2015 Family Pictures!

Yay for new family pictures!  And yay for new family pictures at our new house!

Schnepf Farm Pumpkin and Chili Fest!!

 We splurged and had a fun family night at Schnepf Farm. 

We played mini golf

Here we are waiting to watch a pig race

The kids enjoyed a big slide

And we rode lots of rides

The kids and Robert climbed the rock wall (it's not my thing...at all!)

More rides...

Watched some BMX.  Those guys are CRAZY!

I sure love these four kids!

We got lost in a corn maze

And one last ride before the night is over

We ended the night roasting marshmallows.  

Our Rooster!

We had been thinking about getting a rooster to help protect the chickens and so that we could raise our own chicks.  So when a friend said they knew someone who would give us a rooster we said we'll take it. 

He is a mix between a Black Copper Maran and a Bantam Cochin.  He's a bit younger than our chickens are. 

We brought him home and after much research we tossed him in with the girls at night when it was dark.  They woke up and looked really confused.  Then the chasing began.  To say they don't like him is an understatement. 

The poor guy is hiding in a bucket to get away from them!  Notice, they are all just waiting for him to make a move.

Michael is convinced this rooster will like him if he loves it enough. 

 

Here he is.  I think he will get a few more tail feathers, feathers on the feet and a bit bigger.  He really is pretty.  When the sun shines on him he has blue, purple and green in his feathers.  

Fence!

We had a sad day.  We lost Butterfinger to the neighbor's dog.  She was our chicken who would lay eggs on the kitchen counter.  She was very sweet, friendly and patient with the kids shenanigans.  She was always one of the first to come when I called too.  We all cried when we found out.  And for about a month after Lilly prayed that Butterfinger will be ok and will come back to be with us.  She has definitely been missed.  (Yup, I know it's just a chicken. But it was our chicken.)

Because of this we have started locking the chickens up every day in their area.  I'd call it a coop but really it's not a coop it's a trampoline with a fence around it and a shelter for them under it.

They don't like it, at all.  They grumble and call to me every time I walk outside. They get excited at the hope of getting out.  We try to let them out every evening an hour before sunset so they have a while to roam but not too far and then they come back to roost for the night. 

Because of all this we decided to get moving on a fence. 

800 feet of fencing!

The first post of many!

The entire back of both lots is finally done!

Getting settled

I love my new kitchen!

 (And yes I spent an hour cleaning it so I could take a picture that looks like it came out of a magazine!  If you drop by I guarantee it will NOT look like this.  You've been warned.)

James is getting some good use out of the bathtub

Aunt Nikki came for a visit.  It was wonderful!

We installed shelves in the laundry room

We had a soft water and whole house water filtration system installed

We built shelves in the master closet

We've stayed busy unpacking boxes and playing. Lots of playing.