Baby Chicks, Farm Days, Pinewood Derby

The "babies" arrived!

Born on Valentine's Day.

We welcomed these 6 chicks to our garage last week...Lily, Daisy, Red, Rosie, Pepper, and CreamPuff

(2 Americaunas, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Polish, and 1 Russian Orloff)

It amazes me how much of a personality these little girls have already.

We have a few more coming this week.

They are so sweet.

Ella is mother hen for sure.

She cuddles them, feeds them, and helps wash them off when they need it.

Their heat lamp is set pretty low for now because weather has been cold.

It can be anywhere from 5-10 degrees colder here than at our last house.  We've been scraping ice off our windshields in the mornings.  

At the feed store.  

Saddle up partner!

Adam and John driving the bobcat and grading the front driveway.

There is plenty of yard work to do around here.

Uncle David worked too which was a big help. 

John went to Pinewood Derby a couple of weeks ago!

There were 60 boys!!

He won 4th place in the entire stake and 2nd place in Webelos!  

You rock, John!

P.S. - Our grocery store now sells Fluff.  Hallelujah. 

Fun Times in January

Ella was introduced to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts...the weakness of the family.

We celebrated Adam's mom's birthday with the family!

Classic John and Ella behavior.

At Home Depot trying on boots...

Ella decided to wear skinny jeans AND and skirt to school.  

Eh...why not some boots too!?!

See John's face in the background?  Somehow he turned into a comedian overnight.

One of many family nights.

This was a Disney memory game given to us by dear friends Ivan and Nichole.

Adam looks exhausted because...well...HE IS.  Poor guy has been going non-stop for months.  Work, school, projects...he's a champ and in the final haul for a long-awaited engineering degree.

Hang in there, My Love!

Father

Your Potential

Happy New Year!

Before:

We've been going strong around here getting this property livable.

That's Adam and David pruning back the massive mesquite tree off the back house.  They were laughing so much that Mom and I were getting worried.  Apparently they had it "all under control" and now the house is free of tree limbs.  Thanks guys!

After:

Not quite finished yet, however.  

There are many things still to be done.

Mom's interior is near complete.  She had a full renovation done on the inside and it is fabulous!  

I will probably post more on my other website as time allows.

Ella performed in the Nutcracker Soiree just before Christmas as one of the party girls.

This shy little sweetheart turns into a diva on stage.  Who would've thought??

All she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth...a Lalaloopsy doll, and new boots.

John is now on the boys' club gymnastics team.  It is grueling work and he loves it all.

They work no less than 3 hours several times a week.  He is turning into quite a chiseled little man. 

His best skill right now is being the highest jumper in his age group.  From a standing position, he jumps as high as the teenage boys.  The coaches laugh with joy every time.  Go John!

Winter break was savored.  I loved being home with the children and spending time with them.  Time seems to be slipping from us so fast.  

John developed a huge infected lymph node and missed a few days of sports, but he recovered quickly with some antibiotics.  His face swelled so big he looked like a different child.  

He asked for nothing this Christmas.  

But we know John a little better than that.  He has been saving money for a trampoline...so we bought one for all to use.   The kids were thrilled!

And look to the left!  Mom purchased a meyer lemon tree for the future garden area! Delicious!

We anticipate many moments outside and lots of continued yard work ahead.

Happy New Year!

Errands with Mom

This video was eerily like my life...minus the minivan.

Oh well, I love it.

Holla.

Ella Ballerina