Rock Paper Scissors

Christian recently learned Rock, Paper, Scissors. He is now teaching to everyone he plays with including his brother. Liam decided to take a more literal interpretation of the game and brought an actual rock, piece of paper and pair of scissors to the kitchen table to play the game.

Portland to Coast Relay

Friday and Saturday I participated in the Portland to Coast Relay with a 10 person team. We are supposed to have a 12 person team, so that meant the three other people and myself got to walk three legs of the relay instead of two.
We started at 4:45 am Friday in Portland by on the East Bank of the Willamette River and ended Saturday about 9:00 am in Seaside, Oregon on the beach.
It was a lot of fun, but I was sure sore and very tired. I don't even remember falling asleep last night.

Love at first hug

We went to visit a friend today who has a litter of five week old puppies. Liam fell in love. Maybe when he is older, he can have a puppy.

two boys and a bunny

fun new kit

Lindsay Jane Designs has a fantastic new kit - Art & Craft. It is a has bright colors and lots of art elements. Great for kids art photos and back to school. It also goes great with her Art 101 kit that released last fall. I have used that kit so much over the last year.
I used Hillary Heidelberg's Scallopini template for the finger painting layout.

Preparing for Winter

The forcast for today and Wednesday is for weather in the 90's. Even though we are in some very hot weather, I am still preparing for winter. I am knitting myself a scarf. I am still learning how to knit, so it is kind of a scarf and sampler all in one. I am hoping to have it done in time for our trip to Montana in October.

The Flu

The boys and I caught the flu. We have been down and out since early last week. The fevers seem to be gone, but we still have bad coughs and the energy levels are still low. We are resting and trying to get well before the next heat wave is due to strike mid-week.

changes in the hen house and a new header

One of our younger chickens revealed his true identity as a rooster Sunday Morning. First thing on Monday, the rooster and two of our older hens who have not been laying for several weeks took a trip to the butcher. The young ladies still out there should start laying eggs in the next few weeks. With all of the staffing changes out back, I decded it was also time to update my blog header.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

We are raising our Thanksgiving Turkey again this year. She is four weeks old. She will gain 10-15 pounds before her special appointment in October. Raising our own is much cheaper than buying an organic one from New Seasons and we really know that she enjoyed a good and happy life. We can also fill her with summer fruits and veggies.
She is living in the hen house. It is funny how you can toss any random bird in there, and the chickens just accept them as one of their own. There was a little pecking at first, but it is better. The turkey has a big surprise for the chickens since she will be twice as big as they are in a few weeks. The turkey will always accept the lower place on the pecking order despite her size.

Holt Campout

We returned last night from five days of camping in the Oregon Dunes. It was with a large group from Holt International, which is the adoption agency we worked with when we adopted Christian. I have to say that I like camping with a group (with many kids) better than going alone as a family.
The kids had unlimited playmates. We shared several community meals, so instead of preparing full meals, I just had to do one dish. The park we were at has sand dunes and lakes. It is great for hiking, biking, swimming and many other things.