Good times!

Life continues at a very fast pace around here.  We are busy and mostly happy.  Here's some pictures of our life as of late:

Kenneth spending time with Kate on a Sunday afternoon.

  

Our little angel.  Don't those blue eyes melt your heart?

The girls watching Cinderella one day when Grant and Daddy were working on a project.

The smallest babies roosting on the side of their box in the garage.  They are ready for a chicken coop!

Here is our one meat bird who is large as can be.  It is funny to me that the kids still want to hold them!  (Yes, that is chick poop on Arianna's shirt).

 

Arianna put her CTR ring on the baby.  Teaching her early.
 

Kenneth working out in the garden and Emma helping with Kate.



 

A morning in the garden= a happy morning

The garden progresses

The garden a few days ago.   So beautiful!



The chicken coop taking up half the garage a few weeks ago.

Work progresses on the coop

Working on the coop in the twilight and into the dark every evening after work.

We took the Saturday before last and worked the entire day on the coop.

The kids helped with the painting

The kids using the scrap blocks to build homes and creations.

Final touches before the birds move in!

 

Bringing the chicks from the garage to the coop

That one is almost as big as he is!
 

 

The ladies in their new home.

So, the coop is finally done enough to let the chicks live in there, but it is not completely done.  Kenneth still needs to cage in the run portion of the coop.  We are happy to have them out of the garage!
 On to some other pictures:

Here are my Mother's Day gifts.  I love the hanging flowers- they make me happy!

My Mother's Day card from Emma

My Mother's Day card from Arianna

 

My Mother's Day card from Grant

 

Last Sunday we all went out on the front porch to watch the storm come in.  We were lucky not to be in the path of any tornadoes, but we did have some fantastic thunder storms!

Before it got too heavy, the kids were running out in the rain.

When it started downpouring, Grant found a different way to get soaked.  Kenneth cleaned out that gutter the next day!

A few more random pictures:

The kids love to see what Kate will grab onto.  Here is our Patriotic baby!

Grant with his dark chocolate almond milk mustache.  He still has to wear the patch 2 hours a day for a few more months.

Arianna loves to help Kate stand

Kate trying to protect herself!  She's been tied up with the stuffed snake!

Wow!  That was a marathon post.  Congrats if you made it through.  I guess it's mostly for the Grandmas. . .  

Emma's Birthday Party- plus more chicken coop pictures

We celebrated Emma's Birthday on Saturday with a backyard party complete with a pinata and all.  Same as with years past, we did Emma's party family style- which we love.  Not only does Emma love it, but it is enjoyable for us, the parents, as well.  We had a great time hanging out with new-found friends here in Kansas and with Kenneth's cousin and his family, as well.  But, I must say, the whole thing also made me nostalgic for our friends back in California.  The last 2 years we celebrated Emma's Birthday with them.  Every time I think about those good times I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.  We miss you all so much!! 
The day went pretty well.  The last half hour before the guests arrived was spent by me doing girls' hair and nursing the baby, so needless to say I was running late in having everything ready, but that is about normal, I guess.  We have not yet gotten used to this Kansas wind.  The decorations were flying all over the place, the lettuce was flying off the trays and our smart Kansas native had to put a rock in the plastic forks' box to keep it from flying away.  We didn't even try to put candles on the cake.  Good thing we did that on her actual Birthday!  It was interesting, that's for sure.  At least it was sunny and not too cold. 
Here are some pictures of that fun day:

The party- we served sandwich makings and fruit and vegetable trays.

There were horseback rides to be had.

The best carrot cake, decorated as Emma requested.  There wasn't a lick of it left over (sniff, sniff).

The kiddos excited for the cake.

Lined up to get some cake!

The homemade pinata strung up over the tree.  Isn't Kenneth amazing for getting that rope up and over?!

Emma taking a swing (she is the artist of the beautiful butterfly picture on the pinata, by the by)

Grant man taking a mighty swing.

After it was knocked down Kenneth had them line up behind the rope.  Apparently Emma thinks she can work the system since it's her party!

And they're off!

Attack!

After the fun, Kenneth put the guests to work- carrying the coop into the backyard again.  It was out there before for the initial paint and then he moved it (with help) back into the garage for a while.

And it immediately turned into a jungle gym!

Hooray for the chicken coop!  A good ending to the party!

Happy Seventh Birthday, Emma!

Our Emma turned 7 years old last Friday!  I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about it.  (Well, I take that back.  This is about par for me.) 
Emma was born in Potsdam, New York.  It was such a gorgeous Spring day when she was born.  I remember driving to the hospital and seeing all the trees in bloom. 
Emma has lived in 4 different states in her young life!  (New York, Maryland, California and now Kansas)  Emma is such a sensitive girl.  She really cares about her siblings and parents and always wants to be helpful.  She is a good helper around the house.  She likes to set the table (many times without being asked), help make dinner, help with the yard work, help take care of Kate and much more.  Emma is very talented!  She reads so well and is doing great at piano.  We are so glad to have her as part of our family! 
Emma chose to have pioneer cereal for breakfast, homemade pizza for lunch and Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner.  She wanted lemon cupcakes with strawberries on top for her treat.  It's all about the food around here!  She had so much fun playing most of the day with the gift Kenneth and I gave her.  It was a set of bamboo trapezoid shaped mosaic blocks.  She did double school work on Thursday so that she did not have to do schoolwork on Friday, on her Birthday.  Before lunch we went to pick up two new chicks making the total of our flock ten now.  The kids were excited to have some new little ones to love.  After dinner, Daddy let the kids come outside and paint the chicken coop!  Boy, did they have a blast.  They stayed up way too late, but had the time of their lives! 

Here is her Birthday Interview:

How old are you today?  Umm, umm, 7

Do you have a nick name? Yes, Emily. 
What?! That's not your nickname.  Do you have a nickname that someone calls you? 
No.

What is your favorite animal? Horsey!

What is your favorite color?  dark pink

What is your favorite treat?  ice cream

What is your favorite food? pizza

What is your favorite song?  Book of Mormon Stories

What is your favorite movie or show?  Berenstain Bears

Who is your best friend?  Keaghan (a girl in her Primary class at Church)

What is your favorite book?  The Lonely Only Dog

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A farmer.
You never say that?!  I changed my mind, I want to be a farmer. 
Why?  Because I get to own horseys.

Who loves you the most? Heavenly Father

What is your favorite thing to do?  (Arianna in the background says, "Watch a movie") watch a movie
No, that's not your favorite thing.  What is your favorite thing?  Watch a movie.

Where is your favorite place to go? I don't know. 
Think about it, Emma.  (Daddy listed some places to go, including the zoo)  Zoo!!  Zoo!!  Zoo!!

What is your favorite toy?  horses

What is your favorite time of the day? the morning 
Why?  Because we get to have special breakfasts.

Emma, is there anything you would like to say on your Brithday? No.

Here are some pictures of Emma's special day:

Before Breakfast picture.  Gotta love Arianna's crazy expression.

The Birthday Caterpillar crawled in for a visit along with the Pioneer Cereal.



In case you are wondering, this is Pioneer Cereal.  My mom hates it, Kenneth thinks it's gross and the kids and I love it.  Yes, you top it with butter and cinnamon sugar.  You think maybe that's why we like it so well?!



The kids playing with Emma's birthday gift. They had so much fun all day!

Grant helped me make the lemon cupcakes, which had sour cream in them.  He loves sour cream and was delighted to lick the spoon and clean out the last bit out of the container!

Behold! The Chicken Coop. (mid-project)

The 2 new Americana chicks who joined us on Emma's Birthday

 

Daddy was able to come home for dinner (hooray!)  Many nights he is busy at work and misses eating with us.

Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner

The Birthday girl and her 'cake'.  She asked for lemon cupcakes with strawberries on top for her family Birthday celebration.

Grant found a piece of kale from dinner after he already started eating his cupcake and actually put it on his cupcake and them chomped on it.  I missed the shot of it on the cupcake, but got this! (See the green hanging out of his mouth?)

The chicken coop in the backyard for the first time.  The kids had fun climbing on it before dinner.

They were even more excited when they got to help paint it after dinner!

They painted out there for a really long time!  They were really into it. 

We didn't get them to bed until around 10 pm that night, but I think they will always remember helping Dad paint the chicken coop.

So, there you have it!  Emma is having a Birthday Party with some friends this Saturday, so I'll post about that when I get to it.  She is very excited.