Memorial Day Weekend

I meant to get an after picture of the laundry room after our 5 day weekend away visiting some friends, but I forgot to do it before we started the washing machine.  The only problem was, I didn't believe the weather reports and didn't pack clothes for cold, wet weather.  We had fun anyway and only had to spend time outside in the rain if we chose to.  It made having a bonfire fun, too.

My Farmers

Not for the squeamish... Lilac giving birth to a bull calf

I hope you don't mind another video of an animal giving birth.  Lilac actually belongs to some friends of ours but has been staying on our farm.  The kids went out to check on her the other evening and happened to catch her just at the right time.  We're posting this video so our friends' children can watch their calf being born.

I'm putting in several returns since the beginning picture is pretty graphic.  So if you don't want to see it, don't scroll down.  :)

Introducing our new driver to Chicago traffic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY (Belated) BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!! 
From,
Laura
Abigail
Charlotte
Emily
Heidi
Lincoln
Garrett

Happy 7th Birthday, Lincoln!!

Wow, what a fun boy you are!!!  We're so glad you are part of our family.  It's fun to watch you play with your little brother.  It's hard to keep from grinning when you torment your sisters.  We enjoy listening to you explain what you've learned in the books you are learning. We love watching you grow and learn. You're a great son and we love you!!!

All Lincoln could think of that he wanted for his birthday was a stuffed animal, so it was fun to surprise him this morning with a new bicycle, since he has pretty much outgrown his old one and the only bikes the next size up that we have around here happen to be girls bikes.  Some of his sisters shared some of their stuffed animals with him.  It was fun to watch him read and enjoy each card they made for him and appreciate the second hand stuffed animals.  Later he got a card in the mail with some cash in it. He was sooo excited.  Look, Mommy!  This was all in one card!!!  I asked him what he was going to do with it and he replied that he was going to save it up until he had $60 and then buy a tarantula... I don't think so, son!!

The birthday person gets to pick the meals on their birthday.  Lunch wasn't too difficult - he wanted make your own pizzas.  For supper? - Frog legs... We were at a store yesterday that sells frozen ones, so we picked up a couple of pounds of them (I'll try cooking them, but I didn't really relish the thought of going gigging and then preparing them).  I'm going to bbq some chicken wings along with them.   He also wanted a german chocolate cheese cake - we compromised on that one - we had cheese cake for my birthday yesterday and german chocolate cake today for his.

First day of summer vacation...

The kids worked hard this year and did a great job with school.  Today was their first official day of summer vacation and every time I looked around I could find several of them curled up with books.  They've been missing their free reading time the past few weeks trying to get finished up with their school work.

As if just regular spitting wasn't enough...

Lincoln and Garrett came in the house today and immediately the house absolutely reeked of garlic.  It was so strong that I couldn't stand having them within 2 feet of me.

"What in the world have you been doing?" I asked.  "Chewing garlic leaves until our mouths foamed and then spitting the green juice." Was the reply...

Now, hours later, they about knock you over when they talk to you.

Todd laughed and laughed until he almost cried when I told him what they had been doing.

Nature's clean up crew

After the fox left, this turkey vulture came to finish up the job.  As much as we don't like sharing the chickens we have been raising for our own freezer, it is pretty amazing to watch the way God's creation works together so well.  (I actually think this particular chicken had already died for whatever reason... sometimes they just do that... heart attacks, pneumonia, injury, whatever)

When you grow up with the last name of Fox...

... you kind of end up having a fondness for the animal.  That is, at least until you look out the window and see this scene.

Breakfasting on one of the chickens that was supposed to go to the butcher next Wednesday!

I do still think they are beautiful animals.

Science yesterday....

... was watching this little guy be born.  This is the first time we've been able to watch one of our ewes lamb.  Usually they lamb out in a back pasture somewhere.  We couldn't get close up during the birth because it made the ewe nervous, but we did get the actual delivery on video.  This picture is realistic, but kind of disgusting :)

If you want to watch the birth it is on this video.  It is kind of long - the real action starts at around 1:55 (please excuse the burping boy...)

It doesn't matter what anyone is doing...

... if someone looks out the window and calls out, "__________ (Sheep or Cow) had her ____________ (Lamb or Calf), there is a mad rush for shoes, the camera, the door, the pasture.    Today it was Faline who had her calf, Lilly.

The difference between handouts and ownership...

Lincoln cracks me up.  If you give him a bag of candy, he will eat. the. whole. thing!  If you tell him he can play on the computer, he would do it for the. whole. day!

After valentines day, I stopped at a store and they had their valentines candy for 90% off.  So I picked up a heart with 3 chocolates for each of the kids, just for fun.  Lincoln's lasted for over a month.  He kept it in the refrigerator and took a nibble off of a piece every day.  I finally had to make him just finish it...

When he was getting close to the end of his math book and really didn't want to concentrate and get it done, I gave him a one day only offer.  Every problem he did he could get 1 minute of computer time.  (He later traded some of those minutes for 7 problems = getting to cook a dessert)  If he got his book done that day, he would also get 1 more hour of computer time and 1 more cooking project.  He ended up with 11 cooking projects and 2 hours and 16 minutes of computer time (Yes he spent several hours doing math that day - the extra time and cooking project were just thrown out there as a joke, I really didn't expect him to finish his book that day!!)  Anyway, he is using his computer time just like he ate his candy.  No longer does he ask me 100 or so times a day if he can play the computer (almost always to the answer of no - find something else to do, your computer time is quiet time on Saturday...)  Now he asks me occasionally if he can use some of his computer time - I usually say yes (since he definitely earned it) and he very carefully sets his timer, plays for 5 minutes and then heads off to find something else to do...  I can see his computer time stretching out for a looooonnnngggg time!

Laddy had a little lamb

The quality of this video isn't the greatest, but it gives you an idea of what Ladd puts up with all the time. Snowball follows him everywhere, sleeps beside him, and runs around crying if Ladd gets out of his sight.

Boys...

...  You never know what they will pick up for treasure...

I was sitting at the desk working on a menu plan and Lincoln came walking by on his way to wash his hands.  As he walked by, he tossed something at my feet (a strange odor followed the thunk it made).  "What in the world is that?!?"  I asked him - "A horse hoof..."  (The farrier was here trimming the horse and donkey's hooves today)

I just went outside and on the porch there was... a jawbone of some animal (complete with teeth), a hammer, some branches, a fence post, a metal stick, a garden shovel...  oh, and mud... they've been busy today!

All right, guys...

... enough is enough!!!  Two nights in that box with that little noisy guy are two too many!  Tonight I'll do my grandpa duty outside of the cage!

Bedtime for Snowball

Running with the dogs

We let Snowball out in the yard this morning after his bottle so he could run around after being closed up in the chicken house most of the day yesterday and in the cage with Ladd overnight.  One of the babysitting kids arrived this morning and the dogs ran to greet the pickup truck.  The lamb followed right along with them -

Guess who is back to night time feedings...

This morning we found this mama sheep dead in the pasture and her baby was trying to adopt himself out to a different sheep who already had twins

So what else were we to do but bring him in and give him a shower (yes right in the middle of our lunch dishes - we had been away most of the morning and had run home to eat a quick lunch before heading out again - don't worry, the sink was washed well ;) )

All we had was a calf bottle

Just a little too big

So we gave him some milk from a medicine dropper (we had lamb milk replacer in the freezer just in case)

 

And headed out to a graduation party (yes, we brought him along...)

We stopped at a grocery store on the way and bought a baby bottle - a much better size for him!  The graduation party was on a farm and in a shed, so he wasn't too out of place - the hosts were very gracious - and the lamb was well spoiled!

Our very patient resident grandpa very kindly offered to take the night shift so baby Snowball doesn't get lonely!  I doubt if he will be willing to do the night time feeding, though!

A bunch of pictures

Gorgeous moon rise

Our newest class (the 5 girls are taking lessons and then they are giving Lincoln lessons)

Making pretzels

Spinning girl

Moving our meat chickens (as opposed to our egg laying chickens who get to live in the chicken house)

A bittersweet day (this is a controlled deliberate burn) - the house my dad was born in was burned down today - but a our friends who live there now have built a beautiful new house to live in.