marathon he's run. He ran his personal best time of about 1hour and 44 minutes. As Hailey and I were driving up to Salt Lake to go be at the finish line (Nick was on a scout campout) I was thinking about how proud I was of him and what a great example he is of setting and accomplishing goals. I have been at every one of his finish lines for his 1/2 and full marathons and I continue to be amazed each time at what he can do. My heart swells with pride and my eyes fill with tears everytime we see him coming into the final stretch. To think about what he's gone through to get to that place as he was born with two club feet and learned to walk with casts on both legs eventually having surgery on one foot and leg. But nothing ever slowed him down and that continues to be a theme in his life...he will not allow any obstacle to get in the way of accomplishing his goals. We love him!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for Brian and Nick and everything they've done for the new additions to the family. :) They have both been so excited about the chickens and they have been true to their word that they would take care of everything!!! Even when Brian is traveling Nick takes care of everything and I just get to take pictures or hold the chicks. The 2nd batch hatched a couple days ago so Brian brought the next set of 3 home last night...Nick was beside himself excited and I must admit they're pretty cute. I still feel like we're the crazy animal people on the street but I have two giddy boys in this house that are living their "chicken dream" so it's fun to watch them so excited! :)

Nick is painting the chicken mansion...I refuse to call it a "coup" since it's insulated, has electricity and a window. I was trying to talk Brian into letting it be a playhouse for the kids as he was building it. :) Brian is adding onto the fence that will surround the garden and mansion to keep Rocko out.

They're just about done with the chicken living quarters other than painting the posts on their outdoor accommodations and cutting the hole from the mansion to the play yard so they can go in and out as they please.

Nick brought the chicks out to play on the grass last weekend and they were a little nervous...I've learned from Nick that you can tell when they're nervous because they chirp more and it's a lot louder than normal. Their names are Omelet, Yolko, & Chickadee...somehow Nick and Hailey can tell them apart.

This week at school the 6th grade had their N.O.V.A. (Nurturing Opportunities, Values, Accountability) "graduation" and awards ceremony. Nick's constitution (the paper he wrote on what he learned and how he plans to apply it in his life) won an honorable mention. I appreciated this program and what it taught him.

Our "excitement" this week was Hailey coming home from school with a big swollen ankle. I guess she inherited her grace from me since she hurt it by running down a hill, slipping, twisting it and face planting into the ground. But luckily it's just sprained and should be good to go in a week or so. She thought it was going to be cool to show up to school with crutches but then as we're heading out the door for school I think it hit her that she would get lots of attention if she had crutches and she doesn't necessarily like being the center of attention. So she left the crutches at home and hobbled around all day.

The newly hatched chicks. They're obviously a different kind than our first 3 but I think these little guys are super cute!!! Their names are Amigo, Buffalo Wings, and something Japanese sounding that I can't remember right now. :)

These chicks now look huge compared to the new babies.

Rocko's pretty fascinated by these guys. I guess earlier he got his nose into the cage and they pecked at it so he's a little jumpy around them now...but he darts up close then jumps back constantly...pretty funny to watch.

Rocko's happy to get a little attention from Hailey since Nick's been pretty occupied with the chicks.

Nick's little slice of heaven on earth...he could spend hours down here watching & holding these guys.

For being a non-animal person I am thankful that Brian IS an animal person and is giving our kids the opportunities to be responsible and create these kinds of memories for them. Who would've ever thought I'd be doing a post on the chickens and dog that live at our house!!!!

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for a great Easter Weekend and a fun spring break so far with my family. Saturday I got up early and started the cinnamon roles (they take 3 hours to make so I only make them every 5 years or so since I'm not that ambitious in the baking department). :) Nick & Hailey were up in time to help roll out the dough and slather the yummy cinnamon filling on it.

Then a little bit later in the day the kids decorated Easter eggs. Nick informed me that he is too old to dye Easter eggs so instead of getting the dye I got these little q-tip type things that were filled with different color paint and they basically drew or colored on the eggs. They thought it was pretty fun.

We've also had a lot of fun this week for spring break. We didn't go anywhere since "we" (meaning the kids and Brian) have new baby chicks to take care of so we found some fun things to do around here again this year. It's actually really nice not to have to pack and drive to go somewhere and we get to sleep in our own beds at night. :)

Monday night we went to Desert Star Playhouse and saw another fun play like we did last year. This time it was a spoof on Pirates of the Caribbean and we all enjoyed the pizza there as well! Tuesday we went to lunch with a couple of fun friends and a couple of their kids and then we went to a movie. Wednesday the kids and I went to the Legacy Center and ran/walked the track for 45 minutes then swam for awhile. Then when Brian got home we went miniature golfing and out to dinner and today we're heading to another movie and bowling with my brother and his family tonight. In between all of that the kids and I have been playing Mario Kart on the Wii and I have come to the conclusion that I am TERRIBLE at that game and there's really no hope for me...the kids unfortunately agree. :) I absolutely LOVE weeks like this. I've been able to work from home most of the week and feel very blessed to be able to do that and hang out with the kids while they're off from school.

So I am thankful for family, friends, and a job that allows me to have flexibility with my family this week!!!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for "experts". Both the experts that we come in contact with and the experts that write material to help us become knowledgeable in things foreign to us. (Even if we do not want to become knowledgeable but are forced to...for example if your husband decides he wants chickens in the backyard and you are not a farmer...therefore your children and your husband need to learn how to take care of the chickens...and then they get the chicks on a day that your husband has to work and your kids have to go to school so you are left alone with the brand new baby chicks...just an example.) :)

But, before I get to the chicks...I am thankful for the expert orthodontist Dr. Swenson. Hailey was so nervous to get her braces on yesterday and but he and his staff are so awesome that they put her right at ease and she did great!!! She is now a proud metal mouth!!! They were definitely sore and achy last night but she actually feels much better this morning and I think she's going to make it through the next 18 months. :) One stubborn bracket did pop off last night though so we're heading back in this afternoon to get it glued back in place.

So we got the call that Nick has been waiting for yesterday that 3 of our 6 chicks were in and ready to be picked up. Brian's flight was delayed from Boise though so he didn't make it home in time to go get them. But he and Nick were up bright and early this morning and on there way north to go pick them up...we let Nick go to school a little late since this is like Christmas morning to him! It was all we could do to get him out the door after they safely delivered the chicks to their new home in our basement...he wanted to stay home and just watch them all day. :) I have fought getting these things till I'm blue in the face but I lost the battle and Nick and Brian are two happy campers. I will admit that they are really cute right now...the problem is that they'll grow in a matter of weeks and be big chickens and not cute little chicks. But that's when they'll be banished to the coup in the garden...yes I have a chicken coup in my garden...not a sentence I thought I'd ever say.

I guess you have to dunk their beaks into the water to let them know where the water is so that's what Nick is doing.

This seems to be the smartest one of the bunch...Brian spread food around the cage so they could peck at it but this one went right for the dish!