Come on a tour of our tasteful new chicken coop...

But first, let me introduce Bobby.  We just couldn't bare to have Yoko all alone, so when we bought this coop, they threw in our choice of a new chick.  One look at this chick, and we knew he/she was the one right away.  We call it Bobby.  No way to know if it's a boy or girl yet, so we'll see… Crossing our fingers it's a hen.  We just want some fresh eggs!!  So far Bobby has been a great addition to our little family.  Very pleasant and tidy indeed!   

Here is their new home.  This unpretentious cozy coop is nestled away on it's own private flower bed in the backyard of the Dehner Residence.  The nearby swing set and little tikes toddler slide give this retreat a park-like feel that is not only inviting, but also entertaining as you can watch children play from the modest outdoor perch.  

 Feel free to gaze at the stars at night through this highly functional roof that opens and closes to offer safety as well as accessibility.

If you walk around the perfectly manicured side yard, you'll find a welcoming side entrance into the comfortable and private egg laying area.        

A large fourth opening gives this coop character and easy access for young hands to reach in and snatch quick moving chickens to bring them out for backyard roaming and spider eating.  

The coop offers good flow from indoor to outdoor space and when all openings are closed, it offers complete protection and safety for all that dwell within.  And really, isn't that what it's all about?!  

In a nutshell, this coop is the perfect little shelter for Yoko and Bob.  I hope they find it as welcoming and homey as Will does.   

Little things that make me so happy...

The other night Meg was taking a bath and I was sitting on the ground across from her…  I was doing something on my phone and not really paying attention to her for a minute.  When I looked up I noticed she was staring at me like this…  

I started laughing and took a picture.  I couldn't stop laughing for like 5 minutes and I don't really know why.  Maybe it's because her feet look so big… Or that her shoulders look so narrow… I don't know, I always laugh at things that aren't really funny to anyone except me… 

I just want to remember that moment.  

Our hummingbirds are back!  I love them so much.  We have about 5 regulars that are constantly in our trees by the deck.  During the day I sit out there with Will and Meg and we watch them eat.  We haven't named any yet, but the one with the green head is the man in charge.  He drinks more than any of them and when anyone else tries to get a drink, he chases them away.  He guards that feeder all day long.  We watch and cheer for the ones that are sneaky and find a way to snatch a drink real quick before he catches them.  It's so fun…

My mom taught me the trick for getting them to come - sugar water.  I used to buy hummingbird food and mix that up, but they like the sugar water best.  Half sugar, half water… That's it.  They eat it up.  I'm on my 3rd bottle and it's only been out for 2 weeks.  

We've been planting flowers in the yard.  They make me so happy.  My favorite time of day is when I get to go outside and water the flowers.  Meg and Will get excited to help and then we walk around and look at each one.  I don't know why it took me so long to appreciate flowers, but I can't get enough of them.

Another thing that makes me so happy is this little herb garden my Mother-in-law gave me for my birthday.  I made tomato soup the other night and went outside and picked some fresh basil right from my deck.  Sometimes I go outside just to smell them. Basil is by far my favorite!  

This picture is just because it's cute.  It makes me happy that my kids have such great little friends.  

Yay… Soccer's over… for now…

Soccer season is over.  

Here's Will's cute little team…  

Will spent more than his share of time on the ground… He's what we call a "flopper".  If he'd touch the ball or anyone would touch him, he'd fall on the ground and roll around.  He was super cute to watch though.  Seriously, look at that face.  

He did have some shining moments and scored at most of his games.  I think there may be a little athlete in there somewhere.  He did as well as you'd expected for his first season :)

I'm glad Miles season is over… His team (and coach) was not a good fit for him…  No structure, no practices, no running plays, and not much talent… It was kind of a waste of a season for him.  Hopefully next year will be better.  At least Miles had a good time and enjoyed playing. 

Bob... May he RIP

The chicks are getting so big… Or should I say the chicks were getting so big? 

I'll explain why I say that in a minute…

First, here's a recent picture of our backyard chickens. They're good little buddies. When you see one, you see the other.  They are inseparable and the best of friends.  We love when we go outside and see them scratching around in the dirt, strutting around with their little necks bobbing back and forth, and never causing any problems..  The cutest!

See why I say they're getting big… They looked like this not too long ago.

    

As soon as Mike gets home from work, he finds Will and they head out back.  Then Mike tells Will to "go chase the chickens."  Then I hear Will making all kinds of noise and Mike laughing and commenting about how his favorite thing lately is to watch Will chase the chickens.  I have to admit, it's hilarious.

Over the past few days Mike and I have had a few talks and we decided that our "trial period" for testing out the chickens was over and we are ready to commit to keeping them.  We knew that meant it was time to order a coop and get them a permanent home outside.

Oh how I wish we would have made that decision and gotten them a coop a few days ago... Yesterday was not a good day for our little chicks…  Little Bob in particular. 

Yesterday we noticed Yoko freaking out on the back stair and he didn't have his trusty side-kick at his side.  Right away we knew that something was wrong, and we all spread out in search of Bob.  After 10 minutes of searching we had to stop to run Morgan and Will to school...
After dropping the kids off, Miles (who was home from school with a stomach bug) and I started looking for Bob.  We brought Yoko along hoping that would draw Bob out of the bushes if he was hiding.  We looked and looked and couldn't find Bob.
I think Yoko could sense something was wrong too.  He was making noises we hadn't heard before.

Then we saw a feather… 

And a few more…  My heart sank…

As we walked behind the bushes, I saw a neighbor cat dart off leaving Bob's lifeless, half eaten body on the ground.  For a minute we just stood there and stared not really knowing what to do.  It felt a little surreal as we took in what just happened.  

Part of me wished Miles would have gone to school that morning so he didn't have to see what happened and the other part of me (the selfish part) was relieved that I didn't find him alone.  Miles felt like he needed to show Yoko so he wouldn't be looking for Bob and wondering where he went.  Yoko just stared at Bob and didn't even try to get down… It made me wonder how much he understood…    Then Miles put Yoko down and sobbed into me like a baby.   It was the most heartbreaking cry - it wasn't the whiny "I'm not getting my way" and "life isn't fair" cry, or the "I just fell and got hurt" cry like I'm used to hearing.  It was the most tender, innocent cry of an 8 year old boy experiencing death for the first time.  It was heartbreaking.  I didn't really know what to do, so I just hugged him and cried with him.   

After Miles cried for a few minutes, he did just what I've come to expect from him… He stepped up and did what needed to be done next. (It must be the little man inside of him.)  He used some trash bags over his hands and cleaned up the mess.  I told him I would take care of it, but he wanted to help.  Together we wrapped up the little body in lots of trash bags and then we threw him away. 

And then he sat and cried some more…  

The hardest part of the day was telling Morgan.  She is our sensitive little thing and I knew it would be devastating to her.  When she came home from school she took Yoko to the grass and sat and held him while she cried and cried.  I know it's good for them to experience death, but it's still sad to watch.
She was holding Yoko so cute and having such a sweet moment so I tried sneaking a picture…  Of course as I was about to take it she got up and came inside to pass through to the front yard and this was all I got…   (Someday she'll be glad I was sneaking pictures, right?  I wish my mom had taken more pictures of me crying when I was young :)

On the bright side, at least we still have our Yoko.  Let's be honest, Yoko is our favorite.  

It's just so much fun to dig around in the dirt with a chicken and watch him gobble down worms and spiders.  

Yoko will get the coop he deserves and we'll just have to do our best to keep those dang neighbor cats away.  Our adventure with chickens is not over!

Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

Last weekend I ran the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.  This was my first time doing a race without Mike or a friend(s) coming along.  I wasn't thrilled about going alone, but it actually turned out to be really nice that way.  I didn't feel any pressure to stay with anyone and I just did my own thing.  The race was downhill and the weather was great; it did snow for a few miles, but I thought it felt good. 

 Since this was a downhill race, my goal was to get any time in the 1:40's.  Around mile 10, the 1:40 pacer in the picture started to pass me.  When I saw him I said, "nooo, please don't pass me yet".  Then he ran over to me and explained that he was 4 minutes ahead of pace so I had a good shot of finishing under 1:40.  I never, ever thought I could finish in the 1:30's, but when he said that, it gave me new life.  I found my legs and decided I wasn't going to let the pacer get more than 25 feet ahead of me.  And he didn't.  I finished in 1:39 and set a new personal best for myself.  I was so happy.  When I crossed the pacer cheered for me and we took this picture.  Then I grabbed a Popsicle and limped to the car.  It hurt to walk for the next 4 days.  Totally worth it. 

Our little getaway, made possible by Grammie Dehner!

Last week Grandma Dehner came from Ohio to babysit the kids for a few days while Mike and I went on a little getaway. Ya baby! 

She was so great for being willing to do that.  The kids were in HEAVEN!  It's always fun to be with Grandma, esp a Grandma like this that spoils you rotten! They didn't miss us for one second.

Mike had a work conference in downtown Seattle over my birthday, so he made arrangements with his mom to babysit and got me a plane ticket so I could tag along.  What a guy!   

Seattle is a cool city and we had a great time walking around.  We walked around Pike Place Fish Market everyday and made our way around downtown.  You can't see the big fish behind us, but maybe that's a good thing… I am so not a seafood person, but Mike is, so he enjoyed all the fresh seafood everywhere.   

Don't worry about me.  I found plenty of other yummy food that wasn't seafood.  While Mike ate some fish tacos, I found a little eatery that served, according to the sign in their window, the best meatloaf sandwich in all of Seattle.  I love meatloaf.  Mike makes fun of me for it all the time, but I love meatloaf.  So of course I had to stop and eat there, and I have to say, it lived up to the name.  It was tasty and I'm so glad I found it in the middle of all the smelly fish everywhere.   

The little shops in Pike Place were fun to look at, but I never find anything worth buying at those kind of booths…  Until I saw this little stand with twisty hair things that I knew the girls would love.  I had to get my girls some.  

And I was right… The girls love them and they look adorable… (these pictures were taken after we got home and tried them out.)

Even Meg's hair holds one in.  SO CUTE!  

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going on a run with Mike.  We never get to run together so it was extra special.  We ran along the waterfront and watched all the large boats coming in and out.  I'm just glad Mike was nice enough to slow down a bit for me :)  

More shopping…  We found a funny little store where I got a couple white elephant gifts.  This was my favorite… It's called "YOU NASTY".  Then on the bottom it says "RECOGNIZE AND SANITIZE". I love it.  That's going to be my new mantra for the kids when they have dirty hands - recognize and sanitize.

Yummy nachos with my El Borracho.  

A yummy little cupcake place.  Mike got a lavender cupcake (barf, it tasted like eating flower petals), but he loved it.  I stuck with what I know best - chocolate on chocolate.

Mike took this picture in the elevator on our way up the Space Needle.  

This had to be the best part of our trip.  We ate dinner in the Space Needle and got the see the entire city from up high.  The Space Needle slowly rotates so you get to see everything.  It makes one full rotation every 40-something minutes.  I thought it was going to make us sick when we first sat down, but it ended up being really fun!  The food was delicious too!  

They come around and take your picture as a curiosity and email it to you.  I thought that was nice.  

I haven't been away from Meg since she was born, so it was both nice and strange to get away.  I read a book, which is super rare for me.  I feel so selfish when I read for some reason.  But not on this trip.  I downloaded a copy of Divergent and let myself get sucked into another world for a few days.  It reminded me how much I enjoy reading a good book every now and then.  It made me excited for the day that my kids are a little bigger and I can spend more time reading.

Meanwhile, the kids were home having a great time with Grandma.  Grandma took them all over and kept them going with nonstop fun.  Grandma even helped Morgan work on her back walkover.  

Thanks Grandma for coming.  The kids still talk about having you here everyday.  We sure love you!  And I sure loved having some alone time with my man!  I just can't get enough of that guy of mine.