Millie is TWO!

 Yes, Cinco de Mayo is Millie's birthday. She is 2 years old today. No longer a puppy. Of course we bought here a few treats. She got a tug of war rope, a Mr. Bill toy that says, "Oh no" - I didn't realize it would do that, and a football. 

Here we discover Millie growls if you hug her. She wags her tail and wiggles - but she growls. 

Stacia was a bit worried Mr. Bill would be destroyed in the first night. 

Millie didn't want her toy until Grandpa wanted it. Then she desperately needed to protect it. 

In other news, Michael finally had his sore tooth extracted in Anchorage. We drove up to Anchorage, I drove back and he slept the whole way home. I dropped him off and headed to Freddies for his meds. They told me the wait would be an hour, so I took care of grocery shopping while I waited. 

Allie had an engagement for a couple of hours this afternoon and I read/slept in the car. LOL 

Vets, Cookies, Chicks and Greenhouse Project

This Wednesday began differently than most. Allie and I moved Bible Study from Thursday to this morning due to upcoming scheduling conflicts.   I got Dad up, showered and settled with the paper and his breakfast and we headed out. We discussed the wisdom of impact in resisting temptation, and I'll discuss that on Friday with Stacia. 

A bit later in the day Millie visited the vet. They said they've been seeing a lot of doodles and they love the energy and bounce. Yay. LOL  Seriously, she settled down but it took a lot of help from Stacia and Allie.  Millie is scheduled to get spayed in June.  They asked me if it would be hard to keep her quiet for 2 weeks. Um? Did you say you know the Labradoodle breed? LOL They said they'd give us sedatives. 

Nolan and the girls watched an episode in some Marvel series they are watching. It's a challenge to find a time when all 3 are home and available at the same time.  One of the joys of being done with school is there a bit of time for things like this. LOL 

Stacia played around with her new flower nail and meringue. 

Both girls are sporting gifts from Kirsta LOL
Allie's shirt; Stacia's decorating tools 

Allie agreed to give it a try and learned a new skill.  

Michael worked off and on in the greenhouse building a shelf. It's hard to get good momentum going when we are constantly having to shuffle schedules - but we get it done. He had just started when he had to come in as we left for the vet. He worked more until we had to leave for Youth and Women's Bible study. 

Yes, we enjoyed our various church groups last night. And there are the chicks...always the chicks. 

Family and Chicks

Yep, that title about sums up the day. 

I stood outside the door at CoRielle's and heard, "Ba, Ba!" 

Danny recognized me when I drove up. He was calling my name - it's awfully close to "Baachan." 

I could not get Danny to take a nap today for ANYTHING.  After we read books, played with dinosaurs, picked up toys and had a snack, I suggested we walk to the park by their home. We simply can't get enough of being OUTSIDE. Benny was proud to show me his climbing ability on the climbing structure. 

King of the mountain

While he demonstrated, the slide caught Danny's attention. It was obvious HE wanted to climb on this structure. 

"I wonder if I could get up there?" 

Benny ran over and began to show him how to climb to the top. "Follow me, Danny, follow me!" 

Brothers for the win

Danny proceeded to follow him up each level. Benny was careful to make sure Danny didn't go near the edges and I followed along, ready to assist as needed, but they did it all on their own. 

I was most nervous about the sliding part, but it was slow enough it wasn't a problem. They were very proud of their accomplishment. 

"Baachan, come quick! My muscles are running out!" A very serious situation, for sure. 

I texted Arielle to be sure she would know where we were when she got home. We enjoyed a quick visit as we walked home. I left her with plans for lunch, nap and a library trip for the boys. Up next is a unit study on Pirates for Benny. 

Back at home I had lunch and saw Michael off to Anchorage for a consult at the Oral Surgeon. He will have a tooth extracted on Thursday. Nolan agreed to come up and be around with Grandpa, and the girls and I headed into town. 

Stacia had a "walk in" appointment at our medical clinic. My word. It took an hour before we went back to a waiting room.  We hopped on over to the library when we finally finished at the clinic. Now that the girls are done with school they need a few fun books to occupy quiet moments. We ran into Arielle and Benny. Cory was at home with Danny who was still napping. I wore him out. Poor baby. I can usually get him down for a nap. 

Michael wasn't home when we got home from town. I put pizza in the oven and went out to the greenhouse. Ah, the warmth! It does my tropical heart good to step into the greenhouse. I finished weeding both beds and will lay paper and compost tomorrow...or maybe I'll plant some seeds. We'll see. 

Michael got home, we had dinner, and watched a couple of episodes of The Chosen. We are enjoying the show.  Thanks to all who recommended it to us. 

I'll close with a photo of our growing chicks. 

Greenhouse, Grands and Chicks

 It's here! Look what arrived! It's an 8 x16 well-built greenhouse that will be attached to the old foundation/footer that Michael built.  The main purpose for this will be giving seedlings a home to grow in that won't blow away/over....or take over every space inside the house. 

It will also have a couple of small beds inside. Michael got busy making a shelf for one side of the greenhouse. We aren't sure if we'll want two. I'm also not sure if that front part he added will be turned into beds or just a bit of floor space for things. We'll play with it and see what we really want.  In previous years I grew cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, green beans and melons INSIDE...but since the four beds that had been plastic "greenhouses" were destroyed in the storm, I'm not 100% sure what I'll be able to grow this year.  Since these will be the warmest beds we are considering melons in the beds.  While Michael built a shelf, I started working on the packed soil in the beds. 

I am thinking of putting a weed block on top of the beds and then 2 - 3 inches of compost...or I may just add compost and deal with the weeds. I think it is going to be a challenge to weed under the shelves which is why I'm considering laying down a weed barrier on top of the soil. 

Arielle and the boys came over. Benny was raring to see the chicks. Arielle didn't remember HOW he knew we had chicks. Benny remembered the polo I sent the grands. LOL 

Danny was VERY excited. I didn't catch the wide "O" he made when he first saw the chick. 

The chicks are doing well. No splayed legs, everyone is alive and well...so much better than our last chick buying experience. The Barred Rocks continue to keep us laughing - they're the little black chicks. They are starting to fly and take running leaps into the middle of the pile of other chicks. 

The Golden Bovans are getting tiny feathers. 

Allie had an outing this afternoon. Stacia prepped dinner while I worked in the garden. It was a full day. 

Sunday Afternoon

Michael is filling in for Ed at Sunday School for a couple of weeks. We decided our best bet would be to take two cars this morning to church. We can't get Dad into the building where Sunday School is held so we wouldn't be able to attend the class and would just be sitting around waiting for others for 30 minutes... Two cars worked well. 

After church we had lunch and came home to find - these two in our driveway! It's always fun to visit with Jared and Larissa. 

Michael has spent the afternoon working on his project to extend the foundation of the greenhouse. I started weeding the beds behind him and realized my hands are not as strong as they've been in year's past. I thought about it and have decided to go after the weeds with a hoe and then cover the beds with newsprint or cardboard and put compost on top of that.... I'll tackle them in the morning. Maybe I'll just put the chickens in there after the greenhouse is erected. So many options...

Sometime this afternoon Stacia decided she wanted to go sit on the sledding platform now that there was no snow on it. 

📷by Allie

Millie fussed until we let her out - she had a great time romping around with the girls. The main purpose of including a photo where you can't really see PEOPLE is to point out there is NO SNOW LEFT in the back yard! 

This year's chicks continue to provide us with entertainment. Some of them are getting little feathers. The barred rocks (black ones) crack us up. They run and "cannon ball" into the middle of the feeder or group of others. 

This heating plate keeps them warm and toasty...at night all 20 of them cuddle under it. 

I am looking forward to getting more eggs again. I am envisioning baked omelets, quiche and breakfast burritos in the freezer for breakfasts.  Our current 10 are basically keeping Grandpa in eggs. 

More Tidbits from the Week

I love everything about this photo! 

There is something undeniably sweet about grandblessings...and a grandblessing with a baby chick? Spectacular. 

Here are a few things I did not take photos of....lunch with Jennifer to brainstorm Women's ministry and connect, Allie's final pediatric dental cleaning, Dad's dental appointment, Bible studies with both Allie and Stacia, impromptu date with Michael and progress on the foundation for the greenhouse. 

Our days are getting longer, and those who don't sleep when the sun is up are getting tired. LOL  I believe we are gaining 5 minutes of sunlight every day. 

Summer is just around the corner when the coffee drive-throughs are giving out summery stickers! Right? 

Loving my outside walks - when I can fit them in. 

We took the Fall/Christmas/Valentines/Iditarod/Easter tree down. The sun has certainly arrived, and we know longer need it's cheer to brighten the house. 

The chickens and Dash LOVE the day after food co-op. I often am sent home with a box of spoiled produce - not good enough to pay for - but plenty good enough for the animals. 

Pietro is too proud to scramble with the hens. He oversees their mealtimes! He's a great rooster. 

This is the boys' year to host Mr. Gingerbread, but he's happy to enjoy a sleep-over with Livie and Willow. 

Whenever I am going somewhere I invite a girl to come with me to drive. They are making great progress! This week we continued driving on our highway and around town. We added roundabouts, 4 way stops and busy parking lots which increase their parking confidence. LOL 

In other car news, Michael and Alex took the Vibe to Anchorage for repairs. We told the girls we'll get it running ship shape and then it's up to them to keep up the maintenance. They replaced the clutch, a valve of some sort, the flywheel and the rocker cover gasket. It runs great now.  This required two trips to Anchorage. 

We are so happy life groups have begun again. We are enjoying reconnecting with previous members and getting to know new members. Dinners are a great addition to the evening. It is making for much more natural relationship building.  The young adults are always quick to pull out a game. Tonight, it was a "head bandz" sort of game. We spend the first hour visiting, playing games and eating and then another 20 - 30 minutes discussing various themes centered around loving God and others well.  Members in our group range from 12 - 72 (81 if Grandpa decides to attend). 

Stacia was the first to take a stab at the Fred Meyers parking lot. 

On Saturday we transferred the chicks from the Rubbermaid tote to the newly repaired brooder. This is an ingenious design created by Michael.  They have much more room in here for food and water to be separated.  At night they all huddle under the yellow heat plate. It has a top and is secured when closed.  As they reach their "teen" stage, we open the top and they hop in and out and wander around the yard. 

It's wonderful to have the girls home tonight. They had a great time at KrUke's. They earned some spending money doing a bit of yard clean up for them. Krista planned to take the girls shopping for Christmas and it never happened.  Stacia enjoyed spending her budget at Metro Cook and got some really cool new toys.  Allie spent her budget at Burlington and came home with some fantastic summery dresses, shirts and a pair of sandals to wear with dresses. 

📷by Krista

Krista sent home a loaf of the most wonderful bread from Great Harvest Bakery. This led to an impromptu tea party where the girls shared all the fun stories of their sleepover with Krista. 

Check out the tea cup.  I had a local potter make them. She originally went white with a butterfly until I convinced her I wanted the same glaze/look she gives her mugs. They are GREAT. Each of the girls got one at our Christmas Adam Tea this year. 

OH! The girls turned in their final work samples for the year and I submitted their grades as well.  They will continue ASL and Japanese through the summer - that's how we learn languages...and we have one final Brit Lit Tea to schedule for next week. That's a fun way to bring the class and the year to a close. I do wish we had a local tea house.   It's been a great school year; and it feels really good to end the year early! LOL 

Jennifer, a fellow homeschool mom, shared these thoughts on Facebook as she finishes homeschooling her youngest. They speak to me as we begin planning for Stacia's Senior year.  "I've been so busy with the journey, that the ending has taken me by surprise. The days are long but the years are short."  I plan to stay fully engaged in the journey, but I want to remember to celebrate the milestones as we finish this family journey of homeschooling.....we do have several grands who are homeschooling, maybe I can offer myself as a pinch teacher.  I really am quite befuddled to realize this is our BABY'S senior year we're planning. 

It's Hard to Believe!

Bella has turned six years old! We celebrated her birthday today as Izaak was home. Isn't her dress beautiful? 

Gideon loves to help open gifts! It was fun to listen to their comments as they opened gifts. 

📷via BreAnne

📷via BreAnne

📷Bre's Facebook 

Jojo (17 months)📷by BreAnne

It's amazing to think back to how much has changed in the six years of Bella's life.