Lexi is really enjoying the new camera she got for Christmas. I find it funny that when I opened the folder where I put my pictures it was filled with hers as well! Many were some of herself which she took herself.....LOL Teens are certainly vain!
Here is a pic of Micah and Lexi I thought was rather nice...it's not too often they are getting along! :o)

Well, it's just as it looks, there is my little Jack in the box. We went to Sam's club and spent a pretty penny on a new deep freeze and a whole bunch of groceries. It feels so good to have a ton of food in the house! I got Jack a box of diapers and when I put them all away he decided he liked the box. I took this picture of him after he had been in there watching TV for a whole hour. :o) If Colby tries to sit in his box he has a fit! "MINE COLE-COLE!" LOL
I guess it's the simple things in life that make even Jack happy!

Yep, my blog is about Jack again! This time I got a pic of him with his very favorite toy from Christmas. He got so many cool things (Elmo tool bench, Diego car and toys, tools, remote control cars and on and on.) At Grandma's house though he fell in love with this old beat up phone and didn't care about any of the other presents! I think Granny must have gotten it at a yard sale because it's OLD. I think I had that very one when I was a little girl. Anyway, here he is talking to Daddy on his phone and having a grand old time. :o) Grandma let him take it home with him because after all, he did like it best! I meant to blog about this long ago but the phone was put in his shopping cart and he couldn't find it for awhile so it was forgotten. It's been remembered now!

It was high time Jack got another haircut and I didn't want to take him to the salon again because it was so embarassing last time! He really, really hates having a haircut and is terrified of the clippers and the scissors. I put him in his highchair and went to work with Micah holding his arms and Daddy holding his head. You'd think we were killing him the way he yelled! When it was all said and done I couldn't help but say "Oh no! He looks like Lloyd Christmas!" I think I got a bit carried away with his bangs and he wouldn't hold still so I had to keep cutting and cutting.....oh well, it will grow back!

Here is the biggest rooster mid-crow. I'm terrified of him even though he's never so much as batted an eyelash at me. LOL

This is my favorite rooster. :o)
I do believe he was posing for the camera here! LOL

Miley's New Spot!
This naughty kitty thinks she needs to lay right next to the computer on all the cords etc. We pretty much just let her go where she wants unless it's on the kitchen counter....I don't like pet hair in my food!

We finally went to a friends house today and brought home 6 new chickens! Driving there, I told the kids that Gale (my chicken group friend) said they could each pick one chicken to take home. I told them maybe we should only pick three so as not to be overwhelmed....but this changed of course when we got there and saw the huge assortment of chickens he had! He had every kind imaginable and we ran around trying to catch our favorites, petting them and just having a blast. (I'm probably the only crazy that has fun in a barn full of chickens!)
After all was said and done I had managed to smuggle two roosters home along with four hens the kids chose. :o) These roosters are sweethearts and didn't even try pecking me as I caught them. I made sure to choose one very large one so he'd be able to protect himself from Boss too. The other one is smaller and slimmer and really a beauty. The picture is of the smaller rooster and two of his hens. They climbed up to the top of the new roost Mike made me and made themselves right at home! The new black rooster actually is very brave and jumped onto the roost right next to Boss.....now that was a shocker.....and Boss didn't do a thing about it!
I'll have to see how things look out there in the morning once the sun rises and Boss actually see's he has some new competition! :-o

Here is a pic of my new piano in my new green room. :o) I'll be starting lessons in a week and wonder how that will go. I took piano lessons in third grade for about a year and can play by ear but am not so great with reading music.....time to freshen up! The good thing is, once I start my lessons I can come home and teach the kids all I'm learning and they won't need lessons of their own. Riley is expressing an interest (he plays trumpet now) and Colby bangs away at it whenever he's bored too. Lexi is still happy playing drums/bells and Micah played sax for a few years so we'll see if I can get them playing piano at some point. :o)

Here is the family pic we went with this year. :o) Yes, Jack was getting mad in the picture but it was between that one and one where Lexi looked drunk so we chose the angry Jack. LOL, it's way harder getting a good picture of 5 kids all at once than anyone thinks! I don't wish to do it again anytime soon.

Berlin Center Sunset
The other day I happened to glance outside to see if my chickens were in so I could go close their door and noticed the beautiful sunset. :o) Lucky for me I had my new camera to try out so took a few pics. This one is my favorite. Mike said it was really nice except for the fact that there was an ugly chicken coop in the background......LOL.

JACK IS FINALLY TALKING! :O)
This past week, Jack has really been trying harder to talk and I'm so glad! It used to be he'd point to everything he wanted or drag us to things or get really frustrated since he couldn't tell us what he needed. Now, out of the blue, he's suddenly saying everything we say. (Or trying to...LOL)
His latest words are coat, cold, no (he really couldn't even say no!) and cut. (Whenever he sees a knife, like at dinner.) He also is getting better with the other kids' names and yelled out COLBY yesterday instead of Cole Cole. I knew he'd learn to talk one day but not all at once like this! Every day he says a new word and it never ceases to amaze us. :o) And it only took him 26 months to start. LOL
Now if I could just get him to start saying "car" instead of "gee" and "candy" instead of "neh neh". He's said them this way for so long he isn't willing to change!
Time for Mike and I to clean up our potty mouths as well. :-0
I didn't have a recent picture to share of him since our camera went for a spin in the washer but here is one from a month or so ago at Grandma's house.

Three Hens A'Laying!
I just finished cleaning my chicken coop since it was a nice day and I wanted to give them some fresh hay. Much cleaner in there. LOL
We were excited to find another egg nestled in the hay in a corner of the coop. :o) This girl doesn't know to go in the nesting bucket so will have to be taught by the others. (Nesting bucket = large bucket on it's side with straw in it. The hens go in there for privacy and leave their eggs for me.) They aren't interested in being Mommies yet as they don't "set" on their eggs. They simply drop them and leave them. The kids keep asking me if one of them decides to go "broody" and sit on a clutch of eggs if I will let them have their babies or take the eggs away......I think I will let them have them!
Colby was asking for it though and got it! He decided to go in the pen and pet the girls and thought Boss would leave him alone. First he got spurred in the legs (since he was also wearing shorts....duh Colby) then he got pecked in the cheek and on the wrist. Poor kid never learns. I was smart and when I went in there to pet the girls took the broom with me. LOL
Like one lady in my chicken group likes to say......"For every pot a rooster". :o)
The above pic is of Boss as a baby....way too cute to do away with. :o( I never would have thought he'd grow to be the ugly thing he is today.

We Have Windows!
Well, Mike got up off his butt and finally put some windows in my chicken coop. Don't they look great? Now if I really get loony I could put some shutters on there in the spring and it will be the cutest chicken coop on the block. :o) The only thing holding me back on that one is we still need shutters for our own house. LOL, Chickens will have to wait for theirs.
I tried very hard to get some pics of Boss attacking me but it was hard to dodge him and hold the camera at the same time! LOL I will get those at a later date when it isn't so cold outside and Colby is willing to either take the pics or be attacked. :o)

All the kids had a fun time trick or treating! Micah stayed home and watched scary movies while the rest of us took on the rain and cold to get some candy. :o) Lexi went as a "dead girl" because we tried to dye her hair black with a rinse but it turned out grey. LOL she was trying to go as Kyoko from The Grudge. Riley went as a werewolf and Colby was a bloody scream ghost. I didn't get a pic of them altogether so will put one here of Jack in his dragon costume. He loved running from house to house and holding his pumpkin bucket up for treats until it got too heavy. Then he handed it to me and had Daddy carry him! He got so much candy I have to hide his bucket and only give him a few pieces a day or he'd dig through the whole thing and eat it all!

Today when Riley and I were coming home from the grocery store we were talking about the chickens and eggs. I asked him, "wouldn't it be funny if when we got home and reached into the chickens' nest buckets there were three eggs in each one???" We both thought that would be pretty cool since we only get one egg a day. Well, when we got home I hurried out to gather my ONE egg and it was pretty dark so I couldn't see in the bucket......I reached in and there were two eggs instead of one! (Not exactly three in each bucket but I was still shocked!) I had a smile plastered on my face the rest of the night! The simplest things in life make me happy I guess!
Woo hoo! Two hens are a'layin' now! :o)

Jack's birthday party was yesterday and he had a blast! His favorite gift was a restored tractor Grandpa fixed up for him that use to be Daddy's. Mike said he had that tractor since he was 4 years old and use to ride it full speed down a hill on a busy street! I think we'll let Jack ride it in the driveway for now! LOL

Yesterday was Lexi's birthday party and she had a bunch of friends over for volleyball playing and a barbeque. I can't believe she is 13 years old now! Where did all the years go? Five more years and she will be off to college!
She had a fun party and I was able to meet a few more of her friend's Moms so it was a very nice day! Of course, I'm worn out now and am thinking a second cup of coffee doesn't sound so bad this morning...... :o)
Happy Birthday to my Buddha Lex! (The nickname that has stayed with her from her buddha baby days, LOL)

Yesterday, Jack refused his nap. I tried everything, even taking him on a drive since we had to take Micah to work. Nope, he wasn't falling asleep. By 9:00 pm he was running around like a mad man with some kind of third wind. He was VERY tired but Daddy just happened to be lying on the couch where I usually hold Jack and let him play with my hair while he falls asleep. I begged and pleaded with Mike to "please, PLEASE go up to bed so I can do my nightly holding of the tired Jack" but he said "just let him sit here with me for a minute". *sigh*
I agreed and retreated to my computer to check some email. After about 15 minutes of quiet I wondered what was up and went in to check on them......the picture above should explain what I found. LOL! Mike got him to sleep for me! :o)

I had to blog about Riley's birthday! He's 11 years old now and turning into a nice young man. :o) We had a small family party with just us and Grandma Violet made him a Bart Simpson cake which made us all smile! She actually bought a Simpson's magazine and copied a pic of Bart since she couldn't find any in the store.....way to go Grandma! She always does a great job with all the kids' cakes and even made one for me with a frog on it. :o)
Riley had a nice birthday and got a skateboard, a few books, money and a few new game cube games. Mike and I still owe him a pair of roller blades since this is what he wanted from us but we couldn't find his size. I better get him some before it snows so he can enjoy them for a little bit!
How do you like the big purple candle? Of course none of us remembered to buy candles so we had to use a lavender scented votive which I found in the cupboard.....LOL, Riley didn't mind and thought it was quite funny!

I am excited for the month of October! I really enjoy most of the things Fall has to offer.....caramel apples, apple cider, school for the kids, (LOL) Halloween, pumpkin carving etc. etc.!
Around this time last year we went to a farm which offers a nice tractor ride through beautiful trees etc. out to a pumpkin patch which stretched as far as the eye could see. The kids had fun wandering around picking their very own pumpkin to carve and we had fun watching Jack pick one for himself as well. Then of course, Mike had to buy the biggest pumpkin he could for cooking and canning. I really don't think we'll do the canning again this year though! When they're done picking pumpkins, there's a small store to browse in and get other garden veggies along with candy and cider. Fun for all of us! I can't wait until we go again! :o)

Here is the newest member of our family, Miley Kitty. :o) Mike found her in a tree and her whole chin (skin) was just......off. (Her mouth is actually closed in this pic, it just looks open!) Poor thing looks surprised! My first thought when I saw her was to put her out of her misery at the nearest animal shelter but Mike had other ideas. He told me "this cat is fine, it just needs a few stitches thrown in!" Hmmmmmm. True, she had stitches, two rounds of antibiotics for a cold and now is starting to slowly heal. She really is a sweetheart too. We have to keep her in Lexi's room because Jack is too rough and so is the dog. :o( Until she gets bigger and can get away she isn't allowed downstairs unless the dog is outside and Jack is napping. We let Jack pet her last night and she actually likes him! He picks her up and puts her in his little shopping cart and pushes her around. *sigh* When she jumps out Jack patiently says "Ditty no!" and puts her right back in. I think Jack loves the fact that this kitty doesn't run away from him like Luna does! Luna took a few hugs and pats from Jack and that was enough for her! :o)
Now we just have to get all her shots and have her spayed and we're the proud owners of a new kitty! (Why do I get myself into these things?)

Jack's Latest and Greatest
The past couple of weeks, Jack enjoys finding our shoes, putting them on and then wandering around the house. I remember well when Riley did this also. I've always wanted to capture a picture of him because he always looks so cute in our shoes and so proud of himself. Today, he got my new white flip-flops, lined them up neatly and stepped into each one. (Even getting them on the right feet for heaven's sake!) Then, my moment came to grab the camera and get a few pics of him clomping along.........
Ahhhhh I love these cute moments! (Yesterday he wasn't nearly as cute when he grabbed a handful of my hair and tried to tear it all out! Ouch!) I still haven't fully forgiven him for that one!

Well, I got Lexi and Riley back home from their visit with their Dad. It's always interesting to see what's going to happen after they've been gone for six weeks in the summer. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened yesterday and we actually had a nice day! They got home and ran right outside to see the chickens....staying only a minute as it was sooooo hot. Then they ran all over the house making sure things were as they left them. :o) We tricked them and didn't tell them we'd got the new mini-van so they were excited about that. Riley said he liked the fact that it had "universal cup holders". LOL Kids think of the darndest!
One thing definitely made me smile yesterday besides getting them home safely. While I was driving along, listening to all their summer activities, Riley looked very serious and said "Mom, I really like how your hair curls". I was taken aback a bit because my kids don't usually compliment my hair. LOL. When I asked him why, he said "well, whenever we need to find you (this time he meant in the airport when they were watching for me at the gate) all I have to do is look for your curly hair and it's easier to find you". Awwwwww! I told him that was a great idea! He did say he saw a few others with curly hair but he really knows mine. :o)
Now I have a lot on my plate! More laundry, more cleaning, more cooking, more spending, more driving them to their friends' houses and on and on. I told Mike I was going to get overwhelmed after my break and he said "you shouldn't have had five kids then." I guess he does have a point.....but I wouldn't change it for the world.