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!!!!