Chicken Coop

So our chickens arrived a few days before the coop kit was delivered and have been living outside in Jag's crate kennel.  That's 10 chickens in a 3x4 wire kennerl...yuck!  So when the coop kit arrived yesterday I brought it home and started putting it together about 5pm.  Luckily Austin and Ethan arrived home from soccer practice in time to help me!  It was a great kit that was mostly assembled and actually had good directions, so we were able to assemble the run and the coop and put it together in about 2 1/2 hours.

 Once the sun went down, however, it was really cold.  It was actually snowing when we got the coop outside to where we think we want it to be.  Then it got really dark and we were putting it together with the help of the flashlight app on Dave's phone!

The boys and I really did get most of it done ourselves.  Dave arrived home at 6:45 and was just in time to modify the perches that didn't quite fit right and help herd the chickens into the contraption.

It was so dark and cold that the chickens would have rather spent another night in the kennel, but we shoved them into the house and hoped they would "get it".  Some of them came back out and preferred to be under the coop.  Oh well.  I got up this morning and there are still 10 chickens and some of them have figured out how to go in and out.  Perfect.  We'll see if we get any eggs today.
I think it's going to be great!

 Every President's Day we have a soccer tournament and this year was no different.  We travel south to where there is no more snow and let the boys out on the field to remember how to play outdoor soccer again.  It's a fun tournament and it's always so nice to warm up and hope that spring will come to SLC some day soon!

 

The team did really well in their games.  We won the first game 3-0, won the second game 5-0, and tied the third game 1-1.  That put us in the semi-final and we lost 0-1 in that game.  It was a nice tournament and we enjoyed our time in Mesquite, NV.

 

After the games were over we had an afternoon left to explore the area.  We headed out about 40 miles to the Valley of Fire and hiked/climbed around.  We went with a teammates family, the Hathaways and it was a very enjoyable afternoon/evening hike.  At one point the kids took off ahead of us and climbed up the cliffs trying to get to the highest point.  After a while we lost sight of them and Dave had to run up to find them.

 Some of us stayed behind and waited, and waited, and waited for them to come back.  Even after we saw them on top of the bluff it took another 30-45 minutes for them to come back.  It was nice to be able to chat and visit while they were gone.  It really is a beautiful part of the country with all the red rock, wind swept formations there.

 After another night's stay we traveled back north to the cold and winter...blah!  It was a cruel reminder of how much I love the warm weather and don't care for the cold and snow here.  Overall a good time, even though I was sick.

Valentines Day 2013

 We have had a fun Valentine's Day morning here!  The kids made their Valentine boxes last night...one Ipod and one Minecraft creeper (??)  and they turned out so cute.  I got the kids each a little box of donuts with a loving note for them to have this morning since 2 of them leave before I get up!

 My Valentine followed our 18 year tradition of a white rose and McDonald's for breakfast.  This stems from our very first encounter when he brought me breakfast and a white rose when we were at BYU and were only friends.  He's done it every year since and it's become a fun little reminder of how it all started! 

 McKinley said she would be my Valentine too and we dressed all in red for the fun day!

And what a cute little puzzle I got to put together this beautiful puzzle full of nice things about me.  It's been a great morning and I love all these people in my life.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Super 15th Birthday

 Ethan celebrated his 15th birthday this Sunday, February 3, 2013.  We got up bright and early (just like Ethan loves!) and opened presents.  He got most of the things on his list, but not all.  Thanks to grandparents, he got some new clothes and some nice gaming headphones.  We got him new cleats, new shoes, and a Chelsea soccer training top, plus a few other things.  It was a fun celebration in the morning.

 Since Ethan's birthday was on Superbowl Sunday we had a "birthday" party with a lot of our family members.  Everyone came over and enjoyed munchies and some of the game.  At half time we sang Happy Birthday and had cake.

We love having Ethan in our family.  He is the ultimate peace maker and obedient, happy boy.  He's turning in to a fine young man who is thoughtful and easy going, yet driven and determined to find a way to get what he wants.  He is a gentle soul with a wise spirit!  Happy 15th birthday Ethan!

First Gymnastics Meet

 McKinley performed in her first ever gymnastics meet on Saturday.  She has practiced two days a week for 2 hours a time for month for this meet.  All the pre-team girls have been learning their routines and their vaults to compete in this meet. 

McKinley did very well.  She got really nervous on the beam and fell a few times, but she got right back up and went on with the routine.  There was no photography allowed during the meet, so we took a couple staged pictures after.  We are proud of her hard work and look forward to her next meet and watching her compete again!

Bring on 2013!!

 For New Years Eve our family goes to Dave's sister's house and this year was no exception.  The whole family was there (minus a few teens who had other plans) and it was so much fun.  We had a soup dinner with breadsticks and salad, along with goodies too!  It was really hard for me not to partake of all the breads and noodles and treats, but I brought a yummy salad and we had lunchmeat as well.  Plenty of veggies and fruits and we were good.

Allison and Lindsey are both expecting this year, only a few weeks apart.  Alli a boy and Lindsey a girl.  More cousin fun in the making.

At the New Years party the cousins exchange gifts from the Christmas name draw.  This is always a highlight of the evening for the kids.  We have each child get the gift that they are going to "give" to their cousin and then exchange.  Then it's a free for all at the word "go" as the 33 cousins unwrap their gifts.

Everyone (except Maxwell...maybe Lindsey and George :)) made it to midnight where we watched to ball drop and popped balloons and blew noisemakers to ring in the new year.  I also got my first kiss of the new year with all the "fireworks" going on!

Then some families stay over for a night (and morning) full of no sleep and more eating.  The kids even went sledding for a few hours that day before we headed home and were all in bed by 8:30 that night ready for work and school.

We are looking forward to a great 2013.  2012 was an improvement on 2011, and we hope the trend continues.  We are healthy, almost always happy, and blessed with all that we need and a lot of what we want, so it's looking like it will be a good year.  Happy New Year!

Christmas 2012

 Christmas was great this year!  It was perfectly calm and entertaining all in one.  We really enjoy that we don't have to travel 25+ hours to visit our families and can enjoy the days leading up to and after in our home and surrounding!

We spent Christmas Eve at Nana and Grandads for the traditional pancake dinner.  It was nice to be able to walk next door and enjoy the evening with them, Kimberlee, and Chris.

The next morning the kids were up super early, but we didn't do presents until about 8:30, which was nice.  We took turns opening and giving gifts and it was perfect.  I think everyone was pleased in both what they gave and what they got.

We were glad to be able to have Chris here with us as well.  He doesn't have any family here in Texas, except the Smith family!!  We enjoy his personality and Jag loves Chris the most!

Dave and Evan got a remote control helicopter, thanks to Uncle Shane for picking it up.  We had one from last year, but it broke and was not repairable, so this was a fun replacement.

Austin was happy on Christmas day and was quite enjoyable.  His favorite gift has got to be the Rubiks cube.  He has spent hours perfecting his technique and can currently solve it in under 2 minutes consistently.  He's going for 90 seconds!

After presents at home and a quick stop over at Nana and Grandads (forgot the camera :( ) we headed up to Park City to see Grandma Libby, Grandpa Irv, and Aunt Vicky and Jim and their kids.  We had an adventure trying to get our Texas 2 wheel drive Suburban up her extremely steep driveway packed with snow.  It took an extra hour to get chains on and unstuck twice, but we made it!!

Aunt Vicky and Grandma Libby surprised McKinley with an American Girl doll.  She named her Tori and they have been together 24/7 since Christmas.  Everyone was spoiled with another round of gift giving and sharing.

After all the gifts were done we were ready to eat.  We had our traditional leg of lamb, roasted root vegetables, and peas.  Dessert was a feast of cheesecake, key lime pie, and apple pie with ice-cream.

The day ended with everyone very satisfied and tired and ready for bed.  It was an awesome Christmas!