Grandma and Grandpa's Visit, Bike Riding, and the First Day of School!

Brace yourself for an epically long blog post! I will cut the text short because there are so many pictures!

My parents have been visiting for the past week, and we have all had a great time together! Maya has loved styling Grandma's hair, though she suggested that she should also give her "just a tiny haircut" one time. We kept the scissors hidden away, and Grandma's hair remained intact. :)

The day after they arrived was "Meet the Teacher Day" for the incoming kindergarteners. Maya already knew her teacher, since she often came with me when I volunteered last year, but it was fun nonetheless. And Niko stayed home with my parents so we could do it as a mommy-Maya thing.

We went on a lot of walks while they were here... this was one we went on back behind our house, by the old hospital:

Then, on Saturday, Niko had his karate belt test. He did awesome! And he is now officially an orange belt-- look out, world!

After the test, we went over to check out the street fair in the next town. Niko was particularly enamored with the slot cars, and he begged to play. Grandma and Grandpa ponied up a few bucks, and then the kids WON! He even got a medal. He was so proud! :)

On Sunday, we spent much of the day hanging out at the state park, fishing and relaxing in the shade. The bugs weren't bothering us much, we had a nice shady spot, and it was really peaceful!

We went to dinner that night at the Old Mill, to celebrate everyone's birthdays (since they are visiting in between kid birthdays this year):

And I took this picture of how Cookie sleeps at night... Snuggled up with Mary Poopins (or sometimes Attila). Our happy chicken family!

On Monday, we climbed a mountain! We made it to the summit of our local mountain! Granted, we started only about a quarter if a mile below the summit, but the kids had a blast hiking up the steep, rocky trail. And it was short enough that we didn't get tired (Niko was ready to do it all over again!)!

On Tuesday, we went hiking again... This time we went to a place in the next town I had never been to before, not realizing that it had Actual Hiking Trails! The kids were stoked! I hiked in my flip-flops, but it was fine!

And Maya repeatedly visited the chickens, especially Cookie, who is seriously the sweetest chicken ever!

AND... Maya suggested we go to the track to practice riding bikes, so we jumped on that! She vowed to do her best and "not freak out!" She did SO AWESOME!!! She earned a trip to the frozen yogurt place AND a new, bigger bike. We are so proud!

And that brings us to TODAY... the day BOTH my babies went off to school on that big yellow bus! They were both nervous this morning... Niko was just nervous about being a full-day student, as opposed to half day. Maya was nervous about the whole thing.

I told them to sit together on the bus, but that all fell apart when the driver told Maya to sit at the front (she was keeping tabs on the kindergarteners). Maya looked so lost and sad.... I almost lost it. And then my parents and I went out to breakfast, but I asked my dad to take a detour over to the school to see what we could see... And we saw a smiling Maya, standing on the sidewalk with her teacher and her buddy, Liam. SUCH A HUGE RELIEF! I felt much better. I knew Niko would be fine, but I was worried about her.

And I really shouldn't have worried, because both kids had fantastic days today! Maya loved kindergarten, made a few friends, and is excited to go back tomorrow. Niko was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had a few other buddies in his class, and seemed to really enjoy his teacher. Plus he had recess and lunch and GYM class (the icing on the cake!). Both kids seemed to have enough energy afterwards, with no meltdowns and lots to talk about. They capped off their afternoon by getting into their swimsuits and running in the grass while I sprayed the hose at them. And then we had a huge thunderstorm! All in all, it was a great day. And I can rest easy tonight, knowing they are excited to go back tomorrow!

Totally unrelated, but I must share these videos. Gus made a swing for the chickens: And Maya has nearly mastered the art of hula hooping. This summer, she has learned to tie shoes, tell time, make her own breakfast, ride a bike, braid, and now this! She rocks!!

The Missing Piece

Our flock is complete! Gus brought home our fourth (and final) chicken last night... A ten-month-old Ameraucana hen who has been dubbed "Mary Poopins":

She is quite a bit older than the others, and is already laying eggs (though we didn't get one today... boo!). So, we really had no idea how the chickens would all get along. The expression "pecking order" exists for a good reason, as we learned when we introduced Barbie Q. into our old flock. The other chickens would attack her, so we had to slowly get them used to her in a way where she was still protected from them. Truthfully, it was a pain in the butt. We were really hoping that, since all the chickens were new to our house, that they might not be super territorial yet. And we were especially worried about little Cookie (sweetest baby chicken EVER!), because she would be the obvious target, being the smallest.

Anyway... We put Mary Poopins into the run with the others, and at first they all just stood there, checking each other out. A few minutes later, Harriet Potter came over to her and pecked at her once-- but was PROMPTLY put into her place by the much larger, older Mary. And that was pretty much it. I think it was clear to everyone that Mary was the Queen Bee. And she's an excellent leader-- she lets Cookie snuggle with her, unlike the other two. And she doesn't pick fights. Really, she was exactly what we needed! She seems to have unified all of them. By sunset last night (just over an hour after being introduced!), this was the scene out of our dining room window.

Can you see Mary? She's on the bottom. Everyone wanted to snuggle on top of her, haha!

Still, it was late, and they hadn't known each other very long. We tucked the three original chickens into the coop, and Mary spent the night in a separate cage with a little nesting box. Just in case they decided they didn't like each other after all. We didn't want little Cookie getting hurt!

Today, however, the lovefest has continued. The four of them were together all day long! They rested on the sand and preened themselves, they all ate together at the feeder, and Cookie ran all around Mary (under her, in front of her, under her tail...) without bothering Mary in the slightest. Here's just one quick cell-phone shot... but they did this all day! No fighting. Happy little flock!

Anyway, we put them all to bed in the coop together tonight, and everyone settled down right away. Yay! Gus says the true test will be to see how they behave when they wake up in the morning and are cooped up together, but I would be shocked if there's an issue. They all seem to like Mary Poopins, and she seems to be calling the shots. And she's a nice chicken. So that worked out really, really well!

And one more chicken picture, just because. Cookie is seriously the cutest chicken in the universe. The others are friendly, but I think Cookie thinks she's a person. She comes running over to any of us when we go out there, peer-peep-peeing like crazy. She is super easy to pick up and snuggle, and genuinely seems to enjoy it. Like when Maya cradles her like a baby. No fussing whatsoever! Exhibit A:

Anyway, these chickens are already a lot of fun, and we are anxiously awaiting Mary Poopins to pop out her first egg! She might not have laid today because of the stress from moving to a new home, but we are hoping to get an egg tomorrow! And it should be BLUE! I can't wait!

Chickens!!!!!!!!

That's right... we have CHICKENS again! After a several-month hiatus, the coop was finally almost ready as of last weekend. Some of the improvements included completely fencing in the area beneath our upstairs balcony and adding a gate, and raising the coop itself up off the ground to give the chickens more space in their run. Bonus: we can now reach the nesting box out of our dining room window, which will be great for collecting eggs during the winter months!

Anyway, it was all set last weekend, except that Gus wanted to get about 2.5 cubic yards of sand to put in the area. Which, by the way, translates to about FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS of sand. Which really isn't THAT much-- sand is just really heavy. And he found a place not too far from here that was very cheap-- he just had to make two trips. The two of us ended up shoveling all that sand out of the bed of the truck, into the chicken run, and then spreading it out (which was basically like shoveling it a second time). It was EXHAUSTING. But we did it, and were officially ready for chickens!!! Meanwhile, Maya found a frog in our yard and shocked us by just picking it up. This child really loves ALL critters. She even got Niko to hold it... eventually. haha!

Anyway... Gus had already arranged for us to meet a chicken farmer who lived about 45 minutes away, because he had Marans chickens for sale. Marans chickens are known for their dark brown ("chocolate") eggs. I really wanted one. And this guy ended up being an exclusive Marans producer! He keeps about 1,000 chickens at any time, but has WAY more than that because he sells them. He's retired, and was eager to show us all (especially the kids) his whole operation. We saw hundreds and hundreds of the cutest little chicks! But we weren't there for chicks-- we needed a chicken who already had its feathers and could go outside. So he took us down to the shed where he kept those, and we got to watch him catch one for us. Meet Cookie, the 8-week-old Blue Marans chicken!

A funny story... Maya really wanted to have another chicken exactly like her beloved Hanky. We were actually having a tough time finding one for sale. She also planned to name her new chicken Hanky. Not Hanky Jr. or Hanky #2. Just Hanky. We were trying to talk her into getting a different type of chicken, or at least choosing a different name! But she wouldn't budge. Until, of course, she laid eyes on Cookie and announced that she was the cutest chicken in the world. And she came up with the name all on her own. So it all worked out!

Anyway, both kids ADORE Cookie. She's so tiny that she is easy to hold and snuggle, and they aren't the slightest bit afraid of her. She's also so tiny that she can actually squeeze out of the fencing. Yeah, that was a fun surprise! She won't be able to do it much longer, but she can get right out! I fastened some bird netting around the outside of the fencing, and it helped. But Cookie is quite a little Houdini! And the kids can't get enough of her. They spent HOURS outside today, just taking turns holding Cookie. We had to make them STOP so the poor thing could catch a break! Cookie is very loved, to say the least.

This morning, we planned to get at least two more chickens. Gus had found a lady on CraigsList who had ordered the "Rainbow Layers" variety pack of chicks from a reputable online hatchery. What this means is that they sent her 15 unidentified chicks, guaranteed to be from at least 5 different species and also guaranteed to lay a variety of different egg colors. She told us she was fairly certain she had some Ameraucanas for sale, as well as a few types that laid white eggs. True Ameraucana chickens lay BLUE eggs... I wanted one really badly! Anyway, I'm not entirely convinced that what we got was an Ameraucana, but she should lay interesting eggs nonetheless. And since we were there, we picked up a really pretty Silver Spangled Hamburg hen, who will lay white eggs. Introducing Attila the Hen (the all-white "Ameraucana") and Harriet Potter (the Hamburg)!

These ladies are about 6 weeks older than Cookie, and are a LOT bigger. But they all got along just fine! And, bonus: Attila and Harriet can't walk through the fencing, haha!

We still want to get one more chicken, but we're waiting for the right variety to come up for sale on CraigsList. Or we could end up getting one from the fair in a few weeks-- we'll see! But our flock is three-quarters of the way there!

Story Land and our Staycation

It's been a busy week! Our trip to Story Land went great. The 3+ hour drive up into New Hampshire's White Mountains went fairly quickly, and the kids had no idea where we were going until we were about 20 minutes from the amusement park! We went straight there, since they have a deal where you can come to the park after 3pm, stay until closing, and then come back the next day on the same ticket. It was nice to have a few hours to check the place out and get the lay of the land. As we expected, Niko took a little while to warm up to things, so that extra time was helpful for him, too. But by the end of the first three hours, both kids were super excited to come back the next day!

Once the park closed at 6pm, we grabbed some pizza for dinner and then went to check into our hotel. The kids were so thrilled that there was an indoor pool to play in, so they quickly changed into their suits and went for a swim! While swimming, they noticed the (free) 9-hole mini golf course on the property, so that was next. We all went to bed around 10pm, and the kids slept well (I didn't, but I have this thing about pillows that are too fluffy... I should have brought my own!).

The next morning, after showering and eating breakfast, we made it back to the park in time for the 9:30 opening. Because we already had our tickets, we didn't have to wait in the loooong line to get in-- we got to go in through a different entrance, which meant we had the park almost to ourselves for a while! Both kids had been begging to ride on the antique cars, so we went there first (and again several more times...). After that, we were going to go on the log ride, but Niko decided it was too scary and too wet. So Gus and Maya went on it, though she didn't particularly like it. The rest of the day was a blur of rides! We went on tons of them together, but Maya was even brave enough to go on the BIG ride-- a wooden roller coaster that I actually felt was too scary, too (and I like roller coasters!). She cried after that one because it was SO scary, but she recovered quickly. I was impressed that she even wanted to go on it in the first place!

Anyway, here are a bunch of photos. They are pretty self-explanatory, I think!

We stayed at the park ALL DAY... we walked out just a few minutes before it closed at 6, grabbed a quick dinner at the Dairy Queen down the street, and then drove home. It was exhausting, and the kids were wired (WAY overtired but refusing to sleep), so that was super fun. ha! Still, we made it! And both kids have been saying how much they want to go back, so maybe we will do it again next year! Maybe we will even stay longer-- that whole area is so pretty. It's right around the corner from where we went camping a few weeks ago. Big mountains, beautiful lakes, and dense forests-- can't complain!

In other news... our butterflies had emerged from their chrysalides earlier this week, and we decided it was time to release them the other day. It was great! They didn't all fly out at once-- instead, they came out one at a time, and most of them landed on the grass nearby. The kids were able to hold so many of them! They LOVED it!

We've also been hard at work on home improvement projects, since Gus took the entire week off. Our screened-in porch is now, in fact, screened in! It is all cleaned up and bug-free! So we have a nice outdoor space that we can enjoy without being eaten alive by mosquitoes, which is great. I did all of the work on the screens themselves, but Gus made the door. The trim around the windows still needs to be painted, and I am going to make vinyl window covers so we can still use the porch in the winter, but look at it already! I really want to get some nicer furniture for out there, but our old patio set will suffice for now.

Once he finished the door for me, Gus finally resumed work on his chicken coop. And he made huge progress this weekend! We just need to get some sand to fill in the entire run area. But the coop itself is now on an elevated platform, and the nesting box is accessible by reaching out of a dining room window. This will be so much nicer when we need to collect eggs in the winter! It also gives the chickens more room to run around underneath it. So, more chickens may be in our not-too-distant future. We'll see! Our little helpers were eager to help their daddy "do construction." :)

School starts in just over two weeks, and I'm feeling an overpowering need to have everything organized and DONE. I doubt it will all happen, but the ideas are flowing-- maybe the mudroom will finally get done! :)

Metamorphosis!

We have butterflies! The caterpillars began emerging from their chrysalides first thing yesterday morning, and all ten were out by lunchtime today-- including the one that had not attached its chrysalis in the right spot, and was just resting on the floor of the enclosure. So exciting! And they are pretty! We get to enjoy them for a week or so, then release them in the back yard. Yay!

In other news... we were without internet this weekend, and I was without a phone for part of that, too. And boy did I feel disconnected, haha! It's a long story, but I got my phone up and running again, and Verizon came out this morning to take care of our internet issue. So we are back up and running! But that was sort of a focal point of our weekend. I hate when technology decides not to cooperate!