DoodleBug

Yep that's me....riding the DoodleBug. Its fun!!!

Swim Lessons

The kids had their first swim lesson last night! They will be going 2 nights a week for 5 weeks. Both are in the pool at the same time, just with different instructors. Works great for me!

They were so nervous before the lesson. Neither of them is very comfortable in the water. Both have had instances where they have fallen in the water and freaked out.

Caymus was last year when we were on our cruise. He was playing in the water next to the pool and the ship rocked and in he went. Marshall was right there to pull him out, but it scared the poo out of him!

Lucy was also last year. We were at Lake Shasta with friends and she was in the inner tube with Ty, they both had life jackets on and having a blast. They kept giving us the "faster" signal...we hit a bump and out she went! Again Marshall was there to save her. He dove off the back of the boat fully clothed and swam out to her while we turned the boat around. The first thing she said when he got to her was "I thought I was going to Die" Heart wrenching to a parents ears.

So needless to say, swim lessons were definitely needed!

Once they got in the water they were just fine. They put their heads underwater and everything!

As soon as they got out of the pool they said they could not wait till the next lesson! YAY!

Lucy kick boarding her way across the pool.

Memorial Weekend + some....

Last Wednesday we went to watch the Ducks play the Beavers in baseball. Although we are not overly happy that the University of Oregon has a baseball team...they got rid of Wrestling for it, very sore subject around our house....we did decide to go and support them. They were playing at Keizer Stadium, only 15 min from our house.
The Ducks lost...14-4. But it was a fun family outing. Beer and Cotton Candy. And best of all great weather!

On Friday Caymus had his last Pre-School field trip. We went to the Salem Carousel, all 51 kids got a ride, then they played in the play ground and had a picnic lunch.

Caymus was not scared to ride on one of the horses this time...apparently last summer he would not ride on the horse, only sit in the wagon on the carousel.

Saturday we did some yard work and got ready for our first BBQ gathering at our house. Our very dear friends from McMinnville came out and we enjoyed the sun and good company. The kids played in the slip and slide for most of the afternoon.

My brother Reid also came down for the long weekend. Caymus told him he is the Coolest Uncle in the WORLD!

Marshall in his birthday shirt...Mine - Yours

Our friends Justin, Catherine and Kavika also came out for dinner and a campfire.

BJ, Tio Reid, and David

Who's kids are they!!! And where did they learn that????

Justin looks like he is falling asleep...notice Marshall and Lucy! So sweet!

Caymus and Kavika - s'moreing themselves silly

Science vs. Breakfast

I thought an egg would be good for breakfast this morning, so I prepared one in a bowl with feta and a little cream and put it in the microwave........not a good idea!!!

Needless to say I had fruit and cereal instead.
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Chickens, Roosters and a Tortoise

I was going to title this blog something funny with chicks and cocks...but then thought that may not be very G rated...oops looks like I still ended up using those words!

Our tortoise Deuce has become an escape artists. Last weekend when we returned home from camping he was gone. MIA. We searched every part of our 2.5 acres!!! He is a little hard to find being that he is only about 5 in long x 3 in tall and the color of dirt.....

Apparently we are getting very attached to this little guy because all of us were very sad for the rest of the day. "I wonder where he is?" "How did he get out?" "Did something get him?" Were all thoughts that were being said.

The next day, Caymus and I went out to get the mail in the morning, something I never do that time of day because the mail comes in the afternoon but I had not gotten the Saturday mail yet. When we were walking back we stopped over by our veggie garden, I was looking at my pathetic starts coming up out of the ground and saw something that did not belong. DEUCE!!!!! Caymus and I could not believe our eyes! We both started tearing up and jumping with joy! We found him!!!! Our garden by the way is about as far away from his pen as he could get and still be on our property!

He has spent the last 6 days in solitary confinement, we don't take escaping lightly.

Sunday was spent digging out the edges of the tortoise enclosure and laying chicken wire around the edges to prevent him from digging his way out. Then we put chicken wire over the top to keep him in. What a little stinker!!!

In Chicken news....we have 2 roosters now. Both our red hens have tuned out to be roosters. Dang and they were my favorite!

In our small space we can not have 2 roosters, they fight over the hens and eat to much. Our friends said they would take Paco and one of our hens off our hands. Thanks Cathy!

We also moved the entire pen to the field. The neighbors complained of the smell.....it is bad! And we decided it would be a good idea to move them a little further away from our yard as well. Not easy. Fortunately our neighbor decided to give us a helping hand with his tractor moving our debri pile (the location we were going to move the coop). This will give the chickens some more room and some more sunlight. This better yield is us getting more eggs! So far I get 3 a day. I have 5 hens, so we should be getting 5 a day! Some one is not contributing to the farm! If I knew what one she may be shipped off, but sadly I don't know and so she has been spared! Yes we are that kind of farm - do your part or your gone!!!!

In other news....Marshall is playing football on the Law Enforcement for Youth team. He has practices Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings. Then he will play in 3 games this summer. Should be fun and its for the children!

I signed the kids up for swim lessons today. 2 nights a week for 5 weeks!

My brother Bryce is getting married in a few weeks to his long time fiancee Desiree! I made the invites for them and got then out in the mail this morning.

The wedding plans are coming along very nicely!

Fun in the sun

Finally!!! We are finally getting some sun! It is wonderful and much needed!

Yesterday Lucy had a play date at a friends house, so I took Caymus out to get coffee and hot chocolate...he wanted cold chocolate instead. Then to the park for some play time. He is so easy. He just ran and played all by himself and had a blast. I am so glad because I am not a very fun play in the playground kind of mom. I am great at a lot of things, that is not one of them.

Lucy got some bubble gum at her friends house...fun!

Our weekend is shaping up to be a busy one...we decided we should just stay home and do some much needed yard work and house work....plus the weather is going to be great. Now on Saturday morning Marshall has football practice and we will be going along, then the kids were invited to a party at the park in the after noon. I also need to do my grocery shopping and was hoping to stop by the school for the swap meet! WOW.

So you may not hear from me for a few days...my guess is when you do I will be fully sunburned and sore!!!

Have fun in the sun!!!

Flash Back

Marshall at age 2.

Marlea at age 2

Lucy at age 6mo

Caymus at age 6mo

Here is a challenge to all my fellow bloggers - post a baby picture of everyone in your family! Looking at all that baby fat might even bring a tear to your eye!

Happy Mothers Day

Sunday morning I woke up to an amazing view out over the lake, so calm and peaceful! What a great way to wake up on Mothers Day!

We ate eggs, bacon and pan fried trout for breakfast, yummy! Then we packed up the camper and headed home.

Once we had everything put away from our weekend I got to work on my Mothers Day gift. 8 new rose bushes! I lost 5 of my roses to the harsh winter and now have replaced them and added 3 more to my rose bed! Very exciting!

I let the chickens out for a little while in the afternoon, they really enjoyed dusting them self's in the dirt!

Everything is blooming right now and it is so exciting. When we bought the house it was late August and we did not get to see the garden in full bloom. There are tons of rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs all over. The mix of color is wonderful and every day I find something new that is in bloom!

Camping

Saturday morning around 5:45am I heard Marshall get up and head out...I knew what he was up to. Fishing! He was out there for a good hour drinking coffee and fishing on the dock.

The rest of us got up around 7am... We had a great breakfast and packed up to head out on the boat for the morning. We fished and fished. Not much luck though.

When we came back in for lunch there was a kid on the dock who had to have at least a dozen fish. We asked if he was using crack and he said no. But he did say he was using white corn and power bait and the fish would bite almost every time....

We tried that, with not much luck. Marshall did end up catching 3 keepers all from the dock using left over pieces of corn that kid left and some power bait we had.

I put a movie on for the kids and they passed out! All that fun of fishing and playing did them in!

Our friends Justin, Cathy and Kavika all came out for dinner and some fishing. They brought white corn hoping that might work.....we did not have the same luck that kid had. Oh well.

We enjoyed a great BBQ of beef not fish and hung out by the fire.

This campground is our new favorite! Right on the lake, 40 min from home! Doesn't get much better than this!

Happy Birthday Marshall

Today is my dear husbands birthday. So we decided to go camping for the weekend. We are at Detroit Lake state campground. We love the state campgrounds here. They are always nice and well kept. The price is the same and fair. This is our first time at this one and I must say we LOVE it!
It is right on the lake, so is our site!!! And its only 40 min from our house!
After putting the boat in the water and parking it at the dock that is right in front of our camp site, Marshall and the kids threw their poles in the water! They love fishing!
The weather is great and tomorrow should be a fun full day!!!

Right now we are all snuggled up in our bed watching a family movie! Do we know how to camp or what!?!

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More of nothing

I really don't have much to blog about so I am going to blog about nothing.





For Caymus' second birthday I made him a really cool superhero cape. I spent months knitting it. He wore it once. It has been hanging up in his room since....that's been over 2 years now.


I finally was able to explain to him how important it was to me that he wear it once and awhile. And how hard I worked on it.


So here he is wearing it....to the grocery store, home depot and out to lunch one day. Lucy made herself a cape with her initials on it also. Those are pipe cleaners attached with "sticky tape".











We hung up our hammock swings we got for Christmas from Ned and Norma. They are so unbelievably wonderful! I think we will spend our entire summer in them. We hung them on the back deck and with the height of them we have a great view of our field and the mountains in the distance.



Marshall got a new toy. It came not put together, so he and Caymus spent the day together yesterday being grease monkeys. They did a great job and Caymus even got to use his tools! He was so proud! There is nothing I love more than seeing my boys do things like this together. I L.O.V.E it! And so do they!
Its called a Doodle Bug.....

We are going camping tomorrow for the weekend. Its Marshall's birthday on Friday and then mothers day on Sunday, so we thought it would be a great way to spend the weekend. We will be bringing our boat and doing some fishing. Hopefully we will catch something!

The weather is also supposed to be good so that will be a real treat!

The Randomness of it all

Ok so this post is rather random...but that's kind of how my life is. It is full of randomness.

Our weather has been horrible. Showers mostly. It has been really windy the last few days also. We do get short breaks in the rain. Like right now. Its sunny, very windy, but the sun it out. I can see the next rain storm coming in the distance. The kids are currently playing outside, have been for almost 2 hours now!

On Sunday it was raining so hard that it formed little rivers all over our yard. We have ruts in the bark dust now. It really made quite a mess. This picture was taken at the height of that down pour.

One of the kids favorite things to do these days is snuggle on the couch and watch a family movie. We watched Ratatouille the other night. Lucy made it to the end.....my poor boys could not quite get there.

So here is a good one for ya! Marshall and I went out to check for eggs after our workout yesterday. We have been getting one a day. At least someone is contributing to the farm....As we were walking away we hear "Cock-a-doodle-doooooo" We both stop and look at each other, what was that!!! So we run over to the chicken coop and look at all the chickens, no one will fess up as to who that was. We start walking away again and we hear the same dang thing!!!

When we bought the chicks we were told that they had been sexed and that they were all girls, there is a small % chance that there may be one male in the bunch....we did get 25 after all. Well my friend Cathy who has the other 17 hens from the batch ended up with 2 roosters. So that should cover that small % of possible males....guess they were wrong again!!!

So here is RED our ROOSTER!!! We will allow him to rule his kingdom of hens unless he starts getting really mean and bossy. If that starts to happen the BBQ will be his final resting place!

I guess that would explain why he is not laying any eggs......

Awesome 3000

This weekend Lucy ran in her first Fun run. She did it with her friend Tulah. The run raises money for Salem/Keizer schools. Her race was 1.5K long, only with other kindergartner girls.


Lucy and Tulah pre race!

My girl! She made us so proud! I love the look on her face, she was so excited to see and hear us cheering her on!

She ran the entire race also!

Lucy and Tulah post race...notice the sweat on their foreheads!!!

Lucy, Tulah and Caymus with the big bear...not sure what his name is or who he represents, but hey who doesn't want their picture taken with a large fake animal with some stranger inside!!!

We spent the rest of the weekend cleaning house, yard work, errands, church, eating, watching movies and staying out of the rain!!!

Our First EGG!!!

We have had these dang chickens since October. We estimated that they would start laying around Easter. My friend who bought the chicks has the other 17 that she had ordered and they started laying while I was in Texas in the end of March.

So we have been eagerly waiting for them to start earning their keep. They got a free ride for the first 6 months, but now we need to see that they are worth the feed I give them each day. We have been threatening them daily. "If you don't start laying soon you will be dinner!" or "Your going to die!!!" and a few other nice encouraging comments.

I even got them new food and cleaned out their coop last weekend hoping that may work.

Today we had our first egg......