Dirt work!

Seth had some dirt work to accomplish at his parents' house last week, so the kids and I tagged along and made our own fun.
Ephraim wanted to catch fish and tadpoles. He filled the milk jug with them by the end of our time there.
And Eliza was right there beside him, handling the tadpoles, too!

Emmet with a tadpole. We're pretty sure that the tadpoles are a bit confused because this isn't really the season to be seeing tadpoles. So, they probably won't live too long in the pond.

Eden with messy hands.

Ephraim's prize catch!

Just relaxin' a bit.

On the tire swing.

Seth, his dad and Emmet surveying the work that needs done.

Four kids watching daddy and wishing they could be on the bulldozer! Eden is yelling at him to "stop" and "back up".

The whole crew watching the transformation.

Biker babes!

The girls have been wanting to ride Emmet's 16inch bike for a while, but they're just a bit too small. So, I thought that maybe we should get them 12inch bikes. My sister got them bike helmets for their birthday and they were pretty excited about those! I searched Craigslist for 12inch bikes and found two at a flea market in Des Moines. I sent my Dad with some cash and to scope them out. He came home with two bikes, exactly the same, from two different sellers. And the girls are super excited!
It comes as no surprise that Eliza is catching on a bit quicker and likes to ride longer.
Two bikes for two girls.

Eden took a tumble or two and she's pretty much done for a while. She'd rather sit on the bike and look pretty.

Poultry Drama

Oh, there's trouble in the coop!
A few weeks ago we had noticed that Jezebel was pecking on Delilah's tail feathers. And it continued to get worse over a couple of days. I searched the Internet and my chicken books. Discovered that feather pecking happens for a variety of reasons: boredom, establishing pecking order, protein deficiencies, too much daylight, etc. I went to the local supply store and bought some extra scratch mix, sunflower seeds and a block of seeds for them to peck at. But essentially, feather pecking is hard to stop once it starts and I didn't want the other ladies to pick up on this bad habit. I also didn't want it to get to the point where Delilah is killed from the pecking.
So, I called the local vet and inquired about beak trimming. With my second call I found a vet to do it and he said it'd be $5. Perfect. We went in for the beak trimming on Friday, October 8. I had captured Jezebel and put her in our raccoon live trap to transport her. At the vet, the attendant held her while the vet clipped off the very tip of her top beak, probably not even 1/8 of an inch, but enough. Jezebel passed out! I couldn't believe it. Her head went to the side and she went limp. But she came right back to reality. Just as the vet was cauterizing her beak to stop it from bleeding.
We brought Jezebel home and put her back in the coop. All seemed well. Jezebel laid an egg on Sunday, the 10, so I thought that all would continue to go well. But that was her last egg to lay as of now. Yes, Jezebel is mad at me and now she's not laying any eggs. My chicken book did indicate that there could be a production slump when beaks are trimmed. I guess that's what's going on now.
The good news is that Delilah has started laying eggs. I guess the feather picking was traumatizing her from laying eggs. Now that Jezebel is "fixed", Delilah is laying.
Oh, the drama in the chicken coop!

Party x 3

With 3 kids having birthdays within 8 days of each other, it's kind of nice to have one big birthday party. I know these days won't last for long so we'll enjoy them now! Here are the kids enjoying their lunch of chicken soup!

And then it was presents time!

The girls got bike helmets from Aunt Amber, Uncle Jim, Garret and Alyssa.

Diaper bags for their babies from Grandma Twyla and Grandpa Harold.

And a pretty dress and outfit, too!

And a pretty shirt, a cape, two skirts and some tights from Grandma Donna and Grandpa Arlin.

Eliza with her purple array of a shirt, cape, two skirts and tights.

And then there's the gift from Aunt Michelle, Uncle Tom, Mark and John. Purses loaded with bracelets, hair ties, sunglasses, nail polish and socks! Pink for Eden and Purple for Eliza.

Emmet's turn:

The Camper Lego set from the Beerends.

A hand-crafted baseball rack and accessories from Grandpa Harold and Grandma Twyla.

A dinosaur quilt from Grandma Donna and Grandpa Arlin (although I think Grandma did all the sewing).

Lincoln Log Train Set from the De Bruin's.

Van Wyk cousins.

Van Zante cousins.

Our 4th attempt at a family photo.

Happy Birthday Emmet! Hope you like your LEGO cake!

Happy Birthday Eden & Eliza. I made another butterfly cake for them, only this time I used a butterfly pan instead of the small hearts.

And while Eliza was outside--in her dress and bike helmet-- playing in the sandpile with the boys . . . Eden was inside playing

GLAMOUR GIRL!!

Takin' a break to watch Little Rascals.

More modeling shots, this time she has on two of her birthday outfits.

Finally, Eliza gets in on the photo shoot.

Oh, and not to be left out. A present for Ephraim. It can be hard when everyone else is getting a present except you.

Five and lookin' Fine!

Emmet turned 5 on October 18. It was a Monday, so he had preschool. We celebrated by eating at Long John Silvers and opening presents.

Not-so patiently waiting to open presents.

A couple books and a LEGO flat panel.

And the LEGO tractor set! And he wasn't the only one excited about it!

Happy Birthday Emmet! We love you and all the fun you bring to our lives. You are a blessing from God!

Got twins?

I thought I should post a few pictures from the past 3 years with the girls.

Here they are at just a few days old, still at Blank Children's Hospital where Eden spent just a few days.

Bringing the girls home from the hospital for good!

1st birthday!

2nd birthday!