It rained on our parade

Today was Spud Day. Idaho would cease to be Idaho if we didn't celebrate potatoes! I think this was the 80th annual Spud Day (or something like that). There is always a parade, complete with 10 (at least) fire trucks of various ages and models, but all with loud sirens. There are even floats and anyone cool (or not in a marching band) throws candy.

It has been a rather dry summer here in Eastern Idaho. Until today. Two days left of summer and it dumped on us. It was a cold rain. It was a thorough rain. I was thoroughly wet. But at least I wasn't riding on an open float, singing songs and trying to look excited. That was Daniel and Leah's lot. I just sat trying to get some pictures and video while keeping the cameras dry. We had one umbrella. Since I had the jacket, Chad got the baby (and accompanying blanket) and the umbrella. Eventually, I got Rebekah to sit on my lap and help shield me from the rain. (She was wrapped in a big blanket with Nathan. I'm not completely heartless!)

We made it through the end of the parade, but skipped the free potatoes, expensive rides, commercial booths and food vendors with $4 hot dogs. I'm assuming the mashed potato tug-of-war still happened. At least the losers would have been able to shower immediately after getting out of the gooey potatoes!

Here are some soggy pictures. Gotta love the expressions! See if you can find Daniel and Leah on the TaVaci trailer. (Pretend we're playing hide and seek or Where's Waldo.)

We came home and had hot chocolate with our lunch. And since it didn't rain continuously, Chad and I went out to set more fence posts. This is a never ending job! At least it was cooler weather to work in and it even came with mandatory rest periods. When the rain would come down too hard, we'd take a rest. Period. We (he) got 8 posts set today.

I counted the holes left outside. It looks like we have 18 fence posts to go. Then Chad has to brace certain posts and then stretch the wire. After that he gets to hang 4 gates. He wanted to be done before the next weekend is over. I think he'll be lucky to be done before the snow starts stickin'. And I can't help but wonder where the $$ for the wire and gates is coming from. Maybe we'll rent out the kids.

Stinker

It was something of a miracle that we all got a nap today. I sure enjoyed mine and was disappointed when I could hear Joseph "talking" in his room. All that separates my head from his crib is a headboard and a wall. I thought I'd try to ignore the talking and wait until he started crying so I snuggled back into the pillow.

That's when the banging started. I thought it was probably Rebekah doing something or other in there by Joseph's crib. After about 10 bangs, some of which were pretty loud, I got out of bed to get after the noisy kids. I was surprised to see that both girls were asleep. Joseph was banging his head on the wall! I think he was trying to look between the crib and the wall, but that's only a guess.

I tried to get to my camera in time, but these were the shots I got instead. He saw the camera poking around the corner and knew I couldn't be too far away!




He's a stinker. A cute stinker. But definitely a stinker.

LOOK at those teeth!

23,000+ words

You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, you'd better put on your reading glasses! I haven't posted any pictures for a while because my computer was having trouble and I got tired of reinstalling the camera. I've now been trouble free for a long enough time that I was willing to reinstall yesterday. Now we play a little "catch up".

Joseph is growing up! He has recently discovered that he is tall enough to reach the piano keys and make his own music. This is really good, because we can always use a little more noise around here!

Look who's almost the same size as his walker! He is actually using it, too. He's about a week shy of 10 months in this picture. NO. He is not allowed walk yet.

Joseph learned a new trick this past weekend. Isn't he cute? You can't see it, but he's smiling (proudly) under there.

Nathan got upset by something I said while he was doing his homework a few weeks ago, (I never did figure out what it was.) so he started pouting. For those of you who don't know Nathan very well, he is a master pouter. He has stamina that would make Olympians jealous.

He pouted so long that he fell asleep! Please giggle along with me.

Feeding time on the farm. Look at all those cats! Why aren't they out catching mice? Let me introduce (top to bottom, left to right) Nightmare (up for adoption for anyone looking to add free animals to their new farm), Shadow, Trouble (our best mouser and the sweetest cat ever), Tabby, Patches and Fair (she only has 3 legs, but eats like she has all 4).

We've been enjoying the fruits of our labors. Unfortunately, our labor tapered off and so did the quality of our fruit. The peppers and tomatoes are doing fine on their own. Apparently, the watermelon and cantaloupe wanted to be watered. They grew, but not very big.

We also enjoyed the fruits of others' labor, too. Chad parents gave us some produce a couple/few times. Once we had some blue potatoes. They were fun. They reminded us a lot of the geodes we bought on our honeymoon. The kids thought we were feeding them a plate full of mushrooms. But they tasted just like chicken, I mean potatoes.

Rebekah turned 3 on the 30th. She was so proud to be honored on her own special day. She'd requested a kitty cake. I found a picture in a coloring book and did the best I could motivate myself to do. As a 3 year old, she loved it.

Joseph enjoyed the cake at least as much as everyone else!

Rebekah had plenty of help opening her presents. Daniel would have helped if he hadn't been in his room at the time.

We went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair on Rebekah's birthday (purely coincidental...they didn't have it then just for her). Daniel stopped by a local new station's weather booth and got to stand in front of a blue screen.

We let each kid choose one ride. The girls both chose the elephant ride. When I was putting them on, the ride operator informed me that Rebekah was too little to ride without an adult (couldn't he tell she was a whole year older that day?), so he made me get on the ride, too. He said he wouldn't charge me. As I was squeezing my ample behind into that elephant, I was thinking, "Believe me, I'm already paying."

Surprisingly, Chad caught a picture of Nathan as he zoomed by on the roller coaster. That's him in the blue car. I barely got a shot of Daniel on the slide. This was a practice shot because I thought I had some time before they came down. Daniel is at the top of the green section.

Here we are at the end of a long 4 hours. All the kids had a sticker on saying to take them to the lost children booth if they were lost. I thought that was a dumb sticker. Where else would you take them? I wrote my cell phone number on each sticker...much smarter IMHO. (In My Humble Opinion)

We had the Price family stop by for a visit a couple of weeks ago. We showed them around the farm and let the sheep out to play with them.

We tried to get a nice, happy shot of all 9 kids before they left. This is what we got instead.

Sometimes it's a blessing to have a brother. Sometimes it's a trial. Guess which experience Nathan is having. He was wound up in some drapery fabric and got a "friendly" push from Daniel. Darn that coffee table. The bump is gone now, but there is still a bruise and I'm sure it's still tender. In his prayers, Nathan says, "Help my bump to get better."

Daniel has been struggling with some timed math facts in school. To "encourage" (trick) him into practicing, we turned it into an obstacle course/game. He and Nathan raced to complete a strip of 5 subtraction facts, then had to jump a hurdle and circle a cone before coming back to the next strip of problems. There were 5 strips and Nathan was only behind about a strip and half when they finished! (We helped slow Daniel down out in the field.) The next time Daniel did the timed practice in school, he got 100%. He was VERY pleased. And his parents are a little pleased with their creativity.

And there you go. You're caught up with us now (and behind in your chores because you spent so much time reading).

Chad is still working away on a fence that refuses to be finished. He has almost gotten the chicken coop done, too. We're expecting the hens to start laying any time. He's also getting a new calling. Things don't slow down for Chad...they just evolve.

We did some canning yesterday. We've got a batch of pears and a batch of peaches ready to go down to the store room. Therefore, I mopped this morning. It's now a dare for the kids to spill something today. I still have a batch of peach jam to do. I wonder how I can explain this to Joseph?

Skunk Bait

That's what I had for lunch today. Did you know that skunks really like corn? They really like carrots, too, it seems. When we were feeding the animals last night I made a quick check of the garden and collected some ripening tomatoes. I pulled two ears of corn from the stalks.

Our corn isn't doing very well. We had some strong wind knock a bunch of it over a day after a heavy watering. Now half of it is being supported by the other half, and neither half is thriving with those conditions. So one of the ears was pretty light on the kernels. The other one was pretty good so I shucked it and brought it inside (and had it for lunch today). Daniel had picked an ear of his own, but after throwing it around the yard for several minutes it was badly battered. With the two bad ears of corn, I reset the skunk trap.

Now, there is currently a skunk sitting in our trap awaiting his sentence. I'm beginning to lose track. I think this is the 4th or 5th skunk we've caught in the trap. That makes the 5th or 6th skunk to be buried in the pasture this year. I can only imagine the surprise a skunk is bound to make when it (or another burrowing animal) runs into one of these burial sites. We also have a cat out there somewhere!

Except for the skunk we drowned last week, all other skunks have been shot. The trap was beginning to suffer from the shooting, and the skunk would always end up stinking, so we tried drowning. That skunk still managed to stink a bit. Oh well. Winter is coming = less skunks. Gotta love that fresh country air!

Treading Water

That's what I feel like I'm doing in my life right now. There are so many things that need to be done amongst the things that are demanding I get done, despite the things I want to do and instead of the things that I should have done. Make any sense? Exactly my point.

I feel like I am being pulled in 50 different directions when all I really want to do it hide in my room and read a book or take a nap. Even the computer sees less of me. (I admit, that's probably a good thing.)

My house is a never ending chore that refuses to cooperate. One thing can be blocking the hallway for a day or a week. It doesn't move until I move it, or someone kicks it to a new spot or I explode in a fireball of emotions and everyone quickly/quietly restores order.

I grounded the toy room and it's entire contents for two weeks (we still have one week to go). Who is suffering the most? ME. Now Leah doesn't know what to do and doesn't like any of my suggestions. The kids find other places to amuse themselves. I wouldn't mind at all if they had even a sliver of responsibility. Everyone just drops things where they are standing at the moment. Sometimes it's within minutes of me just picking it up!!!!

Daniel is struggling with his math and therefore causing much contention all evening about it. He needs me to sit down with him and focus. Too bad there are 49 other things I'm supposed to be doing.

Nathan is shrinking before our very eyes because he refuses to eat or even TASTE anything new. And when he laughs while we yell at him (for jumping on the furniture during scriptures, etc.), I just want to scream.

Leah has become quite bossy to Rebekah and whines or screams most things at the rest of us. For just one day, I wish she would keep her promise of, "I'm never talking to you AGAIN!"

Rebekah isn't too bad. I'm just overloaded and can't even stand it when she comes up to me and leans on my leg. (How bad off am I if the touch from my own child raises my blood pressure?)

Joseph has a deep attachment to me that involves crying when I walk out of the room...while Daddy is holding him. He HATES getting his diaper changed and pretty much cries the second I sit down anywhere with him. I have to stuff him into his car seat every time we go somewhere. How do little babies wiggle so much? He has been suffering with two little teeth for over a week now. They started coming in with the two middle ones, but never got past the first corner poking through. We're all feeling the pain.

I dreamt last night that I was being put in as Sunday School Pres. I am SO GLAD that is never going to happen! But I still feel the odd stress of having to pick counselors. Why do my dreams do that to me? Does anyone else get intense and unsettling dreams?

Thanks for letting me vent. Now I have to go get Joseph. He's been wanting out of that crib for the past 20 minutes.

Food Storage?

No time to really post. Sorry.

My life stinks!

Now before you refer me to your favorite therapist or sneak a sample from your cousin, Cynthia - the Pharmaceutical Rep., keep reading.

I smell dead things.

I also smell living things. I mostly smell stinky things. If there is a nasty odor, I usually know about it and am probably looking for the source if it's in my own house. (If it's in someone else's house, I suffer and feel slightly grossed out.) I've joked that it gets worse when I'm pregnant. I'm not sure about that. I think that I have been pregnant so much in the last 9 years that my nose no longer knows the difference.

The worst recurring smells in my house are the kitchen disposal (I try to peel all my oranges into the sink just to chop them up in the disposal. Did you know about the power of orange peels?), the garbage can -EWW!, and the diaper pail. Occasionally, I am assaulted by something yucky in the washer (a towel used to clean up milk spills or Rebekah's pants after she almost made it to the potty in time, etc).

I smell bad breath on others almost instantly. I've caught a hint of my own at times, but not too often. I don't know if that means that I don't have bad breath or if I just do recognize my own stink. I learned in High School to hold my breath when a person passed by my seat. That trick still comes in handy on airplanes.

So I've been enjoying a "new car" smell in our van since we got it about 6-7 weeks ago. And then about Monday I started smelling something bad. I thought it was a dirty diaper. I searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Every time I opened the doors, I'd smell it again and I was getting frustrated! Yesterday was do or die...I was going to find the source of the odor, even if I had to remove everything in the process. Luckily, I didn't have to go that far.

I had given all the kids an apple juice box after the fair on Saturday. We usually drink a third of Rebekah's drinks before we pass them to her. I should have given her even less. Rebekah had spilled?/poured? some apple juice into one of the cup holders by her seat. She may have poured some into the other one as well but I'm not sure. It had pretzel goldfish crackers in it and they were all puffed up and moist when I found them. They didn't smell like fermented apple juice, though. I think they were soaked in water. I also found both of Nathan's cup holders with about an inch water in them. So did a bit of cleaning and my new car smell is back. And so is my sanity!

Strange. I know.

Still alive

Oh my heck! I can't believe it's been nearly 2 weeks since my last post! I have let all 7 of my faithful readers down! (I'm assuming there are that many of you. I average 1-2 comments per post, so I'm being optimistic on the readership.)

Well, school started a week ago Wednesday and I've already been called twice to pick up a sick child. Nathan came home from school the first day and fell asleep on the couch. I was thinking, "Wow! First grade is really hard on the poor kid!" I eventually learned that he had a fever of almost 102 degrees. He was crying that night that he had a headache, but awoke the next day as if nothing had happened. Then Tuesday he comes home from school and says he has a headache. I gave him something for it then and Chad gave him something again before we went to bed. I notified the school and asked them to watch him for me. Sure enough, they called at 1:30. I took him to the doctor.

Actually, the guy was a P.A. I recognize that PA's go through a lot of classes and receive heavy training. I get kind of tired dealing with PA's that think they have to prove that they are competent and capable. I try to get in to the doctor when I can. It was not to be this day.

It was decided that Nathan had a sinus infection and was given a prescription for Augmentin. (The antibiotic was more $$ than the office copay...and now the Bishop knows of our newest financial strain since he's also our pharmacist!) I sent him back to school the next day, and they called again at 1:30 saying he was running a fever of 99.something. Could I come get him? No problem, except for that I had 3 sleeping kids (Leah was running her own fever) and they had also woken me up. Chad went to get him. He was fine again in the morning so we sent him on the bus. The school was probably so thrilled to see this sickly kid back again. But they didn't call for a third day...yahoo.

I think everything at the school is slowly settling into a comfortable rhythm. I got a bit concerned last Monday when Nathan brought home a handful of completed coloring pages (they keep coloring books in their desks for times when they are not busy with schoolwork) and informed me that he'd colored SIX of them that day. Nathan is not fast with crayons. Six pages for Nathan is like 10 for another kid. I sent a note about that and some activity/coloring books for him to use. Other than that wrinkle, things have been fairly smooth sailing.

Rebekah turned 3 on Saturday. She was very excited about her big day finally arriving. We celebrated by going to the Eastern Idaho State Fair and then came home for presents and cake and ice cream. We have a family tradition that you have to be sick on your b-day. Rebekah honored our tradition. She's been struggling with the fever that Leah (and maybe Nathan?) had earlier. Remember that Daniel was sick on his birthday...ok we all were...and we postponed his party. Leah has some attractive pictures from her 2nd b-day and if I were to check the facts from my journals, I could give you more instances.

I do have pictures, but my desktop is once again at the "Doctor" and not hooked up to my digital camera dock. I have been suffering digital scrapbooking withdrawals as well. (How is that computer coming, Kristy?)

We recently acquired another cat. My neighbor asked me if we wanted another one and then proceeded to tell me the sob-story of the cat who was hanging around her work and meowing like crazy. What could I say? Well, what I ended up saying was, "Sure. We'll put it out there and see if it sticks around." It stuck. It's a very friendly cat..to people. It got a shock when it eventually met the 5 other cats that already lay claim to the yard. I think that they are all getting along...more or less. It's an all-black male. He's still pretty young. Any one need a kitty? The kids wanted to name him Shadow but we already have an all-black kitty named Shadow so I suggested Midnight. Later that day, Leah came to me and wanted to know something about that new kitty named Nightmare. So Midnight became Nightmare.

We also adopted Cutie. That's the name the kids gave to the hamster that we got on Friday. We got her for free off of a Freecycle listing. (Check out http://www.freecycle.org/ if you don't know about it yet.) She came with 2 cages and a bit of food, so there was a good value there. The cages must be worth $15-20 each. Daniel learned that you shouldn't try to pick up a nervous hamster when you've just had your hand in her food. Her teeth are sharp. :) She lives in the boys' room and like to run on her wheel all night long (or so I've been told).

Chad has been working like a mad man on the pasture fence. He hired a guy to help him, but the guy was sadly out of shape and only lasted 6 days. I'm glad because he wasn't worth what we were paying him and we really couldn't afford it anyway. Since then, Chad's dad has been here helping as well as a friend who came Thursday night and today. They got some good work in this morning but nothing past 3...which is when wind, rain and hail started. It was below 50 this afternoon. Chad doesn't get to work on it tomorrow because he gets to visit Las Vegas. He'll get a 40+ degree jump in temps!

Our ward's Primary Program was a week ago Sunday. Our family was asked to sing "A Child's Prayer." We sang the 1st and 2nd verse, but thought it best not to torture the congregation with an attempt at singing the two verses at once. They don't know how thankful they are that we made that decision! My class had sharing time this past Sunday. Now the rest of the Sundays will seem so easy! Keep tuned in. I think Chad's calling is going to change. Unless the Stake just wants him to come in for a friendly chat. (Does that ever happen?) Luckily, the Bishopric is less than 2 months old. I think I can handle sharing him in any other way. :)

We had our long-time friends from Las Vegas, but now living in UT, stop by for a visit this afternoon. It was nice to visit with the Price family and see how much their 4 girls have grown. It showed how much our kids aren't growing! (Such shrimps we've got.) :) We let the sheep out to run while they were here and we suddenly had a field full of sheep, kids and one very excited dog. I hope we didn't give them our fever germ. (If we did, we're very sorry!)

I'll have pictures soon...when the computer returns. (I've got my fingers, toes, knees and eyes crossed about that!)

First day of school

The boys have been gone for 3 hours now. I think they were both excited to go and I'm excited for them to come home and tell me all about their day. I think Nathan is excited to eat lunch at school. He'd better eat it all...it's $1.50 this year!

I only have 3 kids at home now. Four years ago, 3 kids seemed overwhelming. Now I'm glad it's ONLY 3? Ah, perspective!

Leah is just about killing me with her whining for a snack, but other than that, we're getting along marvelously.

***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA (MICHAEL)!

***

Good-bye SUMMER!

School starts tomorrow. Hallelujah! I am looking forward to a little peace and harmony around here. I hope I still have a chance to get some. At least the number one antagonist will be gone for 8 hours, as well as the number one negative complainer. No one will be hitting us as they walk by and we can eat our lunch in peace without hearing someone say they don't want that.

Their school bags are packed. I wrote names/initials/identifying marks on 16 glue sticks, 1 bottle of glue, 4 large erasers, 72 crayons, 29 pencils, one pencil sharpener, 3 notebooks, 1 folder, 2 rulers, 2 file boxes, 2 pairs of scissors, 12 colored pencils, 1 set of watercolors, 12 markers, and 2 pencil boxes. (There may be something else, but I'm remembering off the top of my head here.) Also included, but not marked, are 2 containers of disinfectant wipes and 3 large boxes of tissues.

We made the boys get up early this morning - the same time they need to get up for school. They both wore a new pair of shoes in honor of the "practice". Nathan said they came from SPU and Daniel disagreed, saying they came from FeeDex. At least I don't shop online so often that they actually know what those delivery companies are really called!

We've been having fun with skunks lately. We actually caught one in our trap. That one is buried now, but it's relative got revenge on us and stunk up our yard and house pretty good Sunday night. One of the cats sure smelled like skunk today. Lovely little critters.

Here are some scrapbook pages I've done recently.

Credits

Credits

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Credits:

"Relax" by Summer Driggs

Credits

Credits

Why don't we go to Yellowstone?

We realized Friday that we hadn't been to Yellowstone in three years (two weeks before Rebekah was born). So we decide to make a day trip of it on Saturday.

We had a little delay as Chad took the kids (all 5) down to the corner of the property to turn off the irrigation water and backed the end of the truck into the canal. We finally got it out with the tractor we've been borrowing since June and headed out of town at 10:30 AM.

We stopped in Jackson, WY for lunch and gas and potty and continued on to the park. We arrived at the Old Faithful geyser 10 minutes before the estimated eruption time and 30 minutes before the actual eruption. By the time it did erupt, I was back at the lodge with the 3 youngest in the shade and Chad was with the boys up in the crowd. About the time we decided to give up on the old girl, she showed her stuff and we took the kids on a walk around the area to see some things. While kneeling over the edge of the walkway to feel the run off from the geyser, Leah got a huge splinter in her knee. You may have heard her screaming. It would have been about 5:15 MST.

We stopped a few other places and got some pictures. I was so worked up about the kids getting in other peoples' way or falling off into the hot pools, that I finally decided it was better to walk in front of them and not watch. Then there was the time I was far enough back that the wind and steam took care of the problem for me.

There was a storm threatening and we got to see some BEAUTIFUL clouds. I LOVE storms and rainy season was my favorite season on my mission. I don't exactly love to be rained on, though. I would probably feel differently if I lived in an area that suffered from violent storms. Eastern Idaho doesn't get enough action for the novelty to wear off. :)

We saw quite a lot of elk, a chipmunk, a squirrel and a coyote. (Maybe it was a wolf, but I think it was a coyote.) No bison or moose on this trip.

We got home about 10:45 that night and fell into bed.

Leah recently earned a fingernail paint job. But she still had some fingernail polish on her fingers and I didn't want to work that hard, so we painted her toes. She loved it and the boys were quite intrigued. Then they slipped into brother mode and started teasing and poking her - thereby making it harder for me to paint. (Sorry for the sideways picture. This is not an award-winning blog. You get what you pay for!)

School starts in 8 days. But who's counting?

I have to give up my computer for a day or so. I hope to be back soon!

Crawling

A sitting baby is a happy baby. A crawling baby is a happy baby. A crawling baby with a diaper leaking orange goo, who stops to sit occasionally, is a disaster. It gives new meaning to the phrase, "Follow the yellow brick road."

Where's my disinfectant?

A Ca-WHAT?

We picked up a Vocal Point cd at the library this morning. (For those of you that are not True Blue, Vocal Point is an all male a cappella group at BYU.) I was trying to explain to the kids that all the songs were sung without any musical instruments...just their voices and maybe some clapping. The song playing was "Istanbul." During one high, whiney attempt to imitate a musical instrument, Leah asks, "Is that a chicken singing?"

I laughed out loud and told her it was just people singing. Daniel pipes up, "It was a cat." (I think he was joking.) At the end of the song and another high, whiney wail, Nathan turns to Daniel and asks, "What did the cat say?"

Oh my heck. They just don't get it!

Time to baby proof (again)

Joseph has finally entered the crawling stage! He figured it out just this week. I got this video of him yesterday afternoon and he is so cute! A couple of days ago he actually left me at the computer and went down the hallway. He is usually not willing to be so far away.


So now I will have to be a better housekeeper and hopefully pass some of the vigilance down to the kids. We have a live vacuum! He already stands up to the coffee table and is working on the couches. I don't think he'll be content to simply crawl for very long!

School registration is this morning. As soon as the power company's tree trimmers are done mutilating our 5 trees out front, we're heading to the school to get all the paperwork taken care of! Then I think we'll hit the library because they have air conditioning. It's going to be a hot one today...I can already tell.

Cock-a-doodle-who?

Remember our chicks we got in May? They're getting pretty big now. I don't have any pictures of ours, but here are some of the same breed. Chad bought 15 females since all we really wanted was eggs...not necessarily chicks. One died and 14 survived.

Two mornings ago I was dreaming one of my regularly incoherent dreams (something about following a brick, winding pathway with some kids through some kind of temple grounds to visit the prophet and seeing a sunbather up ahead - and thinking that is really inappropriate!) when I heard a strange noise. It took a couple or 3 times to realize that I really was hearing it. I stumbled from bed, glanced at the clock (which was just shy of 6 AM) and went to the window.

Each time I heard it I was trying to eliminate what animals might be making the sound. I first suspected the calves and then decided it wasn't them. Maybe the lambs? No. Is it...could it be the chickens? By the time I'd decided it was coming from their pen and now I need to hear it to figure out what they were doing, it stopped! I was thinking...Dumb hens; someone thinks she's a rooster! And a sad sounding rooster at that. It sounded like a wounded and dieing lamb. (I never did get back to sleep.)

So I went out to the chicken coop later that day. No, we didn't have a rooster. Rather, we have 2 roosters! I had been thinking that some of them were growing faster than others, but what once looked like an early bloomer a few weeks ago now looks decidedly like a rooster. Twice.

Apparently, they are just getting old enough to crow. I hope they figure it out soon. A day-break wake up call is bad enough - the dieing lamb sound is pathetic!

Equality

On the last day of swimming lessons over two weeks ago, Leah sliced two of her fingers on the edge of the slide (she was holding on tight because she didn't want to go down!). One finger healed; the other didn't.

I took her to the doctor today to get some help for her and she was given an antibiotic (she has a skin infection). When I gave her the medicine tonight, Rebekah wanted some too.

She said, "I cut my finger on the slide at swimming lessons. I goed to the doctor."

Well, she was unsuccessful at convincing me that she should get some medicine so she went to plan B. Leah has some first aid ointment (think Neosporin) on her finger and a band aid. Rebekah helped herself to some first aid ointment. I'm not sure where she got any on herself, but I'm sure that the counter, floor and several handles in the bathroom will be protected from infection.