New Chicks!

We must be getting close to spring - because it's time to welcome a new batch of young ladies to our farm.

 We combined our order with a friend, so when we went to Countryside Feed to pick ours up we get a total of 250, but only 100 of them actually came home with us. It was a LOUD and smelly ride home.

 Ben had prepared a space for the chicks in the chicken barn, lights to keep them warm, heated waterers, food, fresh pine shavings. We were sure everything was in order.

 Look at all those chicks!

 Then we gently dumped them out, one section of the box at a time. And finally, after all the chicks were out and we dunked most of their beaks in water, we realized that the big chickens were making a terrible racket. Turns out, these little chicks could fit through the chicken wire! We had about ten tiny chicks running around in the other part of the building with the big birds!

 We quickly gathered the little ones up, cleaned the poop off their beaks and blocked off all the chicken wire. Then we breathed a sigh of relief!

 A couple of cold nights later, we've arrived at warmer weather and although we lost a few chicks (which is to be expected), everything seems to be going very well.

Catching Up

Winter, in this season of our family's life, is a time that tends to feel slower. If you ask me what we've been up to, I'd likely tell you, "Not much, just normal day-to-day life." But when I stop and think about it, we're usually fairly busy. Each week has at least two busy nights and we always manage to fill our weekends with one thing or another.

Basketball is certainly an activity that keeps our family busy in winter. Not only with Ben travelling to every corner (literally) of the state to ref college women's basketball and his full high school officiating schedule, but for the boys too. One Sunday we met up with friends to play ball and the boys play either in the house or out on the driveway almost daily.

 When the mood strikes, the boys get in their minds that we should explore around the farm,

 jump bales,

 and break ice.

 The ladies of the farm are busy as usual - making eggs, making messes...

 Levi and I found a day to invite a friend over to play. It was something I'd told him he could do for his birthday, but time got away from us and we finally made it happen. He requested chocolate cupcakes with bright yellow frosting for the occasion.

 He had a great time with his friend Anthony, they are very goofy together. :-)

 Noah's team wrapped up their biddy basketball season. I'm not sure how many games they won, but I know they showed a lot of improvement and always worked hard.

 I heard about a train show in Wichita so the boys and I invited my parents to come along to check it out. We had a great time!

 It was interesting to see the different sizes of model trains that exist and to enjoy the creativity that people put into their displays.

 Winter has included a fair amount of rest this year. More than once I've found these two sleeping on the couch this winter.

 Wilbur is actually way too big to sit on anyone's lap, but that doesn't stop him from trying. :-)

 Levi and I snuck in the Kansas Day activities at Kaufman Museum this year just before he had a birthday party to go to. It was fun to be there with just one kid, so I could concentrate on him and enjoy watching him. The old fashioned playground games continue to be a challenge, but each year they're a little less awkward.

 The boys find ways to play basketball, if it's too dark and windy and rainy outside, they just bring the hoop inside the garage!

 Anthony got to come over another day after school and look what a mess Levi got himself into! Honestly, Levi had already done the same thing to Anthony, and it was all a hilarious adventure to them.

 I got a pedometer, mostly because I wanted to see how many steps I took in a normal day. Well, that proved to be depressing! We're supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day - and a normal work day, even with exercising in the morning, only ends up around 5 to 6,000 for me. So, when I have time, I've been taking walks with Wilbur. The pedometer is actually a good motivator to move more, so that's been interesting.

 The other day my dad, the boys and I went to watch Ben ref a college game. As usual, it was very interesting - you just never know what will happen during a basketball game. Seriously, I have no idea how he does what he does.

That's the update from around here. Oh there's more I could share....about how boys hate taking showers, solutions to stinky feet, learning about being respectful, encouraging the boys to stick up for each other and to be kind to one another, but I'll spare you the details since it's mostly the usual stuff that comes along with parenting.

Noah's Birthday

Noah's birthday celebration was spread out and lasted more than a week! Lucky kid.

 We surprised Noah with a family night to see the Harlem Globetrotters in Wichita. We ate at the restaurant of Noah's choice - Buffalo Wild Wings - before the Globetrotters.

 I snapped these few photos with my phone so there's no zoom going on, but we had great seats and really enjoyed the show. Those guys and lady sure know how to put on a show!

 We wondered if Levi would enjoy it, since he usually doesn't enjoy watching basketball, but he was more taken with the antics and drama of the Globetrotter show than Noah was. :-)

Noah's birthday fell on President's Day this year, a day with no school, so he celebrated in his classroom on the Friday before his birthday (which was also Valentine's party day).

 I went to school in time to eat lunch with Noah and then hung out until it was time for their Valentine's party to start. Noah has started to be a real pill to take photos of. He either has a total "blah" look on his face, or he tries to act like I'm not taking a picture by looking away or down.

 Lunch was great and sitting with Noah's friends was certainly interesting. Plus, I got to make eyes across the cafeteria with Levi. See him way over there? :-)

 Noah's birthday treat request to share with his class was brownies with caramel sauce. That sounded like a mess waiting to happen, so I found a recipe that was basically brownies with a layer of caramel in the middle. Thankfully, Noah approved of them!

 In his classroom, his teacher put up this special Noah-specific birthday greeting and let Noah pick any song. Then, after kids were done eating most of them got up and started dancing. It was so fun to watch him and his 4th grade friends have fun.
Other highlights of being in school with Noah - getting to walk to Keith's with his class for a special treat (I learned all sorts of interesting tidbits about Noah's classmates during that walk!) and getting a sneak peak of the concert they'll give later this week.

 After school, Noah had Klay and Layne come over. They played, ate a bunch of tacos for supper and then played some more. At 9 we brought the party to a close and took the boys home.
Sunday evening we celebrated both Noah and Rylee with a menu of their choosing, followed by cake!

 This is blurry photo of Noah, but I just love how great my mom looks in the background. :-)

 He got a new baseball game for the PlayStation, a couple of Royals hats, a WSU Shocker t-shirt and a KU t-shirt. He was through the roof! And the next morning, after sleeping until after 9 (thank goodness he didn't have school, clearly he was tired!) he started playing baseball right away.

 He didn't really want me to take his picture, but I love the way his eyes look right after he wakes up.

 For better or worse, we took advantage of him not having school and snuck in a trip to the audiologist. He needs new ear molds (the part that is currently green, but the next set will be blue and grey) because he's outgrown his current set. So, since it was his actual birthday we let him pick a restaurant again and this time Applebee's was the winner. He loves their cheeseburgers and fries.

The boys had been asking to go to Costco so we went, and then headed for home. It was a gorgeous day! Little wind, warm temps and sunshine so we spent time outside playing a family game of basketball. Noah asked for meatballs and scalloped potatoes for supper and that's what he got. Just before bed he was having a piece of peanut butter toast and I realized he hadn't had a single candle to blow out on his actual birthday, so I stuck one in his toast, lit it and waited for him to think of a wish. Finally he thought of just the right wish and blew out his birthday candle. So far he reports that 10 feels the same as 9....

Noah, 10 for 10

Somehow, in the blink of an eye, this little guy turns 10 today. 

Noah's second day on earth:

Looking confused on his First birthday:

  Ready to be 2:

 Happy to be three:

 Excited to be four:

 Celebrating 5 at preschool:

  Birthday morning turning six:

 Missing teeth at 7:

 Looking big at 8:

 On his birthday in school turning 9:

 Blowing candles out with Rylee last night for 10!

We love you Noah! Your love of sports, your need to have things fair and honest, your ability to make jokes and catch on to sarcasm, the way you work hard in school and have fun with your friends - we love it all! Happy birthday buddy!