Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Because everybody needs a buddy. Our Rhode Island Red and our lone rooster.

This guy is going to be popular!

We bought seven chicks and a rooster. We are hoping to have fresh eggs by fall.

Birds

The kids and I spent today having fun together. We went a Lowe's workshop this morning where they each made a treasure box. We picked up a few more items or our garden while we were there. Then we were off to the nature center for bird day.

Little Lady had a mountain blue bird painted on her forehead, Crazy Fox went with a bald eagle (always his first choice when it comes to birds) and Digging Badger chose a mallard. They each made a nest complete with chocolate robin eggs and a bird feeder made from recycled water bottles. Then we went to the owl pellet station where they were able to dissect the pellet to discover what the owl had eaten. Crazy Fox really enjoyed this and glued all the tiny bones he found on a display board. They had a station teaching about different bird beaks for different types of food, a bird Olympics station where the kids could compare how fast they flapped their wings compared to a crow or a hummingbird. They all flapped 11 times in 10 seconds. Crows flap their wings 30 and hummingbirds 700 times per 10 seconds. Then they played a life size board game to teach about migration.

They were each banded for tracking during the game, but unfortunately after they were let free, they were all killed by a pellet from a BB gun, which brought the game to an abrupt end.

We walked around the paths, over bridges and along the creek. We had a wonderful day learning about some of God's creatures.

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Solomon

Fun with Dad

The Zoo Keeper was long overdue for a haircut, and with the weather warming up, he decided a short buzz was in order. I much prefer his thick, black, hair to be a bit longer, but I will be the first to admit that his hair is unruly.

The boys have been wanting to shave the Zoo Keeper's head for over a year. (They were going to surprise me when I got home from a weekend getaway last year, but ran out of time.) So the clippers came out and Crazy Fox got right to work.

Because the Zoo Keeper's hair was so long, he decided to have a little bit of fun with it.

Then it was Digging Badger's turn. He finished off the rest.

Who needs a haircut now?

Crazy Fox has apparently inherited his dad's wild locks.

Kittens

Spring is finally here and there is a new litter of kittens at the Thompson Zoo. They are about three weeks old. Their eyes have all opened and they are starting to play together. Each one has distinctive markings giving them character.

This is pinstripe. . . because he has a thin white stripe.

Here is dip stick . . .

. . . not because he isn't so bright, but because his tail looks as though it has been dipped in oil.

This is Skunk, or Skunkers and sometimes Stinker due to the white stripe that goes down the middle of his nose and back.

And this is Batty, the favorite kitten an cuddle victim of Little Lady. He has been held and squeezed and wrapped in baby blankets and carried and poked and loved more than any of the other kittens. He is a cutey, and he will probably be the best cat we have ever had if he makes it through his initiation period with Little Lady.

Hamburger Seeds

The following is a typical dinner conversation at the Thompson Zoo.

Little Lady: "These are hamburger seeds. We should plant them in the garden."

The Zoo Keeper: "What would grow if we planted those seeds in the garden?"

Little Lady: "Hamburgers!"

Crazy Fox: "Those are sesame seeds, not hamburger seeds."

Little Lady: "No, they are hamburger seeds".

Obo Addy

Last week we went to an incredible African drum and dance performance. We went to see Obo Addy. He is a Ghanaian drummer. The kids with amazed with the dancers. We went during a school performance so the whole auditorium was filled with elementary aged kids. Obo Addy engaged them and they were all clapping to the music and yelling along with the songs.

They have been making drums out of Tupperware containers and plastic wrap since then. It was something they will not soon forget.

He who cannot dance will say: "The drum is bad".

African Proverb

Diligent and Disappointed

Where have we been?

That is a really good question. For those of you who have been diligently checking for new and exciting posts, sorry to have disappointed you lately. There is one quick update for now, and then I am off for a weekend with a few girlfriends to get rested and recharged. Have a great weekend, I am hoping to!

The Big 0-8!

I can't believe our boys are eight!

Crazy Fox and Digging Badger celebrated their 8th birthday with a round of miniature golf. That is all they wanted to do. Grandma and Grandpa were visiting, so we all hit the links. I wanted to take a picture by the 8th hole sign since they are 8. There are about 25 different varieties of this same picture . . . apparently the boys are entering the "ahhhh mom" stage of their lives. Just smile and hold still.

On the morning of their actual birthday, we started our day with cinnamon rolls. Of course we put candles in them and sang happy birthday.

There is no better way to start a new year of life than with cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk.

Crazy Fox . . .My candles are sparking.

Digging Badger . . . Dude, your candles are bending, I'm glad I have my own cake.

The boys enjoyed their cakes and shooting their new BB guns with a few friends. What more could an eight year old boy want?

Migrating

Our family went to see the migrating snow geese a few weeks ago. We went to the local wetland bird reserve and were rewarded with a sight that we will not soon forget. "They" study the birds and can predict within minutes when they will land on this particular pond.

We got there a few minutes early and listened to the birds in the surrounding reeds.

Then, just as we had been told, lines of geese started flying overhead. If you looked in the sky it seemed that out of nowhere geese would appear in neat vee-formations. . .and then they were gone. Then they came back with more geese.

. . .and more geese.

They circled around the pond and then slowly, one after the other, flocks of geese were landing on this small pond. Thousands of geese.

It was an amazing thing to see.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they.
Matthew 6:26

The Historical Museum

We had a very exciting week while Grandma was here visiting. We have lots of pictures to share to get you caught up with all we have been up to. Grandma got here on a Monday afternoon and first thing Tuesday morning we went on a field trip to the local historical museum. The kids had a great time with all the items they could touch and try. They all keyed their names in Morse code, typed on a real typewriter, dialed a rotary phone, listened to a phonograph and saw a large collection of mustache cups. They also were having an apron exhibit and the girls got to dress up and try a few of them on. Then we went outside and they got to go in a caboose and saw a crane car just like the one in their model train layout. It was a fun and educational morning for us all.

Walgreen's: My New Favorite Store

I have never been a big Walgreen's fan. They occasionally have some good deals on photo processing, but for the most part I was never really impressed. . . until this month. My total for all this stuff was about $68.00. After coupons I spent a little over $10 and am awaiting a rebate for $14. I was recently reading over at http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ and I have been inspired to spend less even though everything seems to be going up in price. I think I have mentioned her site here before. It wasn't until I tried a few of the deals she had put together that I realized what fun it is to have the cashier tell you what a deal you got. I got 2 boxes of cereal, 2 rolls of paper towels, 2 razors, a refill pack of blades, 2 oust candles, 4 bags of M&M's, 14 chocolate eggs and 6 Easter basket toys for $10.34 out of pocket and another $14.00 coming to me by way of rebates. I have always been a coupon collector, and I have always been pretty price conscience, but let me tell you, we saw a major difference in our budget this month and it is partly because I didn't buy anything that wasn't at least half off, except for milk and gas.

As an example, there was a razor on sale for $5.99 plus a package of $6.99 refills free with purchase. I had two coupons for $2 off the razor or refills. I bought the two items, used two coupons and spent $1.99.

At her site, she has the best deals for the week all laid out for you, including links to print out coupons. It has taken a little extra time in planning, but the results have been amazing. I bought a lot of stuff I normally would not have even tried, but after the sales, coupons and rebates a lot of it has been free or nearly free. The plan is to stock up on items when they are on sale and then you should not have to buy them at full price. And if you have a CVS in your area, the deals there are even better.

Go checkout her site and let me know how your savings go.

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful morning celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the days that proceeded. Yesterday, as we sang a hymn that was new to me, I was overcome with the sacrifice that was made for me. As I sang the words, tears filled my eyes. Then I stood quietly and listened the our congregation sing of how Christ defeated death and how the debt for my sins has been paid. This is not news to me. I have known for 25 years that my debt of sins have been paid for. Yet, something about the way the tempo sped up and the assurity of those singing it grew in their voices, just took me in and I again felt the true gift that has been given to me.

I Peter 2:24

And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to

righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Puppy Love

Anyone who has talked to Digging Badger in the last year and a half knows that he wants a dog. A bird dog. A black lab puppy. The one he has saved every cent of birthday money and chore money and quarters he found in the parking lots for. This is all he talks about. "When I get my dog we are going to . . ." or "Can my dog sleep with me?" or "My dog is going to be the best bird dog ever. I am going to train him really good." Well, he has been saving and we have been doing research and realized that a papered, pure-bred, grade A dog would be around $700. He has about $300. He has been a bit discouraged lately about how long it is taking to save the money he will need.

Over the weekend we went to a kid's fair at Sportsman's Warehouse. (I'll post on that later). As we were leaving, as is quite common in the Sportsman's parking lot, there were puppies for sale. . . black lab puppies. So, as is quite common, we were persuaded by Digging Badger to "just go look at them". We did. We talked to the very nice couple that was selling them for quite a while and then made the call to the Zookeeper, who was at work. He is the one who is the hunter, the researcher and the final say in the purchasing of dogs. He talked to the sellers and asked them questions and agreed that we would drive out to their place and see the dogs for himself.

After a long, drawn-out, tearful goodbye to those pups we came home and dyed our eggs. And yesterday evening, we drove out to see those pups with the Zookeeper and guess what happened?

Two of them came home with us.

Digging Badger and his un-named pup.

Crazy Fox with his un-named pup.

Little Lady, being the good host that she is, showed the puppies all the toys in the backyard.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Barney did not want anyone sneaking up behind him pinching him on the rear end.

So this is the solution he came up.

Hope you all enjoyed searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We happened to have a beautiful view of the full arch of this rainbow the other day, but we didn't find any pots or any gold.

We have had a busy and exciting week with Grandma here visiting. I'll try to get some pictures up in the next few days.

Speedy Saturday

Today went by like a blur. We started out our day with the boy's first basketball game. They are having fun playing and learning about the game. Luckily, the league they are playing in doesn't keep score or they may have been saddened by today's outcome.

I have a whole week to figure out how to get my camera on inside-florescent lighting-dark gym-mode. There has to be one for that. I'll just look for IFLGD. Maybe next week I can post some pictures that aren't grainy and green.

After the game, we ran home for a quick change of clothes and a quicker bite to eat. We were off to the Awana Sparks-a-rama, again in a fluorescent lit gym.

This is one of the best pictures I got today. Pretty sad, I know.

This was the boy's favorite Awana game. It is called balloon battle. The point is to get the balloon to hit the ground in your opponent's area. They did a great job on this one.

At the end of the games, our team came in first place. See how excited they are.

And after a day like today I am ready to climb into my cozy bed.

I'm sure going to miss that hour of sleep tonight.

Hand Ankles

We were driving in the car the other day, and Little Lady started whining. This has been a high-whine week in our household.

She said, "Crazy Fox hurt me! He hurt my hand ankle."

Both boys started giggling and correcting her saying, "That is not called a hand ankle. It is a wrist. That's your WRIST."

But Little Lady was not convinced. She sat quietly for a short moment pondering what she should do and then said, "Mom, Crazy Fox hurt my hand ankle."

I am convinced that she has been staying up at night thinking of ways to talk about her hand ankles. There have been long, thought out stories with strange plots, just so she could say hand ankle. And other less dramatic ways, such as, "My hand ankle sure is itchy." Or "The cat scratched my hand ankle." There has never been so much dialogue about wrist's in this household. I hope nothing happens to her elbows, or things could get really confusing around here.

Here's a hand ankle tutorial by Little Lady. It takes a while for the buffering, but it will load eventually.

Another Beautiful Day in Idaho

The last week or so, our wintry skies have traded their dismal grays in for some beautiful blue hues. We have been having some deep blue skies filled with the kind of clouds that make you want to lay on your back in a grassy meadow and watch them blow by while imagining all kinds of shapes in them. Yesterday, we did just that . . . except that we don't have a grassy meadow filled with wild flowers and there is a icy cold breeze blowing. So we just bundled up and layed on our trampoline and let our imaginations run wild.

And while we were looking up, we noticed that our tree is changing. Those tight buds from a few weeks ago have started to burst into action. Any day now they should be sprouting fresh new green leaves, getting ready to provide shade for us in those soon to come hot summer days.

And the scent of lilac's blowing in on a cool afternoon breeze is right around the corner too.

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;

To-day the glint of green is there;

Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;

I know no thing so wondrous fair,

No miracle so strangely rare.

I wonder what will next be there!

~L.H. Bailey