Proven wrong

Sure, I post an entry about the chickens being afraid of going outside and what do they do? They prove me wrong! Just this weekend, they began to spend some time outside and some of them really seemed to enjoy it. Several of them even tried grass (or chicken veggies as my oldest daughter calls it now) for the first time.

Pepper, the cat, took a strong interest in watching the chickens outside.

Growin' food

We planted a garden this weekend. The girls had a blast helping. So did the cats, though they weren't exactly helpful. More like furry obstacles with claws.

I am not sure how well our garden will grow but hopefully we get something to eat from it. When we bought seeds, my four-year-old kept proudly announcing to everyone we saw that we were going to grow FOOD! I don't want to disappoint her great enthusiasm. Plus, gardening is a lot of work so it would be nice to succeed. 

Smoky being "helpful"

Making "pea tee-pees"

Planting seeds

What About the Chickens?

We still have all our chickens, I am proud to say, despite serious attempts by our cats to diminish their number.

We have tried to give the birds a happier life by letting them experience the great outdoors now that the weather is nicer but they aren't so sure it is that great. I guess they are kinda chicken. Ha! Sorry, that was bad but it does seem to be true.

 
 We set up a temporary outdoor run until we can fence their permanent area and build the coop. Hopefully that will be soon now that the ground is thawing. 

The chickens are now about two months old. As you can see, they grow fast but my girls still enjoy holding and petting the birds. So far, the birds are still pretty friendly, though not overly fond of being handled. 

More Kids on the Way

Our little boy

Yes, we have more kids in our future. They are not the two-legged variety, however, but rather the four-legged kind. We are getting goats. Our (goat) kids were born in early April and we went to the farm to pick one out. The kids were only two days old at the time! So precious! We chose a little black and white boy. He has a black head, black bottom, and white middle-an "Oreo cookie" goat. (I love Oreo animals!)

At the time of our visit, 7 of the 8 kids were boys. We also wanted a girl but chose to wait and see if more girls were to be born. More girls were indeed born and all have a brown head and white body so we will be getting one of those too. We likely won't see our girl until we go and pick them up but I am sure she will be cute.

Cute kids

A calf, not a goat

My oldest daughter had so much fun visiting the farm. There was a beautiful golden retriever there with which she played fetch. There were chickens and cats to pet. We even went into the sheep and cow pen so we could pet a calf. She wasn't so sure about being so close to the noisy sheep (it hurt her ears) and the stinky calf. Once I taught her to breathe through her mouth though, she was just fine with the calf. She said its stinkiness reminded her of her sister's dirty diapers.

Now we just need to pick out names for our two kids. Any ideas? Let us know! We have about a month and a half before they will be coming to their new home so we have some time to come up with something but we could always use some help to find some creative names!

Something's wrong with us

Seriously, there is something wrong with us. We are not normal. But that is okay. I think being normal would be scary boring.





Our Monday night consisted of moving a refrigerator and a horse. Earlier in the day, I chased my children down a long hallway while carrying cake. Not an easy task, mind you, but I had to stop my two-year-old from escaping down the elevator. She really knows how to push buttons.

 Why was I carrying cake? I was delivering a cake as part of a volunteer program that provides cake to financially and socially disadvantaged seniors and kids. It is one of the ways I like to help others. I enjoy decorating cakes and it is a great opportunity to volunteer with little ones around. However, I did find that the actual delivery of cakes with little ones can be tricky! But I hope you enjoyed your cake and had a happy 92nd birthday, Earl!


If you want to help out, check and see if there is a Birthday Cakes 4 Free chapter near you!

Ka Boom!

Today was a fairly windy day. We have had lots of those but I mention it today because this time the wind made sure it knew how strong it can be. It knocked down one of our larger trees.

Earlier in the day, I had thought I had heard something that sounded like a crash but I didn't see anything when I looked out the window so I assumed that what I heard was just a big truck rattling past on the road. Apparently my view of the tree was blocked by another tree so I didn't notice it until my husband came home and noticed the fallen tree.

Good thing he just bought a chain saw! And a big chain saw, too!

Driveway Adventures

Beware the Fe Fi Faux Farm driveway! We have almost hit deer in it, many people have gotten their cars or trucks stuck in it, a few have missed our driveway and ended up on the nearby bike trail, and it just keeps getting more interesting. When we moved here, we had no idea how much excitement and entertainment this driveway could provide.

This winter, we decided to replace the aged refrigerator that came with the house. We wanted one that was more spacious and efficient. Plus, we wanted ice. What does this have to do with the driveway, you ask? Well, we bought a new one and had it delivered. First, the poor delivery men missed our driveway. I saw them drive past and about five minutes later, they came creeping back down the road, searching for our elusive drive. Once they found us, they attempted to back up the hill portion of our drive. They failed. So the poor men took several trips up and down the driveway to haul some of the fridge parts to the house. That left the fridge itself. They had to push it all the way up the driveway and I heard them mumbling, "We'll, this is a first." I may have felt a little bad for them but not bad enough to refrain from snapping a picture!

Today we discovered that the police sometimes use it as a speed trap. We saw a police car pull into the driveway, turn around and then simply sit at the end, waiting. He even caught a couple speeders so don't speed past our house or you might get caught! At least we are slowing down when we approach our driveway so we shouldn't get caught speeding. That would be embarrassing!

Another thing we discovered in our driveway was a mini whirlwind. As we walked down the driveway to go take a walk on the nearby bike trail, a huge gust of wind blew and created a mini tornado, heading our way. There was no escaping it and it enveloped us quickly, snatching our youngest daughter's hat clean off her head and throwing it up into the top of the swirling vortex. Fortunately, Daddy took off after it and was able to catch the hat again after the dust devil dispersed. It was kind of crazy to see but the kids were not as impressed as they were too busy rubbing dirt out of their eyes.