Ups and Downs

The days are finally getting shorter..... and cooler....the chores are getting fewer... and I'm finally starting to find time for myself.

What are these all signs of?

The beginning of SCHOOL!

yes. It's official. As of Aug 16th, Barbie Girl is in 2nd grade. I can finally relax.

I can finally get something DONE again.

I can take some more pictures again.

I can...

I can...

I can BLOG again!

Now, don't get me wrong. Our summer was good. It was full of ups and downs....lots of ups...and lots of downs.

We started our summer with our very first batch of home hatched chickies. We ended up with 15 new babies. UP.

We lost 8 hatching eggs to the rain waters. We flooded pretty bad. DOWN.

Big Dog came to spend a month with us and showed up just in time to see a new batch of eggs hatch. UP.

We drove to Arkansas to pick him up from the airport. DOWN.

We stayed at Grand Country Square in Branson, Mo on the way back home. UP

We spent the next day playing every miniture golf course we could find in Branson. Our own mini PGA gold tournament. UP.

I won the tournament. UP.

We came home to a drowned chickie. DOWN

The Mama and another chickie turned up missing a few days later. DOWN

The other batch of hatching eggs started hatching. 3 new chicks. UP

We took the remaining hatching eggs ( after the mama quit setting them) and put them in our incubator and hoped for the best. We were able to watch 2 chickies hatch out of their shell. It was way KEWL! UP

My garden took off like wildfire. There was veggies coming up everywhere. The kids were able to experience where veggies come from and how to havest them. We had a blast digging up potatos. Everything tasted SO GOOD UP

We had a great time visiting with Big Dog. UP

We did some dight seeing in a near by big City. A big storm came in as we were leaving. We end up side by side with a tornado on our way home. VERY FREAKY. A bolt of lightning struck so close to our truck that we felt the heat from it inside the truck. SCARY!

This was very awesome and freaky so I give it a UP and DOWN.

Big Dog had to go backto So CA. DOWN

We drove to Arkansas again. DOWN

As you can see...Ups and Downs. This was, by no means, all of our summer.

Big Dog moved to Tennessee after he returned to So CA. He started High School Aug 13th.

Barbie Girl tried my last nerves and lost her swimming privileges.

Our male duck Cheeps finally figured out that the white things running around yelling QUACK were girls and suited him better for mating than the chickens.

Cheeps also figured out we have a pond and what to do with it.

A coyote showed up and hung around snatching chickens every afternoon for a week. I lost my favorite hen Lucy. The new Mama and 2 babies another 1st batch chicky and 2 more hens. I hope it choaked on a chicken bone.

R.I.P. Lucy

So, the garden is done. The kids are out of the house. Mama can finally get some rest. and get out and take some more pictures!

See you soon.

V