I Didn't Want Chickens, I Just Wanted Their Eggs

After a lovely time in South Dakota we returned home and it was time to get to work unpacking and learning all about our new surroundings. Did I mention that when we bought our house it also came with about 40-50 chickens? I still don't really know how many chickens we actually have.

If you know me then you've probably heard that I've wanted chickens for a long time, but our previous home didn't have the space and our HOA didn't permit it. Well, I've finally got my chickens, but did I ever mention that I know nothing about chickens or really any pet or animal for that matter? What have I gotten myself into? I even mentioned to my husband that I really didn't want chickens, but I just wanted their eggs. He had a good laugh while I began researching chickens like crazy by checking books out at the library, and Google has been a great help too. We not only have hens, but we have a few roosters too! What do you do with roosters? The previous owner, whom we still speak to often, told us to leave eggs in the nesting boxes and we'll have baby chicks in 21 days. What? We've contemplated getting rid of them. That was until a very large bird swooped down and tried to attack our chickens. The rooster, that the children name Saruman, fought the bird off. He has since been renamed Gandalf, for protecting his flock. We're keeping the roosters for now. The previous owner let the chickens out all over the property, so we've done the same thing with a little hesitation. How do we get them all back into the coop at night? We don't. We've learned that they just know where to go when it starts to get dark outside. We don't have to do anything. The roosters pretty much herd their hens back to the coop, which the children have recently named The Shire.

We have a large open field in the back of our house with a massive wall that still needs to be finished. When we moved in the weeds were waist high and now we've been told that we need to get some goats to keep the weeds down. What? I don't even know what I'm doing with chickens. That little green mower works just fine in the field, don't you think? If anyone out there is looking to do a little labor putting up a stone wall let me know. We have all the materials and I'll feed you!

          

We were told that our recently inherited flock of chickens were pretty old. Not all of the chickens are even laying eggs anymore. The previous owner suggested that we grow our flock by, guess what? Yeah, these kids talked me into buying baby chicks when we returned home from South Dakota. AHH!!

I have to admit that they're pretty darn cute and they're growing on me, but I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.  We'll see how many make it through the winter. Stick around for more to come on our little urban farm?

Confirmation

After two grueling years of studying the Bible and the Catechism, Rachel was confirmed at the end of June.

She and four other confirmands read the Bible and took part in the Catechism memory program. In order to be confirmed, depending on their age, they must complete the program to a certain level.They listened intently to the sermon. If you'd like to hear it you can listen here, too! Now it's confirmation time! After they were confirmed these confirmands received communion for the first time alongside their classmates.

I'm so proud of the kids. They worked hard and their minds were definitely like sponges. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Right after church they took off for the mountains and the annual Catechism Retreat! So much for moving and unpacking. There's no rest for the wicked. We moved, and three days later the older children were off to camp. They had a blast only to return for one day to do laundry. Then we left again. 

May Was Kind of Blur

After we listed our home, it sold in just 4 short days with an offer above our asking price! Crazy, right? The market seems to be a little insane right now. Thankfully we were already under-contract for the new home that we wanted to purchase. Now it was just a packing and waiting game until the loans and closing dates were ready. Whew!

During that wait my parents came to visit us from Seattle. The weather was beautiful so we placed all of our bikes in the back of my husband's pickup and off we went to the park to play and ride bikes.

Elizabeth finally became brave enough to let us take the training wheels off of her bike. Little does she know that my husband bent the training wheels up so much that they were never even touching the ground when she rode her bike anyway.

It's been a long time since my dad has ridden a bike. It all comes back quickly doesn't it?

When my parents come out they always insist on having a mini photo session with their grandchildren. 

My friend, Mandy, talked me into running the Bolder Boulder, so I signed up the week of the race.

What a rush! I've never run a race before and this one was a big one. There were about 50, 000 runners in this 10K, along with street bands on the corners, belly dancers, neighbors offering beer for going on their slip n' slides, and food and water were given all along the route. I placed 76 in my age and gender. It was so much fun!



Since Mandy convinced me to run, I convinced my friend Laura to run with me since I've never run a race before and she has run a few marathons, plus she just had a baby, so I thought maybe I could keep up with her. After the race a beer was waiting for us along with another friend, Brian! Since this was old hat for Brian, he ran in an earlier heat and then tied his personal best! I think it was a great running day for everyone. 

Did I mention that the race just happened to fall on Rachel's 11th birthday?

We celebrated with my parents, a few friends, and Thai food, cherry cupcakes, and homemade ice cream!

At the end of May I photographed a wedding for a dear, sweet family friend. It was my first wedding and now I see why wedding photographers charge so much, and why I don't want to be one. I had a great time photographing the wedding, but I definitely don't want wedding photography to be in my future. 

We've known the Besel family since we moved to Colorado almost 10 years ago. Their children used to babysit my children and now they're all grown up, graduating from high school, college, getting married, and getting real jobs in the real world. Yikes! Where did the time go? Aren't they a beautiful family? I can only hope that my children turn out as kind, sweet, and well spoken as the Besels.

After the Valentine's Day Party

Wow! It's been over 2 months since I've blogged anything. Thank you for your kind comments and emails about my lack of blogging. Hopefully, I can get you caught up on what's been going on around here. 

The last half of February took a cold turn right after David completed level 8, Rachel level 6, and Anna level 2 in the Catechism memory program at church. We found ourselves with quite a bit of snow causing us to hit the slopes and do a little sledding. We even convinced one of our church members to join us after he plowed our driveway. We're so spoiled! The cold weather didn't stop us from heading out to see the Glass Slipper at the Buell theater. It was the perfect Valentine's day with another couple to boot!

The Zoo in January

It had been over a year since we had seen Mimi and Papa, so way back in January, they came to visit. It was such a beautiful day outside that we decided to take them to the zoo. Would you believe it if I told you just a few days earlier we had snow on the ground?

It looks like the brown bears just finished lunch and were taking an afternoon nap.

The gorillas were pretty entertaining that day, walking around near the windows.

We always enjoy the Gibbons when we visit. They do amazing acrobatic stunts, at least in my view, when they're swinging from the ropes or branches.

The rhinos were a big hit with the spectators.

They now share their home with the elephants for our easier viewing pleasure. Since moving to this space it seems like they are more active when we visit.

Check out these crazy animals that climb logs. They don't even cage these guys up. They seem to roam free all over the zoo!

The tricks that these elephants perform are always fun to watch and the facts we learn about them are pretty amazing.

Who needs a penny when you can stamp it with a zoo logo.

Anna wanted to take off and find the giraffes, so she and I snuck away while the others were were perusing the hyenas and foxes.

Then we came across the zebras.

The zebras were putting on a show for us without any coaxing.

Smile for the camera!

Once I tried to get the lion to smile with Mimi and Rachel he turned away. He wasn't having any of it. 

Park Day!

Since getting my point-and-shoot camera I rarely carry my big, heavy SLR around anymore, but I had a portrait session coming up and decided to wipe off the dust and practice a little when we headed to the park.

We met up with friends old and new and had a blast!

The sun was a scorcher, but it didn't slow anyone down.

Next to the playground is a little grassy area and pond where the geese like to graze.

I asked Rachel to pose for me and she happily obliged

There were children everywhere. How do you keep track of them all?

The light was quite lovely under this pergola, so naturally, I asked for some models.My goal, at the park, was to come home with tired children. I'll tell you now that I succeeded after they ran around all afternoon. ;)

Just before we left the children found the stage area and decided to sing Father Abraham. It was such a hoot to watch. They sang and danced until they couldn't stop laughing.